We're Home!

Here is a picture of Henry as he first came into California! Still smiling and very messy! (we were all very messy at that point)



Big thanks to Ellen and Stephanie for picking us up at the airport. Our flights were all on time, and Henry is a very good traveler. He slept for approximately 12 of the 15 hours we traveled. Customs was a piece of cake. We were there for less than 30 minutes. When we came into our house we were greeted by signs from Amber, Stephanie, Ellen and some of our Chadwick friends

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We all got to bed at 1 AM and slept for an hour before Henry wanted to get up and play. Playtime lasted until about 5 AM. We managed a few hours of sleep after that and are hoping tonight goes a bit smoother. I'm actually dozing while I write this...
I did manage a shot of Henry this morning when he woke up.


We're off to Wisconsin for Christmas tomorrow afternoon. Happy Holidays everyone and God Bless!

Goodbye Vietnam

We are packing our bags and are headed to the airport shortly. We will arrive in LA approx. 8:15 Tuesday night (Dec 23). We figure we'll actually be at our house close to 11 PM after going through customs.
We love Hanoi but are very ready to come home.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

We have the Visa

Our final interview took place this afternoon at the US Embassy. It literally took ONE minute! We had heard that we needed paperwork and to be ready to answer some specific questions, but instead all Mark had to do was give his passport to the officer, wait to be called to the window, then he signed a few documents, they looked at my passport and said we're cleared. Martin and Kenny brought over the final papers a few hours later. We are free to go home.

To celebrate, we and the other 3 families went to dinner in the hotel after spending some time shooting photos in the lobby.

Henry and Kevin. I wonder what they are saying to each other


I didn't get to spend too much time talking at dinner due to Henry's energy. I know I posted a few days ago that Henry only wants to be held, but now, all he wants to do is run, run, run! He runs with his hands above his head to catch himself when he falls. He has yet to cry over a fall...tough kid!

Henry's buddies


We think the grieving is coming to an end. He is trying very hard to have his way a lot of the time. Last night we put him to bed, and he cried for about 40 minutes. Then he slept a good seven hours, which was great. Tonight, he only cried five minutes. Perhaps he's getting the message. We'll see. Tomorrow night we leave Hanoi.

could he be any cuter?

planning the next play on the court

you can almost hear him laugh

Henry's first day on the town

As I write this, Henry and Mark are crashed in our bed. Last night was a rough one...poor guy! He started crying about midnight and didn't want to sleep again until close to 2. I sat in the living room with the TV on watching and listening to what I think is a version of Vietnamese Idol. Henry loves to watch and listen to Vietnamese music and talking. I completely understand why. It's all he's heard during the first year of his life. We bought a few cd/dvds of Vietnamese kids singing and playing to play for him for when we get back to the US.

We took Henry out for the day yesterday. I had a fitting for my silk dress, and Mark was fitted for a new suit. The fabrics here are beautiful and incredibly inexpensive.

G and R day

He's actually asleep...I can't believe it!

We did get our Visa appointment on Monday but are still planning on leaving here Tuesday night because there are no flights Monday night out of Hanoi. It's actually probably a good thing because we would have been very rushed getting out of here on time. The less stress the better.

Thanks, everyone, for your wonderful comments and emails. It's fun sharing this experience with you!

The G & R was an experience we will never forget. We were picked up from our hotel (along with the 4 other families) at 5:30 AM. We got to the orphanage at 8:30 and were taken into a room. Here is a shot of part of the orphanage.


One by one the nanny's brought out each baby. We were there about 20 minutes, had a chance to meet Henry and ask questions about his care. Kenny and Martin, who live here and work for our agency, translated for us. We learned that Henry has not been sick and that he likes to be held. Boy, does he like to be held! He has a good appetite and weighs just under 20 pounds.

There is a waitress, Tham, who works at our hotel who brings him congee every morning. She makes it herself, and he sure loves it and her!!



