Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone, we are all doing well and enjoying our first holiday season as a family. This will probably be it for regular(sort of) post to the blog as real life is keeping us busy. I may occasionally post for updates but not often. Thanks to all of you who have read and commented here.

Some things just make you sad

Hmm I posted a long piece about the way some folks treat others via the internet and how being behind a keyboard empowers folks to say all kinds of things, especially if you can do it anonymously. I just decided to retype it, mostly as I was long winded and can sum it up much better. Usually when doing so it is with the excuse of saying I am protecting so and so. Just think before you post, would you be brave enough to say or talk to this person in this manner if you were in person face to face? If no maybe you should think twice about what you are doing. Just my 2cents and I know somebody will post something in regards to how I just don't know. Ok whatever. Just think before you hit that enter key. And yes I sign my name and yes I call it like I see it, even in real life.

Holiday Greetings and a few answers to questions I have been asked via this blog.

Just a picture to let you know how things are going in the Peacock household. Sadie is doing great and adjusting wonderfully. her first doctor's visit went well, proclaimed healthy and on track for her age. We have not found much she does not like to eat, but we knew that from Vietnam as well, she ate everything there!.

After being home almost a month, I have to say I do miss Vietnam. The only negative experience I can relate is the waiting we had courtesy of USCIS after our first meeting. Sounds like several families had to go through it, but from what I have read things are now moving along since the change in the US process over there. as for Vietnam itself, amazing place with amazing people. I really cannot wait to take Sadie back when she is older.

Some of the questions we have been asked. Adjustment on returning home. We were very lucky. Sadie slept through the night in Hanoi and after a few days to get over jetlag and time change she does so here as well. Goes to bed around 8 830ish plays a bit in the crib and then is out for the night. usually wakes between 630 and 7. So in that regard we are very lucky. As for attachment, she took to my wife almost immediately over there and me in a couple of days. She is very social and loves to meet new people and be the center of attention as long as she can see us. She has been around my mother and sister enough she is comfortable with them if we leave and comes to us when we get back. Deanna has gone back to work, so at the end of the day when she comes home Sadie is all about her mommy. Guess being with me all day will do that!

Food and new things. Our doctor kind of laughed after he told u try new things slowly. In Vietnam you almost use what is available to feed them if the will eat it. The congees and porridge they serve are great for breakfast for the little ones. Some have pork, shrimp or beef in them. Allergy worries, well seems seafood allergies are not as big of a deal in Vietnam as here, babies get fish sauce from a young age over there and yes Sadie loves the stuff as do I. we pulled out the list of things she had tried he just chuckled and said the big issue would be letting her adjust from fresh food she had over there to jarred stuff here. It cause a little rash on her cheeks at first but has cleared up and she just likes to eat.

Her vocabulary is progressing very well for an almost 9 month old. she is bright and alert as were most of the babies I saw being adopted from over there.

Our agency. We are very pleased with them. We knew when we signed on it would be a very long process as we started prior to the country re-opening. Our agency went slowly at every step but to me it was a good thing, we felt each step was followed throughly and completely which is what you want for an international adopton. Their in country staff was amazing every step of the way. They will cater to whatever you need if you are that type of person to help make your stay comfortable. That was not our style we were more go with the flow you guys pick stuff out and we will be ok on our own. Regardless of what type of person you are they are great. I know it is hard to admit if you are the former but alot of folks are and never traveling internationally can be quite a shock.(Note I would not consider Canada or the Caribbean international truly even though they are foreign countries. I have visited many many countries and covered 5 of the 7 continents and East Asia is more unique than anywhere I have been). Oh the in country staff. Great as I said. Since returning I have exchanged emails with some of them and would count a couple as friends at this point who I hope to stay in touch with. Our agency was very open and accessible the entire process, so we are pleased and if we do adopt again in the future we would use them.

Hmmm I am out of words for now so more later, Happy Holidays

Traffic and various views in Hanoi

Well lets see, first couple of pics are of the traffic, one at a red light(yes they stop at them in Hanoi and the view from a cab.

Middle pic is of the skyline of Hanoi or part of it from our hotel room at the Fortuna.

Last two are from Hoan Kiem Lake the bridge and the last is the pagoda on Turtle Island in the middle.

More photos later of the Ethnology Museum and other things. Enjoy

Photos of Hanoi Sights Temple of Literature

Ok Just a few shots of the Temple of Literature. A Must see while in Hanoi

Hanoi Hotels,Things To Do

OK This may be a long post as well but a few more things about Vietnam.

Hotels, In Hanoi we were very lucky and only stayed in two hotels. We flew to HCM first and did the tourist thing. There we stayed at the Kim Do Hotel. Pretty good and I would stay again. We stayed in Hanoi 1 night before traveling to Thanh Hoa to get our girl. That night we stayed in the Gaouman Hotel(spelling?) It was very very nice and ran around 175 for a triple. Breakfast was buffet of Asian and Western foods. Rooms very nice.

