!!!! HOMEWARD BOUND !!!!

Well this will be my last post from Vietnam! The next post will be from good ol' Pearl, Mississippi! We have enjoyed being in Hanoi. Vietnam is a great country with wonderful people. We are so blessed to have been able to experience their culture for this short time. We are so thankful to our AWESOME Lord for clearing our way with this adoption and blessing us with our precious daughter, Ava Rose. We are also very thankful for those friends and family that continued to lift us up in prayer throughout this amazing (and sometimes bumpy) journey. The Lord heard your prayers and answered them in a mighty way.

We are grateful to have such unbelievable support from our families. We would not have been able to do this without them. They had the tough job of watching Olivia and Ethan. We will be so glad to see those two. we have missed the terribly. Next post.....HOME!!!

Halong Bay

We just returned from our overnight trip to Halong Bay. It was wonderful. Our guide, Hoi, was very nice and great with the kids. The boat was nice but the rooms were not that great. The view more than made up for them though. Halong Bay is one of the seven natural wonders of the world. We sailed off on a chinese junk and stopped to kayak. Davis, Peyton, Erin, Jessica, and Hoi all went kayaking. They went through a cave and saw a monkey. They had a great time. Next we went to a small beach so they could swim. Today we went to a cave in the bay. It was huge. I climbed about a gazillion steps. We all had a wonderful time and are glad we went. The pictures do not do it justice. It was BEAUTIFUL!!

***** VISA *****

We received Ava's visa today!! We are free to bring her home. We ate lunch at Al Fresco's with the other three families in our group. After lunch we went to the quilt shop and ordered Ava's bedding for her big girl bed. It should arrive around the first of April. After dinner tonight we went to the silk shop to pick up Erin and Peyton's custom tailored ao dais. We just happened to find a crazy street market on the way back. They had blocked off the street and set up stalls for vendors. They went on forever. If we didn't have to get up so early we would have stayed longer. We are off to Halong Bay in the morning. We will return Sunday night. I'll post pictures as soon as we get back.

Thanksgiving In Vietnam

Well this was not our usual Thanksgiving this year. We started the day by going to the Museum of Ethnology. It is a museum showcasing all of the different ethnic groups of Vietnam. It was very interesting. Then we did MORE shopping. Finally, we had Thanksgiving dinner with all of the PLAN families that are here. The restaurant in the hotel served "imported American turkey". It was all really quite good. Not exactly like home but it was very nice. It was great seeing all of the families together with all of the babies. Ava loves mashed potatoes! We had a great Thanksgiving day.

We have so much to be thankful for. We are so blessed to have our precious Ava. We are so very thankful to be coming home next week. I have been thanking and praising God every day for all that He has blessed us with. Thank you just doesn't seem adequate. Our cup is truly overflowing! This may not have been our traditional Thanksgiving but it was one of the best ever.

2nd Visa Interview & Hoa Lo Prison

We had our 2nd (and final) visa interview today. Nothing to it at all. We just had to swear that everything on the application was true. We will get Ava's visa Friday at noon. After that we are free to come home. I changed our flights so we will be arriving home on Wednesday morning at 9am. That is three days earlier than planned! I am so ready to see Olivia and Ethan.

We went to the Hoa Lo prison today. It was built by the French during the time Vietnam was a French colony. During the Vietnam War it was used to house American POWs. John McCain was held here. The American GIs nicknamed it the "Hanoi Hilton". Our hotel sits on a large area that was once part of the prison. It was interesting but creepy. They have John McCain's flight suit that he was wearing when he was shot down on display.

** PRAISE THE LORD - OUR PAPERWORK HAS CLEARED **

Our God is truly an AWESOME God!!! We received the call Tuesday morning that our paperwork has cleared. The group who arrived here a week before us just cleared on Monday. It only took 2 business days to clear us!! That has NEVER happened!! Prayer is a powerful thing. We just had faith that God would see this through to His glory. We will have our final interview with the embassy today at 1:30. We will pick up Ava's visa on Friday. After that we are free to go home!! I am trying to get flights out on Tuesday but if we can't we will just stay and leave on Friday as planned.

We Have Ava's Passport

Well I went and picked up Ava's passport this morning. We will have her visa medical tomorrow and then all we will be waiting for is our 2nd interview with the embassy. The group of families before us received word that all but one of their cases has cleared. The one that didn't clear was aware that there may be a delay. Please pray that everything is cleared up so that they can go home.

Erin & I went out with some of the other women (and baby Jake) to the quilt shop. It is a non- profit place that sells quilts that the women in a village north of Hanoi make. They are beautiful. I am going back with Davis and we are going to order a set for Ava to be made and shipped to us.

I don 't have any pictures from today so I just posted some random ones from this week. Enjoy!

Layin' Low

We didn't do too much yesterday. We just hung around the apartment all day. After breakfast we took Ava to the SOS International clinic. She has a rash that is just getting worse. We saw a Dutch doctor and he prescribed antibiotics, oral steroids, and a strong steriod cream. She already looks much better this morning.

I am going this morning to pick up Ava's passport. I am hoping that the 11/3 families hear today about their 2nd interview. I have such a peace about this whole process. I truly believe that God is at work and His hand has been in every aspect of this adoption. I KNOW He will see us through and bring us home on time.