FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Some of these questions are from young children. Some are from impulsive but well-meaning adults. Some are just the questions everybody asks. With some I was prepared for the question, but not how it was answered by someone else. Some caught me off guard. I hope our answers are of some use!

When will you get them?
We don't know. We have heard 6 to 11 weeks (from November 21), 2 months and 4 months (from November 3). We chose to BELIEVE it will be sooner rather than later.

How will they get here?
We will travel to Vietnam. After about a week in Vietnam, our "Giving and Receiving" ceremony will be scheduled. We will remain (together) in Vietnam for 2 weeks after that while paperwork is completed.

Where are their parents?
(Variations: Are their parents dead? Don't they have parents? Why did their parents give them up?)
Most probably the birth family were not able to afford to raise them. It must have taken an incredible amount of selfless love for their birth mother to have given them up. We believe that she wanted them to have a different life than they could have had in rural Vietnam, and that maybe she even hoped they would be Canadian. She will always have a special place in our hearts.
Specific information about the birth family is private, unless the boys want to share this information with you when they are older.

How much does it cost?
Let's get one thing straight - you don't buy babies. The babies are FREE.We are fortunately allowed to thank their nannies with token gifts.
There are many professionals (lawyers, social workers, doctors, police)in both countries who have and will put in many, many hours making this adoption happen - these people and their staff all need to be paid.

Here is a website (not our agency) that gives a cost breakdown in American dollars:
http://adopt.childrenshope.net/programs/vietnam/cost/

And yes... Most fees are doubled for two!

Were you expecting twins?
(Variations: How did you get twins? Did you want twins?)
When we started this process my sister was working with someone who had adopted twin girls from China, which made us think wow, that would be neat. We did some internet research and discovered that twins seem to go to couples who are young and rich - definitely not us. We asked our social worker why we couldn't be approved for twins (wondering what it was exactly -too poor? too old? too addled?) and she said of course we could apply for twins, if that was what we wanted. We had to do more research and prove that we understand and accept the increased health and financial issues, and that we are educated as to how to raise twins, etc. We were then approved by the Ontario Ministry for twins. I think my background in education helped, as I've taught twins every year and have seen first hand how the need to treat them as individuals can be thwarted by the tendency of everyone around them to compare them. It was made very clear to us throughout that the chance of twins being offered to us was small to nil.
We were ecstatic when we got the news. We didn't dare to dream that we could be this lucky. No twins could be more wanted than these!

Are they healthy?
Yes. That is to say, their current state of health is fairly standard for babies in rural orphanages in Vietnam. I'm sure they could use any well-wishes you wanted to send their way.

Are they yours for sure? Could anything go wrong?
They are not legally ours until we sign the documents at the Giving and Receiving Ceremony in Vietnam. They have been ours in our hearts since we first saw their photos. I believe they are meant to be ours and that all of our spirits united and God are looking after them.

Please feel free to post or e-mail us your questions so we can add to this list.