In Thanh Hoa we stayed in Sam Son on the coast at Van Chai Resort. All I will say it is like a little hidden paradise. They have a website but I cannot remember the address. I know you can google it. family Villa here on the beach was 70$ a night and the place was amazing.

The majority of our stay in Hanoi (16 days) we stayed at The Fortuna. It was right across the street from the US Embassy and around the corner from the consulate. It is a Korean or Japanese chain so caters to alot of businessmen from there. However it was a great hotel and the staff treated us wonderful. Buffet breakfast is the usual mix of western and Asian but good. They have three restaurants a Japanese sushi bar, did not eat there - expensive, a Chinese (wonderful) and a cafe in lobby (ok but Al fresco's is literally next door and same stuff. ) They also have a night club and bowling alley(yes I said that ) We had a triple it had room for three single beds, room for a crib and a good size bathroom. Housekeeping was great to us as was the restaurant and lobby staff. Internet is available in rooms and the business center had it for a fee. Laundry was expensive. A small market across the street provided cokes chips etc. and the Hapro down the street had diapers formula and pretty much anything else.

Hmmm things to do, of course shopping in the Old Quarter or anywhere else for that matter. Loads of parks with lakes you can walk around and relax or exercise. Temple of Literature(it was truly amazing) probably the #1 thing I would recommend to see. Museum of Ethnology is also great. It will take at least a half day to see properly and there is a nice cafe on grounds. Museum of Fine Art was nice and in an old French Municipal Building. traveling exhibit sucked but the pottery collection and exhibits on cultural arts and the people was on par with what we saw at the Museum of Ethnology. Hanoi Hilton Prison(Cannot remember actual name at the moment) Only a small portion is left but it is a moving experience, not just as US Soldiers were held there but to see what all happened at the hands of the French there. It is ugly but it is history. The memorial gardens they have at the site are very relaxing and a nice tribute. Vin Con Towers Mall. OK for a change of pace it is a fun place to go walk around and people watch. They have everything from Gucci and Versacci stores here to 5 and 10 discount places. Food court upstairs has a good selection also and the giant Citi Mart grocery store has tons and tons of stuff.Hoan Kim Lake. You just have to go it is great. People fishing exercise relaxing and yes the red bridge across the lake is a sight to see. A little temple sits on the island you cross to. We did spend a Sunday in the park at the Hanoi Zoo. Lets just say it is nothing like a zoo here but an adventure never the less. It is sort of a street fair, vendor, market, mini amusement park all around a lake. It was actually fun but Sundays is the day everyone gets out and just hangs out in the city so everywhere tends to be even more crowded that day. Oh and there is a skating rink at the zoo and it was fun to see all the kids skating to 1990s and 80s music .

Well I think I will post on shopping later

Enjoy

Eating in Hanoi A Subject I Love

Ok when and if you go to Hanoi there is food of all kinds available. You want it you can find it. The picky American palate(a shame in this place) and it is ok, Al Fresco's has pizza, ribs, pseudo Mexican and other western style dishes. Actually their ribs and wings are quite good and the pizza is ok in a pinch. Also The Press Club Restaurant and Deli serve western style meals and sandwiches. Really desperate for good ole' American there are several KFC's in Hanoi. I went once just to see how it stacked up. Chicken was ok, fries ok ketchup sucked!

In general I avoided western food as I live Asian cuisine as well as food from other parts of the world. I imagine there are other good western eats but I do not know as I really did not look for them. Now for what I liked.

1. Quan An Ngan. This is a very traditional Vietnamese restaurant. when we were there we were the only non Vietnamese until a group of Aussies came in as we were leaving. One of our in country facilitators took us here and said it was one of her favorite places. Well it was packed and we had to wait put oh man was it worth it. We had grilled rice cakes, fried tofu, a pork ball and noodle soup, spring rolls, shrimp fritters and ginger chicken wings with rice. All was topped off by a seaweed and coconut milk shake. The place was amazing and for 4 people all of that food cost something like 8 dollars US. I would rate it as my number 1 favorite place to eat here.
Address is
18 Phan Boi Chau
Quan Hoan Kiem Hanoi

2. Lan Van ( Spelling is wrong I know and I forgot the address)
We went here twice and both times also amazing. It was a close second to the above. Hmm like above it is served Vietnamese style lots of dishes and you get alittle at a time in your bowl. Ok some of the things we had, beef with chili and lemongrass, chicken and lemon, glazed pork in clay pot(amazing), variety of spring rolls, grilled corn, eggplant, squid and chicken salad(not like a salad you are thinking and very good), sauteed veggies in claypot, a great spinach dish and cabbage stew which was also great. Entire meal for 9 persons was around 25$

3. Dinh Lang Thuy Resturant. This place is a little pricey by Vietnamese standards($7-10 a person) and you choose from several set menus. For ours we had spring roll starters, a spicy hot beef salad, grilled fish, Vietnamese bbq pork, Vietnamese veggie soup and lotus wrapped rice topped of with great ice cream for dessert. Location is amazing as it over look Hoan Kiem Lake. Address is
1 Le Thai To St. 2nd floor.

