We have a US VISA and Gabby has an appetite....HALLELUJAH!!!!!!

We have it! We leave Hanoi at 11:30pm (Hanoi time)! HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just talked to Jason and he is SO excited and reported that he had to go and finish cooking/boiling chicken...it's the only thing Gabby will eat but Praise the Lord she is eating! Thank you Lord!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are US bound!

Pray for our LONG flight and we will see you all soon!

Shannon, Nanny & Halle-Grace(who will be a US citizen as soon as the flight touches the ground in Dallas, TX)

The HENS WIN!

I opened this email message this morning. HOW FUNNY! Thanks for the laugh Sherry! Hens, Sherry is also a CAS AP.


Update on Gabby: Jason says she is improving so much every day!!! She walks outside with him during her potty breaks and is jumping around and tried to pull him to the parking lot. She is eating about a tablespoon at a time but is keeping it down! THANKS FOR THE PRAYERS. Both of my girls are going to be home soon! PRAISE GOD!

Look who LOVES to dry her hair...

Downtown Hanoi...I bet I will be back in a year or 2?

The trip downtown was normal *if there is such a thing as normal in Hanoi* 1000s of motor bikes and horns every second. We have all adoption day gifts covered and found a great price on a stroller (since our first lay-over is close to 5 hours) it will come in handy. It is bright GREEN and says HONG baby on it I think. LOL!

Nanny, Halle-Grace and I had a relaxing snack at Highland's Coffee *one of Jason's favorite spots in Hanoi* and Little Miss Magic was entertaining everyone...here are a few pics.




Jason called me with an update on Gabby and she is doing well. She has used the potty and has eaten some baby food and even a little bite of chicken for Jason. The doctors are very pleased with her progress. Jason sent me this picture of her and he said she looks GREAT compared to how she looked prior to the surgery POOR BABY!!!

So, it looks like Gabby has already decided to be a lamp for Halloween! Pray this baby gets well real soon!!! Granny visited with Gabby and Jason said she wagged her tail off! Gabby LOVES Granny and the staff at CVS...I think they are pretty fond of her as well. I continue to pray that she gets well and is back home soon (as soon as she is strong enough and ready for WILD WOMAN)! Nanny found Halle-Grace's Halloween costume today and it is PERFECT for the STINKER!

SO, tomorrow we head to the Embassy!!! I am not nervous. Hopefully they will be able to process Halle-Grace's US Visa and we will be on our 11:30 flight tomorrow night. I have just about completed all packing. It is hard to believe I have lived in Hanoi, Vietnam for a month! Let's hope adoptions re-open in the near future.

Thanks and Good Night from Vietnam!

Shannon

Last trip downtown...packing....praying!

We are getting ready to take our final trip downtown to finish up a little shopping (well, Nanny wants to shop, what' new?) We are pretty much packed and ready to go. I have stocked up on Dielac (Vietnamese formula) for Halle-Grace and Milo for me. Milo is a brand of cereal that I LOVE! It is chocolate and YUMMY!
Nanny's credit card!

I talked to Jason and he said Gabby is still doing OK considering all that she has been through! OH, I want her home so BAD! That is my constant prayer...for her to get well. I cannot imagine not being able to share this new chapter in our lives with her. Gabby loves children and Halle-Grace LOVED seeing her on the webcam before she went into the hospital.

We are scheduled for our Embassy appointment tomorrow! I hope that goes well. If so, we will be boarding our flight to Japan..then Dallas, TX...then finally Charlotte, NC! If we do not get her Visa tomorrow, our itinerary is the same (just moved to Wed. night). We arrive in Charlotte at 2:45pm Tuesday...then we go through customs, etc. THEN I AM HEADED TO CVS to see Gabby and give her lots of lovin!

"I'm packed, let's go home and see everybody"

Please pray for our trip home and for Gabby to continue to improve daily! We want to be a family "together" again.

I will post more about our trip when we return from downtown, hopefully, Nanny will not have any "taxi" episodes today.

Suzanne, Mike, Hunter and Hannah went to the fair and sent us these photos. HENS, my sister took a special picture just for us!!! LOL. I know you will love this one!!!

