Details, details...

Tyler here again. Ok, ok, I get the hint. You all want details. Well, let's start from the beginning.



Day 1, Monday: We arrived in Vietnam and were picked up by one of the CHI representatives. We had about 2 1/2 hours to get cleaned up (I believe that is the best shower I have ever had.) and then get to the orphanage. We finally were able to see our son Ethan Loc Scott Larson for the first time. Ellie immediately ran up and gave him a hug. We will get video of this up eventually. Our internet connection was pretty slow yesterday, but I'll get them up! Misty was able to feed him his final meal at the orphanage. We didn't have as much time as we wanted at the orphanage, but were able to meet some of the children in Ethan's room. (Again, pics and video to come!)

During our return trip to the hotel Ethan sat on my lap. He has yet to desire to leave this location. He threw up on me as we were about to get his picture for the visa. That night we put in a video for Ellie and ordered room service. Oh how adventurous we were... hamburgers and fries. :-)

Day 2 Tuesday: We took the picture for the visa at a place across from the Rex Hotel. First time crossing a Vietnamese street... wow. That afternoon we had our G&R or Giving and Receiving Ceremony. It is at this point that Doan Phuc Loc officially became our son. Truly an exciting time, but short. We had to sign and print our names on 4 documents and that was it.

We have found an incredible coffee shop in the area. Actually there are three of them in this chain within a few blocks of the hotel. It's called Highland's Coffee. Those of you who know me know that I really like coffee. Misty has become addicted to it as well. We were very pleased to find out about these places. My new favorite drink is called Ca Phe Sua Da. It's an iced coffee that is very strong, but is sweetened with sweetened condensed milk. If you like it hot it is called Ca Phe Sua Nong, which is also very good. If you enjoy a STRONG cup of coffee try a Vietnamese style of drip coffee. Very strong, but the flavor is wonderful! If you ever come to visit us back in Kansas I'll try to make some up for you. I'm going to pick up the cups for it this evening.

Day 3 Wednesday: That morning I kept the kids while Misty went to apply for a Vietnamese passport for Ethan. She also had a short meeting. That afternoon we went to a Vietnamese hospital for a medical checkup. That was an interesting experience. The lobby of this hospital was under construction. This means that there was dust and debris everywhere. Combine this with it being an open room with no glass in the windows created a very, um, interesting hospital atmosphere. The doctor did a pretty quick examination. He told us that it was "unlikely" that Ethan has hydrocephalus. He gave us some reasons for this, but couldn't give us a reason for his larger than normal cranium; and then jokingly said that he will be "The next big scientist of our day!" Joking about his large skull and brain. ;-) We won't know for sure about the hydrocephalus diagnosis until he has an MRI, so that is still one of our major prayer requests.

That evening we ate at a restaurant along one of the rivers here in Ho Chi Minh City. This was very good. We ordered roast duck that had excellent flavor especially if you dipped it in the accompanying sauce. Difficult for the kids to eat though.

Day 4 Thursday: We took a quick tour of Ho Chi Minh City, specifically to "China Town". During this trip we visited a Buddhist temple. Interesting, but I will expound on my thoughts on the temple from the perspective of a pastor on my blog.

We took the kids swimming that morning and Ethan surprised me with how much he loved it. He really enjoyed the pool. I was also able to visit with an Australian who has been living here for 6 years. He came to Vietnam after 9/11 for a three month contract, but has stayed for 6 years because he just enjoys the people and area. We ate in one of the hotel restaurants. They were a little more pricey than other places around here, so we'll eat elsewhere from now on.

We had more coffee at Highland's that afternoon and Ellie ate a really good banana cake. Because of the time and Ellie eating, we forgot to have supper. We began to regret that at about 9:30 that night. Note, Ratatouille is not a good movie to watch if you're hungry. Too much food involved. It's a good thing there's a free breakfast buffet in the hotel each morning.

Day 5 Friday: We had our CIS interview this morning. It was a long wait to get in, but the lady conducting the interview was very nice. After asking Ellie if she was the big sister, Misty jokingly replied, "She's just some kid we found on the street." Mary Ann, the lady doing the interview said, "That's the wrong thing to say in this office. It's what we're trying to get away from." I'm glad she said that with a smile on her face. :-) Misty also said that she's really enjoying Ho Chi Minh City and would like to stay here longer before we travel to Hanoi. Mary Ann said, "I can arrange that. You'd be amazed at what I can arrange." I, however, would like to stay by choice rather than being forced to.

We ate our lunch today at, you guessed it, Highland's Coffee. I took a break from coffee and had a smoothie. All smoothies and juices in the restaurants around here are made with freshly juiced fruit. I also had the Singapore Style Fried Noodles. This was very good, even the squid tentacles. Mmm, tasty. Actually, it was really good. The beef had a great taste and the squid tasted like bacon. I actually thought it was bacon until I took a closer look. We did some shopping after that and now the kids are sleeping while I type a really long blog post.