I'm back...

I'm so sorry for not updating while we were gone. It was a relief to me that Tyler took it over. There were so many details I would have loved to share with all of you but everything went by so quickly and I was dealing with emotions that were hard to express. I will not attempt to play catch up on all the details of the trip at this point. Once I have a chance to go through our photos I might do a post on a few highlights and thoughts I had.

We are home and finally back to a routine...of sorts. I'm trying to get used to having three kids. It has been interesting with two 2 year old boys who don't always agree that all of Evan's toys should be Ethan's now but do agree that they should be the only one held while mommy is busy. Also, four out of five of us are only just now getting over the jet lag.

Ethan is beginning to warm up to me now. If Tyler manages to sneak away while Ethan is busy we can usually avoid a huge crying session (In Vietnam Ethan used to cry until he intentionally gaged himself and through up. We have learned to keep his fingers away from his mouth!). He now will laugh and play with me if Tyler's not around. He will even come to me with his arms out for a hug or to be held...it's wonderful!

Ethan understands English very well for only being with us about 2 weeks. He also has his first English word! He started saying "bye" and waving to us. :) But I think my favorite thing he says is "cho" (s?). This is his Vietnamese word for aunt. This is what they called the caretakers in the orphanage and now he calls me it all the time (and Tyler which is pretty funny). I love that he has a name for me and I keep thinking "I'm more then your cho...I'm your mommy. I love you and will always be here."

It's been a rough two weeks and often discouraging. I have had to reexamine why we are doing what we are doing. I have had to seek the Lord for strength as I try to reach out to this little child and support Tyler when he is tired. But in the past few days God has blessed me with moments that warm my heart. Just now I went to the other room and Evan came up beside me. I reached down and messed with his hair. Feeling the funny bumps on his head I looked and realized it with Ethan grinning up at me with his sweet smile. Sitting back down at the computer Evan reached up at said "mommy" so I picked him up. Immediately Ethan, who was standing there said "ma" and also reached up. At the moment I am enjoying the warmth of Ethan's little body as he's cuddled up on my lap looking at a book...life is good. :)

Back in the States

Hey everyone, Tyler again. I apologize about not updating for several days. We left for Hanoi on Monday, but when we got there our reservations at the Hanoi Hotel had not been confirmed, so we had an interesting evening of trying to get rooms for everyone in our travelling group. It all worked out, but we had to spend a significantly larger amount on a room that first night than we had originally anticipated (double the amount).

We then had to switch hotels, and the internet at the second hotel wouldn't allow me to access blogger. So, that's why I didn't post.

We received Ethan's visa on Wednesday, flew out Thursday night, and are now back in the states fighting jet lag. Actually, Ethan is fighting it, and therefore so am I. He woke up at 5 this morning and wouldn't go back to sleep so we went to go check e-mail. After 1 1/2 hours he fell back asleep and I am wide awake. Oh well. Time for some coffee.

We'll update with more details about the rest of our trip and some pictures, but I think we're going to try to recuperate a little bit first.

God bless

Busy, Busy

Hello again, Tyler here. We apologize about not updating but we have been very busy lately. By the time we get back to our room we just fall into bed. It's been a lot of fun.

For those who are adopting and haven't travelled yet, be warned that your child will most likely bond with only one parent at a time. This has happened in our case. Little Ethan has bonded quite well with myself, but will have little to nothing to do with Misty. We knew that this was a possibility so she is fine with it. We're both glad that he has bonded to at least one of us. No bonding at all would be a very difficult prospect for our future with him.

We are doing really well though overall. I'm dealing with some kind of allergic reaction to something. I don't know from what or where, but a swollen lip isn't really a fun activity. :-)

Misty and I are both enjoying the traffic in Vietnam. It is just crazy. Much different than our home in Kansas where there is very, VERY little traffic.

***I'm working on a video which I will post here once it has finished uploading.***

We'll also try to post a video of what it is like to cross the busier streets. It's a lot of fun, but can be quite scary as well.

