A New Party

Our FAMILY blog is now up. I'll now be blogging at http://connerpartyoffour.blogspot.com

First Doctors Appointment

Drew's one year check up was today (well yesterday technically). Dr. Sood said he is "perfect"...but we already knew that :) He weighs 21 lbs 10 oz. and is 29 1/4 inches tall. He's in the 20th percentile in both weight and height. He seems big, but I guess he's not. I think he's big for a Vietnamese baby...but not so much on the American charts. We go tomorrow for a battery of lab work. It'll probably take at least 2 visits to the lab to get it all done. I know it has to be done, but I just hate the thought of him being stuck. We'll go back to see Dr. Sood in about 3 weeks for results. We just love Dr. Sood. He makes us feel like we have the only baby in the world. Drew did great. He did get 3 shots today and the first one, he didn't even cry...but when she got him with number 2...wow...the crying began. He's been a little fussy this evening...but overall doing fine.

He's been extremely vocal today. He's watching and listening to Ian all the time. Scary.

Off to bed...lots to do in the next couple of days.

A Week Of Firsts

This week was full of firsts. Drew got his first haircut from our good friend Natasha. He did really well. She was so patient with him.

Friday afternoon we had Drew's one year pictures taken. When I get them electronically, I'll post them. He did well...but no big smiles. Only a sweet little, dimply grin.

Friday night we decided to enjoy some watermelon outside. So of course...his clothes had to come off. HE LOVED IT.

We've been home for two weeks and things are starting to feel somewhat normal. I head back to work after this week. While it's going to be hard to leave my new little munchkin, it'll be nice to have some adult interaction.

Drew has his first real appointment with Dr. Sood this Wednesday. That should be fun. He's really a pretty calm little guy, but he can get mad quickly and he's STRONG.

Ian is adjusting to being a big brother...somewhat. Thursday night Drew was running around the house and Ian was on my lap. Ian looked at me and said "you can take him back mommy.....take him back to Bietnam, OK?" I told him that we couldn't because he was our baby and he said "OK". I guess he had to try. On Wednesday morning, Ian woke up before Drew did. He wanted to go "wake baby Drew up" and I told him no. He said "but Mommy, I need to love on him". I didn't want to wake Drew up, but how could I resist that? I did though. In a few minutes he asked again...this time he asked if daddy could lift him into the crib so he could give him a kiss. Charlie did (at my prodding). Drew didn't wake up. BUT...about 10 minutes later I hear "wake up baby....wake up baby....WAKE UP BABY DREW". Baby Drew woke up. He giggled at Ian and then when I walked in the room he started to cry. He has figured his mommy out already.

Loving being a mom to these two boys. Oh, by the way....still debating the name of the new blog...but I'm hoping to get the new one up and running by the end of this week. So, stay tuned.

Getting Ready To Merge

Now that Drew's home, I'm finding it more and more difficult to keep up with 2 blogs. So...I'm going to start a new one for the family. I'll still keep both Ian and Drew's blogs live so families can look back at our journey. Now the difficult part...coming up with a name. I'm using all of my creative juices with a 13 month old and a 3 year old at present. So, please make a comment and give me some ideas for a new name for our blog.

Sunday In The Park

From an afternoon of fun at LaFortune Park. Ian is still trying to get the hang of holding on to Drew. He keep wanting to hold him by his neck....hmmmm....wonder if that will continue?



Brothers....hand in hand.....I've waited a long time for this!!!

New Name

Poor little guy....He's bound to think is name is "Drew...NO". That's what we say a thousand times a day. He's mobile and curious. This morning, I went to the bathroom. When I came back in the kitchen he had dumped all of the cat food in the floor and was proceeding to put a little at a time in the water dish. Cat food stew perhaps? He was awfully proud of himself.

My Boys

This is it so far. Ian is home with us today, so I'm sure we'll get lots more. These were taken on Sunday afternoon.

Each day is better. Jet lag has been horrible. Drew is gradually becoming accustomed to Oklahoma time. He has, however, had a virus. He's fine now. But...Ian has it. He's feeling fine now though. Hopefully mommy and daddy can avoid it this time.

Ian can make Drew laugh when no one else can. They look so sweet together. If Drew's awake, Ian thinks he should be playing with him.

More as I get a chance. Drew's napping, Charlie and Ian have gone out to run errands and I am should be doing dishes....but what am I doing....BLOGGING. Ooops. :)

What Happens When Jet Lagged Parents Aren't Looking

We're Home

We arrived home on Sunday morning, as scheduled. There were a few hiccups along the way, but too tired to go into them now. I'll save that for a later post.

Drew did GREAT on the flights. He slept for 9 of the 13 hours from Hong Kong to LAX.

It was great to see so many folks at the airport on an early Sunday morning. We sure loved seeing your smiling faces.

BUT...nothing compared to Sunday afternoon when Marcia and Bill brought Ian home. I LOVED seeing that face. He was so excited to see us. He and Drew are doing well, so far.

I'll blog more when I'm less jet lagged and have had a chance to sleep. Little Drew is still on Vietnam time....so Charlie and I aren't sleeping much. He'll adjust eventually.

More later....with pictures :)

Last Post From Vietnam

Today is the day....the day we leave the country of Drew's birth. It's kind of bittersweet. But, we're ready to come home and begin our lives as a family of four. Wow...that sounds kind of odd when I say it out loud. I'm going to be the mom of "boys"....plural. Wow.

