Home at last

Well it is 5:56 AM and we have been on the go non-stop for 36 hours. When we got home from the airport this morning around 3:30 AM, we decided not to go to bed and try to press on and see how long we can last. We want to get back on a real schedule ASAP. Spencer is wide awake and ready for prime time.(P.S. It is now 7 AM and both my guys are sakced out! Oh well. . .)

The trip itself was okay. Although I really missed those first class seats on the 11 hour flight. And I could have done without the commentary from the peanut gallery behind me telling me what Spencer needs and why she thought he was fussy. Nothing worse then unsolicited child advice from a complete stranger for 11 hours. Spence slept about 2 hours of the flight.

After the 2 ½ hour flight from Vietnam to Taiwan and then the 11 hour flight from Taiwan, we were so excited to get off the plane, (even if it was crummiest airport on the planet, LAX). As we exited the plane we were in the institutional hallways filled with broken walkways, and bare bulbs swinging from partial fixtures from the ceiling. We finally made it to a sign that said “Immigrating this way.” We wandered through a space filled with drywall dust and plastic sheets hanging on the unfinished walls. After the grueling marathon flight it was so unwelcoming and cold. We waited in line at immigration to make sure all the final paper work for Spencer was cleared. We waited for quite some time and finally got the paper work that makes Spencer an American citizen.

We went to get our domestic flight all squared away and when we came to the counter of American Airline (our least favorite carrier by the way) we discovered that U.S. Immigration gave us an extra passport! We had our three, plus one of another poor soul who was also meeting with Immigration. After our crazy wait all I could do was thank our lucky stars that they didn’t give Spencer’s passport to some stranger. I am sure someone was pulling out their hair. We couldn’t go back through and give it Immigration and Customs, so we gave it to security. . . they said they would put it in the lost and found. . . . (gasp!) I can only imagine what the “Lost & Found” looks like in a place like LAX.

We made it to our gate and had about 4 hours to kill. We spread out a blanket and let Spencer play while we tried to mentally prepare for the last leg. As fate would have it. . . or if American Airlines in involved. . . our flight was delayed 2 ½ hours. All three of us were so beat. Some friends of ours (that we met in Vietnam) decided not to press on the last leg and were getting a hotel room for the night. I was sitting there, positively green with envy! I wish I was taking a hot shower, sleeping in crisp sheets instead of chasing a 7 month old in an airport who was attempting to lick every surface in sight. Well, phooey! We toughed it out and finally made it to our destination airport at about 2:30 AM. The travel was pretty hard on my equilibrium. I felt slightly dizzy (and frankly still do) as if I am walking on jello.

A friend of mine offered to pick us up, and sure enough at 3:00 AM, after we got all our luggage and things squared away, there she was waiting for us. (What a relief.) I was so excited about Spencer, our little superstar and wanted her to meet him. She also had a car seat for him and then my perfect little angel proceeded to scream. . . hysterically for the 35 min. ride home, non-stop. Oh boy, he HATED the car seat and screamed at the top of his lung. I have never heard him cry/scream for that long.

But all’s well. . . that ends well. We are here and I have 5 loads of laundry to do and shopping lists to write, menus to prepare for the rest of the week. . . you all know the drill.

I thought I would just post a picture of Spencer in his new Pack-n-play. He loves it, and I am sure it is destine to be my good friend too.



Click here: CHECK OUT DAVE'S RECAP OF OUR 3-WEEK ADVENTURE.

Last post from Vietnam

Monday Jan. 28, 2008, 6:00 PM

Well, it has been 17 days since we hopped on a jet headed to Vietnam. (We fly out tomorrow around noon and will be traveling for 24 hours.) It has been an amazing experience. Our son is finally with us after months of memorizing his face from photographs. We both are feeling so blessed.

