Bye, Bye Bangkok

Hi there everyone. (Hmmm... this is going to be a challenge... I'm using the Owen family laptop and the exclamation point key doesn't seem to work. How do I write this without being able to end my sentences with multiple exclamation points??? Well, you'll just have to believe me that they're there in my head.) I thought I was going to write a really long post tonight, but it turns out that I'm tired (surprise, surprise) and need to go to bed. I should have more time tomorrow so I'm hoping to write more soon. But here's a little info for you while you wait... It's been a really good week. Kamin (or O or whatever you'd like to call him... we haven't settled on a forever name yet...) was placed in our hands for good on Tuesday and Wednesday we were approved by the Thai board to keep him. Monday we got to go visit his foster family and it was so incredibly special. Lowell actually tried to post something here that afternoon and we didn't discover until a little while ago that it didn't work. sorry... If we can find it in his yahoo sent box we'll still post it... but we can't get in until we get on the other computer that has a functioning "one" key. : ) Our meeting with the Thai board on Wed. almost got cancelled because there is some serious political unrest occuring currently on the streets of Bangkok -- some not too far away from where our meeting was. The night before our social worker called us and said we might not have it but in the morning said we were good... The meeting was short and sweet (thanks in part to kamin's stranger anxiety... he didn't want me to sit anywhere close to the board members) and ended with the head lady asking Toby and Mikaela if they wanted to keep Kamin and saying that if we wanted to, we could keep him. : ) Today we were supposed to have our visa interview at the US embassy, but they called us last night and said they don't have all of our paperwork yet (but we've been told it's on its way) so we got to skip that meeting and checked out of our hotel in Bangkok. (We'll have to make a day trip back next week for the visa.) we are so glad to be out of there and to be in a place where we have space for nice walks and the kids can play with their cousins. We're staying in the house right next door to Lowell's sister. Their neighbors are out of town and very happy to let us use their place so here we are. It's been great and feels a bit like a honeymoon for us all, though Kamin is a bit unsettled with the change and the new people. But hopefully it won't be too bad. I still think it's going to be really good for us all to be together here for a while before going home--if for no other reason that he and lowell can bond more, since that's been a slower process (understandably), before Lowell goes back to work when we get home. Kamin is an amazing little boy. He's definitely going to keep me on my toes more than either of my other kids did... He's a lot of fun and we're all loving each other more every day. He has amazed me with how well he's done through all this. I think it's very largely due to Mikaela and Toby being here. He was used to being around other kids so it's been good. I'm definitely feeling the stretch of having a new one and not getting to pay as much attention to the older kids, but I know it won't be like this forever and we'll make it. Well, that ended up being longer than I expected... though there's still much more I'd love to tell you about and hope to soon. I'm too tired to try to post pictures right now but Lowell probably will tomorrow. Maybe I'll even include a picture of the mysterious bite i got on my knee this afternoon that made an artery or vein on my knee swell up and turn into a big bruise. Very strange. I guess it's all part of saying goodbye to Bangkok and hello to Bang Saen. : ) Goodnight everyone... ; ) ~Melissa