16 months have come and gone

Jackson is the joy of our lives and we are having so much fun with him. He is growing up so fast. He loves to repeat everything you say so we have to be careful. We took him to the beach this summer for 2 weeks and he loved the ocean, the pool, and the sand. We had a wonderful time with all the family. Jackson started daycare this past month and he actually really enjoys it. He does cry when Lamar first drops him off, but we know that is just to make "us" feel good. Lamar always looks back in the window, and Jackson is fine and playing with all the other children.
Jackson has had a busy summer and we have just let him adapt to our lifestyle. We have not slowed down and have continued to travel and we just take him along. He has been camping twice this summer and loved sleeping in the camper. Been to the lake, hiking in the mountains, loves his bike cart he rides around in while we do all the work, been to Church Hill Downs to see the horse races,the Louisville Zoo, loved all the animals, been to way to many ballgames to keep count, and the list just goes on and on.
Jackson was baptized this spring, loves going to Church, and loves playing with all his family and friends.
Thanks for continuing to follow our blog and I apologize for not being better at updates. Thanks to a wonderful friend, she has helped me get back on the blog. Thanks Amy!!!!!

Summer is Here

Hey all,
It has been a long time since an update. Sorry for this. It has taken me awhile to learn how to get some things accomplished and have a child also. Definately busier than before.
Well, we have been home almost 4 months with Jackson and oh how he has changed since we first got him. He started really taking off and walking about a month after we got home from Vietnam. He eats almost anything we put in front of him but really does not like fruit anymore. Must have had too much of it in Vietnam. He transitioned well from the Vietnam formula to Similac, and now is on whole milk without any problems. We celebrated his first birthday with about 45 family and friends. Jackson has had 9 showers since being home and really blessed with lots of gifts from everyone. We had him baptized in our church on Mother's day so this was a very special day for me!!!
Overall, the adjustment has gone really well for all of us. Lamar is a wonderful father, he can not wait each morning for Jackson to wake up so he can go get him. Jackson still thinks dad is just a big play toy. He is saying lots of words, laughs alot, and just a fun baby to have around.
My sister Lynne has been keeping him mostly so far for the summer while we work, and he has enjoyed this time with her. I am sure they will have lots of fun, pool days, and just lazy days too!!!!!
Jackson is finally sleeping good all night long!!!! He also sleeps later than normal some mornings and that is a real treat for me!!!! Love those days!!!! I hope to add some pictures soon so do not give up on me just yet on the blog site. I will try to be better.
Love to all and thanks for ALL the love!!!!!
Elaine

2 Week Anniversary

We have been home 2 weeks now and Jackson is adjusting well to his new family and friends. He is loving his new home, all the animals, and the farm life. Jackson is eating table food, baby food, and loving his apple juice and bottles. He is crawling all over the place, standing and walking all around the room using the furniture, and also taking a few steps here and there. He will be walking soon. Found him up a couple of steps the other day, so a baby gate has been installed. We have had one of our showers for Jackson at Ringgold Middle School and got lots a great gifts for him. He loves all his toys, new clothes and shoes!!!! Tomorrow is a big day, we will go to church in a new outfit and visit the nursery there, then we have a big shower with our church family. That will be fun!!!!!
Jackson is saying dadadadada all the time, sometimes mamama, and babbles all the time. He went to the Dr. yesterday and got a great report. Dr Jung was impressed at how healthy he was coming from an orphanage. Was in the 50% on his weight and 60% on height. He got 5 shots in his legs, no ear infections, and was just a trooper. Does has some dry skin issues, but got some good steroid cream for that. Has to go next week for a bunch of lab work so that will not be fun.
Overall, the Dr visit went really well.
Jackson went to his first ballgames this week. Lets see, he has seen his cousin Stefani play tennis, gone to a soccer game, baseball game, and volleyball game. Saw some pretty cheerleaders trying out for the squad. He has been exposed to it all this week and loved it.
Have had babysitting offers all the time. Susan Higgins was his first babysitter one afternoon, and Mamaw MaryLou and Aunt Carolyn was his second. He loves all his cousins when they come to play.
We are so thankful for your continual prayers for us as we adjust to our new life as parents. Words can not express how much we appreciate all the calls, visits, and love from our family and friends. It means the world to us!!!!!!
Love to all,
Elaine