While we have been here in Hanoi we have been able to get in some site seeing. This weekend we went to the water puppet show. It was so great. What an interesting type of art form. The kids in the audience loved it! The puppet show was very visual with colorful puppets and smoke & sparklers. There was a group of musicians off to the side with a narrator. All the narration and singing was in Vietnamese. I am so glad we went. (Spencer slept through most if it.) I was quite impressed with the work and coordination that went into it. The tickets were only about $3 and well worth the cab fare. Actually the cab fare was about $3 there and about $10 on the way back, the cabby wanted to show us the sites and we kept telling him, “Ooh, that’s nice, we want to go to the hotel.” So, a few “shortcuts” later we arrived back.

We also got to see the “Temple of Literature.” It was really a lovely place, it had Asian style gardens and courtyards. We got some good pictures. I look a little haggard, but it is the last day of the trip, what do you expect?







As I reflect back on the time we have had here, the best part is just spending time with Spence and Dave. Seeing Spencer smile and laugh or seeing my little guy passed out on Dave’s shoulder. We really didn’t do a lot of site seeing, but we have spent A LOT of time together as a family without too many distractions. It has been exactly how I imagined it, fun and exhausting, overwhelming and peaceful, delightful and harried.

I guess the fun is just starting.

Spencer finds the most interesting thing in the room:

Himself in the mirror.

Spencer. . . an only child

It is official, as of this morning, every pair of pants I brought has been whizzed on or thrown up on. I am wearing Dave’s t-shirt because the same fate has befallen my shirts. As I was washing a load of laundry in the bathroom this morning, I was contemplating Spencer’s future as an “elder brother.” (We gave Spencer the middle name Huynh, meaning “elder brother” in Vietnamese.)

Hmmm, having an only child is looking pretty darn good right now. We have been cooped up in hotel rooms and because of Spencer’s cough and runny nose I have been leery to take him out places unnecessarily. We just want him to be healthy again. Seeing him all congested and sick is no fun for anyone, especially him.

One moment I think, “How did my mom raise 6 kids. . . 6!” The next moment I am bewitched by Spencer’s million dollar smile and think, “Wow, I would love house full of smiles like that!”. . . Right now I am feeling like I would just love to have clean clothes and not have to cough into a pillow if Spencer is asleep.

Our flight leaves on Tuesday and we get home Tuesday around midnight. I think once we are home things will flow more smoothly. . . at least that is what I am hoping. Spencer has had this cough for 6 days and perhaps he will shake it before we get home, that would be nice. I am just hoping there isn’t an “episode” on the 11 hour flight to LAX.

Two reasons to celebrate:

1) We got Spencer’s visa! It will be ready by 4 PM on Monday to pick up at the embassy! The last paper work hurdle as been surmounted! (Until we go back to the US and re-adopt Spencer and get a US birth certificate.)

2) Jay and Sarah have their wedding reception tonight! They will be married in the Mount Timpanogos temple tomorrow morning.

One bummer is that our WiFi phone does not work in this hotel. We have been able to make a few phone calls while we have been here because of our WiFi phones. But for some reason they will not connect to the system here.

What this means is that we won’t be able to call Sarah and Jay from our phones to congratulate them and give our best wishes on their wedding day. I am officially bummed about that. (I am still trying to figure out a way to make it work. . .) I really thought before the whole I-600 process change that we would be at the wedding with Spencer in tow. Now we are in Vietnam and their wedding reception is tonight, a mere 16 hours away. All of our family has gathered together, and here we sit in Hanoi hoping that someone remembers to send us pictures this weekend.

Sarah will make the most glorious bride and Jay will be a dashing groom. There is a small coincidence that makes me feel better. It turns out they are having the reception at the same place Dave and I did, and the grooms luncheon is also at the same place we had ours. So, even though we can’t be there I have a perfect picture in my head of the venue. It was 4 years ago next Wednesday that Dave and I were married. So we almost share the same anniversary too. I wish we could be there. . .

My sister sent me some pictures of the bridal shower and I was so happy for them. Those crazy kids are positively beaming.

