Hello from Chicago!

So, we’re finally off! I’m writing this post from the airplane, somewhere between Oklahoma City and Chicago. We flew out this afternoon, will spend the night at the airport hotel in Chicago, and then, the real adventure begins! I admit to being a little misty-eyed when I said goodbye to Will today – it’s a big step to leave him for this long. My McDonald’s girls keep reminding me that it’s probably a bigger step for me than for him – he’ll love his Grandparent time, VBS, and T-Ball games. I know he’ll have a few hard days through at some point this month, but it was definitely the right choice for us that he stayed at home. I miss you, Buggy, but I hope you are having a great time! Have fun at the circus this weekend!
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A few thoughts after 5 SOLID days of packing for my adoption buddies still on the wait:

• Really, really, really do EVERYTHING you can ahead of time! I know that we are flying out faster than many families, but the amount of work necessary to get everything together for two adults and a baby is gargantuan! Wow, we travel a lot in the States, so I know that planning is necessary, and I am really an organizer by nature, but I was a little overwhelmed by it all at times this past weekend.
• Go through your travel documents and adoption papers BEFORE you get your I-600 pre-approval. I had procrastinated on this part, and once the adrenaline started to rush, I struggled to concentrate on all the forms and procedures.
• Use PackMates/SpaceBags for your clothes, diapers, soft baby gear…anything squishy at all. I’ve never used them for our big trips here in the U.S. before, but I guarantee I will from now on. I bet they saved us at least 40% of the packing space. Translation: fewer suitcases to take, more opportunity to buy stuff to bring home!!! :) Thanks for the tip, Clines and Archers!
• Make sure to compile all of your prescriptions and fill them early. I already had the prescriptions, but not the medicines. Some need to be taken a week before travel, and that was pretty hard for us to accomplish. I didn’t count on the local CVS needing several days to fill them, since they don’t exactly stock anti-typhoid meds on a regular basis!
• If you carry gifts for the orphanage or adoption staff, buy things that are squishy and easy to pack. Sounds logical, but I purchased many small leather portfolios as gifts that were a bugger to get in the suitcases!
• I ordered a Mei Tai Baby Carrier, and tried it out on little Kaden this past week. It was actually not uncomfortable, and I am NOT a baby-carrier person. (Happy Birthday, little Kaden, by the way!) An added bonus: with its baseball fabric, it’s actually pretty darn cute!It does take about 4 weeks to arrive though, so order early. You have my permission to shop!
• Most of all, plan a little fun for yourselves along the way. We had a really special family time Saturday night when we took will to a fondue restaurant for the first time. He loved it, and it was a much-needed break from the packing and papers to spend a last, great evening just the three of us before we left.

Next post……Hanoi! Bill checked the weather there - it's 87 degrees today - feels like 103 with the humidity. Kinda like OKC in July! :)

Leavin' on a Jet Plane!

Well, it's been a whirlwind weekend, to say the least! Bill & I have officially taken the plunge and purchased a tour of Vietnam for the ten days leading up to the start of our adoption process. Translation: we leave on Wednesday night - June 4!!!!! Wednesday, as in 2 DAYS FROM NOW!

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We are flying into Hanoi and will land there on Fri, 6/6. (Don't even get me going on trying to explain the travel times and time zone changes. Just know that we are the opposite of you - exactly 12 hours different when we are in Vietnam.)

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We will be touring Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Hue, Hoi An, and Saigon. In Hanoi, we will get a tour of the city and some of the tourist highlights in the Old Quarter for a couple of days. Then, we are both so excited to spend the night on a Vietnamese Junk boat (see the photo below) in Ha Long Bay and watch the sunrise over the ocean. We'll then fly to Hue, the original imperial city of Vietnam and see the beautiful architecture. Hue is the culinary capitol of the country, so I'm especially excited to try the food there. My travel books say the best chefs at the best restaurants in Hanoi and Saigon all trained in Hue - we'll let you know! :) We'll also take a boat ride up the Perfume River in Hue.

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From Hue, we will drive over Hai Van Pass to Hoi An. The drive overlooks the China Sea - supposed to be beautiful and strikingly similar to Route 1 in California. We'll visit China Beach - a popular R&R spot for American soldiers during the Vietnam war. Hoi An is home to the silk and tailoring industry of Vietnam, and Bill is looking forward to having a suit or two custom made there for a fraction of U.S. costs. (Eat your heart out, Wade Speas - the man with the custom suits!!! :) ) I am personally going to shop shamelessly in Hoi An, as it is known for handcrafts, including embroidery, silk linens, and pottery. I've personally never met handmade pottery I didn't like, so I expect to enjoy Hoi An a lot!

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Finally, we will fly to Saigon, where we will spend two days seeing the sights of the city. We'll meet up with our adoption group about 6/16 - 6/17 and get ready to meet David!

