We made it!!!

After 11 hours on the plane, we made it to Hawaii!!!! We got in at 3:30 and were swimming by 5:) The water is beautiful and the cottage is awesome!!! We have a 30 second walk to the beach...the weather was a little cloudy tonight but it should be sunny and hot tomorrow. Rebekah looks great!!! We went for a swim, had showers, then went to dinner in our pjs. We have been up for 24 hours so we are on our way to bed-in fact, Elisabeth is already asleep!

PS The crew from Vietnam is safe and sound at home in Canada:)

We are off!!

It is 3:40 am and we are getting ready for the drive to Harrisburg :) I am a little nervous-I am not a huge fan of flying AND I have to keep Elisabeth grounded....I like to call her "little me". We leave from Harrisburg and fly to Minneapolis with a 2 hour layover there. From MN to Honolulu, it should take 7 hours. I can't believe in 16 short hours, we will be on the beach!!!

Jacqueline, Jim, and Sadie are in the air as we speak. Maybe we will pass eachother in the sky:)

Elephants and Health

After the 2 hour elephant watch :)

Can you find Elisabeth and part of Isabella in this crowd?? This picture was on the front page of section C of our newspaper today:) Yes, my kids are famous!
This is what we waited to see while sitting in the hot sun, on the side of the road, for 2 hours :)
The elephants making their 4 mile walk from the train to the Bryce Jordan Center where they will perform for the next 4 days.

Guess who is healthy, or almost healthy, again??? Isabella is back at daycare for the first time in 1 1/2 weeks!!! WHOOO HOOOO!!!! Bonnie, our sitter, has her hands full. Isabella is used to having her own way since she has been sick and I think she has just met her match in Bonnie.

We went to see the elephants and horses come in on the train last night. The circus is in town:) Hopefully Todd, his mom, and Isabella will get to see it sometime this weekend while Elisabeth and I are in Hawaii. Hmmmmmmmmm.....circus or Hawaii?? What would you choose??

Sadie is coming home!!!

Jacqueline, Jim, and Sadie are leaving Hanoi on Thursday at 11 am (Hanoi time). They are beyond excited!!!! Here are some recent pictures of their darling baby girl.

2 more days.....

until we leave for Hawaii!!!! YEAH!!! My sister will be there in about an hour and will come and get us at the airport in Honolulu on Thursday afternoon. We will have 4 full days together laying in the sun and eating junk food.

Isabella is feeling much better-she is back to her usual happy then nasty then happy self :) She still can't eat anything above mush, though. When I think of how much a canker sore hurts, I can't imagine having more than one in my mouth let alone 10+. She hasn't been to her babysitter's house for 6 days and it looks like she will be staying home again tomorrow. I hate to send her until she is at least able to handle more food.

On another great note, J and J should be home by the end of this week!!! They got Sadie's Canadian passport today and will get her Vietnamese one tomorrow. Hopefully they will exchange their plane tickets and be home by Friday:) It seems so effortless-the Canadian/Vietnam adoptions. Nothing, at all, like the US!!!

Still Sick!!!

Isabella is still sick :( She now has impetigo on her chin-not pretty to say the least. And, as gross as it sounds, she won't stop picking at it which makes it look 100 times worse. The sores in her mouth are still there and we are on day 5 of not eating. She will drink a yogurt and eat a small bowl of ice cream but cries when she tries any kind of liquid. She is miserable. Her fever, thankfully, is gone. She also hasn't spoken in 5 days-she just keeps in lips together/mouth closed and mimes everything she wants while grunting. Did I mention Elisabeth and I are leaving for Hawaii in 4 days?? My wonderful sister Rebekah offered me a trip to Hawaii to meet up with her for 5 days-which will be a much needed break right about now. I pray Bella is better by then-I will have a very tough time leaving her if she is still sick :(

Isabella Update

My sweet nephew Liam-who used to have legs like his baby sister:)
My sick angel/hellish devil :)
Falling on the grass (aka dog poop land).
Elisabeth with her new bubble blower.
Notice the new summer dress and pretty socks that are supposed to be folded down but are pulled up to her knees because she demands that her legs be covered :)

Isabella went to the doctors for the second time yesterday. She refused to eat (but still will drink) and had sores on her lips. She continued to have a high fever. The doctor told us she had Coxsackie Virus.....mainly affecting her mouth. She had at least 3 ulcer-like sores on her soft palate that were causing so much pain, she couldn't swallow anything. There is no medicine to take because it is viral (go figure!).

I would say the main symptom (which the doctors forgot to mention) of this is TESTINESS!! OHHHHHHHHHHHH....does she get mad!!!! Elisabeth is ready to ship her off to the nearest grandparent (that would be you, Mom!). We got in the car to go to a park last night and she kept screaming, "Mommy...LEGS!!" over and over and over....she hates having her legs bare and wanted her dress pulled down and her socks up. At one point, Isabella was screaming and crying "LEGS!!! Mommy, LEGS!!!" and Elisabeth is sitting beside her, ears plugged, eye closed, doing her deep breathing exercises. I wanted to take a picture because it was quite funny but I got a not-so-nice glare from E. I didn't think I should push it.

Hopefully, things will be back to normal next week :)

Video of Isabella

I am trying to get Isabella to talk but all she wants to do is look at herself in the camera. Typical woman-trying to do 2 things at once:)

Sick baby....

