Some Laughter and Some Peek-A-Boo

Our Niece, Crystal arrived today. Last night as I was going to bed, I thought I'd better double check her flight details. It's a good think I did, as we actually thought she was arriving tomorrow. So luckily we were able to ask our driver to come in to work today even though it was his day off, to meet her at the airport. She's had her first massage, and more importantly, met the kids. Crystal is the last relative we saw when leaving Canada way back in January (it's been a long time), and she's the first we've seen again. She's also the first to meet the kids in person.
Speaking of kids, wo quick clips to show you today. The first is short clip of Cai as she laughs up a storm with Mommy. Cai is now capable of spinning on the spot 360 degrees, but she's not yet capable of crawling forward. She's starting to jump more and more as she develops her leg muscles.

The next video shows Tri as he plays peek a boo.  He loves to crawl into the kitchen area behind the curtains, then turn right around as we call out for him.  This video was the first day that he did this, and since then, he's only enjoying it more.

Vox Essential Sing for Cai and Tri

Just a quck post. Virginia is in a singing group that meets after school. Today, rather than meet at school, they met at our house to practice some Christmas carols for an upcoming Christmas gig. So Cai and Tri got a private performance. Here they are singing a verse of Deck the Halls. I'll add a few other video snapshots of the evening later.

Happy Birthday, Grandma Holmes

Well, Grandma has headed to the United States to partake in her second Thanksgiving of the year. We tried to call but I think we were too late. So Cai and Tri thought they'd send their wishes in the form of a video and song.
Here it is Grandma. We wish we could be there to help you celebrate and we can't wait to see you in December.

Cai's Little Piggies

Well Cai continues to be disinterested in her night time bottle.  Tonight I was milking the bottle, as she just doesn't suck.  I got her to take 90 ml and then decided to just let her sleep.  We think that we may not even bother doing that in the future.  If she doesn't want it, maybe she doesn't need it.

Today I took a couple of short clips of Cai and Tri playing.  The first shows how adept Cai is getting at sitting on her own.  She now rarely falls backwards (though we still keep pillows behind her).

The second video shows us that Tri is understanding words.  We will clap your hand if you ask him to.  If you ask him to touch his head, or "where is Tri's head", he will frequently put his hand on his head.  I think it's pretty amazing that he now understands these things.

I'm on night time duty and it's now past 11pm so I gotta get some sleep.

Happy Birthday, Cai

Happy Birthday, Cai

Cai turned 8 months today, and she celebrated by not imbibing at all. We’re having great difficulty getting her take her evening (just before bedtime) bottle. Tonight Virginia is very stressed as a result (possibly related to the fact that she is the one on call tonight ~ funny how I seem not to be bothered by it…tonight at least).
Here is a video of Cai and Tri as they watch “The Big Blue House”. Every evening the kids get from 10 – 30 min of a video. And while the kids may not yet understand the meaning of “no” they do seem to know that when the television comes on, they should stop whatever it is they are doing. In the video Tri has a warm hand for his 8 month old sister. It’s really not that exciting, but gives you a glimpse at what they look like today.



In the second video, we catch a glimpse of Tri in the bathtub. Over the last week he has started pulling himself up to a standing position providing he has something of low height to prop himself up with (a pillow, my leg while sitting, etc). Well today this happened for the first time in the bathtub. Bath time suddenly became a little more challenging. I couldn’t quite get him to replicate the initial act (I tried, but you might hear a few thoughts from Virginia on my attempts to capture the footage versus sitting ready to catch him if/when he falls). But I think this short series of clips will give you a bit of an idea. Pay careful attention to the last few frames of the video! OUCH!

Is it Too Early for Christmas?

Not according to Virginia!  We leave to come back to Canada on December 20, we will be in Bali one weekend with our niece Crystal (and possibly niece Kim) one weekend, and one weekend we'll at our beach house, so that will only leave two weekends left at our house in Jakarta.  So Virginia decided it was time to get the Christmas tree out.  I think the fact that last week's Canadian Tire flyers had Christmas things for sale also helped.

So we've got a few videos to show.  The first is just of Cai and Tri as they play.  They are becomming better and better at playing on their own and with each (I guess this is no surprise as they are getting older, but as a first time around parent, it's still pretty cool to watch these changes).

