Some words of advice from Big Brother Gabe

The first order of business when getting a sister is to establish what toys are yours and are not to be touched without permission.

Next, help feed her some food so she won't cry all night and keep you up (for the record she was served applesauce, not ketchup--that's for me).

You have to remember to kiss them from time-to-time to keep up appearances, particularly when the parents are around. It helps when they are sitting still and being cute.

And don't forget that feeding part. Babies really like to eat. It also helps to have some trains around at all times as stress-relievers. You never know when you'll need a train.

Gabe

International Traveller

Business Class travel is definitely the way to go when travelling internationally, or at least that's Lulu's opinion. After enjoying a snack in the lounge at the airport in Hanoi, it was up, up, and away for Lulu's first of many flights.

We confirmed the bulkhead seats for both international flights, though Lulu seemed to have plenty of foot room in any seat we were in. Note how much energy Joni has in this picture, taken moments after lift-off in our odyssey home.

After the 12 or 13 hour flight from Hong Kong to LA, we were "fortunate" enough to spend the night in an empty terminal at LAX. I say fortunate because by time we got our boarding passes from the United counter (not a big fan of United customer service, by the way), the last flights had left for the night and security didn't want to let us back through. We used the "our baby needs somewhere to sleep/eat" card to get someone to let us go through security, though that was no small feat either. Apparently coming into the country on a one-way ticket sets off some major red flags, because we got a thorough "screening." We discovered that our diaper bag had apparently come into contact with gun powder during our trip abroad, which is comforting. We passed Lulu back and forth as we both struggled to stay awake until our 6:00 am departure. As a side note, apparently no one has thought it would be a good idea to serve food or drink to arriving passengers at LAX between the hours of 12:00 am and 5:00 am. As for that McDonalds mentioned in a previous post, the 4:30 am opening hours are apparently discretionary. They eventually opened after 5:00, and Joni braved the long line (others started lining up before 4:30) to secure our breakfast moments before boarding.

I didn't take any pictures in Denver because we didn't expect it to be a long layover. However, after United refused to let us catch an earlier flight (which had many available seats and would've gotten us home 6 hours earlier than we did), I got the added experience of going out to baggage claim to pick-up my carry-on bag (which I had checked plane-side in LA) due to inadequate overhead room. The "longest security lines ever seen," according to the locals in line with me, took me an hour to traverse before returning to Joni and Lulu. I will acknowledge that an United supervisor did take a bit of pity on us and let Joni and Lulu wait for me in a semi-private lounge (apparently built to house the many travellers they know will be wronged in the normal course of business). After all of that, we bypassed many better lunch options to arrive at our departure gate at the appropriate time. However, the good folks flying from Colorado Springs to Denver (14 minute flight) were delayed 2 hours, so our plane was late in arriving. Throw in a rain delay, another flight getting to board at our gate ahead of us, and an hour delay on the tarmac, and you had a weary group. I was at wits end and obviously looked it, as Joni did her best to calm Lulu and I both.

It was a fitting end to a long trip abroad. Fortunately, the payoff, seeing Gabe and family at the bottom of the ramp in Wichita, felt every bit as good as we knew it would. There were many tears of happiness and relief. As you see below, Gabe filled the part of a big brother: first by apparently eating everything in sight while we were gone and second by welcoming his sister home with a big kiss.

It is so good to be home.

Aaron, Joni, and Lulu

Saying Goodbye

Before we left, we said our farewells. Throughout our stay with the other three families, it was touching to see our daughters react with one another. The girls would often hold hands when near one another, and we know from our trip to the orphanage that they held hands with the children lying next to them as their most consistent human contact for the many months they awaited our arrival. The caretakers did their best, but there are just so many babies and only a few arms to hold them. Above is a picture of Claire, one of Lulu's first best friends.

As all four families enjoyed a meal together our last night in Hanoi, we all agreed it would be nice to keep in touch and hopefully reunite the girls at some point in the future, in some way. Our families share a special connection, having weathered this trying and amazingly rewarding journey together, and we all want our daughters to have as much context to their adoption story as possible. We wish all the families on our trip and those still waiting to go the very best.

