Thursday, September 13, 2007

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

So we are leaving tonight (actually, we are leaving at 1:50 am tomorrow morning but I'm counting it as tonight). Leaving for this long is tricky. The truth is, I don't really know what it is I have to prepare for. Hopefully things will all go normally. My sister is staying at our house with her three girls, so it will be a full, noisy, crazy house. We have told out little ones where we are going and how much fun it will be. Of course, my littlest one doesn't understand any of it. My three year old is very excited to get to spend so much time with his cousins. Luckily we have installed Skype which my teenagers know how to use. That will help my little ones so they can see us. And it will help me A LOT to be able to see them.
I have been running around doing a bunch of life things. One fun thing was that I needed a root canal. I am afraid of any place that holds needles, so I was not happy going there. I've never had a root canal before, but just knew I was going to need one before I got there. Why? Because it was two days before my trip! So I needed one. It really wasn't that bad. I asked my dentist several times if I would feel the drilling/ripping/digging/burning and he assured me several times that I wouldn't. Finally, I realized that I was about to spend two or three hours JUST SITTING without laundry, email, errands...so I relaxed and tried to enjoy it. They put the complete series of Friends on and I have to say I enjoyed myself for the next few hours. It didn't hurt at all, not even later that night or the next day. So, yes, having a root canal has been one of the most relaxing things I've done in a long time.
I have packed pretty well I think. Not too much not too little. I don't know our little girl's size so I have packed some 3-6 months and a few 6-9 months. I have been told that there are a lot of cute things for babies over there so I am not too worried about that. I have enough soft blankets, a front pack, sling, diapers, and three different kinds of bottles. And a camera and computer. Everything else is extra and can be replaced. I heard we are getting our babies from Lang Son on Wednesday. Or options were Tuesday or Wednesday. I am sad it won't happen Tuesday, because Ray leaves the following Monday. Oh well, it will all happen really soon. Tonight we will get on the plane bringing us closer and closer to her!
We will be landing on Saturday morning, where our friends Anh and Paul will pick us up. Paul is from the U.S. and Anh is from Vietnam. They have been traveling there to see Anh's family and were nice enough to extend their visit to meet up with us. We are going to go shopping after we take showers and go buy things for the orphanages. I'm sure it will help to have Anh know the language and how to get good prices. They have already found stores they think we should check out. I want to get things for the orphanages at Lang Son and Thai Nguyen. Sunday we are going with them for an overnight stay at Halong Bay and then returning Monday evening. I want to see as much of Vietnam as we can so we can tell our little girl about it. We will be staying at the Melia for the beginning of the trip and then moving to the Somerset right before my husband leaves. I want to spend a lot of time with the other families who are getting their babies at the same time.

5 comments:

Heather said...

Good Luck Stacey,Ray and Stacey's Baby(Does she have a name?).I will be thinking about you guys. You are so lucky to be getting your little girl.Before you know it she will be in your arms FOREVER.Your Journey is almost over and a new one beginning.Treasure every moment.
Your friend and fellow Lang Son Mommy,
Heather
P.S. If I am very lucky,I will meet you in Hanoi.I still have hope.

Anonymous said...

Have a safe trip.

Angela said...

Stacey and Family,
Congratulations! I can't wait to see pictures of the children at the orphanage with their bags. What a wonderful thing you did!

Have a wonderful trip! Your baby will be in your arms very soon!

Best wishes,
Angela
WC Yahoo group friend

Michelle and Peter said...

Have a safe trip. Can't wait to read about your journey.

Michelle

Mary said...

I know you are already gone but I hope you have a safe journey. I will be following along! Congratulations!

Mary