We were able to go swimming before lunch today. We weren't sure how Ethan would like the pool because he had never had a bath while living in the orphange. He loved it! As long as I'm carrying him, it seems like he'll try about anything.

Ellie is really enjoying the trip, but I'll let Misty post more about her later on.

I'm going to get going and take a nap while the kids are asleep. Misty went to the store down the street and should be back soon. Hopefully it won't be so long between posts.

Jet Lag and Ellie

Good morning from Vietnam, Tyler here again. The time is currently 4 am and unfortunately we're all awake due to Ellie's body thinking that it is now 3 pm and time to a.) wake up from her nap and b.) it's the middle of the afternoon at home, time to do some playing. (Well, coloring actually.)

For now, we'll let Mommy sleep while Ellie colors, and Daddy and Ethan work on the computer. He was trying to copy what I was doing on the computer last night while checking e-mail. Right after I published the blog last night Ethan fell asleep on the couch beside me. Not the greatest picture, but it gets the point across.

With that as my last thought for now I'm going to try to get Ellie back to bed. Good night. I hope.

Welcome to Vietnam

We FINALLY MADE IT!!! ***By the way, this is Misty's husband Tyler posting tonight, I'll be posting with Misty while we're in Vietnam.***

Sitting beside me on the couch in our hotel room is a little boy we have prayed for for a long time. What a great privilege it is to be this young boys new daddy.

Misty and I learned early on in this process from others who have adopted that the children typically bond to one parent first and then later the other parent. We both naturally assumed that he would bond with Misty first... not so! Ethan sat on my lap the whole way back to the hotel from the orphanage. After returning to the Rex Hotel we were preparing to walk to where they were going to take his picture for his visa. He decided it was time to give me an initiation... my pants and shirt still smell like vomit. But he's so cute...

I realize that I'm starting to ramble here, this is mainly due to getting roughly 4 hours of sleep in the last 48. With that in mind I will post one picture as proof of our new family member. We'll post more pictures and video tomorrow, once I'm awake... or at least not in a walking coma.

Much more to come. I promise.

travel...birthdays...and such

We are getting closer! Three more days till we leave. We are going to my parents house (8 hours away) on Friday. We will then spend the night and leave from Denver Saturday evening. My mind is so occupied with the trip that I can hardly concentrate on anything else! I've been packing and cleaning house so we can come home to a fresh start.

I have to admit I'm a bit nervous about everything. I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around the idea of bringing home a toddler. Don't get me wrong, I'm not having second thoughts and I feel ready! However, unlike a newborn, he is coming to us with a developed personality, habits (both good and bad), Independence, and everything else a two year old has. Baby problems are so easy to deal with, you feed them when they are hungry, you put them to sleep when they are tired, and you change them when they are dirty...that's it! But as they get older you deal with sharing, hitting, biting, rebellion (yes, even 2 year olds have it but many people call it Independence), and a whole array of other more difficult problems. But then you add the challenges that come with adoption such as bonding issues and grieving and you get a whole new dimensions to the situation. I think what is causing me to be nervous is that fact that in some ways I'm viewing him as something that needs to be "fixed" and all these things I need to do to help him. I know that's not true and I need to just relax and remember he's just a little boy, MY boy, who needs love. I know that when he's finally in my arms I won't be thinking of all the things I need to do but I will be thinking of how happy I am and how natural it is to just love and be mommy to my son!



Ok, with everything else on my mind I have failed to mention Ellie's birthday. I'd love to do a post all about her but I don't think I'm going to have the time so I'll have to do it later. She turned 4 on Monday. We didn't have a cake or a party because we decided to wait until we got to my mom's house. We didn't even have a gift because it hasn't arrived in the mail! However, we took her to her favorite place to eat..."Old McDonald's" (from the song) and she got a happy meal and was able to play at the play place. She was happy!


