Halloween, Football and Fall fun........

Emma has been home 14 weeks and she is doing great! Words are now coming out in small sentences and she understands alot more than she can verbalize. I thought she might be scared of Halloween because she does not like the dark and she did not like all the scary Halloween decorations.....I was wrong. She of course was a princess, and she loved Halloween. She went trick or treating with our neighborhood kids and once she caught on she could not be stopped. She ran as hard as she could from house to house. Her veil had to go because it slowed her down. After we finished trick or treating she sat on our steps and passed out candy. I don't think she found one candy she liked but she could have cared less.

Emma went to her second OU football game where we met my college roommate who Emma thinks is the greatest. This time we stayed until mid third quarter which would not have been possible if we had not had empty seats around us.

Last week Emma had some sad times, which may be some sort of grieving that she cannot communicate to me. She also had a crown put on a tooth that was causing her pain which may have been part of her problem, but this week has started out good, her typical happy self.

Eleven weeks home....

Emma's transition is amazing. She is a very happy child and is trying hard to fit into her new life. She is now talking in a few small sentences of which the first one was "I don't like that one." She's also picking up a few spanish words so Emma currently is using english, vietnamese, spanish and jibberish to communicate - it's quite an interesting mix.

She loves school. My first teachers conference went well - Emma is right on track in most areas but could use improvement with her loud voice. She is very social at school and has adjusted well to full days. She's been to a birthday party for one of her classmates who she now refers to as "Happy birthday Henry". She also plays school soccer (or at least she is on the team) and although her idea of soccer is chasing her little girlfriend on the team she is having fun.

She does not like the Halloween decorations at all. In the stores she makes a face everytime we come across anything halloween. She does not like the dark at all. If it is dark she is supposed to be in bed and there is no changing her mind on this.

First round of shots are done, all blood work is done and 1/3 or her post-placement homestudy is done.

Seven weeks today......

Emma Duong has been home seven weeks today! She is really adjusting well and has a happy personality (well, unless you tell her no!). She has moved up to full day school and reports back from her teachers is that she is doing great. She has made a couple of friends at school. One is three and the other is her age - 5. Last week we got her Certificate of Citizenship in the mail and Emma Duong took it to school for show and tell. Emma Duong of course has no idea what it is but it has her picture on it so she loves it.

The most common word used to describe Emma Duong by people who have observed her in action is fearless. She hesitates for a bit when trying something new but when she finally does she watch out! She loves parks and playground equipment, she loves her bike and she loves to run. Unfortunately all of these activities require boundaries to be set and that is currently a big problem for us. Running is okay since I run myself I can keep her under control. The bike is definately a problem and even the playground is a problem because she just takes off and never looks back to see where I am. The language barrier is hurting us in this category. Since she is fearless, on Monday she is starting a gymnastics class once or twice a week - I think she will love it.

Emma Duong talked on the phone to her little buddy from Vietnam who was adopted at the same time as Emma D. The converstion was short and mainly just saying her name but Emma D. was excited and has talked about her another child at the orphanage quite a bit since the phone call. I have a picture of the 3 kids in her room and since the call she has slept with the picture. She doesn't act sad but she does expect to see them soon.

Emma D's uncle came to see her this week. There were a few tears shed when he arrived - the last time she had seen him was in Vietnam. She recognized him and all we can determine is that she thought he might take her away. She is still unsure of what is happening in her life and daily needs assurance that I am going to be there. She will point to herself and me and if I say yes (ie we are going to be together that day) she is satisfied.

Oh, Emma Duong can sing Boomer Sooner.....

Miss Emma.........

Emma Duong has been home five weeks now and things are going well. She is a very happy little girl who is trying hard to fit into her new world. In five weeks Emma Duong has: started school at the Undercroft Montessori where she currently goes for 1/2 day and according to the teachers is delightful; attended her first OU football game successfully; and ran in her first 1km fun run with a time of 10 minutes 25 seconds (but who's counting).

Emma repeats almost everything you say but has yet to put english words into a sentence. She still jabbers non-stop in vietnamese but knows the important english words that help her get by: bathroom, hungry, no way, shopping and thank you.

I was told by her caregivers that she liked to sing and they were right. She sings non-stop. Once she has heard a tune a couple of times she has it down.. the words are a bit interesting but the tune is usually perfect. She sings at night in bed, she sings in the car, and now most of the tunes are from some sing-along cds she got at her Welcome Home shower. I have not heard a vietnamese song in awhile.