"HEY, It's the HOT HENS"

"Check out what my handsome cousin won at the Cleveland Co. Fair" After Hunter won, he immediately said, "these are for Halle-Grace" THANKS HUNTER!!!

These are TOO FUNNY NOT TO SHARE...


So, whoever tells Halle-Grace about the Cleveland County Fair has to take her next year!!! HA HA!

Lizzy & Zoey, if you are reading this and you go to the fair, hurry and send me a picture.

Thank you all for your prayers! God is faithful!

Aunt Sally & Gloria, thank you for offering your guest room as well. Jason appreciated your call and we all appreciate the prayers. Jason & Granny are still camping out in the parking lot. Gabby is doing well (considering all she has been through). She had surgery about 48 hours ago and she is in the hands of the BEST at CVS. Jason told me they were able to take her outside for a potty break! HOW AWESOME!!! She is such a fighter!

Words cannot express our gratitude to the entire staff/team at Carolina Vet. Specialist in Charlotte. WE LOVE YOU ALL and you ARE family!Halle-Grace is ready to meet you and Gabby too! THANK YOU FOR TAKING CARE OF HER!
GET WELL SOON GABBY! When you get home you can stand on the stairs (like you are in the photo) and wait to play laser with your dad:)


Right now we are set to leave Hanoi on Monday night (if we receive Halle-Grace's visa Monday afternoon) if not, we will leave on Wed. night. If we leave Monday night, we will be arriving in Charlotte on Tuesday around 2:45pm
I am not stressed about the flight nor the time...God is in control and as Uncle Scott told Jason, "if you believe HIS plan is perfect, then start acting like it." WOW, how true is that statement!!! Scott's faith amazes me! He is a testimony for everyone he meets.

(I know this entry is jumping "all over the place" but there are so many things on my heart and my emotions are just flowing onto the screen!)

I have started packing and getting Halle-Grace set for a LONG flight home. I am SO blessed that Nanny is still here and is traveling with me. The first place I am going when I arrive in Charlotte...to see GABBY girl!

Again, thank you all for the MANY prayers along this journey to Halle-Grace. Really, "The Journey" is just NOW beginning. Now all the stress and anxiety can turn into fun and a lifetime of memories. Get well soon Gabby! You are a fighter! Can't wait to see my Gabby girl!!!!

God Bless you ALL! Pray us home and Gabby too!

Shannon

Both of our babies saw the doctor today! Lord, please be with Gabby, she needs extra special care.

Gabby is in critical condition and her situation is "touch and go" the doctor says! Jason & Granny are still at the vet. hospital. Last night, they went to Wal-mart and bought pillows and blankets to sleep in the parking lot. There is a gas shortage in western NC so it's a good thing they are sitting in one place.



Meanwhile, Nanny is still in Vietnam. She did not leave today because I am a complete basketcase! Some of you may not understand but Gabby is our little girl too and we love her SO very much! She is our first child. We are so excited to introduce Halle-Grace to Gabby so I pray she can pull through this time.

Today Halle-Grace had her medical at the SOS and she passed with flying colors. She loved the doctor! She weighs 15 pounds and is 70 cm long. She loved having her ears and her throat checked out and when we took her diaper off to put her on the scale she let loose!!! Thankfully, there was a "pee pad" on the scale! HA HA! The doctor said Halle-Grace was "perfect". She entertained the nurse and the doctor. Our Embassy appointment is set for Monday and Thu told us we should get Halle-Grace's visa by the end of the day Monday.


THANK YOU Carolina Vet. Specialist for taking such amazing care of Gabby! We love you like family and you have been SO good to Gabby through all of her medical needs. We look forward to the day BOTH of our girls are HOME safe, happy & HEALTHY!!! What a HOMECOMING it's going to be....I pray!

God Bless you all!

Shannon

Broken-hearted!

Jason called me and told me that Gabby's gall bladder ruptured!!! She was in surgery for 3 hours! We are terrified and scared! Jason is sleeping in the parking lot of the vet. hospital and Granny is with him. PLEASE PRAY for our Gabby! I cannot imagine going home and Gabby not being there! I am so broken hearted! She is now in recovery but the next 48 hours are very critical! PLEASE PRAY!

Time to come home!

