Farewell and Bon Voyage!

10:30 PM May 15, 2007
Location: Renton, WA

We just left my sister’s house. She and her husband threw a party to celebrate our travel to Vietnam to get Matthew, and to celebrate my father’s upcoming trip across the Atlantic Ocean in a 55 foot powerboat.

We had a wonderful time. Caleb and his cousin, Colton had a great time blowing bubbles, eating cake (Caleb began to sing “Happy Birthday to Caleb” to himself, only 6 months off), and playing with the construction equipment.

We capped off the evening with a bottle of champagne that I had been saving for a long time. It had been purchased in Germany by my father’s late wife, Connie, and it even had flecks of 23 carat gold in it! When my dad gave it to me, I knew that we would drink it when all the adoption waiting was finally over. After all this waiting, I can’t believe that we’re actually going to Vietnam!

When I went to Vietnam in 2002 with Mike, it was without a doubt the best vacation I had ever had. Just magical. I fell in love with Vietnam, and have still not recovered. And becoming a mother has been the highlight of my life…and to combine both of these? Wow…

God has been so good to us to get us to this point. There is no doubt in my mind that Matthew is God’s plan for us. He is really what his name means, a “gift of God.”