Healing Nicely

Doesn't her face look great? I am so glad, I was afraid that it would scar her pretty face. And she has also quit running out the door ahead of me, I hate that it took a nasty fall but at least one positive thing came out of the incident.

Today has been a very frustrating day for me. The saga started last week when I found out that I could get initial licensure to teach through the masters program. I thought I needed to do the undergraduate work, but I could get my masters without doing any undergrad work. So I decided to enter the graduate program. It wouldn't even take any longer for me to get my masters than it would to get the undergrad degree in education. It is very sad that no advisor or professor shared the information with me about this option.

Since I just made this decision last week I have not had the graduate exam needed to enter the program. I was told that I could however take a couple of classes. I have been waiting all week for them to process my application so I could register. I went to see them face to face today. As it turns out I need a 3.0 GPA to take classes without passing the GRE first. I have a 2.96 and they were unwavering. I sincerely wanted to punch this lady in the face. I mean come on! So that means I can't take classes this semester.

The awful part is I feel like I will be wasting time until June. I was in school full time, I have no job. What do I do? My plan is to substitute teach and in the summer I can take grad classes full time. What else can I do? Today was my sad day. Tomorrow will be better and summer semester will be here before I know it.

Injured

This happened yesterday around lunch. It looks much, much better today. Grace took a nose dive down our front steps and landed face first on the brick. I was holding her hand at the top and she pulled away and went tumbling down. All I could do was watch and that felt like the longest moment. She landed on her face and I was terrified to turn her over. I felt certain that she had some terrible injuries. I couldn't believe that she only had a very, very nasty scrape. She did look pretty rough in just a few minutes. Her lip swelled about 4 times it's normal size. It was so awkward for her to talk. Fortunately everything is fine except for a very nasty scrape that I am sure hurts a lot. I am giving her tylenol when she complains and I am keeping it moist with ointment. I am so thankful that she only has a bad scrape. It could have been so much worse. And banged up face and all, isn't that the sweetest smile?

Vietnam 2006 - Hanoi to Home

The next day we checked out of the hotel. As we were waiting for our taxi to the airport I realized that I had left my cash in the safe. Fortunately I got the room key and retrieved my cash without a problem. Hanoi to Taipei was uneventful. I was hoping we wouldn't hear "baby cold" in a new country. We heard that the entire time we were in Vietnam. They thought Grace needed a coat and hat because it was only 80 degrees. The airport in Taipei is huge. Even though we had an adequate layover, the long lines took forever. We had to run through the airport to make our flight. We had cameras, carryons, paintings, diaper bag, etc. and we last saw our stroller in Hanoi. We were a sight running with all this stuff and Grace. We literally thought we would die. Where are the people who drive the golf cart through the airport when you need them?

We made our flight and Grace was awesome the entire flight from Taipei to LA. However there was this one passenger on the flight who was unbearable. He was so rude to the flight attendants telling them they should speak better English and demanding to see the pilot. Everything out of his mouth was rude and he was loud. He complained about the food and anything on the flight you can imagine. And we were in business class so everything was wonderfu. He was like this the entire flight. Terri cannot block things out like I can and she looked like she was about to explode. I kept expecting her to jump over the seat and choke him. Thankfully she had gone to the bathroom when we were waiting to get off the plane. The man looked at me and said "there is something wrong with that baby, her eyes are all funny. You need to take her to St Jude because there is something wrong with her." He kept saying this over and over again. Terri would have clocked him if she had of heard this. When she was a baby it was very noticeable, but Grace has a pseudostrabismus. That is when eyes appear crossed because of the flatness of her nose. It goes away as she grows.

Immigration was a breeze, it just took a few minutes. Then we headed to McDonalds. We had to go from the international terminal to the regular terminal. We had two carts full of luggage. We were very inventive and unzipped Terri's large duffel, laid it in front of me in the little basket on the cart and lined it with blankets. I pushed and held onto her. It was like her own little cradle for the long walk between terminals. She never complained.

Again Grace was good from LA to Chicago. She was kind of restless from Chicago to Nashville. But she was still pretty good. Eddie George was sitting in front of us. The flight attendant was adopted from China as a baby and it was nice talking to her. We arrived in Nashville and were greeted by my dear friend Susan, my dad and Terri's husband. We were finally home.

I was glad to see my family, but it was so special having Susan there to meet us. I guess this is because she could understand my emotions and we had been waiting together for our girls. I had Gracie and I had held Petunia while I was in Vietnam. It is like we shared the crappy days and now we were sharing the joy. When we got home everyone was there and we were so glad to be home. There were signs and pink balloons all over the place. I immediately abandoned Grace to take a shower. She had plenty of attention. Our long journey had come to an end and our new life was beginning.