She is such a sweet little girl and is a true delight to Tyler and I! She often warms my heart with the sweet way she touches me or says "I love you". She is a wonderful big sister and always takes the time to help Evan up the steps at the play place. I can hardly believe how fast she is growing up. I can't imagine life without her...Ok, I can, it would be MUCH quieter but not nearly as much fun! I LOVE YOU ELLIE GIRL!

A one way ticket home

We got our tickets today! I was expecting three because that is the number we have going. Then I noticed a fourth and at first thought there was a mistake. Then I remembered we are bringing home a kid!! What a wonderful feeling to see my little guys name written on a plane ticket that will bring him home!

Off the subject, but we will soon be a family of FIVE and I'm barely 26! Wow...

Visas already!?!

Wow! I just had to share. Many families don't receive their visas till just days before travel, sometimes the same day. Our agency told us to order them IMMEDIATELY! So we did. We even had them shipped to my mom's house in case they didn't show up before we left for Cheyenne. We paid for the 4-5 day service and didn't expect them until late next week.

Well...They arrived in Cheyenne today and we just mailed them on Monday! 3 days! That was amazing time for just the mailing sized of thing, let alone the time the embassy took. Wow, I'm wishing we'd saved the money and gone with the 1 week service! :)

It's all official

It's official. The CIS said we could come and file our paper work under the old rules! So we will be driving to Cheyenne Wyoming (8 hours from here) to my parents house on the 9th. We will leave Evan with them and fly out of Denver, which is pretty close to my parents, probably on the 10th. We will then spend Thanksgiving there and leave around the 27th or 28th. We don't have tickets so the actual dates may be off a bit.

I have a lot to do today to get ready for Awana but it is so hard when all I want to do is pack!! On a side note, the poor lady who covered for me at Awana while I had pneumonia is now sick with pneumonia herself! I'm hoping she will feel better by the time we leave.

General Update

We have new pictures of Ethan that a friend sent us! They are cute so you'll have to go to Ethan's Story to see them.

I'm feeling better and finally getting over the pneumonia. I'm still coughing and yesterday coughed so hard I threw up. But I'm feeling much better...now I just need to get rid of this cold I have! I just keep catching things! :)

We ordered visas yesterday and now are waiting to buy tickets until we have conformation from the CIS that we can do our paper work in Vietnam. Otherwise it's back to waiting for us.

I've been cleaning and cooking all day and now I'm just waiting for our guest to show up. The Mick's are our Village Missionary Representatives for the area (in other words, Tyler's boss and his wife) and they are coming for dinner tonight and a meeting at the church. They come every 6 months and it just happened to fall after I've been sick for 2 weeks and 1 day after I get the "call". I'm excited to see them but feeling just a little unorganized.

Well there's a quick update from me. I'd better get going and study for Awana tomorrow while I still have time.

Here we come Ethan!!!

We got the call!!!!!! We are going to go to Vietnam in 2 weeks!! The CIS is making exceptions for families who travel before October 16th and our G&R (Giving and Receiving Ceremony--when Ethan becomes our officially in the eyes of Vietnam) is the 13th so we can still make it! We will be allowed to file our I-600 and get permission to bring Ethan back while in country. I'm really excited and have a TON to do. I can hardly type much less think so I'll post more later. For now we have to go to town and send our visa application! YEA! Thank you God!!

I-600 is off...now we wait

Well, yesterday we received the I-600 form that we have to fill out before going to Vietnam. We overnighted it back and today our agency received it from us and it's on it's way to USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) in Vietnam. Whenever we here back from them (could be up to 60 days!) AND we get our G&R date (Giving and Receiving Ceremony--when Ethan becomes officially ours in the eyes of Vietnam) from the Vietnamese government we will be able to go!

We should be in the next group to get a G&R date. However, with the changes in the CIS we really could be in for a long wait still. Although the CIS is allowed to take up to 60 days they think it will be more like 3 weeks. Probably the soonest we will travel at this point is mid to late November.

More Paper Work!

