A fix!

Okay, okay!! I can hardly wait to post pictures just as soon as we take them....there's a lot of sweetness to share in this little girl! She has the cutest dimples you have ever seen...on her knees! We are madly in love with our spunky little Kai and have enjoyed every minute of this special time with her. What precious moments have been condensed into a short couple of weeks - learning so much about her and relishing the discovery of it all!

We leave in the morning and look forward to getting home to see Austin, family and friends. I will try to post one last time in the morning. I think it would be a cool thing for anyone and everyone who is following Kai's blog to write even a short comment following this post so that we'll know who's still with us. Just click on the " __ comments" that shows by the time stamp at the end of the post. Add your comment and submit!

Our hearts are with you all for the wonderful love, patience, kindness and support you have all shown throughout this crazy Journey to Kai (J2K!)- - even from strangers, some of who are still waiting for their own joyful reunions with their Vietnamese babies. I pray every day for the waiting families and for the children; for their peace and happy endings. And I know that God will unite them all in His due time!! Keep the faith!! Of course, this is far from the ending for any of us....it is a new beginning, a new chapter in our lives, and I give God all the glory for allowing us to take this next step.

So...here are the last day's pictures of our little angel....the bathing suit and hat was only worn once in the room (too cold to swim, but does she look ready for the catwalk, or what?!?), and the bow in the hair (look closely) was in there for approximately 2.5 seconds before she pulled it out (sorry, Nicole! I'll keep trying!!). The Vietnamese lady in the picture is the agency's facilitator. She was a tremendous help to us through everything! She is expecting her first baby, but she's had lots of practice with babies, we could tell, and will make a wonderful mother. It was a joy getting to know her as well.

Hope to see everyone very soon!!

No pics, but GREAT NEWS

HOORAY!! We are back from the visa interview, and there were no issues. It actually took less than 5 minutes for the Embassy to look at our paperwork! Our facilitator will pick up Kai's visa later this afternoon, and WE ARE DONE!!

Flights are confirmed for Friday (another HOORAY!), so we should be home (can I say HOORAY three times in one post??) at around midnight Friday!!

Just had to share the great news with everyone back home.....I will take and post some more pictures before we leave for you Kai crack-heads out there (HAHAHAHA!!)!!

LOVE TO YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

New pictures of cuteness!!

Thanks, Amy J., for reprimanding me about not posting pictures! She is, after all, the cutest little thing I've ever seen!! Enjoy!!

Hang tight - -

Kai's medical examination was today and everything looked great! Another hurdle out of the way - yay!!! She is 19.6 lbs. and 19 1/2 inches tall - - - a sturdy and healthy girl!!

Unfortunately, we found out this afternoon that the Embassy was closed today and will be closed again tomorrow for meetings. Ugh!! That means that we can't get Kai's visa until Wednesday at the earliest....which means we won't be able to fly home Wednesday after all!! We had just received our itinerary; now we've got to change it again and hope that there are seats available on Thursday. We will continue to have faith that God's got it covered (He does), and we will get home at the right time.

Fun with Kai!

Yesterday we toured the Hoa Lo Prison, where John McCain spent time as a POW. Prisoners were subjected to torture, inhuman living conditions and execution. There was even a guillotine they had used. It was chilling, to say the least.

BUT! We have had a great couple of days with Kai! She continues to do well, and I think she has accepted the fact that we're not going anywhere.

The best news of all is that we are confirmed on flights back home next Wednesday!! WOOHOO!! I can't wait to begin our lives - at home - as a family of four. God continues to bless us!!

Here are a few pictures, including one of that AWESOME smile I told you about. We are seeing it more and more!!

How cute is this....

....funny girl face?? Here are a few pictures from the last couple of days of our sweet little angel! We haven't had the greatest weather (major flooding before we arrived and a typhoon is expected to hit the area tomorrow afternoon!), so we haven't been able to do as much as we had hoped. Thank goodness we have a 3 bedroom apartment to stay in so we can move around quite a bit.

