Part
Two - Anna's Adoption from Vietnam
By Kim Saxon
Back to Part 1 of Anna's Adoption from Vietnam
Part 2 of Anna's Adoption from Vietnam
Within three weeks we had bought all the gifts for the orphanage (a 70lb suitcase full), gifts for Anna, the caregivers, and the orphanage director. We had made Keith’s travel arrangements, gotten his visa, and had him packed and ready to go. On August 21, 2002, almost one year to the day that we boarded the plane headed for Las Vegas, Keith kissed me goodbye and boarded a plane to go and see our beautiful baby girl in Vietnam. Letting him go was one of the hardest things that I had ever done.
The week that Keith was gone seemed to drag on forever. We didn’t have anything definite about when he would submit the paperwork when he left, so I wasn’t sure exactly when he was going to see the baby. I got an email from him in Bangkok, and he called me when he arrived in Vietnam, but I hadn’t heard anything since.
I
tossed and turned on the night of the 26th. I will never forget the sound of
Keith’s voice when I picked up the telephone. “Kim, she is beautiful.”
I just cried like a baby. He told me all about her. He said that she was very
alert, and very happy. He thought that she was a normal size. He said that he
got to give her a bottle and burp her. We had packed a 3/6-month outfit for
him to put on her with the matching hat and booties. He said that the caregiver
was thrilled that he had packed her those clothes, and she helped him to change
her. He said that everyone thought that she was adorable. He said that he missed
me, but he was so glad that I didn’t come. There was another young couple
there with him, and it seemed that the lady had a really hard time leaving their
son. He said he was glad that I didn’t have to go through that. He promised
to email me pictures, and that they would be at my work email when I got there
the next day.
Needless to say, I was at work at 7:00am when the doors to my building opened. I was in my office all alone when the imagine of Anna came pouring through on my computer. She was dressed in the little pink outfit I bought for her. Precious doesn’t even begin to describe her. I printed out the picture that he sent me and I carried it around like it was a priceless jewel. I remembered Kristi telling me that she had done the same thing.
One week later Keith was at home, and it was a glorious celebration. He brought back all kinds of things for us from Vietnam. Johnathan got a newspaper, some maps, and a Vietnamese game boy games. Keith brought me a beautiful jewelry box. He was so happy to be home, but he was also very tired. He said that before he left Anna he whispered in her ear, “Hold on just a little while longer baby, Daddy is bringing Mommy back to get you.”
The next month is a blur of baby showers, completing unfinished work and travel plans. On October 1, 2002 Keith, Johnathan, and I got on an airplane in Atlanta on what we lovingly called “Operation Baby Anna.” The flights were long, and tiring for us. Johnathan was such a trooper. We arrived in Hanoi on the morning of October 2, 2002. Our agencies in-country staff greeted us at the airport. We met Christine who was there to pick up her ten-month-old daughter. We were tired, but we were finally there, and we were all so very happy.
Vietnam was everything that I imagined it to be. People were everywhere. Kristi had told me that the traffic was organized chaos and was she ever right. I had to keep my eyes closed through the traffic because I almost clawed my husband’s shirt off as we weaved in and out of the traffic towards the hotel.
When we got to the hotel, we weren’t even unpacked and the staff was coming to get Keith to take him to the get one last piece of paperwork complete. We found out that Liem was going to carry Keith on his motorbike to complete the paperwork. I grabbed the camera and made them pose for a photograph on it before I let them go. It was so funny to watch the little boy in Keith come out as they pulled off the sidewalk into the traffic without even looking to see if they could. I laughed as I headed up to the room to start getting things unpacked.
Once Keith got back, we knew that it would be another day before we go to the orphanage to pick up Anna. We got something to eat, and laid down to take a much-needed nap, only to wake up at three am Hanoi time WIDE AWAKE. Keith and I sat on the porch off of our room and watched the traffic go by as we made plans for how we would spend the day. As the sun came up in Hanoi on October 3rd, we were getting ready to go down and have some breakfast and take in some sights. We planned to get back to the room early so that we could get good nights sleep so that we would be well rested when we picked up Anna.