Each week is getting better and better for Emma and I and I am so looking forward to the day the language barrier goes away and we can talk. We do communicate well, but it is alot of pointing and one word sentences.

Emma's Welcome Home Shower.....

Saturday my great friends gave Emma Duong a "Welcome Home" shower. It was wonderful and Emma got many gifts. I was really unsure of how she would react, and yes she definately was over-stimulated, but she loved it and was really good. It did not take her long to understand that every present was hers and she had a blast opening and playing with her presents. As you can tell from the pictures the shower took a wrong turn when we came upon presents wrapped in purple and white (a color combination that Emma will learn to dislike). Inside the presents were all kinds items bearing some weird Kansas State Wildcat logo. Naturally one of the outfits she chose to wear the next day (yes we go through at least two outfits a day) was the awful purple and white. She still has alot to learn!!!!! Emma also got some dress up clothes that she ended the day in. She wants to wear them to school tomorrow but unfortunately for her, mom has the last word in what she wears to school.

Emma and I are definately adjusting to each other. For all she is going through she is doing great, probably better than I am right now. Although we can communicate with each other fairly well, I really miss the ability to ask her how she is doing and what she thinks about her new life. This week I am going to try and set up a meeting with a Vietnamese family that can talk to her and just make sure she is okay. Based on her actions alone I think she is fine but would like confirmation. She is picking up English words every day, Thank you, I love you, School, Mimi, Oh no, Patty, Bye bye, hot.... She still calls me the Vietnamese name for mom.

First Day of School.......

Today Emma started school and it was a successful day! Since we still have the language barrier I asked Thomas from my adoption agency to ride with me to drop her off and explain where she was going and that I would be back to pick her up. Thomas is from Vietnam and visiting the home office of my agency. Although it was obvious she was nervous and scared to get out of the car she did with no tears. School is only for an hour this week. When I came back to pick her up she was walked to my car by one of her teachers who said everything went well. The other teacher gave me two thumbs up. Parents are not allowed to get out of the car, it strictly pull in let your child get out with help from teachers and leave. Emma says school and I have heard this word several times today. Tonight we picked out her clothes for school and she was so excited. She understood exactly what were were doing. I know she misses being around children and the school setting has to be close to her days in the orphanage, or at least closer than spending everyday with me. I put Emma in school so soon for two reasons: 1. I did not want her to start in the middle of school when the other children were already comfortable with each other; and 2. She is 5 1/2 and very social. She has been with me for just 3 weeks and I already know that she is a child that needs to be around other children. School is starting very slowly with this first week at only one hour. Next week will be three hours and then when the teachers think she is ready school will go all day.

She is doing so well I am amazed. She no longer cries at bedtime but tonight did stomp her little leg when I put down our book and turned off the light. Stomping quit and she was asleep in 5 minutes. She loves taking a bath and figured out how to take a bath all on her own. I think it is really a condensed swim lesson as she is floating on her back and pushing off on end to the next most of the time, but still, she loves it. There are sad/tearful times but I am not sure what causes them. Tired? Communication issues? Sad? Probably a mix of all the changes in her little life. The sad/tearful times do not come often.

There are a few things that Emma does that are probably related to orphanage living. I found a banana in the hall closet. She eats like a little pig (but she is eating and I am glad). She is very independant. Although she is sleeping in my bed she wants no covers and does not use the pillow. She is very loud and can be rough if not watched when she is around other kids. When she falls, and she has several times, she laughs. I have never seen her cry from a mishap and some of them have been pretty hard.

Cats are traumatized, dog wonders why on earth this little one has moved in, but all in all we are doing great!

We are HOME!!!

Emma and I left Hanoi Friday at 7:15 pm and landed in Ho Chi Minh City around 10:00pm where we spent the night at the Rex Hotel one more time. Left Ho Chi Minh City for Hong Kong at 6:15 am Saturday. With only 3 hours of sleep, Emma was a trooper so early in the morning. United was kind enough to upgrade the first leg of our trip to business class. We had a two hour lay over in Hong Kong before heading to San Francisco. While waiting we met a Vietnamese family who lived in Denver and mapped out a plan for them to help me with the language barrier during the long flight. All of my concerns vanished when I met this wonderful family, but unfortunately they were flying standby and were bumped from my flight.