We've had a great journey. At times, I thought we'd never get here. But, I knew that we were working with one of the best agencies...if not THE best...in Vietnam. Jynger, Katie and Mary Anne all held my hand, listened to me cry, try to calm me when I was angry and celebrated the victories with us. I'll never, ever forget that 11:15pm phone call from Jynger when we finally received our pre-approval. The Dillon staff on the US side is great....and so are the staff in Vietnam. They have made everything so easy for us.

It's amazing the people God puts in your lives through an adoption journey. We have met so many friends through both of our adoptions....life long friends. We were blessed to travel with the Borski's to India and this time we traveled with the Perkins. Both of these families will ALWAYS have special places in our hearts and families.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention our great friends Marcia and Bill. They have taken amazing care of our sweet Ian while we have been gone. We can never repay them for the love and comfort they have given him during this time. We are so very thankful for them.

So....here we go. Little Drew is taking a nap and we're almost packed. We a few little things to do. Loc is picking us up at 3:30pm, so the time will get away from us.

Thanks for following our time in Vietnam. Next post.....from HOME!

Another Cool Thing About Being On This Side Of The World

We're, well....I'm, watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics LIVE. Of course it's in Chinese, so I can't understand anything that's being said. But, right now is the parade of Nations and I can read the names. What a neat experience.

BTW...it's a pretty spectacular opening ceremony, so watch if you get the chance.

In less that 24 hours we'll be on our way home. Yay!!!

The Golden Ticket...Almost Time To Go Home

We're good to go!!! The Visa interview, if you want to call it that, was yesterday at 2:00pm. Loc picked up our packet at 4:00pm. Now, we're just waiting for tomorrow afternoon to come so we can head home.

We celebrated last night by eating at Al Fresco's. Loved it!!! Then we had some cake when we got back to the room.

Our plans yesterday were foiled by the rain. So, today we went to Hoan Kiem Lake. It's beautiful. Then we did a little shopping in the area. We had to buy an extra duffel bag because all of our other bags are filled....or will be.

We did most of our shopping in HCM, but we should have done more. It's so much easier to get around there and things are a lot less expensive.

Drew is doing great. He's quite the little eater. I gave him some Kiwi Mango Fruit baby food gel this evening and he didn't like it. That was the first thing so far. He had a great time at Al Fresco's last night too. All of the girls picked him up, carried him around and he loved it. He's also quite the dancer....well bobbing his little head up and down when ever he hears music. It's the cutest thing.

I am a little apprehensive about our flights tomorrow. Drew is VERY active and being confined for that many hours is not going to be pleasant. Hopefully he sleeps through most of it.

We have enjoyed our time in this beautiful country, but it's time to come home. I'll try to post one more time before we leave.

Ian...we'll be home very soon. We're so proud of you and we know you've had so much fun with Marcia, Bill and Amanda. We understand Leslie and Nicky have been part of the fun too. We love you so much Ian!!!

Please start praying now for our long trip home and for Drew's transition into our family.

I Don't Think Ian's Missing Us

But...we're sure missing him. He's having so much fun with Marcia, Bill and Amanda. He looks like he's grown a foot in this picture. Marcia has done such a good job emailing updates and pictures to me. Only a few more days and I can kiss that smiling face.

Visa Interview Tomorrow

Tomorrow is our Visa interview. If things go as they have in the past few weeks, we should have Drew's Visa tomorrow afternoon. Then, we're free to go home. We have loved our time in Drew's birth country...especially Ninh Thuan. But, it's time to go home.

We found the wonderful quilt shop this afternoon. Charlie said I looked like a kid at Christmas. I loved that place. We found a beautiful quilt and a few other things. I wish I could have purchased more.

It looks like our traveling pals will be going home tomorrow evening. We haven't been able to spend much time with them in Hanoi. Things kind of revolve around nap schedules right now. They will always have a special place in our hearts and in our family. Sweet little Layne Nhi is precious and it's been so much fun watching her blossom. She is going to do great with their family.

Just finished dinner and now we're getting ready for bath time. The first bath was not a good thing...but now....wow...they're quite fun.

Drew is a joy and we're having fun getting to know him. Now it's time for everyone else to meet him and see his sweet face. I'm looking forward to seeing my boys together.

Hello From Hanoi

I'm going to keep this short because I'm supposed to be putting clothes away while Charlie and Drew are downstairs in the playroom. But, no....had to blog for just a second.

We're doing great. No more falls for me....hope I didn't just jinx myself. The flight to Hanoi was pretty uneventful. Drew slept the first 45 minutes and then cried for about 20 minutes. But, keep in mind...it was nap time and he was hungry. Of course, I think he's always hungry.

We were sad to leave Ho Chi Minh. It was more difficult that I thought it would be to say goodbye to Phoung. She traveled with us to Ninh Thuan, so we spent much more time with her than the other Dillon staff. One of our favorite road trip memories came on the way to Ninh Thuan. We stopped to eat...and Charlie was trying to eat rice with his chop sticks. Phoung touched my hand and said "tell your husband use his spoon". She even had a friend in Ninh Thuan send us a copy of the newspaper dated July 31st...our GNR date. All of the Dillon staff are great. Minh is fabulous. Walked us through all of the paperwork and got us where we needed to go. Thomas is a hoot....he's so much fun.

Loc met us at the airport in Hanoi. Nice, nice young man. He was very helpful. We love the Somerset Grand Hotel...apartment. It's FABULOUS. I'm doing laundry as I'm blogging. Last night after we checked in the housekeeping supervisor came up to give us a tour of the room and show us how to use the stuff in the room. I thought he brought us something to drink. Charlie gave me some water and I said "isn't there Coke?"...Charlie in his very exasperated voice said "here you go ala-ka-freakin'-zam....it's Coke".

