To India, With Love, .....

Today was a good day.

He was very smoochy all day long, and fought off his sisters with a valiant "MY Mummy"... Him and Georgia got into a face-off where it became apparent he fights like a 13 yr old girl. He can smirk, roll eyes and pull faces with the best of teenage expression. It was actually VERY funny! She resorted to telling him "I know where you sleep" ....and his answer can't be repeated (or translated!) ... I think it was something along the lines of "I'm holding my mother, I'm 10ft tall AND bulletproof, and I am SO not afraid of your pimply face!". Thats my interpretation, and I'm sticking to it.

I had so badly wanted to believe the "Nay bolo" sound wasn't anything x-rated, and with some translation help from my new best online friend Linzi , it would appear he is only saying "Don't speak!" ... a more sophisticated request of what I'm tempted to tell his sisters at least several times a day. I've never actually met Linzi face to face, but I have a feeling we'll be in touch on a regular basis as my little dudes English improves.

On the flip side, hes taking out of the English language the things he likes the most. Courtesy of my Mum being here, (aka Nani), he says G'Day Mate in an accent that would have made Steve Irwin proud. He also finds great joy in the occasional "Sheet", adding credibility to Sue's theory that the S-word was something these kids had heard in the orphanage.

His owie from being thrown off the scooter is looking much better tonight ..and it hasn't slowed him down one bit. He's now worked out that if you lift one foot and glide, its so much more fun! He also tried out the big-wheeler, which is as close to a real bike as I'm ready to let him get right now. Watching him burning rubber up and down the street on that thing, I could feel the grey hairs sprouting by the second.

To look at him today, exploring and loving every second of it, you'd never know that there had been a life before this. I know that every day won't be this way ... espescially not for a long while. Having said that, it was amazing to see it, and I'm sure it was amazing for him to feel it.

He truly is amazing.

Today feels a lot like the old "he loves me, he loves me not".

All things considered it was a good day. He loves the scooter (aka Motorbike/Cycle). He bit it big time twice and has quite a nice shiner to show for it. We joked about how today would be the day that our social worker showed up to check on us, but no... we're safe for now.

Our day went really well until bath time, at which point he decided he'd rather get back into jeans than pyjamas. After 40 minutes of perseverance on his part, I still wasn't backing down. It was pyjamas or naked.. his choice. Luckily a neighbour came to visit, complete with puppy and the PJ war was forgotten. We are now friends again, and on the 4th stage of the Rosetta Stone English language course ..which of course we worked out together. When he's lovely, he is SO lovely. When he's not...hes well...entitled. In his place, I'd be a little nasty too. For anyone out there who speaks Hindi, his favourite phrase when things aren't going his way is something that sounds like "Nay bolo" ... part of me is sure this is the 5yr old Hindi version of F** You, but the Mommy part of me wants to believe its nicer than that. I looked it up online but without the correct spelling its pretty difficult.. depending on how I spell it, the translation comes back anything from "big fat lump" to "piece of sand" ...NOT helpful. I've decided its not overly complimentary, and when I tell him a firm "Nahi", he gets kinda sheepish which tells me I'm right.

If he would just haul off verbally in English, it would be so much easier to plan my responses! I'm glad for this English language course...even if it doesn't completely cater to my 5 yr olds potty mouth. Any comprehension right now is good... even if it brings words that shouldnt come out of a 5 yr olds mouth. Tonight he spouted off something grand in Hindi, and I asked him... You kiss your Mama with that mouth? ...and I got a kiss.

Enough said.

I've been trying to figure out just how to get all caught up on everything that happened when we left India and whats been going on since we got home. I wrote this email the day after we got home and rather than sit down now and try to write all that I was feeling four days ago, I decided just to post this. I am going to censor it slightly, just to protect the privacy of the recipients.

Well, we are finally home and very happy to be here. He's running around here today like he's the king of his castle and very impressed to be surrounded by so many kids. Our flights went really well ... He did a lot of sleeping (with the help of some dramamine).

Friday was easily the worst day of my life. We went back to the orphanage for his going away party and it was pretty rough. I would have preferred his party be on Wednesday (the day we actually got him) and I wish now that I had pushed harder for it. We got there for the party and Babbu was pissed at us .. he knew what was coming next. I took a couple of photos of him and made a big fuss and he decided we could be friends again then. The kids all ate and then they danced for us. Jyoti was very attentive and spent most of her time pretty close to me. The other kids all knew what was coming which made it hard for all. Rashid was totally cool with everything, but I cant say the same for me and Jason. Right before we were due to leave I got a photo of him sitting on the steps at the home and the look on his face is just heart-breaking. Leaving was horrible ... the kids were in tears, J and I were in tears, Surekha was in tears, the social worker was in tears, ... you get the picture.