The second is a shot of the kids and the tree.

This last one stars Charlie and Ella.  Their mother is gone to Africa for one week to interview for a head of school position, so she may enjoy catching a glimpse of what they've been up to in her abscence.

Cai Gets Her First Tooth

We'll it's about time. I've been saying for three months that Cai is teething. Today she finally proved me right!
She has had a tooth appear on her bottom front. She is taking the pain far better than Tri did when he was teething.
Here are two more videos.

The first is just of Tri laughing



The 2nd is one of Tri as he grasps for the camera. Both kids seem very aware of when the camera comes out. Cai unfortunately tends to be become more serious and thus it is generally more difficult to get photos of her smiling or video of her laughing.

UN Day at School

We'll it's my favourite day of the school year....UN Day!

Our school has over 60 nationalities represented (although only about 45 in the high school), and today we celebrate this fact.

There are no classes today, but instead a special schedule involving Global Issues.  Lunch is catered by all the parents with food from around the world (a little like Folklore in Kingston, or Caravan in Toronto)

Students and teachers will get dressed up, there will be a performance in the afternoon.  We've got our Vietnamese outfits, and the plan is to have the kids come to school and meet us at lunch.

It should make for some nice pictures.

Until then, here are two more videos:

The first is of Tri and Cai as they practice standing.  This video is from about a week ago, and already Tri can now almost pull himself up to a standing postion on his....wow these kids are growing up fast.

and here is one showing Cai in several different laughing scenes

Adoption Day...so long ago!

As I mentioned I've been slowly uploading videos to Youtube, and images to Picasa. After reading comments from those still in the process of adopting (some parents have seen their kids in the photos that we took at the orphanage), it got us remembering our big day.
The two videos below are from that day.

The morning of the Giving and Receiving Ceremony we had to wake up early. This is a video as we woke up Cai and Tri for their big day!



The 2nd one you may have already seen, but after my niece and nephew spotted a "thumbs up" in the video, I did a quick edit to slow that part down, so that the "thumbs up" is readily seen.

Moments after officially becoming our children, I ask Cai and Tri how they feel about their new parents. This is what they said.



The third video is a shot of "Tigger Tri"

Tri loves to jump up and down. It started back in Vietnam when he would bounce to "5 Little Monkeys". Since then he'll bop to anything, but really loves his song "Tigger"

Visit to our Orphanage

Well months ago, we said we'd post some photos of the kids at the orphanage in Vung Tau. Then a woman who is currently in the process of adopting a child from Vung Tau asked if we had any photos. Hopefully we'll have some shots of her child.
It would have been nice to have had shots of Tri and Cai from before we knew them, but we've been out of luck.
So below is a slide show of the photos from the orphanage. By clicking on the slideshow, I think it will take you to the Picasa Photo album. From there you can get high resolution images which should be adequate for printing out.

I'm now in the process of uploading a bunch of short clips of the kids to YouTube and images to Picasa. Then anyone (which probably just means Bonnie and Bruce) can take a look at all of the photos and videos that we have of the kids.
A picture might be worth a thousand words, but a video tells much more.
So here is a short clip of Tri as he's learning to crawl.

Tri Plays Catch

A short video clip of Tri playing catch. The clip is from last night.

Kids in their walkers

We got back from a week at the West Coast and spent the weekend at home. We decided to leave both walkers up at the beach, and so went out on Saturday to buy two more for Jakarta. Here are the kids in their new strollers.

Our Little Princess!

A week at the beach

MOMENTS

OK,
Virginia wrote the following some time ago. We put it in draft till I could add some photos. This still hasn't been done, so I'm just posting this.
I'll add a video or two of the kids in their new walkers. Gives them a little too much freedom in my mind!
Tri is now crawling, and he gets better at it and faster each day.

As I sit down (finally) to write another blog, I realize how much I have to write about. Yes, it has been a long while since I wrote; it is amazing to me how quickly the days can fly by when you have two little ones and I am often so tired at the end of the day that the mere thought of tippy-tapping away at the computer can bring me to tears.

But now, at 6 a.m. when the apartment is quiet and John has (thank God) joined us again in Vietnam, I will enjoy a cup of tea and begin to write down some of what I have neglected to report. I can only think of one title for this blog: Moments. Because that is what we have - moments - small bits of time that weave together to create this wonderful life of ours. Some of the moments have been wonderful, others frustrating, some filled with tears, but many filled with giggling babies.

