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.