AT LONG LAST!!!!!!!!!!

I'm the only one left awake in this hotel suite. Molly was the first to fall asleep (at the restaurant downstairs, just after 8:30pm, her regular bedtime at the orphanage. Emma and Kate are also exhausted from the travel and the emotions of today. I was falling asleep at the computer while trying to send some pics to a couple of other adoptive parents with babies at our orphanage, but I REALLY wanted to get something out before crashing tonight.

We got a phone call from Martin last night telling us the G&R ceremony WAS indeed moved up to this afternoon (out of thoughtfullness to try to get Molly to us, and twin girls to the Maust family who are with us here now, in time for Mother's Day on Sunday!!). We broke the news to Emma this morning (who, thanks to the jetlag, was wide awake at 5AM!!), and she was just too excited.

We ventured out into Hanoi for a long walk to the lake, and then to the old quarter. What a different world here! We heard about it, you expect it, but still the overwhelming number of motorbikes and bicycles is an incredible sight to behold. And then to become part of it as you take that leap of faith and cross the streets... Kate's technique is don't look, just go.... talk about extreme sports!! Makes bungee jumping seem boring! Add to that the INCREDIBLE HUMIDITY, the heat, and the exhaust fumes, so you can add oxygen deprivation to the experience. The people in the city are very friendly and they are enamored with Emma!!! She turns heads everywhere she goes.

Well, anyway, we got back to the hotel and enjoyed the pool and excercise center, when one of the World Child people, Kenny, found us there and said the G&R was now moved up and we would have to leave by 12:30!!! Meanwhile, the Mausts were just arriving in Hanoi around 11AM and didn't even know they were going to get their twins in a matter of hours! So we showered, got dressed, and got our gifts in order and met Cindy and Jerry Maust in the lobby and packed into the van for a ride to Thai Nguyen, approximately 2 hours north of Hanoi. Another fascinating ride, seeing the sights along the way, constantly coming across surreal sights, like a family of 3 kids with dad on a motorbike, and people carrying all sorts of things on their bikes or motorbikes (one guy with about 10 tires and rims stacked high and strapped to his motorbike) and weaving through this traffic in a van on narrow roads, filled with crazy two-way traffic, with constant honking of horns and narrow misses that just seem a part of the fabric here.

Entrance to the Orphanage

We arrive at Thai Nguyen orphanage and wait in a hot room with one of the caretakers who spoke about as much English as I speak Vietnamese! This went on for about 30 minutes or so, until I ran out to the van to get something we forgot. Of course, I come back 60 seconds later and Kate now has Molly in her arms as Emma is doting on her !!!! I live to see, cause or just be a part of Kate's emotional moments, and I miss this one by seconds!! Oh well....

The Mausts have their hands full with twin girls and it's just quite the scene! We all scramble to take pictures, Em is in LOVE with her baby sister, and of course Kate is in heaven with her adoring new daughter! She is so sweet and only suffers from rashes and a partially treated skin infection. (we are taking all of the babies to the SOS Clinic tomorrow morning, which is the nearby medical clinic that we have heard great things about, with western MD's). After spending some time there at the orphanage, Two families have just added loved ones!

we say good-bye to several caretakers who wave from the outdoor balcony as they see us leave with the little girls they have loved for the past several months. We load in the van and head over to the Justice Department where there is a brief ceremony where we sign papers and exchange thanks with the Director there as the adoption is completed.

Checking the fine print at the G&R

More photo opportunities, more waiting in a very hot and humid room, and we are off in the van for the ride back to Hanoi. I'm not sure why, but we don't give a second thought to riding without carseats for Emma, much less the 3 infants in the van as we head back to the chaos of Friday evening traffic in Hanoi! We stop to buy formula and head back to the hotel. We have finally reached this point in the journey that began more than 2 YEARS ago! Emma just wants to hold Molly, feed her, and even helped to bathe her and change her diaper! QUITE THE DAY!!!!!!!!!!

So, that's why 3 out of the 4 are asleep now, and once I get a few pics up, I will make 4!! unless Molly wakes up, of course, but that wouldn't happen now, would it? Stay tuned for the next installment :-)