Update on Gabby: She is doing OK. Still sick feeling as her stomach is raw! Poor baby girl. Her PCV levels are GREAT which indicated her AIHA is not he issue *thank God* OH, I pray she is home soon! I am worried sick about her and Jason is too! We want both of our girls HOME!


Our trip to the downtown area was most eventful. Mer & Nanny were ready to kill me when I had the taxi let us out FAR from our first stop AND it was pouring down rain! We had lunch/early dinner at a fabulous little restaurant we have grown to LOVE and then the shopping began...we made it to ONE store and after an hour there, we had to get a taxi back because the packages were over-flowing! That is where ALL of the excitement began! We had two taxi drivers yelling to us as we were leaving the street corner store...as Mer would say, "why cross the street when you don't have to" because it is like playing dodge ball! SO, we took the taxi on the side of the street we were already walking on...BAD MISTAKE! The other taxi driver proceeded to come over and start an altercation with our driver. I was laughing so hard in the back seat and taking photos! Mer had a look on her face like, "is this for real" and Nanny was yelling "get your skinny butt out of the road and LET'S GO!" It was just like a scene from a bad movie! We sat there for at least 15 minutes with ALL of our packages *half of them in the trunk* and waited to see what was going to happen...and more did happen. Next, 3 or 4 other men come over and they all yell back and forth...Nanny is still yelling at them *as if they had ANY idea what she was yelling* Mer & I laughed so hard!!! So, Nanny said, forget this...she took the key out of the ignition and we opened the trunk, retrieved our goodies and walked across the street to another taxi (oh, did I mention the one guy stood in front of the taxi like a bull...Mer said his nostriles were flarring out..LOL)



It was an experience. We are back safe and sound...FINALLY.

The girls were EXHAUSTED and so were we (photos tells it all).


Our SOS clinic appts are tomorrow at 1pm then we submit our paperwork to the Embassy! Hopefully we will get a QUICK appt. and turn-around and be on a plane to America in the next few days!
Sherry, what all should we expect at the SOS visit??
More from Vietnam tomorrow! Nanny is set to fly home tomorrow night, Mer & I are trying to find a way to keep her!!! Halle-Grace decided if Nanny is leaving, she is too. She was packing her bags tonight as well (as you can see). Jason you better get all of the cabinet locks ready!
God Bless you all!!! We can't wait to see you in NC!

APPROVED from the United States Embassy Vietnam. PLEASE PRAY FOR GABBY TO COME HOME SOON!!!!

(HALLE-GRACE SAYS "CHEERS TO USCIS" *the can was empty...I promise*)
We just received the pre-approval letter dated September 22nd. It is FINALLY HERE! Lulu has her pre-approval and most all of the hens do at this point and time. Looks like all 40+ cases are getting approvals, it's just a matter of time! HALLELUJAH! Just like her name *HALLElujah-Grace*

Hanoi Adoptions Unit
United States Embassy Vietnam
Dear Mr./ Mrs. Devine:
Greetings from the Hanoi Adoptions Unit at US Embassy Hanoi.
As you can see in the attachment, based on a preliminary determination of orphan status by the US Citizenship and Immigration Service you are now authorized to travel to Vietnam to complete your adoption....

Tomorrow, Halle-Grace will have her medical exam at the SOS clinic...then it's the Embassy appointment....then we will be coming home. I am anticipating by the middle or end of next week but I am not certain. I will let you all know ASAP! Dana, call the magazine...Granny, get your depends on, Suzie...get your 15 boxes of tissues and bring some for Kay Kay and BOTH Papaws! I say that because both my dad & Dale cried when I was leaving for Vietnam! I don't know if it was tears of JOY or sadness!!! LOL.... GOSH, I miss all of you! I can't WAIT to see the look on Hunter & Hannah's face! They are so excited to see her on webcam everyday, so I can't wait to see their expressions when they see her in person. Sherry...get Kaitlyn and come on down for the celebration and Uncle Scott & Krista, it's time for the 2X celebration we talked about!

Nanny leaves tomorrow night. I am SO glad she will be able to go to the SOS clinic (they are drawing BLOOD....mama will have to leave the room)!