Hello Hanoi

Friday January 25, 2008: 11:30 AM

We are here in Hanoi! Spencer did great on the 2 ½ hour plane ride. He slept for about 90 min. The only down side is that the little man sitting next to us, rolled his eyes when he saw he was sitting next to a baby and left. He went back a couple of rows and spoke with a man who had a 3 or 4 year old daughter on his lap. His little girl was screaming at the top of her lungs. It was a hysterical scream, fists shaking, and head thrown back. (Oh no I thought. . .)

So, now we are sitting next to the screaming girl. All I thought was, “Oh please don’t set Spencer off, that is all we need to two kids screaming.” The little man was now sitting in his newly acquired seat, in a reclined position, with a smug little look on his face that he had cheated the system.

Luckily, the little girl did not set Spencer off, he just sat there and looked at her, as if examining a laboratory specimen. Once she saw that she was being watched, she kicked it up a notch and started to howl. . . . The funny thing about this is that before Spencer, I never minded sitting next to children on planes. I always wished I could convey to the parents that it is alright and I don’t mind crying. I have nieces and nephews and know how hard it can be. . . so it is odd that now I am a parent, I think, “Don’t put us next to a crying child. Spencer might get some ideas. . .”

We arrived in Hanoi and are staying at a nice place. They have a buffet breakfast, like our last hotel and a wee crib for Spencer. It is a lovely place and I think we will enjoy it here.



Hanoi is a beautiful place! You can tell the French were here for over 100 years. The architecture and gardens have a French feel. The city is larger then HCMC but it seems the people are not as friendly. A stranger came up to someone in our group at the airport and asked her how much she paid for the baby.

Today we have our interview at the US embassy for Spencer’s visa. It should be ready for pick up on Monday and we can leave as soon as Tuesday. We are still waiting to hear back about flight availability. It is just so exciting to see an end in sight! It will be great to be home and get settled in.

While we are here in Hanoi we want to see the world famous water puppet show. It is suppose to be really amazing. We hope to get tickets for tomorrow. We also hope to walk around downtown and see some gardens and Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum. The weather here is cooler and it all depends on how Spencer is feeling. We don’t want him to get run down.

We are off to the final visa interview in about 2 hours, so I better be off.

Hanoi, here we come

Thursday January 24, 9:40 AM

Today we fly out to Hanoi. It has been a great to be here in Ho Chi Minh City but I think we are looking forward to getting on with things. It looks like our visa interview has been moved up to Monday! Yippy! What this means is that we could fly home as soon as Tuesday. It all depends on the seat availability and when we can get out. Right now our return flight is scheduled for Friday February 1st, but if we could get out earlier that would be just fine with us.

Yesterday we got Spencer’s Vietnamese passport and medial paperwork. It looks like all systems are go! Spencer is still fighting his bug, he slept pretty well last night, but we are still having the coughing/throw up problem about once a day. But other then that we are doing well. Here are some pictures from yesterday. Spencer was still up for some adventuring and exploring around the hotel room.




This is from this morning, right before he went down for his morning nap. My two favorite guys.

A very long night

Wednesday Jan. 23, 2008: 9:30 AM

Last night Spencer was not well. It helped to call my sister and get some medial advice on his condition. He had been running a low grade fever (99-100). We gave him some baby Mortin to help and it seemed to do the trick, his fever was gone last night before bed. However, he was fussy and cried for about an hour. Nothing seemed to sooth him. He finally went down and we hoped he had turned the corner. He had thrown up twice since Monday night, and we were giving him smaller bottles more often to help that. (When he starts coughing really hard he would through up the formula.) It had been about 20 hours since the last incident.

