Photos

Some photos have been posted throughout the blog -- enjoy!

Part Of The Family

Jack is slowly settling into his new surroundings and he is being welcomed into the family. We had a visit earlier today from his 5 cousins - Amanda Rachel, Ella, Cole, Adam and Danielle - all of whom were eager to see Jack today. While in Vietnam, we purchased some conical hats, commonly worn there, as gifts for the children. They were received with great enthusiam, for the most part.

Other members of the family, both here in Toronto and in England called and/or visited for part of the day. We also recieved a call from Vanessa's great-aunt Gert (Vanessa's grandmother's sister - the one remaining family member of that generation on her side of the family).

Aunt Beverley and Uncle David will be visiting from England for a couple of weeks at the beginning of August. Both are eagerly waiting the opportunity to meet Jack. Vanessa's parents are planning to come to Toronto in late September or early October.

On Taylor's side of the family, Jack has a great grandmother, Mrs. H. Sullivan aged 103. Sometime in the summer or fall we hope to take Jack to visit her and Taylor's great-aunt Florence who turns 100 in September. They both live in southern Ontario.

We know Jack will be blessed by the many members of our "extended family" of freinds, all of whom we thank for thoughts, prayers and support. We expect many of you would like to stop by the house and meet Jack. We welcome you to do so, however, please call ahead of time - that way we can make sure we don't have too many visitors at once (!)

best wishes to all
Vanessa, Taylor & Jack

Returning Home

We are home!

After a very long time travelling, we have returned safely to Toronto. The day on Wednesday began early in Ho Chi Minh City. On the way to the airport, we experienced a major traffic jam which slowed us up for about half an hour. Fortunately we decided to leave for the airport early, so this was not a big issue. It was an interesting experience though, with cars, motorcyles etc.... stop and go, moving in every direction possible - all at the same time. Because our flight date was finalized at the last minute, we did not have seats reserved, nor were we able to secure a bassinet for Jack for most of the flight. We had one for the initial two hour flight to Hong Kong, but not for the long haul trip to Toronto. We decided we would just face whatever we had to face and manage the best we could. The flight to Hong Kong went smoothly and we arrived at about 3:30pm. We did not have much time to board the flight to Toronto as it was leaving at 4:20pm. Upon boarding this flight, we took our seats, located in the middle section of the plane. There were four seats together in this seaction, and to our (pleasant) surprise the two seats beside us were empty --- someone was watching out for us, as this meant we had the whole section to ourselves and could spread out, making things a whole lot easier. These seats were vacant all the way to Toronto. The flight was very long, but Jack held up quite well, only getting restless a few times. We landed in Toronto and were greeted by most of Taylor's family, including 4 of his neices and nephews who were eagerly awaiting the arrival of their new cousin (!)

Home at last!

We are back home -- we arrived safely after a very long and relatively smooth flight. It is 12:30am Thursday morning (Toronto time). We will be taking it easy and keeping a low profile for the next few days. However, do check here in the next 24 hours or so as we hope to have some photos posted.

blessings
Vanessa, Taylor & Jack

The Long Journey Home

We have received word our return date has been moved up one day. The VISA has been processed and is on its way to us. We return to Toronto tomorrow (Wed., July 11). We leave Ho Chi Minh City at 11:25am (local time), fly to Hong Kong, where we leave at 4:20pm (again local time). We have a stop in Anchorage, and in a manner of speaking we actually arrive in Anchorage before we leave Hong Kong -- I'll let you figure that one out! From Anchorage, we complete our journey with the final stretch to Toronto, arriving at 9:55pm (local time). All together about 17 hours of flying -- with a little one.

Today, we are taking the opportunity to walk around town, stretch our legs and prepare for the journey ahead. We will probably try to keep Jack awake as much as possible in the hopes he will sleep most of the way home -- one can hope.

Once we have returned, we hope to post some photos of our journey. Be sure to check here later this week.


blessings
Vanessa, Taylor & Jack

Day By Day

We continue each day taking time to visit various places through the city. There is always a lot of hussle and bustle with all kinds of people quickly moving about on motorcycles and other vehicles. The big advantage of our hotel is its location in the heart of the city. We are close to just about everything, with numerous shops, sites, restaurants within a 5 minute walk. The weather continues hot and humid, and just about everyday around 3pm the dark storm clouds roll in and the heavens open wide.

Jack continues to take in the world around him. He is becoming more and more comfortable with us and his surroundings. He is laughing more and playing with simple toys, like a ball or a rattle.