The streets of Vietnam were everything I had read about. There were street vendors, chaotic traffic, and thousands of different smells. As we walked down the streets, we found a store that carried baby items, and we stocked up on formula and diapers. After walking the streets and taking in some sights, we decided to head back to the hotel, have some dinner, and get to bed early. As I lay in bed that night all I could think about was Anna sleeping her last night without me. We were finally going to be together.
The
next morning is a blur. I had our clothes ready, and all our bags packed. On
Kristi’s advice I packed plenty of bottled water and things for the baby.
We had bought her a beautiful pink dress with matching shoes and hat, and I
had lovingly pressed it and hung it so that it wouldn’t be wrinkled when
we dressed her. We loaded up in the van with Christine, and away we weaved through
the Hanoi traffic headed for the Ministry of Justice in Lang Son.
On the way there we saw the countryside. It was beautiful. The mountains and rice fields were everything I had seen in the pictures. Johnathan was amazed at the ingenuity of the Vietnamese people. We saw several people that had turned a lawn mower into a car riding it down the road.
My stomach ached as we pulled up to the Ministry of Justice. By now we had made friends with Nikki a member of the staff. She continued to say that I was very funny. I felt comfortable asking her questions about different things that I saw. She seemed to know Vietnam very well, and she was happy to share the information with us.
We went into a big room with Nikki and the other family that was with us, and one by one the birth parents came in. I knew when I first saw Anna’s birth family who they were. I wondered if they knew me. Nikki introduced us, and we hugged. I was glad that they had come and that I had the chance to meet them. I was filled with questions, and one by one they answered them for me, and we answered the questions that they had of us. All in all it was a good experience, and one that I pray my daughter will treasure some day.
After meeting with the head of the Ministry of Justice, we headed to a local restaurant to have lunch and then on over to the orphanage to pick up the babies. I was much too nervous to eat, but the company was good. Honestly, all I could think of was Anna. I wondered if the caregiver was getting her ready to see me for the first time. I sat there and wondered what I would do when I held her the first time.
When we pulled up to the orphanage, children started running up to the van. They were just so cute with their big smiles. I couldn’t believe that I was within minutes of meeting my daughter. We got out of the van and went into the room that I know was also the room that Kristi had described to me. Everything was just as she had explained. Christine was the first to see her baby. Emma was just a little doll all dressed in a little white dress with her name stitched on it by her caregiver.
Anna was wearing the little outfit that Keith left for her on his visit to meet her. Her caregiver Son Thi cried as she handed my beautiful baby to me. I wept like I hadn’t wept before. I kissed her all over and held her so that I could look at all of her. I broke out singing to her and she began to scream. I am sure I scared her to death, but I just couldn’t help myself. My emotions over took me, and I carried my baby out on the porch and sang to her until she calmed down. Right there on the porch, I fed her a bottle as I sang to her.
The
minute that I handed Anna to Johnathan, my husband had to come and hold me.
The sight of my two children there together was more than my heart could take.
Sitting here now reliving that moment my eyes are full of tears. We were a completed
family at long last. The rest of the day is honestly a blur. I held Anna, and
held Anna, and held Anna. I just didn’t want to let her go. The Giving
and Receiving Ceremony went off without a hitch. I was asked to speak before
the panel for the families, but honestly, I couldn’t tell you what I said.
Emotional isn’t a strong enough word to tell you what that day was for
me. Years of longing and waiting had subsided in one instance, and it was almost
more than I could stand.
The rest of our trip to Vietnam was spent in HCMC completing the paperwork and spending time together. We got to leave Vietnam earlier than what we thought we would. I hated to go because I knew that it would be a long time before we would be there again, but I was ready to get my family home safe and sound and all together.
Anna didn’t do well on the flights. She had started getting a cold before we left Vietnam, and I believe that the high altitudes were bothering her ears. We landed in Atlanta on October 17, 2002. After getting piled up in the car and getting on the highway, Johnathan said… “Operation Baby Anna complete.” Keith and I just laughed.
Almost
a year later, we are so truly blessed. Anna is everything to us that we thought
she would be. I can’t imagine one minute of my life without her in it.
People ask me sometimes was it worth all that I went through to get to her,
my answer to them is YES! I would do every minute of this over again for her.
She is the daughter I was meant to have, and I am so thankful everyday that
I listened to my inner voice and just kept my faith. Without that, I wouldn’t
have found her.
Copyright 2003
Back to: Vietnam Adoption