As we near the end of our time here in Vietnam, I am am compelled to look back at it and wonder: how on earth did we ever do it? I have been here for almost three months and when I think about all of the changes that have taken place in my life in that time, I am astounded. I have gone from being a teacher, a wife, a sister, a daughter, to being a MOM.

Bar none, the biggest change of my life. It has changed the very core of who I am; I can no longer define myself any other way - mom comes first.

And it has made me realize how much MY mom had to go through with me: you are amazing mom!!

Okay, on to the moments.
I apologize if this is a long blog, but hey, I have a lot to catch up on. I include moments in no particular order. Some of them happened a while ago, others more recently. I include them in the order in which I think about them. And let's face it, my brain is sleep deprived and a little scrambled these days!

MOMENT #1: My 40th Birthday!
Everyone who knows me knows this: I am BIG on birthdays. I have been known to sport a tiara for a week, while I order those about me to pay tribute to the birthday girl. Not always to great effect. Now, my 40th birthday was going to be SOMETHING. I rememeber talking with our friends Luke and Sophie; we discussed a "Fourty is Fabulous Cruise" where we'd all dress in plaid, knee-high socks and grannie dresses and stalk the decks of some unsuspecting cruise ship en masse, in celebration of the year we all turn 40. Didn't happen. Then, I thought: a PARTY. A big one. A surprise, of course, that I would plan and then pretend not to know about. Didn't happen. And then, out of the blue, MOTHERHOOD. Boy, did that change things. I must admit, I was a little sad that I would be spending my birthday in a strange country, without friends. Of course, I had John and the kids, but where was my big ta-do?? I woke up that day feeling older, a lot older.

Then John stepped in.
I was treated to breakfast in bed, where I played with my beautiful children for about an hour. Man, they are cute - the best presents I ever got. Later, we all went out to lunch as my favourite little spot and after lunch I was scooted off to the spa for a massage, facial and foot treatment. Sufficiently pampered, I then went shopping. Without kids!! Bought myself a few cute little numbers and headed home, excited to see my family. When I got in, I found the table set with homemade birthday fudge (no ingredients for a cake to be found), wine, candles and presents. The children must have known, for they let me smoother them in kisses before they quickly went to sleep, leaving time for a glass of wine on the balcony and a great view of a thunderstorm coming in.

It was the best birthday ever.

But maybe not for John. He was TIRED.
And I love him for it.

And you know, 40 is really the new 40, anyway!

MOMENT #2: Tri stands up for the first time
When you have children, every little coo and caa, every little wave of a hand and spit from a mouth is adorable. You await, with great anticipation, the next "big" event. When will he crawl? When will she turn over? When will they talk? It is such an adventure. John and I have been so lucky to see these changes in our children. Many adoptive parents do not see their children this early and so we have been blessed with many "firsts" that, otherwise, we might have missed. One of my favourite's for Tri is pretty recent: he can now stand up, while holding onto something. Okay, not a huge feat, but when you think about how sick this little boy was, it is amazing. He is a very strong and very physical little boy: our athlete in waiting. Everyone says not to rush this standing, walking thing. "Life will be over as you know it," they all say. I say, bring it on!! And way to go, Tri!


MOMENT #3: Cai finally finds her groove
We call her The Contessa. Our Cai definitely has a mind of her own. I like that in a girl. I like that in anyone, really. But, our Cai has also been pretty fussy. She has had so many moments of not eating, crying, screaming and general unhappiness, that there were times when I thought it must be me: I am just not good enough for this little brave little girl who has been through so much. And, honestly, it was exhausting. Cai would cry all the time. All the time. And she wouldn't eat. I was worried, worried, worried. And I took her to the doctor (he thinks I am a crazy lady). And I tried EVERYTHING. She was my little lab rat, Cai. Nothing seemed to do the trick. Until one night. I was all alone - no nanny, no John, just me and the kids. It was nice, actually. Both babies woke up at the same time, crying to be fed. Hmmmm.....how to do this? I propped Cai up on one pillow and Tri on the other and began to feed. It was about 4 a.m.. I couldn't help but laugh: someone needed to videotape that moment. But a miraculous thing happened: CAI ATE! And ate well. Without complaint. Who knew? All she really wanted was to lay back and enjoy a good bottle - and don't we all? So now, when I feed Cai, she blissfully reclining in her bouncy chair. And we are all much happier.