Entering the plane I asked for a Vietnamese speaking flight attendant but there were none, so they requested any passengers fluent in Vietnamese and English to please come forward. Passenger in row 40D ended up saving the day. Having been adopted himself he was more than happy to help and changed seats to sit with us for the 12 hour flight. Since Emma was done with the flight after 4 hours it was extremely helpful to have someone explain to her what was going on. Flight ended up being fine and really overwith faster than I thought it would be. In San Francisco my brother and his family were waiting to see us. We got to spend about 30 minutes with them before my next flight left for Denver.

From Denver we ran from gate 29 to 92 to get the commuter plane to Tulsa and arrived home at 6:20 Saturday evening.

This detail of my flight is for anyone traveling in the future. United has a great discount for adopting parents just keep in mind: 1) They do not fly out of Hanoi so you will have to pick up your visa and jump on a plane back to Ho Chi Minh City where you will have to spend the night to catch a 6:10am flight. 2) In total you will make 5 plane changes and one very short overnight...... It was hard but Emma made it through with flying colors.

I am so thankful to be home and Emma is holding up well. Very tired, but day one was a success. Trying hard to find food she likes. Found Cup of Noodles and she ate the whole thing for lunch. I know how hard and confusing this time must be in her little life and am now going to do my best to make this transition as smooth as possible. She spent quality time with her Mimi today and met several of my friends. Tomorrow I am leaving her with Mimi to check in at work for half a day..time to get life back in order. Oh, and I am not leaving the state of Oklahoma until our Hawaii vacation one year from now. There is no place like home - period. I understand this cannot feel like home to Emma, but it is her home now and she has alot of support in Oklahoma to make this her home as quickly as possible.

Emma Duong loves the water...........

Emma Duong is more comfortable every day in the pool. Stays in the kiddie pool and stays close to the edge but she jumps in forward and backwards and has a blast. This will be high on the list of things to do when we get home. She's had a good day. Three times at the pool. Shopping, the lake and time with the other family. Crying is still there but we are getting there and will be home soon to deal with our issues. I have no qualms about asking for help anymore. The engineer was in here tonight while she was crying and I had him talk to her.. It worked, she hasn't cried since he left!

She repeats everything I say to her. I think the language switch will be fairly easy when we get home and she has no one to converse with in Vietnamese. I don't think I have taped her voice here in Vietnam but I will try to do that quickly when I get home before she starts throwing in english with her vietnamese.

All of our paperwork is done and our agency is bringing us the sealed papers that the US Immigration will keep when we arrive in San Francisco tomorrow at 4pm. After that we are free to go home. Will catch a 7pm flight back to Ho Chi Minh City, check into the Rex and back to the airport for a 6am flight home!!!!

This hotel is great! Lots of international people here, on business, adopting, vacationing. Restaurant is the closest to home I have had since I've been here. Pool is fabulous. One note to people traveling - the washer/dryer is an all in one unit and Melanie and I both could not get our clothes dry. I did get one load of clothes washed while I was here and dried them on a clothes rack.

I love Hanoi..........

We are in Hanoi and I am loving it. Different character than Ho Chi Minh City. The hotel is great!!! On the 4th floor there is a awesome swimming pool and kiddie pool; outdoor playground; indoor playground and a restaurant that is really good. Within 10 minutes of the hotel is shopping (which Emma Duong loves to do) and a park. Only saw the park at night but our waitress said people take there kids there every day. I've got two days to burn and surely I can keep Miss Emma Duong on the go and happy here.

Plan ride was fine. Just like everyone warned, the seat belt was the struggle. Tears putting it on and then after we were airborne I didn't fight the battle. I am a bit worried about the plane trip home but my plan is to find someone who speaks vietnamese to help me on the trip to Hong Kong and then on the trip to San Fran. I am a pro at asking for help now and I know each part of the trip will go better if she can communicate.

My picture taking is slowing down but hopefully I can get some pictures tomorrow at the pool.

2 more days and then we're coming home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Leaving for Hanoi...........

Its Tuesday night and Emma Duong is asleep. Dancing Queen is being played in the bar and I must be right below the bar - its crystal clear.

Emma Duong is going to spend the rest of the trip going to everyone but me and I am trying to accept it and be thankful for the things that are going well.. If it is just the two of us she is in my arms and happy. Loves to sing while we are walking around. Since we cannot speak I decided to sing with her and having no imagination started singing Happy Birthday. Within a day she was singing the whole tune - don't know what words she is using but it cracked me up when I recognized what she was singing.