So, after midnight he wakes up and I give him a 3 oz. bottle. He gulped it down and was very happy for the food. Then as I was burping him, he started coughing and up came the bottle. The poor guy was not too happy. He felt like he was burning up, we took his temperature. . . 103.2. My heart sank and I was filled with dread. It really was a horrifying moment. We soothed him and took his temp. again a few minutes later to make sure, it was 102.8. I was just so worried. We gave him 3 oz. of water to help him stay hydrated. I was thinking anything over 102 was really bad. . . I tried to call my sister (the newborn ICU nurse), but couldn’t get through. We gave him some Motrin. . . and I was cursing myself because my sister said Tylenol was best for fever and I didn’t bring any. I was wondering if our thermometer was right. I could only see one thing to do.

We hopped in a taxi at 1 AM and went to the hospital. It was a quick trip and there is a nice international hospital here. His temp was 101.6 when we got there. The doctor said he might have an upper respiratory infection and gave us some antibiotics. He also gave us something for the cough and some baby Tylenol. I was so relived that it wasn’t more serious. I don’t know if I was just overreacting and it could have waited until morning. . . I am just so glad and relived that he is okay.

We got back to the hotel and gave him the medication. It still took him a while to get settled in and he slept on my chest for about 45 min. before we put him down. He slept from 3 AM – 6 AM and his temp was normal this morning. He is still not his usual happy self and still has some congestion, but the fever is broken and I hope he will get back to normal as soon as possible.

We fly out to Hanoi tomorrow.

The best laid plans

Tuesday Jan, 22, 12:25 PM

Well, yesterday we planned on going to downtown Saigon and do some shopping. We got all ready go, Spencer was in the Baby Bjorn (that has been a life saver, thank you Carolyn!) and we were all set. As we were waiting for the shuttle, Spence wasn’t his usual chipper self, he was slightly fussy and had a wee cough. We deiced not to go and just laid low for the day.


I am glad we did, Spencer ended up having a rocky day. He was stuffy and we ended up using a nasal aspirator (snot snatcher) to clear him out. He was NOT a fan. He was just feeling miserable and we couldn’t help him. Later on that night he threw up his formula. . . poor guy.

Today he has been very low-energy and we have held him non-stop, he seems to like being close and snoozing on your shoulder. There is a clinic close by so, if he needs to see a doctor we have access no problem. It just sinks seeing him unhappy. Having a sister who is a pediatric nurse and doesn’t mind phones calls at all hours is truly a silver-lining!

Food Glorious Food!

Monday Jan. 21, 2008: 9:15 AM

My mom asked me about the food here and if we eat western food or traditional food. I thought I would share a bit about that. The answer to the question is, both.

We have been able to try some wonderful traditional foods. We have had curry, horfun, pho, sushi, and lots of fish and lots of noodles. I think my favorite is pho, it is a rice noodle soup with your choice of meat added. I have had it almost every day we’ve been here. I have had chicken (ga), beef (bo) and beef cut called nam. It has been great to try new foods.



We are also really lucky in the fact that a breakfast buffet is part of our accommodations. This is such a beautiful hotel. The buffet has all sorts of choices, pancakes, waffles, eggs, sausage . . . . you name it, even corn flakes. They also have a beautiful array of fresh fruits. They also have traditional breakfast too. This morning I had OJ, salmon, sushi, noodles with shrimp and bread with blue cheese. . . delicious!



Dave had a more western style breakfast this morning and it is still just as yummy.


Since we’ve been here we also have had pizza and burgers and some other American foods. We have a little snack zone in the hotel room as well. We have both Asian and American snacks. We have wasabi cashews and some local crackers as well as Ritz and pop-tarts. So we are pretty well set.


It has been fun to try new things and experience Vietnam. Today we are going downtown to district one. They have some good shopping and I am in need of a new book. I finished my teeny-bopper vampire book (and LOVED it, thank you Tiffani for the recommendation). Dave brought 5 books with him. . . 5! He has finished 2 and is on the 3rd. I scoffed when he packed five 700 page books. . . now I see the wisdom in it. So, perhaps I can find the sequel to the vampire book downtown. I will take lots of pictures and maybe find some good things to bring home.