Isabella found my headphones in my bag....
Brownies a la candy :) Marshmellows, M&M's, and chocolate frosting....
Isabella helping daddy cut the lawn :)


Isabella has a cold AGAIN. She was sniffley and snotty last week and then woke up Monday with a fever. She didn't get any better so I took her to the doctor's office yesterday. She apparently has a sinus infection which is making it difficult for her to swallow and eat. Today she is no better-she is drinking but doesn't want any food and now her gums are swollen and she has some sores on her lips. Poor baby :( Looks like another day off for me tomorrow! Thank goodness Todd and I take turns...

Things are going well in Vietnam. The baby is feeling better and they are all getting out everyday. Paperwork has been filed and now they wait. They are extremely anxious to get home-oh how I know that feeling!!!

Lucy would like to know..."How do these socks make my legs look???"

Happy moments....

All is going well in Vietnam. Jaqueline is starting to feel better and Sadie, who had a temperature for a few days, went to the SOS clinic and got some medicine for a sore throat. They had a terrific day on Monday and were out and about for most of the day. As you can see from the pictures, Sadie is starting to feel more comfortable with her new mom and dad :)

Video of Sarah

Click here if you want to see a very quick and simple clip of J and J's last few days with Sarah :) It isn't my best work but with Photobucket, you don't have much to work with !!

Soccer Saturday

Life is good.....

All is great with J, J, and S :)

After a very long waiting period on my part, I heard from J and J in Vietnam. They had a wonderful night :) Baby Sadie went to sleep at 9 after drinking 2 bottles and sleep the entire night!!! Unbelievable!!! She woke up, had a bath, ate breakfast, and was playing on Jim's lap while I was talking to him. She is so so so cute and sweet!!! I could just eat her up :) She even learned how to pick her nose while we were talking!!! After Jim left for the passport office, I got to talk to Jacqueline. The nauseousness is gone but her throat is still killing her. I think she would really like to crawl back into bed but she is trying to be upbeat and positive. While we were talking, Sadie fell asleep in her crib for her morning nap. Again...unbelievable!!! I told her that we were going to get the girls together and maybe Sadie could rub off on Isabella and show her the ways of a good baby ;) Hopefully Jim will post more pictures on photobucket when he returns and then I can post them on this blog!

Playing around with pictures....

Can you tell which one was taken with my new camera and which one was taken with my old one?? Both shots were taken from far away and then zoomed and cropped using computer software. Eventhough I figured out how to zoom and crop, I don't think I am ready to ditch my day job :) Speaking of which, I had better get back to work!

Sarah Catherine Nguyet Miller

They have her!!!!! The Giving and Receiving was Friday at 3 pm (Vietnam time). From what I gather, everything is going really well with the baby. Jacqueline, however, is extremely sick. Her throat hurts, her body hurts, and she is nauseous. We were talking on Skype and she can barely lift her head off the pillow. She has waited so long for a baby and now all she can do is lay on the bed and watch her!! Luckily Jim has the 'baby touch' so he is on duty tonight. Hopefully they will all get some sleep. I'll post more later on this evening. The pictures are from the past 2 visits they have had with her at the orphanage.

Beautiful Weather

Happy Sadie

J and J went to visit Sadie again....no scheduled G & R yet. It could possibly be tomorrow or early next week. They had a wonderful time together and are very anxious to bring her back to the hotel and get to know her better :)

New picture of Sadie

Is that the sweetest face ever???

Recent Happenings

Elisabeth News:
Elisabeth had to play Amelia Earhart for a school presentation-she got an A+.....what a smart kid!!! She also got her report card and got 5 A's and 1 B. She takes after her Mama:) Tonight is her first night for soccer. Luckily, Todd is the coach and her best friend is playing on the same team or we would have some serious anxiety issues starting to surface. I remember her standing by the car threatening to throw up between her 'deep breathing' exercises 3 years ago when she first started playing. This is the main reason Todd offered to be the coach. Saves on my nerves twice a week!

Isabella News:
Isabella is sick-again- with a cold. Luckily no fever!! She is talking more and more everyday and is now stringing 2 or 3 words together. She LOVES playing outside and right now prefers Elisabeth as her primary caregiver. Nice for me!

Jacqueline and Jim News:
It is very HOT in Vietnam right now! They were able to move from a hotel in the Old Quarter to the Somerset West Lake....which is a small studio which has a washer/dryer and kitchenette. It even has a balcony that leads out to the pool!!!! Can you believe it??!! There is a large pool and a small pool for kids and a playground. Sounds like heaven ! They still don't have a G & R date but will be going back to the orphanage to see Sadie tomorrow (tonight our time). They are hitting all of our favorite restaurants :)

Part of a picture :)

I do have the rest but won't post it until Sadie is a Miller :)

They made it!!

J and J are in Vietnam!!! YEAH!!!! After 24 grueling hours on Cathay Pacific, layover in ANCHORAGE where they had to de-ice the plane, and very little sleep...J and J made it to Hanoi. And the best part-they also got to see Baby Sadie!!! They showered, dressed, and got in a car for the 2 hour drive to the orphanage. After doing some paperwork, they met Sadie and held her for an hour. I just spoke to them via Skype and they look great - especially since they haven't slept since Saturday!! I will hopefully post some pictures soon.....

Jacqueline and Jim are on the way to VIETNAM!!!

After months of waiting, my cousins J and J (from Canada) are on their way to Vietnam to get their baby from Vietnam. Baby Sadie is in an orphanage 2 hours from Hanoi and will be turning 15 months while they are they adopting her. Isabella is too excited about having a cousin from her birth country:) I will keep you posted on her progress and hopefully have some pictures to share!!!

New Lungs

Please take the time to visit Confessions of a CF Husband....Tricia just went through 8+ hours of surgery for a double lung transplant. Please pray.