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And now for the star attraction......David! :) We are scheduled for our Giving & Receiving Ceremony on 6/19. (For you non-adoption folks, the G&R is when we officially take possession of David - Vietnam gives him to us, and we receive him! From then on he is ours!!!) We'll probably be in David's province, Vinh Long, for a day or two before the G&R.

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After G&R, we'll head back to Saigon for some adoption necessities (translation: more paperwork!). Then, we will fly to Hanoi to complete our final paperwork at the U.S. embassy before returning home. If everything goes smoothly, we would love to be home just in time for the Fourth of July, but don't be too surprised if we don't make it back until sometime the next week. After all, we know that everyone enjoys a vacation in July - including airline staff! :)

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Check back often! We promise to try to update the blog with travel photos and stories when we're not out having the trip of a lifetime!

WE'RE GOING TO VIETNAM!!!!!

By this time next week, this boat is where we'll be!!!!! We are going to Vietnam!!!!!

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We received our I-600 approval this morning at 4:18 a.m. David, sweet boy, HERE COME MOM & DAD!!!!

Thanks be to God for opening the doors and offering us floodgates of blessing! Please continue to pray for all my friends of the heart, who are continuing to wait for their sweet children to come home. Our hearts are with you all!

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Suddenly, there are only about 800 things running through my mind that need to be completed! I've never been so willing to be so busy in my life! :) Keep checking back - more information to come!

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"I will thank You, God, forever, because of what you have done. In the presence of the faithful I will proclaim Your name, for it is good!!!!" - Psalm 52:9

Happy Mother's Day to Me!

Happy Mother's Day to Me!

We've already had a busy Mother's Day Weekend! Yesterday was a big day in our house, as Will officially graduated from Preschool! His class had a little choir concert and graduation ceremony - too cute! I still can't believe that he is old enough to be done with preschool, but now we have the diploma to prove it. Onward and upward to Kindergarten!

Will is playing soccer again this spring. Today was a special day for him, because he scored his first goal! I don't think you could put a bigger smile on a kid's face if you tried! We're so proud of him - he's learned so much, and most of all, had such a good time. He's been so encouraging and kind to all the kids on his team - what a fun, fun age!

Bill and Will gave me the best Mother's Day present this weekend - a finished baby's room! We spend all afternoon on Saturday completing the finishing touches on David's room. Thank you guys, for making me feel like we are really ready to welcome our little guy home! :) In my current nesting phase, it is really a load off of my mind to know that this project is complete. Now, we're just praying that USCIS will soon approve our I-600 application, and we'll be on to packing! :)

Enjoy the photos, everyone!

New Every Morning!

What a blessing it was this week to receive a new photo of David! Just when I was feeling the most down, I opened my e-mail and found this smiling face that makes all the worries, frustration - yes, even dealing with USCIS - so worthwhile! He's six months old in this picture, and it has been so fun to see his smile and his bright eyes, to get a glimpse into his sweet personality! We also got a report that he is up to 12-1/2 lb now - growing healthy and strong. What more could a mama 8,602 miles away from her sweet boy want than to know that he is happy and healthy right now? :)

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We still don't have any news to report about the new DNA requirements. We promise to let you know as soon as we know anything, if you promise to keep praying for everyone involved in the process. I can say that we have felt upheld by your prayers this week. Though we do not have any answers, God is providing the little bits of mercy we need when we need them - this new photo, a kind word from friends or family, a loving hug from my great husband, an e-mail from a fellow adoptive parent. I guess that's what God promises in Hebrews 4:16, when Paul writes, "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." I'm not so sure I'm feeling the confidence thing yet, but we are finding the grace, little by little.

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My favorite hymn of all time is "Great is Thy Faithfulness." It is based on Lamentations 3:22-24, which says,

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"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,

For His compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness.

I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;

Therefore, I will wait for Him."

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One of the most interesting things about this beautiful promise is that it is stuck right in the middle of the book of Lamentations - five long chapters of weeping and wailing. The entire book is the cries and anguish - the Laments - of a man (Jeremiah) who feels he and his People have lost their Hope. And yet, in the middle of it all, there is this reminder that God is Faithful. Somehow, this week, God has been quietly reminding me in the midst of all of our chaos, He is Faithful. Each morning this week, I'm feeling new compassions - just right for that particular day. So, like Jeremiah, today I will say, "The LORD is my portion; therefore, I will wait for Him."

