The Moment

Sorry I haven't blogged in forever! I have been very very sick! It started when we first got back and I ate some American food but then it somehow moved right on into something more serious. I am feeling much better today but I don't want to over do it and be back laying on the couch moaning and clutching my stomach. I was hoping to get my test results back yesterday but my doc hasn't called yet. We think it must be a parasite or something like that. The doc at Urgent care thinks I got it in Thailand and it finally activated itself. Goody....just what I always wanted.

Nok is doing great. She has adjusted very quickly and seems thrilled to be here most days. A few days ago I had gotten some pictures back and gave her some. I nearly cried because I missed Thailand so much but Nok never shed a tear. She did laugh at the way she looked in some of the photos. Most of the time she was giving me her most fierce face and even letting me know she couldn't stand me but I took the pic anyway. Now I know she regrets acting that way. When I pull out the camera now she smiles and she's even learning to pose like Cody does!

We don't make a big deal out of halloween but Cody does like to dress up a little and trick or treat in safe places. This year Cody was a Tiger and Nok was a cat. It was very interesting trying to paint whiskers on Nok's face w/ eyeliner while she continuously wiped it away. I finally convinced her to be still and not wipe it and leave the cat ears on. She thought we were so silly until we got to the shopping center and all the other kids were dressed up too. Then she thought it was fun to hold out her little bag for candy. The first place we hit the lady insisted Nok say "trick or treat" before she would give her candy. Nok just smiled and held out her bag. After the gal insisted a few times I finally laughed and told her Nok doesn't speak English. Talk about wanting to melt into the floor! The poor gal was so embarrassed she gave Nok extra lol! The girls feasted on candy and played some games and I learned something new about my kids. Cody is determined and has the desire to make it work for her, Nok is determined and demands it works for her! She wouldn't play the games at first and I asked several times. You could tell she thought it childish at first. Then she saw how the game was actually played and that it was in fact challenging and then she nearly squirmed and begged to play. Right away she nearly got it right. She had the right idea but it took a few minutes to get it and then I thought for a moment she was actually going to throw up her hands and shout that she did it. But then of course, she remembered herself and just grinned. I cheered for both of my girls and they won some play dough. I had Cody show Nok right away to not put the play dough in her mouth but to shape it instead. Oh my goodness! She loved it! Looks like play dough will be on Nok's Christmas list.

The Pumpkin Patch was a whole new story. This kid loves the maze!!!! When we first went in she was a bit nervous but then when she realized we were all looking for each other she began running! I could hear her racing through the maze laughing under her breath and snickering when she tricked Cody and headed another direction. Since I was so sick I wasn't able to play long, so I ended up sitting w/ Tommy on a bench and just listening to the girls laughing and running through the maze. Then Nok roasted a marshmallow for the first time. Roasted is the key word here. She just kept lighting it on fire and snickering until I finally took it and pulled it off the stick. She ate it and thought it over, raced through the maze and came back to watch Dad make smores. She loves smores! Finally, Cody showed her where the haunted house was. They were both too scared to go in the big one but the little one was light w/ windows so they went in and Nok just laughed and laughed. We stood outside the door watching her while she prodded and poked at the heads and innards and pointed and giggled at the skeletons. Then we bought little pumpkins for them and I am sure to find them in about 2 months stashed in a drawer somewhere.

We carved pumpkins a few days ago and the girls cleaned the insides out for me. Nok thought it was gross but of course she paused and smiled for the camera. She did think pumpkin carving was strange but neat when I finished. We made a Sun a Moon and a Star. We talked about God's creation and how wonderful it is that He allows us these neat things called pumpkins, and that halloween was originally All Saints Day. Now All Saints Day is November 1st.

We are schooling about 45 minutes to an hour a day. I start loosing Nok's attention about 40 minutes into the lesson so yesterday I tried throwing in a snack in the middle of the lesson. Didn't work. There is just too much going on at home for her to pay attention and she wants soooo badly to be at school. You can tell she loves school. The first day we took Cody in to school after we got back home, Nok headed right to a classroom and seemed perfectly at ease. The Kindergarten teacher is a child magnet and Nok is nuts about her. When we left Cody there and headed for the door Nok was suddenly depressed. I am calling the district again today to see if they can fit her in a couple days a week now instead of starting in the new semester. I think Nok will be much happier and learn a lot more that way. Besides, I am not a teacher and I've never claimed to be. I think it will be smoother on us all and allow Nok some time away from the house. Everyone needs a day off now and then.