4. Street food, well I ate at several street food vendors, from beef or pork balls, to pho to kebabs all were amazing and you cannot list them all, be brave and give it a shot.

5. Brothers Cafe. This is also a little pricey but worth it to try alot of different things.(14$ a person) It is a huge Vietnamese buffet and BBQ set in the courtyard of a french villa. They have roast suckling pig and carve what you want right there. They grill fresh as you watch a variety of meats poultry and seafood(you name it they have it. There is also so many rice noodle and other dishes you will be stuffed to try them all. They have 4 different ladies making all kinds of soups fresh as you watch. We went once it was worth it but other cheaper places. Oh the desserts were great here.
26 Nguyen Thai Hoc St.

6.Tandoor Hanoi. If you like Indian food you have to go here. I had probably one of the best chicken vindaloos i have ever had. Garlic nan bread awesome as well. three of us ate here for 9$
24 Hang Be St
Hoan Kiem Dist.

7. Cyclobar. It is a cool concept, sit in old cyclos to eat. Not quite as authentic Vietnamese but still good. We wanted to try some Vietnamese French fusion why we were here and this place did not disappoint. Starter was Taste of Hanoi, It was grilled prawns, calamari and spring rolls with fish sauce to dip..BTW fish sauce is everywhere and I love it. Our meal was grilled duck breast over scalloped potatoes with veggies and a caramelized apple sauce. It was sinful it was so good. Dessert was probably the best I had in Hanoi. I had bignets with ice cream and chocolate sauce and the wife had chocolate mousse. Both amazing. Entire meal was about 14 dollars including wine and beer.
38 Duong Thanh St.

8. Shark Fin restaurant Hotel Fortuna. Ok it was in a hotel but pretty good Chinese food. We had sauteed veggies and a duck in black pepper sauce with rice. very good and was about 10$. he hotel food tends to be a little more pricey but all in all ok.

Strangest thing I ate? Pickled jellyfish. It was pretty good, and finally authentic kimchee was great. Sea cucumber was good but texture kind of funny. The seaweed and coconut milkshake while very good was just way to sweet for me. You just have to be adventurous and have the guts to say order for me, heck I will try it. I tried many kinds of foods some i would eat over and over some not ever again(durian) but just go for it. Funny thing I ate so much of the local food when I got home my sister said I smelled funny as i was sweating. MMM god I love that fish sauce!LOL!

Home and Resting

well it took about 36 hours but we made it home Sunday night. Give me a few days and I will post some things about the trip, tips etc. I have posted some on Vietnam travel yahoo board about some things available in Hanoi like diapers etc. I will gather thoughts and do a complete run down here maybe after Thanksgiving. Plus I will get more pics up. Until than have a good Thanksgiving

we are outta here

well we had our meeting today get our visa tomorrow and leave saturday morning. we should be home early sunday yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ok lets try the pics again

well here are three pics of the reason why we are halfway around the world

Still Waiting

Well it is miday here in Hanoi and again no word from CIS about our second apporintment. It is beginning to feel like we are being held hostage by the US Government. I hate to sound negative but it really does seem they do not give a ssecond thought to the families here. We have callled back as have our agency reps here in country and basicallly got the dont call us we will call you.I just love to see our hard earned taxc money being put to such good use.

This is not any reflection on the people or government of Vietnam. The people have been wonderful to us. I am ready to go home as are all of the families but I will have some great memories and look forward to coming back under less stressful means. Well keep you fingers crossed and hope we get home by Thanksgiving although I am starting to have my doubts

More Waiting in Hanoi

Yes we are still in Hanoi. We had our first interview on Nov 1 and are just waiting for a call back for the second part. Passport med checkup and everything else is done , just waiting on USCIS to get us our paperwork back so we can go home. I know with the change in the process of paperwork is maybe taking longer and they told us there was a back log in HCM where final approval comes from so hopefully today or tomorrow we get the interview part 2 and go home.

Hanoi is a great city loads to do and pretty much anything you need you can get here. Diapers formula baby food wipes you name it and it is available. A bag of 20 Huggies diapers cost 90,000 dong which is about $5.50 US So I can tell you no need to back tons of stuff like mentioned above, it is here and easy to get, hapro and Citi Mart(two market chains in Hanoi have all you need)

Well more later if we get word, we may have to switch hotels if this drags out much longer and well it gets expensive after awhile plus changing flights etc. So maybe word real soon

Hanoi Update

well we have been in Hanoi for a week now. Sadie has adjusted wonderfully to all of us and is quite a little mess. She likes to eat, alot. We had our first interview at the embassy on Thursday and all went fine. lasted all of 5 minutes and we talked more about comparing Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh than anything else. The gentleman who interviewed us was very nice and no problems. We also applied for her passport and had her physical done for her visa. Looks like next Wednesday we pick up the passport and physical paperwork and hopefully have interview 2 weds. or Thursday to go home. Keep you fingers crossed.