Vietnam 2006 - On to Hanoi

It was very bittersweet checking out of the Royal Duxton. I loved, loved Saigon and was sad to leave. However Hanoi was our last step before going home and I was ready to take Gracie home. We had a very eventful ride to the airport. Traffic is always crazy and I was always expecting a wreck. The right of way belongs to the person who is most aggressive. On the ride to the airport a young woman on a motorbike wiped out and landed on the curb. The van carrying the other half of our group was directly behind her and slammed on their brakes in an effort to avoid hitting her. In a chain reaction our van rear ended the van with the rest of our group. The young woman hit her ribs on curb and was obviously in pain. We were all ok and we waited on a new van for the rest of our group. Once it arrived and they switched vans we made our way to the airport.

Grace did not sleep on this flight. She was a very good girl and did not fuss. We arrived in Hanoi after a short flight and made our way to our hotel. When we arrived we found out that they did not have cribs for us because they had several adopting families staying in the hotel and they were using the cribs. Quoc contacted the hotel and they went out the next day and purchased cribs. Quoc was fantastic. The other families adopting were from all over. We met another group from the US. They were using an agency I was unfamiliar with and were having lots of problems. Their babies were sick, very sick. And they were also very young. I am not quite sure how they got babies so young. Their agency had told them nothing. The didn't know they needed a physical before the interview, etc. I felt really bad for them. It made me feel better and better about my agency who had made this experience so easy.

Unlike in Saigon, our hotel's location left something to be desired. We were staying in the plumbing district so we didn't have the freedom of wandering about, we had to plan our outings. The weather in Hanoi was fantastic. It was funny because everyone was bundled up and we were enjoying the 70 degree weather. It was like spring here in the south. Our second interview went off without a hitch and we hoped to get the visas the next day and head home early. However the travel agent didn't give alot of hope for coming home the day we got the visa. We'd have to wait until the next day.

One outing we planned was to see the water puppet show. I had the tickets for Justin, Kelly, Lucy and myself. I was going to meet them outside the theatre. Terri didn't want to go so she was going to stay at the hotel with Grace. When I got ready to leave I had their tickets but could not find mine. It was one of those crazy things. You lay something down and it is right there in front of you somewhere but you can't find it. I headed out to take them their tickets. When I arrived they said that Terri and Grace were on the way with my ticket. Strange thing is, when Terri arrived I was kind of over going to the show. So I skipped the show and Terri and I did our thing - shopped. That was the most beautiful area and I wish I had spent more time there. The lake was directly across from the puppet theatre and it was just beautiful.

The visas were ready the next day and we were ready to go home! We had all our stuff packed just in case he could get us out that day. However it looked like we would be spending one more night in Hanoi. Justin and Lucy came up to our room that night to get some sinus medication. They were flying out that night. I was glad for them, but it was sad separating Grace and Lucy. We had joked all along that they kept looking at each other like "you're still here so I'm ok." The next day we were heading home too.

Vietnam 2006 - Finally in Saigon

New Years Day 2007 Grace took her first ride on an airplane. We were scheduled to leave at 6pm but our flight was delayed for a while. Grace slept through the entire flight and awoke on the drive from the airport to the hotel. Saigon's celebration of Christmas was all glitz and glamour. Lights everywhere. She was amazed.

The hotel was fantastic. It was located in the middle of lots of shopping and we could get out and walk around. It was great after being stuck inside while in Danang. We loved putting Grace in the stroller and getting out. One thing that was noticeably different about Vietnam was the lack of accommodations for handicap people. You take it for granted here in the US, there is always an elevator. At the Royal Duxton you enter the hotel via beautiful staircases in the front. There was always someone who would carry Grace up the stairs in her stroller. The Vietnamese are just really nice people.

The shopping was my favorite thing about Saigon. I did most of my shopping there and came home with some great things. I got Grace gifts for each year. When you are wandering the streets there are a couple of things you must master. Motor bike drivers anticipate your moves when you are crossing the street so DO NOT hesitate. If you do you will be mowed down by a motor bike. Step out with confidence. The other thing was that Terri and I had to work together as a team to maneuver the stroller along Saigon's awful sidewalks.

The business part of our stay in Saigon went well. We had our first interview and the lady was very, very nice despite things I had heard about her from others. The babies had their passport photos taken and Grace was such a big girl. At the hospital. We sat and waited on this waiting room that was actually an open air porch. Grace did so well through it all. When we saw the dr. I really was shocked that she only weighed 18 lbs. She has always felt much heavier than she really is. I asked the dr. about her ears, she had been pulling on them. He looked into her ears with his little flashlight (real sophisticated medical equipment) and said that it was "itchy ear wax." Grace has a habit of pulling on her ear when she is sleepy. My mother always says I hope it's not another ear infection. Terri and I both tell her "no it's just itchy ear wax."