Being sick has allowed me plenty of time to think. Mostly about my stomach ache but every now and then I think about how different things are now, but again how they haven't changed at all. We have added a new family member and we couldn't be happier. I know we'll face tough times, everyone does at some point. Even w/ biological children, parents can feel overwhelmed, but we took an even bigger challenge when we took a teen w/ a developmental delay. I know we will eventually see defiance again, maybe a lot of grieving and home sickness, hard times and easy times. But right now I can be happy and say this is the best thing we ever did. I am living in the moment.

Every night at bed time I kiss Cody and then turn to Nok and kiss the air around her face and say Good night ladies. Last night Nok forgot herself and kissed back at me. She quickly realized she had goofed and hadn't meant to do that so she covered her face w/ her blanket and giggled while Dad and I just cracked up laughing. We'll try it again tonight and see how much of an accident it was!

Getting Settled

The arrival home was interesting. The pilot had announced the temperature was about 36 degrees but I think our bodies had quickly forgotten what 36 degrees felt like! Nok was freezing so we rushed to the car. The girls fell asleep and we chatted w/ Darlene until we got home. The first thing I noticed was the trees. The leaves had already fallen! I missed it all! I missed the glorious orange of the Locust tree and the brilliant yellow of the various different trees in our yard and out by the horses. I shrugged it off and focused on greeting my doggies. When I walked in the kitchen I dropped to my knees and took my little doggies in my arms and giggled and petted them like crazy. They had looked at me like I was a stranger they enjoyed visiting w/ every once in a while! We had decided we would surround Nok a bit so the dogs wouldn't scare her too much but she wasn't afraid at all. Cody started showing her around. It was about 1 in the morning and we ended up winding down about 4:30. Yeah, I've never been accused of being the brightest crayon in the box lol!!! Even less brilliant was getting up again at 7:30. But we just couldn't sleep and Nok needed boots and tennis shoes. I couldn't expect her to wear flip flops when it just snowed last week. So, I went shopping. I never thought I'd see the day when I loathed shopping.

Nok has learned sooooo much in just a short amount of time. Just today she really opened up and began saying phrases and words! When we ordered something to drink today she automatically thanked the guy w/out us prompting her to do so! We cheered her on and made a huge deal of it. She grinned the biggest grin and ducked her head. This morning when we dropped Cody off at school, Nok really wanted to stay. She kept walking around looking at the classrooms and smiling at everyone. When I said it was time to go she seemed very disappointed. She has taken a liking to the Kindergarten teacher and I so wish we could find a teacher just like her to help Nok through these tough times.

This post will be short since I am just exhausted. Sorry, everyone! I will come back w/ some good stuff when I've had some rest!

Going Home

First, I want to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. Just knowing I had an army out there behind us was enough to motivate me to keep going. Some days I wanted to just give up....and some days I was determined enough to get past a certain immigration worker haha! I appreciate all of your wonderful comments and encouragement. You may never know how much it truly means to me!

So, we were there at the Embassy at 1:30 on Wednesday. We had to go first to Home Land Secuity to pick up the Visa approval at 9:30 or 10 so we were way early getting to the Embassy. We sat and watched the various people coming and going. We saw an older couple (an American man and Thai woman) who looked as if they had been married for years and years. They were so cute together. Then we met a nice young family there. The man was an American and the woman was Thai and their baby was just so cute! Naturally, there was your garden variety pedofile and pervert hovering in the area. We waited forever it seemed and finally the Embassy windows closed. I double checked to make sure we had the right day and time and it was correct. Wednesday the 18th at 3pm. Pretty soon it was 3 and the windows still didn't open. 3:30 rolled around and I started to worry. Then a nice guy came out and called Nok and we collected her Visa. He smiled and said very sweetly "Congratulations!" We were happy parents!

That night we moved to a really nice hotel out by the airport. It took some doing to actually find it but it was awesome and the ride the next day was about 20-30 minutes to the airport. The hotel was called Avana (pronounced Awanna). Swimming pool, sauna, breakfast included! We loved it!


