Mission Accomplished

I am sitting here in the internet lounge in Seoul, Korea, typing one of the final blog entries of our 3 week journey to bring our son home. So much has happened since I was last able to post here. We just finished a 3 1/2 hour flight from Hanoi to Seoul, and we will be boarding the next flight in less than an hour. This is the flight that will be the booger bear. . . 14 hours. Sweet Baby Lou! I sure hope he sleeps well on this flight, too. Rocco did relatively well; it was 1am Vietnam time so he slept a lot. Every now and then he would try to wake up. Not knowing where he was, he would cry uncomfortably. I'd assure him that "Mommy is here" and he'd calm down and go back to sleep. Oh, the joys of being a mother. And he is such a mama's boy!!

Hanoi was not as good of an experience as Ho Chi Minh City was. Although there was a mall there, the shopping was nowhere near as good as Saigon. The city was not as clean, and it was much more difficult to communicate with the outside world. The air quality was really poor. The Hong Ngoc Hotel (in Hanoi) was in a great location (short walking distance to a neat restaurant that we ate at for lunch and dinner every day - "Pepperroni's), but the rooms had a moldy smell. Good thing I took fabric softener sheets; Jason attached them to the A/C unit. We told our Dillon representative about the smell, and he said that it had been raining a lot. We laughed when he told us how to fix the problem. . . "Get a room in a 5 star hotel." Once we checked out, we were not complaining though. It was only $300 for four nights (and we had room service and ate at the Hotel restaurant several times).

Kim-Lan and I made the best of it. We laughed and laughed over nothing. We'd go down the streets of Hanoi arm in arm with our babies in their carriers and sing the Laverne and Shirley song. "We're gonna do it!" Kim-Lan peed in her pants she laughed so hard. Our fun didn't stop there, we had a blast at the airport doing the silliest stuff (I think we were a little delirious from lack of sleep and extreme homesickness). She and I would get on the moving walking ramp and it would seem like we were walking extra fast. We pretended we had super powers. My wrist bands (for motion sickness) added to the effect. I was Wonder Woman. I will certainly miss her. She is an awesome sister in Christ. I know the Lord blessed us with her and her husband. Don is Rocco's buddy. He can get Rocco to stop crying when no one else can. I told Jason we were going to miss Don when they left for Texas. He replied, "No, WE'RE gonna miss Don."

This journey is winding down. It has been a dream come true. We now have a beautiful boy who adores us. He lights up the room with his smile. What a great God we have who would bless us with this precious gift. I stand in awe of Him!

Ha Long Bay

It is the 25th of March here in the Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam. We're leaving the Ha Long area this morning and heading back to Hanoi. So much has happened the last three days but due to slow computers I haven't been able to blog any. This computer is slow as well, and I'm paying $1,000 Vietnamese dong per minute. Here it goes. . .

The flight to Hanoi was not a good experience. It only lasted for 1 1/2 hours, but everyone on that plane remembers us, I'm sure. Rocco did not like being restrained in the carrier in such a tight spot. We were in the middle isles of the plane. He cried and screamed for the longest. I needed to be awake to take care of him so I didn't take any nerve medication for the flight. I was so ancy and a bit scared (I still don't like flying). By the time I wrestled with him and tried to make him happy, I was sick as a dog. I had to lay my head down. That's when Jason took over. He was alright the last 40 minutes or so, but when the wheels of the plane landed he let out the highest pitch scream you've ever heard. Of course, I leaped out of my seat. He cried and cried . .. and well. . . you get the picture. After all of the commotion, we realized that an electronic game Jason had brought was swiped from the diaper bag. I only hope and pray the 5 hour flight to Korea and the 14 hour flight to Atlanta will be better. (Jason almost threw up at the end of the flight, too, because he gets motion sickness like me.)

Once we landed to Hanoi, a bus driver took us to the Asia Hotel. It wasn't the good side of town either. Add to this the phones and computers didn't work. No one knew where we were except some tour guide named Viet. The lawyer from Dillon knew we were going on a side tour of Ha Long Bay, but he did not have any details yet. Thank the Lord for His hedge of protection. We ventured out into the night streets to find a restaurant where they spoke hardly a lick of English. I asked for ketchup and got a plate of tomatoes. At least we were able to laugh about all of it later.