There was a coffee shop just down from the hotel. It was a favorite stop during our excursions. One day we were having coffee and there was a table of 3 or 4 Vietnamese businessmen next to us. One of them came over and asked me if he could hold Grace. He said she was a beautiful girl. He took her, kissed her on the cheek, told her she was a pretty girl and handed her back to me. I was very shocked, but Vietnamese people tend to always love children.

There is another thing that happened in Saigon that just makes me laugh every time I think about it. It is probably one of those things that you had to be there for, but it was hilarious. Kelly, Terri and I were in the lobby with the babies and were about to take the elevator up. Kelly was wearing Lucy in a sling and was walking in front of us. We were casually walking and talking and as we approached the empty elevator the doors began to close. Without missing a beat in the conversation, Kelly kicks her leg out in front of her to trigger the sensor and open the elevator door. What a woman - she can take care of her baby, engage in conversation and open an elevator door all at the same time! That me laugh every time I think of it.

I had some good experiences with food in Saigon. In retrospect I wish I had been more adventurous, but I was so thankful for the familiar food we found there. The breakfast buffet had waffles and crisp bacon. I had a fantastic filet mignon with baked potato and salad at Amigo's. I had real Texas beef in Vietnam at a place that sounds like a Mexican restaurant. This is probably kind of gross, but I changed Grace's poop diaper at the table in Amigo's. It was late afternoon and we were in a room all to ourselves. This is where the stroller came in handy. I just laid her back, changed it quickly and bagged it. I don't remember seeing many diaper changing stations, so your work with what you got. Probably too much information but this about helping me remember the little details.

Amigo's was next to the hotel and across the street was a great Italian restaurant that we really enjoyed. One bad food type experience was the tiny, tiny coffee cups at the hotel. I am a coffee person and when I would go down for breakfast I would get a couple of good gulps from those cups. So when we went for our interview I bought a coffee mug from the USA and I would take it down to breakfast with me. The staff was very gracious about my giant cup. One thing I never understood about Vietnam my inability to get a cup of coffee to go. That is probably because the American way of life is all about being on the run. Others seem to enjoy life more than we do.

Like I said, shopping was what I did in Saigon. We wandered the streets everyday just looking around. I bought so many great things and bought two pieces of luggage for my goodies. I bought silks, rosewood carvings, beautiful embroidered pieces, and lots of other stuff. Grace was so good. In the beginning she got a little overstimulated. All the sights and sounds made her really fight going to bed at night, she wanted to see more! After I began partially draping a blanket over her stroller when we went out, she settled down. It also helped us avoid being stopped constantly by people wanting to look at her. It is very sweet how she was loved on, but sometimes it made it hard to get anywhere.

Saigon was such an awesome city that I was sad to leave. But the flight to Hanoi would bring us one step closer to home.

Vietnam 2006 - The G&R

*This is a record of my trip to Vietnam two years ago. Because of internet problems I didn't blog much and I am trying to record all the little things I don't want to forget.

December 28, 2006 was the day that life changed forever. Grace and I officially became a family. I woke up that morning with a fever and feeling awful so I started my antibiotics. I really can't tell you what went on that morning or what happened before we went to the courthouse in Tam Ky. I don't even remember what time of the day the G&R was held. At some point we bought strollers, water, formula, etc but I am really not sure when. Maybe Kelly or Terri can help me out with that one.

I do remember that it was a long drive to Tam Ky. However it was far less bumpy. As much as it would have been nice to see her orphanage, I was very glad we didn't have to go through that awful drive with the babies. The orphanage director and the nannies were bringing the babies to the courthouse. I was a bit disappointed that I had this adorable dress to dress her in for the G&R, but I was glad to have her clothing from the orphanage. It is a part of her past really is special to me and I hope it will be to her too.

When we walked in the front door the orphanage director was there holding Grace and he immediately handed her to me. We went into a conference room for the ceremony. While we were waiting for things to get started the nannies would come and get the babies and take them to feed or change them. I think they were just having such a hard time giving up the children they had been caring for. As the ceremony was beginning I looked around and Nanny V was still gone with Grace. Luckily she appeared soon. After the quick formalities we went and got something to drink. We had just ordered and they told us it was time to go and apply for passports. The fathers went and the mothers stayed behind with the babies. Since Deborah and I are single mothers we went too. It was so hard leaving Grace right after the ceremony. I know that she was in the best care with Terri but it felt sad. As best I can recall, when we returned we loaded and headed back to Sandy Beach. Grace was such an angel on the way back, I don't think she ever wimpered. She talked alot and she really liked a set of toy keys I brought with me. All babies seem to like those plastic keys on a ring.

