Jayden's Journey

"THE TERRIFIC TWO'S"

2008-10-10T05:02:00.000-07:00

I know you are wondering how things have been since Jayden has been home. The plane flight home was of course long and tiring. We had several complications with our tickets resulting in my needing to re-book our flights at every stop. In Hong Kong, we exited the plane and was greeted by a man holding a big sign with my name in bold letters. I identified myself and he simply said, "follow me." I must tell you that was not a good feeling.
We followed him to the Cathay Pacific ticket counter and he started typing. Apparently they had Jayden listed as an infant and not a toddler which would mean he would have no seat on the long flight over the ocean. The mistake was corrected and soon we were seated and the long part of the journey home began. (We almost missed the plane after this delay and the long walk to the terminal. We also had forgotten there was a one hour time difference between Hong kong and Honoi. We arrived at the terminal to the sounds of "last call.")

We were in the middle section in a four seat row. The seat next to me was empty so I moved over and Jayden had two seats between us. What a blessing!!! He stretched out and with the exception of maybe an hour, he slept the thirteen hour trip to LA. I think Angie and I did as well.

We landed in LA and soon Angie and I both were commenting on a very noticable change in the behavior of the workers and employees of the airport, eating establishments, ticket agents etc.
In Vietnam, customer service is the name of the game. We have commented several times on this blog about the way we were treated. People just could not do enough to help you. Not so in LA!!!

I discoverd this first hand when I committed apparently what was the unpardonable sin by forgetting to take my lap top out of my back pack when I put it through the scanner.
The "gentleman" who informed me of this treated me like a criminal and spoke down at me in a very demeaning way. It was incredible. Our next encounter with customer service at the LA airport was with a lady who drove one of the golf cart vehicles. Angie's foot was giving her unbearable pain with all the walking in the airport. I haled the lady down and asked her for a ride. I explained my wife's situation and her only comment was, "You'll have to pay." Before I could even ask her how much, she had driven off.

But now enough about us. "What about Jayden?" I thought you would never ask. Not once, I repeat, not once from Honoi to Hong Kong, to LA, to Dallas, to Charlotte; not once did he cry or show any signs of being disgruntled or tired or upset. Wait, I stand corrected. He did cry once in the airport in Honoi as we were checking our bags. I handed him to Angie so I could gather the luggage and he cried. She gave him back to me and he hushed.

I don't know if we have said much about this but one of the things we noticed while over in Vietnam was that he preferred me to carry him or if I left the hotel room without him, he would sometimes cry. It was obvious to both Angie and me that he did not want his daddy out of his sight. I believe I know the reason.

Thouc was his father figure while at the baby home. Thouc would come every 3-4 weeks or so for a visit. He would spend a lot of time with Jayden and the other children and then when it was time to leave, he would hand him back over to one of the nurses. I am sure jayden cried whenever Thouc left. I believe that when I would hand Jayden to Angie, he thought that I was leaving.

This became even more evident to us when we touched down in Charlotte. We were home. Now Jayden understands what we say to him. He doesn't yet talk, but he knows what we say. We told him we were home. When we arrived in baggage claim, his three sisters and grandfather were there to meet him. He has been studying his family for months in pictures that we had sent to the baby home. Even while we were there, we would show him daily again the pictures of his home and family in the U.S. When he saw his family in the airport it was like magic. I handed him to Angie, and guess what? No more tears!!! Not only did he not cry , but now he preferred Angie to hold him over me. You see, when he met his sisters and grandfather face to face, and finally saw all of us together, in his little mind he knew he was home. That meant that Daddy was not going anywhere. We were a family and families stay together!

We arrived at home to a large "Welcome Home Jayden Banner" and lots of new experiences and wonders awaiting.

We have now been home five days. Jayden is incredible. Everyday he is becoming more and more familiar with and adjusted to his new life. his appetite is amazing. He is eating just about everything we put on his plate. He loves bananas, eggs, grits, (good ol southern boy), green beans, apple sauce, hot dogs. and corn bread. He takes approximately 24 ounces of formula per day, a far cry from the 4 or so he was getting at the baby home. We're going to have to put him on a diet!!!

He was introduced to many of the people in his church at a welcome home party on his behalf and aside from having that "who are all this people" look on his face he was an angel.

He has an infectious smile and is so happy. He sleeps 10-12 hours at night, takes a nap in the afternoon and continues to shine more and more. We are still waiting on the "terrible two's"
to kick in. Maybe that's only true with kids born in America. I don't know. But for one little boy,
abandoned at birth, raised in an orphanage, and now living 12 thousand miles from anything and everybody he has ever known, he is going through the "TERRIFIC two's!!!"

We are blessed. Our prayers have been answered. Jayden is home. We are on an incredible journey. Jayden's Journey will continue. We each have our own journey. We come from different beginnings, backgrounds, families, cultures, etc. Each journey is special! It is ours! If we are fortunate we will have loving, caring people to help us find our way along our journey. We will be here for Jayden. In time we will share with him these beginnings to his journey through life.

He will not remember the baby home, Thouc, the loving nurses, his buddy Dat, or the early days in his homeland. But we will tell him and better yet because of this blog, we will be able to show him in word and pictures. One day, the Lord willing, we will return with Jayden to Vietnam for a visit. We want him to see first hand this part of his journey.

May God bless you along YOUR Journey.

Norman

CELEBRATION!!!

2008-10-03T08:23:00.001-07:00

After a good night's sleep we had breakfast in the room and then headed to our 10:00 AM interview at the US Embassy. It is only a 15 minute drive from the hotel so we left in a taxi in plenty of time, to first go by a bank to get US dollars for the fee at the embassy. Jayden ate another yogurt cup before we left and we were so proud of him. We had only just begun our trip to the Embassy when Up came the yogurt. I mean all of it, all over Jayden, me, Angie and the taxi. OH THE JOYS OF BEING A TODDLER DAD! I had forgotten about all these wonderful moments. We gave the driver a little sign language and he turned around and headed back to the hotel. He, like all the people we have met here, was so gracious as we tried to apologize. He would not let us wash out the seat. He just accepted it as part of the job of a taxi driver.

We changed Jayden and hastily wiped down ourselves and headed out again in a different taxi but the same driver. Because of the sudden return to the hotel, we did not have time to go by the bank. I would have to hope that a debit card would suffice. I had been told yesterday that sometimes their credit card machine did not work.At the embassy we went in, paid our fee (the machine worked) and waited for our "interview". Shortly after 10:00 we were called to the window for the interview. Here is a word for word rendering of our interview. "Do you swear that all the answers to the questions in this application are true to the best of your knowledge?"
I answered, I do, and signed on the dotted line and was told to return at 4:00PM to pick up Jayden's visa.

We returned to the hotel, spent time in the room and some time at the pool. Jayden enjoyed the pool. (another first) At 3:55 I arrived at the embassy, leaving Jayden and Angie in the hotel room and in 5 minutes I had the visa and was on my way back to the hotel.

Completed, finished, done, over with, how many ways can you spell VICTORY? It was like completing a marathon, or a long 2 year project. It had been a long journey to where we are and tonight it was time to celebrate.

We went to a wonderful restaurant on the West Lake just a few minutes from our hotel. We heard about The Vine, from a book we purchased when first planning our trip. It is a fabulous, wonderful International restaurant. The walls are lined with vintage wines (over 1000 wines) It has low light, with deep color walls, and very gothic baroque decor. The food was familiar with a great variety. We sat on a couch-like seat with pillows. Jayden was like a little man, once again amazing us with his easy nature and willing spirit. And yes, he fell asleep on the cushions before we were served our meal. Angie and I enjoyed the evening, the atmosphere, the customer service, the food which was the best we have had in Vietnam and the nature of our dining out.
This was our Celebration Meal. The finale!!!

On the way back to the Sommerset Hotel, we witnessed the appreciation the people in Honoi have for the large West Lake. There were hundreds of people on the banks of the lake in the moonlight enjoying the evening. It is a lover's lane of sorts and just as we used to sit in our cars as teenagers to date, they sit on their motor-cycles.

We have enjoyed Hanoi. We wish we would have had more time here But it was good to get an appreciation for the entire country. The southern most part, with its Pho and more rural life-style, to the South Central massive city of Ho Chi Minh with it's strangle-hold of motorcyles, to the more modern and cultural city of Honoi. One of the most inviting customs or qualities we have noticed in all of Vietnam is the social atmosphere of the people. They live together. They are not sheltered like we are in our air-conditioned houses and enclosed places of business. They live in the open air. All along the way in every major city and small province they sit in groups of 5 or 6 or more living life together.

We returned to our room and put Jayden to bed. Another victory!!! Jayden took his bottle tonight for the first time since he left the baby home and devoured it. He is making daily progress toward total acceptance.

Tomorrow we will check out of here at 4PM and head for the airport. We fly toward home at 7:30PM with Jayden and all the memories of our facinating and adventurous journey. Jayden's Journey will continue as he will soon be introduced to a world unlike any he has known. We know he will do well.

Like our other three children, we will dedicate him to the Lord and raise him to feel secure, loved and special. Thank you for following us on this journey. Like all good journeys, this one promises to continue for many years to come.

pictures of our Giving and Recieving Ceremony and a trip to HCMC

2008-10-02T21:24:00.000-07:00

pictures for a busy day getting our medicals and passport

2008-10-02T21:14:00.000-07:00

Sorry no pictures for the blog

2008-10-02T09:46:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,
I have been trying to upload pictures to the BLOG for several days now. It is just not happening. I am having luck with the FlickR account so click on the link and I will try to get the pictures uploaded there. Thank you guys for caring enough about our Family journey to ask. Angie

THE FINAL STEP

2008-10-02T08:58:00.000-07:00

Thursday, Oct. 2

We had a 10:30 flight time to Honoi this morning. We had a final breakfast at the Milano Hotel in HCMC with Jayden. He was in his usual happy playful mood. Everyone always comments on what a good looking boy he is and how attentive he is to us. We did not anticipate how long it would take to get through the morning traffic to the airport and were really cutting it close. We arrived at the airport at 9:45. With only a few minutes to spare we did not have much time to spend with Thouc who came to give us a final send-off. We spoke a few minutes, thanked him again and promised to Email when we arrived in America. He had a few gifts he had bought for Jayden. He really is going to miss his little buddy. As Jayden walked through the door into the ariport, Thouc raised both arms high above his head and clapped. It was his way to saying to Jayden, the journey to your family has finally at last come true. You have made it.!!!You are heading home.

Getting to the gate with all our luggage and little time was hectic. We now also had Jayden.
Our luggage was overweight which we knew it would be. They only allow a total of 120 lbs checked luggage for three. I paid the extra fee (only about $18) and we hurried to the gate.
Jayden was an angel contented and happy. Angie was anxious about the flight on" such a little plane." We found our seats, buckled in and then, I waited to see how Jayden would react. He doesn't like to be constrained so I thought the seat belt would upset him. However, as he sat in his seat between his mommy and daddy, cherios and juice in hand, he sat there like a little man without the first tear or sign of discontent. He slept for most of the flight and as far as he was concerned, he never left the ground.

It was a good flight and then we went to our hotel, the Sommerset in Honoi. We quickly found our room then rented a taxi for the15 minute drive to the US Consulant to submit our paperwork for Jayden's visa. THE FINAL STEP BEGUN. January 2007-Sept. 2008 (21 months)
Jayden is almost home. Tomorrow, we go to the Embassy for a 10AM appointment and hopefully if all goes well, we will have his visa in hand by 4:00 PM. Please pray with us that it will happen.

Tonight back in the hotel suite, (a very nice place with Kitchen, washer, dryer, large tub and HOT water; we have not had hot water much on this trip), we made supper. Hot dogs, french fries, pepsi and the taste and smell of American in the room. The best part? Jayden began to eat. He ate a hot dog, yogert, french fries chips etc. He was so cute and so happy knowing that he was pleasing us by eating. He absolutely understands everything we say. He uses a form of sign language to let us know that he understands. He points to things, takes things to either one of us on request , helps clean up. He smiled, laughed and had a very normal evening, the kind that any little boy should have at home with his family. He is more and more at home. His bath was another success. He had been afraid of the bath but tonight after an initial bit of fear, he settled in with a few empty bottles as toys and played in the water, splashing and laughing.

We would love to be on a plane Saturday evening if possible. There is a Typhoon heading for Hong Kong and our travel agent wants us out of here. If not, there would be a delay waiting on the storm to pass.

tomorrow, the journey will continue.

Fast Paced Day in HCMC

2008-10-02T06:28:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay. Everything has been going very well and last night we were unable to get internet.
Now for the update. Wednesday was a whirl-wind day. We got a call from Thouc at 7AM to meet him at the Embassy to submit papers for the passport. Jayden, Angie and I hailed a taxi and took the 45 minute trip at rush hour HCMC. I have never been to NY City but I cannot imagine anything that compares to this. They say there are 4,500.000 motorcycles in HCMC and I believe they were all on the road. It was stop and go, honk and go, close your eyes and go. The amazing thing about the drivers here is that no one gets upset and shows attitude. It is just the accepted norm. There are not many traffic lights, only in the busiest intersections. We finally got there and Thouc took charge. He told Angie and Jayden to go wait across the street at a restaurant while he and I went into the embassy. We never really understood why he did not want them inside, but needless to say, Angie was not about to cross the road. There were cycles, bikes, vans, cars, busses, anything and everything that had wheels coming in all directions. Thouc told me to go inside and wait and he held Anigie's hand and helped them across the road. Angie then informed him that she had no money and Jayden was thirsty so Thouc bought them a coke "to go". 'To Go" means in a plactic bag and straw. Thats right; a coke poured in a plastic bag with a straw and you hold it together at the top. And of course no ice.

Thouc and I went inside and in quick order we submitted papers, paid money to expedite passport and now it was on to the hospital for the medical report. A taxi was hailed, Thouc got on his motorcycle and said meet me there. It was about a 20 minute drive to the hospital. We arrived, met Thouc and again he took charge. It was a long walk to the visa medical center and Angie's foot was really hurting. But we arrived and saw first hand socialized medicine at work. Hundreds if not thousands were waiting in the lobbies and around the grounds to see a doctor, get medicine or something. But we had Thouc. He marched in, knew who to see, and in a short time, we were putting Jayden on the scales and checking his height. He was perfect. No tears, no complaints. I am amazed at this little boy's good nature. We are dragging him everywhere. Every experience is a new one and often a frightening one, but he faithfully does what he is asked. It is just another sign that he is adjusting to his new life.

We soon were in with the doctor. The doctor looked at me and asked, "how long have you known this child?" I said, "oh about two weeks." He then asked if I had noticed anything abnormal about him. I started to say, Yeah, he doesn't scream, and rant and rave to get his way. He doesn't stomp his feet and have temper tantrums like most 2 year olds I know. But I said, no he is a perfect little boy. Shortly after a quick exam we were done.

