It's 2:30am on Wed. here and I woke up and thought this might be a good time to update the blog since everyone else is sleeping--I might actually be able to write something! Everyone is doing well so far; kids aren't fighting (much) and we're all in awe of this amazing city! The baby -- we're getting closer to a name--is also doing well for the most part. She has been a trooper, considering what's she's been through in these past 2 days. When we first got her on Monday, I think she was in shock, wondering what the heck was going on and who are all these weird people? But to yesterday (Tues.), after she woke up from an afternoon nap, I think reality set in for her and she realized we weren't taking her back. She cried and cried, and even mother-Anna couldn't get her to stop. We finally went out for a walk to try a new restaurant for dinner and the street noise and lights captured her attention and got her mind off her woes for awhile. She was fine after that, and has been sleeping since her 9pm bottle.

I'm going to recap our adventures of the past 2 days while the memories are fresh in my head. When we arrived on Monday, Kim and Ellie (our adoption agency staff here in HCMC) met us at the airport. They had to get 2 cabs to fit us all (I think I saw a twinge of panic in their eyes when they saw us, even though they knew we were bringing the whole family, lol), so we split up into two groups for the crazy drive to our hotel. We are at the Evergreen hotel, and it was only about 15 or 20 min. to get there, but I think we came within inches of a collision about 50 times during the trip. The people here are amazingly talented drivers to be able to avoid crashing with each other. It's like magic! And no seatbelts or carseats either, wheee!

We got to the hotel around noon, and had 3 hours to get ready to go to the orphanage. We had to get 2 rooms, so Don, William and Richard took the smaller one with a double bed and twin bed, and Lauren, Anna, Thomas, the baby, and I share the larger one with a King and a Queen bed. There's also a pack n play for the baby in each room, but I'm having her sleep with me and Thomas in the big bed. We got a quick shower and got the gifts for the orphange staff wrapped and met Ellie and Kim in the lobby at 3pm for another 2 taxi trip to the orphanage. It was only 10 minutes or so away, and I was surprised at the location; from pictures I had seen of Phu My orphanage, it looked very serene and secluded, but no, we turned in thru a gate from a very busy city street. Very different and peaceful once thru the gates. We went to the office and were introduced to the assistant director, Sister Hon. The director's son was sick that day, so she had taken the day off. The playground/courtyard was just outside the office, so we looked around out there for a few minutes (it was a beautiful day, sunny and warm, but not hot and humid at all like I thought it would be), and then they called us back into the office and there she was!! I went right over and picked her up and Lauren got out the video camera and captured it I think. We all spent a few minutes there meeting her and taking a few pictures, then we went outside again and let the kids play on the playground. There were a few other children who came out to play--this orphanage primarily houses handicapped kids--and one little girl about 5 years old was very interested in us and kept showing us her book. I asked Kim if we could go see the baby room so we could see all the other babies, but she said no, they wouldn't allow it. Something about not wanting the babies to get germs? I didn't push it, though I really wanted to get in there and take pictures. I know others have been allowed in during past visits, but maybe it's because we had all our kids with us, I don't know. Anyway, to those of you whom I promised to try to see your babies and take pictures, I'm sorry. But know that this orphanage seems very clean and well-run, and I have no doubt that your babies are being loved and well-cared for.

When it was time to go, Don and the kids and baby all went back to the hotel in one taxi with Kim, while I went with Ellie in another to go shopping for baby formula, diapers, and water bottles. We met back at the hotel and Kim and Ellie said they would be back the next morning to pick us up for the Giving & Receiving ceremony. We relaxed in the room for awhile, getting to know sweet pea, and went for dinner later in the hotel restaurant on the top floor. Jet lag had definitely begun to set in, and Thomas had fallen asleep, so Don stayed in the room with him while the rest of us had dinner and brought food back down for him. The food in this restaurant is amazingly cheap; steak and fries $3. We went to bed early, but then baby cried for quite awhile before I could get her to sleep. She slept until around 3 am or so, and I gave her a bottle and she went back to sleep.