Back in the USA

Well, we are all trying to settle in and catch up on lost sleep. That is NOT happening. Little Jackson has other plans, and it is not to sleep. We are definately sleep deprived at the Brown household. Jackson was so use to always having a nanny or little friend next to him at all times, he does not want to be out of sight of anyone. But, overall, we are all doing well. Jackson loves his new home, all his new friends he is meeting each day, and loves all the family. He has had his first car seat ride, not fun for any of us, has had his first lunch date and did great, got a new high chair and loves that he can pick up his own food and eat. He is crawling all over the place and I feel will be walking really soon. He is a big ham, smiles all the time, and is just lots of fun!! The fussiness starts only when tired and hungry. Could care less about a messy diaper, could stay in it all day without a fuss. Loves to be rocked and loves his new nursery!!
Posted some new pics of our new experiences now that we are home and trying to adjust to life in the good ole USA!!!!!

Hello Chattanooga

Yeah!!!!!! We made it home!! It was so special to see all of you at the airport and meant so much to us. Jackson loved meeting all his new family and friends!!
The last few days in Vietnam was getting long. We were ready to get home and see everyone and have some good ole southern cooking. We got up our last day around 0630, well, Jackson got us up. Our flight that day did not leave Vietnam until 1130pm. So, there is one whole day of not sleeping. Our flight from Vietnam to Seoul, Korea was 4 hours and Jackson slept that whole flight. So, a little nap for us. We had about a 4 hour layover in Seoul, so we are still awake. The flight from Korea to Atlanta was about 15 hours and Jackson slept a total of about 4 hours. He was awake and ready to play. He did nap a couple of times with Lynne so a little shut eye was nice. Thank goodness we made the connection flight to Chattanooga and got home the next day around 1230pm. Had a great day seeing and visiting everyone at the airport and then at the house. We appreciate everyone coming to the house and visiting and getting to know Jackson. He is adjusting well to his new home and all the 4 legged friends that keep kissing him. He slept in his crib last night and did good. He woke up around 4 am for his bottle and back to sleep he went. Was ready to go this morning and played all morning long with everyone. He loves all the attention!!!!
We had a great trip to Vietnam and loved the country. It has some beautiful areas and really do hope to visit again when Jackson is a little older. Have lots and lots of great pictures we want to share with everyone.
Thanks again for all the love, thoughts, and prayers during this time. Lamar and I can not believe we finally have our baby. We will continue to update the blog as Jackson grows.

Wednesday in Hanoi by Lamar

The Visa arrived today...the Visa arrived today...the Visa arrived today! We are a family...we have the documents to travel along with the documents for US adoption. Jackson did not sleep much last night...I guess he was a little nervous.

We went to the Army museum today...we read a lot about puppet governments and invading forces. There was a lot of US military equipment in the museum. More on that when we get home.

We found Hanoi Stadium and we tried to sneak in, but it would not be opened until 2 o'clock. I will try to go back tomorrow.

We leave on Thursday night at 11:50 Hanoi time. Over 5 hours to Seoul then a 4 hour layover with a 15 hour leg to Atlanta. The immigration stage may take a little while too, so it will be a long day on Friday...but a short day, since we get back to Chattanooga at 12:30.

U.S. Embassy Day

Jackson had a great night of sleep!!! We did a test dose of benadryl and he slept really good, so now we know the 15 hour trip on the airplane will be a little easier. He woke up once around 2am for a bottle, then back off to sleep he went until around 730am. Wow, that was a first. Had a good morning just hanging out and playing. Took a good, long nap before lunch then we headed out to explore more of the city. Went to the U.S. Embassy at 130pm. Very easy process, just asked us that the information we provide was true and Lamar signed the papers. We are just waiting on his Visa to be ready which should be tomorrow. We just hung around the city all day today, exploring the area, and seeing all we can in our last few days here in Hanoi. All is going well for us, we are enjoying the sites and love learning all about this country. Hopefully in the future when Jackson is older, we can bring him back to his birthplace. Plan to go to the war museum tomorrow and see the lake where the B52s crashed during the war.
Love all the comments on the blog and glad you are enjoying the pictures. We appreciate the followers.
Love and thanks,
Elaine

Hanoi-by Jackson Brown

I got my best sleep last night as I was waiting for the big day. My dad told me that it was the 2nd time that he had heard "Earl Brown come on down." (The first time was on the Price is Right. That it is what they said when the man at the US Embassy called our name. It was short and sweet. All we had to do was answer a couple of questions. I have my visa (not actually, the printers are down at the Embassy, so I will getting it in a day or two)!!!

