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.