Getting Ready for the G & R Ceremony

We have spoken with Rick and mom several times this evening. They said Jake did great last night and got up only once for a feeding and then again at 6 am but cuddled up next to Rick in bed after his 6 am feeding. Rick said he is very affectionate and cuddly. Mom was thrilled because today he bonded with my mom. She has been carrying him through the markets today and when the people on the streets come up to them to say "lucky baby" or try to hold him (I have been told that the Vietnamese people love children and try to hold babies they don't even know often) he would turn his back to the strangers and wrap his arms around the neck of the person who was holding (either mom or Rick) and bury his head in their chest. Mom said it would just melt her when he would do that. She told me on the phone today "I am totally in love with this little guy!". He doesn't really talk yet (he makes sounds but they don't know what he is saying...but he does say "Hi Hi Hi Hi Hi") but communicates by pulling them by their hands and directing them to what he wants. Mom said she will do certain things with his toys and he watches her and will do the exact same thing when she is done...she said he is a "genious".. :) !!!! Rick has played an Elmo dvd on the laptop and said he is completely mesmerized by it and he loves books. We sent him a stuffed puppy and they said he absolutely will not part with it other than bathtime. He sat the puppy in a chair next to himself at breakfast today(apparently they don't have high chairs) When they tried to leave for breakfast and didn't have it he pulled mom over by her hand and tried to let her know "I am not leaving this room without my puppy in that crib!". A friend sent a sweet soft blanket with us and they said he won't part with it either. They said he is just doing great.....very easy going and sweet....oh and very smart :)!

Oh yea...back to the main topic...sorry I am getting carried away as a proud mommy...but the G&R Ceremony will take place Vietnam time today at 3 pm (2 am here). We will officially be ours as far as the Vietnamese government is concerned. I think they still have to get a medical exam and passports for him while in HCMC. They are planning on taking a trip down the Mekong Delta tomorrow. I just got off the phone and he was heading down to the lobby to see if someone could come up and help him with the laptop. He has downloaded all the pictures but he just can't get them to email....he is officially very frustrated right now! I had a sweet family member of one of the people traveling at the same time email me and let me know that they had a photo of Jake that her niece had taken so she forwarded it to me. I will post them now. It is of Jake in the little suit and bow tie they put him in when he met Rick and mom for the first time. Well, I will post more as I receive it and hopefully Rick can get the pictures sent soon. Natalie

A quick update from the last post

I spoke with Rick just now before they went to sleep. He said they got back to the hotel room and gave Jake a bath, "tried" to brush his teeth....had never had it done before and didn't like it, and met the other families out for dinner. They said the food was incredible and that Jake is being SOOOOO good. He won't go to mom yet and only wants Rick. Our agency told us this would be important so we are very grateful for this. He sat in Rick's lap and then they took a walk by the water and he didn't make a sound. They got back to the room tonight and he fell asleep in Rick's arms. Once Rick laid him in the crib he sat up to make sure he was still there and laid back down to go to sleep. Rick is having trouble with the computer and can't email or download pictures at this time but will send them as soon as he figures out the problem. He said they were too tired to even try tonight.

Rick gave me more details from the orphanage. We had been told that Son (Jake) was the assistant director's favorite...and Rick said it was true. He said actually he seemed to be the favorite of many. Many of the caregivers had a hard time seeing him leave. Rick said most of the kids are in old clothing that is too big etc and they had dressed him up in a suit with a bow tie for him to meet his new forever family. I can not wait to see this picture! She told Rick she wanted to adopt him and Son called her "mommy". She said he was "very very smart! and a "very lucky baby"". Rick said she may just be biased because she loved him so much but would like to believe he is going to be smart! We prayed for the entire wait that whoever God placed in in our family would feel loved while he waited on us and it has truly been an answer to our prayers. We are so grateful to her for loving our son and showing him how to bond with people. She has given him such a great gift.

I am going to call them tonight before we go to bed and when they are getting up and I will update more. They have the Giving and Receiving Ceremony tomorrow afternoon and as far as the Vietnamese government is concerned he will be officially ours. It will then be up to the US. I hope I will have some pictures to share with you. Have a great day. Natalie

They have Jake!