MOMENT #4: Power Struggle
It is always difficult to explain the concept of nanny to someone who does not live overseas. I do not mean this as a slight, a moment of bragging. Just the opposite. When you live away from family and friends, you are left without a support network - people to tell you what you are doing right/wrong as a mom, people with whom you can share your experiences. And taking care of children without this network is difficult. And so, people get nannies. It is funny, I was totally against the idea when I first moved to Indonesia. "I will raise my own children!" was my motto. But now I understand. A nanny sort of becomes one of the family. And she does not, could not, would not replace mommy and daddy. She is really convienient day-care. Loving, wonderful, personal day-care. When we get home from work, the nanny will step into the background and mommy and daddy will take over. And this is good. During my stay, here in Vietnam, I also needed help. Essentially, we have twins. And they were pretty sick little babies when we took them on. So when John had to go back to Indonesia to work, I was left here very much alone and while I could do this alone, life would be pretty hard. So, I got some help. Tam was referred to us by Loan (our adoption agency representative). Tam is Loan's God daughter and has worked in Cai and Tri's orphanage, so she came with a lot of experience. She is a 21 year old, lovely girl who really loves our kids. And so, she moved in. To our very tiny two bedroom flat. Yikes. As Alpha-Dog (those of you who know me are shocked), I struggled with this. Not so good at sharing my privacy, I tried really hard to open up to this woman. A little challenging, given the fact that she does not speak English. We communicated with hand-signs. I am used to this, as an expat, but it is different when it is 24 hours a day. We also struggled with different ways of life: I love to get out and exercise with the kids: walking and swimming usually take up my day. But Tam HATES to walk, HATES the sunshine and would have a little tantrum when I said, "get ready, we are going!" Oy (as my friend Brandi would say). Then there was the "who is the mother, here" struggle. A truly wonderful thing about the Vietnamese (like the Indonesians) is that they absolutely adore children. Having said that, they like to tell you (again with handsigns) how to raise yours. Oy.

MOMENT #5: John comes to visit for his birthday
MOMENT #6: Our friends from Montreal
MOMENT #7: Waiting, Waiting, Waiting

TERRIBLY THANKFUL

Okay, so it has been a ridiculously long time since either John or I blogged. Can you say twins? Or as good as? We have been very busy since our arrival home in Jakarta. Never a dull moment! We are all very happy, though and John and I love our little blessings more and more every day! And are they ever changing quickly!! Having babies sure does make time move; I keep telling them to STOP GROWING but they just don't seem to listen to me. A taste of things to come (aka puberty!).

So, on this Canadian Thanksgiving, I thought I better get around, finally, to blogging. I will do my best to blog every week. Otherwise, I have no doubt my family will ensure we are not allowed in the country in December!

And so what are we thankful for?

1. TIME ON THE BEACH WITH DADDY:

This is a shot from the beach just in front of our beach house on the West coast of Java. We know how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful part of the world and there is nothing like a little family time on a virtually empty stretch of white sand. No tourists here! But can we ever get lots of sand in our diapers!!!

2. TIME WITH FRIENDS:

Here we are with some of our friends, just hanging out. We are lucky to have many wonderful friends here in Jakarta.

The life of an expat means that you say hello and then goodbye to many people; that is not always easy. But we have been blessed with many interesting and fantastic friends, here. We never ever, however, forget our friends and family back home. That is the only difficult part about living so far away. We always miss them.

3. FASHION, BABY, FASHION:

Okay, the pictures say it all, here.

4. BROTHERS AND SISTERS:

Hey, are you wearing my suit???? Okay, only my mom will get that joke, but mom, I hope it makes you laugh out loud!!

5. EACH OTHER

Most of all, we try really hard to remember how lucky we are to be together - the Holmes family!!

We're Home!!!!