We've gone to the grocery store today and we're just hanging out with our sweet kiddo. Have I mentioned just how cute he is? Well....he is. Our house is so NOT ready for him. Ian was never a child that opened cabinet doors or anything else. Not Drew. He opens them, gets in them, closes them. Anything he can think of...he tries it. The boy loves to eat. He's opening up more and more. He giggles quite a bit and smiles A LOT. But...he also has his moments of frustration....I'm hearing one now in the kitchen. He just closed the door on his finger.

htmgbfvbv (That's from Drew).

Our Visa interview is on Thursday at 1:30pm. His Visa should be ready the same day. But, we're not sure we'll be able to come home earlier. All seats are full on Friday. So, we'll probably keep our stame return schedule.

Couple of things....Susie, Amy, Heather, Shelley and Lori....we delivered the pictures of your kiddos to the nannies. They loved seeing them. They were very excited to see Sadie smile Lori.

I'm missing Ian a lot today. Talked to him earlier. He didn't say much to me, but Marcia said he was just smiling from ear to ear. Can't wait to see him.

Said I was going to keep this short didn't I? Oh well. We're going to venture out tomorrow and go to the Water Puppet show and I'm going to try to find the quilt shop. We'll have Friday free as well and up until about 4pm on Saturday.

I'm laughing at Charlie and Drew again. Drew and Daddy are going to have their fair share of head strong moments.

Love to all of you!!! Can't wait for you to meet our newest blessing.

It's Sunday Morning in Vietnam

It's a beautiful morning. Hot, humid...but beautiful. The only thing I can think of that would make it better is if I could hold and kiss my sweet Ian. But soon...soon.

Did Imention it's HOT. I think it must be about 100 degrees, with 5,000 percent humidity. The evenings are nice though....still humid, but a little cooler. The past two evenings we've had rain.

We've had an interesting couple of days. Drew is fantastic. Coming out of his little shell more and more. He keeps us laughing...and running. I've decided that all of the trash cans in our house now have to change to ones with lids, probably locking lids, on them. No matter where we put them in the hotel room, he finds them. He's quite curious about everything and tries to do anything we're doing.

Yesterday we went to the Market. WOW. Let me say that again...WOW. Talk about sensory overload. Not so much for Drew, but for me. I've never seen anything quite like it. I might have done better if I hadn't had Drew with me. But, we (Drew and I) lasted about half an hour and then took a taxi back to the hotel. Charlie stayed behind and shopped. Drew and I had some great fun in the room. Giggling and playing....and then finally trying to take a nap. Afternoon naps are not our friends. He just doesn't like them. He cries and cries and cries but he's so tired and wipes his little eyes. So, I know he needs a nap. Finally after about an hour he was out. Charlie showed me all of the cool stuff he purchased.

Then, I went shopping. Found some lovely little shops on the streets. Some with beautiful hand embroidered stuff. I found a great store of Ao Dai's and I'm having one made for me. I can pick it up tomorrow morning. Did a little more shopping and then headed back to the room.

Drew was still asleep. When we woke up, we changed and then headed out for dinner. We were going to try to find the Wild Horse something or other place...but we never did. We found a bookstore with some great children's books. Then we found KFC...so we had dinner. Drew ate almost all of my mashed potatoes. This boy LOVES to eat.

I think this is the trip of the Nadra mis-haps. Day one...fell getting out of the shower. Last night...fell again in the bookstore. Imagine this big American woman lying in the small isle of a bookstore. I had so hoped no one saw me...but no....this sweet little Vietnamese young lady ran to my rescue. I'm fine...bruises on my behind (from the shower fall) and on my lower left leg...but fine. I'm sitting here laughing as I'm typing this...clumsy should have been my middle name.

All in all, this has been a great trip. We're going to try to do a little more sight seeing today....I promise...I'll be careful. Then, we're having dinner with the Dillon staff tonight.

It's been a long journey to get here and God has blessed us more than we ever deserve. It's Sunday morning here and I feel like I should be in church. I'd love to be listening to Bobby H. singing and Deron preaching right now.

We leave for Hanoi tomorrow. We have one official thing to do there and then we're done. Woo, hoo!!!!

Ian....mommy, daddy and baby Drew are coming home soon. We miss you so much. You are going to have so much fun playing with your baby brother. We can't wait to see you. Hugs and big kisses from mommy and daddy!!!

Better Each Day

Drew's napping now, so I'm taking a minute to post. He's doing very well. Hates...I mean HATES....to take a nap. Not so much the nap...but the getting sleepy part. He WAILS. Poor little guy. It's not like that a bedtime...just nap time.

Some things we've learned about Drew so far....he's stubborn, his favorite toy is an empty water bottle (if we put it in the trash can, he goes over and gets it), he loves eggs (ate about 1/3 of an egg and cheese omelet this morning)....he loves to eat..period. He knows who his "mama" is....he knows who is "daddy" is....he's not quite sure why we keep calling him Drew though. He had his first bath last night....hated it. Maybe it'll get better when we get home. He loves his little stacking cups (not as much as the empty water bottle though).

We had a pretty bad storm here last night. It rained for about 2 hours. After that, Charlie went over the the tax center to pick up a few things. He ended up carrying his flip flops and walked through water up to his knees. His shorts were wet when he got back. He decided to inquire about a stroller. The lady in the shop said 5 million dong.....WHAT? That's like $400 US dollars. So he thanked her and walked away.

After Drew's nap we're going to head down the Ben Tuan market and do some shopping. There seem to be a lot of nice shops on the way there.