All the way to the aiport he was quiet but doing fine. We got there and it all turned to shit. I think the realisation that he was really leaving hit him at a million miles an hour and he got VERY upset. Just kept saying over and over in Hindi that he wanted to go home. Nothing we could say or do would make it any better, and it was made harder by the fact that we ended up with a TONNE of people surrounding us all wanting to know what was going on. I really think at that point it would been better if we could have just been left alone but no way was that happening. It was so bad that Jason had to hold him as I couldnt, and I'm sure that had we put him down he would have run. We found a somewhat private place to sit (or as private as can be found at the Delhi airport) and then got told to move as we were too close to the VIP lounge and he was being loud. It was a nightmare. I got into a pissing match with an Indian woman who told me I had no business being with him and that "this is why foreigners should only take babies" .. Yeah, you guys know me well enough to be able to work out how that went down. We'd been told by Vijay to be there 3 hours before the flight, and the check-in counter didnt even open until 2 hours before. Eventually someone from airport management came to our rescue and I got us checked in while Jason held a very upset Rashid. Once we got thru the first part of customs things got a little better. (the customs guy was fabulous ... even though Rashid was still really upset he told Jason and I that we were doing a very good thing, which just about had me in tears .... it was completely an "emotional overload" kind of day. We went upstairs where there is a large open area leading to the lounges and we sat on the floor there while I tried to find stuff to distract him with. It was like the ONLY place in the airport where we could be somewhat alone. He found my mobile phone and even despite the language barrier it was very obvious that he was demanding I call Vijay or Surekha to come get him. I made a big fuss of not being able to make the phone work as he hadnt yet found the power button. I managed to convince him that chewable dramamine was candy and gave him a whole one. I figured the kindest thing I could do at that point was knock him on his little ass. We went into the lounge and bought him some Fanta, and then he was back to being all loveable and sweet and happy. In some ways it was a relief to see him get to sad and angry, as his lack of emotion upon leaving the orphanage had me knowing that something had to give at some point .. I just wished he had picked a different time or place. That was our first and only meltdown to this point, and I suspect the next will come tomorrow when the girls leave for school as hes totally running on adrenaline at the moment ... very hyper and into everything!

He fell asleep as soon as we were on the plane and slept all the way to Bangkok which is where our next nightmare started. They could only check our bags as far as Bangkok (I'm sure they could have done them all the way but was too stressed to argue at the airport counter), which meant that in Bangkok we had to clear immigration to retrieve our bags and then recheck them for the rest of our flights. It shouldnt have been a big deal, given we had 6 hours to fill. Well, the woman at immigration decided that Rashid needed a visa, even though we weren't even going to be leaving the airport. Jason took Rashid to get passport photos taken for the visa while I filled out the forms. He couldnt find ONE passport photo booth that worked (and that airport is HUGE). Then the visa woman decided that we could just wait where we were and check in at the transit desk when it opened at 4am and see if they could move our bags over for us. At that stage I was beyond giving a shit about the bags, so I agreed to that. We went in search of a transit room where we could get some rest, but wouldnt ya know it, you cant get a transit room without a boarding pass, and we couldnt get a boarding pass until two hours before the stupid flight, thereby making a transit room completely useless. We filled time by walking the airport and Rashid had his first taste of Burger King. The poor wee man was soooo tired and kept on telling me over and over that he wanted to sleep - I was like OH NO .. no sleep, lets walk! Needless to say by the time we got on that plane we were all exhausted and he slept all the way to Japan.

It was a huge relief to be back on US soil. We had no problems with immigration, and outside of the episode at Delhi airport, no problems with Rashid either. He did pee himself in his sleep on our last flight (which was bought to my attention by the Japanese lady sitting behind his seat who told me "water" ..haha). It had run down the back of his seat and dripped on her baby-blue suede shoes. We had a change of clothes so that was no problem. He was thrilled to see everyone, and Denise bought Chotu and Shivani to the airport to meet him which was very special for him.