PLEASE continue to pray for Gabby! She is not feeling too well. Our "soap dog" is just not feeling well. The amazing staff at Carolina Vet. Specialist tell us the soap basically ate her stomach lining. They are pretty certain with a few days of barium coating her stomach and the lining re-growing, she will be OK and be able to go home! WE LOVE THE STAFF there and they have been through so much with us! THANK YOU ALL...I know they are reading the blog too! I will bring Halle-Grace to see you all. Thank you for taking care of MY GABBY GIRL! Jason visited with her last night and is going back tomorrow as well (I PRAY he can bring her home)! Life is full of ups & downs, isn't it? I am estatic to receive the approval as we have been waiting on this piece of paper since MARCH...yet, worried sick about Gabby! I guess God throws something in the way so we don't think about the 27+ hour flight?

We are all (Nanny, Mer, Lulu, Halle-Grace and me) headed downtown to finish some "adoption day gifts" for the girls and eat at KFC! FUNNY HUH??

I have to be honest and say I enjoy Hanoi...if nothing else for the laughs! The people here are SO nice!! And there is no way to describe the motor bikes...pictures don't do it JUSTICE...you have to be here to believe it!

God Bless you all...we can't wait to SEE EVERYONE! Calling the Vet. hospital to check on my other baby girl! Please continue to pray that Gabby gets her approval to come home from the hospital!

Shannon & Halle-Grace *and Nanny for another day* in Vietnam

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RAMBO...aka...Uncle Danny! Thank God you are still with us. After your numerous heart attacks and life-flight to Charlotte (CMC) a month ago, I am BLESSED to be able to tell you HAPPY BIRTHDAY and you will get to meet Halle-Grace soon!

We want to come home...but more than anything, we want GABBY to come back home!!!

Poor Gabby is back in the hospital at Carolina Vet. Services in Charlotte. She somehow got into Jason's overnight bag and ate a bar of hotel soap!!! She starting throwing up and Jason took her to the vet hospital immediately based on her pre-existing medical conditions! OH, I AM SICK TO MY STOMACH AND A BALL OF NERVES! Please say a prayer for Gabby. I have called the vet office through the day (night for you) and she is doing well. They don't want her to eat anything based on the irritation of the soap so she is on IV fluids. The vet tech. told me that once Dr. Jaeger comes in they will re-check her numbers and try to feed her...if she keeps it down, she can go back home! PLEASE LORD be with Gabby!

SAD in Vietnam,

Shannon

Our family KEEPS growing...CONGRATULATIONS SPRINGERS

The Springer TWINS have arrived!!! Will weighed 6.4 and Ruby 5.13
We are so happy for Deedie, Preston and big sister Jessie!!! Deedie, I can't thank you enough for the "sleep music" for Halle-Grace. It has worked very well in Vietnam! We cannot wait to meet Ruby & Will!!! More babies=more fun! You guys have 3...Jason & I will catch up and PASS you soon enough!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!

The 10 month old scene

Still praying we will hear something this week from USCIS! Meanwhile, we are having a good time in Halle-Grace's birth country. Nanny, Halle-Grace and I went downtown and it was the funniest sight! All of the street vendors were like bees on honey with nanny! They must smell the "I like to shop" coming out of her pores! They were ALL over her. Halle-Grace was in the Baby BJourn and I finally just walked off and left nanny! I told her you have to say, "no thank you" and keep walking. When she saw that I was leaving her, I heard her say "I DON'T EVEN SMOKE"...I turned around and there were literally 2-3 men standing all around her with lighters trying to sell her one!!! It was really hysterical!

Halle-Grace is a mess! She is a complete show off...even grunts at people to get their attention, especially in the restaurant! She knows they will come and carry her around. I have no idea what we will do when we return home! Wait staff in America usually don't carry children around and entertain them while their parents eat.

Lulu is feeling so much better! Thank the good Lord! Nanny read to the girls last night (photos below) and they still enjoy riding in their walkers...aka...."trick my truck". Here's the story...Halle-Grace had a cut on her finger and I thought it looked like a deep paper cut then I discovered her walker was cracked!!! Luckily, with the help of DUCK TAPE we repaired it! Now it looks NICE with silver reflectors! I told Jason we "pimped her ride" and he said, "No, you tricked her truck" that is a show on TV? I have personally never watched it but her walker is back in working condition! Duck tape has many purposes in Vietnam. The power outlets are very different and you can't buy the little plug ins that we use in America SO, duct tape works well! Sounds a little "red-neck" but when you are raising a child in a foreign country it is simply "pratical". You do what you have to do!