Thouc said for me to meet him back at the embassy and the hospital at 2 that afternoon to get the passport and medical report. We went back to the hotel and had KFC in the room . At this point, Jayden still is not eating. He eats cherrios, and snacks and apple juice and water. This also is very common with adopted children. I think it is one sign that he is grieving his loss (the baby home and the only family he has known).

At 2PM I left to meet Thouc and Angie and Jayden rested and took a walk in the park and played in the water. Then it was nap time. Nap time and bed time have been the only times he has cried.He had one of his "I don't want to go to bed" episodes. I think maybe he is afraid to go to sleep for fear that when he wakes up we will not be there. He follows us where ever we go and wants us all together. This is perfectly understandable. Angie said he cried a long time till finally one of the staff came up and started talking Vietnamese to Jayden in an attempt to calm him. The walls were not very sound proof at this hotel and I guess his crying had been reported. Anyway, she only made matters worse. The last thing Jayden wants to think is that someone else is coming to take him away again. He is afraid of other people at this point reaching out to him. He wants his mammy and daddy and that is the way we want it. This bonding time is the most important thing we have got to do now. Everyday is better. He is trusting more and more and feeling more and more at home. And he is!!!

Last night we ended the day with another outing with our friends from HCMC. They had dropped off some items for us to take to their son and his hostess family in Spartanburg.
They wanted to take us to eat at a Korean steakhouse trying to take us somewhere where they knew we had not been. Well it was closed. So after some conversation we could not understand they asked through the translator who is a family friend and associate , if PizzaInn would be OK.
Now we love pizza, but we had eaten it 3 times since arriving in HCMC this 2nd and 3rd time.
But we said that would be fine. It was a great time of laughing, sharing our different customs and trying to communicate. This time the shoe was on the other foot. It was their time to eat what they were not accustomed to. Basically they like pizza about like we like PHO!!!

All in all, a good day. With Jayden's Passport and medical in hand it was time to book the flight to Honoi and get his Visa.

2008-09-30T06:22:00.001-07:00

After our G&R this morning we went back to the baby home for the final goodbyes. We took a few more pictures of the babies and staff, wrote in their book of thanks and spent about an hour in agony. It was so emotional knowing how much they all were going to miss Jayden. It rained and that delayed us even more. I think they needed an excuse to keep us there longer. Jayden has known love. They cried and held him, kissed him and gave him his bottle one last time.

We made the long trip with Jayden to HCMC. He did exceptionallly well. He slept some and when he was awake literally ate snacks the whole time. He was awake for the ride on the ferry and seemed to really enjoy that. He is getting closer and closer to his mamma and Daddy. At the hotel things were a little different. We expected there to be a meltdown and there was. Tonight as I write this, Jayden is fast asleep on the bed but not before he cried for an hour or more. This is the first night not sleeping with his buddy Dat or in the baby home. He also does not have his hammock tonight which has been his bed for many nights. We were doing pretty good we thought. Jayden had his first bath and put on new pajamas. There were a few tears, but nothing major. Then, he fell off the bed and the crying began. We consoled him but to no avail. We tried reading, his blanket, a bottle etc. yet the wailing continued. Then after refusing to lie on the bed, he decided to stand in one spot and cry. He did this for 30 minutes until I thought he was going to fall asleep standing. He started weaving and his knees were buckling. We got him on the bed and after awhile longer, he went off to sleep. The only problem is it is only 7PM. He will probably wake up about the time we are going to sleep. Welcome to Toddler World!!!

Todays pictures are from the G&R, the baby home goodbyes and the trip to HCMC.

It is quiet now so we will try to sleep while Jayden sleeps. Tomorrow we meet Thouc at 7:OO AM to get the passport and medical. Then, hopefully, our journey will continue to Honoi on Thursday for Jayden's Visa. Stay Tuned!!

HE IS OURS!!!!!

2008-09-29T18:12:00.000-07:00

It is official!!! Jayden is now a Band. The G&R went off with out a hitch. We are packing for the trip to HCMC and will blog again at the end of the day. Spread the news!!!

A Final Farewell

2008-09-29T06:31:00.000-07:00

This night ended in a very special way. Thouc called about 8:00 and asked if some people could come over. In a few minutes Thouc, and three of the nurses and Jayden and Dat came in. This was their farewell night with Jayden. These ladies have cared for him since his birth and this of course is a very sad time for them. They know that this is a good thing for Jayden but sad for them. Dat is sad too. I asked Thouc if Jayden understood that he was leaving tomorrow and he said yes. He too is sad about leaving the only family he has known. It is all bitter-sweet.

Tomorrow Jayden will wear the traditional Vietnamese dress for his Giving and Receiving. It is a formal affair and I know a moment in his life we will treasure. Again this is all about him. This is not a ceremony to honor a couple from the United States adopting a little boy from Vietnam but rather a ceremony to honor a little boy from Vietnam who has found his family.

No G&R Today

2008-09-29T03:51:00.000-07:00

We spent the day in our hotel room watching movies. We were somber, wondering if we would ever hear from Thouc today. The day was long and boring. By 3PM we knew that nothing was going to happen today. Another day and no progress. Thouc finally came by the room at 5:00 and dropped off the boys saying he would be back at about 6:00. He said the Justices had been in meetings all day which did nothing to lift our spirits. Thouc had only been gone from our room ten minutes when he returned and said "I just talked to the Justice, we have a meeting at 7:00AM tomorrow."

G&R FINALLY!!! We had resigned to maybe not even having a G&R tomorrow and suddenly good news. We are excited but too tired at this point to be too elated. Sitting around day after day in a foreign country where almost no one speaks your language gets tiring. We had another decent lunch. I ordered a sandwich and they brought us a loaf of bread. I am not kidding. The bread is very good though. It was warm and I wonder if they did not just bake it.

Well tonight we will sleep well knowing that tomorrow Jayden will officially be ours. We will head for HCMC shortly after G&R and by the end of the week we should know our return time.
Stay with us. I am sure we still have some adventures to survive. And continue to pray for Angie's foot. She still can not do anything. The airport will be interesting with her foot the way it is. I'm sure we can get her a wheelchair if needed.

Angie will be downloading a few more pictures of Jayden and Dat. They love to play and are going to miss each other so much.

More to come.
Norman and Angie

2008-09-28T19:50:00.000-07:00

back in Vi Thang

2008-09-28T06:13:00.000-07:00

We hope all of you out in blogger land are having a great day. It is 8PM here and we are back in Vi Thanh at the hotel. We had an uneventful 5 hour ride here today. About the only thing I can say after now making this trip 3 times is that it is harrowing to say the least. You have never experienced any thing like this in America. The road usually is 2 lane with scores of motorcycles coming at you from all directions. Hong and go!!! That seems to be the custom. Big buses, vans and cars have the right of way. They come up behind the motorcycles and honk continuously until the cycle moves over. Sometimes we miss people by mere inches. The only good thing about it is it keeps my prayer life active. Angie deals with it by sleeping!

We arrived at the baby home at about 3:00 and Jayden came running out to greet us. Jayden and Dat went with us to the hotel for a couple of hours and we picked up where we left off. Jayden is more and more comfortable around us and loves for his mama to kiss him. When we were in the hotel lobby a lady approached Jayden and he was afraid and ran to his mama for protection. That was another very good indication that he knows who he belongs to.

Today we have added pictures of the beautiful restaurant we ate in last night along with pictures of our friends in HCMC. There is one picture that shows our Vitnamese friends dicussing with the waitresses exactly how to prepare the vegetable the way an american would like. They have been such wonderful hosts. They have shown us a Vietnam we could not have seen otherwise. We also have some pictures of some of the unique fruit they have here. One is a grapefruit of sorts which is very good and tonight we were introduced to something that looks like a strawberry with thorns. On the inside the center is jelly-like and very light and tasty. Last night we had a coconut. The top was cut out with a jelly substance inside (congealed). It is made from a seaweed. It too was tasty and unlike any thing we had had before.

I might also mention that you have to take a ferry over in Can Tho. As you are waiting in line in your vehicles to get on the ferry there are people coming up to the windows trying to entice you to buy there products. There are fresh fruits, bottled water, corn on the cob which has been steam cooked (delicious: we had it on two occasions) and some beggers (one blind man and one old lady particularly got our attention.

Well, we are here and hopeful for G&R tomorrow. We are ready to start Jayden on his Journey to America. Please continue to pray for us.

2008-09-27T08:47:00.001-07:00

Relaxin' in HCMC!

2008-09-27T08:25:00.001-07:00

Hello. Have you missed us? We are having problems accessing the blogspot over here so our computer savey daughter Carmen has shown us another way.

We left Jayden and the village Thursday evening and arrived late at our hotel in HCMC. It was a one-nighter. Friday morning we moved into the Milano. It is a nice

hotel in a new district 7 miles or so out of the city limits. It is very quiet, and everything we need is here. We even ate at KFC yesterday. The familiar taste of home was a welcome relief.

I was in the hot seat for several hours yesterday as I left the laptop power cord in the van. I called Thouc at around noon after the power on the laptop was gone and he graciously agreed to bring it to us. We spent the day watching movies ( they have HBO and cinemax). Again, here as everywhere we have been, the service from the wait staff has been exceptional. When we walk into the hotel lobby, they stand up and bow. I am not kidding. Just outside the hotel is a nice sitting area shaded by umbrellas.When we sit, they bring us tea, on the house.

Thouc arrived at our hotel with the power cord around 6PM. We invited him as our guest to PIZZA INN for dinner. We hailed a taxi for the 1 mile ride as Angie is still having a lot of problem with her foot. We had one of the best times with him: no children, no business, no interruptions, just pizza, pepsi and good conversation. We have grown to really appreciate Thouc and all that he does. He loves his work and over the years has helped a lot of families adopt these precious Vietnamese children. He told us how families have kept up with him through the years. I am sure we will keep him updated regularly on Jayden. And who knows, maybe one day when Jayden is older, we will return with him for a visit.

Today was another restful day. I took several walks while Angie rested her foot. The one exception was late this afternoon we went to have Angie's nails done.

Now read this next sentence fast and then forget it. I had a pedicure.Why not? I have walked on these feet without a pedicure for 53 years. I think it was about time, don't you. Anyway my pedicure and Angie's manicure costs us total a whopping 40,000 VN. (that is approximately $2.60). You heard me correct. This would have been about $40.00 in USA.

Tonight we went dining with our friends from HCMC whose son goes to high school with our daughter. They have been so good to us and helpful in a very unfamiliar place with a very different lifestyle. Tomorrow it is back to "Jaydenville." We have missed his laugh today and his smile which melts your heart. We are praying for a G&R Monday, Tuesday at the latest. We called our travel agent today and he will change our return flight after the G&R. The good news is there will only be a small penalty. We hope to return home possibly as early as Sunday but Monday October 6 is more likely. We will update you more as the journey continues.

Totally Confused

2008-09-25T10:03:00.000-07:00

What a day this has been. We awoke to another egg omelette, coffee and fruit. As the day was beginning and we had hopes of a G&R there was a knock at the door. I opened and the little girl said, " I sorry. You have to move, not stay in this room today." We were very quickly assisted in moving down the hall to a typical hotel room. Bye Bye Suite!!! They said we could return to the suite tomorrow that the suite was booked today. Well we moved in, begin to unpack and relax and wait on Thouc with good news regarding our G&R. Ironically, this room had internet and a nicer mattress than the suite. The boys came by and played a while. Jayden and Dat were their usual selves. We enjoyed their company and more and more they enjoy ours.

a few hours later, I got a call from downstairs telling me again that we were going to have to move. I was beginning to think we had worn out our welcome. I went downstairs to get clarification and I saw 10-12 army looking guys all with machine guns in the lobby. I asked no questions and went back up stairs. I started repacking and Thouc called and said "stay where you are. You do not have to move." I was totally confused.

Angie and I had a nice lunch in our room and were practically resigned to the fact that G&R was not happening today. Around 4:30 PM Thouc arrived with the boys again and asked if we could keep them while he has dinner. We gladly agreed and the games began again. They are such good natured, fun little boys. Before Thouc left the room he suggested that we stay one more night and if G&R doesn't happen Friday, we would travel the 5 hours back to HCMC for the weekend and come back to the provine for the G&R Monday or Tuesday. OK fine.

He had not been gone 15 minutes when he returns and says, "G&R not happen tomorrow, we leave now for HCMC." Confusion. Total confusion!!! We have been in this village one week and the leader of the province apparently does not think we have any thing else to do. I know we can not expect things to go as we would like them, but this really is inconsiderate. We have jobs, family and responsibilities back home.

Thouc says, G&R will be Monday or Tuesday because there is a time limit between the letter of invitation we were issued and the day of G&R. I can't help but wonder if that really matters.

Anyway, we are here in HCMC again. we will leave Sunday to return to baby home in hopes of our G&R. Obviously this means we will not be coming home on the Ist as planned. My best guess at this time is around the 6th of October. Please continue to pray for us, our patience and our travels. The trip here tonight was hair-raising and I have no hair.

To our church, family and friends, we love you and ask for your understanding. This is out of our hands. I do believe the Oct 6 date is a good bet.

A few more interesting notes. We learned that the reason we had to give up our suite is that the Prime Minister of Honoi was coming to town and staying in the suite. Now I know why the armed guards were there. Also, we passed a parade of official cars with sirens and lights flashing as we were leaving. Thouc said it was the prime minister. I hope he finds everything to his liking.

It is now past midnight. Thouc could not find the hotel he had planned for us to stay in so we are staying in a not so fancy hotel this time. Let me rephrase. God certainly has a sense of humor. We have gone from the heights of hotel living to the depths.

Tomorrow will be a better day.!!! Stay tuned to another adventure along the road called Jaydens Journey.

2008-09-24T21:22:00.000-07:00

Daddy plays bathroom games. The boys loved to hear their voices and laughs echo in the bathroom. Their laugh is so contagious

2008-09-24T20:28:00.000-07:00

Well I tried and tried all day yesterday to download here from this little town far , far away without much success . Today is another day so here goes.

Hooray. The first video is our first view of our baby boy. The next video features Jayden sitting with Thuoc in the hammock with his friend Dillen. Dillen starts to cry and Duoc comes running to the rescue. all the while Dat watches over the proceedings. My fellow mommies enjoy a glimpse of your babies.

Pictures and videos from our Camcorder.....