The flight out of Bangkok was a no brainer and Nok can sleep anywhere anytime! In Taipei she was being stalked by some guy headed to California from Vietnam but fortunately we weren't seated in the same area on the plane. From Taipei to L.A. was a real killer although it was 2 hours shorter than when we went to Thailand. Must have something to do w/ headwinds and tailwinds. I was happy about it though. We napped a bit and Nok slept like the dead! We loved the in flight movies and the service on EVA rocks! Nok had a rough time w/ the hamburger they served her and wasn't interested in having me show her how to eat it. Instead, she used her fork and knife and ate the bottom bun in little triangles then the burger then the top bun. It was really fun watching her expression when she tasted yogurt. I thought she was going to loose her lunch but she choked down the first swallow and shook her head and handed the container back to me.

When we got to L.A. we headed straight for a bathroom the didn't float and then went through customs. There was one family there before us so we only had to wait about 10 or 15 minutes. Then they told us to collect our bags. We were confused. They had told us in Bangkok that our bags would go on through to Denver but the customs agent said they tell everyone that but at the first customs stop you have to pick up your bags and then you can go on to your next flight. Talk about strange, but it was good that we did. Tommy's bag had been destroyed in the International flight and we were very surprised he didn't lose anything. They rushed out a brand new bag and he transferred it over. We started running for terminal 7, Nok was even running, but when we made it to the baggage check line we knew we wouldn't make our flight out. We had 20 minutes to make it and stood in line for an hour and a half. When we made it to the counter we told the lady what happened. They were all very rude and told us they would put us on stand by but the last flight out was in an hour a half and was overbooked. They told us to take some things out of our bags to stay the night at LAX and our luggage would go on through to Denver.....but it was very unlikely that we would be on the plane. I began sobbing and told the lady my 7 year old was waiting for me. She instantly softened and said she had done all she could, to go wait and good luck.

We sat down in the gate waiting area and ate McDonald's cheeseburgers and barely tasted what we were eating. We had so craved those burgers but our disappointment was too great. I began praying like crazy. I called my mother-n-law to tell her to let my sister-n-law and Cody know we didn't make our flight and she said "you're kidding!? Darlene and Cody headed to the airport early and they're there waiting!" I began crying again and whispered something back in response. She said she would pray for a miracle. Apparently she got off the phone and called some of my family and asked them to pray for a miracle as well. About 20 minutes later they began boarding the plane and we waited, barely breathing. Finally, they called Tommy and myself to the counter and she said "I don't have three seats together, I'm very sorry" and we said "We don't care! Just get us home!" We boarded the plane feeling like a great burden had been lifted and another had replaced it. Nok seemed very upset. When we had first arrived in L.A. she was looking for Cody and asking me where she was. I explained to her that we weren't quite home yet and she was disappointed but when I began crying at the baggage check-in counter that's when she knew something was wrong. She cried on the way to Denver and then fell asleep.

When we got to Denver I nearly wanted to kiss the floor in the airport! LAX is just such a nasty airport! We felt so dirty and filmy. But we had never been happier to see Denver (I didn't care for Denver much before). I told Nok that Cody was there. She looked at me w/ these great big watery brown eyes and looked like she didn't believe me. I repeated it w/ enthusiasm and she hurried and started looking. And then we saw them. I cupped my hand over my mouth, trying to hold back the tears but Cody was coming closer and I just couldn't stop crying. I took her in my arms and sobbed. Then, I introduced the girls and they were instantly attached! Tommy stayed in the sidelines the whole time, but I was certain that if he had bent down to take Cody in his arms right away he would've broken down right there in the airport. But he recovered better than I did! We collected our bags and started out across the parking lot. I looked back at the girls and Nok had her arm on Cody's back, ushering her across the parking lot just like we had been doing for Nok for the last 3 weeks. They were conversing in two different languages and smiling like crazy! Nok was speaking Thai as fast as she could and Cody was jabbering English right back to her! It was the sweetest moment ever!

At the Top of it All

Well, it's been another interesting day. So, this morning we headed straight to the Embassy for our 9:30 appointment. We were a bit early but we didn't mind. I mean, after all, we did have an appointment for 9:30AM, right? Ha! Someone is out there just playing jokes on us!

