Ahhh..... and AWE!

Praise God!!!! Our trip to Bangkok went so smoothly today I am absolutely in awe. There is no explanation for me other than that God was blessing and looking out for us. We were in and out of the embassy in 45 minutes this morning with instructions to come back at 3pm to pick up Kamin's passport and visa and other documents. That left us with over 5 hours of free time, so we went back with our social worker to the Holt Sahathai Foundation office and got to see a the other women we had worked with last week and the place where they do so much for so many children here in Thailand. They are such gracious, wonderful people who had a big role in the wonderful start Kamin had to his life here. It was a treat to see them again and have lunch with Pat before heading to a shopping center to stock up for the last time before we head home on diapers and formula.  Then we went back to the embassy and Kamin's paperwork was waiting for us, ready to go!!!! He fell asleep on the way home and the whole day made me feel better about the trip home. I am actually starting to look forward to it instead of dreading it...

There was ONE funny thing that happened... As we were waiting for our driver on the sidewalk just down from the embassy, I asked Lowell to take a picture for me of a sign. it's a guy campaigning for governor of Bangkok... saying something like he can see the problems and will take care of them. Funny thing is the guy is known for being pretty corrupt - and owning massage parlors. Interesting politician. Anyway, Lowell turned around and took a picture of the sidewalk leading up to the embassy - really not exciting at all, except for us b/c we had just gotten Kamin's visa, but it became apparent quite quickly that the guard did not approve of us doing this. He started waving his finger at us and all of a sudden there were 2 guards and their supervisor walking toward us. The guy in charge asked to see Lowell's ID and said we couldn't take photos and even though he deleted it from the camera, the guy wanted to take Lowell's passport so he could copy it and make Lowell sign something saying he wouldn't take any more photos. So, our driver pulled up, Kamin and I got in the car while Lowell followed the 3 security people back into the embassy where they searched for a piece of paper for the copy machine, copied his passport and made him write on the copy that he wouldn't take any photos of the embassy. By the time we got back from driving around the block, he was outside waiting for us. It seemed so silly. But now all of the rest of you know NOT to take pictures of the guards or the entrance to the US embassy in Bangkok if you don't want any trouble with the security guards! They are very serious about their job to keep the embassy safe. : )

It's hard to believe we only have 3 more full days here before we head home. I am so grateful for the time we have spent here. We have learned so much about Kamin and what he likes, what he eats, when he is tired, what he likes to play with, etc, that the trip home is going to be so much easier. Not easy, but easier. I realize I haven't told you nearly enough about him - and I'll try in my next post. But I found myself today thinking back on all of my anxiety and fears about what this trip would be like and how he would adjust and I feel SO differently now - because before I was worrying about a child I didn't know yet. And now, I think about this little boy I have grown to love and think, "That was YOU I was worried about???" and I'm not worried anymore. Wondering about all of the adjustments and the flights, etc, but not about an unknown child anymore. Because now he's not just a picture on the computer I stare at and wonder about... now he's my son. And I am in awe.