We woke up the next morning with no clean clothes to wear (whoever said that laundry was cheap and to not pack many clothes must not have stayed where we did). A small load of whites cost us $17 in Ninh Thuan. I resorted to homemaking Little House on the Prairie style. . . scrubbing them in the tub and hanging them on the line. It took two days for them to dry inside. We finally broke down and paid another $13 to wash a few clothes to get us through a couple of days.

Our tour guide met us at the Asia Hotel and led us on a 3 1/2 hour bus ride to Ha Long Bay. By this time, Rocco was wired and not able to sleep but about 15 minutes of the ride. What we went through to get to Ha Long Bay was well worth it. Rocco rode on his first boat ride, and he loved it. He is so happy when he is outside, probably because the orphanage was not enclosed and he's used to the "fresh" air. He was the cutest little thing with his black and red Nike hooded jacket on! We had our own private "party" on the boat ride. It was just our tour guide, us, and the Carlson's. Even though it was foggy, the view was fantastic. The handiwork of God was so obvious in this majestic sea with ocean mountaintops jutting out of the water. We saw the floating villages (people actually live on the sea in their boats). Before we toured the sea cave by foot, we stopped at one of the fishing stores and viewed all of their delicacies that they were trying to sell. . . various fish, seahorses, octopus, clams, snails, and . . .are you ready for this . . . the CHAMBERED NAUTILUS. This was amazing. For 8 years I've taught my students about this mollusc in science class. Now, for the first time, I finally saw one in person. Other than getting Rocco, this was one of the highlights of my trip!! They were beautiful creatures.

The sea cave was very spacious and beautiful. Stalactites hung in enormous masses towering above our heads. My imagination took over as I envisioned mushrooms, a lion's head, a family gathered around children, a jellyfish.. . it was better than looking at clouds in the sky. There were many steps along the sea cave path; Jason carried Rocco in the Ergo carrier the entire time. We were worn out when we returned to our "junk" (Vietnamese for boat).

A fresh seafood lunch awaited us after the sea cave tour. The cook had to crack open the crab's exoskeleton in order to get to the stringy meat. Jason popped the heads off of the shrimp. We also had fried squid. It was really good, too. The food must have made us delirious because Kim-Lan, Don, and I laughed so hard we almost cried. Jason just looked at us like we'd lost our minds (the tour guide did the same). He said that most of his groups don't have this much fun. They are older people with much more serious attitudes. He never met Thelma and Louise before (AKA: Heather and Kim-Lan).

Tomorrow we head back to Hanoi. It will be a 3 1/2 hour bus ride. Once we're in Hanoi, we'll wait for our interview on Tuesday. Wednesday we're supposed to get his Visa . . . and then on Thursday we head home! (I'm praying for a better flight this time).

Leaving Ho Chi Minh City

After one week, it is finally happening. . . we are leaving HCMC! We are leaving on Vietnamese Airlines this afternoon and heading to Hanoi. It's been some more experience. I'll never forget all of the bizarre things that I saw on the road during our bus trips. Riding so close to people on scooters that you could literally reach out and touch them on the shoulder, a small dog holding on to the handle bars of a scooter (his ears just blowing carefree in the wind), a man carrying a tall ladder on his moped, a three bus car crash, and one man getting hit by a car (luckily the man was okay, but the car just kept on going). Thomas said that 30 people die every day in traffic related accidents. I can't believe the number is that low!

I'm glad to report that we finally found some food that reminded us of back home. A KFC was only 5 blocks away, and we took a taxi one night to an American owned Texas Longhorn type restaurant. By far, the best part of the day (eating wise) has been breakfast at the Kim Do hotel. Fresh omelets, bacon, hot dog sausages, cereal with sweet milk, rice porridge that tasted like grits, dragon fruit, papaya, pineapple, watermelon, buttered toast, apple and orange juice, AND marble cake. I told Jason this was mawmaw smiling down on us. :)

God has been so gracious to us. . . in more ways than one. Our paperwork moved through at an unbelievable rate. It wasn't until today that we should have received Rocco's passport, and tommorow was his scheduled hospital visit. BUT. . . . we did all of this on Wednesday! Since everything happened so quickly, we are taking the opportunity to go on a 2 day tour of Ha Long Bay. Wow! That's the most beautiful part of Vietnam that you often see on the travel channel. We'll get to experience a boat ride on the beautiful sea with a gorgeous view of islands and rocks jutting out. I can hardly wait!!