Raining In My Heart

We have had some scary news in Adoption World this past week. For reasons that I can't even begin to understand or explain, the U.S. Government has decided to require some potential adoptive families to provide DNA testing for their children and their children's known birthparents. In a practical matter, this means locating birthparents, convincing them to travel hours from their home to Saigon, be reunited with their child (whom they lovingly chose to give for adoption, and I can only imagine they ache for every second of the day.) These sweet people will likely be questioned and then will have to submit DNA to prove that they were in fact, this child's birthparent. As though the tears on their face and the anguish in their hearts wouldn't indicate that bond.

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Intolerable. Shameful. Awful. There are not enough words to describe the horror we feel at our government subjecting these kind people to this sort of treatment. It will certainly slow down the adoption process for everyone. It may end the adoption process for some, if birthparents cannot be located or chose not to participate. It is just wrong.

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Of course, there are the adoptive families - families just like us, who feel as though they have been hung upside down by their toenails emotionally. They wonder if this requirement will be possible, if they will ever be able to hold their children. We are most definitely in this category. Until this week, we only ever questioned "When" we might have David in our arms. Now we ache at the reality that we must wonder "If" we will ever have David in our arms.

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No, we do not have any final confirmation from the U.S. government if they will require this test in our case. Cruel, crazy irony requires that we must wait to even know if we are a part of this wrong or not. Please, please pray. Pray for birthparents who are hurting, for adoptive parents who are hurting, for future siblings who are hurting - don't even get me started on my fears of explaining our situation to Will. Most of all, though, pray for the children, who are the ones hurt most of all.

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Although I grew up in Colorado, my second home is Lubbock, Texas - the birthplace of legendary rock-and-roller Buddy Holly. His song, "Raining in My Heart" has been sticking in my head the past few days. Here's how it goes:

"The sun is out, the sky is blue,

There's not a cloud to spoil the view,

But it's raining.....Raining in my Heart.

The weatherman says clear today,

He doesn't know you've gone away,

And it's raining....Raining in my Heart."

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Kind of corny, I know, but it's the best way to describe my zombie-lifestyle since we got this news. It's spring, the trees are all in bloom, and yet....it's raining for me. I get up in the morning, make my way through my routine, go to preschool and soccer games and Starbucks, and yet....it's raining for me. I try to pretend that this news is just another delay, just another pile of paperwork, and yet....it's raining for me.

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Today I sat through church, smiled at folks in the halls, took Will to Sunday School, and yet....it was raining for me. That is, until our church choir sang an anthem today that was really a rearrangement of a simple little verse in Scripture:

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"But Thou, O LORD art a shield for me; my glory and the lifter up of my head." - Psalm 3:3

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Somehow, this one little verse just struck both Bill and me. God is our SHIELD - He protects us. God is our GLORY - He brings goodness and honor from the dishonorable. Most of all for me this week, God is the LIFTER OF MY HEAD. My head's been hanging pretty low this week. Please, LORD, I ask for you to lift it up.

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Dear Friends and Family, please pray this verse for our family this week. Pray that God will be our shield and protect all of us - Bill, Will, and me in OKC, and David in Vinh Long. Pray that God will be our glory in this situation - that He will bring goodness from this misery. Pray that He will be the Lifter of our heads, when we feel down. For my dear adoption buddies, I will be praying this without ceasing this week for you too.

A new Dawn!

I found this picture of a sunrise in the seaside town of Hoi An, Vietnam. I like the peacefulness, the hope, the promise that you can feel in this shot - like a new day is just arising, not yet filled with worries and frets, still crystal clear to become whatever we make of it.

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Life's been feeling a bit like this picture the last couple of weeks. We are finally starting to make our way into the Spring - warmer weather, the end to the myriad of illnesses that we've seen this winter (we hope!) & the excitement of looking forward to travelling to get David soon. It's been a bit of a long Winter this year - perhaps that makes the Spring feel all the more promising, like a fresh page ready for a new story. David turned six months old this week, and the reality of his being a part of our family becomes more true each day. Each little milestone keeps reminding me of how excited I am to have him here soon - next Easter as he toddles through the grass, next baseball season, when we gather as a family of four to cheer on our Cubs, next Spring, when he tries out the new swingset we are building in the backyard.

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It's amazing to think how much change will occur in our lives in the next few months! Next week, I will go to register my sweet, young Will for KINDERGARTEN! How can he possibly be old enough for real school already? I'm sure that he will do wonderfully - but his Mama may be a bit misty-eyed at the prospect of the end of his babyhood era. (I think his Daddy is a bit misty-eyed about that one too, by the way!) Still, the winds of change blow, and he keeps growing up. I even registered him for his first day-camp today. It's probably no big deal, just a half-a-day for two weeks at the zoo here in town - but STILL! It's Camp! No parents! Wow! His summer will be full of "little boy" stuff - the first T-ball team, swimming lessons, bible school, Redhawks games, soccer camp.