When we got to the room I stripped her down to her diaper and was running water to give Grace a bath when the phone rang. It was Quoc telling me I need to get a certain form and come to the lobby. Terri took Grace and proceeded with the bath as I set about finding the right paperwork. Then I hear Terri scream from the bathroom. She is frantic, telling me to look what someone has done to this baby. Her butt was black and blue. I got caught up in Terri's frenzy and I completely forgot about mongolian spots even though I should have known exactly what it was. I call Kelly to find out if Lucy has anything like this. Justin answered and very sweetly reminded me about mongolian spots. I know he was probably thinking I was such an idiot. So I then went down to do paperwork. When I returned to the room Grace was clean, dressed and sleeping. That night I was still so sick and had fever. I was not putting her in that awful, metal crib and I didn't want her to sleep with me and get sick. So she slept with Terri. That day was the most important day of my life, but in many ways I felt like I was missing out on so much! I told Terri that Grace would probably think she was her mother.

The next day the fever was gone and I was a different person. I think maybe that was the day we went into Hoi An with Justin and Kelly. All the days at Sandy Beach sort of run together. The one thing that sticks in my mind was our visit to an area where they could make custom clothing. We were looking through books and the ladies were holding the babies. The Vietnamese love children and often want to hold your baby while you are eating, shopping, etc. This didn't bother me because I was right there, but then this woman walked off with Grace and was showing her to people in other booths. This was an extremely crowded area and since I am short I quickly lost my visual on Grace and began to really, really freak. Justin said he could still see her and watched her until the lady brought her back.

Grace amazed me, she was such a good little girl and very easy going. She liked tooking at lights and the ceiling fans. I was glad I had bought the stroller that laid back because she was still on orphanage schedule. She would take the little catnaps all day. It really helped to be able to lay her back. Like I said, days at Sandy Beach all ran together. We couldn't really leave the hotel because the weather was so bad. We literally stayed in our rooms and walked around the hotel. Our days were broken up only by the breakfast buffet and eating late in the afternoon. It was funny because we would constantly run into each other on our walks through the hallways. The second floor had a Christmas tree with a couple of couches around it and that was a popular spot. There was one really funny thing that kept happening. There was a console between the beds that controlled tv, lights, etc. I always hit the wrong button when turning the tv on and put it in sleep mode. We never figured out how to fix that. We just kept "rebooting" the room. The lights, electrical stuff, etc. only worked when your key was put into a slot by the door. When I messed up the tv I would remove the key and reinsert it to get the tv to work. Even though I was ready to leave, I really liked all the staff at Sandy Beach. They were incredibly nice. There was one waiter who I don't think ever left. No matter what time of the day it was, this guy was at work. And he was always so nice and pleasant. He had a great smile.

Our agency bought us tickets to a New Year's Eve celebration at the hotel. I think we were all so tired of that place we didn't care, we just wanted to leave. Terri and Grace were fast asleep early in the evening. I think Justin must have been too because Kelly, Lucy and I decided to go down and check things out. While we were waiting for things to start, Kelly and I had the nicest conversation with two sisters from Australia. One actually lived in Vietnam and ran a school for Vietnamese children. Her sister was there for a visit. They were very taken with baby Lucy and interested in our adoptions. And in an interesting twist, the told us they had one grandmother named Lucy and the other named Grace. We went inside for about two minutes and determined that it was not for us. There were several buffet lines, but most of the seafood still had faces and that just isn't for me. I grabbed a plateful of Vietnamese spring rolls and headed to the room. Terri awoke and we shared spring rolls and ushered in the New Year. Then it was off to sleep. The next day we were FINALLY leaving Danang. We couldn't wait to get to Saigon.

Vietnam 2006 - Meeting Gracie

*This is a record of my trip to Vietnam two years ago. Because of internet problems I didn't blog much and I am trying to record all the little things I don't want to forget.

After killing time in Hoi An, we loaded up in the van to head to Que Son. This was the bumpiest road I have ever been on in my entire life. I took a little video of the rice paddies and scenery but it makes you a little car sick to watch it. Not only was the road bumpy, but we were traveling at a relatively high rate of speed for the road condition. We had what felt like some close calls with other vehicles, but the Vietnamese are fearless when it comes to transportation. At one point there was a truck that had run off of the bridge and was half on the bridge and half in the ditch. You just had to close your eyes and pray.

Finally we pull up outside the orphanage. We get out of the van and Terri and Kelly both begin yelling "there's Grace!" Where? It was one of those times where seconds felt like hours. It seemed like it took forever for me to find her. She was on the porch with her nanny. I instantly gave Terri my camera and ran toward Grace. The woman I had seen holding Grace in all the pictures was the one holding her there on the porch. We would soon give her the nickname "Nanny V(for Vietnam)" because we kept getting confused when referring to her in conversation as my mother is called Nanny by all the grandchildren.