The medical exam went pretty well. He did not like being laid down for the measurements. Of course he immediately stopped crying once I picked him up. Talk about a mama's boy! All four families went into an examination room together. The doctor checked out 3 1/2 year old Sera,
2 1/2 year old Lucas, 2 year old Maile, and then our little boy, Rocco. They looked into his ears, eyes, checked him without his diaper, and listened to his heart. The doctor informed us that his lungs sounded clear. She really checked this carefully because he had been hospitalized last July for an upper respiratory infection. His heart sounded great, and in the end, all four children got a healthy report. Prasie the Lord! I am ready to get him to his pediatrician back home in South Carolina for a more thorough medical exam.

Progress

Yesterday we had our interview in Ho Chi Minh City with the U.S. Consulate General. The interviewer was an American woman who was very much down to business and a no-nonsense kind of gal. She got straight to the point of asking us questions. . .

"Did you see his orphanage?" "Are you pleased with your agency?" "How many people live in your home?" "How does he seem to be developing?" and "Have you seen any of his medicals?" She wanted to be sure that we had all of the paperwork that we needed because after we left there we would not have possession of the originals. In order to get him into America (and covered on our insurance) we had to have a copy of his birth certificate and the Giving and Receiving paperwork. The originals would be sent to process his citizenship. This woman was very concerned that all of the t's were crossed and the i's dotted. She also asked how long our process had taken. She stated that some families had waited a year and some only had a 2 week wait. According to her, there was no rhyme or reason to this. She assured us that they were working to make the adoption process run more smoothly for all families. She informed us that she had visited about 25 orphanages in the past and kept close tabs on them. There were a few orphanages that were on her "hit list" because they were passing off a lot of sick children to American families and claiming that they were healthy. She looked Rocco over really well and saw that his muscle tone was great. Dillon International has a great reputation, and she was convinced that there should be no concerns about our little boy. However, she urged us to get his health check done quickly at the hospital and to get our hands on any medical paperwork that our agency has. We will take care of this on Friday.

Today is Tuesday and about 9:30am. In about 1/2 an hour we will take Rocco for his passport photo. On Thursday, his passport should be ready to pick up. By Friday, we take him for his medical exam and head to Hanoi on a flight scheduled for 6pm. YEAH! New scenery!

I just had to post two of my favorite pictures of him. . . even though they don't go along with this blog topic. (No cameras were allowed in the American Consulate building.)

Still Chillin' In Saigon

This is our 4th day in Saigon, also called Ho Chi Minh City, since we officially adopted Rocco. Each day we experience new "firsts" together.

The boy absolutely loves music. As I was singing "Jesus Loves the Little Children" to him today, he melted my heart when he chimed in with me with his sweet little, "Aah, Aah." Jason sang "Jesus Loves Me" to him and he did the same thing. Here in Saigon, the only American music you hear is from the 80's or an earlier decade. It's like they're stuck in the past. Today, Paula Abdul's "Straight Up" video came on the TV. I began to dance for him, and he laughed like it was hilarious. Either I looked ridiculous or he just loves dancing (I prefer to think the latter).

We also brushed his teeth for the first time. He actually liked it; I think it was because it felt good to his teething gums. Of all the toys I've packed for him (and I brought a lot), he prefers to play with hard items that fit in his hand easily and into his mouth. His hair brush, water bottle caps, a CD case, a pen top, and the cover for his bottle are his favorites. All that money on toys! Oh, well. He's our little slobber bug and until he finishes gnawing on these items, he won't be playing with the nice toys we've bought.

Most of my good memories are brought to mind through the senses. A song can take me back in time to a special place or a smell can remind me of a special person. Well, today Rocco took me back to a special childhood memory. I used to have a Strawberry Shortcake doll with red hair. When you squeezed her tummy, she blew you kisses that smelled like strawberries. After I fed Rocco his favorite snack, strawberry yogurt, he smelled just like that doll. Of course I had to eat him up!!

