HALT!!

I only buy a newspaper on Sunday for the coupons, but Keith came home with the newspaper yesterday. He wanted to read about that guy in Austria that held his daughter captive, etc. There are sick folks in our world today! Keith read the article and then glanced through the rest of the paper and saw a column about Vietnam halting all adoptions from the U.S. I think the reason being that the U.S. is afraid there may be some under dealings going on in Vietnam to make these kids available. If you live in another country I think the process is a lot easier with Vietnam, than being from the U.S. and their restrictions, which I am sure are for the good of the child. I can see the faces of the kids that were in Van's orphanage, their chances of being adopted have narrowed now!

We are working on a trip to Southeast Asia again. Van was mellow on the trip home from Vietnam, but I think it will be a different story this go around and no, we are not on an adoption trip, at least not for now.

My parents will be here in two days, the boys always have a good time with them.

Exploring Vietnam

 
 


These photos were taken at the Cu Chi Tunnels in Vietnam. My memory card went bad with some of my newer photos, that's the reason for all of the old photos lately.

The boys are doing fine. Van can drink out of a cup and not spill it all over himself. His yelling has ceased for now it seems, which is wonderful. We are loving the nice weather and spending a lot more time outdoors. Van is really jabbering, just wish I knew what he was talking about. He keeps messing with the mouse and hitting the keyboard, so it's hard to type.


The boys are looking forward to a visit from their Grandparents in the next few weeks.

What a Nice Day

 

 

The weather was so nice today! We went for a walk after lunch and had a really nice time. Van was pretty tired, so I put him to bed early. Keith checked on him a little later and said that the little guy had a container of wipes in the bed with him. We have a diaper, etc. organizer attached to his crib and he must have grabbed the wipes off of that thing and put them in the bed with him, he had already pulled out a few to play with. We went to the Zoo again on Saturday, but didn't stay too long, it was a little chilly for us.

More Zoo Pics

 

 

 

Van had his two year old check up today- He weighs 23 lbs and I can't remember his height. He was not a happy camper when he saw the doctor, he had to have 3 immunizations and a few in June and hopefully be caught up.

Van seems to be getting more loving, this morning he wrapped his arms around my leg and laid his head on my leg. He also likes to lean his head on you when you push the shopping cart around Walmart.


The therapy went real well this morning. Van really likes Kerri, the lady giving the therapy, she brings a big bag of toys with her.

It was hard having school today since we were out yesterday and had so much going on today.

Zoo

 

 

 

We went to the Zoo yesterday and had a really good time. I think both of the boys enjoyed it. Our favorite animals would have to be the little monkeys and the penguins, they were the most entertaining. It was raining a little when we arrived, but it cleared up pretty soon afterwards.

Van will have his first therapy session today in about an hour. His therapist is very nice and has an adopted child of her own.

Progress

 

 

I can't hardly believe that this first photo is of the Van that we know and love. Van is a very happy little guy, it must have been really hard for him at the orphanage.

We met with the evaluator today and Van qualifies for some therapy to help him catch up on things that he is a little slow at picking up on. I will find out soon when the therapy will begin.

There's a song we sing at church that has hand motions and Van has started trying to copy the motions and attempts the first word of the song.

We didn't really have a party for Van on his birthday, just some cake after supper. Van screamed with delight when he saw the cake. Keith went to get the video camera, this will be fun to look back on one day. Van gets so overjoyed with food! He liked his gifts, too.

I have been rearranging lately, I think I have spring fever. I am so ready to buy some flowers, but I always buy them too soon and the cold gets them. I made a wreath for the door and cleaned off my porch, so I made a little bit of a start.

First

 

This is the first photo we saw of Van on February 7, 2007. We were so excited to see that photo. We had waited for so long to see this little guy's face. This photo gave us hope that there was a real little boy waiting on us to go and get him. Van has come such a long way. I can't tell you how much he has changed over the last 5 months. He is jabbering away, but not a lot of understandable words yet, which leads to frustration on his and our part. We have an evaluator coming out on Tuesday to see if he is eligible for speech therapy. He wants to speak so bad it seems, he will watch your lips and try to repeat words, but they don't always come out just right.

Today is his 2nd birthday and he's active as can be this morning. I found some scribble marks on the closet door the other day, I wonder who could have done that. Van loves to write and color on himself, the wall and even on paper at times.

We thank God for this little boy and for the joy he has brought to our family. We still can't thank everyone enough who was part of this whole process.

Race is really excited, one of his best friends, Isaiah, will be coming in June to stay with us for a little over two weeks. Isaiah moved back to Colorado last summer and they haven't seen each other since. These guys would stay in the back yard and wrestle all night if we'd allow them. They are two of a kind and can't wait to be reunited.

I think I am on the upside on the stomach virus hopefully. Feeling a little better today, but not 100%.