I went to church for the first time today. Hanoi Catholic Church.

My dad carries me around on this funny blue backpack type thing. When people see me they want to hold me, kiss me, squeeze my cheeks. One lady told me today that I was lucky. We saw another couple from Pittsburgh today. They had adopted a little girl. My dad asked them if they were still celebrating the Super Bowl. I asked my dad what a Super Bowl was.

My dad wrote this song to the tune of a Johnny Cash song

We got married in a fever, hotter than a pepper sprout, we've been talking about going to get Jackson, ever since the fire went out.
We are going to get Jackson, Jackson Brown.
We are going to go get Jackson, lookout Vietnam (sounds like yam).

I thought that you would like to see my schedule

6:30 wake up
play time with Daddy and mommy
7:00 bath
7:30 breakfast
food, play, nap (repeat) until 4:00
4:00 poop
food, play, nap (repeat)until 8:30
8:30 go to bed
2:00 food

Road trip--trip on the road-Lamar

Jackson ate his first green beans today. He ate 6 or 8 spoonfuls of the green stuff. It was a big day for him. He has had pineapple, banana and green beans. He is slow to eat anything, but quick to put everything in his mouth. We found out that Thanh means blue and Tin means prestige. There may be other translations, but those sound good to us.


From the road today, we saw all of these things on the back of 120cc motorcycles: 2 live cows (wrapped around the body of the driver), a boy and girl carrying a 5 foot piece of glass, a herd of pigs on 1 motorcycle, 1oo baskets stacked 8 feet high, and about 6 dogs caged like chickens. I must say Elaine was very upset about this.

We had our first dog story today: no, I did not eat a dog, but on the breakfast buffet they served Vietnamese Sausage. I asked a guy what it was--I am still not sure..could be dog. I did not have it.

We had a very aggressive driver bringing us back to Hanoi. I believe his philosophy was "it will all work out." Sometimes we would be driving 40 miles an hour in the wrong lane with no room to merge, but somehow it all worked out. Even our tour guide said that we got back an hour sooner than he had planned. He said he prayed to Buddha for us.

Tomorrow, we go to the US Embassy for our interview. Be praying for the 1:45 appointment.

Sunday in Ha Long Bay

With the US Embassy celebrating President's day on Monday, it gave us another free day, so we set up a 2 day trip to the most spectacular site that we have seen...Ha Long Bay. If you have ever seen the most recent King Kong Movie, it reminded us of that...3000 islands poking themselves out of the water. The islands are tall and pointed, so there are no humans on them. Somehow, our travel agent secured a boat just for us. Generally, each boat will hold 30 or 40 passengers. Needless to say, it was an adventurous day. On the way over, we saw 1 rice paddy after another. We also traveled through 2 coal mining towns, one of them nicknamed black city.
We also ate fresh pineapple from a roadside stand.

Lynne is doing an outstanding job helping us put Jackson to sleep. Elaine and I are considering offering her a hammock in our pavilion at home. She has been a world of help.

I should say that our menu today consisted of boiled prawn (2 types, 1 that looked like a praying mantis and the other that looked like a gargantuan shrimp), whole snapper fish, stewed squid, beef, pork, vegatables and mandirin oranges for desser. So add stewed squid to the list. I have had squid before at our favorite restaraunt in Chapel Hill, NC, Squids.

Our guide today was Han. He has a wife and 2 children. It was hard to explain to him why the US has 1 holiday per month. He knows English, Russian and Chinese. Before 1991, all students in Vietnam had to learn Russian, now the students learn English.

Please note that while we are in Vietnam spellcheck does not wrok.