Every moment is new and fresh with our little boy, but I especially love night time. . . right before he goes to bed. He has just had his bath. His skin is so soft and smells like Johnson's purple lavendar lotion. He'll just woller all over us and pat his head on our stomach or legs. He is absolutely beautiful when he falls asleep. Through the night he does the sweetest thing. Laying horizontally, he will touch Jason with his head and put his feet on me. It's like he subconsciously wants to assure himself that we are still there. This means a lot to him because he's not use to having anyone. At the orphanage, he'd sleep on the grass mat on the floor next to other children. I know the nannies were loving toward him, but it's nothing like having a mama and daddy right next to you to cuddle up to. Man has his little life changed, but even more so has ours. Parenthood is in the house!!

Bonding Together

It is Sunday afternoon here in Ho Chi Minh City. The last three days here have been priceless. We just lounge around in the bed and let him roll around on us. He'll climb over us and love on us, too. He gives kisses (with his little bird mouth wide open).

Today, he has been mostly on schedule. Five-thirty am: wake up. Five forty-five: eat cereal. Six: sponge off and get dressed. Seven: to breakfast with mommy and daddy (he eats fruit while we eat. We have to eat one at a time because he is such a squirmy worm). Nine: morning nap. Eleven: get ready to go out on the town so mommy and daddy can eat lunch. One pm: drink another bottle and take a nap. After we do a big event together (like eat cereal), I'll turn to Jason and ask, "So, what does he do next?" To which he responds, "I don't know, where is that schedule paper?" It will be interesting to see what happens once we get to the states and everything is 12 hours opposite. I think the main thing right now is that we meet his needs and give him a lot of touch and affection. He is so loving in return. He'll take his soft hands and pat on me and rub back and forth.

As far as new treats go, he LOVES some strawberry yogurt! I fed it to him and between bites he clapped as if saying, "Yeah!" Yesterday he also experienced bananas for the first time. . . smashed up of course. Gold fish crackers are just his size. He'll reach down, grab them with his little hands, and cram it in his mouth with his palm all open wide. He has not spit up any formula yet, but every now and then he'll spit out gold fish leftovers. Reminds me of the Vols. . . orange and yucky!!

Rocco is a vocal little fella. He'll take his arm and put it up to his mouth and go "Bah, Bah, Bah, Bah." Lately, he started scrunching up his nose and snorting. He also likes to have a mini yelling competition with us. He'll just laugh all over himself. One bad habit he has is pulling himself up to the headboard so he can hit his head on it. For some reason he thinks it is hilarious. We don't let him do this; he gets mad and spits (does raspberries). Instead, we've resorted to having gentle pillow fights. This cracks him up and his little laugh gets me to laughing. He loves it when Jason acts like he is going to get him. He'll bury his head into me. When he is sleepy, he buries his head in my chest and shakes his head "no" back and forth quickly. Oh yeah. . . another thing that he loves to do is smack on his face with his hands. I think he is trying to play Peek-A-Boo. We're tyring to teach him to be more gentle with that. . . he's a rough and tumble kind of guy, I guess.

I've been very pleased with his muscle strength. Rocco can pull himself up, hold onto the bed, and walk along the side. I guess you call this "cruising."

It is so nice being able to bond as a family here with no interruptions or obligations upon us. For now, it's the easy life. Eat, sleep, play. When we return home, it's back to cell phones, busy schedules, paying bills, dealing with the neighbors, etc.

He'll have to adjust to the new smells, sights, and sounds. The other day when our phone rang in the hotel, it took him by surprise. His eyebrows went up, his eyes opened wide, and he let out a high scream like a girl. It only lasted for a second. When the phone rang again, he let out another scream, then he began crying. It was so funny, I had to control my laughter just so I could get the phone. After that, he clung tightly to me for a few minutes. Oh, the things he has to learn. Of all the kids I've taught, I'm looking forward to exploring with this fella more than any other. My little boy!

Giving and Receiving Ceremony

At 8:40 this morning we headed to the orphanage for one last time. When we arrived, we took all of our gifts in. There were 4 men orphanage officials, 3 secretaries, and 5 nannie gifts. Jason and I headed upstairs at the Social Work Center to meet with the director, assistant director, social worker, 2 Dillon interpreters, and Kim-Lan & Don.