She had a blast today. Our taxi driver took us to his home to pick up his kids (a bit nervous here) and then to an amusement park (Vietnamese style and very different). After she warmed up to the kids she loved it and just chatted away. She hasn't been around people speaking Vietnamese in almost a week and this must have felt good to her.. She was holding hands with the taxi driver and all of his kids - she stayed clear of me...

Tonight our whole group went out to eat with the agency's staff in HCMC.. Great food. Probably the best since I have been here (well, Pizza Hut is good too). Ditto, she stayed clear of me.

I have made one huge mistake...I have not fed her enough. From day one she has said no to white rice, fried rice, noodles. She has pretty much existed on fruit, chips and bread. She is so thin I thought she just did not eat. Well today at the amusement park, with the Vietnamese family, we at family style rice and seafood and chicken. She put the food away. When we got home and after a short swim (jump in with her clinging on, walk around a couple times in the shallow end and she wants out) we came up to the room and she started crying. She had just eaten a huge lunch so I thought she could not be hungry. Made her stay in the room for an hour, then we ran some errands and coming into the hotel she started tearing up again. I went to the front desk and asked them what she wanted - she was hungry!!!!! Was given direction to a vietnamese style restaurant and she ate. I wonder if any other crying could have been avoided if I had just fed her???? I know the vietnamese word for hungry now and I am trying to teach her hungry.

Our paperwork seems to be just fine and we will be picking up our visas Friday afternoon. I know the flight is going to be long and interesting with Emma Duong but I am so ready to come home...

Passport and airline tickets......

Monday we accomplished alot!! Emma Duong has a passport and I have round trip tickets to Hanoi. Right now we have an appointment in Hanoi on Thursday which means we can pick up the visas on Friday and come home! Emma and I have to come back to Ho Chi Minh on Friday to catch a six am flight on Saturday. All of this travel is going to be interesting to say the least. She is hanging in there so far...hoping she is up for a full day of travel. Minh will be on our flight Friday night so hopefully he can explain to her what to expect.

Tuesday our cab driver is taking us to a new park with his children.

I am ready to come home......

"Uncle take me home".........

Sunday morning, my first day on my own with Emma Duong (my brother who was so nice to travel here for the first part of my trip has a family and work to get home to) and it started out about the same. Arms folded and crying first thing in the morning. Went up to breakfast where she actually did eat some fruit and bread. Met our cab driver from last night at eight am to go back to the zoo, I think routine days are important right now... She hopped into the cab and zipped out "Uncle take me home"!!! Very sad but you gotta laugh. This cab driver is my hero. He is pretty good with english and understands her situation. He told her she was not going home, she was going to the park and she was a lucky lucky little girl. He met us after we were done at the zoo and is going to be our taxi for the rest of our stay in Ho Chi Minh City. Tomorrow he is picking us up at eight and taking us to a different park - yea, I really cannot look at these animals one more day without causing problems.

Emma was bold at the zoo today. She got on three rides and also played in a playground. Some things just tear your heart out - she stumbles quite a bit in her shoes (which do fit by the way) on the playground equipment. I just don't think she has ever been on anything like what she was today. Ladders were a bit tough, she can do them just very unsure. Each ride she picked out she never smiled. Stone faced and hanging on riding right along with the 3 year olds who were squealing. I know she liked it because when she got off she was quite excited.

After the zoo, our taxi driver met us and she ran to his car when she saw him....getting used to being driven around. Back to the room to rest but it ended up in tears. Tried to let her cry herself to sleep but she never did. So, we got up and went shopping and to KFC. Doesn't like anything at KFC.... Bought two new pairs of shoes and sat with the ladies who sold them to us for awhile and let them talk to her. Everyone is so curious and they all ask alot of questions. Emma will not answer anyone or if she does it is very softly (well, except for the Uncle take me home comment). I thought she would respond to people speaking vietnamese but she really does not... This time when we came back home we had goodies for her and she was in a good mood.

Here is what I am really proud of her about today. The last two days I have taken her up to the rooftop and shown her the pool. Scared to death. Today we walked up there and watched a daughter and dad swim and play. Emma laughed. Mid afternoon I changed her into her bathing suit, put mine on (no one will ever see pictures of that) and we headed back up. Emma watched while I got in for about 5 minutes. No way was she getting in. Back to the room. One hour later she started pointing up and ran and put her suit on. Clinging to me for dear life we both got in. She never took her arms from around my neck or her legs from around my waist but we stayed in 15 to 20 minutes. She really liked it. Tomorrow she will probably loosen up even more.