Happy Valentine's Day

Love to all of you who have been faithful followers of our blog. We have had a great day with lots of love in the air. They have tons of fresh flowers for sell, heart shaped balloons everywhere, and lots of brides getting their photos. We did an all day tour of Hanoi and enjoyed it but very tired. Learned so much about Vietnam, the history of the country, their beliefs and rituals, and about the wars. Went to the place where lots of POWs were held and tourtured. Lots of woman too that they tortured and killed. The French soldiers were these killers to the Vietnamese people. It was really sad. Then we saw where all our POWs were held and John McCains outfit he was captured in and where he stayed. Saw lots of Buddist Temples and they are very beautiful. Ate a great buffet lunch, then off for more of the city. We ended the night with a water puppet show which is pretty neat. The performers do all this on water with long bamboo sticks and put on a play on the water. You never see the people using the sticks. It looks very difficult to me but quiet interesting to see. It caught Jackson's attention for awhile, but then he lost interest and we had to entertain him in other ways.
Lynne kept Jackson tonight for us just so we could have a little time together on Vanlentine's Day. We got some dinner and found donuts for breakfast in the morning.
You really can not be too romantic on the streets due to the fact that you are just trying to survive out there. Words just can not describe the millions of motorscooters and cars whirling at you everywhere you go. They come down the sidewalks, they come from both directions... it is a madhouse!!!!!!
Everyone is sleeping now, a few snores in the background. We are so tired when we get in at night, it is only minutes before our heads hit the pillow.
Again, Jackson is the energizer bunny. He just keeps on going and never gets fussy about it until he wants his bottle or ready to climb up on your shoulder for his routine sleeping spot.
What a Valentine's Day to remember!!!!
Much love to you all,
Elaine

Hanoi--Day 2

Jackson had a nice day. He met a lady from Thailand during our self imposed intermission from the water puppet show. She had him smiling like one happy boy. I don't think that I had ever been photographed by foreignors like we were today...they weren't taking the picture of me, but I was carrying Jackson, so there I was right in the middle of his picture.

We went on the 1 day Hanoi tour and stayed busy all day. We had a great tour guide named Hai (pronounced Hi, no Hi as in hello, but as in the ocean). He did a fantastic job. A little about him: he is married and has 2 kids. His wife's family is Catholic and he is Buddhist. He lives with 4 generations of family in his home...this is commonplace as based on Confucious' principles for living. Once a person quits working, the parents will live with their son. It is very lengthy and complicated with girls, 2nd sons and inlaws. As with my friends in Nicaragua, he was excited about the election of President Obama. They would have been happy with John McCain, as well.

The day started at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. We did not get to see his body, but we saw the palace, his home place and more. One interesting note, is that HCM gave a Martin Luthur King, Jr. type speech in 1945 in trying to gain freedom from the French. In his speech, he gave quotes from George Washington. Then, we went to the Museum of Ethnology--for the first hour, I thought we were going to the museum of technology...I did not see any technology. The building was much like one of the Smithsonians.

At lunch, I ate a snail today...silkworm larvae one day, snail in the shell next. We went to the Hoa Lo Prison, aka Hanoi Hilton--not the Hilton of Hanoi, the Temple of Literature, and a water puppet show. There were so many love birds out on Valentines Day! We saw many brides to be, beautiful women. Tonight on the way home, we stopped at the Deli Manjoo for some cream puffs.