We're done with the paperwork here in HCM. Minh met us this morning and we gave him our VISA application and new I-600. I love Minh. He's such a nice man. Of course I didn't get to spend much time talking to him this morning because little Drew was sleepy and WAILING. As soon as I could sign the forms, I headed back upstairs. We're having Dinner with the Dillon staff tomorrow night. Monday Mr. Minh will pick up the Visa medical check paperwork and we will then fly to Hanoi.

We're really doing great. I hope we get to see more today. It's a little difficult with a child that wants to walk all the time. I'm breaking out the Mei Tai carrier today. I have a feeling Mr. Stubborn will not like it much. It might just be too hot. It's very humid. I am NOT using my flat iron. It doesn't do any good. I have lovely wavy hair right now :)

Marcia & Bill....we didn't get a chance to call to day....it was too late by the time we got back to the room. We'll try to call you tomorrow. Ian....we love you and miss you like crazy. You're going to have to teach Drew lots of things (like not throwing his cups).

More as we can....and more pictures too (I think we've taken over 500 so far).

Love to all of you!!!

Voila.....Pictures At Last

OK folks...here you go. Just a few shots from the past couple of days. We are so, so blessed and thankful. Drew is a sweet, sweet baby. He is in to EVERYTHING. He's fast and pretty stubborn...but then he'll smile and scrunch up his little nose and all is well.

Thursday was a LONG day. We got up early and headed to the center around 8:00am. When we got there, Drew was upstairs with his nanny, Thao. She is the sweetest young lady and her little heart was just breaking. I think she'd been crying for quite some time. We left her alone with him for a few minutes and then one of the other nannies came in and told her to give him to me. She did and I tried my best to say thank you in Vietnamese. She kissed Drew one last time and literally ran into the next room. My heart just broke for her. Note to future travelers....go ahead a take a few diapers with you. They give you formula and "diapers" that resemble sanitary napkins. :)

We met with the orphanage director and then headed to the Local Justice department for the Giving and Receiving Ceremony. Drew fell asleep during the ride over and slept through the entire ceremony. In the middle of our ceremony, the door opened and about a dozen young men and women walked in. There were students studying to be social workers (I think). The officials said a few quick things, asked Charlie and Andy to make statements, we signed some papers and then it was photo op time.

Then the long van ride back to HCM started. Drew did GREAT. Not all of the time...but about 5 of the hours. He got really fussy while we were stuck in rush hour traffic near HCM. Then the "grieving cry" came out. He cried, cried, cried...threw up...threw up on mommy...cried, cried, cried...threw up on mommy again. Charlie took him so I could at least clean up a little. Finally he fell asleep about 30 minutes before we arrived at our hotel. That was about 6:30pm....I think.

We checked into our room and then Charlie went to the Tax Center to get a few things. For the first time ever, I changed a baby's diaper while he was lying on his stomach. Then I put his pajamas on him. Trying desperately not to wake him up. I succeeded. He slept until about 2:45am this morning. I gave him a bottle and he went right back to sleep and slept until 5:00am. He ate some cereal and then we went up to the wonderful breakfast buffet. He ate about a third of my omelet....plus some congee.

Today is a busy day. The Daddy's went out this morning to apply for the passports. Then we all went to have the passport photos taken. We came back to the hotel and the Daddy's went to purchase our tickets to Hanoi. In a little over an hour we go for his medical check.

He's very sweet and catches on very quickly. I'll try to post some more tomorrow and some more pictures when I can.

Ian....mommy and daddy love you and miss you very much. You're going to have so much fun chasing your little brother around when he comes home.

Still No Pics (sorry)...but more Drew!!

I think...nope I know...God has blessed us with the two most beautiful boys in the world.

For highlights of the day so far...

We woke up to a freezing cold room...I got a little carried away with the thermostat last night. But, hey...it was fun snuggling with Charlie without a kiddo between us :) I showered first...giving myself plenty of time. Charlie was shaving while I was heating my flat iron. Pop, snap, smoke coming from the adapter.....ooops. So, I called the front desk and told them that we had no power...no lights...no electricity. "Ok...we take care". Two seconds later there was a knock at the door and this very sweet lady from housekeeping there with more TOWELS for us. What...I need air conditioning...not to mention my flat iron. So we head out for breakfast, stop at the front desk to explain again...and she said "call housekeeping". I looked at Charlie and we just laughed, thinking we'd go back to our room with more towels.

Nice breakfast over looking the ocean. We met up with Phoung at breakfast and told her our dilemma. She said she'd take care of it. So, we go back to the room and in just a few minutes there was someone there to take care of it. I blew a breaker.

We're having computer issues, so Charlie thinks we might try dial up. He gets the phone cord out of the bag and straightens it out and then...pop...the end came off.

We have to laugh at all of this. We're really fine and having a great time.

Now for the good stuff. We went to the center again this morning around 9:00am. We took the scenic route this morning...which was great. We drove by the hospital where Layne Nhi (the Perkins little girl) was born. When we got to the center, some of the kids were standing on the balcony. Shortly after...there was Drew.

He's just so stinkin' cute. Some things we've learned about him in the 3 short hours we've spent with him....the first thing being we've been saying his name incorrectly....Quang....sounds like Quack...Quang. He's a very determined child....he's very mobile and very fast....he loves his nanny and the feeling is mutual....they have to chase him to get him to eat.....and he loves to put on my glasses and crinkle his nose up. He and Charlie played peek a boo today and he ran to Charlie with his little arms up. What a sweet moment.

This afternoon Charlie and I are going on a tour of the Cham Towers and the pottery place (forgot the name). Then we're going to get a massage...a FIVE DOLLAR massage. I can't wait.