Lulu's Baptism

We probably need to do a wrap-up posting with an account of our trip home (36 hours) and some pics. Between the reversed sleep schedule and the hussle of life with two kids, we haven't found as much time to blog as we did in Hanoi.

However, we did want to get the word out that Lulu's baptism will take place this Saturday morning, following the 8:00 morning Mass, at St. Thomas Aquinas. We'll spend the rest of the morning with family, but we'll be opening our home to our friends, colleauges, and neighbors that afternoon. From 1:00 to 5:00 pm this Saturday (8/11), you are invited to an Open House to welcome Lulu to her extended family (all of you). No RSVP is necessary. Snacks and beverages will be provided. Gabe is insisting on cake as well, so we'll see what we can do.

Gabe is adjusting very well to the life of a big brother. If we could just get Lulu's sleeping scheduled switched from Hanoi to Wichita time, all would be well. Even with that, we are very happy to be home and reunited as a complete family of four.

Thank you again for all of your support. The fact that we made it home when we did, together, was nothing short of a miracle, and we have everyone's prayers and God's grace to thank for that.

Take care and hope to see you Saturday,

Aaron, Joni, Gabe, and Lulu

Home at last!

Well, we just wanted to let everyone know, that after a four hour delay in the home stretch from Denver - we finally made it home Friday night.

We've taken the weekend to break our new expanded family in, and Gabe is doing wonderfully as a big brother. We'll post some pictures very soon of the two of them together.

We can't begin to thank everyone enough for all of the prayers and positive thoughts. It is amazing to see all of the people who cared enough to follow Lulu's adventure. We will make sure to keep you posted of her progress as our family together and grows up!

Love,
Joni, Aaron, Gabe & Lulu too!

OOOOOOOOOOOO. . . L.A. L.A.

Well folks - its good to say that we are officially back in the U.S.A. - even if it is Los Angeles! And its 1:30 a.m. and our flight doesn't leave until 6:00 a.m., and nothing's open. Also, try washing bottles in an L.A. airport bathroom - it makes me long for the conditions back in Hanoi!

We are very excited to be getting closer. In about 15 minutes, it will officially bet 24 hours since we left our hotel in Hanoi. Lulu weathered the 14 hour flight pretty well - but traveling in business class certainly helped!

Although we will be exhausted, we are looking forward to McDonalds opening at 4:30 a.m. - and then getting on a flight to bring us home to Gabe. We miss his so much, we can hardly wait to lay our eyes on him - and have him lay eyes on Lulu!

See you soon.

Love,
Joni, Aaron& Lulu

Tam Biet Vietnam!

That means goodbye in Vietnamese! Hello from Hong Kong! We are officially on our way home! One flight down, three to go and a mere 28 hours! We can't wait to see Gabe, and everyone else. Lulu is excited to meet everyone!

Keep our travels in your thoughts and prayers - and see you very soon!

Love,
Joni, Aaron & Lulu

God Bless the U.S.A. !!! We are coming home!

Hello everyone,

Yesterday was dark indeed, in that we were told the U.S. Embassy had launched an investigation into the adoptions out of Phu Tho - which included our little Lulu. It appeared that we would again have to separate and I travel home tomorrow first - followed by Lulu and Aaron a week to two weeks later.

Low and behold, at about 8:30 a.m. Hanoi time our luck finally changed! We were granted our 2nd interview this afternoon at 2:00 p.m. and Lulu's VISA application was officially accepted and we can pick it up tomorrow between 2:30 - 3:30 p.m. which means we will make our 7:00 p.m. flight tomorrow night! All of us!! Together!! Coming home to Gabe!!!

We are estatic beyond words!! We look forward to introducing everyone to Lulu, more importantly we look foward to coming home to Gabe and all our loved ones! See you soon.

Love,
Joni, Aaron & Lulu

Lulu's

Passing time with Lulu...

New pics...

Another day in Hanoi

Hi everyone,

We did our best to pass another day before we can come home to everyone - especially Gabe. We went to Mass this morning at St. Joseph's with our new friends, Jennifer, Craig, and their new daughter, Annie. We went earlier this week and found ourselves at the Vietnamese Mass. Although we understood nothing, it was still a beautiful service. The singing was amazing, and Lulu really liked it. It was also nice to see a "packed house," with standing room only. Its amazing to see your faith practiced so fully half way around the world.