2008-09-24T02:00:00.001-07:00

Hey Everybody, It's me, Angie.....It seems like Norman and I have taken on certain jobs. My job is to be the photographer and downloader. He writes the BLOG and I add the pics (and hopefully videos). I have just asked him to BLOG because I had some more pics to share from our camcorder and thought nI would add them to his daily blog entry...... and he said:

"A blogger knows when it is time to BLOG and now is not the time"

LOL I think he is trying to think of a way to make this day sound interesting.....How good can you make sitting around sound. I must say, I have had a pretty eventful day with my camcorder and laptop.....I have been learning how to upload, download, install, manage, organize and generally push buttons on my camcorder and Laptop. (Jimmy, You would be proud of your Mama!) I think I have finally got some video streaming your way...........Anyway here is a sample of the pictures and video taken throughout the trip on our camcorder.....Go to the photostream in Flickr to see more, Love to all, Angie

Norman here. (10:15pm VN)
Angie has been trying without success to load pictures but blogger is not cooperating. We will try later. We are also working on getting video to you. I really hoped that by waiting till the end of the day I would have some great news. Well I don't. After an entire day in our hotel suite viewing pictures and videos on our camera, Tom arrived at 5:00 to pick us up. He was alone and I thought he was coming to take us to our G&R.
Angie jumped up on her lame foot and headed for the door. Tom does not speak English, only "hello" so we could not make him understand our need to know where we were going. When he turned in to the baby home we had our answer. No G&R today. We played a while with the babies and Thouc arrived looking somber. he told us that maybe tomorrow. (We have heard that phrase 4-6 times now). He then begin to inquire about what we would do if it is not tomorrow.
He said , "if not happen tomorrow, maybe 3 more days." Again we tried to explain that I have a job and we really need to get home. He explained that the Leader of the Province does not like to be pushed and would wonder why we would want to leave his country so soon. Thouc tried to assure us that if G&R does not happen tomorrow that we are only talking a few days delay.

We are trying to remain positive. It could and should happen tomorrow. We are asking our friends, church and family to please pray today for this. Jayden is ready and so are we!!!

This evening the boys did come by for an hour or so. We played our usual games and had a nice time. They are so adorable. We ask that our church and family be patient and understanding along with us. Oh and by the way, put in an extra prayer for me. If I have to spend another Saturday with Angie and NO AIR in this tropical paradise...(just kidding).

Oh and to make matters even more interesting, there is a hurricane heading to China and we are expected to get some effects. If anybody can tell us more, please do. No on here speaks English and the TV is VN.

NO MORE GRITS

2008-09-23T06:24:00.000-07:00

Tuesday: Sept. 23

A great sadness settled over Angie and I just after breakfast this morning. It hit us both at about the same moment. We had eaten all the instant grits. Now in case you are not from the south,
this may not be in the category of a crisis but for this southern boy, life without grits is unthinkable. We did have a good breakfast. Notice the picture of the egg omelette. Now imagine that topped off with grits coffee and toast and you have the perfect breakfast anywhere, especially in Vietnam where we have been eating soup for breakfast.

Today in many ways was a day of rest. Angie hurt the heel of her foot yesterday. Nothing serious, at least not serious enough to see a doctor here. She tore the fascia that extends from the heels to the toes. She has been limping around ever since and it has been very painful. So today it was good that nothing happened much. It gave her time to heal, no pun intended, her foot. Tomorrow it will be better.

So we had company in our suite for 2 hours this morning. Guess Who!!! Jayden and Dat. It was a fun morning. We had them laughing and playing and the memories of what it is like to have a toddler around are all coming back. And just for those of you who think this 53 year old is too old to hang with a toddler, YOU ARE WRONG!!! I will ignore the fact that one of my daughters upon looking at pictures on the blog commented that I looked like a grand-father and need to have my hair colored. I keep getting comments from the workers at the baby home about how much they think Jayden and I are alike; our ears, our skin color, our slim build, our thin lips and did I mention overall good looks.

He really has taken to us and for this we are so happy. He is a very happy little boy with a lot of energy. Inquisitive is an understatement. We know he has been loved by these gracious people at the baby home and Thouc and so he has gotten a great start. We will build on their hard, caring work with him. The one thing he will know for sure is that he is loved. There is a whole network of friends and family waiting to share their hearts and love with him. We are anxious for that to begin.

No G&R today, but progress. Thouc brought over 2 papers to sign, one of which was the application for Jayden's passport. He really thinks tomorrow (Wednesday) is the day.
TOMORROW JAYDEN COULD OFFICIALLY BE OURS!!! I am sure you will hear us shout all the way from Vietnam when the moment happens. Please continue to pray for us and the needed progress so we can return home as scheduled.

Oh and by the way. I understand it is not that expensive to overnight GRITS!!!

2008-09-22T09:40:00.000-07:00

2008-09-22T00:13:00.000-07:00

Well here is why Angie called me away. She had hand washed a blouse and had hung in on a hanger by an open window. It is a windy day. Need I say more. The blouse landed on the roof top below us somewhere between the first and second floor. Well once again the staff came to our rescue. The blouse was retrieved with a 20 foot pole and some creative menuevering from one of the workers here. I am beginning to think that the people here will have more stories to tell their grandchildren about the crazy American couple who came to town once upon a time than we will have to tell about them. (It is interesting that they would have a 20 foot pole at their disposal. Maybe some other Americans have been here before us)

Sept. 22 Monday

After a rough night on the hard mattress we awoke once again early. I first woke around 4:45 and later got out of bed at 5:50. While Angie showered I made coffee. After a few house keeping matters, we headed downstairs for breakfast. We each had an omelette; 2 fried eggs topped off with a few tomato pieces and cucumber. Today we had hoped to hear a positive word from Thouc regarding our G& R. He left us at the hotel while he went on his errands. Our day was spent mostly trying to work on the internet connection. There is a problem with it working some times and not at others. After a long period of trial and error, the hotel manager called for help and service has been better although it is slow.

Thouc came by around 9:30. While he and Tom had breakfast, we had Jayden and Dat in our room again. We spent about an hour with the boys. Like yesterday they explored and Jayden played with every button in sight. Thouc returned and we visited a while in our hotel suite. He doesn't offer much information. Although he knows we are anxious about our G&R, he does not seem to convey our sense of urgency. Perhaps that is just his way but we wish he would be more forthcoming. All we know is that the Doctor is supposed to visit the Leader of the Province regarding our G&R. While we visited, Thouc did offer one piece of valuable information. He pointed out our window on the third floor and showed us the hospital where Jayden was left at 3 days old. He elaborated a little regarding the circumstances and we will share this with Jayden at the appropriate time.

Thouc soon left with the boys and Angie and I were confined to our hotel. A long afternoon followed with no word from Thouc. At one point I walked down to the hospital just 300 yards from the hotel and took a few pictures. Once again I was the center of attention as people in the streets shouted, "hello" and stared. I spoke to one man who spoke a little English and told him where I was from. As we talked a crowd gathered to hear the strange man speaking strange words. I returned to the hotel and waited with Angie. We passed the time watching movies, trying to work on emails (when the internet was working) and wondering where Thouc was.

Finally around 5:15 he returned. We visited a while in the room with the boys again. However, Angie and I both noticed that Thouc was unusually preoccupied. He offered no word, absolutely nothing regarding his afternoon. We do not know what if anything he learned regarding our G&R or if it will happen tomorrow. I do not know if he was so quiet and downcast because of news he learned that he is not sharing or if perhaps, we are having our G&R tomorrow and he is realizing that his hours with Jayden are fast coming to an end. He does love him so. Anyway, we soon left for a couple of hours at the baby home. We played more ball and games with the children and then returned to the hotel to call it a day. We stopped off at the reception desk in the lobby to order some Dinner. The menu has no English words on it but it does have some pictures. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. Well some of those pictures spoke more than we wanted to know. Snake or lizard anyone?

It is now past midnight as I write this. Not every day is as productive as others. Not much ground was made today as far as we can tell. Maybe tomorrow. "The sun will come out tomorrow." Thank you for your prayers and thoughts.
Let's Get Jayden Home!!!

Jayden's Journey

2008-09-21T22:46:00.000-07:00

Sept. 22

Internet service has been hard to find for the last 24 hours. It is Monday about noon and I need to catch you up. So let's begin with Sunday.

Sunday we awoke to another bright day. The air was on and the memories of our hot Saturday were quickly fading. We were up around 6AM and had plans to meet Thouc in the hotel lobby at 8:00. We made breakfast in our room today. We had oranges, some kind of danish we had bought the night before and instant grits with butter. YUM!!! We also had instant coffee also purchased the night before. Finally some coffee I could relate to!

Thouc, Jayden, Dat and Tom were prompt as usual. We made our way down to the restaurant. Thouc and Tom had not yet eaten breakfast. We ordered a pepsi and and an omelette to eat later in the day. We learned that breakfast comes with the room.

As we talked we made our plans to go shopping. We wanted to buy some things for the baby home and Thouc knew best what they needed.

Every moment with Jayden is a memory. This morning at breakfast Thouc asked us to bring down the shoes we had brought with us for Jayden. We tried them on and of course he would have nothing to do with them. He has worn shoes before but not like these. They were too closed for his liking. So one of the things we needed to buy was a shoe that Jayden would wear.

At the supermarket, it was all hands on Jayden and Dat. The boys, like all little boys will do, love to explore. I am learning very quickly to be a toddler Dad again. We bought a blender/food processor so that they could grind up the food that the babies eat which consists of fish, rice and mixed vegetables. They are served this every morning. Throughout the day they may have little snacks, usually what we bring them and in the evening just before bed they are served a 4 oz. bottle of formula. We also purchased for the home a stainless steal kettle and food for the evening meal. On most days we eat a meal with the staff. It always consists of a bowl of rice mixed with whatever meat they have that day, bean sprouts and vegetables. It is very tasty and very good. Our favorite was a stew of pork, carrots, beats in a beat stock served over rice. We eat little but enough. We keep saying," they eat to live and in America, we live to eat." Another staple is a "pineapple", not like the ones we are familiar with, but one they none the less call a pineapple. It is very bountiful here as are many fruits. This is cut and served usuallly as a dessert. It is very dilicious.

The boys enjoyed our time at the market, we found a shoe that Jayden would wear, and now we were off to the home. We had a delicious lunch with the staff, played a while with the children and then Thouc said. "Let's Go!" When he is ready to leave, he is ready then. He took us back to our hotel suite, gave us the boys and said he would be back later.

Our first time alone with Jayden. (and Dat) Thouc really does know how to handle things well. We see exactly what he is doing. He is slowly letting go and allowing Jayden to see us without him. We spent maybe 2 hours with the boys in our suite. It was a time of exploration to say the least. Anything and everything that has a button, Jayden finds. He played with the tv remote, air conditioning remote, all the buttons on the phone, the camera, video etc.

We have called this blog Jaydens Journey. It has always been about our adoption experience. We have written about the trials and victories, ups and downs, the need for patience, the long delays, etc. But it hit me today that this really is about Jayden's Journey. His journey is only beginning, yet every new experience from the simpliest to the more complex opens up a whole new world for him. His fears are great. Angie just now said, "getting him in a bathtub will be a terrifying experience." I'm not sure if she meant for Jayden or us.!!!

Well, Jayden survived his first visit with us without his father figure Thouc. We ended the evening with a very nice walk on a surprisingly not so hot evening. We strolled with Thouc, Jayden, Dat and Tom and a 17 year old Vietnamese girl who helps out at the baby home and speaks English. It was another simple but special moment making memories and bonding with our son.

Well I must go. Angie is calling "Norman". What has she done now!!!

THE WOWICK

2008-09-21T02:30:00.000-07:00

Sept. 21

It is Sunday morning. We slept well in our cool air-conditioned room. Things happen early here. At 6:30 AM there was a knock on the door. Last night we spent the better part of an hour searching for the internet connection in our room. When we could not find it, I went downstairs and tried to explain our dilemma. No one in this hotel speaks English. Sign language has become an art form for Angie and I. Two young boys came upstairs with me and searched for the connection. They could not find it either. This is a business suite with no internet connection. I think someone forgot to put it in. Anyway the knock at the door this morning was related to the internet. This time, two young girls came to the rescue. With cord in hand they had come to find the internet connection. I guess they thought those silly boys just didn't know what they were doing. They too were unsuccessful. In case you are wondering, we are sitting behind the desk at in the hotel lobby plugged into the internet here. They amaze us with their willingness to meet our every request.

Last night had other interesting moments. You will recall that yesterday there was no power. Therefore, we had opened all the windows in our hotel room. When we returned in the evening, we had visitors. (bats to be exact!!!) Upon having the first one almost attack me I summoned for help. Soon two young girls were there and in short order had the bat in a bag and out of the room. All was quiet for a while when suddenly withoutd warning I was again attacked by this weird looking creature I think was a bat. When it flew into the den, I flew into the bedroom and out the door to get help. In the lobby I tried to exlplain to the bewildered looking boys what I needed. They could not understand my sign language nor my bat noises. I found a piece of paper and drew a picture. Suddenly and very excitedly one of the boys screamed, "Wowick." I now knew the name of the creatures that had come to destroy me.

Soon he and I were in my room. I showed him the Wowick hanging from the drapery and he motioned me into the bedroom with Angie and motioned for me to close the door. After a few minutes he was in the bedroom with us on the telephone. I guess he called 911. Soon there were 4 or 5 young men with weapons in hand all determined to defeat the wowick.

I need to say that Angie was very calm through all of this. I was the one freaking out. She wanted me to take pictures of this commotion but being the obedient one that I am, I ensisted that we do as we were told and stay behind the closed door. After a few minutes of holloring, jumping and firing of weapons, the boys gave us the all clear and life returned to normal.

Speaking of animals, Angie has noticed that the animals look different here. I do know that the wowick is a creature I have never met before. But the dogs, cats, cows all do seem to have somewhat different features here. The dogs are terrior-like for the most part.

A few more comments. Thouc has continually gone out of his way to grant us our every need from taking us several times to the supermarket or to the bakery to buy a cake for Jayden's birthday party, or simply thinking of us in that hot hotel room and taking us to the pavillion by the pond. He does a lot to try and apease these spoiled Americans. Last night, once again in an attempt to please us, he took us to another restaurant where once again we were served Pho.
We sat down on little red stools. Tom took a napkin and began wiping off our spoon. He then washed out our cups and poured us some tea. Their ways are different. They are very caring and concerned about our comfort. They are the most humble people I have ever met. The greatest gift they give to us is the gift of their precious children. The greatest gift we can give in return is to love and adore these children.

Where Are the Duke Power Trucks?

2008-09-21T01:49:00.000-07:00

Sept. 20

This morning we awoke to a bright and optimistic day filled with hope and excitement as we continue our bridge building with Jayden. It is moving day again. We are moving into a new hotel in town. We are staying the weekend. (Our G & R has not yet been set. Please pray for this as we need to do this Monday or Tuesday in order to make our scheduled flight home on Sept. 30) Thouc just discovered this beautiful hotel. It opened only six months ago. And best of all, we are staying in the suite or should I say "Sweet". It also is very affordable. I had just said goodbye to the "Geico Brothers" when suddenly and without any warning, the power went out. All the power in the hotel, All the power in the town. We learned that this occurs every Saturday in order to save money on energy. As our hotel manager told us, "we are a very poor town."