Tomorrow morning we head to the center at 8:00am. Our Giving and Receiving Ceremony is at 9:00am and then we'll go back to Ho Chi Minh.

I PROMISE....I'LL POST PICTURES WHEN WE GET TO HO CHI MINH.

Talked to Ian briefly today...."Hi mommy....love you"...then he's off to find Bill. Marcia said he's doing great. We miss him terribly and we can't wait for him to meet his brother.

More tomorrow....hopefully....after we get back to Ho Chi Minh!!!

Thanks for the comments....keep em coming!

Love to all!!!

Finally....We've Held Our Son

What a glorious day. The 7 hour drive from Ho Chi Minh was long. But, everything about this process has been long.

We arrived in Ninh Thuan about 2:45pm this afternoon. We checked into this BEAUTIFUL resort hotel, freshened up at bit and left for the center at 3:30pm. We arrived there just a few minutes later (about 10 minutes I think). When we drove up, we looked around and there was sweet Layne Nhi coming out to meet her mommy and daddy.

We got out of the van, looked up and there was Joseph (Vinh) and Dillon standing looking over the railing. Then out of the no where came this BEAUTIFUL little guy peering through the railing. That was him...our Drew. What a doll. I tried not to cry, but those who know me realize that was an impossible task. I turned to Charlie and said "I'm going up". So, we quickly climbed the stairs and there he was.

Oh my goodness....there he was. He didn't quite know what to think of us at that moment. But, he did come to me and let me kiss on him. I've waited 10 long months to kiss that sweet face. Finally...I literally mean...finally I asked Charlie if he wanted to hold him. I think I was being a bit selfish. What a sweet thing to see....Daddy and his new son.

He is walking...almost running...every where. When he wants to go....he goes. I think we're going to have our hands full. It was dinner time for the kiddos, but Drew was more interested in everything going on around him. They practically had to chase him down to get him to eat his small bowl of congee.

We finally got to see him laugh. Charlie...of course...made him laugh. He has the cutest dimples and 8 teeth that I could count. Cute, cute, cute.

Ninh Thuan mommies....we loved on your kiddos while we were there. We'll get to see them again tomorrow and take them their goodies. Nikki....I might just pack Joseph up and bring him home with me...he is ADORABLE.....he LOVES, LOVES, LOVES bubbles.

Julie...I'll send you an email. Lots to tell you about Bennett. Scarlett...same thing.

We're having difficulty with our wireless connection and therefore difficulty posting pictures (sorry). Hopefully we can get it figured out soon.

Amazing day and we're so thankful that we have finally met baby Drew.

Ian...mommy and daddy miss you bunch and we told your little brother all about you today.

More as we get a chance and hopefully pictures soon.

Thirty Three Hours Later.....

AND WE'RE IN VIETNAM!!!!

It's hard to believe we are finally in the country of our baby boy's birth. It's been a long...let me repeat that....LONG trip.

Fairly uneventful. We were delayed in LA for about 90 minutes and thought it was going to be longer, but it wasn't. We made up time in the air and landed in Hong Kong just 10 minutes later than expected. The flight to HCM was great too.

I slept about 10 of the 14 hour flight from LAX to Hong Kong. Charlie said he slept about half of it. I wouldn't know. I know they woke me up to feed me this delicious chicken dish...which I fell asleep eating. We were lucky on the long flight...we had a seat between us so we were able to spread out and relax.

By the time we were getting ready to land in Ho Chi Minh...we were "punch drunk". Although...when we touched down, I couldn't help by cry just a little. We've waited a long time to be here.

Thomas and Trinh picked us up at the airport and brought us to the Rex. It's a beautiful hotel. I hopped in the shower and Charlie is lounging on the bed. We're trying to get our wireless connection to work on our laptop, but I don't have the patience, so I'm downstairs blogging.

Tomorrow is the big day. We'll get to meet Drew for the first time. I CAN'T WAIT. I'm so excited right now.

We're going to venture out in a little while. Hopefully we'll meet up with the Perkins family tonight. If not, we'll see them in the morning.

Still missing Ian like CRAZY. But, he would have had a very hard time with this trip. So glad that we have great friends like Marcia and Bill that are looking after him. We're going to try to call them tomorrow morning before we leave for Ninh Thuan. We leave at 8am...so we will probably try to call sometime between 7:00 and 7:30.

Next post.....after we've met Drew. Wow, that just gave me chills.

Here we come Drew!!!

It's Almost Time

Today is the day. We leave in a few hours to begin our LONG trek to Vietnam. We still can't believe this day has finally come. We have a few last minute things to do, but for the most part we're ready.

I think once we're in the air I'll be fine, but right now I have this huge knot in the pit of my stomach. It's not about the flights, not about traveling at all....it's all about leaving Ian. I KNOW he'll be fine. Marcia and Bill have a lot of fun things planned for him. But, it's still hard to leave my baby.

Our journey has been long and full of ups and downs. In a few short days we'll get to hold our sweet Drew. Charlie and I kept saying "I can't believe it's finally time"....all day yesterday. Little Drew has no idea what's about to happen. He's perfectly content in the orphanage with the nannies and other kiddos around. While we're excited beyond belief, his little world is getting ready to turn upside down. He's getting ready to leave what he's known his entire life and go with this people that smell different, are bigger than he's ever seen before, talk different and can't stop smiling. I can't imagine what will go through his little mind. But, we'll love him through the transition and before long he'll adjust.

