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?