Now understand. It is only 8:00 AM and already it is stiffling and no breeze is blowing. To make matters even worse, our new hotel room has not been occupied for weeks and no air conditioning has been turned on. So it is extra stuffy!!! At breakfast, (more PHO) Thouc informed us that the air would be off untill 5PM. Nine hours in this heat and no where to find relief. Now for those of you who do not know my wife, I am in for a long day. It is too hot at the baby home without air so we have been quarentined to our hotel room. Thouc will pick us up after the power is back on sometime after 5PM.

I thought about what we would do back home if this happened. First we would declare that our rights had been violated. Then we would tie up the phone lines calling Duke Power and demanding immediatel attention. Here, they just take it in stride and go about their day as if nothing has changed.

I will not try and explain in detail the ways Angie and I kept cool today. Suffice it to say, clothes were limited. Angie had brought two portable, hand-held battery operated fans with us and they stayed on us all day. At about 4:00, Thouc called us and asked if we wanted to go to a cooler place and drink tea. Praise the Lord!!! Soon we were sitting with Thouc, Jayden and his best friend Dat and of course Tom our driver in little red chairs around a table next to a pond beside a pavillion. We sipped on pepsi and coconut. The top of the coconut was shaved off, a hole made, and straw inserted. We had another first. The juice was warm but flavorable and I am sure very nutritious.

It was a nice relaxing time as the sun begin to set. Thouc picked up some broken brick pieces and taught Jayden and Dat how to throw them into the pond and watch the water splash. The boys did this to their sheer delight. Soon, Jayden was throwing everything into the water; spoons, glass, paper, bottle caps etc.

Oh what simple pleasures a little boy can find who has not seen much of the outside world. This week Jayden has ridden in a van, been in an elevator, thrown rocks in a pond, been in a supermarket, all for the first time. Oh and don't forget....met his Mama and daddy. His little world is expanding. I keep thinking to myself he has no idea how large his world is about to become.

The power is back on!!!. We went to the baby home for an hour or so to end the day. We played ball, made up games all to the delight of these precious children. We ended this day with a trip to another restaurant with Thouc and Tom and had yet another bowl of, lets all say it together...PHO!

BUILDING BRIDGES

2008-09-21T00:44:00.001-07:00

Sept. 19th Morning

Yesterday we met the "geico Brothers". Two lizards like the ones in the commercial. They were running up and down the walls of our hotel room reminding us once again that we were not in Kansas anymore. Our hotel in the village of Vi Thanh was very quaint. Once again we were humbled as the staff went out of their way to meet our every need. I am sure we have said this before but we are like celebrities here. Everywhere we go, people stare at us and say "hello".
They do this because it is the only word in English many of them know and they love to hear us repeat it back to them. People follow us everywhere we go. The children are particularly enthralled with us. They follow us around the supermarket giggling behind our back. They are precious!!!

NO MORE PHO!!. Pho is a soup of sorts with meat, rice noodles, bean sprouts, and spices heavy on the mint. They serve it for breakfast, dinner, any time and all the time. But it is very affordable. On one occasion we ordered four bowls for our table and soda, all for $5.00. Angie says the entire town smells of Pho. I know for sure that the hallway leading into our room smelled of something I am unfamiliar with. Anyway we are surviving on Pho, instant grits, rice crackers, and fruit. We will lose weight on this trip. One more word on our room. The mattress is as hard as concrete. Our backs are taking a beating.

This was the morning we were going to make a connection with Jayden. We arrived early in the morning as the children were all having breakfast. Jayden's eyes fixed on us. I brought with me a new strategy today, a picture book. A couple of the older boys begin to gravitate toward me when I opened the book and sure enough soon Jayden followed. It was not yet a full surrender, but he cautiously made his way in my direction. it was a great morning as we watched Jayden grow more and more attached to us and we were certainly building a bond with him.

I must also note how difficult a time this is for the staff and especially Thouc. With each passing day I see him becoming more and more melancholy as he realizes his days with Jayden are drawing to a close. These care givers love these children. They have been the only families, mothers and father they have known. They know these children are going to a place where they will be loved and adored, but they do not want them to leave. We understand this. It is bitter sweet for them.

Jayden will be sad for several days if not weeks when we leave with him. We know the journey home will be diffecult for him.These days in the village bonding with him will help the transition and will help to eleviate any doubts the staff may have regarding our love and dovotion to Jayden.

On one occasion when Thouc, Jayden, Angie and I were visiting the landlord next door to the baby home, Thouc asked us, "what do you want Hau (Jayden) to be when he grows up"?
I wanted to say, "an American." Right now we just want to get him home to America, South Carolina and Pacolet. We are not conceerned about his future at this point. This question however conveys the deep love and concern Thouc has for Jayden and all the children.

It was a great day. We had held our son on numerous occasions, played ball, had him running and laughing and reaching out to us.He is feeling comfortable with us and now we can begin to build bridges to his heart. I am reminded of a popular song, "Love Can Build A Bridge" (between your heart and mine.)

The Fog Has Lifted

2008-09-19T06:09:00.001-07:00

I'm sorry!!! I think we heard people screaming all the way from America wanting to know why I left them hangin. Well it brought you back didn't it? Actually I was tired and went to bed. Now to continue. It had just rained when we arrived for the first time to the baby home and when I got out of the van with video camera in hand my glasses fogged up. I fumbled my way into the home, still fogged up trying to find my boy. It didn't take long for the fog on my glasses to clear and THERE HE WAS. ASLEEP!!!!! I had traveled 11,000 miles to watch my boy sleep. He and his best friend, Dat, were asleep on a hammock, legs intertwined, facing in opposite directions. My first thought of Jayden was that he was even smaller than I had been led to believe. But there he was, my beautiful boy. Finally, the fog had lifted in more ways than one. We have been living in a fog of sorts for many months. But as I stood there over my boy getting my first glimpes of him, all the waiting, the ups and downs, the restless days were all worth it. Maybe it is like what a mother feels after an intense labor. They say once you see your baby, the memories of the pain leave.

We arrived just at the end of nap time. Some of the eight remaining orphans in the home were beginning to stir while others like Jayden continued their nap. We spent five minutes or so taking pictures of the other babies and meeting the staff while Jayden slept. But I kept finding my eyes drifting in his direction. I was eladed with Jayden.

After a little while , one of the five nurses at the home begin to arouse Jayden and soon he was up. He immediately focused his eyes on me and then Angie, me again and then Angie. He was captivated by the strangers who were standing over his bed taking pictures of his every move. We learned later that we probably were not strangers in the sense that the staff had prepared him. He knew his mommy and daddy were coming. We had sent a family album to him months ago and he had seen our pictures and had been told stories about his family that one day would be coming to get him. The next several hours were spent playing with the babies and laughing at our attempts to communicate with the staff. The baby home is small. There is a larger room where most of the babies sleep and spend their day. There is a smaller back room where the babies are changed and where a few of them sleep. The five nurses, or care givers, all sleep in one bed in a back bed room. There is a small dining area with a table and 8 chairs. There is no other furniture. They cook in another room adjacent to the baby home.
It is very small, simple, but clean. We could not help but notice how clean the floor was and how attentive the nurses are to every child's needs.

We had been told by Thouc and others who have preceded us in adopting from the home not to expect Jayden to immediately come to us. And they were right. He was stand-offish for most of the first few hours we were there. We brought him toys and books and begin slowly to introduce him to one toy at a time. We also brought him a ball and we begin to play some ball with the older children, including Jayden. Still, while I had held every child, at the end of the day, I had not held my son. We even had a birthday party for Jayden as he turned two on Sept. 14. All this attention, yet when we left for the evening, I had not held him.

Angie had begun later in the day to make some measurable contact with him. During the birthday party, Jayden began to play a game with her we will call, "Mama, have some peanuts".
He would give her a peanut, she would say thank you, and this repeated itself over and over again until Angie had had enough peanuts for one day. Several times during the day, Angie would reach for him but he would turn away or run every time.

We left that first day knowing that it would take time. Again, he KNOWS in his little mind that we have come to take him away from the only world he has known, a two room haven where all his needs are met, where he is loved and cared for, and where his life is.

Trip to "Jaydenville"

2008-09-19T06:09:00.000-07:00

(Norman) The Journey continues. Tonight, (Friday) we are back in our hotel in the village. Angie has had some trouble with her stomach so I am blogging tonight. Let me take you back to yesterday and some of our experiences. The day began early with a 7AM trip to the "Floating Market". This was a very relaxing enjoyable trip of about 1 hour. You will see pictures of this on the blog, but it is a fascinating view of life in Vietnam. First, the tour boat we were on was small and not easy to board. There was one little man helping us into the boat. I went first and then it was Angie's turn. She about threw the little man overboard as she grapped for him as she lost her balance. After that was over, we settled in for our trip down the river. It was a private tour as we were the only ones on the boat that early in the morning. The air was fresh, not too hot, and the smells were poignant. the whole idea of the "floating Market" is that these people live on their boats where they make their livelihood. There were perhaps 50-60 boats and each one was loaded with fruits, vegetables, and other types of sellable merchandise. At one of the boats we stopped and Thouc bought a pineapple. It was cut for us on the spot into 4 pieces. It was really delicious. There were a number of fruits we could not identify. All along the banks of the river were dwellings made from various materials; sticks, thatch, tin, cardboard, whatever. it is a picture of utter poverty at its worst. But even in this land of poverty, there is a beauty about it all that you can not really put into words. The whole simple way of life; no hustle and bustle, bills to pay, deadlines to meet, the worries of a capitalistic society, has a certain warmth and innocense to it that we have lost in our culture today.

Afer we returned to shore, we returned to the riverbank and rested a few minutes while Thouc went to take care of some business. We sat in a beautiful park and were not there 2 minutes before a little Vietnamese lady approached and started talking. Everyone we meet is fascinated at us. We are definitely an oddity. She began rubbing and beating on Angie's back. Angie thought it was great but I knew this was her way of making a little money. After she finished Angie she started on me. I gave her a 20,000 bill in Vietnamese currency (@1.50) and she started working even harder. I think she thought she had hit the jackpot. After a few minutes she disappeared, Thouc returned and our day continued.

The trip to "Jaydenville" was basically uneventful. Tom, our driver, was his usual self honking our way down the highway. Motorbikes ruled the road. We listened to CD's on the way down. We heard, John Denver, Dolly Parton, Glenn Campbell, Johnny Mathis, Don McLean, and other notable singers from the 70's. As we were nearing "Jaydenville", I thought it was appropriate that suddenly John Denver was singing, Take Me Home Country Roads. The Road there became more narrow with each passing mile, and at one point, almost impassible due to the pot holes and uneven gravel. Interestingly, there were piles of gravel all along the road but apparently no one had found the time to spread it out. After about a 45 minute ride from CanTho, we pulled off the road and we had arrived at the baby home.

The boy we had prayed for, the one we had saved for, the one we had only seen in pictures, the one we had traveled (finally after 20 months) half way around the world for, waited just inside the door.

Batteries Included

2008-09-17T07:40:00.001-07:00

Today has been another eventful day. Thuoc arrived this morning 5 minutes early to pick us up at the Movenpick Hotel in HCMC. He had a van with a driver(Tom) to take us to Can Tho. We had a very nice ride through the many towns and Provinces. Tom (Our Driver) darted in and out very quickly through the hundreds of scooters. Sometimes missing other cars, scooters and people by inches. He does this at a great rate of speed I mind you. There are businesses and homes all along the way through the towns.

Since we have been here, we have come to realize that PHO is a very important dish here in Vietnam. Pho is a kinda soup with noodles, vegetables and a meat of some sort. There are many restaurants along the way to partake in this feast. It is funny to see little pastic tables and chairs (child size)set up with hammicks right beside the tables in these restaurants. People pull up their scooters right beside the table in the open air restaurant eat and then can rest in their hammock.

Well I survived my first squatter restroom today. That was a real concerned that I had before we came on this trip. The worry was that I would be the one to have to go to the restroom too many times along the way to Can tho. Thuoc said that he had planned to take a 15 minute break half way to Can tho where they had american style bathrooms. Well NORMAN was the one not making it half way. We had to stop at a regular restroom along the way. You will be happy to note that we lived to tell about it. After a four hour ride, we arrived a ferry that would take us across the river into Can Tho. As you wait in a line of cars for the ferry, there are venders there with food to purchase. Fruits galore lined the streets. These fruits were so colorful and we have not ever seen some of these varieties. Along with the hassle and bussle of the street venders, you also have beggars with their hands out for money. It was heart breaking to see the blind. old and homeless people there coming up to the windows of our van begging. Thuoc bought us this kind of roasted corn that was delcious for a snack as we waited about 30 minutes to board the ferry. Thuoc is a gentle quiet man that doesn't say a lot of words but is very kind and gracious and has taken very good care of us so far.

We arrived around 1pm and rested for the rest of the afternoon. ( A much needed rest I might add) The people in the hotel are precious. I would say about 7 people escorted us to our room and made sure everything was in order. Thuoc picked us up at the Hotel at 6a;30pm and we walked to a small local Cafe and had supper. The night air was nice but the humidity was high. Norman and I wanted to eat very little. We have been doing nothing but eating new dishes and just wanted a chicken noodle soup. Thuoc and Tom chowed down some pretty weird looking stuff and we had a quiet dinner.

After dinner, Norman informed Thuoc that we wanted to go to a store to get a phone to be able to call the US. We also needed some supplies for a birthday party for Hau 's(Jayden). We were the main attraction at the Mall Store. Here, in Can Tho, they have a three story building that has everything in it you would ever want to buy. Norman and I were so tickled at how the Vietnamese people would walk right up to the counter where we were and just listen to our converstaion as we bought this phone. It was so comical as people would come up and say Hello and just giggle. It was so precious to watch their reaction. Norman said he felt like we must have looked like some kind of Aliens to them. After we bought the phone we headed upstair to the toy department. It was so great to see Thuoc smile for one of the few times as we bought toys for Hau (Jayden) You can tell he has a love for the babies. He knew exactly what he thought Jayden would like and offered his opinion as we shopped. We didn't have enough Vietnamese dollars with us to pay for everything and Thuoc had to explain to the staff that we had US dollar. It was a comical situation as we tried to purchase these items. One of the neat things we keep noticing is the amazing attention to customer service here. We purchased Jayden a toy truck which needs batteries. When we asked about the batteries, they replied, "we give you batteries if you buy."
Not only did they give us the batteries, but they put them in and made sure everything worked.
So maybe not in America, but in Vietnam we learned, batteries are included.