I just love my two guys. . .

Final Countdown

Sunday January 20, 2008: 10:30 AM

These last few days have been wonderful. Spencer sleeps through the night. . almost. He goes down at 8 PM and then gets up once during the night for a diaper or bottle or both. He wakes up every morning at 6 AM. He is our little alarm clock. The other night he slept through from 8-6, that was really nice.

The only down side is that Spencer’s crib is right in the middle of the action and if he hears us talking, or moving around, or going through luggage he wakes up and pulls himself up by the side of the crib to see what is happening. The little guy likes to be part of the fun. So, at 8 PM things around here shut down, no talking, no coughing, not a peep. So it looks like Dave and I have an early bed time too.


The truly bizarre part of the routine is that since we have been here in Saigon, every evening, at the same time, like clock work, loud music is played in the courtyard outside our window. Apparently this hotel is very popular for holding wedding receptions. The music is the same every night . . . at about 8:30 when Spencer has drifted off (we hope) they play the wedding march. It played so loudly that it almost sounds like it is inside our room, not outside the window. Then the next song is “My Valentine” - Martina Mcbride, and without fail the final song they play is the synthesizer opening to “The Final Countdown”. . . I know, WEIRD! This same music has played every night for the last 3 nights and I think it will happen again tonight. I will keep you posted.

The first night it happened we held our breath and hoped Spencer wouldn’t wake up, and he slept through it. So far every night he has slept through it, but let me tell you if Dave or I cough or blow our nose, the boy is up and not happy. At least he sleeps through the music we don’t have any control over.

We have just been laying low and being with Spencer, we haven’t done any sight seeing or shopping. It has been great to just spend time as a family. Last night I did a load of laundry (in the bath tub) and Dave and Spencer spent some good quality time together.

Things here are going well.

Spencer’s favorite game

1. Play on the bed



2. Crawl towards the edge as fast as he can



3. Mom or dad pull him back to the center



4. Laugh and start over again

Back again

Friday Jan. 18, 2008: 1:20 PM

Well, here we are back in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). Yesterday was great. We flew from Da Nang back here so we can get going on more paper work. Because this is such a busy time of year in Vietnam (it being so close Tet, the Vietnamese New Year) flights are hard to come by. So we flew business class, because that is all that was available. WOW it was nice. At first I was bummed about paying extra, but when the only other choice is wait until after Tet, I could live with it. Now that I have flown business class. . . I don’t want to go back! It was so great. So much room, and even though it was only an hour flight, they served us pâté and fruit with drinks. I could get used to this.

Spencer was a trooper. Not one tear or unhappy moment. He was very curious about the widow shade and wanted to touch everything. Once the plane took off he snoozed for the hour flight and was just perfect. I hope this is a sign of things to come when we fly for 15 hours back home between Taiwan and LAX. Here’s to hoping!



Once we checked into the hotel, father and son had some quality time and I ran to the store to pick up some things. That was an adventure. There are no stop lights or traffic controlling devices. It is just a river and you go with the flow. Crossing the street is scary. . . you just walk out into oncoming traffic with a steady pace and people drive around you. You just hope that no one kills you. . . quite scary.

When I got back from the store Dave and Spencer were having a great time. Then. . . it happened. . . we had our first major crying fit. For about 2 hours, Spence was NOT happy. He was crying and wouldn’t be consoled. I felt so helpless, he was dry and didn’t want a bottle and was just so unhappy. After about 2 hours. . . he finally went down. He slept from 9 PM to 2 AM and needed a bottle and change then was down 2:30 AM until 6 AM. We hope that tonight is better. . . He is a pretty good sleeper at night, but his naps during the day. . .not so much.

Today we applied for a Vietnamese passport for our little guy and he had a medical. Everything looks great!We also got his visa photo taken. So, now we wait. The passport should be processed and ready by next Wednesday and we head to Hanoi and Thursday to face the US visa process. Two weeks from today we should be heading home. It is great to be here in this wonderful place, but at the same time I can’t wait to get home and have a space just for Spencer and get things settled in.