Wow, at times it seemed like we'd never make it, but last night finally arrived. The kids were great on the plane, the plane itself was barely able to takeoff given all the excess baggage we had, but we arrived home, and the kids had a great night. Feeding them was difficult last night and this morning, as they knew they were in a new home and were very occupied with checking out the surroundings, but they now already seem to be at home.
We spent way too many hours at the mall this morning/afternoon. This is an experience I want to do away with. Spending our weekends at the beach seems like much better family time, than weekends at the mall.

When we got home, we arrived to friends awaiting us on our front porch. Kathy and her three adopted kids. Kathy is a single mother and is twice as good as parenting as most couples. She adopted her two oldest kids, Sam and Lina from Vietnam, back in '99. Then her sister, Melody (one of my closest friends) adopted Jack from Cambodia. When Melody passed away due to Cancer five years ago, Kathy assumed custody of Jack. It is so nice having them as friends. Her children will be excellent roll models for our kids. We have other friends here that have adopted children as well from Vietnam, China and Africa. It has been really nice to be able to talk with them as we've gone through this process. At times, it has felt like they were more excited about our kids than we were :)

Here is a photo of (in order of age) Sam, Lina, Jack, Tri and Cai.

Kathy adopted Sam and Lina at the same time, like we have.  Sam was about 9 months old and Lina I think was about 5 months old.  So she really has a sense of what we've been going through.  I can't count the number of times Virginia and I have remarked how lucky we are that we are doing this together and not as a single parent.   

Babysitter While We Pack

We'll we're out of here in a few hours, and still much to pack. Luckily we have a babysitter! Baby Einstein!

Legal Parents at Last

Well the day has finally come! John and Virginia are officially/legally parents. When asked how they felt about this turn of events, Tri and Cai had this to say (note we shot only one video....no retakes, no rehearsals.....what can we say, our kids know how to perform on cue!):



Virginia has a bunch of other stuff written about various "moments" in Vietnam which we will post shortly. But time just flies by. This morning we left at 0630 and got back at 1730. Tomorrow we'll depart at 0700 and again be out all day. Tomorrow we plan to be at the Vietnamese passport office at 0745. We are hoping to get their passports before the end of the day. We also will initiate Canadian citizenship and passport applications. But we don't need these to leave Vietnam.
Most Canadians would need to stay longer to either wait for Canadian passports to return to Canada, or wait for a Canadian visa for the Vietnamese passports. Luckily, Vietnamese citizens do not require a visa to enter Indonesia. So as long as we get their Vietnamese passports by tomorrow evening, we're good to fly home to Jakarta on Saturday!
Then, the Canadian passport process can take longer. Ultimately we'll need them for December, and it will make things much easier if we can get them earlier, so that we can get them permanent stay residence status in Indonesia (Vietnamese are technically only welcome for 30 days in Indonesia).
Off to bed!


What a GREAT DAY!

Life's A Beach!

Boy, did I NEED some adult company. I didn't realize how much until I met Annie and Terry, a Canadian couple from Montreal. They are here in Vietnam with their daughter Mya and now they have a new addition to their family: a wonderful little boy they call Lyam. I liked Annie and Terry as soon as I met them; they both have a great sense of humour and we get along very well. So well, in fact, that we just spent 3 days together at a beach called Mui Ne. It is about 4 hours from Saigon; they were planning on going and they asked me and the kids to come along. And we did! I have to say, however, traveling is just not the same with two babies - we had so much stuff! Above is a picture of Annie with SOME of our stuff! Holy over-packing Batman!

And the beach was lovely - white sand as far as the eye can see, deep blue sky, warm breeze, and did I mention there were ADULTS THERE??? Anyone who is a stay-at-home parent will understand. I absolutely love my children, but it can be pretty challenging (and lonely) being here without friends or family. We spent our days swimming in the pool and our evenings having dinner with Terry, Annie, Lyam and Mya.

As you can see below, Tri (as usual) was the life of the party - dancing on tables and such. Cai, however, had a little too much wine with dinner and passed out in her pram!

We stayed at a hotel/resort called the Seahorse. It is very nice, right on the ocean. But I don't recommend it; the owners were really out for money. I think it is a little over-priced for this part of the world and, get this, when we decided to leave a couple of days early, they were going to charge us for nights we DID NOT stay. What???