We finished up at the store and Thuoc had us sit in front of the store to wait on the Tom and the van. He set up the little chairs right in front of the store LOL. We really were the center of attention then. There was a beautiful little boy about the age of 9 that was facinated with us. He set up his chair right in front of ours and kept the most beautiful smile on his face as we sat there and studied each other. Tom arrived with the van, and we thought we were headed back to the Hotel when thuoc had Tom stop the van in front of a bakery. We went in and Thuoc helped us select a beautiful belated birthday cake for Jayden. Jayden turned two years old September 14th. The cakes here in Vietnam are so beautiful and colorful. If it taste as good as it looks we are in for a treat. Tom and Thuoc dropped us off at the Hotel and said to be ready to go at 7am tomorrow. We will go to the Floating market and then off to the baby home. Please pray that Friday we will have him and head back to HCMC. We will blog when we have internet again. Until then keep us in your Thoughts and prayers.

2008-09-16T16:41:00.000-07:00

Where is the Pepto Bismol??????

2008-09-16T08:42:00.000-07:00

Just kidding......Tonight we were picked up at 7pm sharp and were taken to a very nice and popular restaurant in down town HCMC.......If I thought the daytime in HCMC was something......the night is even more exciting. Everyone is out and scurrying everywhere. Some sitting on little chairs around little tables......I mean little. Like child size tables and chairs having dinner and coffee....To sit in these chairs would be a challedge. LOL.....scooters everywhere! Lights add a festive mood to the whole feeling of the night. There are 9 million people living in HCMC and 4 million have scooters.......The gas stations are a crazy sight......we know nothing of gas lines in USA. I am told they pay $1.00/liter....With all of the craziness with the scooters, there seems to be a quiet respectfulness for one another....I see no one getting mad or displaying fits of road rage.....

I am also amazed at the electrical lines......I have never seen anything like the tangled mess they appear to be in. Some so close to balconies that you would think someone would get electrocuted. But then again, all the signs and lights work so who cares what I think. huh?

The dining was an experience of many different samplings of vietnamese dishes. The vietnamese food in America is not like what we ate tonight.......Oh my, was this wonderful...We ate til I thought I would pop. We were still full from the lunch today....We were going to walk to the famous open-air market downtown but decided to come back to the Hotel to pack......We will see the market when we come back from the province.

Tomorrow, Thuoc is suppose to pick us up at 8am.....We travel to Can Tho and stay one night. We are excited to be getting closer to our Boy, Jayden

This has been a day to remember. Im am tired now and will post more when we can......Love to all for all of the prayers and support. Angie and Norman

Having trouble sending pics tonight . I will try again tomorrow

King and Queen for a Day!!

2008-09-16T02:18:00.000-07:00

How do I begin to tell you about this wonderful day. First, I just have to praise the Lord for sending the wonderful Le T ---family into our lives. As Norman told you before , it was by chance that we even knew about this family. Their 17 year old son goes to High School with our daughter. Norman had gone in to the school just to let the Guidance Counselor know that we would be out of town(Country I mean) The Guidance Counselor informed Norman that they had a new Student from HCMC and asked Norman if he wanted to meet the boy. Norman and The student exchanged numbers and the boy wrote to his family here in HCMC and we were to call them when we arrived. We called the Le T---Family and they have welcomed us into this wonderful Country like we never would have dreamed. I continue to have to pinch myself and tell myself that these acts of kindness are actually happening.

Mr. Le T.(we will call him) owns an importing business here in HCMC and his wife, Nuoc, is a Lawyer. After Supper last night, they told us to be ready to depart the Hotel at 9:00am today. Mr. Le T would not be able to join the party for the day but his wife wanted to show us the City. This morning, a nice Toyota SUV arrived , and we were greeted by Nuoc, Her Associate (he was a lawyer here in HCMC also) , Moon, (He was to be our tour guide and Ben, the driver ( and no that is not the right spelling, but Ben is the sound of his name.)

First we went to the Reunification Palace. The weather was not hot!!!!!! For those of you that know me , you know how GREAT that was. The palace was beautiful and we had our own tour guide that Nuoc had for us for the day. WOW!!!! After the tour of the Palace we headed over to the War Museum. It was very disturbing to say the least. A War is never a good to talk about and is especially not a good thing when hearing it from the other sides point of view. Enough said.....

After our history lesson, We had an unreal lunch at a wonderful Vietnames Restaurant. We thought the food would never stop coming.....Even with the Broken English we had the best time laughing and sharing with these beautiful people. Nuoc shared that she was so honored to meet someone from where her son was living now. She asked that we care for him as family as she cares for us, Nuoc asked me as a mother to watch over her son in the US.....I have never felt so honored. Doesn't the Lord just work things out for the best. I will hand the PC over to Norman now . He wants to share our adventure after lunch.

(Norman) Now after the lunch (shrimp, chinese vegetables, noodle soup, coke, fried bananas,fruit,
deep fried shrimp cakes and the list goes on, we headed to the seamtress shop. Angie had mentioned yesterday how nice it would be to buy the girls and Jayden a traditional Vietnamese outfit. Well, ask and ye shall receive.
Each was fitted for their outfits. Then the fun began. It was Angie's turn. She hesitated, but they would not take no for an answer. Now, Angie is OK with me telling you this. It was a priceless moment. After the little seamtress measured Angie, she got on the phone and started talking to someone in a very distressed tone of voice. When she hung up the phone, she told Angie, sorry but we are not able to make you this particular dress because your hips are too wide. Well, Angie had to settle on something "makeable". Now understand, it's not that Angie is sooooooo big, it is that the Vietnamese women are soooooo little. Now, I did not escape their tape measure either. I believe that little lady measured every inch of my beautiful body. And if that was not humiliating enough, they then remarked that the color of the material chosen for me was especially designed for a man between the age of 50 and 100.(I am not kidding!!!)We had one of the most halarious laughs at ourselves in a long time.It felt wonderful. They were so innocent and trying to help, it was precious. Jayden and his daddy will look handsome in their new clothes. So far we have been overwhelmed at our good fortune and the beautiful new friends we have made. Tonight, the Journey continues as once again we are guests of the Le T family for Dinner.

Tomorrow we are on the road again, 7 hours, and we know the best part of our journey is about to begin. Jayden awaits.!!!

Here is a letter from Thuoc that we received just today. I thought you might li8ke to see the plans. We will BLOG as much as possible. The internet here is not very reliable but we will try!!!

Hi,

I told Red cross registers for your G&R ceremoney on Friday,19th, they will tell us exactly day when we come there.

We try make your staying in here not over 2 weeks since your arrival.Everything will be OK.

By hte way I want to remind you, Hau is pretty old so at the first time you come Baby home try to make the acquaintance of him slowly.He love balls, football, moving toys and like hearing music fr cell phone...I you haven't had them yet I will guide you buy them in supermaket at Can Tho city , then you give him when you meet him.

Actually he is very friendly not to hard to make friend with him.

I have a van take you to the province , the van usually take the former families come to Baby home. Maybe I have 2 my relatives go with me they want to visit floating market if you don't mind.

Best regards,

Thuoc

Our BIG day awaits !!!!!!!!

Angie and Norman,
PS don't forget to go to the link on our BLOG for more pictures of our Journey
( Right upper corner of BLOG)

Going out on the town but not very far tonight

2008-09-15T07:11:00.000-07:00

We made it to the lobby, which was fine, because we were tired. We had a very nice dinner in the hotel restaurant as guests of Duong's family, the exchange student at Broome. His mom and dad are very nice people and like so many of the Vietnamese people, can not do enough for you. They really go out of the way to serve you. We had chicken, beef, chinese vegetables and a great time trying to communicate through the language barrier. His mom speaks no English so Duong's dad,
Dung,was her interpreter. Tomorrow she is taking us to see the sites and have lunch and get our mobile phone from Vietnam working, and tomorrow night we are invited to go out and eat with them again. I think we made a hit. I know they did. It is so nice having a contact in case of emergency or language issues. Well I'm off to bed. the house keeper just came in and "turned down the bed" for us. They never do that in America!
good night to all.
Norman

2008-09-15T02:47:00.000-07:00

Where Are We??? What Happened?????

2008-09-15T00:06:00.000-07:00

It has been one whirl wind here. This whirl wind picked us up and dropped us in Ho Chi Minh City. We flew out of Charlotte Saturday at 6 pm. We arrived at LAX at 11:00pm and with the clocks set back 3 hours, we had 5 or so hours to kill. We were not to leave until 1:45am for Hong Kong but the time went by really quickly. By the time we got off the plane and into LAX, the only food places opene were fast food. Good old Mickey "D's" You guys know how I love fast food.

Then it was off on the 15 hour Flight to Hong Kong. First of all, for those of you that were worried about me being scared to death(including myself) , I will have to say that I was pretty brave. It is amazing the bravery that comes in a bottle of medication. LOL With 2 Ativan and Tylenol PM ....I could fly all night. I will say 15 hours of flying is awful on the back and legs,(and sanity) No isle seats for Norman and I and you know granddaddy long legs needs his space......One time Norman even said "Jayden must be a pretty special litttle boy to put up with this" LOL
The Airline was wonderful and boy do the Asian airlines know about Customer service.

We arrived Monday morning, 10am in HCMC (Sunday night 11pm EST) .After we picked up all of our luggage, we headed out to find our way to the Hotel. Right before we left I had hopped online and made a reservation at the Omni Hotel. We did not have time to wait for a confirmation letter because we were flying out that very night. We just hoped that they got our reservation and that the Omni shuttle would be out front of the airport when we arrived in HCMC. We walked outside into the heat of mornin in front of the Airport. There were hundreds of people holding up signs for people's names and names of different hotels and other boys trying to get anyone needing a ride, into their taxis. A few times I thought Norman was a goner.. We waited and waited with a no show on the Omni shuttle bus. Norman decided to walk up to a young man who held a sign for a hotel that looked ligitimate ,(Now mind you, there are hundreds of young men waving signs) and asked how he could get the Omni shuttle. This young man's face brightened and he said "Yes Yes Our Hotel was the Omni, but now we are the Movenpick Hotel". He said that he would run and call the shuttle. Well I had been reading about all of the scams to watch out for, so when this shiney new BMW drives up and starts putting our luggage in the back seat, I thought that we were being taken by the mafia or something. The 15 minute trip to the unknown and nameless Hotel was unreal. I do think that I could describe the traffic, and mere words certainly would not give the experience justice. I did learn #1 driving rule around here is.....Honk and drive. .....and what- ever you do NEVER STOP! There were thousands and ,I mean thousands of scooters everywhere. No traffic lights and no lanes in the roads that I could see. When we arrived, what we thought should have been the Omni, in reality was the Movenpick. But it wasn't a scam after all. That can only happen to my hubby. The Hotel didn't have our reservations but had rooms. The internet sight had said breakfast included but we do not get that either.... No worries......good thing I brought instant grits. Besides, they fed us so much on the plane flights that we may never want to eat again. Well .... I will save some news for Norman......We are well.... not too sleepy and are trying to stay up until at least 9pm or so tonight. Here is a note from Thuoc and this will kinda give an itinerary of what is to come.....or should I say we pray will come next.....

Hi,

at 8h am 17 Sept we going to meet you at Omni (Ummmmm I better let him know about the hotel's name change) hotel then we go to Can tho (180km distance from Ho Chi Minh city), we stay there one night, 18 Sept 6h30 have brekfast, at 7 am we will go to the floating market, 8h30 we return to go to the province ( 65 km distance from Can tho city ), chech in hotel then visit Baby home,

I will give you more details late,

I will let Norman give some of his thoughts and then we will send what little picture we have .......
I We will have more soon.

(Norman) Where did Sunday go? Suddenly it is Monday morning and I feel like we missed a day. I have that, I stayed up all night feelin,(maybe because basically I did). You know how it feels.You can't concentrate and your head is spinning. My head feels heavy and I do need sleep. But that will come tonight.

Tonight we are going out!!! One day before we left, I was at Syble's school, and was told that there was an exchange student at Broome from VietNam. How interesting I thought, not really thinking too much about it. The guidance couselor asked me if I would like to meet him, and if so he would call him down to the office. Well I said, "sure." Soon I was meeting a very nice young man from Vietnam called Le Trung Dung. Of course, as only the Lord could do,Trung was from HCMC. In all of Vietnam, I met a boy at Broome High who is from the city where we are going to be. He gave me his father's phone number here in HCMC.
I called him today and tonight he is coming to take us out to dinner. I know he will be a tremendous asset to help us find our way in these first two days of unceretainty here. He speaks very good English.
Angie was telling you about the hundreds of people gathered outside the airport and the young man I met. She was not exxagerating which is in itself unreal.
But what she didn'tell you is that not only was this young man not a scam artist, that the Onmi Hotel is now really the MOVENPICK Hotel, but also the young boy works for the Hotel. He not only arranged for our ride here, but later he wore a different uniform and delivered our bags to our room. He is a one man show!
This Hotel is beautiful. The room is a King size bed, air-conditioned, nice bathtub and sitting area, and a nice 32 inch tv with American programming.
I am sure the facilities we will see in the province where Jayden lives will be quite different. We will enjoy what we have for now. We will write more after our night out on the town.

Yeah, Norman looks like "A big night out on the town LOL Angie

2008-09-13T06:36:00.000-07:00

Here is a copy of the Letter I received this morning giving a summary of what we can hope to happen. I fell for our Agency because they have not been able to tell us specifics. They feel as upset as we do and there seems to be nothing we can do about it except go with the flow. This Province just does things as they see fit and we can not make them do otherwise. So we have no specific details in our schedule.

Thuoc is planning to go to Hanoi on Sunday so that he can submit some papers to DIA on Monday. He hopes to be finished in time to travel back to HCMC Monday night. If he can't make a flight, he'll come back on Tuesday. In any case, he would like you to be ready to leave on Wednesday. You will all go to Cantho (the "big" city in the province) and stay one night--he will make reservations for you there at the Golf Hotel--it's nice. There is a restaurant right outside of the hotel that has a "Western" menu--if you are leaving the hotel, it's immediately to your left. But if you want to try some other places, go out of the hotel and to your right and explore! :-) Then you'll actually go to the baby home on Thursday. He has not confirmed an exact date for the G&R--but hopefully it will be Thursday or Friday. He will also make reservations for you at a hotel in town where the baby home is--this hotel is a little nicer, has internet in the lobby--maybe in rooms--and some of the staff speak a little English. But you do have the option of staying at the hotel connected to the baby home--but it is extremely "bare". To give you a big hint, my kids called it the "Lizard Hotel"! Of course my kids loved it--they love lizards! But if you're not crazy about staying with "wildlife" in your room, you may prefer to stay in the hotel in town. Taxis are super cheap! You can even use the "mo-ped taxis" and ride on the back of a mo-ped! They even can provide helmets! So it won't cost much to get back and forth--even several times a day. It is possible the baby could stay with you if you are there overnight--but you'll have to check with Thuoc. But there is a chance that you may not even need to spend the night in Vi Tanh--it could just be a day trip if you're really lucky. Anyway......I can hardly believe that this is happening! We have been waiting for what seems like forever! And finally we see some positive movement for our families! whew! So--good luck!!!!!!! And please let me know if you have any questions for packing or getting ready to go......hip horray!!!! If I don't hear from you before you leave, please email me when you get a chance to let me know how things are going. I hope you have a wonderful trip!!!!