We went to the window as we were told. There were no available seats at all in the entire building either inside or out. The blinds were closed in our window, open in every other window but the one we were told to go to. Finally some guy came to the window and opened it to begin interviews and we told him we had an appointment at 9:30. He said to go to the next window and tell them, but to wait until exactly 9:30 to do it. I waited and then went to the window and stood forever of course. Finally this girl shows up very surprised to see us. Now this is the same girl who issued the appointment time yesterday! So, I told her why we were there and she said to wait once again. After a bit someone called us to the first window. He asked us some questions and asked Nok some too (this guy was a white guy w/ excellent Thai!). Then he wanted to know why we didn't get Nok vaccinated. We told him the doc had told us the Embassy changed the policy and vx were no longer needed. He laughed and said "yes, we still require them. Go back and get them and come back tomorrow. We'll issue the Visa Thursday or Friday." I nearly screamed! We are scheduled to fly out Thursday morning!!!!!!! So we told him. He said they only take paperwork dropoffs on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We nearly begged him and finally he said "I am leaving at 3. If you can get over there and get it done and back by 3, I will take it and you can pick up the Visa tomorrow afternoon. But I really doubt you can be back by 3 today. I'm very sorry". We ran from the room and leapt into a cab and prayed for smooth traffic. That was right at 11 O'clock. Now if you have ever been in Bangkok at nearly lunchtime you know how heavy and quite still the traffic can be. We had no appointment on top of that. And we were right back at the embassy at exactly Noon!!!!!!! God was smiling on us today!

When I made it to the security checkpoint I had left Tommy and Nok far behind (she walks as if she were 200 years old). I had the Visa Vaccinations and I was hard pressed to make it before they close at noon. The security guy held me up. He said they're closed. I said No! I need in now! This man told me to come back now! To hurry! The security guy laughed and repeated himself but they let me through. The guy was just leaving for lunch and I darted to the counter (after trying patiently not to run over the woman in front of me out on a Sunday walk through the Embassy waiting room). They were as shocked as I was that we made it back in time. He said "did you go? Are you ok? Did you get them done already?!" I said yes! Here they are! He said wow, ok where is the passport?

Ha! Nok was far behind me but I told the guy to wait. I darted once again and shouted for Nok to run. She did (a little) and I raced the passport back inside. They were laughing when they handed us the card that says to come back tomorrow at 3 to pick up the Visa. Finally......I laughed too. Then we had lunch and took a break for a bit before headed to the DSDW for another meeting. They had called us and wanted us to come back so they could see how well Nok has adjusted in a week. They were very surprised and happy that she seems much happier and more open to conversing. It went very well. She visited w/ them for a while and we relaxed and talked. They said there had been 3 meetings going on at the same time, and that the other board members were curious about us and wanted to meet Nok. They said she is the oldest child they have ever had leave the country by this form of adoption. I assume they mean not relative adoption but by foreign adoption. They asked alot of questions that were just repeats and quite a few new questions. We asked them if we could send additional updates and photos and they were very happy about that. We told them we would send the stuff by way of WACAP. They think very highly of WACAP and said over and again they were pleased to work w/ us and were happy that Nok seems content to go now. Talk about happy....by tomorrow after we pick up the Visa I will be nearly on top of the world! Or at least nearly on top of the equator......