We have had a HUGE support system through this journey and we can't thank you enough. So many of you have laughed with us, cried with us and rejoiced with us. Our journey TO Drew is just about over and our journey WITH Drew is about to begin.

We plan to update the blog as much as possible while we're gone. I think the Internet connection in Ninh Thuan may be a little sketchy, but we should be fine in Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi. We'll post our return flight information as it gets closer to our return.

Please continue to pray for us. The next time we post will probably be from Vietnam

7 Days Until "Meetcha Day"

One more week...just 7 days....a mere 168 hours (more or less)....10,080 minutes...604,800 seconds....UNTIL WE FINALLY GET TO HOLD OUR PRECIOUS DREW!!! Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait.

We're almost completely packed. Visas and tickets are in hand. Paperwork will be copied tomorrow. Arrangements for Ian are taken are of. Pets are taken care of. Just the last minute rushing around trying to remember everything we need to do. It was easier when we went to India....we didn't leave a child behind. That's tearing at my gut. I know we're making the right decision for our family and I know he'll have a great time at Marcia and Bill's...but it's breaking my heart to leave him.

We had our travel meeting with Jynger on Monday. Can I just tell you how much we love Jynger? I love me some Jynger. She walked us through our entire trip, talked to us about possible delays or hiccups (she doesn't anticipate any, but likes to prepare families just in case), and tried to calm any last minutes fears we had.

We arrive in HCM on Monday morning and leave for Ninh Thuan on Tuesday morning. We'll get to meet Drew later on Tuesday. We'll get to spend some more time with him on Wednesday and then on Thursday, July 31st he becomes ours forever. Wow. I still can't believe it's finally happening.

Please pray for us as we get ready to make this journey. Specifically, pray for peace when we leave Ian behind, pray for safe and uneventful travel, pray for smooth transitions with Drew, pray for our health while were gone, pray for Marcia and Bill as they take care of our special little munchkin, pray for Ian to understand that mommy and daddy will be home soon and pray for the remainder of the process in Vietnam to go smoothly (no delays or hiccups). God has been faithful...and while I'll never understand why we had to wait so long to get Drew...someday God will let us know. Through all of this one thing we know for sure....God did answer our prayers....we're leaving in 5 days, traveling around the world to bring our second son home...the son God had picked out especially for our family...we prayed for this child and God answered. Praise His Name!

Tickets Booked

As of 12:45pm Thursday, our tickets to Vietnam are booked. Woo, hoo!!

We're leaving on Saturday, July 26th. We arrive in HCMC on Monday, July 28th. Not sure of our exact schedule in Vietnam yet, but we do know that Drew will be ours on July 31st. We're scheduled to fly home from Hanoi on Saturday, August 9th. That puts us back in Tulsa around 7:45am on Sunday morning, August 10th. It will be whirlwind couple of weeks. I was laughing with a friend today about our arrival time on Sunday morning. We'll be tired (that's an understatement) and probably ready for a nap...but Ian will be rockin' and rollin' and rarin' to go. That's OK...we'll just be glad to see him.

Still can't believe this is actually happening. Lots to do this weekend to get ready. But, we are going to go to Bartlesville to the Kiddie Park this Friday night. Ian will love it and it's probably our last real outing as a family of three.

More details as they become available.

Hang on Drew....we're coming!

HEY DREW.....GUESS WHAT?!!

WE'RE GOING TO VIETNAM!!!!!!

Our pre-approval from CIS just arrived in our email box about an hour ago. We're so excited!!!! We should get a confirmation of our GNR date in the next day or so.

Wow...We're so excited.

We're coming baby Drew.....we're coming!!!!!

Praise God!!! Praise God!!! Praise God!!!!!

Update: Our GNR has been set for July 31st. We have to be in Vietnam by July 28th!!! Woo, hoo!!!!

HEY.....COME AND GET ME!!!!

New picture of our little man. Ready and waiting to walk to his mommy and daddy.

We're trying sweet baby....we're trying.

Happy Birthday Little Man

Happy First Birthday Baby Drew!!!

Mommy, Daddy & Ian wish you could be with us today. It'll be soon sweet baby. We love you and hope the nannies are giving you a special hug today. We'll celebrate when you come home!!!

Latest height and weight update indicate that he's 20.9 pounds and 29.5 inches tall. No illnesses in June...Yay.

We have received so many wonderful pictures from Shelley and Lori from their recent travels. I can't post many of them here because they have other children in them...but trust me....Drew is adorable. Looks a little feisty...but adorable.

Edited today....July 10, 2008

Celebrating with Spiderman cupcakes. Ian loves his baby Drew. Also...notice that Ian's wearing his t-shirt from Vietnam Camp...for baby Drew's birthday. We had fun and enjoyed our yummy cupcakes. Soon we'll have a real birthday celebration...complete with Drew.

Hey Mommy.....

Are you EVER coming to get me?

Sweet picture taken just last week. So in love with this face. Can't wait to kiss it.

We're praying, praying, praying sweet baby. Hopefully it won't be long until you're in our arms.

Wow...Look At Our Handsome Little Guy

Just received this picture from Dillon. Look how big our baby is getting. This was taken in the past week or so. OK....look at those feet!!!! His feet already look bigger than Ian's :) I can count 4 teeth on the bottom...and a little drop of drool :)

This was a pick me up today...but we need that email from the Consulate with our pre-approval. Please continue to pray!!

Sadie's Coming Home!

Today Sadie's mommy and daddy received their pre-approval to complete Sadie's adoption. Sadie is in the orphanage with Drew. Lori and Steve are now waiting on their Giving and Receiving date. Thrilled, thrilled, thrilled for them.