Back to Pizza Hut for dinner where they recognize us and are so nice. Manners eating out do not exist. How would she know what to do?? Staff helped me by talking to her about staying in the booth, once again people coming to my rescue - everyone is so nice to us. Pizza Hut is on the fourth floor of a Dillard's type department store. Got her a cute kitty cat jacket and purse on the way out.

Its seven pm and Emma is out. Must have been a long day for her. She is great at night. We got here at six, played on computer for awhile, she got on the bed and started looking at her books and the next thing I know she is out.

Successful day even if she wants Uncle to take her home.......

Pictures from the zoo.......

A morning at the zoo......

Woke up today with arms folded across chest. Not a good sign. Tears all the way through breakfast where she ate nothing at all. Jumped into a cab for $2 and went to the zoo. We spent four hours at the zoo and had a pretty good time. She was kind of interested in the animals but there are little rides and games that really got her attention. Scared to death to get on any of the rides but finally I just plopped her down on a ride that is probably made for 3 year olds and under. She did okay and wanted to ride one more. That broke the ice to try a tiny car go cart which is again was probably made for younger than her but she did it - no problems at all. She was ready to get out but good strides in the right direction. She really perked up when she saw the bikes. These bikes were probably 20 years old and rusted but she wanted to go. I held the handle bars because from the pictures I have seen she is only used to training wheels and from the way she rode I am sure she would have fallen if I had let go. She loved it.. Not scared and wanted to go and go and go. I heard her tummy growling this morning when she got up - at the zoo I think she took care of that problem for awhile. She ate three bags of some kind of chips and part of a bag of cherries. She picked them all out and it is food which she is not eating alot of, so yes, it is bad food but that is the most she has eaten since she left the orphanage.

We are back in the room and she is playing in her fort with all of her toys. We have been back over an hour and so far so good. I think later we are going to try a trip shopping, maybe Pizza Hut for dinner and then back for our 8pm bedtime.

Note to animal lovers traveling to Vietnam..... um, I am desparate to find something to help Emma Duong's grief and this was a great distraction. I would rather not comment or think about the living condition of the animals in the zoo. There are shows going on and the small kids amusement park and a train that you can ride around the park if you want out with your kiddo. The grounds are well kept. $2 cab ride from the Rex....

Fingers are crossed today!

On a brighter note....

We are having tough days but so far the nights are great. Sound asleep at 8pm up around 6am. Crossing my fingers that this routine continues..... In so many ways she is a good girl. This is just so tramatic for her. Several people have told me that many children grieve like she is for a few days. We'll make it.

No words are necessary.....

G&R and crying in Ho Chi Minh........

I just adopted a 5 year old who does not like me!!!! G&R went fine. We went to a small room off the street to meet with the big officials and signed the documents that made Emma Duong mine. Everything went okay, although she still preferred everyone in the room to me. Bus trip to Ho Chi Minh was 4 hours and two ferrys. Emma Duong threw up half way to Ho Chi Minh, but she was able to communicate with me that her tummy hurt and therefore we saved a big mess. Miss C. from my adoption agency helped Emma Duong during this trip which has proved to be fatal to me right now. In the hotel lobby Emma Duong started crying and holding onto Miss C.. Made that transition okay, but after we all took a trip Pizza Hut (finally something I am used to) I got back in the room and a 45 minute crying and screaming episode started. Dick finally came in and calmed her down and she went to bed no problem. All day today we have been 2 seconds away from crying. There have been a few good moments but they don't last. Every vietnamese person I talk to says she is asking for Miss C. Took her to breakfast where she cried - we left. Took her to a late lunch where she cried (I did this after a store clerk told me she was hungry!!!) so we left. Had our doctors visit today. The doctor we saw today said she was undernourished - topping off at 29 pounds.... He said coming from an orphanage this was very common. He also asked questions like how are we getting along - boy did he get an ear full! I think he knew without asking because the other family was in the room and Emma Duong had plopped herself down with them in hopes of becoming a part of their family I am sure. Other than that shes okay.