The officials asked us questions like, "What is your job?", "Are you in good health?" and the all important question . . . "How much were your plane tickets?" We all laughed at how "cheap" they were. We were also able to ask questions of them. They said that his mother was sad to give him up to the orphanage but that she could not bring the child up due to poverty. She was also a single mother who was of the Kinh ethnic group. Her mental and physical condition seemed to be fine. They said that she lived about 2 km from the orphanage.

When we went downstairs, I was able to meet the male nurse. I'm not sure if it was culturally correct or not, but I gave that man a really big hug. He had helped to take care of my little boy's health for the past year. I thanked him for what he had done.

After meeting for about 40 minutes with the orphanage officials and giving our gifts of appreciation, we walked across the garden area to the orphanage for the last time.

The time spent here was very brief. They handed Rocco to us in his cute little outfit (a light aqua striped Carter's onesies - probably an American donation from a former adoptive parent). He matched me (how cool is that? I didn't even plan that!) After taking a few more photos of the orphanage, we loaded the bus to head to the Local Justice Department in Ninh Thuan.

I sat in the back of the bus and videoed the orphanage for one last time while Jason held Rocco. To see the little faces left in the dust, some probably to never be adopted, put a sadness in my heart. The 4 - 6 year old children gathered in a huddle to wave good-bye to us. (They were my buddies that I made friends with yesterday, and they remembered me. ) This two-story blue building that had been a safe haven for my little boy for the last 10 months of his life was getting smaller and smaller in my camera view as we drove down the dirt road. My heart, filled with much gratitude and emotion, flowed over and I cried for the first time.

The ceremony went really smooth. Thomas, the lawyer that works for Dillon International, asked us for the fee. . . $1,000,000. What?? I thought he was kidding. He wasn't. One million Vietnamese dong. (That's actually only about $60 American dollars.) Talk about a million dollar baby!

Once we signed some papers and gave our statements (to promise to love and care for the child like he was our own, give him every opportunity in life, and tell him about his homeland) we went to the small stage to officially receive our papers. The backdrop was a bright red curtain with an upper body statue of Ho Chi Minh. The Vietnamese flag was also there in the room. There were artificial flower arrangements and a podium. We received our official paperwork. . . and just like that he was ours! I was officially a mommy!

After the G & R ceremony, he was ours to spend the rest of the day with . . . not to mention to rest of our lives. (That part still hasn't really sunk in yet.) Our hotel was located right on the Pacific Ocean. After resting a little, we put Rocco in his swim trunks and headed to the beach. Jason held him the entire time and sat down next to the waves coming in. He was fine until the water touched him and he had to pitch a mini fit. He kept looking down at the water; he kept his denim Old Navy hat on the entire time as he did this. Later, I took him to the pool with Kim-Lan and her newly adopted girl, Maile. Rocco was a rockstar at the pool. He laid his stomach on my legs and patted the water with both arms. When the water would get all in his face, he just laughed. Within a few minutes, his 18 month swim trunks had fallen down to his ankles and all you could see was his swimmy diaper (which went up to his chest). This was one little dude having the time of his life!!

On the bumpy, 7 hour ride back to Ho Chi Minh City that next afternoon, Rocco showed that! Feeling a tad bit queasy, I handed him over to Jason on the bus. He pitched a fit, reached toward me and cried, "Mama! Mama!" As sick as I felt, I could not resist that sweet little voice. I immediately took him into my arms. His sweet soft skin was pressed to mine. . . it doesn't get any better than this!

So Happy Together!

Check out this happy family . . . united after all this time. He was definitely worth the wait!!

Visiting the Orphanage

This morning we woke up in our hotel at the Ninh Thuan province with much anticipation. I had butterflies in my stomach just thinking about meeting our little boy for the first time. This little face I'd viewed from my computer screen for the last 6 months was about to come to life. Last night I was able to view a video that Kim-Lan had. A friend of hers had adopted her little girl from the same orphanage just months earlier and took video footage of the children there. There was a 10 second video clip of Rocco on the floor of the orphanage. He was squealing and flapping his arms around like babies do. It took my breath away and made me cry. Today I would get to hold him and put his soft, sweet face next to mine. I would hear the squealing in person!!