Terry and Annie went to the front desk to tell them that we'd be checking out the next day and upon hearing this ridiculous news, Terry called me in my room and told me to come to the office and "raise a fuss". Well, did I!! It was great!!! I laid it on THICK, vented all of my frustrations about being here alone, pulled out the old acting skills and let her rip! It was very cathartic. And, they finally agreed. To tell the truth, I think they were just a little bit afraid of me (and Annie, she is no slouch).

It was fun.
And boy, did I need it.


But, all in all the beach trip was fun. We swam a lot - both Cai and Tri love the water, I am happy to say. The only problem was that Cai was just not feeling well - she had a lingering reaction to her mega-vaccine (she had five in one - we will NEVER do that again). She wouldn't eat and I was worried. I am happy to report, however, that  she is MUCH better now that we are home! Whew!

But then, it might just be like John says: Cai is fussy, she cries a lot, and she is difficult.....hmmmmm.......like mother like daughter? Perhaps.

On another note, Tri now has TWO TEETH!! Hurray for Tri. Sadly, he is really suffering. Poor little boy. It really hurts! And when Tri gets crying, his sister likes to join in (out of sympathy).

And a final word - daddy comes in two more days!!! We can't wait. We love you daddy (John). xo

CALL THE TOOTH FAIRY!

Ladies and Gentlemen (drum roll, please)........................  Tri Franklin Holmes HAS A TOOTH! Okay, so maybe it isn't as exciting to the rest of you, but to those of us with no adults to talk to, it is monumental! I did a major happy dance in Tri's honour! The only sad thing is that his daddy had to hear about it on skype and that he wasn't here to see it. Don't worry, daddy - there are more on their way!

In other news, mommy is very, very tired. So this is going to be a short blog: Cai and mommy were up all night last night. Poor Cai had a horrible reaction to her first vaccine - fever, sore spot and a rash. It was awful and the sweet little thing could not bear to be out of my arms. And so we sat and talked softly all night. She finally fell asleep around 5am, but only for an hour.

The day went a little better and she seemed a lot better before she went to bed - almost our same old sweet, smiling Cai. Here she is having a little cozy play time before bed.

Man, we have wonderful kids!

Out Here On Our Own

Well, we are surviving! It was way more fun with daddy around, but Tri, Cai and I are doing fine. We do our best to get out for walks (when it isn't raining), dance when we can and sing lots and lots of songs. We sure do miss family dance time, though: the whole Holmes clan loves to crank up Sharon, Lois and Bram and dance our faces off! Tri is especially enthusiastic about family dance time - his whole body shakes with excitement and his arms and legs flap and flap....

Today we went to see Dr. Jonathan. He is our FAVOURITE pediatrician. What a wonderful doctor; we wish we could bring him to Jakarta with us. Both Cai and Tri had a check up and I, the over-protective, over-organized, over-anxious mother, had a million questions for him about poop, food, gas and all that good stuff. I will spare you the details. Both children are healthy and happy - and so far I am not doing anything terribly wrong!

Then we had a big outing - the grocery store. Oh, what an exotic life we lead! I went looking for baby food and juice and came back with the cutest little hats for the kids. I am including a picture here - they are the kind that look like a bandana tied at the back. I think Tri, in particular, looks like a real biker! You go, Tri!

Tomorrow, I hope to go and see Terry and Annie - a Canadian couple who have recently arrived in Vietnam and whose Giving and Receiving ceremony will be the same as ours. Let's hope that is soon.

On that front, I had a bit of a melt-down, yesterday. I know, those of you who know me well are SHOCKED that I could be dramatic. I guess it was just one of those days and the pressure of leaving my "real life" behind for 3 months was getting to me. You see, I organized a new program for work and now I am not there to get it set up. So there have been many skype calls to the new staff, in a vane hope to help them feel better about being out there on their own. A lot of that going around. They are lovely women, though and I am sure they are just fine. Still, hard to manage career and mommy-hood and I am not even AT WORK!

I have renewed respect for parents who work full-time and raise happy, healthy children. Hats off to you.

And so, it looks like we have 10 more days until we see daddy - he is coming for a long weekend visit. It is also his birthday, so the kids and I will have some surprises up our sleeves! We can't wait! And then, we he goes back again, it will only be a short while (we hope) until he is back for the ceremony and then to take us home!! Hurray! It will be so wonderful to have our family together again - John is missing so much! Below is a photo of Tri drinking ON HIS OWN for the first time!