He FREAKED at the cats and dogs, so we gave them all the heave-ho to outside. Within four hours he wanted the small dog back in and was giving him treats and patting him. He'll play with the other dogs thru the glass sliding door but thats as close as hes come so far. He'll pat one cat but is very scared of the black cat we have, but all in all hes doing superbly!

Saturday after our arrival, we spent some time letting the kids all play and then we took turns taking a nap. For most of the day we were all pretty much running on adrenaline.

Sunday we had our first arguement, and it was over cleaning our teeth. All day he was very very tired and a little grumpy. Twice he got upset and had a wee cry, which was completely understandable. By the time Sunday night came around we were back to being friends and I was getting lots of kisses and cuddles. He tried out the trampoline and loved it! Its a good thing we have a safety net, as he looked like a drunk person trying to jump. He also got a huge kick out of the swing and slide set .... We played outside kicking the ball around and blowing bubbles. Sue and Allan bought Peter over to visit and it became obvious immediately that the boys are going to be firm friends. Peter is a few years older, but is already taking that "big brother" role.

Monday morning, he woke up in the WORST mood. All day long nothing would make him happy, and when he cried he wouldn't let me anywhere near him. All I could do was sit with him and ride it out. I'd wanted to go to the store to get him some gym shoes, but was hesitant with the mood he was in. In the end I decided it might be a good distraction for him, so we headed out. As soon as he saw Fred Meyer he said "airport" ... I explained that no, it wasnt an airport. Once we were inside and there was a lot to look at he was happy. We found a pair of shoes, along with some more underwear (Power Rangers, Spiderman and Superman), and a pair of jeans that actually fit. He did really well and enjoyed the attention that he was getting from all the employees. Arriving home it all turned to crap again. He flat-out refused to get out of the car. He took off his shoes and threw them at me, and then grabbed a hold of the headrest and refused to budge. Gentle coersion wasn't working, so I was left with no alternative other than to out-muscle him. By the time we got in the house he was less than impressed and totally peeved at me. He took all his new stuff out of the bags and threw them on the ground. He was mad! I chose to ignore it all, and within 30 minutes he was back to being sweet, happy and affectionate.

Tuesday we opted for a very quiet day here at home. The jet lag really hit me yesterday, and I think it hit him too. All day we stayed in our pyjamas, watched cartoons, snuggled on the couch and read some books. We both took a nap in the afternoon and all day he was happy. He loved last nights bath and discovered that body wash makes more lather than soap, thereby making it a lot more fun! Every time one of the other kids gives me a kiss or a cuddle, he has to do the same which is super-cute. We're definitely back to being best friends again.

Every day I'm seeing huge improvements in our ability to communicate, which is making all the difference in the world. The speed at which he is understanding English is amazing. He loves books, espescially the ones that the girls had when they were younger that have both pictures and texture. We go through the books and he tells me the Hindi word for what we're looking at, and then I tell him the English word. His English is definitely a lot more advanced than my Hindi!

Well, my monkey boy is using the harmonica to torment the dog, so probably best I go find us something to do!!

This is the photo that started the tears flowing. Taken at his going away party. Ben-Rashid takes a quiet moment to reflect on all that he's going to miss.

In this photo there was a snake-charmer right beside us. He would tolerate to monkey but was not taking his eyes off that snake! He got all protective and wouldnt even let me have my photo taken with it.

Its not that I've forgotten to write ... Its just that my brain is still trying to come to terms with all that my heart has felt over the last few days. I will put up a post ... and try my best to keep it relatively unedited .... but just not yet. Maybe tomorrow will be the day. In it I'll be sure to include his goodbye party, our departure from India, meeting his sisters, and how we're doing now that we're home.

He's feeling the loss, and he's grieving. I think I'm grieving too. His loss was beyond huge, and in some ways it hurts that its our gain. Here he is, this tiny little oversized baby and hes trying so hard. Hes happy, then he's sad. He loves me, ... then he's glaring at me like the kidnapper I feel like I am sometimes. He's just old enough to be able to comprehend some of what is going on in his little life, and yet he's too young to truly understand.

He's as deep as the ocean. He has a smile that could light up half the planet, and yet his tears drip off his chin. He is so incredibly real, and I'm in awe of him. He is just so very very brave, and I'm trying to be brave too. I want to cry for him, with him... I hold him so close and so tight and wish there was some way that he could trust me and know that this is forever. Its going to take time...

And we have a lot of time....