We took a "handy craft" tour in the afternoon, that turned out not to be that "crafty." We did get to see how silk is made - if you like silk, don't ever do this! It's a very primitive industrial job, with huge mechanical looms that are oppressively loud. I felt so horrible for the lady working these six looms in a small dark room. It is obvious that they work very long days, and make "up to" 70,000 Dong per day (about $4.38 U.S.). But that is nothing compared to the dying of the silk - which is an egregiously hot process involving many men and big spools of fabric dipped into boiling dye bins. Again, 12-14 hour days. These are also considered "very good jobs" because of the pay. I am very glad Lulu is coming home with us!

We also got an opportunity to go out into the countryside and see some Pagodas and local villages. It was very interesting, as we explored one Pagoda that was carved inside a cave with 108 rooms! During the wars Ho Chi Minh stayed in this cave and plotted war strategies. They even moved the TV station into the cave to broadcast for a year during the war with the French. Very interesting.

The country folk are also more colorful. The older women almost all engaged in "teeth dying" as a symbol of wealth, status, and attractiveness. Here's the kicker though - they died their teeth black! Not exactly a traditional beauty mark, but Lulu loved them! They sang to her and she thought they were great. We did run into the first instances where we don't think the local people were excited about us adopting the children and taking them to America. Either through a loss in translation, or an overly nice tour guide, they just made us promise to "take care of their babies." It was heartening in that at one temple in the country the old ladies actually took in a small orphan girl and were raising her in the temple - she was about 2 years old. Of course, they also asked to keep Lulu too - but we declined!

The heat is simply oppressive, and actually takes your breath away at times. The babies just mostly sleep when they are out in the heat. It is an interesting country with a long, rich history. We admire the Vietnamese people on so many levels. They are strong, brave, and definitely survivors. They have fought the French, the Japanese, the French again, and then us. Yet no one has treated us with any animosity.

They work so very hard, everyday of the week, for long hours and little pay - yet at the beginning and the ending of each day most families take to the neighborhood streets to share a bowl of pho and chat. It is a very social country.

The bravery to drive a car, let alone a motor bike, here proves they are a courageous lot. We hope our daughter carries these traits, and we will do our best to develop them in her new country. Life is hard here, but hearts are light and life is full - we truly want to take that mentality home with us not only for Lulu, but Gabe too.

We expect to hear when our 2nd Embassy interview is tomorrow- so we'll keep you updated.

Love,
Joni, Aaron, & Lulu

Are we home yet?

As we count down the days to our return (hopefully), we continue to spend our days seeing the sights and learning what we can about Lulu's homeland so that we can provide answers to some of the questions that are sure to come some day. Fortunately, there are many beautiful and interesting places to visit, so braving the heat and humidity is worth the effort.

We began today at the Temple of Literature, a nearly 1000-year old complex of temples and courtyards that is a central part of the intellectual history of Vietnam. Among the highlights were a series of stone tablets sitting atop turtles, on which are engraved the names of all the doctors who had succesfully completed their study in the centuries of education in the outlying collection of buildings. We also had a lengthy chat with a woman in one of the gift shops who said she is from the same city and ethnic heritage as Lulu. She told us Luong means "sweetheart" and words to the effect of "a long life." She also said that the Phu Tho Province and Viet Tri, in particular, are known for producing rulers, leaders, and other professionals. She said that children from Lulu's hometown are "clever" and "lucky." This may be true of all children of parents she is trying to sell things to, but we took her to be sincere. And yes, we bought some very nice things from her.

We had lunch at KOTO (Know One, Teach One), a restaurant staffed by former street children whose profits benefit other streetchildren. The food was very good, and it was nice to support a program to benefit children who are living lives that likely would've been Lulu's if not for God's grace in bringing her to us.

