Happy Holidays!

Since Mom has been so busy getting back into the daily life, I thought I should make our final post to our blog.
Life has been a bit hectic since coming home a little over two weeks ago. I must say, it wasn't easy for me to adjust to the new time, the new bed, the new smells and lots of new faces....but as time has gone by, I think I'm doing pretty well. And I have two new teeth!
Mom got a little teary on me the other day because I laid my head on her shoulder when we were playing - first time for that and boy did it feel nice.
What a great welcome when I came home; lots of visitors from family and friends - but this cold weather is for the birds! Of course Mom had me out in the fresh air almost everyday; I still catch my breath when that cold wind blows, but I'm getting used to it. I even went sledding with my brother Billy after our first snow.
So as time passes by, I wanted to thank you all for joining me and my family on this wonderful journey to my new life here on Stone Avenue...I am so looking forward to all the blessings that this life has to offer me. Mom & Dad keep saying that I am their best Christmas present ever - but I know that this new family of mine is going to be my best present ever too. (I have gotten used to all the kisses, and now I love them!)
We still say our prayers every night for my friends back in Hanoi - that they too will have a family of their own someday. I am hoping they will.
Happy Holidays to All - Thanks for supporting my family these past two years, its been a very long journey for them, but I knew they were out there and couldn't wait for them to get me home! Lots of Love - Ken James

There Really is No Place Like Home

Well, we finally made it...20 hours of time in the air, 3 airports and only a few tears, Ken and I made it home!

Not gonna lie, the flight(s) home were not the greatest, and the jet lag hasn't been too easy, but its all worth it every time I see Ken smile with his brothers.

Of course Dan waited up for us, and Kenny took to him right away. Billy was first up in the morning, wanting to feed Kenny (he still likes to be in charge of making the BaBa's as he calls them!)

Once again, I can't thank everyone enough for all of the support throughout the past 2 years. It certainly has been an incredible journey for our family, one that we've always kept the faith, no matter how many obstacles we've had to overcome. Kenny is so happy to be here with us and we are the luckiest family around to have him be a part of our family.

How We Spent Thanksgiving....

What a great Thanksgiving we had!

We started off the day at the local Metro - which is like Cosco or Sam's Club in the states - we were there to purchase some items for the orphanage! A few of the adoptive families, along with a very generous donation from my college roomate Jen, pitched in to purchase a well needed washing machine and 4 heaters for the

infant rooms (they had no heat!) and a few big containers of laundry detergent. Talk about a great way to do for others on Thanksgiving, having so much to be thankful for.....

Ken & I then joined 25 other American families for a real turkey dinner at a local restaurant - it was fantastic....all the trimmings too. Mmmmm did I love those smashed taters.....doesn't Ken look like he has a little food coma going on?

It was nice to be with all the families and felt sad leaving such a great group of folks - please remember in your thanksgiving prayers all those that still haven't gotten clearance to go home, especially Kenny's pal Helen....

All the packing is done, and we're off early in the morning. So as you are waking up for Thanksgiving at "home", know that we are thinking of you and cant' wait to be with you all. God has certainly blessed us with this little boy - I can't imagine my life without him....

Blessings to all - Claire

I'M COMING HOME!!!!

My visa has been approved and Mom & I are headed home. I will be sad to leave my birth country, but can't wait to become a part of "the village".

Soon you'll see me strolling the streets, playing at the park with my brothers and friends and reading books at the library.....

Thanks to everyone for the kinds thoughts, lots of nice emails to my Mom since she's been by herself - it was pretty tough for her. Now she can't stop singing and dancing to that song "I'm Coming Home, to the place where I belong...." - can we please get her some singing lessons for Christmas? or it could be the combination of tears of joy and relief.....

Dad, Danny and Billy get that cheesburger ready for her!

Love to all, Happy Thanksgiving and may the blessings of all my friends at the orphanage give them hope that they too will be with a family soon.

Mom says her usual "God Bless" you all know how special you are! Ken & Mom

ps - a special prayer to my crib mate Helen...you will be going home soon too, I just know it!

A Day To Remember

It was truly an amazing experience. Today I returned to the orphanage with donations from all the generous folks that donated to our son Dan's "Sneakers for the Kids" fundraiser.

Dan's goal was to raise enough $$$ to buy each one of the older children a new pair of sneakers. He did reach that, and because you were all so generous, each one of the 42 kids (age range 11-17 yo.) also got a new winter jacket and 2 pairs of socks. We were also able to buy some much needed presciption medications for the infant rooms - of which I also visited, but we'll talk about that another time - Another family that is in our group brought enough backpacks and school supplies for each child - the smiles were huge!

Anyway...most of the girls were available to receive our gifts (the boys were not "at home") - they were truly the most gracious children I have ever seen. They sat for over an hour, waiting for us to arrive, and then waited while we handed out their gifts one by one. They were smiling, laughing and so humble and thankful for all that we did. As they walked us to our waiting van, I couldn't stop crying, felt like I was leaving these tremendously brave children, who's life was changed by some new clothes and backpacks....

Handing out some of the gifts...winter coats, sneakers , socks and new backpacks for all!

this girl in the pink was one of the older girls, and she couldn't stop hugging me and saying thank you - her smile was shining the whole time

the two older boyz - we had some really fun coats and sneakers picked out for them!

Here are some of the kids - after this picture they walked us out to the van, kept hugging and smiling and saying thank you and kept waving until we pulled away; the tears were rolling....

Okay, you would have to know that someone stole my heart...well here she is. From the moment I got there, she couldn't stop smiling at me and was just wiggling in her seat with anticipation - and YES I wanted to bring her home....I still can't stop thinking about these children and what their lives will be like.

Thank You to Everyone - especially to the kids that opened up their piggy banks, donated their birthday money, used their special savings to this well deserved fundraiser - there are 42 childrend going to bed tonight with a smile on their face. Know that you made a difference in a child's life today...and remember these smiles. Cheers Dan - you done good.

A Little Hometown Snack...

Kenny and I thought we'd have a little afternoon snack; so we searched the grocery store for a "little something something" and found Oreo's! I did a great job eating the whole stack of cookies, not an easy feet, but who can leave one?

One thing missing....Oberweiss Milk!

Ken chomped on the wrapper and got a taste of the crumbs. He played with this for about 2o minutes - all the toys in the world and he likes the wrapper to Oreo's!

Daddy goes home....

Well it's Sunday, the day Bud goes home and needless to say I'm a bit sad and nervous to be on my own. But Kenny brings me such joy, so I'm hoping the time will fly by! So that when we can get back to the states we'll be a big family again - such a nice thought!

Kenny is doing so well, as you can see, he loves his Dad so much and they are thick as thieves.

We didn't get any calls from the Embassy this past week, so we're hoping for Monday or Tuesday. There is still a slight chance I could be home by next Friday, but it really is slight! A few of the families here are getting together for Thanksgiving - they'll be about 20 of us, and the restaurant is serving "imported
American Turkey" nice!!!


Last night we traversed the streets of the city and took some pictures - it was probably too late for Ken (he let us know that at bedtime) but we wanted to go out for a nice dinner - steak and mashed potatoes - a little bit of home.





This is how the folks hang out
and have their tea and Pho - cocktail hour....not much room for the peds to walk!














Two dozen roses for $1.50 US - these make me happy and keep the apartment feeling like home!











Welcome to the city....

We miss everybody so much - dreaming of home!
Lots of Love
Claire & Ken