See you in Halong Bay

Another day

Hey all,
Well, we made it to Hanoi after a great flight in business class. Once you get treated like a queen, the back of the plane, you do not want to be seen!!!!!! We do not know how we got so lucky on the upgrade, but we are glad it happened.
Not too impressed so far with Hanoi. There seems to be double the millions of people, scooters, horns honking, pollution, trash, not to mention most do not speak english in the northern part of Vietnam. But, we have only just begun this week here, so we will let you know.
Tomorrow we do a tour of the city and a water puppet show. The next day we are off on another adventure to Halong Bay and plan to spend the night there. It is suspose to be very beautiful and this way we can get out of this crazy city for a few days.
Yesterday, Lynne and I decided we would have a massage at the hotel next door. What a treat this was. For $29.00, we got a 2 hour adventure in the spa. First we sat in the hottest sauna I have ever been in, drank hot tea for some reason, I was hot enough. Lynne and I sat there giggling at each other naked and sweating, not a pretty site. Then, we both had these huge bathtubs/hot tubs ready for us, the bubbles so deep you felt like you were drowning in them. Then to the massage table where 2 nicely looking young men came in and did the best foot massage I have ever had. Rubbed oils and hot stones all over our feet and legs. It was great. Then, 2 very beautiful girls came in and we got a massage for over an hour. They moved our body and extremeties in ways I have never been bent before. We felt pretty good after the wonderful treatment from the spa.
Jackson is doing great. He loved the business class life and plans to never travel any other way. We told him he better become a Dr. or Lawyer when he grows up or he will be in the back with all of us. He is giggling all the time, started crawling last night, babbling words, I swear one of them sounds like dada-it figures!!!!! He loves people, goes to anyone who will hold him and entertain him, and draws in the ladies.
Hope all is well at home. We appreciate all the Skype calls, the blog messages, and emails. Fun, fun for us to see you and for you to see how precious Jackson is each day!!!!!
Mom is planning a party at our house the day we return around 2pm, so please plan to come on out to the farm. Jackson will not be traumatized, I can assure you of that!!!!
See you soon,
Elaine

Hanoi

We arrived in Hanoi at 1:35. It was a great flight since we were in business class. On the way to the Cherry II hotel, we stopped at the US embassy to drop off Jackson's passport. We have an appointment at 2:00 on Tuesday...President's day, so they are off that day.

Do you remember the vintage video game Frogger? That is what it is like walking across the street here. There are no redlights or caution lights. Millions of motorscooters and taxi's coming down the road at 30 miles an hour...8 wide in some places...and directions do not seem to matter. A man in Saigon gave us the rules to cross: don't stop, don't slow down (the motorists should pass behind you), hold your hand up, and pray. If your adrenaline is not pumping then your chances of crossing alive diminishes. Jackson seemed to love it though.

Jackson threw up on me today as we were arriving at the hotel...so cross that one off your list. He has been a great sport and he has a great laugh. We are lucky! More on Hanoi later...we are going on a city tour tomorrow. Jackson has looked good in his dog outfit, baseball outfit, giraffe outfit and all of the others.

Jackson's Dad

It has already happened. To preface the story, before I left for Vietnam, I was talking to Deonne about her being referred to as Keely's mom or Jordan's mom or Landry's mom. Well last night, I went down to the computer cafe in the hotel and was talking to some Aussie ladies. They asked me the reason that we were here. I told them that my wife and I were here to adopt a baby boy....her reply was "Oh, you must be Jackson's Dad"
They had met him at breakfast that morning.

A couple of notes from our new friends from Australia: they were here for 3 weeks on vacation, they were from Perth and Melbourne, they were concerned about the wildfires there, it has been as hot as 120 degrees F this summer.

Thursday-Final day in Saigon by Lamar

Jackson slept through the night last night. He was tired from the trip to the Mekong Delta and all the hoopla! The first thing this morning, I went with Madame Chau's daugther, Diep (pronounced Deep), to the immigration office. I must be honest that I teared up when she handed me his passport and there was his picture. A little trivia, Vietnam's passports have green covers. The 4 of us took out on a shopping adventure like no other. Our travels took us to sports row, the HCMC post office, 500 or more shops, the Rex Hotel ( many journalists in the Vietnam War stayed here... Anderson Cooper eat your heart out ), the Ben Than market (bickering is allowed), and to Al Fresco's, an Australian based restaraunt. We had smoothies and milkshakes...all is well. We were loaded down after the day's work. Jackson was a trooper and gave his 2 cents worth when needed.

Tonight, he and I watched out our 5th floor window and watched traffic. In a 1 minute time span, we counted 1000 motorscooters (125cc or less), 200 taxies, 8 cars, 25 bicycles, no oxes or asses.

We appreciate all the prayers. We love reading the comments to the blog... so thanks for that. God Bless!

Wednesday, February 11--Lamar's Blog

We traveled to the city of My Tho in the Mekong Delta today. We left at 8 o'clock this morning and returned at 5:30. Jackson had a big day and proved to be quite a ladies man...the Vietnamese ladies and the Aussies that we met loved him. Everywhere we went, they wanted to hold him. One great custom in Vietnam is when you go into a restaraunt, the hostess will hold your baby for you until you are finished eating. It sure is a nice perk.