Today got off to a very early start .... J and I didnt get much sleep with Mr Wriggle Worm in the bed so by 5am J gave up and got up. The restaraunt doesnt even open for breakfast until 7am so Rashid opted for some apple juice and some Teddy Graham's to tide him over till breakky. We then filled in some time and called home, where he got a huge kick out of being able to talk to his sisters. Molly was pretty concerned that she couldnt understand him, but I reassured her it wouldnt take long. Its only been 5 days since we met him and we're not having any problems making ourselves understood.

After a huge breakfast, it was back to the consulate to pick up Rashids visa, and then off to do some fast shopping as today is really the only chance that we've had to pick up some of the things we'd wanted to get. Vijay was nice enough to come with us and took us to a few different places where we bought some goodie for the girls. Rashid tried to fall asleep in the car, which was no surprise after our early start this morning. As I write this he is laying in bed watching TV.

Its incredible to think that today is really our last full day in India. Tomorrow we will be picked up at 11am, then off to the childrens home for Rashids going away party, and then its off to the airport for the long trek home. Once I'm home I'm sure there will be a long post as I transcribe some of the things from my handwritten journal. So many things about this country have captured my heart, and I will truly be looking forward to another trip back here in the future.

I'm missing my girls, and looking forward to being home and seeing all of my children together at long last.

I didnt have time to update this yesterday as our little guy was keeping us nice and busy. Now I'm trying to play catch-up here...

Yesterday started with Surenda picking us up at 10.30am where we drove to meet Rashid at the doctors office where Surehka had taken him for his immigration medical. He was all dressed up in the clothes that we'd chosen for him the night before. Surekha gave us a bag containing the shirt and cars and photo album that we had sent over with Sue. In the bag was also an album that she had made for Rashid. I took a look at the first page and got all teary-eyed so had to stuff it back in the bag. Surekha was being so very brave but it was easy to see how sad she was. She started walking off before we even had him in the car and I'm sure she was having a wee cry too.

The consulate was a mad-house and the security was over the top. Luckily having J and his US Passport saw them treat us pretty nicely. We had to wait in 3 seperate lines, but they were all incredibly short compared to the lines that everyone else was waiting in. The fun really started when they told us that we had filled out an old version of one of the pieces of paper, so that had to be redone. Then they told us that everyone was busy and to come back tomorrow! Vijay wasn't having that for even a second and made it clear that we WOULD be seen today. After some flash negotiating it was decided that we would come back at 2.30pm. Our interview was amazingly short and very public. We stood in front of a glass window where the agent asked us how we had found out about our child, whether or not the conditions at the orphanage were good, how much the adoption had cost, did anyone try to ask us for extra money, and was the child healthy. After answering all the questions he spoke briefly with Rashid in Hindi, and then told us to come back at 11am tomorrow (today) for the visa. As we left I was looking at the mountain of paperwork we had been asked to bring ... out of it all he asked for THREE pages! I dragged a phonebooks worth of info halfway across the planet and now I get to drag it all home again. Of course its much better to have it and not need it than vice versa.

By the time we were done at the consulate we were all pretty tired. We came back to the hotel where the doormen all bowed to Rashid as he walked in. We tried to give him a rest but he wasn't having one bit of it. He showed off some more by singing the alphabet and counting in English. He's big into mimicking what we say word for word, and when I said something that made J laugh Rashid joined in with a hearty HA HA HA. There is never a dull moment with this boy! We gave up on a nap and decided to go to the restaraunt and have dinner instead. Rashid settled on chicken pizza. This child can EAT. I have no idea where he puts it as he is so tiny. The waiters here have been just amazing and made a big fuss of him, and also did a lot of translating for us. After ice-cream for desert we came back up to the room. I'd been a little worried about how he would handle having a bath, as he's used to the bucket and ladle, but I'd worried for nothing. He had a blast and soaked everything in the bathroom, including me. Then he decided that the bath wasn't enough water so insisted we turn on the shower too. Between the bath and the shower he was in seventh heaven and I was very amazed at his lack of fear.

Bedtime came and we left the TV on and I lay down with him. He was happy enough, but clearly not wanting to go to sleep. After about 20 minute of laying there he turned to me and gave me 3 kisses and then held onto me really tight ... he was asleep instantly. I waited until I was sure he was completely out before trying to move even an inch. All night he kept chasing me around the bed making sure I was still close. He woke me twice ... once to pee, and once for a drink of water. There were no tears, or anything else that I'd worried might happen our first few nights together.