About Hanoi, be adventurous and it is great. We found a citi mart at Vin Com towers with everything you need. diapers formula wipes. an entire wall, they had pampers huggies and other brands and wipes aplenty. formula of every type and if you need cereal or that stuff all of that is readily available in Hanoi as well. we over packed for sure as you can get pretty much anything you need if you just get out a little.

A lot of shopping has happened. It feels like we have purchased several thousand dollars of stuff and have only spent about 200$ This includes all kins of silk items robes purses etc. get out and explore the old city and the deals are great.

Visited the Temple of Literature yesterday. Words cannot describe it, it is an amazing place. Just go if you are in Hanoi. Finally we had a traditional 10 course Vietnamese meal last night. Oh my god it was amazing. Had soup then a prawn and pork salad then grilled shrimp etc etc etc. Amazing and all for just 13$ a person drinks included.

Ok more later all is well great city, only think getting old is living in a suitcase, get past that and you will love this place.

hmmm sorry

hmmm my pics are not posting for some reason. i have a ton of email to catch up on so i will get back to the blog later . sorry folks. let me just say this is a great place where you can give and take as much as you allow it. the culture is very different but i think we get kind of spoiled and arrogant living in the states and traveling abroad is a good way to put things into perspective. freash fruit and fruit juices, good food be it veitnamese japanes korean american whatewver something to suit any tatse if you just take you time and look for it. and while the people can be aggresive with trying to sell things i have found that to be the case anywhere you go. i mean the folks following you on the streets here is far more enjoyable than all of te tacky neaon of myrtle beach. well i will try the pics again later.

van chai resort

pics of paradise in sam son

van chai resort

pics of the girl

this is a few shots of sadie. some from teh day we got her at the orphanage and some at the van chai resort enjoy

sorry it took awhile but we are in hanoi

well we have been in vietnam for one week. It is great. I know some people love it and some hate it but if you just go with the flow it is a truly amazing place. we spent t4 days in ho chi minh city. toured the mekong delta and I promptly got a nast stomach but while on an island in the delta. it was an intersteing experience. a hole in the corer standing on two wooden blocks. hey i just count it as another part of the joureny. our tour guide was wonderful even with my problems and we enjoyed the trip.

we flew to hanoi on saturday about a two hour flight then headed to Thanh Hoa and got the babies. there are three familes all together and all three babies are wonderful little girls. we have all had a great time. spent two nights at van chai resort of the china sea in sam son. it is a hidden paradise. great food great room and wonderful staff.

the giving and recieving was a very moving experience. the orpanage personel and provincial representatives provided a wonderful and memorial experience for all of us.

Hanoi. All I can say is it is great. It is very busy but you get used to it. Crossing the road, no problem just go and you are ok. the people are friendly and curious but wonderful. It strikes me as the kind of place if you open up and take it all in you will really have a good time. The smells sounds and tastes are all new different and exciting. We applied for passport today and hope to have interviews by friday. our agency staff in country is wonderful as well. they really o the extra mile to help you out. well sorry for no caps is this is a strange laptop for me and i will see if i can get some pics up

Almost Time To Go

Well folks, I said I was going to wait until we were about to leave to present our little girl to the world. Here she is! She is the little one in the picture !LOL!! That is her nanny that has cared for her since she was a few days old. Looks like we will get to meet her which is great and truly an honor. A chance to say thank you! This is our most recent photo, end of August early September.

We leave in less than 36 hours to head to the airport. We have a 6am flight from NC to Atlanta, then on to Korea and into Vietnam. As it is about a one to one and half hour drive to the airport(we live in the sticks!) we will be heading out around 1 or 2 am to be at the airport 2 hours before our flight. We are actually flying in to Ho Chi Minh to do the tourist thing for a few days and then flying up to Hanoi over the weekend for our G/R on Monday(29). We actually have to drive down to Thanh Hoa where she is on Sunday so alot of traveling in a week. As there are loads of last minute things to do tomorrow and an early turn in, I figured I would do my pre-travel post now.

If I can I am planning to post every 2 or 3 days from Vietnam if at all possible and try and get some pics up. Well here is to traveling and parenthood ! Updates by the end of the week!

Just Running a Test Pic Before We Travel!

I figured I better make sure blogspot will upload pics from my camera before I get over there so I am attaching an image of a diaper cake that Deanna's co-workers gave her for a shower. It was an entire pack of huggies rolled up and made to look like a layer cake with little roses all over it. I thought it was pretty cool and very nice of her co-workers. Anyway, packing continues and just getting final stuff done. I plan to try and post every couple of days and upload photos once we are there. No promises but I am going to try.