Kai is an extremely active one-year old!! And she has been very clingy to me....I had forgotten the art of eating, brushing teeth and making bottles with one hand while holding a baby on my hip! She is really warming up to Shawn, too, as we knew she would.

We bought a stroller and she just loves riding in it! Every day as the weather would allow, we have taken walks around to different parts of the city. Yesterday we went to the Old Quarter and had lunch at an outdoor cafe around Hoan Kiem Lake. The waitress brought Kai some corn on the cob and she LOVED it! We had to ask for a second piece to get through lunch - - wish I had a bucketful! :)

Kai has been very sad at bedtime; crying for a long time before going to sleep. But last night - no tears!! I think we are making significant strides in her adjustment to us - - - what a relief! She is SOO snuggly and sweet and funny! She makes this hilarious, huge-smiley face when she thinks something is funny - - like when she passes gas! And she is really smart. She helps Daddy put the key card in the door, knows how to push the buttons on the tv, goes to the door when she wants to go somewhere, and so many other things that tell us she understands. What an awesome time we are having getting to know her!!

Thanks to everyone for all the best wishes! Hopefully we will be home next week and can see everyone very soon!!

AHHH! I can post again!!!

I'm not sure why, but for the last two days when I've tried to login to post on the blogsite, it gave me instructions in Vietnamese - - and more detailed instructions than the usual e-mail address and password, so I have been STUCK, unable to post. ANYWAY!!! I logged on tonight and for some reason it's back to English, and let me just say HALLELUJAH!! My Facebook friends have been able to see some pics, but not everyone, so.....with no further adieu.....I am so happy to share some pics of Kai!!!

She was really open to us when we were at the orphanage, laughing and smiling. We spent about an hour there before we were told it was time to leave and go to the G&R Ceremony. The nannies were very sad you could tell, but I also saw how much love they had for Kai and - as we left - I was overcome with gratitude for these two ladies who had cared for Kai, day in and day out with oh-so-little in the way of resources. I hugged them both profusely and thanked them for the good care they had given to her. They didn't speak a word of English but I'm sure they understood. Shawn couldn't believe how dirty the orphanage was (and it was), but seriously.....it's not like these people can bop down to the local Wal-Mart, buy some 409 and scrub sponges and give the place a good cleaning every couple of weeks! This country is P.O.O.R.!!! It's really unbelieveable and humbling to see how some people live.

On the way back to Ha Noi, Kai did a little crying and was upset for a bit. I held her and comforted her....it was all I could do. I really thought that was the end of it, but at bedtime for the last two nights, she is just inconsolable and cries herself to sleep, exhausted, with me holding her, rocking her and rubbing her back. I know she is missing her sweet nannies, but we are doing all we can to help her make the transition. I'm not sure how long that will take, but we will do whatever it takes!

Today was better; we went shopping a bought her a sweater (it's been a bit chilly and almost everything I brought were sundresses!) and some new shoes (all the shoes that I had were too big - - the girl's got 3 1/2 size feet!) and a stroller. We walked all the way around Hoan Kiem Lake with Kai in her stroller. She didn't make a peep for 2 hours! We decided to have an early dinner - Kai had only a little over an hour nap earlier - but it was clear as soon as we got to the restaurant and sat down for dinner that she was in no mood for a leisurely dinner! We left without ordering, and got sandwiches to-go from a cafe attached to the hotel.

Anyway!! I know things will get better, and we are so overjoyed to be with her!! She is absolutely SCRUMPTIOUS and SWEET!

Hopefully, my blogsite will continue to cooperate so I can keep updating the end of the journey for you. We may be flying home at the end of next week rather than the following Wednesday (11/19). THAT would be awesome!!

We got to Skype Austin earlier today, and it was great to see his precious face!! I'm so appreciative of all the help we have had with him....and it's a real comfort to know that he's been well cared for!

More later.....!!