WE MISS YOU DADDY!

Tri and Cai were just telling me how much they miss their daddy. It just isn't the same around here without him. Dancing with just mommy isn't quite as exciting and Tri is always looking for his daddy so he can shake all over with excitement.

Cai laughed out loud today. A wonderful, full belly (sort of) laugh. I was so sorry John missed it.





We got some bad news today: it looks like our Giving and Receiving ceremony has been postponed a little longer - again. I am very, very sad to say that it looks like I will be here in Vietnam, without John, for longer than I had hoped. The latest is that the ceremony may be the last week of August. John will come back, then. Boy, I wish it was sooner. We will then have to wait a week for passports before we can go home.

So send your warm thoughts: it is pretty lonely here in Vietnam with no one to talk to. Unless, of course, I can figure out this language!! My plan is to get out every day: to the zoo, to a museum, shopping, whatever. Anything to make the days more fun.

And, for you addicts out there, I will try and keep blogging!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen.....John has left the building!

Well, I am sad to say that John has left Vietnam for Jakarta, leaving behind the three of us to fend for ourselves! We are very sad to see him go and we hope it won't be long before we get word that our Giving and Receiving ceremony will be soon and John can come back to get us! We want to go home!!

We are doing well, though and we have a nanny with us to make life a little easier. She is wonderful. Her name is Tam and she has known Tri a long time: she was his nanny in the hospital before I got here. So we are settling in well.

Now let me tell you about yesterday's adventure!!!

Since it was John's last day in Vietnam, we decided to go to the zoo. "Never mind those rain clouds," I boasted to John, "It will be fine!" Famous last words.

The zoo was great - lots of shady trees to walk under, very pretty, lions and tigers and bears, oh my. The usual. Tri got so excited at the petting-zoo with the goats. It was adorable! When he is excited, his whole body literally shakes. It is a riot. And Cai really seemed to enjoy herself, too. She is really coming along - smiling all the time now. And she can take a soother!! Life is good.

So....to the adventurous part.

I saw the thick, black, ominous clouds first.

And then the crack of thunder.

And then the race to find shelter!

It was CRAZY!! Tropical rains continue to amaze me. They are violent and beautiful all at the same time. We found shelter (thank God) and spent the next 1 1/2 hours feeding the children (gotta love bottles-to-go) and riding out the storm.

We waited.

And waited.

And waited.

No end to the rain. And it was getting dark.

So, we prepared to venture forth. We put both kids (now mercifully sleeping) into one carriage, attached the rain-cover and set out. The water was past-ankle-deep. And wouldn't you know it - NO TAXIS!!! So we went to a nearby hotel (the one I stayed at when I arrived), ate dinner and waited.

We waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Not a taxi to be had.

Well, as you must have guessed, we DID make it home. Eventually. All in all, I think we waited about 4 hours. The kids had their bedtime bottles in the taxi on the way home and flopped into bed. Happily (not) John and I stayed up to pack!

Looking back, I think the last time I suggested we "just go anyway" it poured like mad.

Why do people listen to me?

And so now, we are without daddy. We already miss him.

Hurry back, John! We love you xoxo

6 Hands are Better than 4

Well, we were greeted this morning by the arrival of a gift from God....in the form of a temporary nanny, Tam.  Tam is the god daughter of Loan, our TDH representative here in Ho Chi Minh. I believe that at one point she had been placed in the same orphanage as Tri and Cai, because her parents couldn't afford to look after her. I get the sense that this happened when she was an older child....perhaps about 14.  Loan therefore took her under her wing and has been helping her out ever since.  She is now 21 or 23 and now lives with her grandmother in Vung Tau.

It is amazing how much easier things have become with this extra set of hands.  From feeding to dishes, to sterlizing bottles.  It's not that we couldn't do everything before, but now we are enjoying it more because we can forget about the chores, and now we can concentrate on enjoying our kids.

Well I suppose it also opens up some more time for WORK!!!! Here you see Virginia on Skype to school.  She had a conference call with 3 new teachers that will be working in the new Learning Resource center.  It's brand new, and Virginia was one of the main people behind the proposal.  So the timing of maternity may not be ideal (though when is it ever) from the schools perspective.  So she spent an hour on video conference discussing her ideas for the opening of the center.