About the tour in the Delta: our guide was a veteran of the Vietnam War, aka the American War, aka the Civil War...it just depends on who you talk to as to what you call it. We went to a coconut farm where they harvested the fruit, make coconut candy, and maintain a python snake...and yes, we held the snake... Larvae one day, python snake the next. We canoed a canal in the delta, 1.5km with rice patty hats and all. It reminded me of the Dragon Boat race last year, without the speed. We were in a tight, muddy, coconut rooted canal. Canal boat drivers earn 1 dollar a trip and they canoe 2 trips a day. We finished the day at a nice restaraunt where they served up a nice meal that featured fried elephant ear fish (it still had the eyeballs). My clear cut favorite food in Vietanm is the fried banana which by the way I had for dessert at lunch.

When we returned to Saigon, we came to the hotel from a different direction. I saw a stadium nearby which had 15 sporting goods stores side by side. The row was 1 block from our hotel...I ran over to the shops before they closed. My purchases were: 1 rugby ball which was made in Vietnam ($3 here, it would cost $25 or more at Dick's if they sold them), 3 hackey sack shuttlecocks and an Adidas golf shirt ($5). My shopping was rushed, so please know that I will return.

Some notes of interest: teacher salary avg: $200 per month, nurse salary $300 per month, China ruled the country for 1000 years, from 1975 to 1986-all students had to take Russian, the weather is 88 degress in the daytime, Saigon is getting 10 Walmarts next year, KFC is battling Lotteria (Korea) for Chicken supremecy in Vietnam, they bury their dead on the family land to keep their children from selling the land/they worked the land very hard and they want to remain there, the police may pull you over for no reason.

Tuesday in Vietnam by Lamar

We took Jackson to Vietnam immigration today. Elaine got excited and took a picture and it raised serious concern with a member of the agency. There are no pictures allowed inside any governmental buildings. Elaine had her picture confiscated...live and learn. We are waiting for the paperwork to be finalized in HCMC. The doctor's appointment went well for Jackson today...no shots or prods. He seems to be healthy with a only few mosquito bites to tarnish his record.

Elaine and Lynne have been starving over here, so today it was off to the Kentucky Fried Chicken. It reminded me of the time Elaine and I went to Germany and while I was eating Schnitzel, she was eating McDonalds.

We went to Cu Chi tunnels to visit the famed tunnel network that the Viet Cong used. Our tour guide was informative, so I will be able to speak to SS classes about Vietnam War, Cambodia, etc. He said that in 1978, his village was ravaged by the Khmer Rouge...3000 massacared. He had many stories.

We wait for paperwork and then off to Hanoi to gain a Visa for Jackson.

Medical Exam and Passport

Jackson had a good night of sleep for his first night away from the orphanage. He went to sleep after a long day of adventures, and did not wake up until around 0430. I put him in bed with Lamar and I so he would not wake the sleeping, and he went right back so sleep. Had our first bath today and cried the loudest cry we have heard, then realized the bath was not so bad after all. Enjoyed his first peepee in the bathtub too. Wow, what fun he had. Went to the hospital for his medical exam and the Dr. and nurse was very nice. Thought he was very healthy and said his daddy had to be short and round. He weighed in at almost 22 pounds, a chunker. The Dr. called him a Sumo. The Dr. and nurse were very pleased at how healthy and good shape Jackson is in. Also got his passport today. Lynne and Lamar are off on a tour of the Vietnam Tunnels they used in the war. Too tight quarters for ole Elaine and her clostraphobia. Jackson and I decided to stay at the hotel and rest. Good for both of us!!! He is napping right now and I am heading to do the same. Yeah for naptime!!!! We ate KFC for lunch today. Lynne and I are starving, not enjoying the food for us but Lamar loves it. The KFC was good!!!! I finally feel full for a change! I added a few photos and will add more later.
Love you all...