Time to Spare

Another day....another dollar. For someone else. I cannot stand the immigration officer at INS. He has made things miserable for us! We should've been done on Thursday last week but he insisted we come back this morning. We finally have our Visa appointment for tomorrow morning but he told us to expect alot of questions and to even expect them to deny us. WHY!?!?! No one can tell really. No one knows. They just keep saying things like "She's slow, why do you want a slow child? One who is retarded?" And I just so wanted to ask him "why does your wife want a slow retarded husband???"
So, lemme go back a bit to last week. I am going to have to skip over alot that I wanted to say just to bring you all up to speed on the happenings. So we showed up for the DSDW meeting. We were early along w/ everyone else but it was a pleasant wait. Nok couldn't stand us and most of the time she still can't but she is tolerating us more and more every day. At the meeting we were given Nok's passport since they didn't get it to us before so we could get the medical done. We had tried to call for 2 days to get the passport and no one would answer the phone. Talk about frustration! Doesn't anyone have voice mail here!?!?! Anyway, we sat and waited and we were number 5. There were 17 families and they had 2 meetings going. We met a nice family from Ireland and a German family and another family from the U.S. There were quite a few French and German families there. The meeting went great and they absolutely loved us LOL. They were very pleasant board members and we got down to business right away and got that over w/ in about 10 minutes. Then we sat for another 20 minutes or so just chatting. I'm sure they were making mental notes but mostly it seemed to be curiosity and small talk. I asked if I could take their picture and they were very surpised and happy! We had the social worker take a picture of the three of us w/ the 4 ladies of the DSDW adoption board. We gave them a gift of a box of mixed tea and coffee and they seemed surprised again. We waited on that until just before we left so it didn't seem we were buying them off or anything like that. They were very grateful though and we were all very relaxed and enjoying each others' company. Well, everyone but Nok. They admonished her over and over for being rude (even to them she was rude!) and told her there were three rules to remember. The first was to be a good girl and then the others were things like helping around the house etc. After alot of talking back and forth between them and nothing from Nok they finally raised their voices and she suddenly plastered on a fake smile. As soon as we cleared the building she was back to her old self. Honestly, she acts like a spoiled brat rich kid who is being forced into working for her supper. But, she's getting better! Things are getting much better.

After that meeting we headed right to INS knowing we would never make the Embassy in time. We were right. That jerk kept us there for hours. Finally, we went in to meet him (Kenneth the nerd/jerk/ guy-on-a-powertrip-w/-the-worst-Thai-I-have-ever-heard). Right up front he says " What is the child's name?" When I told him he quickly interrupted me w/ his badly accented and quite horrid Thai and asked Nok instead. She didn't have a clue what he was saying because it was awful! He changed the question and wanted to know how old she was. I started to tell him and he interrupted again and demanded that I "let the CHILD answer". So I waited. I wanted to laugh the entire time. He was such a moron! He brought out a paper and pen and told her to write her name. She stared at it. I told him she couldn't read or write and he insisted of course that she could and she would. Then he changed his mind and told her to write her name in Thai. She couldn't understand his words so I told her to write it (I spoke this in Thai and it made the guy mad). She wrote it and then he wanted her to write something else. She can't of course but he just knew somehow that she was magic and in that moment he had mysteriously instructed her by thought process how to read and write! Then he decided to bring in a translator. Nok told her what her name was and how old she is. The lady asked her to write something and she told them she couldn't read or write. The guy still insists she can and she's just lying. Then the idiot asked who her parents are. She told them the names of her foster parents. He asked if we were aware she had parents. I told him they were foster parents. Then he insisted they were not foster parents, they were her bio parents. So at this point I am ready to leap across the desk and choke his scrawny neck myself! He had the translator repeat the question and had her ask if they were biological. Nok answered yes they were biological ....adoptive parents. Ok, so now the guy is angry at her and repeats the questions all over again. After receiving variations of the answer he asked when was the last time she saw them and she said Tuesday. Of course she saw her foster mother on Tuesday. That was the day we went out there and met her! We told him that. He insisted they must be her biological parents and insisted on getting their phone number. Nok gave them a number. They wrote it down and showed her and asked it if was right. She said yes then repeated a different number back. So, now the guy is angry because Nok is confused and I am patting my girl on the back and telling her telepathically to tell the guy where he can go....politely of course LOL!

So finally we made it out....and yes the guy was alive when we left. I will let him continue to live just to amuse the rest of the normal world. He ended up calling the orphanage to verify and then of course we had to pay for a fax and translations and all that. He wanted us back today. So we went back and he still insisted she could read and write and that he just knew in his mind these people were her parents all though there is no connection or documentation to tie the two together. Sigh....and another wasted day in Bangkok.....

A Day In The Life Of......

