I have neglected my duties here, so sorry. Everything has gone according to plan and we are home as scheduled. Our trip to Hanoi was almost too quick. Our first plane ride from HCMC to Hanoi went very well. It was nearly a two hour flight and we then found a beautiful city awaiting us. We found it to be very different from Ho Chi Minh City. We loved seeing the green rice fields and very different things along the way. Big billboards and large businesses lined the roads on our nearly hour drive from the airport to our hotel. When we arrived at our hotel we were amazed. We had heard that it was a great place to stay, and we were not disappointed. We were in a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment. It had a wonderful restaurant, swimming pool, and shopping. By this point many of us were content to stay in one place. We do wish we would have had a few more days to visit the local mountains, but we will keep that for a return trip someday. Mya became very fond of the buffet at the restaurant at every meal. I could not communicate that that is not the way meals always work. Oh well! There was a beautiful little lake within about a 10 minute walk from our hotel that was neat to stroll around. We were only disappointed with our washer/dryer in our room. I had heard it was there and I had plenty to wash. Well, it's a combined washer/dryer that doesn't really dry anything. It is very humid there so nothing dries well when you hang it out either. It was pretty funny to see Shawn ironing underwear to get it dry, a definite first in this household.
We left Friday night at about 9:00 to catch our flight home. What an amazing little traveler we have, yet another way she fits right into this family. She made the 4 1/2 hour flight to Tokyo, 9 hour layover, and then the 11 hour flight to Detroit without more that a couple of tears. I could not believe it. Our roughest part of the trip were the last 30 minutes of our drive home. We again stand amazed with this little girl. She had some fearful moments, but they didn't last too long. She was quite fearful coming into the house for the first time. It was dark and that did not help at all. Our sleep schedules are coming around, but it is taking a while. Mya has been sleeping in the day and awake into the night. That is not good when you don't like the dark. She is now very comfortable in the house, but the bath and the beds are still not safe for her. We will get there. She seems to love our karaoke machine, way cute!! As you can see by the picture, she still only prefers a few things to wear. I cannot communicate just how blessed we are to have this precious little girl as a part of our family. I was worried it would be difficult to feel connected with her, but we have fallen hook, line and sinker for his one!
I am very glad our kids took this trip with us. It may not be the right fit for every family, but for us it was perfect. It seems that having them allowed Mya to be more comfortable more quickly. On arriving home, she did not have to adjust to new people right away. The opportunity to visit and see this completely different culture will always have an impact on them. I think it made it easier for the people who have loved and cared for Mya for her entire life to let her go. They all loved the kids and could see the family Mya was joining. This was the first time kids have been adopted and left there care. I am so grateful for the amazing love and care they had given her, it was so evident in our several trips to visit.