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Amazing to think that Will is the same tiny one I bundled in my arms just five years ago. Perhaps some of my nostalgia comes from his asking to look at his baby pictures a lot lately in preparation for David's arrival. He asks me, "What did I look like when I was my brother's age?" at least every couple of weeks, and I go on the hunt for more photos, more computer files to show him. He climbs into my lap in front of the computer and we peek at all the baby pictures. He smiles and laughs at his roley-poley toes, his first Halloween costume, riding in his first wagon with Max the Dog. I smile and laugh as I remember all those little moments...and look forward to the ones to come.

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You see, I am so blessed to have so many new memories ahead! As I look at photos of Will learning to crawl, my heart imagines the fun of experiencing it all over again with David. As I watch Will growing before my eyes, I think about the first time he will get a hit on the T-ball team, his smile so big his face can barely contain it. I picture the look on his Dad's face as he holds both sons in his lap, cheering on the football games this fall. I even look a bit forward to wiping away a few of the tears on that first day of kindergarten -- the few sad ones that come from the end of one era and the buckets of proud ones that come from the promise of a new one.

Kinda like that sunrise in Hoi An -- not yet full of worries and frets, still crystal clear to become whatever we make of it.

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"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy...being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus....And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God." (Philippians 1:3-6,9-11)

Chuc Mung Nam Moi! (Happy New Year!)

Catching up!

So, I admit I've been neglecting my blogging duties lately. Unfortunately, it seems like the entire state of Oklahoma has been plagued by just about every really YUCKY illness this winter - and we've had our share of them in the Cook household. For the last four weeks, either Will or I have been sick every single week - bronchitis, laryngitis, stomach flu, cold, respiratory infection - UGH!!!!! At least no one in our household has had the flu yet - a major accomplishment, considering that it is just flying around town right now. We are really ready for Spring --- a chance to get out of the house, to get working in the yard, and most of all, to get everyone really well!

Illness aside, February hasn't been a total loss. We got to enjoy our first Tet celebrations this year. Tet is the major holiday in Vietnam celebrating the New Year. We've all loved learning more about the Vietnamese culture during this time, as well as getting to know some of the other Vietnamese adoption families here in OKC. We went to a party with lots of our adoption gang at our friends Kerrie & Joey's house. Kerrie did an amazing job of decorating their home for the party, complete with lanterns, New Year's activities for the kids, and even Year of the Rat cupcakes. We also got to enjoy a nice sampling of Vietnamese dishes - pho, grilled pork, traditional soups, spring rolls. You can see lots of fun photos from that party at their site: http://www.zakmakesthree.blogspot.com/. I'm a bit late with this post, so you'll have to scroll down to see the party pictures. Make sure and take some time to check out the pictures of Zak, Cole, and Dylan - three of the kiddos here in OKC that have been home about a year. When I close my eyes and imagine what our lives might be like in a year, I always seem to think about these three fun little boys and their families!

The highlight of our New Year's celebration was attending our first Vietnamese Dragon Dance. Our friends, Mai & Chad, live in our same subdivision and received a referral for their little boy the same day we received our referral of David. We are so excited to get to have an immediate Vietnamese buddy just a few blocks away! :) Mai is Vietnamese as well, so she has been such a fantastic resource for us - always full of patience to teach us about Vietnamese culture, food, lifestyle. We love the fact that the blessings of this adoption process continue to abound, as we not only get to add this beautiful baby to our home, but have added so many wonderful new friends to our lives as well.

So, Mai & Chad hosted us for a Dragon Dance at Mai's insurance office in the heart of the Vietnamese District of Oklahoma City. (By the way, the March issue of Southern Living magazine has a story about the VN District in OKC - worth a look!) A Dragon Dance is a tradition where dancers in dragon costume dance their way through a home or business to bring in good fortunes for the New Year. Will's buddies, Kiley & Kenna Cline, joined us to watch the dance & feed oranges to the dragon. We also experienced our first Vietnamese fireworks, which were quite honestly, the loudest thing I had ever heard in my life! Bill says that for those in the know, you could describe it as roughly 5,000 M-80's being lit off in very rapid progression. It was something to see and to hear! :) Mai also fed us fantastic Vietnamese pork sandwiches - think really tender roast pork with marinated cucumbers, carrots, and soy sauce all served on a french baguette - YUM! I'd definitely order them again in Vietnam. We got to try some Vietnamese sweets too - sesame candy, dried ginger, sweet potatoes, and coconut strings. All in all, a really great day. We can't wait for next year!

Finally, we got some great new news today about David. We received an update on his height and weight. On Feb. 14, he was 4-1/2 months old, 11-1/2 lb. and a whopping 25 inches long. It's so good to know that he is healthy and growing well right now as he is away from us. David turns five months old tomorrow - Happy 26th Day little man! Cupcakes for everyone!