I know it is in the middle of the night but I just got off the phone with Rick and mom again and yes, I spoke to Jake! He didn't like the phone at all....he had never seen a cell phone before and he couldn't figure out what the sound was coming out of it saying, "Hi Son (his Vietnamese name)...it is Mommy!"....he pushed it away and wanted to look out the window. I will update more tomorrow on the events that took place when Rick took him from the assistant director...who loved him so much (he even called her momma). It was very emotional for everyone involved. They told Rick that she was actually in the process of trying to adopt him but then our paperwork came through and he was matched up with us and she decided to give him to us. I had written her a letter and given her a gift and the translator read it to her as Rick gave her the necklace. Needless to say, it was very emotional for her and mom and Rick tried to console her with hugs and words of comfort and thankfulness. I will tell you now that Jake is crying in the van and was a little distressed. Rick was trying to console him and tell me everything at the same time so I am going to call early in the morning(our time) and get more details. They are with a group of 4 other families and their children were with them too.

I found out that he doesn't like monkeys...they scare him! I had sent a toy monkey over to him but he doesn't like it at all! I don't even think they sent it with him. Good thing I decided against the monkey backpack and got one with airplanes! I put a puppy dog inside and Rick said he was holding on pretty tight to it. He had a bag of animal crackers and Rick said there was not a chance of him parting with those either! Oh..one other note....they said "rest up Nat"....he is BUSY...as I had been warned by others over there...they said when they got there he was running all over the place half dressed under tables and chairs etc. They got him all "fancy" and he came out with a bow tie on....I can't wait to get the pictures of him. I am tired and rambling but will update more as I hear from Rick. Please pray for Jake's comfort during this huge adjustment period. I know he must be so scared and confused right now and I desperately wish I was there to hold him. I just want his transition to be as easy as it can be. More later I promise. Natalie

THEY MADE IT!!!!

I just got off the phone with Rick and mom. They were in the car with their guide/translator pulling up the hotel. They said they were actually pretty rested and were going to make themselves stay up all day to get on "Vietnam" time. All they kept saying was it was so amazing. They said you would have to see it all to believe it. They said the flight was wonderful and that everyone on the plane was so polite, efficient and the food was excellent. Mom was so proud of herself because she was able to eat her entire meal in Hong Kong with chopsticks! The only bump was that Rick's luggage was torn up and the strap to pull it was torn off so he is having to carry it and Jake's luggage was ripped up too. Mom was so worried her luggage didn't make it because it was the last one unloaded. I am going to call them back in 30 minutes because they are unpacking and meeting down in the lobby to go to the orphanage at 2 pm (1 am our time). Rick was a little concerned because most families go to the orphanage and "receive" their child but he was told they were going to the orphanage to "meet" their child. He was going to check in to this after they got unpacked and showered. I am so much more relaxed now that I know they arrived safely, seem well rested and very excited. I will update more as I talk to them. I can't believe we will be parents of 4 very very soon. Natalie

And They Are Off!!!!!!

Well, today was the big day. The kids and I drove mom and Rick up to Fayetteville to fly out. We let the kids miss school so they could spend some time with Rick because he has been so busy at work and not had a lot of time at home. Everything went pretty smooth for check in but when it was time for "good bye's"....well, it was pretty rough. The girls got really upset and started crying. It got so bad that one of the employees came over and gave them mints to try to console them...he said he couldn't stand to see them so upset over their daddy leaving...pretty sweet guy. Luke was busy running under all the lane ropes and kept saying, "Is daddy and ma getting Jake?"! I did pretty good at holding it back at the airport and on the way home.....but when we walked into our empty house I have to admit I cried! I know it sounds silly but Rick and I have only been apart a couple of times for only a couple of days in almost 12 years. We are very excited about everything but it also a little overwhelming too. We have waited for this moment for almost two years and when it finally happens it is very hard to describe all of the emotions you go through. It is very hard for me not to be there with Rick but I know it is very important for me to be here for our other three children too.....especially after the day and night we have had...lots of tears shed.