She walked inside with Grace before I made it to the porch. I don't remember if she handed her to me as soon as I walked in or if they waited until we all got into the room. I do remember holding her for the first time, it was really weird. Was I truly holding this little thing I had waited for for so long? She didn't cry when I took her, she just gave me her serious look. She is still this way with strangers. I had brought a small toy with me and it turned out that she was more interested in playing with my hair than with the toy. By this time I am sobbing. Yes because of my love for her, but mostly because these nannies are crying so hard and visibly in pain. I soon found out that this orphanage was brand new and Grace was the first baby in the orphanage. Two weeks later Lucy arrived and soon after that Khai. There were only seven babies in the orphanage total (two of those were newborns). We were taking away the babies they had been caring for for months. They loved them so much and we just hugged the ladies and cried with them. That is a really special memory for me, we all loved Grace so much. That was the common bond we shared.

Grace slept in a metal cradle with metal slats that were covered by a thin bamboo mat. There were dishpans underneath each bed because the babies usually wore no diapers. It was a very small room and it was sparsely furnished. There was a line of five cradles from the window to the door, two twin beds for the nannies and a glass front cabinet with formula and miscellaneous items. One of those items was the famous pink blanket that Grace and the other babies were laying on in all their pictures. I took a picture of it folded in the cabinet. Grace's cradle was beside the window, she did have seniority after all. I remember looking out that window at the dirt road and occasional motor bike, thinking what her life there would have been like. The window was on her left and Lucy was on her right. The back of Grace's head is flat on the right side. I can only guess that she was spent her time looking toward the other babies and that is why it is flat on one side and not the back.

I got to feed Grace a bottle while I was there and I was so surprised when they handed it to me because it was scalding hot. She took the bottle without hesitation. Then the Nanny V immediately took her from me and placed her in her cradle covering her with a wool blanket that was folded over so it was double thickness. She then began to swing her high, I mean very high. I thought she was going to go flying through the room. She immediately went to sleep. It was funny because she and the other babies were sleeping with their arms above their heads, like "I surrender." Grace slept this way forever and still does occasionally. They napped for a very short time and woke up. It seemed that their routine consisted of 2 oz. hot bottle, swing high, short nap, repeat.

It was so hot in that orphanage I could not believe that they were covering them with those heavy blankets. They also had heaters running, aimed directly at the two newborns. The babies all had on undershirts and sweaters. Poor Grace was sweating so much her undershirt was wet. I told Terri and Kelly to feel of her shirt and as we were talking about it they came over and removed her sweater. I guess they could tell what we were talking about.

By the time we left I was so hot and thirsty. We loaded up in the vans and headed back to Sandy Beach. All the way back I thought I was going to die I was so thirsty. I kept watching what we were passing and shockingly there were no convenience stores! When finally made it back to the hotel. It was now late afternoon and we headed directly for the restaurant. I most likely had my usual lasagna (I ate it almost every meal at Sandy Beach) and we each ordered a bottle of water. This very sweet gentleman who always seemed to be at work was waiting on us and told us that one water would be enough for both of us. We got one and almost immediately drank it all. After that Terri and I walked down to the beach and I took a couple of photos. Little did we know that would be the only time we visited the beach. Bad weather was coming.

That was the day I met my daughter. The next day we would travel to Tam Ky for the G&R.

Vietnam 2006 - continued

*This is a record of my trip to Vietnam two years ago. Because of internet problems I didn't blog much and I am trying to record all the little things I don't want to forget.

When I awoke on December 27, 2006, I knew that it was the most important day of my life. I was meeting Grace that day. I was so grateful that we were leaving at 8am because there was no way I handle waiting until later in the day. The other two couples and I were adopting from the Que Son orphanage and Deborah was adopting a baby girl from the Hoi An orphanage. We went to Hoi An first and got to be with Deborah when she met her sweet little Lily. Lily was the only baby in the orphanage, all the others were older children. We went to the conference room and they brought in Lily. That was so amazing seeing Deborah meet her daughter. GT then came in and told us there was a scheduling problem and we could not go to the orphanage in Que Son until 1pm. It was so disappointing. So we wandered around Hoi An for a while.

Two things stick out in my mind about this time. First - there was a very, very young woman who I am certain was trying get Justin to buy her baby. She walked up to him to show him her baby. The baby had on a ball cap and she kept adjusting it and saying "cute baby." You heart just had to break for this young girl.

The second thing is when my sister got chased through the market by hourds of Vietnamese women! This was so hilarious I am laughing as I type. Terri was being a good southern lady and acknowledging each lady that tried to sell her something. The problem was that only encouraged them to seek her out as a potential customer. Justin, Kelly and I had to stop because she was so far behind us. I kept telling her to look forward and do not engage in conversation. She said she didn't want to be rude. She heard things like you so pretty, you my best friend, and I love you. And there was a pregnant lady that asked Terri to help her baby. We bought some lovely silk postcards from her and I have them in Grace's trunk of stuff from Vietnam. Before we knew it the time had come to go meet the babies...

My Thoughts on Vietnam 2006

*This is a record of my trip to Vietnam two years ago. Because of internet problems I didn't blog much and I am trying to record all the little things I don't want to forget.