Lori, Shelley and I have been corresponding since our referrals last fall. We had all hoped to travel together. But it looks like we won't. Oh well....we'll have to have a Ninh Thuan reunion sometime.

Several Can Tho families received their pre-approvals too. Yay!!!

Still praying that our approval comes soon. Until then, we're celebrating...especially with Lori and Shelley!!!

BREAKING NEWS....Sadie's G & R date has been set for June 26th...her first birthday!!! Yay!! So, so happy for Lori and her family!!!!

11 Months Old

Today little Drew is 11 months old and he's still not in his momma's arms. :(

8 Months & Growing

Sounds like a weird title for a post, but let me explain.

Today, June 5th, marks 8 MONTHS SINCE WE FIRST SAW DREW'S SWEET FACE!!! Unbelievable. 8 months and we're still waiting. 8 months of staring at the 4 pictures we've received of our sweet baby and longing to hop on an airplane and go get him. To say it's hard is an understatement. To say it's irritating is an understatement. Surprised that we've waited this long after referral doesn't even begin to describe it. But....there is absolutely nothing we can do at this point. So...we wait some more. I have to keep telling myself, "it's not going to be as long as it has been".

Growing.....well, it doesn't mean my patience is growing. Nope. Not happening.

What it does mean is that Drew is growing. We received our monthly height and weight update today. He's up to 19.8 pounds and.....29 inches tall. Can we say big baby? I'm still never certain that those measurements are correct....but I'm sure they're not off by much. Compared to Ian, he's really big. Ian, at 3 years old, is 29 pounds and 3 feet tall. If we don't get to travel soon, my one year old is going to be bigger than my 3 year old :)

Speaking of....unless a miracle happens....and I believe it can.....we will be missing Drew's first birthday. He turns 11 months old next Tuesday, June 10th. I'm still praying.

Sam's Mommy & Daddy Leaving Soon

Today my good internet pal, Shelly, emailed and said they FINALLY received their I-600 approval. YAY!!! Praise God!!

Sam was referred to them exactly one week before we received Drew's referral. Sam and Drew are in the same orphanage. Sam is just a little over 2 years old.

We're still waiting, along with Sadie's mommy and Daddy, for our I-600 approval. There is one more stinkin' piece of paper that will complete our file and it will be ready on Friday, June 6th. For those of you that know me well, you understand a little of what I'm talking about. But, the good news is at least the Consulate is reviewing our file. Hopefully they will approve ours and Lori's (Sadie's mommy) at the same time either later this week or early next week.

But...tonight...and all day today....we're celebrating with Shelly!!! Watch out Sam...you're Mommy's been waiting a LONG time to come and get you.

UPDATE: The Giving and Received date for Sam and his family is June 19th!!!! Woo, hoo!!!

Mother's Day

As we ran around Hunter Park this afternoon, I found myself smiling and thinking about what it will be like next year when we're chasing two little boys around. I CAN'T WAIT. Seriously...I CAN'T WAIT. I had a great Mother's Day today, but couldn't help missing my little man Drew. While Ian kept me busy and occupied all day, my thoughts often drifted to a sweet baby in Vietnam. Looking at his picture was great, but having him in my arms would have been so much better.

Today at church Deron reminded us at the beginning of his sermon that "God does listen and that He cares for us." Through this process, I've felt alone at times. But I know that the Father is there...loving me through it all. He's teaching me something....I must be pretty dense because this lesson has gone on FOREVER. By the way....in case I haven't said it...We have THE best Pastor in the world.

I'm a blessed mommy. My sweet Ian gave me lots of hugs and kisses today, and soon I'll have another sweet boy in my arms.

Soon Baby Drew....Soon!!

10 Months Old

Today Drew turns 10 months old. Another month without him in our arms :(

Soon little man...soon.

Days Just Keep Ticking By

Hard to believe...it's been 200 days since our log in date. 200 STINKIN DAYS!!!! Something has to happen soon. Right?

Conversations With Drew's Big Brother

Tonight I was desperately trying to get Ian to go to bed. It just wasn't happening. He was sitting on Daddy's lap having his cheerios. I calmly said..."let's go to bed Ian". To which he promptly replied "be patient Mommy....you need to wait."

I think his Daddy has been talking to him about Mommy not being patient and not waiting. Hmmmmm? Just had such a familiar ring when he said it.

Maybe Ian decided he's heard enough whining from Mommy about not having baby Drew home.....Hmmmm?

One of our frequent conversations revolves around names. "what's your name mommy?", "what's that little guy's name"?, etc. Lately Ian has asked "what's baby Drew's name?"....and I reply "Drew." "No mommy, what's his BIG name" (translated...full name). So, I say "Drew Austin Q.." "NO Mommy...Autin my friend at school"....I go on to say "it's OK Ian, more than one person can have the same name". Ian asks again..."what's baby Drew's name?"....here we go again :) "Drew Austin Qu...." "NO MOMMY....Autin at school...baby Drew not Autin".

I've tried explaining it in relation to my daddy and step-father. My Daddy's name was Dewey and my step father's name was Austin. So...I tell Ian that mommy was lucky and had TWO Daddy's...one named Dewey and one named Austin. Guess what he said? "NO MOMMY....Autin my friend at school".

Charlie thought that he'd explain it by using his dad as an example. Charlie's dad's name was Charlie. What did Ian say..."No daddy...that's your name".

Tonight though, I think...maybe...we're making a little progress. Ian started with "what's your 2 daddy's names Mommy?" I told him. Then he said "what's Baby Drew's name?" "Drew Austin Quang Conner" (woo, hoo...got the whole name out). Then he said "Drew's name not Autin Quang...it's Baby Drew."