Things that are working right. Showed her the bathroom once and that was it. She goes. Maybe I have to give her toilet paper, but we observed the children going outside at the orphanage so that she goes in the bathroom is a very good thing. It's not that alarming that the children go outside, on the way to An Giang we found out grown ups go outside too... She goes to bed great! I bring out her pjs, we change, I pull down the covers and she jumps in, no sounds, no hesitation (2 nights in a row now). She took a bath great....so many day to day things she does without a whimper or question - I think this is from orphanage living.

Oh, she is scared to death of the swimming pool. Didn't need to pack swim suits...

Wish me luck...........

Last day at the orphanage

We found out today coming home from the orphanage that our G&R is tomorrow at 9:00 am. We will pick the girls up at 8:30 and take them to the G&R. Emma Duong has asked for new clothes for tomorrow! I think that is what she is focusing on - new things that are hers and hers alone. I am sure that is how they have prepared her for this transition. I really don't think she has a clue about what is about to happen to her - how could she? She still has to be told to come to me and she stays clear of Dick completely. She does look at us alot. Today I used my camera to get her attention. She actually got pretty good with taking pictures and we were able to communicate about how to handle the camera and take the picture. So she went from fingers in the lens to okay pictures. She was also careful with the camera and it still works! The caregivers loved her taking pictures and were yelling for their pictures to be taken.

Third day in An Giang......Getting better

Today when we arrived Emma Duong came out to meet me. I am sure she was told to go to me but I was prepared with pringles, a beanie baby and candy. I know that sounds bad, but I'm just trying to connect and if it is with bribery right now so be it. Each day the kids have been the most excited over the candy, so I went to the store and stocked up. I also brought my computer which has many pictures of Emma Duong and her friends on it. They love to look at pictures of themselves. Looking at pictures warmed her up a bit and started our day off on a good note. My computer took a beating but seems to have survived. Today we were told to bring our presents. They were all left on Emma Duong's bed which was probably not the best idea. All the kids were rummaging through everything. Emma Duong loved the clothes even though they were too small for her....guess no matter what a girl's background is clothes are important. She is going to be fun to shop with. I also had the dillon staff sit down with Emma Duong and I and go through the book I made her of her family. She gets real quite and whispers when asked about the pictures in the book. She kept going back to the picture of the house and pointing. Chen would talk to her and she would nod like she understood at some level what she was being told. For every picture they will have her repeat the word in english, for instance the picture of my house they will say the vietnamese name for home and then say it in english and have her repeat it. She still has great reservations about me, but is was a better day. They push her too much with making her come to me and when we were leaving they were trying to make her hug and kiss me which is jut wrong but its hard to make them understand its okay for her to be standoffish right now.

This morning we find out if our G&R is today. We all really hope so. We have been in An Giang since Sunday and the orphanage 3 times. Its just time to move on and start working on the paperwork so that we can get home. We did find out yesterday that the passport pictures were taken yesterday by the orphanage staff. They took Emma Duong and Mya on a motorbike to get their pictures taken. I would love to have that picture. Two little girls probably having the time of their life.

Hopefully my next post will be from Ho Chi Minh..............

Internet Cafe

Got up this morning and headed to a nearby internet cafe so that I could download some pictures...enjoy. I wish I had brought my running shoes, a good run would help my spirits right now! Right across from this cafe is a little open restaraunt (they are everywhere this one just happens to be across from me while I am writing this) Hu Tieu Nam Vang. A little girl about 9 is helping her mom serve food and collect money. I've watched her dodge at least 3 motor bikes. There are 3 resident dogs who are living the life Grete would like to live - begging food from every table (usually successfully). No they are not clean, but Grete in a heartbeat would give up clean for this life!! Patty and Jill - want me to bring one back to you? I have so far counted 3 cats in Vietnam, one of which was on a leash. Why is this? Not dwelling on it. Sandy, looks like I won't be bringing Gypsy a friend. Just spotted dog number 4 riding with a mother and daughter on a motor bike... Today I am going to try bribery at the orphanage. Stopping to get candy and am taking my laptop - they love to look at their pictures on our cameras, so maybe if I have a bunch of pictures to show I might get her attention for a bit...

Road to orphanage..

This is where they drop us off and we have to walk the rest of the way to the orphanage. Its unreal the shacks we pass and the living conditions. There is always signs of life: people cleaning out their shacks, working outside, watching tv, a few dogs and cats..it is amazing. Most come to the door and look at us, I wonder what they think of us.

Having fun....

These are staged pictures I promise..