Well...we are getting very close to travel! I got a call today from the Vietnam Coordinator. The CIS (Citizenship and Immigration Services) has recently changed their policy in how they process they I-600 form (this is a petition to classify an orphan, in this case Ethan, as our immediate relative). For those who are already lost...it's ok. All that really means is that there is one form that must be filled out and approved BEFORE we go to Vietnam instead of WHILE we are there. The only concern is that we are very close to travel and we can't go until we get approved. The CIS has the right to investigate Ethan's case, if they wish, to determine that everything is legal and he is truly an orphan and this can take up to 60 days. But I'm hoping for a quick approval.

SO, with all that said, we will be working as fast as we can to get this in order. Nicky, the VN coordinator, thinks we'll be in the next group to get travel dates. If all goes well, and we get CIS approval quickly, we could be in Vietnam around the middle of November! Nothing is official but we are moving along!

Pictures!

We got pictures of Ethan with the album and monkey we sent him! I'll post one here but the rest you'll have to go to Ethan's Story to see.

Doctors and Such...

The Lord always seems to work out the smallest details without us even realizing it until it is all said and done. A while back I had been talking to a friend about pediatricians and she highly recommended one in particular. At this point our whole family goes to a family practitioner but with Ethan's hydrocephalus, and any orphanage delays, plus any international issues (immunizations, etc), I felt a ped. would be better suited for his needs. However, for insurance purposes we have to work with doctors in our network. I was amazed when a search in our network turned up only two pediatric Doctors in Salina and she was one of them!

We met with her today and loved her. She not only seemed confident with the hydro but has worked with lots of internationally adopted kids! Up to this point I have been really nervous going into this special needs adoption because I hadn't even found a doctor to look at his medical. Today was the first time I had shown it to anyone with a medical background. She was VERY optimistic about his information and the pictures she saw of him (plus she thought he was cute...of course)!

What a relief today has been. I can put the medical concerns behind me for now. When we get back I'm suppose to call her and we'll be able to get him in within a couple of days. :)

Totally off the subject, I'm in a really good mood right now because my kitchen has just been reorganized! We had a terrible time with bugs last week so I had to throw away ALL my beans, grain, pasta, pancake mix, etc. Anyway, today we picked up these nice plastic containers (plus spent a ton on replacing food) and my lazy Susan looks so nice and neat now and I can fit so much more without everything falling out...it makes me smile. :) Haha, call me crazy but these things make me happy.

Kozy Moments

When we first decided to adopt we thought we could do it without going into debt. However, because we accepted a child with special needs our time frame for raising the funds was cut in half. We are now, not only in debt for the first time, but also we are anticipating surgery for Ethan once he is home.

With that in mind, I have decided to start selling baby slings. These are great for those of you who are adopting (we were actually discussing them on the yahoo group a while back). They would also make great shower gifts. :) At this point I have only made one and I'm working on a second. As I finish them I'll post pictures on a new blog I have. I'm only going to start off with a few to see how well they sell. So if you are interested please click here on Kozy Moments or click on the picture. Also, I would love it if you could spread the word. If they sell well I'll make more!

You know you are adoption addicted when…

Your mail box has two messages, one from your grandmother and one from another adoptive mother who you only know through blogs and yahoo groups. However, since she fills that terrible need for adoption related material you exchange 5 emails with her in a day while your poor grandmother waits a month for you to say hi…yes, sadly, this really happens. Did you get my email Grandma? Sorry!!

Your dishes are overflowing in the sink, there are no clean clothes except the ones still waiting to be folded from last week, you are just beginning to think about dinner and it is 6 already (you only thought of it because the kids are crying), and yet you make time to check the adoption yahoo group (30 times), check your email (70 times), update your blog (the post is on adoption of course), check about 20 other adoption blogs…twice (ok, 5 times), and make yet another packing list for when you go to pick up your child (next year).

Speaking of being ready a head of time. You have baby furniture bought, the nursery decorated and even some baby outfits...2 years in advance! This one isn't quite as much me...but it happens! (I was just reading your blog yesterday...you know who you are!)