I just now noticed that blogger is publishing with dates in PacNW time, so everything seems off by a day. As I write this, its 9.15am Wednesday morning here.

Our driver came for us at 10am and we went straight to pick up Rashid. Surekha had him all dressed up and ready to go. Again he was very excited to see us. We headed off to a market where we bought a few treasures to bring home. Prior to leaving the childrens home Surekha gave him the lecture about holding Mamas hand. I couldnt understand a word she was saying but her actions let me know beyond a doubt that THAT particular lecture is universal. It was clearly along the lines of "There will be a lot of people, Mama and Papa might be looking at something and if you let go, you get lost. Hold on tight, or no more Rashid!". It got thru, because he grabbed my hand immediately. Upon our arrival at the markets we discovered he LOVES elephants. Everything he saw was "ellie-phant". This kid was born to shop! He was putting little trinkets in his basket at a million miles and hour ... mostly ellie-phant trinkets.

After leaving the markets we came back to the hotel, as its been made pretty clear that he has a rest in the afternoons. J and I agonised over what to order him for lunch, and finally settled on something that we were sure he would like. J decided to go with a chicken sandwich. Our food arrived in our room and he had the tops off those plates like a little waiter, and zeroed right in on the burger and fries! We about died laughing. After he'd scoffed that down he discovered the remote control for the TV and stayed occupied changing channels for the next half hour. He doesn't just point the remote at the TV, he actually swings it across his body every time he hits a button. We then found out he loves Power Rangers and the Power Puff girls. After those shows were done he was doing some channel surfing and found some Indian comedy show that had us worried it might be something he shouldnt be watching. He was getting quite the kick out of it, and I was sure I was going to catch an earful from Vijay when she found out we'd allowed him to watch it. It can't have been too bad as nothing was said, but we both came to the conclusion he's going to be a fan of the Blue Collar comedy channel when he's older. After the remote grew boring he found the digital camera and insisted on taking photos of us. He was getting frustrated as he would see me in the screen on the camera, and then turn the camera to show me and I'd disappear. He also found another english word yesterday ... every time we said Thank You, he said Welcome! Just too cute! We also found out that he sings the alphabet .... very passionately at that!

Our driver came to get us at 4pm and then it was off to the passport office to pick up his passport which thankfully was ready and contained no mistakes. Vijay decided at that point that he could spend the night with us if he wanted to. I felt like it was kinda sprung on him as he hadn't really had a chance to spend a last night with Surekha and the kids ... he clearly thought he was going back to the home. I insisted Vijay ask him what he wanted to do, and he said that he wanted Surekha and would go with Mama and Papa tomorrow. I felt a lot better about that. He'll be with us from tonight onwards. Back at the home we gave Surekha all of the donations that we'd accumulated and she was clearly very grateful. She had all of the kids dance for us, and it was just awesome! The girls were just so beautiful, and the boys were hysterical. I took a bunch of photos.

As the week goes on I find I'm getting more emotional. I've been holding things together just beautifully all week, but last night being there and seeing all those kids and the sadness in their eyes was a bit overwhelming. A lot of the children already have families and are waiting, but there are some who don't. One in particular is a 10yr old girl ... she is beautiful and very very smart. She smiles, but her eyes are the saddest I've ever seen. If it were at all possible I'd scoop her up and bring her home too. She so badly wants a family and wants to be loved, and my biggest wish in the world would be that her dream comes true for her one day soon. Surekha seemed grateful that we'd bought Rashid back for one last night, and she had sadness in her eyes too. These kids are HER babies, and you can clearly see that while shes happy they have a family now, its hard for her to let them go. She is just amazing with these kids, and very clearly the boss. She can't be any taller than 4'9", but she is the BOSS. She speaks and the kids jump! They are planning a goodbye party for Rashid for Friday, right before we go to the airport, so even after today he'll get to see them all one last time. I have a feeling Friday will be the day I lose it, if I manage to hold it all together until then.

Rashid picked out his outfit to wear today and it was pretty funny. We bought him some Batman jammies and some Spiderman jammies, and he was stoked! He decided he'd like to wear the Spiderman ones to the consulate, so we settled on the Spiderman top and some navy blue pants. He got great joy ripping all the tags off his new clothes, and when he discovered the Batman toothbrush that Maddie chose for him he was off to clean his teeth immediately. Every time we tried something new on him he raced for his little mirror (we bought one for him yesterday that he'd attached himself to), and checked himself out. He is very appearance-conscious and will give his sisters a run for their money over bathroom time.

