Seven Days To Go!

Maggie and I have been together now
for one week. It has been such a wonderful
week of getting to know her. She is a very
happy and alert little girl - so easy to make
laugh! Everyday her little personality
becomes more defined. When I introduce her
to new things, she spends time intensely studying
them with those big bright eyes. She loves
me to read story books to her. At this point I really don't know how
much she is understanding English, but it certainly appears so.
I can't wait to get her back home to a good stable environment which
she can identify as home.

How is Mom doing? Well, a bit tired at this point but hanging in
there. Tomorrow we go to the pick up Maggie's passport.
Thursday or Friday we will have the interview with the US
Embassy to get her VISA. That is the final step in the
process before we can head back to the States.

Oh Not Enough Time In the Day!!!!

Ok if you are wondering why I am slow to keep

up with my blog the truth is Maggie is keeping me so

busy. She has bonded so nicely that when its

time for her afternoon nap she will not go down

unless I hold her on my chest. If I move to get up she

starts to cry. She hangs on the me so tight like

she is afraid her mommy will go away. I can't

take away that trust right now. There goes

any free time. She did sleep 8 hours straight

in her crib last night - yippie!

Last night Susan (the other single mom here

from the Agency) and I took the babies to a Vietnamse

Water Puppet Show. It was outstanding. Both

babies slept through the whole thing. It was
an adult cultural event.

Tomorrow we head out with the babies for an

overnight river boat crusie down Huna Bay.

The pictures above is of Jayden and Maggie.

Jayden is a wonderful little guy - weighting in

at 18 pounds at 9 months vs Maggie weighing in

at 12 pounds at 10 months.

Out for Monring Coffee

I haven't had a chance
to post since Maggie had
a little cold that kept me
busy over the last 24 hours.
She is on the up swing today and
we decided to go out for a cup of
coffee and a walk down by the
lake. She continues to be doing
really well with bonding to me.
We are heading to the Big C (like the US WalMart) to buy
some cloths that fit her. Everything I brought is way to big.

I promise to spend time during her afternoon nap to
post more photos.

Maggie and Me

We arrived at the orphanage

around 10 a.m. Maggie took to

me right away. She is a very happy

baby. Always smiling and laughing.

She did very well on the ride back

to the Hotel. Once there, I gave

her a bath which she enjoyed.

She eats real well and loves to

play. For 10 months, she is really small - more the size of

a six month old. She does, however, have a mouth full of teeth.

I did have alot of photos taken while at the orphange and

plan to post later.

I Made It!

I am now in my hotel room in Hanoi Vietnam. The trip
could not of been anymore uneventful.
The long dreaded 12 hour flight from Seattle to
Taipei wasn’t bad at all – much thanks to Dr. Arthur
for that good sleep aid he prescribed. Oh and also
watching two great movies; 27 Dresses and Rambo 1
(how diverse is that!). Surprisingly, so far, I don’t
feel any affect of the time difference nor the 24
hours of straight travel. I’m wide awake and
ready to go – for now!

The hotel is right in the center of the city and all the
shops and restaurants. I just spoke to my contact
from the agency here, and we have to push back
travel to the orphanage until Monday. That is fine.
It will allow me time to do some shopping and get a feel
for the city. Technically, I still will be getting
her on Mother’s Day since it will be the 11th in
the US and the 12th in Vietnam.

AND, can I tell you its very hot and humid!
I want to shave the mop of hair I have. It’s
hard coming from Denver’s dry climate where
the average humidity is 25%.

Stay tune, more tomorrow with pictures

Maggie and me - our first Mother's Day

Wow! I checked my emails this morning and was
so pleased to find one from the US Embassy in
Vietnam telling me I have been approved to
travel. I will be leaving the US on May 8th
arriving in Hanoi on May 10th. May 11th,
Mother's Day, I will travel to the orphange
to get Maggie. How special is that!
I will be in country for two weeks and will
be sure to post on my blog during that time.

Maggie's Dog Cole

This is Cole, Maggie's new dog.
He is a 80 pound huskey-
golden retriever mix. He is sitting
on our new porch swing.