Passport Day

Today we applied for Emma's passport which took all of ten minutes at the Vietnamese passport office. We will get her passport next Wednesday. We are basically free to do whatever we want until then. We also ventured over to Big C, the Vietnamese Wal-Mart with Jack, Johanna, and Sam. It is quite a place and carries just about everything. It is in kind of a mall, and there was a KFC there so we had a little American food for lunch. Cathy bought her a few things at the mall like a purse and some new shoes. You can see her purse in one of the pics. Tomorrow we are planning on visiting the Old Quarter which is an area with lots of small shops and cafes. I am hoping I can visit the Mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh as well. I am hoping to get some pics and video of the crazy traffic here. It is beyond description. You just have to see it.

On To Hanoi

Today we flew from Saigon to Hanoi. Tomorrow we will apply for Emma's passport. Usually that takes five days. We are staying at the Somerset Westlake which is a very nice apartment style hotel. We have an awesome 2 BR suite. Emma did great on the two hour flight. She slept about and hour and half. She is very easy to deal with and keeps herself entertained with very simple things like plastic cups and lids. She is still somewhat afraid of me and will not let me hold her without crying. She will play with me as long as Cathy is around. I am okay with it, eventually she will come around. Her whole world was turned upside down yesterday so overall she is doing great! I just feel sorry for Cathy because she has to do all the "work". I try to help her in any way I can though. As far as Hanoi goes, it is extremely hot and humid. We can't be outside more than five minutes and we are drenched in sweat. Tomorrow we will venture out and we'll take some pictures of the city. Hope everyone is well at home. We'll talk to you soon. Thomas & Cathy

More First Day Pics

We have already learned alot about this little one in just the first day. She is very sweet, and very curious. She talks non stop. She LOVES to take a bath and she LOVES to play!! If your wondering why I am not in any of the pictures, it's because she's a little leary of big, bald headed white guys. But that's okay. She has already warmed up to me a little this evening. She and Cathy and really bonding. To our families, guys she in more beautiful and wonderful than you can imagine. Sometimes I say Lord, I don't deserve this blessing. But obviously he says we do. Candice, Abby, and Austin, you will fall in love with your sister. I have to go and entertain her so Cathy can pack. We leave for Hanoi in the morning. We'll post again as soon as we get settled there.

We've Got Her!!!!

All I can say is WOW! Guys, she is more beautiful in person than any of the pictures we have previously seen. She is much smaller than we expected. She has already started to bond with us and we have had her five hours. She talks, or better yet, babbles non stop. She loves to play and has such a sweet personality. I will post more pics later today, but here are the first teasers. Here is also a short video from the hotel.

Dinner at The Rex....

Tonight we had dinner with Eric and Joelle, and Jack and Johanna at the famous Rooftop Garden at the Rex Hotel. The food was average but the company outstanding! It was so cool to be able to get together on the eve of one of the biggest days of our lives! Cathy and I have everything together and are ready for the big day (at least we think we are ready)! Take a deep breath mom (Heidi), the next pictures you see on the blog will be of your new granddaughter! Until next time.....

Ho Chi Minh City....

It will always be Saigon to this history teacher, but that's another story. Well, we made it! After the longest trip of our lives (28 hours from when we took off in OKC, until we arrived in HCMC)! Thirteen hours from Houston to Tokyo, and six hours from Tokyo to HCMC. I am so thankful I don't have a job that requires international travel. That flight to Tokyo, while very smooth, was killer. I can't sleep on a plane, plus I have an extremely stiff neck right now. I was so glad to finally get here. Customs was a breeze. Passport control took maybe 5 minutes. We picked up our bags, they ran them through the xray machine, and we were done. A member of the Holt Vietnam staff was waiting for us. We took a van to the hotel, and here we are. The hotel is awesome! We are at the Somerset HCMC. It is probably the cleanest hotel I have ever seen. The people just fall all over themselves to be friendly and take care of you. It is like a resort. We are going to work out this morning and hang out at the pool. Tonight we are having dinner with two other couples at the Rex Hotel rooftop restaraunt. The view is supposed to be unbelievable. Okay, next report will be with our darling Emma. When you wake up Monday morning, we should have lots of pics and the whole story! Until then.....

We're Off......

The final post from OKC. In 11 hours we will be on our way to complete our dream. Many of you know I am a movie quote buff. There is a scene in the movie Apollo 13 where Kevin Bacon tells Tom Hanks about some problem that is going to occur down the line. Tom Hank's reply is "There's a thousand things that have to happen in order, we're on number 8. You're talking about number 692." I have always thought about that quote when pondering this entire adoption process. There were so many steps that had to happen for us to get to this point. Well I guess we're somewhere around number 995! :) Friends and family, the next post will be from Ho Chi Minh City. Emma, Mom and Dad are on the way! Our dream is almost complete!