So there it is.....Alot of "maybes" and "if this happens" type situations but .......We are going to get our son!!!!! and we will do what it takes to have Jayden home with us where he has belonged for an awful long time.

Angie

Come and Join Us

2008-09-12T21:29:00.000-07:00

As the winds of Hurricane Ike batter the Texas coast, we have been in a whirl-wind of sorts ourselves today as we make all the final preparations for the Journey to Jayden tomorrow. Just as there is so much uncertainty with a hurricane, there is even still uncertainty regarding our adoption. We are leaving without a G &R.(Giving and receiving) date. Apparently, according to our agency, this is "the most certainty we are going to get." We put our hands in the hands of Thouc, our laison in VietNam. We are praying for a smooth, problem free trip, but we know to expect the unexpected. We will update the blog regularly while there so we hope you will join us on our "Journey to Jayden." Thank you for your prayers and support.
Norman

Off we go!!!!!!!!

2008-09-12T20:21:00.000-07:00

We are on our way!!!! We have been running around like chickens with their heads cut off. We found out late yesterday that we need to be in the Province of Hau Giang Tuesday. That means we fly out Tomorrow at 6:00pm. We made all of our reservations today, finished packing, cleaned and performed various last minute details. We do not have a Giving and Recieving date yet. Our Vietnam Faciltator asked us to come and we will travel Tuesday to Hau Giang with the hopes of meeting with the Province Leaders on Wednesday. we are praying to get Jayden then. Hang on Here we go!!!!!!!

Could it be real??????

2008-09-11T12:08:00.000-07:00

Well, Maybe.....
Here is an email from our Vietnamese Facilitator......He is telling us to come To be there after the Monday September 15th,....our US Agency is wanting us to delay making definate plans until tomorrow when they have received the final plans. It is so hard not to call and get plane tickets for saturady right now......I have called our travel agent to see if we can make plane reservations to leave the US on Saturday.....Arrive in HCMC on Sunday......Rest up on Monday and head for our Province on tuesday September 16th for a G and R on Wednesday or Thursday. If we make them today and then something happens we will need to be able to put the flight on hold.....we may as well wait ....but one day notice is crazy!!!! Here is the letter....

Hi,
Giving and receiving ceremoney must have the present of the leader of the justice department. on 15 the leader of the justice busy for the meeting, he will return on 15 night so you could come here after 15.
Tomorrow i have to go to the province.I return on Sat to ready to meet you in Ho Chi Minh city,

Best regards,

I will keep you updated. I can see our trip finally starting to really hapen. Please keep us in your prayers as we get ready for this trip.....Pray that I do not have time to worry about that long flight. More later, Angie

We're Up!! We Down....We up Again....and so it goes

2008-09-11T08:58:00.000-07:00

I am cautiously excited about this email.....

Hi Angie

I talked to Thuoc about your case and he seems to think it will be okay to travel next week. He said that the Justice has a meeting in Hanoi to meet with DIA on Monday. So nothing could happen Monday or Tuesday for you. But he seemed to think that the middle to end of next week would be okay. I want to have him confirm this one more time before you actually book your tickets! But I would start getting ready to finally leave!!! :-) He is supposed to email me tomorrow with more details and updates. I'll let you know when we can make defiante arrangements for your travel plans to VietNam......but I think you will be getting on that plane soon! :-)

We will see where this goes Until then, Angie

Is there a Timeline?

2008-09-11T05:24:00.000-07:00

I have been putting off this BLOG entry . We really felt like our next entry would be full of excitement and news of our plans to leave. We completely packed this past weekend and we were looking forward to this past Tuesday when we thought Thuoc would be meeting with the Province Officials to get our final instructions on when to come and take our little boy home. Well, it does not look like that will be the case in the near future.

We have learned that the meeting Tuesday was canceled due to lack of payment by our American Agency. Our Agency financially supports the baby home--renting the facility, paying for utilities and supplies, paying salaries for the nannies and doctor, etc. Approximately a week ago Thuoc notified our Agencythat it was time to pay the rent for the baby home (it is paid in six month intervals). The agency says that they wired the money on the Friday before the meeting was to take place on Tuesday. Unfortunately, the transfer was not in the account in VietNam on Monday in order for Thuoc to travel to the province for the meeting scheduled on Tuesday. Thuoc feels that he must wait until the money is received so that he can personally take it to the landlord to pay rent. Our Adoption Agency states that they did not realize that Thuoc was waiting for the wire transfer before he would even travel to the province. Had they known, we would have insisted that he go ahead and travel to the province in order to meet with the officials. We were shocked to realize that he was still in HCMC and not any where near the Province. However, he did have communication with the doctor about our cases. They are all in various stages, but still making progress (at a snail's pace). Our Agency is now telling us that they have no way of knowing if the transfer has been completed in the Vietnamese account until the money is actually recieved and posted as available in the account. An international wire transfer can take anywhere several days and sometimes longer if paperwork has to be transferred to different branches. With that news given to us on Tuesday, we still hoped that the money would get to Vietnam. Supposedly, the local province leaders had rescheduled the meeting for Thursday. We have heard no news as of yet and it is Thursday night in Vietnam now.

I am amazed and shocked at this most recent delay. I can not imagine that our Agency would not realize that this money was due and would not have it sent to vietnam before it caused Thuoc to refuse to go to the Province without the money being in his account.
I am at a loss as to what our timeline is now.
Angie

2008-09-05T10:42:00.000-07:00

This is an excerpt from a letter that I received from our US facilitator. Maybe we will travel soon ... Please pray that we will leave next weekend like this letter is hinting:

Hi Angie
I am SO excited right now I can hardly stand it.......I can't even tell myself to 'be cautious'.....it just has to really happen this time!!!! In Thuoc's email, he said that he 'will recieve Invitation for Band'. So if he really gets it on Tuesday, you could travel next weekend!!! ....I'm happy for you--your news sounds the most positive!!!! I sure hope it really happens!!!

Keeping all fingers and toes and eyes crossed. Angie

Go Gamecocks!!

2008-08-27T14:36:00.000-07:00

Well, Here we sit....waiting, waiting and more waiting. No word as of yet.

Tomorrow night will start our beloved South Carolina Gamecocks football season. We are die hard Gamecocks....you have to be to follow the Gamecocks. They haven't had a long tradition of winning football games. Even with a great coach like Steve Spurrier, they can't seem to get it together. "Maybe this year is the year for our team!". We have said that last statement about as much as we say "maybe we will travel this week to get our Jayden".

I found these cute pics of our sweet boy. We have a state rival in South Carolina..... CLEMSON TIGERS... there are two kinds of wins we get excited about at our house:

#1 A GAMECOCK Win and

#2 A clemson loss.

In these pictures some of the families that traveled ahead of us tortured our poor little man by putting on this terrible clemson hat. He will need much couseling when we finally get him. I just pray this gamecock was not to tramatized by the experience. As you can see by these pics he was not al all too happy with this clemson hat.

GO COCKS!! Jayden you will be the best little

gamecock ever!

Monday brings another week.

2008-08-25T15:25:00.001-07:00

I am told that the leaders of the province are back from their training week and are ready to start looking at our adoption cases. All we need is a date for our Giving and Receiving Ceremony. Hope we can travel this week. We want to get Jayden home before September 14th, 2008 (His birthday)

2008-08-21T04:40:00.000-07:00

New pictures of Jayden are always a pick-me-upper. In these pictures, they were having a birthday party for one of the other boys that turned two. I sure do pray we get our boy home for his second birhday. Looks like Jayden was trying to get in on cutting the cake as the birthday boy sat by and watched.

Maybe next week?????

2008-08-20T05:39:00.000-07:00

Just a note to say that this week will see no movement I am afraid. We have been told that the local leaders in Vietnam are out of town for the week attending required classes. Just what kind of classes the leaders must take is beyond me, but this is what we are being told. Just when you think there could not be another delay one appears. I am sure Thuoc will not even go to the province this week.

Jayden turns two years old September 14th! Please pray with us that we will be home celebrating his birthday in his new home.

The Beat Goes On

2008-08-19T17:19:00.000-07:00

August 19th. The days are getting shorter and our wait is getting longer. The good news is, we have missed the rainy season and the incredibly hot July and August in VietNam. We continue to wait! Football season is almost here. We had thought we would be back with Jayden long before our South Carolina Gamecocks took the field, but now we run a real risk of missing some games.
We have been waiting for Jayden almost as long as we have been waiting for a winning football team. I do dream of taking my son to a Carolina Gamecock football game. I can only imagine what he will think the first time he hears those 80,000 plus fans screaming to the sounds of "2001", the Carolina team entrance music. He will make a cute gamecock and I will be a proud Toddler Dad at 53. We are hanging in there. We have a great number of friends and family and a great church family supporting us as we wait. Everyone waits with us. Jayden does not know how blessed he is. He was chosen for us before the foundation of the world. God saved him for us and God will take us to him in His time. Hang in there Jayden! Your Day is coming SOON!!!
We love you!!!
Dad

Two parties over the weekend!

2008-08-18T11:37:00.000-07:00

But still no "going away" party for Norman and I.....We met with two other adopting couples Friday night for supper. We ate, we laughed, we fussed, we cried and we prayed. We prayed that something would happen this week. Their cases are behind ours so they are as concerned with our travel plans as well as their own. Our adoption Agency could not reach our Vietnam contact (Thuoc) at all today. That is not very encouraging.

Our second party was for our 19 year old daughter, Kaylee, She is off to college today for her second year. How time flies. High school starts tomorrow for my youngest. She will be a senior!
Oh my!

We are all partied out now and ready to travel to Vietnam. Maybe we will have some exciting news to celebrate tomorrow. I will keep you posted.

I need a going away party.....

2008-08-13T05:45:00.000-07:00

We are having a graduation party today at work. I am a nurse educator and responsible for the educational opportunities offered to a group of nursing homes here in the upstate. We make it a point to celebrate completions of these courses. I just knew that today would double as "going away" party for me.

We received our "Decision of Adoption" paperwork this past Monday. Hip Hip Hooray!! Our Adoption Agency thought that we would receive our date for the giving and recieving ceremony no later than today. We were soooooo excited and just knew we would be traveling this weekend.

Well.......It doesn't look like that will be the case.....(How many times have ya heard that one)

Yesterday I received an email stating that Thuoc was not going to talk with the Officals until Friday. He feels that if he shows any sign of force or makes them angry in anyway that they will delay or deny any dates. Friday, as we all know, is not a day that the officials usually complete any work. Sooooooo, going on past experience, I do not believe that we will be going anywhere this weekend. It is hard for me to believe that this continues to happen over and over again. I am asking that our friends and family please pray that this waiting game will soon be over. angie

No News is not good news!

2008-08-07T09:20:00.000-07:00

A good friend shared with me just today that: 0+0=0 A BIG FAT ZERO!!

Well, You've heard it said that "No news is good news" Not is this case.....No news or emails from our adoption agency today. I guess they get tired of telling us the same ole thing everyday...... We were really hoping to be on a plane this weekend traveling to get our precious son. I can not imagine what delays our Province is coming up with now. All we are waiting on is one signature and a date for our Giving and Receiving Ceremony. We have been at this stage now for over 2 months now.......

well....there will not be any "looking at the bright side" scenarios from me today. Maybe I can get Norman to write. He usually has a brighter perspective on these things.

Just trying to get by, Angie

I see light at the end of the tunnel!

2008-08-01T06:08:00.000-07:00

I just received an email from another parent that is waiting for their child also. They have already traveled once to the Orphanage in April only to come home without their child when their case was not being processed. This family could not afford to stay in the Province due to employment demands and having their small children with them in Country. The family contacted the American Embassy yesterday. They spoke with a very nice woman that is in charge of the adoptions unit at the Embassy. We were not sure if this lady could help with our cases, but was at least hoping that she could give us some valuable feedback on any policies that were put in place between the US and VietNam.

The Embassy lady said that she does not understand why our province is taking so long to process the adoptions. She did say that other provinces do require the 'second investigation', but it is done before the I-600 and DIA approvals are even received by the families. This makes so much more sense to me!! Not a second investigation after all your approvals have granted . (We have had both of our approvals since March) But once again, each province has the power to conduct the procedures as they see fit.

The embassy worker did comment on a positive fact that our agency has had four families come into the embassy for VISAs to leave Vietnam. This does mean that they are processing some adoptions. She contacted the officials in the province and the Justice Director said that he is aware of our cases and has them on his desk. He told her that they will be completed, but could not give a definate date. ummmmmm Heard that one before...... He asked the woman from the embassy to call him back on Monday. Stay tuned ..... Never a dull moment

Thuoc ( the Vietnam Facilitator) still plans to return to the province on Monday--he will visit the Justice and also try to talk to the police about other cases in the investigation phase. Thuoc felt very positive about the embassy being contacted and he still thinks it is a good idea that they have contact with the Justice. He hopes that it will help everything move more quickly. I hope everyone will have a good weekend and keep us in your prayers! We'll wait and see what Monday brings.....hopefully some good news! Maybe we will be traveling by the weekend. Angie

The wheels are turning again!!!

2008-07-23T11:49:00.000-07:00

Good News!! The Couple that has been in the Vietnam Province waiting to have their G and R Ceremony for OVER 80 DAYS has had their Giving and Receiving Ceremony today!!!! This is great news because it now means that our case can proceed!!!!! Hooray Now we will hope and pray that those wheels will start moving and we will travel soon!!!!! IT CAN"T BE SOON ENOUGH!!!!!!!!

Some help may be on the way

2008-07-22T20:29:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note.....I received an email today from our US Agency Director. They are planning to get in touch with Mr. Long from the DIA in Vietnam and the US Embassy to see if something can be done concerning our case.....Please pray that this action does not ruffle too many feathers in the local province in Vietnam. We certainly do not want the local leaders to slow or shut down adoptions from our province. I will know more tomorrow. In the meantime,We continue to wait and pray.

What's in a name??

