Finally Made It

Well we finally made it to our hotel about 11:30 tonight and we only have one problem. When we got off the plane in Saigon, an airline representative was waiting for us with a sign. It seems that they somehow lost mine and DeanAnne's entire suitcase. It was filled with pretty much everything we brought. I am really hoping that we hear something tomorrow. I will have some slight difficulty finding clothes that fit me around here. I guess I could wear the same shirt and pants for two weeks. Maybe noone wouild notice.

JFK Adventure

                The last twenty four hours have been rather exciting. When we got to Savannah/Hilton Head Airport yesterday afternoon, our flight was delayed because of bad weather. After an hour of waiting in line, the ticket representative finally told me that we would not be making our connection in Washington D.C. on the way to New York. They offered to reschedule the flight for the next day at five o’clock. That would have been fine except for one minor detail. In an effort to save money, I booked the flights from Savannah to New York and New York to Saigon separately on two different airlines. This decision had the benefit of saving us quite a bit of money while costing us the luxury of having the airlines to take care of any cancellations and reschedules. We had to get to New York City for our 1:25 flight to Tokyo or we would have given Japan Airlines quite a substantial gift.

                I thought for a minute about all the possibilities, but only one real idea came to my mind. We had to drive from Savannah to New York. 815 miles is not really that far. An airplane can make it in about two hours. Surely it won’t take that long to drive.

                Luckily my daddy had decided to hang close by the airport after he dropped us off. We gave him a call and he came back to give us the car. We loaded up and left Savannah at 8:00 pm. 13 hours later we pulled up at the JFK Airport in New York City. My momma and I swapped driving and we made the entire trip with only three stops. We are exhausted, but we made it.

                We are sitting in the terminal now waiting for the call to board the flight to Tokyo. The boys are a bit delirious, but they are making it. Jett came over by me a few minutes ago and fell asleep while standing up. He is exhausted. I know exactly how he feels.

Jett's Had a Hard Day (and Night)

Ready to Board for Tokyo

Homecoming Vietnam

Wow. It is so hard to believe that we haven't posted to this blog since 2008. My how time flies. I remember as a child that it seemed like it took forever for Christmas to come around. Now it seems like it comes three times a year.

So many things have changed over the last five years. Jett has just finished his first year of Pre-Kindergarten and he is really looking forward to starting Kindergarten next year. He is such a smart fellow and charming as well. He seems to be a celebrity around town. I have lived here all my life and sometimes I don't even know who some of the kids are that I overhear saying, "There's Jett!"

In 2007, DeanAnne and I set a goal to try and return to Vietnam every five years so that Jett could see the country and have a better understanding of his roots as he grew up. I also wanted J.R. and James to be able to explore Jett's homeland. Those of you who followed our blog originally will recall that they stayed with my mother during that month that we travelled. Fast forward five years and now we stand ready to return for the first time. I guess it is a homecoming of sorts for a little boy who has only really known the home he has become part of on Rebie Road in rural Bleckley County, Georgia (that's about as far away from the streets of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam as you can get, 9390 miles to be exact).

On Tuesday, May 29, we will depart (this time with the entire family) for Saigon. We will spend approximately 14 days in the Thien Xuan Hotel. This is the same hotel we stayed in for weeks in 2007. We are looking forward to returning, this time on our own schedule. We felt that it would be fitting to crank this old blog up again to chronicle the experience. I hope that many of you who joined us the first time will follow along with us again. Many of your prayers, comments, and encouraging messages sustained us through many dark moments during that month five years ago. I hope that many of our new friends will share in this experience with us this time as well.

Remember us in your prayers as we leave out Tuesday evening from the Savannah Airport for New York City. From there it will be on to Tokyo, Japan and then down to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The entire flight is a little more than thirty hours with layovers. The longest leg in the air will be about 15-16 hours. The boys have never been on a flight like this, so pray for their peace and patience (ours as well).

I couldn't finish out this post without putting some pictures of then and now. The picture below is the first picture we have of DeanAnne and Jett within moments of meeting him for the first time. Just looking at the picture makes me emotional. I went back and read the post with this picture and looked at the many comments that people left for us. It brings tears to my eyes. God has been so good to our family. We have been so blessed to share these last five years with Jett. I am looking forward to the next five.