Looks like Mommy need to be patient and see what Ian decides Drew's name actually is.

When You Don't Know What To Say

International adoption is a roller coaster of emotions...I've said that before. It's true now, more than ever. Praise God, we are not affected by the latest announcement regarding Vietnam adoptions. But, many of our friends that we've met through this process are.

For those that don't know...I'll give you the condensed version. Basically, adoptions in Vietnam will be shutting down again on September 1st. This make me profoundly sad. There are still several families on the waiting list with our agency that may or may not see their families expand with a child from Vietnam. That just makes my heart hurt. But then when I think about all of the children in orphanages in Vietnam that will never have a forever family...makes me even sadder.

We're one of the lucky ones...so far. We have a referral and fortunately we're working with an agency that has a very good reputation in Vietnam. Dillon was one of a handful of agencies that stayed in Vietnam when adoptions ceased in 2002. They continued to provide humanitarian aid. From what we know, we should not be affected or delayed at all...at least not delayed any more than we already have been. As I said in an earlier post, we're finished with the Vietnamese approval process...now we're just waiting on the US to approve.

My heart goes out to the families that are grieving tonight, and in the days to come, for a child that will not come. While I may not know the words to say, my prayers will be with you.

Look At That Face

We received a new picture of Drew. Yay!!! I'm so ready to hop on an airplane and get this little guy. He just looks so kissable. Hopefully he won't be waiting much longer for his mommy and daddy.

Progress

We received an update today. Our paperwork has moved and soon all we'll be waiting on is the I-600 approval. Woo, hoo!! This means we're getting closer to Drew. Praise God.

Now...let's all just pray that the approval comes quickly. AND...that the approvals come for Sadie and Sam too. We so want to travel with those families. Shelley, Lori and I have communicated on a regular basis since our referrals. Shelley is a tad bit further along than Lori and I. We don't want her to wait a second longer that she has to, so if her approval comes tonight....we'll celebrate.

The Little Things

It's the little things that help us get through this crazy roller coaster ride called adoption. This weekend we decided to put the new car seats in our cars and put Drew's crib together. Wow...what a difference little things like that can make. While the back seats of our cars are very crowded, it makes me happy that we've taken that itsy bitsy step. Now...all we need is Drew to put in the car seat and the crib. Soon....hopefully VERY soon.

9 Months Old

Well...today our little guy turns 9 months old. I never thought I'd be blogging about him turning 9 months old without him in my arms :(

We received another height and weight update yesterday. He now ways 19.14 pounds and he's 26 inches tall. He's a big boy. He does still have a bit of a cold though.

Still no word on our paperwork. Jynger is in Washington, DC this week at a Joint Council meeting. Maybe she'll have a few more answers regarding the latest USCIS policy when she returns.

Ian is ready for his baby brother to come home. Sunday night we were getting ready for bed and Ian picked up Drew's picture and took it to bed with him. He then proceeds to tell us "I going to teach baby Drew how to pray, OK?"...and then said "I love you baby Drew" and kissed his picture. Talk about a big lump in the throat...Charlie and I were both choked up.

Little man Drew, we're trying to get there....hopefully it won't be much longer.

Growing

We received a height and weight update this evening. Drew is now up to 18.3 pounds. He is almost 9 months old and he weighs what Ian did when we got home with him (he was 11 months old). Of course I don't fully trust the weight....but he does look a little chunky in his pictures. He has been sick though. The report said that he has had the flu....due to unseasonal temperature changes. He just needs his mommy.

There's a LOT going on right now in the Vietnam adoption world. Too much to really go into here. It's insane and irritating and the folks causing all of this confusion are not the Vietnamese....IT'S OUR OWN GOVERNMENT!!! That's the part that makes me crazy.

On Sunday, Deron preached on Matthew 6:25-34...Do Not Worry. How timely was that sermon? Deron encouraged all of us to be obedient to God's command...but to be prepared. When we give it up and say "OK, God...that's it....I'm not going to worry...be prepared for God to "test" you." Geesh...did that ever happen this week? I'm doing my best to be obedient...and actually as unsettling as this week has been...I'm not in my usual frenzied worry mode. Don't get me wrong...worry is trying it's best to creep in...but I just repeat simple prayer..."Jesus have mercy on me" many times and right now it's working. God is getting me through this because this is HIS plan. He never says that it's going to be easy, but what He does say is that He will not forsake us. Thank you God for being a God of love and mercy.

For all of my adoption buddies out there...we are praying ferverntly for this situation to be resolved. I'm standing on the promise of God's faithfulness and love. Stay strong my friends!!!

Drew...you are so loved and we pray for you daily. It's about 11am in Vietnam right now and I hope at this very moment someone is giving you a sweet hug. It won't be long until I'm giving you those hugs sweet boy. Mommy, Daddy and Ian can't wait until you're home with us.

Most Recent Picture

This picture was taken in February when Amy (Samuel's mommy) was in Ninh Thuan. Our little guy looks quite chunky in this photo. Looks like he's got some wild hair. Also...the little boy in the background is Sam (Shelley R's little guy)...he looks precious too.

Thanks so much Amy for taking the pictures. Can't wait to get my hands on this little guy....I'm just dying to kiss those chubby cheeks.

More December Pics

Thanks to Kim (Isaac's Mommy) for sending these pictures to us. These were taken when Kim was in Ninh Thuan picking up Isaac. She said the her Dad (who's the sweet man holding Drew) called Drew his little buddy. It just warms my heart knowing that they loved on our little guy.