On December 24, 2006, my sister Terri and I left for Vietnam to bring Grace home. Five airports later we arrived in Saigon on December 26. We didn't know what to expect when we got off the plane. Would someone meet us at the gate? The answer was no. Unsure what to do we followed the herd of travelers and got in the long lines. We had our passports and visas ready for inspection.

Our visas were not stamped in our passports, they were pieces of paper that you just stuck in your passport. When I got the visas in the mail mine was fine but there was a letter stapled to Terri's. It said that when issuing it they made a mistake in her name. The letter showed the correction and was stamped all official like. Why they didn't just issue a new one I do not know. Paper shortage maybe. When we came to the front of our respective lines I zipped right through. Terri did not. They took her from one official to another. I began to get concerned, afraid that she was going to be thrown into a Vietnamese prison in a case of mistaken identity.

This room was packed with people and I strained to keep Terri in my sight. Another problem is that I am 5'2" but at least Terri is 5'10." Well they finally let her through and we got our luggage and headed outside. When you walk out the door there is this crowd of people who look like they are waiting for a celebrity. I might have felt special, but I was in such need of a bath special was out of the question. There were lots of signs bearing peoples names and we scanned them for mine. Wouldn't you know they had Terri's name on the sign. Probably thought it was the man's name.

We arrived at a hotel and were met by Quoc, my agency's in country facilitator. He informed us he had a room for us and that we had about 2 hours to shower/rest before we headed to the airport to catch a flight to Danang. After a much needed shower we went back down to the lobby to prepare to leave. That is where I met my good friend Kelly. She and I had been emailing forever and I absolutely couldn't wait to meet her and Justin. We also met the rest of our travel group.

Our accomodations in Danang were fantastic. We were right on China Beach and the resort was just beautiful. The rooms was lovely and there was a crib already in the room. A metal crib that had metal slats on the bottom. It was incredibly cold and uncomfortable looking. And the bottom was about an inch off of the ground. As short as I am I would fall in trying to lay her down in that crib.

I didn't really care about that because the next morning I would meet my daughter...

Our Second Anniversary

Today is our second anniversary as a family. Grace has been a bit under the weather the last few days so we didn't get out today. She had no fever today, so we plan on getting out and celebrating tomorrow. When we were in Vietnam, internet access was a nightmare because of an earthquake in Taiwan. It makes me sad to look back at my blog and see the lack of documentation. I am going to do my best to post each day about what we did on that day in Vietnam. Hopefully I can remember.

It feels like that was a lifetime ago. I guess it is because it's hard for me to remember a time before Grace. What did I do with my time before we became a family? During holidays and special times I always wonder about her birth mother. I pray that her birth mother has somehow seen the pictures I have been sending back to Vietnam. I pray that she has seen that she is healthy, growing and happy. Whoever she is, her sacrifice gave me the most precious gift. Today is definitely as much about her as it is about Grace and me.

Tomorrow...we celebrate.

A Few Christmas Pictures

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! Well Miss Christmas continued her excitement of Christmas morning. Waking up yelling Santa Clause at 5:30. That is nothing new, she has been waking up at 5:30 for a couple of weeks. I am guessing it is all the excitement and am hoping that all will return to our normal 7 am now that Christmas is over. She is sick today. Luckily low grade fevers, none of the crazy stuff. She is sneezing and coughing. We all are. It was 6 degrees outside on Tues and it was 65 two days later. Crazy.

We had a wonderful Christmas and are so blessed. Grace had so much fun and it was amazing to watch her excitement. If your kids like Wonder Pets you must check out Ming Ming. His cape flaps and he "flys." Very fun.

Here are a few pictures. It is hilarious because the little girl who would not smile for a camera has become a camera hog. Now she poses and says cheese.

She needed a way to get out her jumping energy, so I got her a new horse. Her other one had gotten way too small. She immediately began calling it Trigger, which is what she called the old one. I love the way she pointed at the camera. She looks so tough.

How sweet is this, kissing the baby? This amazed me because she has never played with dolls very much, especially in a loving way! I told Terri that the doll had a flat head just like Gracie.

Grace got a kitchen from Santa. It is wooden and has these neet accesories like a blender with fruit that comes apart and a toaster that pops up the toast. Here she is eating a wooden chocolate chip cookie fresh from the oven.



This is one of those posed smiles I was talking about. How beautiful is that? You can also see some of her kitchen stuff on the table. We are having so much fun.

Picture with Santa

Today we went to visit professional Santa at the mall. This is the same one we saw last year and he is wonderful. She was pretty excited when she saw him sitting on his Santa throne in the middle of tons of decorations. She went right up to him and couldn't quit staring at him. He really got a kick out of that. She sat on his lap until I made her get down. She went back up to him while I was paying for the pics.