Other things Halle-Grace is doing at 10 months:
* LOVES MUSIC...any kind and dances when she hears it
* Claps her hands a lot
* Says Ma Ma, Da Da, Ba Ba (for bottle)
* Waves bye
* Grunts at the wait staff
* Absolutely LOVES to take a bath and dry her hair (what little bit she has. They shaved her head 2X at the orphanage so it is growing again)
* Loves the computer and know Daddy or Hannah & Hunter are going to show up daily
* Loves to hear her own voice!
* Blows bubbles
* Fights Sleep
* Teething
* Speeds around in her "Trick my Truck" crashing into anything
* Blows kisses
* copies just about anything we do
* AND SO MUCH MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She is simply amazing and LITTLE MISS MAGIC for sure!

FISH LIPS

CEREAL FACE

TEETHING!!!

NANNY READS TO HALLE-GRACE AND LULU

HEY, LOOK UP HERE AT THE BOOKS (so mama can take a photo)


"I PROMISE I AM NOT SLEEPY"

Another post from Jason

So this is what a crack addict feels like…

Usually, the routine is, as soon as I wake up I call and talk/see my girls over the internet phone.

Well, today I awake to find out they are downtown, which in and of itself is a good thing. Let me take this moment to say just how proud I am of Shannon. To be willing to go to the other side of the world, in a world that is not only a cultural shock, but leaves a lot to be desired in the ways of translation. (Have Shannon tell you about trying to explain to a hotel staffer that the hair dryer works; the outlet does not) Anyway, Shannon is in another world, and is taking it all in stride. While over there, I never once feared for their safety, with the exception of one incredibly BONEHEADED move on my part one day…another story, another time. Therefore, the more they get out and experience the culture as it truly is, in my mind, is a good thing,

As I was saying, the usual routine is to wake and call and talk. Not happening today…at least not right now. So, I am forced to look back over the blog and try and appease my desire through still pictures. Well, that is about as effective as placing a band-aid on a wound that needs a tourniquet. I have heard/read so many accounts of people that are already transfixed by Halle-Grace and her magnetic personality. Let me just say this, you people haven’t got a clue! I am not going to carry on now like most parents about how instantaneously I fell in love with her as her father. This is a true fact, but it is not limited to just me as a father. Time and again, when we would be out complete strangers would come up and comment on Halle-Grace. There were times I chose to come back early because I was exhausted from the onslaught of her admirers, “oh she is such a beautiful baby,” “look at her eyes, she has such beautiful eyes,” and so on and so forth.

I look forward to being able to introduce all of our family and friends to her, for many reasons not the least of which means I get to be around her again. Actually, today marks one week since I left Vietnam. To say it has been a long week is an understatement. However, I look at it from the opposite perspective, I am one week out from seeing them again, one way or another that is. If we get approval and they are cleared to come home, fantastic, you folks will get a short notice invitation to a welcome home party that will rival New Year’s Eve bashes in New York City. Or, if we have not heard anything from the government by Wednesday, then I am flying back over…but like I said “addict” and you will do what you have to do to get your fix.

Jason

Little Miss Magic

Halle-Grace is 10 months old today (Sept. 19th) even though the post may read the 18th) She is busy and as happy as can be! I am incredibly blessed to be her mom. If it gets better than this...I don't know if my heart can take it! She is SO incredibly funny! In the photos, she is playing "airplane" with Nanny.

Jason wants me to add the song "Little Miss Magic" I am trying to find another playlist to add it. As you have probably noticed I added a new song. It's our goal ...seeing NC VERY soon!

This morning Aunt Suzie, Hunter & Hannah called to sing "Happy 10 months" to Halle-Grace. She loves watching them and she LOVES Hunter's turkey call!!!