After lunch we boarded our van and took a 20 minute ride to the orphanage. As we pulled into the dirt driveway (3pm Vietnam time), my heartbeat began to race. This was the same place I'd seen pictures of so often on the web. There it was. The two-story blue building. Upstairs was where Rocco and the other small children were. When we passed the gate, I looked up there and saw one little girl looking down at us. It was Maile ("MY Lee'), Kim-Lan's little girl. She was big-eyed and beautiful. No other children could be seen. A worker whisked her away to change her clothes. Her parents were here!

Walking up the stairs was unbelievable. It was like I was in slow motion. . . like "Chariots of Fire" playing in the background. When I got to the top of these stairs, the care takers brought Maile out and gave her to Kim-Lan. I had to wait a few minutes. I believe they were still dressing him. And then. . . there he was. The little face I had prayed so many times for. The little face I had waited on for the last 6 months. . . no make that 7 years! He was beautiful in his little navy shorts and red, blue, and white striped shirt. He had no diaper on underneath. (And yes. . . by the time we left he peed on me. Kim-Lan said that he was just marking his territory. I was HIS mama!)

The nanny handed him to me, and he immediately started crying. I tried to hold him for a few seconds, and he would not have it. I gave him back to the nanny and spoke softly to him, "That's okay. I understand. We are stange to you. That's alright." Within 10 minutes he was letting me hold him and had turned into daddy's little buddy. He let Jason give him a bottle and put his big baseball cap on his head. He adjusted so quickly. I said the one phrase that I had practiced for so long on the bus, "Mommy loves Tuan." I said it in Vietnamese. When I said his name, he turned his head quickly and looked at me and grunted like a monkey. "Oomhh, Oomhh." (I always told my brother that he was going to be a monkey's uncle.) When I got to feed him some of his bottle he was so squirmy. He moved all over the place. He's mama's little monkey. He's so limber,too. His little teeth are so pretty and white. . . four on the top and three on the bottom. He's teething like crazy. One little slobber bug!!

He's so little!! Long, but little. He is 18 pounds. His skin was darker than in the pictures. His almond-shaped eyes certainly showed he was Asian. . . . the most beautiful Asian baby I have ever seen. And all this time, I did not cry. I was too busy taking it all in and concerned about him. I wanted him to feel comfortable and safe with us.

After I held him for a while, I gave him over to Jason. I went downstairs to meet the older children. I played frisbee with the teenage boys and passed out animal crackers to the toddlers. I had them laughing and following me for the longest time. I would say something and one little boy would repeat me. He was too cute!! He thought it was funny. They were all very sweet and adorable.

The orphanage is only one building at this social work area. Next to it is another building for the homeless, mentally ill, and so forth. I went out there with my favorite snack. . . Teddy Grahams. I gave them out like candy. I think some of these people were in their 80's. They were amazing, and I loved their spirit about them. They would take the food and bow in thankfulness. Their smile broke the language barrier. I ran out of snacks quickly and had to go back to my bag for more food. . . suckers, raisins, and tootsie rolls.

I cherished every moment we spent at the orphanage. We get to go back in the morning for about an hour. Then. . . he is ours after the ceremony!

Heading to Ninh Thuan

Our 7 hour bus ride to the Ninh Thuan province was a ride I'll never forget. With each passing hour, I knew we were getting closer and closer to our baby. (If you count the travel times in the cars, planes, and buses, I've been in labor for over 35 hours!) I tried to sleep on the bus, but I couldn't. I was way too excited and plus the bus honked its horn every other minute. . . literally! Riding in that bus with Vietnam traffic caused more of an adrenaline rush than a ride at Six Flags. We covered our eyes a lot and hoped for the best. It was not unusual to see skinny water buffalo near the road, goats crossing the street, scooters whizzing by only inches away, and two buses coming head-on at us. They were blowing their horns, too. The cultural difference between here and America is pretty neat. When an American blows their horn in traffic you usually see a choice finger fly up. But here. . . there's no emotion. It's just natural.

Although most of the rural parts we drove through were poor, there was something very beautiful about the people and landscapes. . . even the poorest village stores. These people live a simple life. They don't know any different. I loved to watch the kids run barefoot on the dirty gravel streets, the old women wear their rice hats, the youth work diligently with a hoe in the field, the men balance very large loads of baskets or rice bags while riding a moped. It seemed like someone had opened a book about Vietnam and placed me right inside the pages. The whole trip was like dream. Just knowing. . . my little boy cames from this simple place.