Well, time to get showered and dressed and go get our boy from the home for the last time.

Will write more tonight/tomorrow if this internet continues to play nicely.

We got another sleepless night last night. The matress is like sleeping on concrete, and the noise outside 24hrs a day is insane. At night its cars honking, auto rickshaws speeding past and dogs barking, and come morning its the pidgeons, hundreds of which seem to have made their home right outside our window.

Vijay picked us up at 10am this morning and already had Rashid with her. He was very excited to see us and gave big kisses and hugs. We held hands all the way to our first stop which was Vijays office. As soon as the car stopped her was out of his seatbelt and onto my knee. Once we started up again I put him in the middle seat and we did a lot more hand-holding, and then counted each others fingers. He counted to 10 in perfect English, and it seems his new favourite word is "Happy". Vijay and the attorney went to the Passport Office to try to get Rashids passport expedited, and apparently it will be ready tomorrow. After that we dropped Vijay off back at her office and we ventured out with Sorrento (our driver) to do some sightseeing. First stop was the Presidents House and Parliament buildings where our driver sweet-talked a security guard into letting us out for photos. (Vijay had already warned us that photos were not allowed there). We snapped a couple of great photos and then headed off to India Gate. Rashid recognised India Gate right away and was very excited to get out. Looking around there was a lot harder and people were constantly trying to sell us stuff and asking for money. We did give a few rupees to the guy who had the monkeys and in return he had the monkey get on my head. Rashid was not overly impressed but did snuggle in for a quick photo. Next to him was a snake charmer which was really cool, and he offered to have us sit with the snake for a photo. Rashid was absolutely terrified of that snake and wasn't going anywhere it. He didn't want me going anywhere near it either, so we gave that a miss. In his mind it wasn't one bit cool...not even from a distance. We bought 4 books of postcards which he just loved, and he was perfectly happy in the car telling us all about each photo. That was easily the most we've heard him say since we've been here, even if we couldnt understand the majority of it. Already if he points at something and says the word in Hindi, and we say it in English, he'll try to repeat it.

We joined Vijay again for lunch and it was great food! Rashid ate well and got icecream as a treat which he loved. I had a bunch of candy in my bag and when I produced candy for him I got a spontaneous kiss!! (Definitely taking candy again tomorrow!). We dropped Rashid back at the orphanage as he was super-tired. Vijay is swinging between us being able to bring him back to the hotel either tomorrow night or on Wednesday. Our driver took us to the Lotus Temple, but unfortunately it was closed, so we'll try that again another day. We did get to see it from a short distance. A family outside were all waving and smiling at me, so I wound down the window and gave the kids lots of candy. After that I showed them my camera and they all smiled and posed happily for a photo. The people here are so proud and so gracious.

Tomorrow we get picked up at 10am again and then we go get Rashid and plan to hit some markets for some shopping. Tomorrow at 4pm we meet Vijay and go to collect his passport, which will hopefully be all ready to go!

We are having the time of our lives here .... The long wait to be with him was more than worth it!

Due to a tempermental internet connection this is going to be brief. I'm keeping a handwritten journal and will update this properly once we are home.

Here we are in India! We arrived late last night after a very long couple of days flying. The flights on Northwest were great, but Air India was quite the experience! Very old airplane that crunched and groaned so bad! It was amazing that it made it off the ground, and a big relief when we landed. The traffic here in Delhi is insane! It was probably a good thing that we'd just come off a nerve-wracking flight, as by the time we had to brave the roads our nerves were already shot. Two lane roads with 6 lanes worth of traffic. Throw a few stray dogs and a lot of cows in there, and you have the picture. Total madness!! Our arrival at the hotel was just as nuts. They couldn't find our reservation anywhere. We called Vijay and after a lot of yelling back and forward down the phone between her and the guy on reception, they miraculously found it. They've been pretty much kissing our butts ever since. The good news with that is that we got to speak with Vijay last night instead of waiting for today, and got to meet with our boy a whole day early!

Vijay and our driver picked us up at 2.30pm. It was originally going to be 2pm but they were running late. We arrived at the childrens home and by the time we got upstairs Rashid was right inside the door colouring. He came straight to me and gave me a hug and a kiss, and then went and kissed his Daddy. I gave him his little toy dog and he went back to colouring. I went and sat with him and he crawled up on my lap which was really cool. I got lots of kisses and loves. I pulled out the bubbles we had bought and it was all happening! Total madness! It only took him a few seconds to work out what to do with them. I'm glad I bought an extra set as Babbu was a little upset that we were there. I think the bubbles made Babbu feel a little better and he decided he liked me after that.