1 week to go

Friday is here and just over 1 week before we leave. I have 1 more week at work and then off for several weeks. We have our tickets and leave Oct 23. It's going to be a long flight one segment is 15 hours but well worth it. Packing is underway and loads of last minute things. I probably will not post mush over the next week but I am going to try and post every couple of days once we get to Vietnam and try an get a few pictures on from there if I can download stuff. Well that's about it for now!

Just Getting ready

Well the initial excitement has worn off and realty has set in. We have alot to do before we go. We will be in Than Hoa province in Thanh Hoa city. Flooding hit the province pretty hard but from what I have been told and seen online is it is mostly west and north of the city by quite a ways. Either way it is horrible to have happened. I know here in eastern NC the problems from the Hurricane Floyd flood still linger to this day in some places and that was 1999. We are still on schedule however and leaving in a couple of weeks. just loads of arrangements to make for the dogs, the house etc. We will keep you posted

We have dates Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well we got the call and have our G/R dates. We are to be in country by the 28th and our date is the 29th. It was going to be the week earlier but the Typhoon that hit set things back. No problem there, people to take care of. Anyway we are actually leaving on Oct 23 and flying into Ho Chi Minh to meet some folks and visit a few days before heading to Hanoi end of that week for our G/R. Finally!

Sort of New Info

Ok we talked with our agency yesterday. Our paperwork is in Thanh Hoa province and all it needs is the final signature for the provincial head guy(whoever that is, I honestly do not know his title.) His signatures affirms the G/R date and we can travel. They hope to have this info asap for us. That is all I really have for an update today on our adventure.

Looks like our G/R at the moment will be either Oct 22 or Oct 29. Just depends on when signatures are done. We should hoepfully know more this weekend. Now we are just starting to get ready for packing etc. Maybe I will get my wife to do a list of things we are packing and post it.

BTW any other soon to be fathers have blogs?

A sneek peek!

I cropped a photo of her to just the eyes and posted on the blog. We just decided to wait until we leave to reveal all of her! (Hmm that sounds kind of funny). But even in our referral photo she had big bright eyes.

Anyway we have been real lucky, our agency staff in country has sent us photos pretty much every month since referral and we have had two dvd videos of her they made for us. So it is not her in our arms but it helps

A Better Day

Ok I am now over the initial frustrations of the end of the week. I ended up taking a half day off from work and headed home. Deanna is between sessions so she was home(teaches at a year round school). Well we decided to ride to Fayetteville and see how far it was as it turns out airline flights were up to 2000$ cheaper. Turns out only about an hour drive so not to bad. Normally a 30 minute drive for our local airport so this is an option for us.

We ended up going to cross creek mall in Fayetteville and did some shopping. The Disney Store had onsies on sale so we bought a couple for later and some other things. Plus a little infant pair of Converse Chuck Taylor's. I have 3 pair, my favorite shoes to wear so of course my child will have some!

We ended up finding this great little Vietnamese Bistro on Yadkin St. It has been opened about 6 months. I ordered a beef with lemongrass dish and Deanna a grilled pork with veggies. Both were great. I like spicy food so I asked to make it spicy. Man did they! Deanna was laughing at me as I ate the grilled red Thai chillies but I loved every minute of it. We started talking to the couple who owned the lace. They moved here in 77 and just decided to open the place. We told them about our hopefully soon travel and they were excited for us. The said if you like the food here it will be even better when you get to Vietnam. We shared photos of our little girl and they of their new granddaughter(her daddy is a golf pro in Sweden!). They gave us their number and insisted in coming back to see them when we got back. All in all a good afternoon that really cheered me up. Now if we just get that call to get the tickets! Well have a good rest of the weekend.

Ok What now?

Couldn't really think of any other title. Well we were told last week they expect a travel date by mid week this week. They call yesterday and now it is by the first of next week. Well I cannot really express how I am taking this at the moment as children may read this blog or folks who would be offended. Lets just say at times I feel like it is a big runaround. Who knows? I will believe we get to travel when I am told buy the tickets and no other time at this point. I don't really believe anything I hear at this point either which is sad as I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt but I am just beyond that point.

Ahhhhh Had to vent now I feel a little better

Not Much New

Well we are being told mid October, more than likely leave on the 13th. I will not celebrate or be overjoyed until I hear the words buy your tickets, but lets keep our fingers crossed that it happens this time.

By the way, my wife went through and was reading the blog. She commented on how bad my grammar is ! LOL I basically said oh well, this is my stress relief and I am not worrying alot about that. She laughed it off and said sounds just like you!

Update Sort of

Well we know our paperwork is now moving along in Vietnam. It was being held up at an earlier stage due to issues unrelated to adoption. Our agency director told us that it is in Hanoi with Dr. Long for the final stage of signatures etc before we get a travel date. So, hopefully we will know soon. Looks like early to mid October at the moment but hey that can change as I have found at i the past. I won't be overjoyed or excited until I hear Get The Tickets!

On a different note, my week did get better from what it was earlier.