In the afternoon, we visited the Ambassador Pagoda, the central location for Buddhist practice in all of Vietnam. It was located a convenient 4-5 blocks from our hotel, which was more than enough time to work up a sweat. Have we mentioned yet that it is hot here? I mean really hot. I'm not sure if it's physically possible, but I think this part of the Earth actually warms the Sun.

Tomorrow will bring another trip to Church, followed by an afternoon trip to a local village to learn about village life and see some handicrafts.

Gabe is back at home with Joni's parents, so at least he can sleep in his own bed at night. We miss him so much but find comfort in knowing we are getting closer to seeing him.

Take care,

Aaron, Joni, and Lulu

Lulu checks out!

Good news all around today. We spoke with the U.S. Embassy first thing this morning, and evidently my plethora of monikers confused them a bit. Once they inputted my first, middle, maiden, and married name into the system - they were able to verify that I am who I say I am and not some sort of felon. So our paperwork has appeared to clear, as has Lulu's - they are confident we will get our invitation for our second interview sometime Monday or Tuesday, which will get us her Visa either Tuesday or Wednesday in plenty of time to make our Thursday night flight home to Gabe!

After speaking with the Embassy, Aaron took off to pick up Lulu's Vietnamese passport - she's so photogenic by the way! We're sure she'll be a star or at least a heart breaker someday.

In the afternoon, we went to the S.O.S. clinic for her physical. Although she is a bit on the tiny side, she checked out very healthy. She now weighs a whopping 12 lbs. and is 63 cm long. Her head circumference is 39.7 cm. She has multiple "Mongolian spots," which are Asian birthmarks that are bluish in color, but hers are discretely hidden from common view! The doctor at the clinic also thought she was probably part Thai based upon her skin tone and features. We definitely have an exotic orchid on our hands.

We are especially excited as we are in the "home stretch," and can finally say we will be "home within the week!" What a great feeling. We can't thank all of you enough for all your thoughts and prayers, and following our journey with us. Although its not a typical pregnancy, it sure has been fun sharing all of this with all of you.

Love,
Joni, Aaron & Lulu

New Lulu pics....

What a snazzy looking hat...

Ha Long Bay

Good news to start a busy day

After a troubling message left by the U.S. Embassy yesterday, we were glad to find out that all that they needed was which of Joni's many aliases she used when getting her fingerprints taken. Apparently the difference between Joni Jeanette Franklin, Joni Franklin Breitenbach, Joni Jeanette Franklin Breitenbach, etc. was more than our government could bear. Fortunately, the information has already been sent to those who need it, and we've been assured we are still on track for departure next week. If anything, we were told that the fact that someone was looking at our application so soon after our interview was a good sign.

Joni is off to the local Cathay Pacific office to re-book our return flight (8/9, arriving 8/10), and I'm about to leave to pick-up Lulu's Vietnamese passport. We'll then spend the majority of the afternoon (hopefully not all) at the hospital getting Lulu's medical examination for INS purposes. Hopefully all will go well.

I've sent some pics from Ha Long Bay home, so there should be some new photos posted within the day.

Take care,

Aaron, Joni, and Lulu

Embassy and Trip Update

Hi everyone,

Sorry for no post yesterday, but we've have a busy couple of days. Yesterday was our first interview with the Embassy. Incredibly, the Foreign Service Officer that interviewed us was born in Wichita! What are the odds. Maybe because of that we got off on the right note, but in any event he was very positive about our case. He was sure we would be able to leave next Thursday - although we did get a message to call them back today - so keep your fingers crossed and your prayers coming that it is not bad news.

Additionally, we learned a bit more about Lulu's history - she is definitely a survivor. Although we've agreed that the blog is not the place to talk about it - our girl is definitely meant for a higher purpose and we are very lucky to have her.

Today, we took a day trip to Ha Long Bay today - it was absolutely beautiful. Hopefully, Aaron will get some photos posted tomorrow. I couldn believe the majesty of the mountains, and the beauty of the water and the boats. It really was amazing.

It is late, but I wanted to get something up for everyone to read. Tomorrow morning we go to get Lulu's Vietnamese passport, and she gets her medical exam. Very exciting. Hopefully we will have good news all around tomorrow!

Love to everyone,

Jon, Aaron & Lulu