After we left Nok's foster home we went back into Chiang Mai and visited Ban King Kaew (sounds like BanGingGow) baby home. They were awesome there! They were all prepared for Nok's visit and were calling Nannies and caretakers out of the woodwork! We fell in love with Mae Ma (the buddhist Nun there) They had made a book for us w/ baby pictures and hugged Nok and made a big deal over her. She had no clue who they were but of course they quickly informed her of all of their rolls in her life there. She had been there nearly 7 years. She had had a fever when she was around 2 or 3 and that is how she got CP. Until then, she was the pride of the orphanage! They took special care of her there, providing therapy and developmental games. I can't say the same thing for ViengPing. Nok was nearly adopted by a family in Australia but they couldn't get her Visa so they had to quit. It seemed after that, that they sent her to ViengPing to a foster home to continue out her years in foster care. After that point.....no one cared anymore. I wasn't sad to hear that, but I was so angry I could smell the smoke coming out of my ears!!!!!!!!! How dare they leave a child to the wayside!? She can't read or write and it completely shocks Thai people to hear that. Alot of them don't even believe us so they ask her to read something. It's very embarrassing for her and makes me angry that they do that to her. Most of the time it happens at meal time when we sit down to eat and the menu has no pictures. At the doctor's office the doc asked her to read something since she didn't believe me. Nok couldn't read English of course and the doc was surprised about that but she insisted that Nok could read Thai. She tried it and Nok stared blankly. The doc kept asking her to read it and finally Nok stared at the wall and said she couldn't do it. Thanks a bunch ViengPing for making a successful future adult. Can you tell I am a bit bitter about the system? It's the same all over the world though....I guess being a foster parent should have made me used to it but it hasn't.

The Other Mother

Where was I......the meeting
So there I was, standing like a complete idiot w/ wild children plucking at me while I grinned quite stupidly at my daughter-to-be. I rushed forward and hugged her. She just stood there. I was suddenly overwhelmed and didn't know what to do! We sat her down, had some pictures taken and gave her our gift. She dug in and ripped out the book about cats that I had searched high and low to find the perfect one for her. Then we were ready to go. They nearly shoved us into the van that would drop us off to do some shopping. They said they would pick her up at our room at 3:30 that afternoon and then we were to be picked up the next day to visit her foster home. Everything seemed to go well but we noticed right away that she tended to wander away alot. When people spoke to her she wouldn't look at them and they would often raise their voice or repeat her name over and over until she payed attention. When they picked her up that afternoon our hearts were full and we were happy parents-to-be.

The next day we were picked up and went to the foster home in Bo Sang. We liked the village very much and would've liked to have spent more time there but they were in a big hurry to get rid of us. That's really how we felt. I had three pages of questions and the social worker obviously thought it was ridiculous but we asked anyway. The foster mother didn't mind at all but couldn't speak English so the social worker translated. Now, I must mention here that the workers are all very nice people but tend to be like social workers in America....a bit pushy and everything is just this huge chore for them. Anyway, we took lots of pictures but the humidity was doing strange things to my camera so I hope they are ok. Her foster mother began to tear up as we were leaving. Now leaving was another strange thing. They asked if I was done asking questions and I said yes, Then they quickly ushered Nok to the van. No goodbye, no tears, no hug. Her foster mother started to cry but was trying to hold it back. I went to her and hugged her and cried w/ her and she said Thank you thank you over and over. I told her Thank you for taking care of my daughter for the last 7 years. I know she didn't speak English and I don't speak much Thai....but I think as far as mothering is concerned....we understood each other just fine.

Through the Looking Glass

Ok, I finally have some time to blog. Nok is very angry with me so I sent her to our room w/ Tommy and that made her even angrier. Like my dad always said growing up "you can get glad in the same pants ya got mad in!"

So, let me go back to when we left Denver, Colorado. Cody has been well prepared for us being gone so it wasn't hard on her when we left. We walked out the door as she was sitting down to a tea party w/ GramMarcia. I held the tears in check and prayed I could keep my lunch down. At the airport I got out and a few of the tears started to fill my eyes. I swallowed it down and headed in to check in. Our baggage was perfect, everything went smoothly and we were ready to go. We sat a waited a bit and boarded the plane w/out incident and when we were headed down the runway I couldn't hold back any longer. I sobbed silent tears for the stress we had gone through but mostly for my baby girl. I was leaving her behind and I suddenly didn't want to. I wanted her back in my arms. But I dried it up instead and enjoyed seeing the city lights pass us by. We were in L.A. in no time and that place was awful! It stunk so bad there!!! We were a bit shocked and when we boarded the plane we went straight away to wash. We had a light film over our skin and felt filthy! On the way into L.A. the lights of the city seemed to stretch for days upon days and it was really beautiful. I felt the same way leaving although I wouldn't want to live there haha. There was just this beautiful glow, twinkling back at me from the ground and it was a strange peaceful feeling. We were finally going to bring home the child we have prayed for for 2 years.