We received the Vietnamese passport for Jack and this along with the Canadian VISA application has been sent off to Singapore. One more step along the way. Our return date has now been set for Thursday, July 12 - although, like everything else that could change.

blessings
Vanessa, Taylor & Jack

Baby steps

Some have been asking about Jack's size -- he is 7.9kg and 71cm (measurements taken at the routine visit to the local medical clinic in town, the one that has all of his medical charts. A doctor from this clinic visits the orphanage and did the initial consultation on behalf of our adoption agency. Apart from a touch of a cold, which all the children from the orphanage get regularly, Jack is in good shape)

Slowly, day by day we are settling into a routine with Jack. Of coarse, once we are settled, we will have to make the long journey home which will disrupt any sense of routine (!) Gradually Jack is getting to know us and becoming comfortable in our presense. He is not as afraid when he gets up each morning or after a nap. He is starting to chuckle and laugh. He loves his bouncy chair (the best $40 investment we made for this trip). He is sleeping on average 2 to 2.5 hours at a time. Used to getting up at 4am at the orphanage, he does wake early. Initially he was very unsure of what to do with a simple toy, as at the orphanage, they did not have any to play with. He is gradually learning what to do with small things that make noises, or a ball that bounces. He likes to obverse and watch everything that goes on around him. At the hotel room we have a balcony overlooking the a busy square in town. Whenever Jack is restless, taking him out there, settles him down quite nicely. He is simply facinated with the new world around him.

The Vietnamese passport application was submitted yesterday. By tomorrow we should get a better idea of where things are in the process and from there when we will return home.

blessings
Vanessa, Taylor & Jack

The world for one little boy just became much bigger

After a very, very long day on Friday, we are settling into a routine at the hotel with Jack. Friday morning saw us leave Ho Chi Minh City at 5:00am for a five hour mini-bus ride into the Mekong Delta to the town of Tra Vinh. This journey was long, tiring, and I have to add rather dangerous -- road safety standards in Vietnam (as in many parts of the world) compared to those of Europe and North America are virtually non-existant. There is really one highway into Tra Vinh, a main road that everyone and their mother, father, brother, sister, uncle, dog, cat, water buffulo etc.... takes this road. About 3/4 of the population scoot about in motorcyles going every which way they can along the highway (90 per cent of these people wear no helmut). Our driver was excellent though, and got us there and back safely.

We arrived in Tra Vinh Friday morning where we returned to the orphanage to spend some more time with Jack. We then headed to the department of Justice in the town for the formal giving ceremony which was to be held at 2pm. Once we arrived, though, we found they were not ready for us and the ceremony would be delayed. We went to visit a pagoda close to town. This pagoda was built in 626A.D. -- a very calming and relaxing place to be, given the stress and uncertainty of the moment. There was a real fear the giving ceremony would have been delayed yet again and we would have to, yet again, travel to Tra Vinh.

Upon leaving the pagoda, however, we received word the Department of Justice was ready for us. We had the giving ceremony at 4:15 Friday afternoon. The ceremony itself was quite simple, perhaps anti-climatic, however, a formal occasion that will remain in our memories always. After signing some papers, we asked to stand, the Justice Department officer declared the adoption process official and Jack was handed over to us. At that point, he become a part of our family.

After a brief stop at the orphanage we started out on the return trip back to Ho Chi Minh City. It was a difficult journey back in the mini-bus with 3 babies, 2 young children (under 6) and 8 very tired adults (and no seat-belts to be had). One of the babies vomited about 10 minutes into our journey.

Jack was probably quite overwhelmed by everything around him. This was his first venture outside the orphanage. He did eventually settled down and take bottle, falling asleep in daddy's arms. Mommy decided at that moment to take a nap herself. Not wanting to disturb Jack's sleep, daddy had to stay awake for the whole journey.

From that moment on, Jack's world grew. He is now experiencing all the sights, sounds, smells of the large city. He loves to look around at everything around him and seems to enjoy being carried around in the baby sling as we walk around town. So far, he has been sleeping pretty well, getting up at regular intervals. When he first awakens, he is quite afraid and unsure of his surroundings (and probably unsure of the two people looking at him!)

Now back in Ho Chi Minh city, Monday morning we will apply for a Vietnamese passport for Jack, then for a Canadian entry VISA. Once both of these have been processed, we can return home. We will update you on that once we know more.

All three of us thank-you for your thoughts and prayers that have helped bring us to this point in our lives.

Vanessa and Taylor and Jack