2008-07-21T09:05:00.000-07:00

We are beginning to realize just what is in a name.....It seems like the latest hold-up is "in my name" It appears that we have gotten down to obtaining the late signatures on our documents so that we can then receive the "Decision of Adoption" notice. We can then travel to Vietnam and will be given a "Giving and Receiving" date when we arrive in the village. This latest delay is cause by my name "Angie" being use somewhere in our dossier documents. We can only think that, someone, in their referral letters, used my nickname "Angie" when referring to me. "Angie is not my legal name soooooo here we go again......After two DIA (Vietnam) approvals and one I-600 (American) Approval , we are down to one little name holding up the progress. My question is : Why has this not been noticed before now???? Our Agency has drawn up a document stating all the different ways that my name could have been written. We then had to send the document via international mail ( Not 41 cents, I mind you.... try $70.00 dollars) I just received word today that Thuoc has the document in HCMC and will have it translated and sent on to the appropriate people. How long will this delay be????? No one seems to know but........keep us in your prayers. My boss called me
Friday to scheduled a meeting this week to discuss upcoming projects that she had been putting on hold until my FMLA return.......She stated that we could no longer wait because it did not look like I was leaving any time soon.......That was kind of a bummer......I guess Norman and I have cried "Wolf " for soooo long that people are starting to doubt...hmmmmm.....me too......Norman stays more up beat than I do........I think he does that in part to keep me motivated.......It is hard for me to have my little boy so far away growing and changing everyday without his Mama and Daddy........I will write again as soon as we know more. Thank you to all our friends and family that continue to offer prayers and support... Angie

Climbing Up the Ladder

2008-07-12T18:21:00.000-07:00

We sent off another $330.00 yesterday to renew our visas. On August 1, they will expire for the second time since we were first told to get them back in April. We can not take a chance with such a short window even if we were to leave this week. We do not want to have to worry about renewing them while in VietNam. As you can see from the latest pictures, Jayden is growing up. He will be two years old on September 14. If you recall, we were looking forward to having him home for Christmas (07). Now we are planning on him being here for a BIG BIRTHDAY PARTY on Saturday, Sept. 13. Jayden is not the only one getting older. I am at the stage of life, 53, where I am sometimes offered "senior" coffee at McDonalds and somedays, depending on how I feel, I ACCEPT! But age is relative and actually most days I feel real young and can't wait to have little feet following me once again. I talked to a man this week who is 106, twice my age. During our conversation he said referring to himself, "I am nearing retirement age." He then followed up with, "I'm climbing up the ladder." After a brief pause, he raised his eye brows and remarked, "I hope it doesn't fall." We are all climbing up the ladder and before Jayden reaches another rung, we want him home! Thank you for your prayers and concern. To everyone who keeps asking , "have you heard anything", don't stop asking! Even with the long wait and all the ups and downs, it is great to have friends and family waiting anxiously with us.

Norman

Growing very tired of waiting

2008-07-10T08:05:00.000-07:00

Well.....I thought that our last post would have been followed very quickly by a new post stating that we were hopping on a plane traveling to Vietnam. Our journey has been filled with so many ups, downs and disappointments that I am just numb now. I do not have the energy to go into details on all of our delays. Being told we are leaving one day only to learn the next that there is another hurdle to cross over. I know that Jayden will come to us at the right time, but I am finding it very hard to see the Lord's grand plan right now. All I see is a little boy growing up without his Mama and Daddy. We received new pictures yesterday. We were so glad to see our little fellow but it was also a bitter sweet moment. That little yellow shirt that Jayden was wearing in a previous pic we have on our BLOG of jayden that was too big for him, now fits him. You can tell by his pictures that he has a sweet spirit. One positive thing is that there has been one American couple over in the Vietnam village. This couple has been there waiting for their child for over 50 days. I say that it is a positive thing because she has been loving and speaking English to the babies. We do received daily emails from her giving us updates. Please pray that she gets her baby soon. Our case will not proceed until they get her family out of the Village. I will try and blog more but have been so down that I have found it hard to say much.
Thank you for all of your prayers, concerns and support. Angie

Travel date may be in sight!!!!!

2008-06-03T06:11:00.000-07:00

Well, not exactly a specific date, but I think we will be traveling sometime around the 13th or 14th of June. Norman and I traveled to Charleston this past Wednesday May 28th to have our fingerprints taken. Our scheduled appointment was not until Monday, June 2nd but our agency asked us to go ahead and request to be worked in. They felt like this would get things moving and we would get the results much sooner. We were in and out of the Homeland Security Office in the record time of 20 minutes. This allowed time for a wonderful lunch and stroll through Charleston before heading home. The HLS officer said we should be receiving the fingerprint results back in approx. 10 days. That will be June 10th or so. so we are cutting it close. We also sent our passports to the Vietnam Embassy to extend them for a month expiring August 1st. They expire July 1st and we felt we might need the extra time to get back to the US. So......We wait! We wait and see how fast the family that is in Vietnam now gets to come home. They had their giving and Receiving Ceremony yesterday. They now are in Ho Chi Minh City getting the medicals exams done there and will then travel to Hanoi for their baby's Visa. We will floow behind this family. We will let ya know as soon as we hear. I will be re-packing and gathering up required paperwork in the time remaining. Please keep our family in your prayers and pray that I will get on the plane!! I HATE to fly.

Good News!

2008-05-19T07:44:00.000-07:00

The following is a letter received today from our US facilitaor......

Hi everyone,We have GREAT news from Vietnam! Our first two families had their Giving and Receiving Ceremonies TODAY and have officially adopted their babies! As most of you know, it has been a long journey with bumps and hurdles, but perseverance, hope, and prayer paid off. They are now on their way to HCMC to finish the process there. We always knew that the first families would be paving the way for everyone else in this program since we were working in a new province. This has been a very trying time for everyone but hopefully this will mean a smoother road for those of you who follow behind them. Keep sending positive thoughts for a smooth continuation of the process for them and a safe trip home. And keep sending prayers for the families who still wait for their children to come home. take care everyone,

It has been a long time for these couples. There soon will be two more families receiving their babies in a giving and receiving ceremony before us. We received news Friday that our fingerprints expire on June 9th, 2008. The agency was in hopes this would not cause a problem. They believed we would have traveled, received Jayden and returned home way before June 9th. Because of the delays in Vietnam, we are going to have this step redone. We do not want to be in Vietnam and have these expire. Our fingerprints have to be current or we can not bring Jayden into the country when we arrive home. What's next?........ We have requested the Dept. of Homeland Security to expedite this renewal and are in hopes that this will not further delay our departure. We hope to go to Charleston this week. A renewal should not take as long.

Life goes on............We traveled to Smithfield this past weekend for our oldest daughter's bestfriend's wedding. Norman sang a song he wrote for Carmen's wedding and I assisted with the flowers for the wedding. It was good to see old friends and visit the old memories there. Norman was a pastor in this area for 8 years. This area was where Carmen spent a great deal of her younger years. We moved there when she was 7 years old and left when she was 15 years old. Carmen and Erin have stayed close throughout the years. Kaylee (picture with her Dad) went with us and enjoyed seeing her daycare provider and childhood friends. Syble had a dance competition this weekend in Gatlinburg and could not attend the wedding.

We hope, now that the first families have received their babies, we will travel soon. Hopefully we will hear soon.

More Mother's day Pictures

2008-05-11T18:35:00.001-07:00

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T17:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day! Norman and I expected to be with with our little boy on this day. It was a year ago, May 4th, that we received our referral of this sweet dark headed little boy. We hope soon to be traveling to get our son from Hau Giang. We pray that the families there now will have their G and R ceremonies this week which will allow for the remaining families to travel. Lara (she is one of the members of the first traveling groups) sent these pictures today of Jayden.....The babies that you see with Jayden will make their home in the upstate and Charlotte area. Lara and Jimmy have been in Vietnam for six weeks now waiting to get their two children. The babies have been spending a great deal of quality time in the guest house where they have been staying. Jayden has been a lucky boy to have all of his baby friends. I hope to be writing of our departure day soon.

Waiting for the "Fullness of Time"

2008-05-09T09:58:00.000-07:00

Angie has just filled you in with the latest news and delays. Delays are a regular part of adopting so it seems. It is hard to wait, but we are comforted in knowing that our son is healthy, happy and right now getting a lot of attention from the families who are currently there awaiting their Giving and Receiving day. The long wait will make the "Moment" even more precious and memorable. I am reminded of another seemingly long delay. It had been over 400 years since a prophet had spoken when we hear, "in the fullness of time, God sent His Son..." We would all agree that the wait for God's Son, our Saviour was certainly worth it! We are confident that at the right time, just the precise moment that God chooses, we will have our "fullness of time."

Until then, we wait.
You may ask what we have been doing while we wait......

It has been a long time since we have had a little one running our household so we had to paint Syble's old room up to welcome in a little boy. We chose the theme of Nemo. Water is a relaxing thing and that is exactly what we want to do at bedtime.

We are almost packed and the dining room is full of half assembled suit cases. I guess this weekend we will be finishing this job up.

Norman Band

Destressed, Depressed. and Down

2008-05-09T06:30:00.000-07:00

Here is our sweet baby boy dreaming of a Mama and Daddy trying to come and get him. He is holding a very worn towel that, we hear, he is very attached to. He is 20 months old now.

I know that I have not blogged in a long time, but really have not been able to bring myself to write. We are still waiting for our giving and receiving ceremony dates. We were supposed to be the third traveling group heading out to Vietnam. The first group of two families were supposed to arrive in Hau Giang April 15 for their Giving and Receiving Ceremony. The second group of two families were to arrive on April 20th and we were to travel with another family on the 26th of April.

When the first two families arrived they did not have the ceremony and have been given the run around since they arrived in Vietnam. They arrived in Vietnam on approx April 4th and are still waiting with no end in sight on May 9th. They hope that they will receive the babies next week but do not have a good feeling about this.

Where do we Stand?........We are in limbo until there is some movement with these four Families that have gone ahead of us. Our US Adoption facilitator has stopped all other families from traveling only to get stuck in this endless run around of delays. I do not have much faith in the Vietnam facilitator over there. We have been told that he has made many mistakes that have caused these delays. Our Adoption Agency feels that these delays are caused by the inexperience of the Province where the baby home is located. There have never been adoptions in this Province and this is the first time they have dealt with all the documents and adoption procedures. This knowledge does not help when dealing with our frustration. We have had our DIA ( Vietnam approval) and I-600 ( USA approval) approvals for over a month now and we are ready to travel and get our son. Below are some of the latest pictures of jayden.

We have been told that Jayden is very happy and loves to be held. He loves to go outside and play. He cries if someone goes outside and leaves him behind. He smiles and laughs all the time. One of the american mothers that is there now says that Jayden fits into 6-9 months clothes but they are too short. 12 month clothes are too big in the waist but are needed because of the length. He wears a size 7 shoe and is tall and skinny. We had to laugh at that because he is like his new Daddy! Jayden is now 20 months old. As you can see he is little boy but we will fatten him up when we get him. We are told that the babies receive only 4
oz bottles of formula and eat a rice type cereal. I am sure they will fatten up when they start eating.

The american lady that you see in the corner of the second picture is adopting two babies from Hau Giang. They have been waiting in Vietnam now for 6 weeks. We can not imagine the frustration they must feel. At least we are waiting in our own country. Lara has told us that they have been treated very well and the towns people and the baby home nurses have gone out of their way to feed and make them feel comfortable. The baby home is very clean but very rustic. The electricity goes out several times a week because of power shortages in Vietnam. The heat has been a major problem for the american families over there. Some have not been able to stay with their babies due to the conditions in the province where the baby home is located. Three out of the four families have had to go back to the nearest city in Cantho, Vietnam which is 1 1/2 hours away. They continue to make occational trips when they can. One family has opted to stay in the province to bond with their babies. Lara and Jimmy continue to send us daily emails telling us the most current news they have. I know that it does not help to dwell on the many delays that we have faced but it does get hard when the delays just seem to continue. I will try and be a better blogger and write more often. Hopefully soon we will receice word as to our travel plans. ISNT OUR BOY CUTE!!!! Angie

Rainy Season Blues

2008-04-02T19:44:00.000-07:00

It rained today. I got wet!!! That's usually what happens when you are unprepared for a shower.
It may rain again tomorrow. Tomorrow I will be ready!!! Speaking of rain, guess what season it will soon be in Vietnam? You guessed it, RAINY SEASON!!! At least the clouds and rain may make the heat more bearable if we can stand the humidity. One thing is for certain. We will gladly sing the "Rainy Season Blues" if need be. We will sing anything!!! Angie is 6 months overdue! We started this journey January of 07, fifteen months ago. She is ready to BUST!!!
Don't tell this 53 year old toddler dad that a "paper pregnancy" is not the real thing. I'm waiting for Angie to start craving pinrose hot sausages any day now. She lived on those things with each of her other pregnancies. One thing we all are craving for sure is Jayden. Every day he remains in that baby home in Vietnam, he is loosing out. Of course he doesn't know it, but his family is what he needs now more than anything. As Angie has written in her latest entry, we are very optimistic that our journey to Jayden will begin soon. Today, we received our visas. Now all that remains is the DIA approval (which should come any day) and we will make our travel plans.
Please join us in singing, "Rain , rain, go away, come again some other day"...

Norman

Waiting again.

2008-04-01T06:25:00.000-07:00

well.......we are in waiting mode once again. No word from our Vietnam facilitator about our DIA approval or the giving and receiving ceremony. I know that our agency hopes that we will be able to travel with the 1st group going to our baby home in HauGiang. There are two families still awaiting DIA approval but our Vietnam facilitator says "not to worry". Today we are off to Walmart for that wonderful trip to buy all of the medicines, diapers, wipes, cremes and lotions needed for this trip. It has been at least 15 years since I had to worry about all that stuff. We packed our suitcases this weekend so if we do not travel soon we will run out of clothes to wear.

Last night, Syble participted in a little theater audition for "Fiddler on the Roof". I told her that if she didn't get a call back, it wouldn't be because she didn't do a good job, With her blonde hair, she didn't quite look the part. I must say though, she did stick out in the crowd last night with all the dark haired people trying out. I guess there are always dark wigs. She was excited and had a great time and that is what counts. She is worried however that if she did get a part that she would be gone during rehearsals. Practice starts April 14th. The way this adoption has been, we are not counting on any dates given so she went ahead and tried out.

I will keep you guys informed of the happenings. We hope to hear word today and of course we have a travel meeting tomorrow. We will know more then. Please keep us in your prayers that we will be able to travel with the other families and that it will happen soon. Angie

Finally..... Some GREAT News!!!!!

2008-03-30T15:47:00.000-07:00

Well, we have waiting and waiting and then waiting some more. I have been a terrible blogger because I find it hard to write with no news about Jayden. But all that has changed. We received our I-600 approval thursday! We are still waiting on our DIA approval from vietnam but our facilitator in Vietnam tells us not to worry that he feels it will happen soon. Jen, our social service worker, tells us we could travel as soon as next week or the week of April 14th. I have been waiting so long that I can't believe that we are preparing to leave to get our son. Yesterday a good friend and I went shopping. We spent way too much money gathering all the things that will be needed for the trip. I feel so unprepared. I have been ironing and packing all day today. There is so much to do. I guess you never feel ready. We all know how Angie HATES to fly.......ummmmm can't think about that now......too much to do. I am sure that I will start writing daily as new emails come from our agency daily.