I woke up at 6am and took my shower and got ready before I got the others up. Breakfast in the restaurant (order off the menu) is included in the price of our rooms ($80 for the big room, $60 for the small room) so we went back up to the top floor restaurant for a delicious breakfast. They brought out platters of fresh fruit--the recognizable watermelon, pineapple, and grapefruit, and then several myterious scary looking fruits that we all bravely sampled, and I'm glad we did because it was all delicious! The kids also had french toast or pancakes, we had omelettes, and everything was very good. The coffee was awesome--even Don liked it--it has a different flavor with almost a cocoa aftertaste. Really good.

We met Kim and Ellie in the lobby to go to the G&R ceremony at an official looking government building (I think it was called the Justice Dept?), where we were introduced to the government official in charge of the adoption. We had a moment of panic when we couldn't find our camera bag with the video camera and regular camera inside. Lauren thought she had it over her shoulder when we left the hotel room, but it was gone. She was worried that she might have left it in the taxi. Kim called the hotel, and luckily she had left it in the lobby and it was still there, so they held it for us. So Kim kindly took pictures with her camera during the ceremony and emailed them to me. The kids waited with Lauren in the crowded waiting room and they called Don and I and the baby into an adjacent room (with glass windows so the kids could still see us), and we had the ceremony--basically just signing some documents and taking pictures. It only took about 10 minutes. Then we went back to the hotel and had a few hours to relax. Don was to meet Ellie at 2pm to go to the police station to apply for the baby's passport, so we fed the baby and then we all went up to the hotel restaurant again for lunch. I took these pictures then, and there is a balcony right outside the dining room and Lauren took some picures of the view of HCMC from there. After lunch, Don went with Ellie, so the kids and I went for a walk in the park across the street from the hotel. Lots of "mall-walkers" in the park; a few stopped to pinch Thomas's cheeks or talk to us, but most just stared at our strange little entourage! We headed back to the hotel and Don and Ellie got back soon after. We had some paperwork to sign, and then Ellie left. Don took the boys to the other room to relax and watch a DVD, and Lauren, Anna, and I fed the baby and got her down for a nap. When she woke up in the late afternoon, she looked around and that's when the s#*t hit the fan. She was inconsolable. I knew from reading about previous adoptive families that often on the 2nd day the grieving begins, so I think this is why she was so upset. She has also been pulling on her ear alot, so maybe she has an ear infection, but she doesn't have a fever. After a couple hours of crying, we decided to take a walk with her an find a restaurant and like I mentioned before, this seemed to distract her and she stopped crying. It was now around 6pm or so, and it was dark, but the streets were bright and noisy and busy, jam packed with moterscooter, the preferred method of travel here. Constant beeping and horn honking. We said a prayer as we came to the first intersection, and walked out into the mayhem with our beloved children. We miraculously made it to the other side intact. Strollers here would be utterly useless; if the street's too crowded, they just drive their bikes up onto the sidewalk. This is also where they park their moterbikes, and where they sit, hang out, whatever, basically making the sidewalks an obstacle course. Bring your infant carrier, leave the stroller at home. We went to a Vietnamese restaurant a few blocks down the street from our hotel, and then came home and crashed.

We have to meet Ellie in the lobby at 9am to take the baby to a health clinic for a required physical exam. I hope they can check her ears and see if they're infected. Then we need to get her pictures taken for her visa, and then stop at the airline office to purchase our tickets to Hanoi; we'll be flying there on the 12th, as her passport is supposed to be ready on the 11th, and she needs this before we can go. To make things easier, Don will stay at the hotel with the kids, and Lauren will go with me and the baby to these appointments. So I better try to get some more sleep, but I'm glad I got this all written down before I forgot it.

At the park across the street from our hotel:

In our hotel restaurant:

The view from the balcony outside the restaurant; we want to take a walk and find that pink church tomorrow.

She has no teeth yet, but I think she's working on it:

Anna can coax a *teensy* smile from her:

All my children:

Photos from the G&R ceremony-those are the Vietnamese gov't. officials.

Outside the Justice Department. Turn your head, sorry.