January 17 - Da Nang

Karla asked me to post a quick update to the blog. What she said: "I think the crowd would like to hear from you, too." What she meant: "I need some quality time with the boy. Run along now." :-)

We've had an incredible couple of days. Even though Spencer is the main event, we have been overwhelmed with the beauty of Vietnam and the kindness of everyone we've met here. We will certainly come back some day when Spencer is older so we can properly enjoy a vacation here as a family, without having to deal with all the paperwork and process of the adoption.

Spencer seems to be taking to things rather well. He has been cheerful (throwing that million-dollar smile around that Karla posted yesterday), and he slept from 11 to 6 last night without stirring. We couldn't believe it! I think the high point for Spencer was taking his bath in the hotel sink last night; it took him about two seconds to discover how much fun it is to splash water all over Mom and Dad. We're wondering when this honeymoon will end, but for now we're enjoying it while we can.


The phrase that keeps coming to mind as we observe this kid is how curious he is about everything. The orphanage he comes from is orderly and very clean, but it's pretty much in the middle of nowhere, with minimal stimulation aside from the creative nannies who have looked after him. So he is constantly being exposed to new things as we travel. He greets every sound, surface or sight he encounters with fascination and enthusiasm. Yesterday afternoon we spent about two hours walking around the perimeter of the hotel room while he touched every surface (mirrors, windows, couches, light switches) for several minutes. On a walk down the corridor last night, he tracked each overhead light fixture until he could no longer see it, then latched onto the next one farther down the hall. He's certainly in a completely new world.

Today we are headed back to Ho Chi Minh City to initiate the process of getting Spencer a passport. We'll be there for several days before heading up to Hanoi to complete the visa process. We'll continue taking pictures and posting as we can. Thanks to all of you for your well-wishes and prayers.

The Day. . .

Wednesday January 16, 2008, 2:30 PM

Well, it is 100% official, Spencer Huynh is now a part of our family!

Yesterday was wonderful. We met Spencer for the first time at the orphanage. I think all the kids were a little shell-shocked. They had little confused looks on their faces. As soon as I saw Spencer, I just choked up and felt overwhelmed with love. I got a little teary and felt so much gratitude. This little guy was so amazing. We got to spend two hours there and it was great, not only to hold Spencer for the first time and play with him, but to also hold the other babies and tell them how much their parents love them. For every child there, we know there are parents just waiting for the green light to bring them home. It was a very emotional and special day.


This morning we headed out early, 7:30 AM to go to the G&R. It took us about 90 min. to get to the magistrate’s office. As soon as we arrived there was Spencer waiting for us, he looked so cute in the outfit, he was also wearing a pink hat from the orphanage. It was great to see him again and he seemed to slightly remember us, or at the very least, he wasn’t as freaked out.


We had some time before the G&R to be with Spencer. He got to feed him a bottle and be with him and one of the nannies. It was great to just have some quiet time with him.


They called our name and we went to sign the papers. It was finally official. We sat before a judge with Spencer in our arms and signed the papers that legally completed the adoption.




Once the papers were signed we had the ceremony. We went to a lovely room with the name of the province and the Vietnamese flag. There was also bust of Ho Chi Minh and we all sat at a long conference table. The local officiator asked us to keep Spencer’s Vietnamese culture alive and to bring him back some day to see this beautiful country. We were all teary eyed and thanked them for such special children to be part of our lives.




Our initial reaction to Spencer is that he is very curious. He wants to see everything, touch everything and explore all that he can! He was very outgoing at the orphanage and today was no different. When we were heading home the guy was pretty tuckered out. He took a nap for about an hour and we got back to the hotel.



Once we got back, he got some great time playing with dad and he loves to smile! We are so blessed to have Spencer in our life. All is well . . . . all is well.