The trip over the ocean was uneventful. I don't know if that was a good thing or not haha! We started to get a bit stir crazy....some cabin fever going on. While everyone else was sleeping, I was up jogging in place and wishing I was sleepy. I was exhausted of course but the seats on planes are too much like seats and not enough like beds! Imagine that....The airport in Taipei is wonderful! Very clean and well organized and we actually enjoyed our short stay there. I had this white thing that looked like a giant onion only it was like bread and filled w/ a meat substance. It was soooo good! I think i'll have another when we go back through there next week.

Wow....next week. Hardly seems like it. Time has just flown by. Sometimes it seems we've been here forever and other times it seems like only yesterday we arrived. When we got to Bangkok we had to wait in the airport for 6 hours before we could check our baggage. Then another 2 hours to fly to Chiang Mai. They took us out by bus and we climbed the mobile steps to the plane. Interesting experience. We really really liked Chiang Mai. When we arrived there a friend met us and took us to our room. We stayed at the T-Room Guesthouse. It was fair. But we arrived at midnight so it didn't matter what it looked like....we didn't care! Our friends had brought snack and drinks for us and it was so sweet of them! They are wonderful wonderful people and we will never forget all they have done for us!

The next morning we took a Songthaew to the orphanage as we were instructed to be there at 9:30. We were there about 9 and of course they were not expecting us. They asked us if we could come back tomorrow at 9:30 and I politely told them no thank you, that we had been told to come today and we would be in Chiang Mai a short amount of time. They quickly sent a worker to pick up Nok.

For the next 2 hours we were mauled by children who are starved for attention and affection. There was one little girl (it was a group of 3-4 year old boys and girls) who repeated everything I said! Word for word entire sentences and perfect pronunciation. There was this silly little boy who would try to keep our attention by putting toys on his head and around his neck and ankles and running wildly from one end of the room to the other lol. It was hilarious. They tried to draw on me w/ my pen, tried to take my hair thing and glasses and drew scribbles in my notebook, while Tommy built boxes of foam toys and put them in it. Then the lady watching them just left! Kids were everywhere and it was really odd. We were never offered water and had forgotten to take any. We finally escaped the mob and found a bench in the shade to wait. Just when the kids had located us again and spread the word Tommy said "hey, here she comes". I looked up and instantly fell in love w/ my daughter. She was shuffling along and smiling so big!

Wild Kid

Hey, everyone! This week has been crazy! I really think Nok can't stand us, but her social worker has told her she needs to go....that it will be best for her to go. So far she has tried everything from trying to make phone calls without permission to jumping out of the taxi into traffic. She stops in the street nearly causing accidents but when we try to take her arm she snatches away and tries to get away. It's not easy and Tommy is quickly loosing his patience. Today is Tuesday and we have been trying to get the passport so we can get the medical to take to the interview tomorrow but we can't get through to the social worker! No one will answer the phone! We'll keep trying. We are getting ready to call Khun Oh (we had the wrong number but thanks to some fast gals on yahoo adoption groups we have it right now!) I am sorry to make this one short again....I found a cheap place down the road to use internet so I will try to make it back there this evening and give you some lengthy details about Thailand. I can already tell you that Khon Kaen is awesome and Bangkok is horrible! We really like Chiang Mai alot too and we were sad to go. I will type more later! Bye!

Busy Thailand

We made it to Thailand! It's very exciting here but it's also hot and muggy. It's not unbareable though. We met Nok today. It was very exciting but then strange....we didn't know what to do w/ each other! So, we asked to be dropped off to do some shopping and were taken to the mall. Their mall here is just like the mall at home...crowded and overpriced so we'll be finding some place else to shop now! Nok went back to her foster home tonight an we'll be picking her up tomorrow morning for good. I'm not quite so sure she's ready but she is nuts about Tom so I think we'll all be ok. Maybe she likes him so much because he's quiet like her and maybe I am too overwhelming or it could be because he's the guy w/ the money and she likes jewelry and chocolate! haha! I will try to back track in some future posts but I just don't have time right now. It costs 30 baht an hour which isn't bad but it could add up real quick in the next 3 weeks. Stay tuned!