Just a Bad Day

Well, overall just a bad day. Didn't feel good, bad day at work, no travel date yet etc etc etc. Deanna called our agency and still no word which also sucks!. Then at about 7pm our 16 year old dog has what looked like a stroke. He was 16 so pretty old guy but a good dog. Anyway we sat with him outside for about a half hour to see how he did and not any better. Called our vet and she met us around 8pm and after her checking him decided it was best to let him go. What an ending to a great day(yes that is loads of sarcasm!) So Zeke,, we will miss you old fella!


I am going to bed and hoping tomorrow is a better day

On Bad Abby

Hehe! I had a couple of emails already on why we call our st. Bernard Bad Abby. Well her name is Abby and as it says under the photo she knocks a few things down, albeit accidentally! Abby is a175 shaggy droolly sweetheart of a dog. Not a mean bone in her body. She loves everyone and loves to be around people. My 7year old nephew loves her as does the 3 year old(although at a distance.
Why Bad Abby? Well when she was younger(2 now) she was a little destructive, you know how the puppy stag es well imagine that with a dog this size. At one point she destroyed a pair of glasses ( got off of kitchen table) undid the phone wiring going under the house, and no cardboard box was safe with her around so she was getting called "bad Abby"! She has since grown out of the puppy stage and that has become a term of affection. She is a sweet girl and a big part of our family along with our 3 other dogs and a cat. People say oh my but 2 acres in the country and you get away with it. Maybe I will post pics of the other guys for you soon. 1 old otter hound 1 old mix 1 1/2 year English bull terrier(think target) and a cat who rules them all!

Venting(Sometimes you just have to!)

Venting, that is what I need to do at the moment. It was a good day getting out of town yesterday but today I just have the adoption on my mind. We are still waiting for travel and it is getting old. Got the referral in early April and were told 4/5 months till travel. beginning of summer told it looks like process is moving quicker so maybe mid July. Then told late July and told to get a 3 month visa. OK got Visas for late July early August travel. Told no travel yet maybe mid august. Nada. Our agency director gets back from a trip to Vietnam and delays in province with issues unrelated to adoption but keeping the powers that be dealing with other issues. so maybe early Sept. Now it is early Sept and maybe late Sept. we are old. I am getting fed up and for lack of a better word pissed off. I understand that working with a foreign government can cause delays, I have lived overseas and had to deal with them personally myself. Just when you are waiting to travel to get your child it all becomes very frustrating and seems like an emotional roller coaster. Any of you folks out there had to deal with this? I know there are but sometimes you think this only happens to you. Luckily the three other families in our group waiting for dates all communicate with each other so we have that. Well, I feel alittle better typing this, deleting it due to many swear words and re-typing it LOL. Sometimes venting works. Lets just hope we get to go soon before I and my wife go crazy!

Myrtle Beach

Well, not much new to report on travel except we have been told hopefully sometime towards the end of this month. Nothing definite so i won't get excited until they say get the tickets!

On a different note, we decided that since we will son go from being just a couple we needed one more fun day for us. We live just north of Wilmington NC and it is only about an hour and a half to Myrtle Beach. We are both teachers and Ripley's Aquarium had a free weekend for educators. SOOOOOO, we woke up and drove down about opening time and enjoyed a free day at the aquarium. MB was not very crowded and it was a beautiful day, even with a tropical storm off of the coast. The aquarium was great and we both enjoyed it. I would recommend it as a must see if you are in MB, great for kids and adults.

Afterwards we ate at the Hard Rock Cafe where they gave us tickets for a preview tour of the new Hard Rock Theme Park opening here in May 08. % pretty cool roller coasters and if you are a music lover like both of us you will love this new amusement park. It will be over 300 acres when done will have a new 12000 seat outdoor amphitheater and eventually a hotel and maybe a more. The shops all of crazy names, we laughed at a food place in the Brit Rock area call Codpieces Fish and Chips. Make you go yuck! LOL

Well that is it, all in all a fun relaxing day which is what we needed most at the moment. Now just buckling down for the storm. As far as they go a tropical storm is no biggie here, most of that category are not as Strong as some of the afternoon summer thunderstorms we get. So here is not it not strengthening and us getting some much needed rain.

just a quick word of thanks

I have to admit, I am horrible at responding to comments and at times email! Just so much going on. But I do read them and I just wanted to say thanks for all of the kind comments and encouragement both via email and comments left for my posts. Deanna and I appreciate it all. At some point I am going to post links to all of you guys who also have blogs, just one of the many things on my list!

Thanks again

Gene

August and Still Waiting

Ok looks like sometime in September now we will travel. This really sucks, no other way to put it. First we were told July, then August and now September. At least our agency director has gone over and now returned and found out what the delays are. Apparently it is with the provincial police who are part of the process. They are tied up in an investigation which is unrelated to adoptions and just have not had time to finish the paperwork apparently. Basically we are waiting on signatures and everyone else is prepared to get things pushed through asap. But what can you do when dealing with another country, just wait. Hopefully soon is all we can say. Our agency director did get us more pictures and took a dvd of our waiting little girl for us. While it is not having her it helps. More when we know more.