Monday, February 9--Adoption Day by Lamar

3 Quotes from yesterday
"I dropped you off at the airport with 3 women (Elaine, Lynne and Cathy) Bivens and 1 man (me), I picked up 3 women and 3 men (add Jackson and Matthew Bivens)"--Toan, our translator

"He is very lucky...and so are you"--French shop owner in Hoi An

"Always let him know that he is from Vietnam"--Magistrate official at ceremony

Monday was a beautiful day for us. We started the day off by going to the orphanage to pick up Jackson. We had a nice light blue RR outfit for him to wear at the G & R ceremony. The nannies spent there last time with him. It was very sad for them...I know that they loved him very much. The ceremony was short and sweet. Two magistrate representative gave a brief speech and declared the adoption official. We celebrated with one another by eating Mandarin oranges and bottle water. Then there were several pictures made by the statue of Ho Chi Minh.
'
Jackson was very quiet until 12:05. I made the statement that "he came alive at 12:05. " We had a great day in Hoi An, a very old historical touristy village that is located south of Danang. The locals were so nice to us and they loved holding Jackson Than. They would ask where he was from, how old he was, how much he weighed, and how much US dollars. I will write more about Hoi An later. In a nutshell, it was more than I could have ever expected and truthfully, I wish that the day did not have to end!

Jackson and Mommy

Sunday, February 8--Danang by Lamar

We had a wonderful day. I cannot tell you how hard my heart was beating as we left the Danang airport to go to the orphanage. Our interpreter told us that it was 5 km to see Jackson. We landed in Danang and 10 minutes later, we were with Jackson. Play by play--we left the van and walked into the tiny orphanage-8 babies in all....and there he was sitting on the corner of the mat playing. He looked just like he did from the latest picture. The only problem was that there was no name tag and no one declared to us, "there is your son." So, we waited about 3 long minutes and Madame Chau went over and picked him up---handed him to me, and we were off to the races. We played with the chunkster for about 5 minutes and then, the nanny wanted to hold him. Dick Graham had alerted us that the nannies would want to spend as much time with them as possible...and that was an understatement. They loved him! You could tell that they cared about him. One nanny stated that he was the best of all the kids at the orphanage.
Jackson Than Brown Bio
Born -May 2, 2008, Brown eyes, 22 pounds, likes to sleep alone, rambles abound the room
Nannies-Loa'n, Hue, Thao
We get up in the morning at 7am, go to the Judge's office and then he is ours. It will be a big day tomorrow. Pray for us.

This morning in HCMC, we went to the market--there were so many items there--everything from pig's ears to chess sets. Good deals on everything! The conversion rate is 17,500 dong to one US dollar. When you convert $100, they give you 1,700,000...a millionaire. We also went to a Hindu temple (more on that later).

HCMC, Vietnam

We are here. Yes, we made it and the flight was LONG, but not as bad as we had thought it would be. Some good calming medication helped. Seoul, Kroea was very nice, the part we saw. Now we are at the hotel and trying to get organized. We fly to DaNang tomorrow, visit the orphanage and see the baby, and sightsee there the rest of the day. On Monday, we have the G & R ceremony where Jackson officially becomes ours. yeah!!!!!! The Skype is working if any of you are on there, we have already seen Lynnes family and Lamars brother. We are heading to bed, it is 1235 am and we are tired. I will try real hard to upload pictures next time I am on!!!
Love to all from Vietnm!!!!!
Lamar, Elaine, and Lynne

Final Run Thru

Elaine and I spent over an hour on the telephone tonight with Dick Graham from the IAAP (our adoption agency). He covered our entire schedule, plus sightseeing tips, cultural ques, etc. Elaine took 3 pages of notes. One of the main things that he shared is that we will be arriving in Da Nang on Sunday evening and that we would be able to go to the orphanage that night. There is an outside chance that we may be able to take him to the hotel on Sunday. Monday will be the G and R ceremony, so we will take him with us that day for sure. We talked to him using Skype on our computer...the 21st century is great!

People ask me how we feel...kind of numb at this point, but very excited...by the way did I say very excited. At this point, we are planning on contacting our families at 8 pm. There may be some days that we will not be able to, but our goal will be 8 pm. 8pm here is 8am there.

Last Friday, Elaine and I ate at the New Saigon restaurant in Hixson. I had pork meatballs in fish sauce and Elaine had honey chicken. Mom had a meaty dish served over dry noodles. Elaine will be looking for a Kentucky Fried Chicken on our trip.