Jason, I promise you get the OLD MAN grin when you call! She loves her daddy! I know this was not our "wish or plan" to raise our daughter apart, even for ONE day...we will be back together soon!!! We had to do this to get her out of the orphanage. Even though it hurts so bad to not be with you, I would not change the fact that we decided to get her out of the orphanage on Sept. 1st! Just think of all the "magic" we would have missed! We have a lifetime together...so get ready for all the fun when we get home!

SHE IS LITTLE MISS MAGIC and hopefully she can help sprinkle some of that fairy dust you spoke of in your post and bat her beautiful lashes and have us home soon!

Missing home!

Shannon, Halle-Grace and Nanny (who BEAMS when she sees all 3 of her grandchildren on webcam)

Funny Girl....Learning to blow bubbles....Meet my friend Lulu

RFE response made it to Ho Chi Minh City yesterday!

After much stress over our RFE response being held in customs...we finally received a delivery confirmation yesterday just before 5pm!

Congressman McHenry's office has already been in touch with USCIS in DC & Ho Chi Minh City making his daily inquiries (or pings as he calls them). The USCIS has promised to adjudicate our case within 21 days, however, they should be able to complete this more quickly as USCIS has sent additional staff to Vietnam to help process the approvals (that is what we are praying for)!

Halle-Grace loves seeing daddy on the webcam and she gets really excited when he puts the camera on Gabby! OH, I pray we do not have to be just a "webcam" family! Families are meant to be together.

When I was a little girl my Papaw Pete would take me to "political" events. I was convinced I was a die-hard democrat...later in life, I thought I was a republican...now I am just an ordinary citizen of the United States wanting the "American Dream" the right to bring my daughter home and raise her in our Christian Home! Who cares about politics when God is on your side! So, whatever party preference that falls under...that is what I am today! I am not sure if that party exists BUT I know that God does and I know He is working to bring us home!!! Faith is what kicks in when all understanding has kicked out!

So, off the political rant...Halle-Grace is amazing. She loves MUSIC!!! She loves people, she loves to be the "life of the party", she is LOUD like her mom!!! She is very friendly and has mannerisms that make you fall in love with her more & more each day! God has truly blessed us with this tiny miracle! Someone out there made the BEST decision to give her life on November 19, 2007! Thank God for that amazing woman, Halle-Grace's birth mother! Halle-Grace will be 10 months old in a few days! OH, I pray she is celebrating her first birthday at home in NC! God Bless her birth mom!

Please say an extra prayer for Lulu. She had to go to the SOS clinic and has a middle ear infection. Bless her sweet heart! She is such a cutie!!!

Longing for our HOMECOMING to the US!

A post from Jason

Of all the times to begin, this may not make any sense to anyone else as I am suffering greatly right now from jet lag and lovesickness. At this exact moment I am not sure which of the two is more acute. Both are incapacitating however the latter will linger longer than the former and as such is the more unbearable.

Let me start by saying this, being a father is by far the best thing I have ever done in my life. I have heard it said before, “Once you become a parent you will wonder ‘what have I been doing with my life to this point?’” Ok, for all you people who have said this before, I have a recommendation. If you really want people to believe what you are saying, then to repeat this phrase without vehemently shaking the person listening while screaming it to the top of your lungs, then you are not communicating with the appropriate enthusiasm!!! WOW, this is by far the best thing that has ever happened to me!!!!!

If you have ever watched any Disney cartoon and seen the sparkles that follow the little fairy around while the opening credits are running…well I USED to think those things were make-believe. I have met a little girl that seems to have fairy dust trailing her everywhere she goes and falling from everything she touches, my heart not-with-standing.

And to think I almost delayed the magic. I have to be honest and say that the morning of the actual GNR ceremony was trying for me. I slept little the night prior worrying if Shannon and I were doing the right thing. I knew getting our daughter out of the orphanage was the right thing to do. I just could not stop worrying about the potential “what ifs” of possibly being stuck in a foreign country for upwards of two years, losing employment and more importantly health-care for my daughter and thinking maybe just waiting out the process before adopting her was the most prudent decision to make. I prayed, cried, made last minute phone calls all in search for reassurance and affirmation we were making the right decision AT THE RIGHT TIME. Well, God answered my prayers and gave me peace literally within two hours of our scheduled time to meet our liaison to travel to Tuyen Quang and adopt Halle-Grace. I now look back and shudder at the possibility of missing out on the greatest blessing ever. Thankfully, that did not happen. Rather, I have not only become a proud, card-carrying member of the obnoxious “My child is the greatest” club, I have performed a coup d’état and am now self-proclaimed el Presidente of the club!!!