After we met Henry, we drove to the provincial center for the Giving and Receiving Ceremony. The birth families were there, and we all sat together in a room. We knew who Henry's birth mother was because we saw her briefly when we met him. We were brought into an office and answered some questions. Then we went back to the room and had a chance to talk with Henry's birth mom. Her aunt and sister were there, too. Then the babies arrived and the tears flowed.

The Giving and Receiving happened after that. Lots of papers were signed, and Henry was officially handed to us.




Again, more tears. Saying good-bye to Henry's birth mom was very hard.

The past few days we've been bonding. He cries when we don't hold him. He's started to get better but for only small chunks of time. We're working on it.

Here are a few quick facts about our sweet guy:
he has 7 teeth,
has an infectious laugh,
smiles at almost everyone,
loves his toys,
is happy to be held by anyone,
does not like apple juice at all,
has a temper,
gives big hugs

He's the best!!!

Hangin' out

I have been trying to write for awhile, but Henry is keeping me very occupied. He does not like to be alone at all. He is usually content sitting on one of our laps or being held as we walk around the room or hallway. He LOVES people, especially kids. He always has something in his hands and watches every move we make. You can see his wheels turning as he tries to figure out how everything works. He sleeps at night but wakes every few hours. We just pick him up and hold him for about a minute, and he falls back to sleep. He's only been napping about one time a day for no more than an hour. He loves riding in the stroller and walking...yes, he is already walking. He passed his medical exam this morning with flying colors. We'll find out later today when we have our interview with the embassy. It will be either Monday or Tuesday...we plan to fly home the same day if possible. Apparently, interviews only occur in the afternoon.
We are very tired, but are having a blast! I'm trying to post a few more pictures but can't at the moment. I'll try tonight.

Introducing Henry

Henry with his caretaker.
She brought him out in this regal outfit. I think we have a little prince on our hands!


Happy Birthday, Henry! We celebrated with birthday congee instead of cake.


Henry with his very proud dad


We'll post more soon...it's just been a bit busy around here!

today's the day

I've been waking up every half hour since about 1 AM so at 4, I figured I may as well just get up. We leave at 5:30. It's hard to believe that we'll be holding Henry in less than five hours. This is SO exciting!

Just found out that the G & R is on Wednesday!

Monday

We slept in today, and it felt wonderful. I think we have finally adjusted to the time change. We ventured out to the Hanoi Hilton, which is right next to our hotel, and walked through the prison museum. I just cannot imagine...

Then we headed into town to do some shopping. We did a little bartering, but to tell you the truth, we really don't mind paying a little more. A lot of the people that are selling the goods are so poor. When it comes to street shopping, where do you draw the line between getting a good deal and helping others.

Here are some scenes from today:








We're still waiting to hear when we get to meet Henry!

Ha Long Bay

The folktale says that the dragons came down from heaven to help the locals by spitting jewels and jade to the sea, forming a natural fortress against invaders.

We jumped on a tour bus at 8 AM with the other families in our group and headed to Ha Long Bay, a three hour ride from Hanoi. Driving around here is completely nuts! Seriously, we are only alive because of the grace of God. The way it works is that anyone is free to pass another car anytime (see below), even if there is a truck or another bus coming straight at you.


All the driver does is honk the horn, speed up and jump quickly back into his lane within inches of hitting the oncoming vehicle. Unbelievable. This was especially heart stopping on the ride home in the dark... I just couldn't look. To add to the fun of that ride, we were completely squished in a small bus...none of us could move our legs for the entire ride. It was surely an adventure.

We did make a rest stop on the way up to the bay. Here are a few of the scenes we saw as we were waiting to get back on the bus.



We've seen families of four on a bike like this. Apparently, out of the six million people living in Hanoi, three million have scooters.



Ha Long Bay is simply beautiful. We hopped on our boat with tour guide, Jack Sparrow. We cruised around the bay, stopped for lunch at the local floating fishing market, visited a few caves, then headed back to the dock. There is a floating village in the bay with an elementary school.


This is my favorite photo of the day:





After we checked out the caves, this is how we got back on the boat. When we were backing out, we simply ran into the boats in our way, bumping into them until we had enough space to turn around.


Here is our crew:

Until tomorrow...