Most of the time in the bus I spent tring to learn one phrase. . ."Mommy loves Tuan." It sounds like MAAH EWN TWA. Tuan is his Vietnamese name. There were two Vietnamese women translators with us, and they laughed at me and worked with me for quiet a while.

About an hour before we arrived at our hotel in Ninh Thuan, we stopped by the South China Sea to have lunch. There were grass huts and fairly new and really large covered areas to eat. It was a restaurant. While we waited on our food, I ventured out to view the Pacific Ocean and see the people. A group of about 15 women wearing Indian garments gathered around me like pigeons gather to bread. (I later found out these women were from the Cham ethnic group of Vietnam). As they gathered in the shade under a straw hut, they laughed and put their arms around one another. They wanted me to take a picture of them. Then, they wanted to see what it looked like on the screen. I really don't think many of them had ever seen a white American with blonde hair before. .. much less a sophisticated camera. They were amazed by me. . . and I was amazed by them. By the end of lunch, I had made several "friends" including the Vietnamese man who had the guitar. Before I left, I sang them a song, took the guitar from him, and danced for them. They thought it was a party!

The ride to Ninh Thuan could not have been any better. . . well, maybe if Jason hadn't taken Dramamine during the trip. He was knocked out for most of it. I think the bumpy ride was more than his stomach could handle. It was a miracle that I didn't get sick. We had great air condition the entire time and plenty of room for all of us (Kim-Lan and her husband Don, me, Jason, Thomas the lawyer, and the two Vietnamese women to spread out and relax. What a blessing! This is one trip I'll treasure forever.

Ho Chi Minh City

This is our last day here in HCMC before we go to the orphanage. Here, it is very muggy and warm. The streets are just like I envisioned. . . crazy, chaotic scooters zooming by blowing their horns. When you walk across the street you have to keep moving, but in a slow kind of way. I started to run across the street when I chickened out, turned around, and screamed. Two men and a child were on one moped beside me on the curb. They got a kick out of me and let out a little scream like I had done. Many of the people have looked Jason and me over. . . not in a bad way though. He is rather large and tall compared to most around here. One Vietnamese man looked at me, kept smiling, and asked, "You American?" Wonder what gave it away?

The market here is definitely a culture experience to be had. As you walk through you can hardly look at the merchandise for the vendors coming right up to you and asking if you want shoes, shirts, etc. They are very friendly, but it is very different from shopping in the mall at home. Another thing that shocked me was the food section. Piles of dried fish were stacked on the floor. Pig's feet, intestines, shrimp, fish all laid out on the counter or hanging in the air. . . and most of the workers in this meat market were women (with really strong stomachs). One lady was gutting a fish on the ground of the market that was larger than she was. Many of these workers were sitting on the counter with no shoes. They are very hard workers. The stores are right next to one another and are only about 7 foot by 7 foot each. At one store I bought some really pretty, teal sandals for a great price. All of the vendors are more than gracious when dropping their prices.

Tonight we get our orphanage gifts sorted out and get all packed up. Five forty-five comes early in the morning. It doesn't seem real that we'll be meeting our son tomorrow.

We Are In Vietnam!

What a journey! From Colombia, SC, to Dallas, TX (3 hours). From Dallas, TX to Seoul, Korea (14 hours). From Seoul, Korea, to Ho Chi Minh City (5 hours). . . oh yeah, don't forget the 5 hour lay-over in Texas. We made it, and we are less than 24 hours from meeting our beautiful 11 month old son, Rocco.

Currently we are staying at a hotel in Ho Chi Minh City. We arrived here about 11 pm (Vietnam time) last night. There was a great breakfast buffet this morning. All of us ate it here in the hotel (Kim-Lan and Don, Carla and Mike, Rachel, Tim, & Ava, and four Vietnamese Dillon agency workers). Jason actually found some food he liked. . . contrary to the Korean flights we were on for so long. The breakfast bar had homemade omelets, pancakes, and bacon. The fruit was great. We were starved by this morning. Last night I kept laughing at Jason as he was making a bowl of Kraft mac & cheese by boiling water in a pot. We came prepared. . . there's a whole suitcase of food and snacks that we brought.