Seriously, I know I am going to get on people’s nerves. And I know how arrogant I already am when it comes to Halle-Grace. Not only do I believe that no other parent loves their own child/ren as much as I love Halle-Grace, once they meet her, THEY won’t love their child/ren as much as they love Halle-Grace. She is that lovable, adorable (insert whatever affectionate word you want at this point!) If I could bottle and sell this feeling I am sure I would be imprisoned for trafficking the most potent intoxicating drug ever.

However, as ‘high’ as I have felt for the past two weeks, I will say that two days ago was a tough day. If you know me, you know that I love to fly, but having to board a flight for the US while my family remained in Vietnam was nauseating. I am back in the US now, but the churning in my stomach has only subsided by moving to my heart. Not to wish my life away but I am counting the moments, not days, until this process is completed or Wanda’s time in Vietnam is up, whichever comes quicker. For, if for some reason our application has not been approved before the time for Wanda to come home then I am flying back over to Vietnam. If today, the first full day away from Halle-Grace and Shannon is any indication, the next two weeks is going to crawl by. Being a kid waiting on Christmas seems like living in ‘fast-forward’ compared to this waiting….

One last thing, and this is not meant to be facetious. I used to jokingly tell people that Shannon and I were pursuing adoption because we were afraid to have children naturally because they may come out looking like me and acting like Shannon. Well, during the multiple trips downtown while in Hanoi many people would come up, while I was holding Halle-Grace, and say how much she looked like me. (I know what you are thinking, don’t flatter yourself Jason) But people would say that…apparently she and I have similar features. AND, the little beauty is one more ‘ham’. She loves attention and has a magnetic personality that just draws you in…much like her mother. What I am trying to say is, God is a wonderful god. AND he has one more sense of humor. How else could we go literally to the other side of the world and adopt a child that looks like me and acts like Shannon!!!! Talk about affirmation!

For the sake of not dividing my first blog attempt into chapters I will leave it at this for now. But, in closing, let me say, “Thank you” for all the prayers, calls, emails, letters and love you all have showered us with during the course of this process. Some have been humorous, some touching, some sustaining, but they all have been loving and we can’t thank you enough for that.

I cannot wait to actually introduce you all to the most beautiful girl in the world in the coming weeks. Just plan ahead and bring your sunglasses because that glare being emitted anywhere Halle-Grace goes is coming from the beaming smile of her love-drunk father!

Jason

Lulu is here!

Tim & Mer made the long journey to TQ today and arrived a few hours ago with ADORABLE, BEAUTIFUL Lulu!!! Halle-Grace wanted to play immediately! Lulu was sleepy just like Halle-Grace was 2 weeks ago! Lulu is precious and has million dollar lips! Tim & Mer look like they are in heaven! I am so happy for them and I know they have THEIR little girl so I can sleep peacefully tonight!

On another note, our RFE response that was suppose to arrive by 6pm today has a clearance delay? I am sure it will get in their hands tomorrow!

Mer & Tim's response did make it today! OH, I pray we ALL get approvals SOON!!! ALL TQ families!!!

Good Night from Vietnam...where the motor bikes never sleep, they always BEEP!

Response is ready for USCIS in Ho Chi Minh City!!! PRAYERS NEEDED

Sept. 15, 2008 9:56 AM
In transit HO CHI MINH CITY VN
package available for clearance 5:28 AM

This morning we talked to Jason on the webcam. Halle-Grace waved at him and said "da da" we also saw GABBY!!! She was a little too excited to stay in view of the webcam for long! Granny and Papaw Devine were there and Granny was too excited! She cries almost every time she hears Halle-Grace! SO SWEET!!! We sure do miss Daddy!

Mer & Tim left for TQ this morning so tonight we will see LULU!!! We (Nanny, Halle-Grace and myself) are very excited!

More later from Vietnam...here are some photos of the litte HAM...she is MISS PHOTOGENIC for sure!