When we arrived a lot of the younger kids were having a nap, so we got some alone time with Rashid and the older kids. When the little kids got up he got territorial and decided that on my lap was the place to be. He showed the kids his bubbles and let them all take turns. He was fine with me paying attention to all the other kids, just so long as he remained on my knee. One of the very young girls, Kira, stole his toy dog and his instant reaction was "Mama, Mama" and he was pointing vigoursly at her and the dog. We managed to wrangle it back so I was an instant hero. After that he hid it behind my back. He let me love on him and I got a bunch of kisses on the cheek in return. He even said "I love you" in perfect English which just about saw me lose it. Vijay shared with us some information about his past and his personality ... I'll write more about that when I'm sure this internet connection will stay with me.

Saying goodbye was hard, but we'll be spending some time together again tomorrow. Vijay still doesnt have his passport, so its off to the passport office to do that, and then off to get his medical. Tues and Wednesday will be taking care of his immigration.

In the meantime I'm going to try to post some photos.

This will be my last post before we head to India! I don't know yet if the hotel we are staying at has internet available. I'm taking the laptop on the offchance they do (and if they don't it'll still be nice to be able to save my photos daily to the puter) ... If internet is available, I'll update this from Delhi. I bought a journal so I can keep track of what we are doing while we are there, so even if I cant get online I wont be missing anything out when I come back. Cassie also bought a journal that shes going to write in here at home, so we won't be feeling like we're missing out on whats happening here. We've agreed that when I get home we'll swap journals and have a good read. Pretty cute idea, eh? Somehow I think she'll document every arguement/disagreement between her sisters, but hey ... if it keeps her busy and makes the days go faster for her, its all good!

I still havent packed anything. I dont know what happened to today ...its gone by so fast! I need to get moving and get packed as I want to spend some time tonight with all the girls. Trisha and I stayed up very very late last night catching up on all sorts of stuff, so I'm good and tired tonight. I was worried that I'd have trouble sleeping tonight, but I dont think thats going to be an issue...haha.

Well little man ... we are on our way to you! At long last, we are on our way to you!!!

The next post, you'll be with us!

I love you bunches.

Maddie and I were laying in bed snuggling this morning, when she asked if I would miss her when we come to get you. I told her that of course I would. She sat straight up, gave me "the look", and told me "Don't miss me, you'll have Ben-Rashid to keep you company". I told her that yes I would, and while I was looking forward to it, it wouldn't be the same as having her there too. She was really worried that I would spend my time there being sad not being with her, and made it clear that she would be having lots of fun with Trisha, and that I should have lots of fun with you. For a 4yr old, shes pretty selfless, eh?

Well, this is the week!! 4 more sleeps and we are on that airplane! Your bag is all packed and ready to go, as is the suitcase full of goodies for the orphanage. You are all set for t-shirts and tops, but you're a little lacking on shorts and pants. I'm guessing 100% at sizes for you, and well aware that if I'm off by too much your pants won't stay up. I can see us doing some emergency shopping while we're there just so you have some pants and shoes to wear. What I'm bringing will certainly be enough until we can get you to the markets. I washed all of your clothes they're all nice and fresh and soft. It was a real novelty for me folding little Batman and Spiderman undies. I've packed you your own backpack with the little toys we bought you, so you'll have your own carry-on for the flight home.

It feels like we have been waiting for you forever, and they way it feels to know that this week we are on our way to bring you home is beyond words.

I love you bunches!

The days are flying by at an alarming rate. Tomorrow its ONE week until we are on that plane and on our way to you. My Mum arrives on Monday, and I'm sure Tuesday and Wednesday will be busy, and then its travel-time!!

Today I hit the dollar store and got a few more things to bring over to leave at the orphanage for the other kids. I left happy with 25 toothbrushes, a bunch of cute hairclips and hairbands for the girls, some little cars for the boys, and all sorts of other cool stuff. Tomorrow I'm going to go through all of the clothes we've accumulated for you, and pack anything that I think will be too small, and we'll be leaving that in Delhi for the other kids too. Given I have no idea what size you are, (I'm guessing around a 5?), I'll be packing a wide range of clothes for you too. You're gonna be the coolest looking kid in Delhi! Sue is back from New Zealand tomorrow, so this weekend I'll be at her house doing the beg/borrow/steal thing in her wardrobe for some cool Indian outfits to wear while I'm there. I also need to have a measure-up of Peter so we can bring him back something cool too.