You have no motivation to clean up the mess previously mentioned…until, you realize how hard it would be to pack in all this chaos and how hard it would be to have yet another child running around in it. With the adoption in mind the house is clean in record time!

Your husband signs up to win a million dollars while thinking of a red Corvette, new computer, etc. You really want him to win because the money would help with…you guessed it, the adoption!

Every time the phone rings you jump and run (even when it is the toy phone). If you were to get a phone call informing you your husband had actually won the million dollars you would be tempted to be disappointed since it wasn’t “the call” (your adoption agency calling with a referral or travel dates).

When your mom calls and asks how the kids are and you go into depth about the adoption. When she informs you she meant the two you already have (you know, the ones currently pulling the phone away, yelling in your ear, asking for a cookie…yes, those) you answer “oh, yea…um, they’re fine…did I mention how excited they are about the ADOPTION!”

“I-600A, 171-H, dossier, DTV, LID, Referral, The Call, G&R, PAP”…you just understood that.

Well, I think that's enough writing for today. I need to make dinner...after I check my email again...and just a few blogs...

The Moon Festival

Yesterday was the Moon Festival in Vietnam. I have read someone that the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival is considered a children's festival, at least in Vietnam. Sometimes the children parade around wearing masks. Children's Hope International put on a celebration for the children at Tam Binh 1 were Ethan is. I'm hoping to see some pictures. This is one of the holidays we will be celebrating as a family next year! Here is the article from the CHI blog:

Moon Festival Celebrations!

Whether you call it the Fifteenth of the Eighth Moon, August 14,
Year of the Pig or simply September 25, 2007—today marks one of the most
important dates on the Lunar Calendar: the Moon Festival, celebrated in both
China and Vietnam.

Families and Asian communities across the US began
celebrating this past weekend and many have celebrations today and into the
coming weekend. Eat the traditional moon cakes outside under the moon with your
family and friends, lead a parade of lit lanterns down your street, or plant a
tree in honor of the harvest to celebrate this great day of abundance.

Children’s Hope participated in many activities in orphanages and poor
communities within Vietnam yesterday (due to the time difference). In the Vinh
Long and Tam Binh 1 and 2 orphanages, the children enjoyed lanterns, a special
lunch and moon cakes for the festival. In Vinh Long two separate festivals were
planned for the areas poor children, one within the community and another in the
surrounding rural areas. Within the community, 480 children were presented with
small gifts in celebration. We hope to share pictures of these festivities in
the next E-news!

Children’s Hope wishes you and your family a happy Moon
Festival!

Post #100!

We have pictures...thank you Jessica! :) I was hoping to use my 100th post to tell you I got the call...but pictures will have to work instead. The wait is becoming much more difficult since we have now entered the time frame in which we could receive the call with our travel dates at any time.

He looks so deep in thought here

Ethan with his friend and the spoon again!!
Wow, he really looks different in this picture

I can almost see what he'll look like when he's

a little older and his hair grows in!Big Bite!

Any time now!

Wednesday night was our first night of Awana. Things were a little less organized then I would have liked, but overall it went pretty well. We had 25-30 kids and quite a few of them were new to our church. Tyler was in charge of the older group and went over time. He said he could have easily used another half hour. I, on the other hand, was in charge of the Cubbies (preschool) and ran out of things to do in the first half hour (we had 1.5 hours)! I have a lot more planning to do for next time. :) Saturday is our Awana basic training so I need to get ready for that as well. For the most part things are calming down a bit and I'm feeling much less stressed.

With that said...I'M READY GOD!! SEND ME TO VIETNAM!!!! :)

Today we went to Salina and got clothes for the boys. I was doing ok with shirts but all of Evan's jeans were getting short. I figured with two boys (the same size), and winter coming on, one pair of khakis, two pairs of overalls, and lots of shorts just wouldn't cut it. So we got two sets of matching jeans and a set of matching foot pajamas. I need to buy them some soft cozy pants as well, but I couldn't find two in the right size. I had so much fun buying double (even if I spent twice as much). I have always wanted twins!!