Oh yeah A couple of websites I found for traveling

Ok in my neurotic behavior this summer caused by the wait I have learned more about several airlines than I ever imagined.

Two fun websites I found were these
www.airlinemeals.net

Gives you feedback on food served on airlines and even post pictures sent in by travelers. Some of it looks good, some not so good! But what do you expect for being on a plane.

http://www.airlinequality.com/
This site ranks airlines on a variety of factors and gives alot of good info from seat sizes and pitch to customer service. Also ranks airports around the world. Site also includes a section with customer comments on each airline so a pretty good place to get an idea of what an airline is like.

Things we have done during the wait

Well I received a few emails from folks asking what have you done during the wait to make it go by faster? Well truth be told no matter what you do it doesn't go by faster. Hopefully we are close to getting travel dates but here are some things we have done.

Big one is getting our little girls room ready. We were lucky we painted rooms in our house when we moved in a couple of years ago and decided we liked the color it was(light blue).

Lets see, my wife recently was given a shower at her work so we sorted those things and put stuff up, bought and put together a crib and in general got her room together and decorated.( Went with a butterfly theme)

Many many hours looking on the Internet at flight info, hotel things and travel guides for Vietnam. Se ms EVA and China Air have the best deals. Both fly there via Taiwan. Cathay Pacific is not much more expensive, via Hong Kong and Korean Air is about the same via Seoul. Also Thai Air seems to have good deals and that is via Bangkok. One thing I have thought about doing and may still is when traveling use this as an excuse to circumnavigate the globe! Yeah I know crazy idea but I am an avid traveler and would love to do this and it is not as crazy as it sounds.

Leave NC fly west and onto Vietnam Via San Francisco or somewhere there. When we leave we could take Vietnam Air or Singapore Air via Singapore and continue west. We would go from Asia to either Germany or France and from there back to US. ironically flight times going via Europe are about the same or in some cases shorter than flying the Pacific. So just a crazy idea I had but probably not gonna happen. If anyone has done this let me know how it went.

Hmm what else, I have ridden my motorcycle a lot(2006 Triumph,, mmmm) It is great stress relief just cruising around. Countless amounts of hanging around the house waiting for the phone to ring and it doesn't and checking email.(This is a horrible thing to do as it makes it worse, but you just cannot help it.)

Done some pre- packing and more pre -packing and making lists. Each time we either add or take away something.

Read lots on Vietnam. There are great websites out there and some really good travel guides as well. I like lonely planets best for info and fodder's for pictures and background info.

Finally if you try and learn some Vietnamese. I bought a computer course on learning Vietnamese. It is very basic but teaches you words and phrases. I have actually picked up quite a bit and seem to be doing ok. When we go to our local Vietnamese restaurant I always as about words and see if I am saying thing correct. But I am sure I will really mess up in Vietnam on some word but that is part of the experience.

Work on a life book. My wife has been doing this putting in pictures we get on our little girl and writing in it. Oh and keep a journal of some sort be it a blog or a personal diary.

Well that's it for now, maybe next post will be about travel.

Still Waiting on Travel Dates

Well, it is early August and we are still waiting for travel dates. When we got our referral we were told more than likely Sept. looks like maybe sometime this month. The wait is hoprrific. We teach school so being out and waiting makes it worse, nothing to keep your mind off of it!. Our agency director left for Vietnam this past weekend for a visit so hopefully good news will come from that.

On a positive note our agency has been great with updates and pics of our little girl. We have essentially gotten a set of pics of her for each month so we are able to see how she has grown. In addition we were lucky enough to get a video of her. That helps with the wait but is not a substitute. We are waiting to post pics until after the trip(sort of being superstitious).

More when we go and once we are in Vietnam we will try and update throughout the trip.

We have been researching airfare as well. Loads of options and we think we may stop over in HongKong or Taipei for a couple of days prior to time to be in Vietnam. Have friends from college in both places. No idea on which airline yet but looking at Cathay Pacific, China Air and EVA. Any input would be appreciated!

More when we know more.

Vietnam update

Well, it has been over a month since our referral and we are on cloud 9. Even more good news. Our agency director has been in Vietnam for the past couple of weeks and has just returned home. We got more photos from when she visited the children who have been referred. Man our little girl has changed. In the referral photos she is a newborn more or less, not very old from what we got in paperwork. Now at 2 months old I am amazed at how much they change. At first i did a double take and then yep same nose mouth and ears. I was talking to my mother about this and she commented on when my first nephew was born she left for 3 weeks not long after and when she came back how different he looked. I even looked at pics from newborn t 3 months and am amazed at how fast they change. Ahhhh we have not even traveled yet and I am complaining about the growing up! LOL I guess that will be one aspect of parenthood I am going to have to learn to face. Hopefully we will be traveling this summer at some point, when we get a date I will post it here.