I bought the language book Colloquial Vietnamese at Grumpy's used bookstore. It seems to be a very complicated language...i.e. the word ban could mean section, table, sell, friend, extremely busy, poor, dirty, or busy. In each spelling there is a little mark over the a to the right, over the a to the left, over the a in the middle, in the a or no mark at all.

It is going to be very exciting and we should updating each evening during the next 2 weeks. The day that we have our gifting and receiving ceremony, we will be calling home on Skype, so that both grandma's can see their new addition.

One Week From Today

We leave a week from today...Oh my!!!!! I have so much to do and little time to complete it all. I was told today from my work family that I was nesting. I have been cleaning like crazy, trying to organize and get rid of stuff we just do not need. Lamar and I have managed to occupy our entire house with stuff, yes stuff!!! Every closet, every nook and cranny, every drawer is full. But, with a little "nesting" I have been doing, I think I can move a baby in and have room for some stuff for him!! YEAH!!!!!

Another poem that was shared with me by a fellow adoptee:

Child of my Heart

Not flesh of my flesh,

Nor bone of my bone,

But still miraculously my own.

Never forget for a single minute,

You did not grow under my heart,

But in it...

Pictures

Check out the new pics I learned to add today!!!! Nursery and Family

Showers of Gifts

Wow, what love we have from all our family and friends. Lamar and I are so blessed. Flowers were sent to work with a big baloon saying IT'S A BOY from my wonderful work family which completely surprised me. Lamar's work friends (County Administrators) had a surprise shower today for him and really got him good. I am sure he was all smiles. Both our families have bought so much for us already and friends have helped me paint, plan my nursery, and keep my sanity as much as possible. We finally have the day bed and crib up!!!! Yeah, that was a big step to getting the nursery going and I feel good about the room.
Jackson is going to have so many people that love him and can not wait to meet him. Soon...we will have our son!
Love and Thanks

Schedule for trip

This is a sample schedule. I believe my training of middle school principal will help us... "improvise and adjust." We may get Jackson Than on Monday the 9th or Tuesday the 10th. We will see him on Monday, but may not take him until Tuesday...I think it is an adoption layaway program.

Saturday, Feb. 7: Arrive Saigon (HCMC)
Sunday, Feb 8: Fly to Da Nang
Monday, Feb 9: Sign G & R; fly back to HCMC
Tuesday, Feb 10: Apply for children's passports and visa medical
Thursday, Feb 12: Receive passports and medical result
Friday, Feb 13: Flight to Hanoi
Monday, Feb 16 or 17: Visa Interview
Thursday, Feb 19: Leave Hanoi around midnight

Travel Plans for Now

Lamar, Elaine, Lynne will be leaving on February 6th early in the morning. We are flying from Chattanooga to Atlanta to Seoul to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). I am not reading any of my Sports Illustrateds until the 15+ hour flight to Seoul. Below is our flight schedule...we will post the daily schedule soon. Thanks for the thought and prayers.

Friday, Feb. 6 Chattanooga to Atlanta 6:00 am Delta 5583
Friday, Feb. 6 Atlanta to Seoul 10:45 arrive 4:05 (Feb-7) Korean Air 91
Saturday, Feb. 7 Seoul to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 6:45 to 10:20 pm

Thursday, Feb 19 Hanoi to Seoul 11:50 pm, arrive Seoul 5:50 am
Friday, Feb. 20 Seoul 10:05 am,, arrive Atlanta 9:30 am (Same day...go figure that one)
Friday, Feb 20 Atlanta to Chattanooga 12:15pm

Hope to see you there!

Names

Names, names, how important the name is. Been asked a hundred times on this, and Lamar and I are still soul searching for the best name. I will let you know we are leaning toward Jackson and using one of his names as the middle name. He kinda looks like a Jack, my maiden name!!!!What do you think???? The name is not after the famous singer Jackson Browne, but I do like his songs!!

Approval

The long wait for the approval has come. We received the approval to adopt our son on New Years Eve day. What a way to start the new year off, getting ready to become a parent. WOW, it is getting close. We still do not have the travel dates from Vietnam, which is when we will actually fly there and get the baby the day after we arrive, but hopefully, it will be soon. I will let you know as soon as we get any information. Thanks again for the constant love and prayers for us on this new adventure and life changing time for us!!!!!!