Tomorrow at 5:45 am we gather to board a bus and head for the province that Rocco is in. Kim-Lan and her husband will be going with us. They are getting 2 year old Maile. The great thing about going to Ninh Thuan is that a BEAUTIFUL beach awaits us. It's a shame that we'll only be there for 2 nights.

Gotta go. Kim-Lan and I are on our way to get a pedicure ($5. . . can you believe it?)

Last Post Before We Leave

Alright. So we're all packed and ready to go. Passports, Visas, money, paperwork, credit card, identification, plane tickets, medicines, . . . I really hope I'm not forgetting anything important. I've gone from butterflies in my stomach to feeling light headed. . . probably from lack of sleep and too much excitement/anticipation. This is the beginning of a life changing trip. Everything has led up to this. This is really happening. I can't sleep. Just to think that Rachel and her family are in the skies right now headed to Vietnam. Kim-Lan, Carla, and my family will be traveling most of the way together. Can't wait to finally meet these 3 ladies that I've been e-mailing for the last few months. We will all experience the miracle of adoption together.

Getting Ready for Travel

Today is our last day to prepare for this life changing trip. Our friends from church are taking us to the airport at 3am. That's less than 12 hours from now. This morning I had a spell of panic. I could not find one of our essential adoption forms, the I-171H. After turning the house upside down to look for it, Jason and I finally found out that the state of Georgia calls the form something different. I had it all along. Whew!

I'm still in the process of packing. Rocco is packed, and all of the orphanage gifts/donations are ready to go. It's just a matter of putting my clothes in the suitcase.

We learned that we were traveling four weeks ago. I've had that much time to heal from surgery and prepare for this trip. Every day I have checked something off on my list. If it hasn't been done, it's a little late now to even think about worrying over it. I've done my best to prepare for being out of the country for 3 weeks. That old song keeps playing in my mind, "I'm leaving on a jet plane." The difference is that I know when I'll be back again. . . March 29th. Just in time for Rocco's birthday. God is good!

Our Beautiful Gift

What a beautiful gift waiting for us in Vietnam. He looks so serious here. It's as if he's saying, "When is mama coming?" Very soon, son. Very soon.

See ya on Tuesday,

Love, mama

Our Church Shower

Our church gave us a really nice shower on Sunday, March 4th. We were overwhelmed by how many people turned out and their show of generosity. Jason and I opened the presents together. Some of the items we received were Rocco's high chair, car seat, clothes, bath items, educational toys, and gift cards. When it was over, my entire SUV was filled to the brim. I could not see out the rear view mirror. The back seat and passenger seat were filled, not to mention Jason's car, too. Rocco certainly will not lack for anything. We have such a strong support system, and that means a lot!

Where is Rocco's Room?

This is what Rocco's room looked like after our hometown shower. By the time we had our church shower, Jason had to give up his hunting room. I cannot explain in words how excited I am about getting his room ready for him. Thanks to Ms. Brenda, Carlene, Rebekah, Susan, Matthew, and Jennifer (friends from church), Rocco's room is now neatly organized. Jason can almost have his room back. In most of the rooms of my house you can see evidence that we are about to be parents to a little boy. High chair and sippy cups in the kitchen, beach toys on the back porch, electric outlets covered in every room, rubber ducks and boats in the bathroom, and Baby Einsteen DVD's in the living room . . . I think our house is just about ready.

Hometown Baby Shower

Jason and I returned to our hometown on Saturday, March 3rd, and had a baby shower. It was so good to see our friends and family. So many people came out and showered us with many presents, gift cards, and money. All of it will certainly be put to good use. We took a truck load back home with us. His nursery looked like it was Christmas morning. Now I just have to figure out how to organize all of this stuff!

Resting peacefully

My little boy is resting so peacefully. He has no idea that his world is about to change. From sleeping on the hard floor on a simple grass mat to sleeping on a comfortable mattress with soft bedding that matches his room decor. From not having a piece of clothing that belongs to him to having a closet filled with a new wardrobe. From not having a home to having a forever family. While he is so blessed, we are may more blessed to call him our son. Rocco, we'll be there to get you very soon!