Update and Birthday Wishes

Before I say anything else I have to say Happy Birthday to my Mom. She is ....well she is older than me and we will leave it at that. She treated herself and my nephews and family to a trip to DisneyWorld for her B'day and from the phone calls sounds like they are having a blast. Mom, Deanna and myself appreciate everything you have done to help us with this process.

Even though it is not her Moms birthday we appreciate all that Deanna's Mom and Dad have done as well. Without you guys we could not have made it this far on the journey.

Well our agency director left this week for Vietnam to meet up with families over there now and to help with other things. She took over loads of goodies for the orphanage and we had some things for our little girl Sadie Rose. However the bag was over stuffed by 25lbs so we held back on our stuff until another tip this summer. Yes we want to get things to our little girl, but all of the stuff going over will help all of the children so that is great.

The best thing is she will get to hold our Sadie and promises pics and another update for us. That we cannot wait for. Right now we are estimating travel late summer maybe, September possibly. Nothing concrete so I cannot really give any more info on that. I do know it will be a busy summer prepping Sadie's room, getting ready for the trip and everything else.

Last I would like to thank all of the folks on FCV message board who emailed the many congratulations when we announced our referral. I only post occasionally, but the chance to read others journeys and get input from folks in the process or who have been through it is invaluable. Thank you all. Well more when we get it. Oh yes we have pictures but we are just waiting to post them. We want to keep her our little treasure for awhile longer. But trust me, there will be loads in the future posted.

We Have a Referral!

Yes it is true and a wonderful Easter present for us. It is actually quite funny how it happened. We had gone to the coast to shop and visit on Saturday and when we came home a message from our agency director was on our machine. She said just checking in and would call us back Monday. Well this being Easter weekend we had to see what was up. Deanna called her via her cell and wham! OK Peacocks we have a referral for you. She is a little girl born early March and is healthy and waiting for us. We did not get any pics Saturday as our director was fixing things for a family get together that evening, which is understandable.

Well we figured Monday we would get pics or our little girl and lo and behold our director again called this afternoon and said she emailed all info to us. 4 pictures and three pages of medical info. Oh she is wonderful, the director and our child!lol we have spent the day printing photos calling family and friends and just soaking it all in.

Now just a countdown until we get to go get her. Yes more waiting but just seeing her and knowing she is there makes the wait worthwhile. It was long and hard but it pays off in a way you just cannot imagine.

We may add photos we may wait, just don't know at the moment. But stay tuned for more updates.

Oh and sorry about no March update but it seemed to be a month of sinus infections and the computer just had to go on hold.

And the wait goes on and on and on ....etc

Well Valentines has come and gone and it is now Feb. 18. Once again we really have nothing new to report. I called our agency last week and we got an update via email. We are still waiting for referrals from one province they are newly licensed in and hope some from HCMC come in soon. They travel soon (late Feb. or March) with the first groups. Because of this they have worked on their travel guide for the agency. All and good, contains some great info and lets you know pretty much how things will work in Vietnam. Problem,,,,,, WE STILL DO NOT HAVE A REFERRAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I get it won't be long now. That is what we have heard for a couple of months, I am tired of hearing it.

OK so what did I do to deal with the stress? I bought a new motorcycle! A beautiful green new Triumph Bonneville. And yes the wife was the one who told me to do it, I wasn't.
Anyway, if we here something, anything I will post. Until the the wait goes on.

Blahhh

By the way, did I mention I hate the cold and I am not very patient so I hate waiting also.

Nothing New , More Waiting, Man I Hate the Cold!

Well, nothing really new to report, still waiting for that all elusive referral. Our last correspondence with our agency said they are still waiting for a batch of referrals from a new province they have been licensed in. When will they come, who knows but all we can do is wait. Trust me it is very frustrating and at times I want to raise Cain about it but I know that would not accomplish anything.

As for the weather, it is and has been so cold here in NC lately. I have lived all over and one reason I moved back to eastern NC is I hate cold weather. We live in south eastern NC near the coast, almost never snows and doesn't stay cold for long. Well this is one of those longer periods that I dread and it is supposed to be in the teens next week. Did I mention that I hate the cold. My wife is from the mountains but she has grown to well, hate the cold as well. So times like these you just grin and bear it and know they won't last long.

This will be my only update barring a miracle that we get a referral. I question if it will actually happen. Boy don't I sound negative today.

The Wait Continues and Life Goes On

Well this update is coming in late January. We have both stayed busy with work and things around the house. Our adoption agency has been great and we realize that it has only been since late November our packet was sent to Vietnam, but man the wait is horrible. We hope we will get a referral soon, as far as numbers of dossiers from our agency currently in Vietnam and registered we are fairly high on the list. But then again that does not have much to do with how soon you get a referral in many ways so the wait continues.

Time has been spent looking at other blogs, airline and hotel sites and many and as much as we can find on travel in Vietnam. More posted next month or when we know more.