Once we got home we decided to go to basketball practice to get our minds off of things and it did help. We then went to eat at our favorite Chinese restaurant and to see our friends who own it who are actually Vietnamese. They are so kind and it was comforting to see them tonight and let them know Rick and mom were off. They could tell we were having a "sad" night and were so good to talk to the kids.

It is completely hard for me to imagine...but tomorrow my sweet husband will be holding our new son. They are leaving Los Angeles in a couple of hours and flying to Hong Kong....should get there around 4 pm tomorrow (Wed) our time. They will have a couple of hours lay over and then on to HCMC, Vietnam by 10:35 am (9:30 pm our time). Rick thinks he will have Jake by noon and said he would call me tomorrow night on the way to the orphanage. I wish I could type into words how amazing this experience is for all of us. It is exciting, scary, overwhelming and joyous all at the same time. A friend of mine whom I have not even met...only through CHI via email.....was so kind to share words of encouragement with me this morning and it meant so much coming from someone who recently went through all of this.

Through this entire journey, God has shown us so much and brought so many wonderful people in to our lives. It is our hope that we can provide a life pleasing to God for Jake and that we can bless his life with our love and hope for a wonderful future. We know he will bless our lives in ways we can not even imagine at this time. We are very thankful that God has placed him into our lives and it is with every ounce of our being that we want to glorify God through this journey. Please keep all of us in your prayers as we go through this together. Please pray for all four of our children that they will all adjust smoothly. As soon as Rick and mom get settled into their hotel room tomorrow and prayerfully can figure out the laptop and digital cameras...I will post updates and pictures. Natalie

Only a couple of days left

Well, Nadia had great fun with all of her friends at her 9th b-day party. They did pottery and we came home to some games, movies and crafts. They all seemed to have a really great time. They have such a sweet group of friends in their class at school. Today they had a basketball game in Mountainburg and won the game in three over times! Most of her friends had been at the party and we had to get up at 6:30 am to be there on time! They were all pretty sleepy but were able to pull through with a win. It is so fun to watch the kids play basketball at this age. After the game, the third grade class was selected to be in the Fort Smith Christmas parade. It was a very fun busy day for all of them. Rick is on call today/tonight so it has been just the kids and I. Believe it or not, I actually got Jake packed during Luke's nap and with the great help of Mia. I am glad I did it today because I was able to make a list of things I forgot and will run out tomorrow after church to get all of those things. One bump in the day was that I took Luke back to the hospital today b/c I was up with him all night last night crying and had noticed his fingers were very swollen and he kept saying "too tight!". They had to cut the cast tonight to relieve the pressure from swelling. It seems to help some but he just can't stand having the cast on. It breaks my heart when he says, "please take it off momma". Thanks for all the kind encouraging notes you have left on the blog and emails. It is so nice to have so many people supporting us and praying for us on the wonderful journey. I have attached some photos below. Talk to you soon. Natalie


Nadia's birthday party!

Luke and his broken arm :(
I'm trying to smile momma but it hurts

We got our VISA's!

Yea! We got the visa's, airline tickets for Rick, Mom and Jake, and the international phone all in the mail today. Such a relief before the weekend. Now all we need to do is pack but my mind is racing with things I have forgotten! I am throwing Nadia's b-day party tonight and I am focusing on that this afternoon...she is so excited. I have the basement all decorated with balloons, signs, goody bags and lots and lots of snacks! They will do pottery and pizza tonight and then come back to watch movies and do crafts! Mia is getting to bring a friend too and I am sure Luke will be right in the middle of all of it! Luke is having a hard time adjusting to his cast. He keeps asking us to "take it off!". I feel so bad for him. He was so brave at the doctors office...not a tear was shed! Well, I will be busy this weekend with parties, basketball and packing but I will try to update more before they leave. I will be updating and putting pictures on the blog (hopefully...if we can figure it out between Vietnam and Fort Smith) during the entire trip. Have a great weekend. Natalie