Almost Official!

It's been a crazy couple of days and I do have tons of great pictures to post, but while I have a minute, I thought I would write with the update. We arrived late on Monday night and the very next day, we were taken to the center two hours north of Hanoi. The roads are hardly roads- well, sometimes they were- and the van taking us bumped all the way there. When we arrived, Thuy (with our agency) took us to the baby room. I recognized Phoebe immediately, and it was as if she recognized me too. Diana had prepared me to have clothes and a diaper ready and tho' Phoebe was sleepy, she let me take care of her. Her caregivers ranged from a 12 year old to a 60 year old, all who seemed very sad to see her go. The center is very clean and the babies are truly loved and cared for. Soon enough, we turned around and headed back to the hotel in Hanoi. Phoebe slept the whole way, bless her heart. That night, she ate and slept and made me think I might have found the best baby ever! And yes, she is pretty close to that, but today, reality set in and I am relying on coffee to keep up with her. For the second day in a row, we heading back to the Vinh Phuc province for our Giving and Recieving ceremony this time. (8 hours in that van on those roads in two days was a killer- my parents are still sleeping it off as we speak!) The ceremony was really beautiful and touching. The birth mother attended. She is a young woman who works as a farmer. She told Thuy to tell me she is only giving Phoebe up b/c she is unmarried and quite poor. I felt for her and we had a nice moment together sharing some love from Phoebe. ( I promise pix soon.)

Back at the hotel, I must say how struck I am by the warmth and love of the Vietnamese people. Young, old, male, female, they instantly want to take the baby from you (like now!) and hug and play with her as long as you will let them. What a blessing they are! How lucky Phoebe is to be born here.

She and I are getting on well, learning eachother as we go. Just wanted to write these fews lines from my first days of motherhood. More soon, I promise.

xoxo nan