God works in mysterious ways...

2008-02-24T18:10:00.000-08:00

Its funny how God works sometimes. Like sending my best friend, Isabel, and her family, to me and my family. It all started when Isabel and I had homeroom together in school. As we started talking and getting to know each other, found out that we had alot in common. For example, we both came from private christian schools, our music interest were alot alike, and we liked the same people and TV shows and lots more! I also found out that she and her parents had adopted from China. They adopted a little girl named Miriam-Grace Hong Qui Berry, or "Gracie" for short. She is the cutest little girl. I dont think I have ever seen such a country little chinese girl. She makes me laugh so hard sometimes with her country accent. I love her to death, just like she loves me. Isabel and her parents have told us alot about their experiences in their travels to China. Isabel has even showed me pictures. Isabel and her family have been so supportive and helpful throughout our long wait for our little boy. Sometimes I think they want Jayden home more than we do! Gracie especially wants him home more than anybody I think!! Every time I go to Isabel's house, Gracie is always asking when he is going to be here. Without them, it would have been very hard to get to the point in our adoption we are at now. I thank God everyday for sending them to us! I have received such a great friend out of this experience as well as help and prayer from her family. Isabel and I are very close, and I hope we still will be for a very long time.

Love, Syble

God-Sized Interruptions

2008-02-23T19:19:00.000-08:00

I sure am noticing little boys more lately. I find myself guessing their age and observing their every energetic move. I wonder if Jayden is as active as the pre-little leaguers I have been observing all around me at church or where ever else I run into them? I think we all know the answer to that! We joined a gym Christmas. It really was for the purpose of getting in shape and toning up, but now with Jayden's arrival looming ever closer, this gym thing is really a good idea.
It is almost time for me to start learning to throw a curve ball and start working on my three point shot. This 53 year old toddler dad will be ready!!!

But life goes on. We wait, and we live. We wait, we work, we sleep, we eat, we continue to beat the drum of the daily routines we have grown accustomed to. Yet, I am reminded of the wisdom of Henry Blackaby, in his bible study, "Experiencing God". He states that we all need to live our lives in such a way as to allow for the "interruptions of God". Somehow I don't believe he is talking about the interruption that a 17 month old toddler is going to make on a 53 year old man.
Talk about your "God-sized interruption". But then there was after all, Abraham. He was a father at 90!!! So see, it really is not so unheard of.

All I've got to say is, "Jayden, rock my world!!!" But then again, maybe it is time to take a fresh look at Mr. Blackaby's "Experiencing God". Maybe I need to read the chapter about interruptions again. Just kidding!.

Toddler Dad

2008-02-23T09:06:00.000-08:00

Hello to all!! I wanted to write and bring you guys up on the happenings around the Band home. We continue to play the waiting game in the adoption of Jayden. We did receive a confirmation that the I-600 paperwork was received by the American Embassey in Vietnam. They have since asked for an additional report that includes a statement from the Red Cross nurse that found our baby. We did find out that Jayden was approximately three days old when he was found on September 14, 2008. They are very particular when it comes to these reports and they are always looking for very specific information . The first report explaining how Jayden was found stated the Redcross nurse found the infant and took him to two Red Cross doctors. The Doctor signed the report stating that they had received the 3 day old infant from this nurse she found him in the hospital. However, this would not satisfy. The Embassy needed the nurse's signature stating how she found the baby. The Doctor's had signed the first form only. Sooooo another delay it seems. I was very excited that our Children's Home Director got busy working and got this form back to us within record time. The children home Director is very dedicated to bringing our babies to America. The holiday of Tet has been going on in Vietnam. This has also slowed movement up a bit. I have been surprised however that things are moving along. Our Baby Home is in the Province of HauHiang (How-Yang) It is approximately 6 1/2 hours from Ho Chi Mein City. The Social Worker from our Agency went there for a visit in January. She went to a meeting on adoptions and got to visit the babies. I wanted to print an excerpt of her letter to Norman and I recapping her visit. I thought it might interest you to see the journey we will be taking shortly to get our son:

Thuoc= Director of the Children's Home

Hau= Jayden Walker Band

Hi Norman and Angie,

As promised, although quite late I'm afraid, is a little recap of my Vietnam trip as it pertains to your family! : )

Thuoc met me at my hotel on Saturday morning at 8:30am and we were on the road by 8:40am (he doesn't mess around, when he's ready to go: he's ready to go!). At 11am, we stopped for a bathroom break. Nice place, western style toilets, and a place to have a snack if you're hungry. At 1:30pm, we made it to the ferry crossing over the river. We had a chance to get out of the van and walk around the boat for a few minutes. The ferry ride was about 15 minutes long. At 1:45, we arrived in Cantho City,(Can toe) the largest city in the Mekong Delta. Modern, pretty city along the Mekong River. We ate lunch by the river. At 2:30pm, we left Cantho and drove to HauGiang. 4:00pm - we arrived in Hau Giang at the Red Cross building. I met with the Red Cross officials who help us complete the adoptions in the province. This is most likely where you will have your Giving and Receiving Ceremony. At 4:30pm, we left to go to Baby home, which is about 5 minutes from the Red Cross building . I entered the baby home and tears just started flowing. For the first time, I could see the babies in REAL life instead of pictures and the sounds of 11 babies laughing and making noises was just more than I could take!! : ).

Baby Hau ( Jayden Band) seemed very content to let Thuoc ( Children's Home Director)hold him although he really didn't want anything to do with me. I gave Thuoc the picture book that y'all had made and had him show it to Hau (Jayden) so that he could look through it and play with it. Thuoc told me that he paid attention reading your homestudy and was so glad that he saw that you were involved with the church. That seemed to mean alot to him. I began taking pictures and video ( I know, sideways!!) of each of the babies. The things I noticed most about Baby Hau (Jayden) were his big, inquisitive eyes, his fair skin, and his confidence. He just seemed to be very comfortable in his skin, if that makes sense. He has a precious smile and you can tell the nurses think he's the cutest thing ever because they all giggle when Hau smiles and laughs. He is small; I don't know that he is necessarily small for his age, but he certainly isn't big for his age...

When I sat down and got out the little snacks I had brought, Hau (Jayden) came a little closer than he had before and realized he better warm up to me if he was going to get some of those snacks!! : ) He eventually made his way over and had a little snack and by the time I left, about 5 hours later, he was right up next to me, hiding behind me, letting me give him hugs, etc...Norman and Angie, you have one precious little boy!! Enjoy this and may it become a fun part of your adoption story!!

As you can see, we have been blessed with a very special little Boy! I am posting a picture of the Baby Home and all of the precious little babies!! You can see Jayden eating the snack Jen talked about in her letter. Jen stated that all of the caregivers are so clean and neat and take pride in their work. She said that the caregivers seem to love Jayden so much. We are so blessed that he has been in such a loving clean and supportive enviroment. He will be coming home to America with all the other babies pictured here. Four Babies will come to the upstate area.

Well, Time to go. I'm off to Belks to buy some more shoes to wear on my Journey to Vietnam. LOL
See ya next time, Angie

A "big"sister's point of view

2008-02-03T11:57:00.000-08:00

When my mom told me she wanted to adopt a little baby, I will admit, I thought it was a little crazy. Then I got to thinking, it would be nice to have a little one running around the house. Of course, I wouldnt be the youngest anymore, but i have to give that spot up sooner or later. My name is Syble. I am the youngest daughter of Angie and Norman. I am 16 years old and I am a junior at Broome High School. My oldest sister, Carmen is 26 and lives in Willmington with her huband, Jim Sawyers. My other sister, kaylee, is 19, and lives in Greenville while she attends North Greenville University. We are all very excited to soon have a little brother. Especially me, since I am going to be living not only in the same house with jayden, but the bedroom right beside him. I am so excited to go to Vietnam with my parents to get him. It will be an experience I will never forget. At first this whole adoption thing didnt seem real to me. It was hard at the beginning for it to register in my mind. As the process went on, we would get pictures and information about him and then we would see video clips and we would see how much he has grown and it would become more clear to me that, "wow, this is actually happening. This baby is actually ours." It is such a great feeling to know that I am soon going to have a little brother. I am going to have a little brother to play with, go places with, dress in whatever i want, and take care of along with my parents. I cant wait!! My mom and I are so ready to get Jayden into our house. We will go up to his room and sit there and play with his toys and talk about what will happen when he gets here. We joke all the time about what we are going to do with a little boy because we are clueless. I always tell her "mama, we will experiment together!" This whole thing has been an experience and the only thing left to do is go get him and we are ready! I think everybody else is just as ready as we are! Adopting a little baby is an experience that I think everybody needs to do at least once. I am even thinking about it when I am older. If my mom can do it, then i sure can! I will enjoy writing my thoughts down along the journey, Syble

2008-02-02T19:57:00.000-08:00

Well, Finally!! I am sitting down and starting this story. A story I wanted to record for our son, Jayden. I also wanted an account for friends and family. My name is Angie and I have been married to Norman for 27 years. I am a Nurse Educator and Norman is a Pastor. We have 3 beautiful daughters: Carmen , who is 26yrs old and is married to Jim . Kaylee is 19yrs and attends college. Syble 16 yrs. old and is a high school junior. Where have all the years gone??? (Oh by the way the older man in the picture is my Dad, Baron. We call him Papa.) Norman and I have always talked about having a son. As a matter of fact, a boys name is the only name we ever had picked out. We never used this name because we were blessed with three beautiful girls. We had always talked about maybe adopting a son. My husband participated in mission trips to Romania and we often said we wished he could adopt from Romania.

Thanksgiving 2006 the family was sitting around the table playing games and laughing when the thought hit me. "why do we just talk about adoption? We have a loving, happy family. A family that would be a good home for a child in need of a home. I told Norman later on that week. He was not as excited about the prospect of a new family member. In two years Syble would be going off to College and we would be free birds. Free to experience life without the thought of children. He wasn't quite sure he wanted to give that up. I shared the thought with my daughters, Kaylee and Syble and they were very excited and loved the idea of a baby I held off on telling Carmen and her husband, Jim, until a decision was made. I didn't want Carmen to think I was trying to take the spot light by having a new little one. This was her time in life to have the spot light with new babies. I didn't want them to think I wouldn't be a good grandmother because I was tied down with a baby of my own. The two younger girls were very helpful in persuading their Daddy that this "little brother Thing" was a good idea. I had my doubts that he would come around at first. I knew this idea was something we both had to be 100% sure of. If we were in this together, I felt like it didn't matter what other people thought. We are an older couple ( 47yrs old and 53yrs old) and this is what some people seemed to dwell on.

Norman let our family know Christmas of 2006 that he was on board. He gave me a series of Christmas cards through out the gift giving process with one word phrases written on each card with small amounts of $$$$$ in them. The cards read. "One" "Small" "Step" "toward" "Adoption" The amount of money in each card came to a total of $250.00. The amount needed for the registration fee. This was the first time Carmen had heard of this great news and she was very happy. Boy, That was a relief. Everyone was on board....well, at least coming around.... We would eventually get everyone on board and all would be fine and dandy.

We started our journey 1 year ago in January when we visited the Adoption Agency near our home. We wanted a son. We didn't care really what country. Just a healthy boy. The Lord blessed us with a little boy from Vietnam. His name is Le Thang Hau. We will Call him "Jayden" He is 16 months old and is beautiful. We are looking forward to the day we can go and pick him up to bring him home. We are waiting for our final I-600 to be approved.

When we first started going to the adoption meetings and getting all of the mandatory paperwork together, I was the one that took the lead. I was responsible for all of the gathering of information the making of appointments and turning in paperwork. Norman was supportive but was not as particpatory as I would have liked. He still worried about the age difference. This all changed after our home study was performed. Our agancy did our homestudy. A sweet lady named Jen came to our home to complete this necesary step. She spent some time in our home talking to our family. During this visit, Norman shared his concern of the age difference between him and our son . She shared with Norman that her father was in his fifties when her parents had her. She stated that the age difference had never been an issue and she never felt that this cause any problems. Her Dad was very active in her life and remains so to this day. After this, Norman was a changed man. He is the one taking on all of the adoption tasks. He is the one keeping up with all of the endless forms that have to be signed, copied and sent to who knows where. He will be a wonderful father to this little boy just as he has always been for all three of his girls.

Well, I figured I had better start this journal because I feel like things will start happening fast very soon. My youngest daughter, Syble, will be traveling with my husband and I to get her brother in VietNam . I am sure she will share her thoughts as well along the way. Thank you for caring enough to read about our family's journey.

The last pictures is the latest picture we have of Jayden. The sweet lady that you see with him is our Agency's Social Worker. We were lucky enough that she had the opportunity to visit the Baby home in Vietnam.. We sent him pictures of our family and clothes. He is a beautiful little boy. Thanks for taking time out of your busy life to view this blog. Angie

2008-02-02T18:11:00.000-08:00

Jayden has 3 sisters , a brother-in-law, grandfather, grandmother, and a mommy and daddy.
He even has a great-grandma. He has not yet met his family. His sisters are 26,19, and 16 years old. He is a very special little boy. He has been in our hearts and minds for over a year now. It was christmas of 06 that Angie and I revealed to the family our plans to adopt a little boy. That is quite an announcement coming from a 52 year old dad and a 46 year old mom. One of the first reactions was, " you will be 70 years old when he graduates high school". My father-in-law who at the time was 74, very assertively and with great assurance replied, "Yea, I will be 92". After the initial mixed bag of shock, disbelief and "are you crazy", everyone in the family could think only of the great addition to our wonderful family a little boy would make. We have had only support, enthusiasm and impatience as we all await his arrival.

A few months later, we were introduced to Jayden by pictures and we knew immediatly he was the one. Initially, we could not settle on a name. My wife has always wanted a little boy and has been saving a family name for him. The name is Walker, the name of her great grand-father. We kept having girls and had almost given up on ever having a son. However, once our son had been chosen, (we believe God chose him as sure as he gave us our girls), Walker as a first name just didn't suit. After a long time of trying out different first names, _____________ Walker Band,
Angie put out a fleece of sorts. She came across a book of baby names. She literally opened the book and said, "dear Lord, you will have to give us a name. Whatever name my finger lands on will be the name of our son." her finger landed on "Jaden". Jaden Walker had a ring to it. As you see, we later changed the spelling to Jayden. But you must hear the rest of the story!!!
This will give you chill bumps. When Angie looked across the margin at the meaning of , Jaden, it read, "GOD HAS HEARD". After she came to (just kidding), we knew we had our name, Jayden Walker Band (to be continued...)