The Big Day

Well after all of the waiting, worrying, and planning, the day arrived for the Giving and Receiving Ceremony.

We departed the Hotel to go to the orphanage before the ceremony to say good byes and pick the girls up.  Hard to see the 27 left behind in that room.  It was touching to see that the nannies were truly sad to see the twins go.  We met with the doctor at the orphanage and got the final instructions on the meds and vitamins the girls need.

We took a cab to the ceremony where the director of the orphanage met with us.  He seemed to show great concern and pride all at the same time.  We have said it before, but you can tell he is a good man.

After the G&R ceremony, we returned to the hotel to start the next chapter in our life, with a family of 9 children.  There were 4 really scared people in a hotel room, unsure of where life will take us.  Sage Phuoc is an easier going girl, seeming to accept change a little more easily.  Iris Binh is finding the transition very difficult and is feeling very uneasy with her new surroundings.  They seem to get some comfort from each other and the Vietnamese music we have playing in the background seems to help.

To prospective parents who are thinking of adopting, please do not underestimate the stress this puts on the little ones.  On a positive note, they seem to be eating and drinking fairly well.  And however Johanne and I thought we were, we need to go buy some diapers because the size 2 we brought from Canada are far too big.  We have managed to soil every ounce of linen in the hotel room with little girls’ pee!

We were blessed with a pretty good evening, the girls fell asleep and slept until about 4h15 am.  They each took a good full bottle and slept a little bit more.

Today we hope to finalize the last bit of paperwork that we started yesterday and we are eagerly waiting for a visit from the nannies to show us how to properly give the vitamins.