We had so much fun singing and shopping today. She just cracks me up when we go shopping. I guess it is from watching us, but she loves to rearrange the hangers on the racks. She isn't destructive at all, just moving the hangers like she is looking for the perfect outfit. She loves it at Old Navy because they have those really low racks in the toddler department.

We listened to Christmas music on the way home. She went straight from the carseat into the bed. Here is Grace and her true love...Santa Clause.

Quick Update

Christmas is an around the clock celebration at our house! Singing, Santa, snowman, cookie Christmas (as Grace says), Christmas tree...you name it. Grace is full of Christmas spirit! She is amazed everytime we go into a store, she has to verbally identify every tree, angel, Santa, etc. As much as she loves all of this, when I ask her whose birthday is at Christmas she always knows. Most of the time she says Jesus but sometimes she says God. She is too young to understand, but I am so thankful that she has that beginning knowledge of what Christmas is about.

The other night we had our children's program at church. At the end Santa came in with two elves bearing cookies. My mother has been saying that Grace would probably be afraid of Santa this year. Well that girl was not afraid. She literally was pushing her way past other kids yelling Santa, Santa. Only one little girl managed to get in front of her and she was just talking to him when it was her turn! Santa had to tell her a few times to look at me because she was so intent on him and didn't hear me calling. We need to make a trip to the mall soon to see professional Santa and buy some of those terribly expensive pictures he sells. Here are Grace and baby Brody with Santa.







I took my last final on Friday and am off until Jan 12! I made a 3.42 (4 As, 2 Bs and 1 sad little C)and I am very pleased.

Old Pics and New Pics

My dear friend Susan tagged me and I'm supposed to go to the fourth photo folder on my computer and post the fourth photo in that folder. Like Susan, I wondered what that photo would look like. Can I play fair if I hate the photo? I checked it out and just grinned when I found the fourth folder. It was the folder that contained Grace's referral photos and the updates while I was waiting! Photo number 4 is Gracie at 3 1/2 months.



This photo is from my first set of update pics. I remember loving those little fingers spread out on her belly(many of you remember my finger anxiety after some comments made). And look at those thighs! I remember she even had fat rolls on her butt. Now she can't keep her pants up. Thank you Susan, those are such great memories and I am so glad that I had you to go through all of it with me. I would have died if I hadn't had her to talk to.

School is almost over for the semester! Four down and two more finals to go. So far I ended up with 2 As and 2 Bs. I can finally relax. What was I thinking taking 20 hours with a 2 year old? In the beginning I thought piece of cake. I worked 50+ hours a week. I can handle this. I didn't not work with Grace in my office. Now I attempt to study and keep track of her at the same time. I am ready for the break.

Grace is so excited about Christmas. She is constantly singing Jingle Bells. Constantly. And she can't stop commenting on the decorations. On to new pictures from Christmas card photo attempts...

This one cracks me up. She had been pushing off the coffee table to rock and had her feet on, then she was messing with her lip and it looked like she was deep in thought. Actually she had just bloodied her nose and lip and it was really starting to swell.


Typical Grace


Finally! And you can't even really see the nose/lip injury.

Baby Brody is Here!

My niece Kayla gave birth to Brody on November 20, just a few minutes after midnight. He is such a beautiful baby, just under 7 lbs and 20 inches long. He is soooo tiny, it feels like you are holding nothing. They Kayla was fantastic and I am so proud of her, she handled labor like a champ! Terri (aka Nana) is over the moon. We were all anxious to see what Grace would think about him, she has been everyone's baby since we came home. We went to see Brody yesterday when they came home. We have been talking about Brody (or as Grace says Bodie) trying to prepare her for the meeting. I was so proud. She didn't even mind when Nanny and Pappy held him and that is a big deal. Congratulations Kayla and Jody! Meet my new nephew...

Kayla and Brody, isn't she beautiful and on the day she gave birth!


My nephew Brody


Nanny showing Grace her new cousin!

Pappy inspecting Brody. This kid has the longest toes and biggest feet I have ever seen!

Whats been happening...

Grace now has a big girl bed. She had absolutely no trouble transitioning from a baby bed to a full bed. She is loving having lots of room.

Constantly amazes me the things she says. She and I were going out the door the other day and she said "Ellie (our dog) stay here." They really do pay attention.

Still working on potty training

School is going well. I have an A in 5 of my classes and 1 B.

Had fun on Halloween. Even though I was running like I had my hair on fire! Didn't feed my daughter until 8pm. Thank goodness we had candy to see us through.

One of Grace's first words was duck. I have no idea why, but it always amazed how she pronounced it perfectly. She likes those hard, definite sounds like k and t. Whenever she sings Old McDonald she does duck over and over. She has many ducks that accompany her in the bath. She has many, many stuffed ducks as well. Well I thought it was appropriate...

Have you ever seen such a cute duck?