We know our visa stuff got delivered to the consulate in San Francisco on Monday. I got to experience near heart-failure on Saturday, when USPS tried to deliver it at 7.23am on a SATURDAY morning!! The tracking info said that they would try ONE more time and the hold it for FIVE business days before returning it to me. Given the consulate website estimates 5-10 business days to process it (and we had 9 business days left when we sent it), that caused a little stress! I can tell you it was good news to see that it was delivered on Monday!! Now if they'll just be really nice and hurry it back to me, I can happily cross it off my "to be stressed about" list.

In the meantime I'm hounding Debby and Sue with a million questions about our upcoming trip! I also got a hold of Denise (Eli and Shivani's mother), and she said the kids will be super-excited to hear that you are finally coming home! I think Eli might be making you a picture for us to bring over to you, and Denise was going to send some photos of the kids for you, and also for Vijay. It sure will be nice for you living so close to three of the kids that you know from India. Debby and her family will be away the weekend you come home, but we're planning on a family get-together soon in April, as yours and Jena's birthdays are only a week apart. I'm bringing over some special treats for little Jyoti, as her new Mommy is a friend of mine too. She won't be living close to us, but just like we do with Sue and Karishma, we'll be staying in touch. Once you guys are all home and settled, I think we need to start planning a big reunion for you all!

Your sisters are just SO excited that the time is near! I can already see you are going to be overwhelmed with the love and attention they're going to pour on you. I hope you enjoy it lots, and if it drives you too nuts, we'll sneak you out of the house for some alone-time. Dad is taking four weeks off, so at least you'll have another guy in the house to hang out with!

We have received so many emails congratulating us on finally officially being your parents. I'll be printing them all off and putting them into a scrapbook for you, so when you get older you can see that you had people from all over the world counting down with us until your arrival. Between our friends here, our friends and family in Australia and New Zealand, all of my friends from MUO, and all of the people I now know who have also adopted from India, you are just sooooo loved! All of these people have kept me sane at the times when it felt like it would be forever before we could be with you, and now they're celebrating with us now that time is near. I can't even make it two steps inside the Fred Meyer here without someone asking how you are doing. Its pretty overwhelming really. I feel so very very lucky, and I'm hopeful that one day you'll feel the same!

I love you bunches little man.

I hear that one thing Vijay loves to do to parent upon arrival is tell them to "find their child". My money say's it'll take me all of 2 seconds.

The latest from Sue's trip. How cute would you need to be?

Wow, what a busy day!! We got our travel booked and leave here on Thursday the 15th March. We're flying via Tokyo and Bangkok, arriving into Delhi on Saturday the 17th March. According the schedule that the orphanage tries to stick to, we'll rest and have Sunday to ourselves, and finally meet you on Monday. Tues and Wed will be spent getting your immigration finalised, and then Thurs and Fri (all going well), we'll have to ourselves with you. We leave Delhi on Friday night and get back into Portland (once again via Bangkok and Tokyo) at 8.10am on Saturday the 24th March.

We got our visa stuff all sent off to the Indian Consulate, so all thats left to do next week is put together the rest of your immigration paperwork which I'm sure will involve a lot of photocopying and notarising. Outside of that we'll be doing some shopping for some of the things you'll need, and then some strategic packing to fit all that we'll need for you, for us, plus the donations we've accumlated into the 2 bags each that the airlines will allow.

Tonight I am wiped out. Sleep was hard to come by last night, so hopefully with a few more things finalised today it'll be a little easier to get some rest. All going well Trisha will be here on the 12th to have a few days with your sisters before we leave.

Its all happening now baby!!!! I'm just thrilled/stunned/excited/amazed to know that less than 2 wks from now you'll be in my arms and with me forever. Its been a long wait baby boy, but there is no doubt in my mind that it'll have been worth every second.

I love you.... so so so much.

After 13 long months I am thrilled to announce that Rashid is forever ours!!!!! We received word today that the judge had signed the paperwork, and will be leaving for India in approx 2 wks!!!!!!

I'm still bouncing off walls here with excitement, so will be back when I can actually string together a coherent sentence or two!

WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!