She ALWAYS thinks her Pappy is hilarioussssss.

But he was really funny with her duck head on.

A Day at the Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday we took a trip to the pumpkin patch. I had planned to make our annual trip to the pumkin farm last week, but Grace and I both visited the dr last week. So we waited until we were both feeling good. And Sunday was the second anniversary of Grace's referral, so it was nice to do something fun to remember the day.

Just like last year Kristan, Kayla, Grace and I had a fantastic time. Kayla is due next month so we'll have baby Brody with us next year. I figure Grace will try to leave him under a pumkin or something. She has been the only baby for so long and now everyone is going to be playing with this little boy. I am guessing that she won't take that well. Here are some photos from the day...

Fall is Here

Fall has arrived!!! I love fall. Sweaters, football, leaves falling... it just the greatest time of year. Remember how fun it was going back to school in the Fall. You missed your friends. You were bored. My favorite was shopping for school clothes. I miss getting tons of new clothes just because it is Fall. Grace gets that privilege now. I am very proud to say that I have almost all of her new Fall clothes washed and ready to go. I have also been going through last year's things and pulling the things she can still wear. However I DREAD the chore of putting away the Summer things.

People always say this about their kids, but I am so amazed how grown up Grace is getting. She is sooooo tall. She has gone from wearing 12-18 mos clothes this summer to a 2T for fall. She still has a 12-18 butt, however she is just so long. There is no way she is wearing any pants, other than leggings, this fall.

She acts grown up too. She just cracked me up the other day. We were shopping and she had been in the stroller all day and I knew she needed to stretch her legs. We went in Old Navy and I got her out of the stroller while I looked at things for her. I looked over and she was standing at the low racks, not destroying things but moving the hangers like she was shopping. She did that the entire time we were in there. My child likes cell phones, computers, shopping. She is also noticeably partial to men. I could be in trouble.

Here are a few photos of Grace doing her favorite thing. Doesn't she look big?

Quick Update

School is great. I am taking six classes and have all A's. Yay for me. Grace is doing wonderful. Getting more and more spoiled every day. I am looking into child care centers. I think part time would be great for her. She spends so little time with children her own age. We live in a rural area so there are no Mother's Day Out kind of things. She sees her friends at church once a week. I am hoping to get her into the child care center where I am doing my child care practicum. I work there four hours on Wednesday and do activities, lesson planning, etc. The director is the instructor of a couple of my classes.

This weekend I got together with old friends. We had the best time. These four are true friends. My friend Sandra has a daughter, Kennady, who is a couple of months older than Grace. I wish we could get together more often. Even though we live 5 minutes apart, it is tough with work, school, etc. I am going to make sure I do better about getting these two together more.

Grace almost seemed like she didn't know what to do with someone her size. She was much more interested in playing with my friend Melissa's daughter Claire, who is quite grown up and in school now. Here are a few pictures.

Kennady and Grace were playing nicely. Until they both discovered a keyboard. They were trying to push each other off the ottoman.

Isn't Claire beautiful?

The Smile Award

Thank you, thank you, thank you to my dear friend Melissa for giving me the Smile Award. There is no way I can convey adequately my great respect for her and the fact that she thought of me just makes me smile.

The award was created by Laura. Here is the low down on the award:
Characteristics for the Smile Award:
1. Must display a cheerful attitude.
2. Must love one another.
3. Must make mistakes.
4. Must learn from others.
5. Must be a positive contributor to blog world.
6. Must love life.
7. Must love kids.

These are the rules for The Smile Award.
1. The recipient must link back the the award’s creator.
2. You must post these rules if you receive the award.
3. You must chose 5 people to receive the award after receiving it yourself.
4. You must fit the characteristics of the recipient of the award.
5. You must post the characteristics of a recipient.
6. You must create a post sharing your win with others.
7. You must thank your giver.

People I’d like to give the award to:

I could never have gotten through Grace's adoption without Susan. She and I talked on the phone every night. She listened to my obsessing and my ranting. I am so thankful that we are able to visit each other and that our girls will grow up knowing each other.

Melanie is one of the strongest, Christ-centered people I have ever met. She has handled great adversity with grace and optimism. This woman is already a mom and her Kaylee will be blessed with a great mom.

I have always been very touched by Kelly O and her family. I was most touched by Kelly's boys. I, along with lots of other people, prayed that the boys would both join her family. I love seeing them on her blog. God is good.

Traci called me shortly after I brought Grace home. She was researching my agency. This lady has been through alot for her two kids. She loves her family. Her son was adopted from the same orphanage as Grace.

I first got to know Jonathan when we were both waiting for referrals. Then I had the privilege of meeting Jonathan's son Parker when he was just a few days old. He was left at the orphanage just before I arrived to meet Grace. He continually amazes me at the lengths he goes to to insure that Parker keeps in touch with his culture. He is a great dad.