Feels Like It's Raining All Over the World

Just got back from supper on Wednesday night here and it has rained all day long. Our friend Joe has been in the SOS International Clinic for two days now with kidney stones. Please remember him and his wife Katie in your prayers as they are here in Vietnam with their first child and all these technical difficulties. We hope he will be able to get out tomorrow. Katie has stayed with us pretty much all day and we've let the boys spend some time together.

Tonight we went out to eat at the Texas Bar BQ restaurant and man is it good.

The tables are outdoor and covered by a large canopy. Country music blasts over the speakers while you eat. It really feels alot like being back home. I enjoy eating at this place and this makes twice that we've gone. Check out the tops on the Coke cans, bet you haven't seen one like that in a while!

Last night we ate here and when we left I caught the worst taxi you have ever seen. The driver was young and he kept choking the taxi down. I gave him a card from the hotel which is a bout a $1 ride from the restaurant. Thirty minutes later we are nowhere near the hotel. DeanAnne says, "Don't you think we need to get out?" I said sure, and we'll just wait until daylight and walk towards the Saigon skyline. He finally stopped and asked some people how to go. Once we got in the area, he still wasn't sure where we were so I just told him to stop and we'd get out. We walked the next few blocks and as we were going up the stairs into the hotel I saw him come putting along by. I guess he just wanted to make sure where it was for the next time. I cannot stress enough to those who are coming what a barrier, language will be. Vietnamese is a tonal language and cannot be spoken mono tonally as we speak english. For example, I can speak Vietnamese words and 9 times out of 10 the person I am talking to will not even realize I am speaking Vietnamese. They sure don't understand the slow drag southern drawl Vietnamese that I speak. Thien Xuan, our hotel comes out like "tin swan" with about 7 syllables. They just smile and act like I have said hello. Well that's about all for today. Jett is running a fever and he's in a foul mood when he gets ready to go to sleep. I'm hoping for better weather tomorrow and a better feeling little boy. Until next time, adios or rather tam biet as the locals say!

Tuesday's Gone with the Wind

Last night we went out to eat at an Italian restaurant called Pomodoro. It was very authentic, and very good. We came back and went to bed. Jett woke up a couple of times in the night, but he slept until 9:00. Once we got up and checked the e-mail, bad news had befallen us. Seems our Giving and Receiving which was scheduled for Wednesday, was cancelled and rescheduled for Monday. This really floored me as it will significantly postpone our return, possibly by as much as 5 days. It just doesn’t seem fair, but I have learned one thing through this entire adoption process; when things don’t go the way I planned that just means they went according to the plans of the One who knows much better than me. Please continue to lift us in prayer and our family daily. DeanAnne really got emotional this morning when J.R. said, “Momma, I’m ready for you to come home.”


We went for lunch later in the morning and you’ll never guess where; Pizza Hut. We were supposed to meet our friends Joe and Katie there, But guess what. There are twoo Pizza Huts in Saigon and we both went to different ones. The Pizza Hut was very nice and similar to the ones at home except that it was four stories tall. The menu was pretty much the same. We had a “Country Delight” which has sausage, ham, mushrooms, and pineapple. You couldn’t tell a bit of difference between it and one in Georgia, very good. The service was very good as well. After the waitress took our order, she said that it would be out in 17 minutes. I thought that was a pretty specific time, but she was right on the money. The cost for a large pizza and 3 drinks(no free refills here)= $10. The oddest thing about the place was that the bathroom was on the top floor. Air conditioning ends on the 2nd floor, so those last two flights of stairs were hot! I told DeanAnne I needed to go, but by the time I reached the top I had sweated it all out. I just turned around and headed back down. All that effort for nothing!


Better news came a little later when our facilitator stopped by the hotel and told us he had already arranged for our medical exams to be performed this afternoon. That will help us to move things along a little faster after our Giving and Receiving. Every person, babies included, who wish to travel from Vietnam to the U.S. must first have a medical examination before an entry visa will be granted. This examination must be performed by an embassy approved doctor at an approved facility.

We went to the Cho Ray hospital for our appointment. There were many people there waiting for appointments for a visa examination. Most of them were adults, but there were also a few other adopted babies there for examination. The examination went very well and Jett did not even cry during the exam.

He made up for it in the taxi on the way back. He was very tired and he missed his usual afternoon nap. He is asleep now after much struggling. It has always been amazing to me how the sleepier a child is the harder it is for them to go to sleep. He fought the good fight, but eventually sleep won.


We have the rest of the week free now. I don’t know what we will do but our next appointment is for our Giving and Receiving on Monday. I think we will see a few attractions and just rest. Thanks for visiting our site and please keep the comments coming. They are a great source of comfort for us. For those of you who doubt that I am in Vietnam because you never see pictures of me, DeanAnne snapped this photo at the hospital. My feet were very tired so I had Jett to carry me. Isn't he a big boy.

J.R. and James: Momma and Daddy miss you alot and we hope to be home with baby Jett very soon. Remember to pray for baby Jett to come home when you say your prayers tonight. We love you both! Here's a smile and a wave from baby Jett just for both of you!

Cyclo Tour of the City

Last night we went out to eat with the director of our agency, Sue Hedberg. We went to a Vietnamese restaurant called Lemongrass. The food was good and DeanAnne and I both had pho. Pho (pron. fer) is a traditional Vietnamese noodle soup and it is served in stalls, cafes and by street vendors all over Saigon. It is full of noodles, meat, and vegetables. You don't usually eat the broth, just the ingredients. After we left the restaurant we walked back to the hotel and I took this picture of the Ho Chi Minh City Hall.

Last night brought back old memories. Jett is 1 year old, but he still takes a bottle about every 3 hours. He has not had anything food wise but cereal mixed with water. His caregivers held him alot and he has not developed muscularly in his lower body because of it. He can stand and cruise down the edge of the bed. He moves around really good and I think by the time we come home you'll probably see alot of difference in his lower body. He is a very happy baby and only cries when he wants a bottle. He is very interested when we are out walking and really pays attention to the things going on around him. He also smiles and laughs alot.

We went to the grocery store this morning to try and find some baby food for him. We think that if he gets some real food in him he will be able to go longer between meals. After we left the grocery store we started walking back. Some cyclo drivers begin following us and hassling us. I finally gave in and we let them take us for a ride.

A cyclo is a bicycle with two wheels on the front and a seat for a passenger. The driver sits on the rear and pedals the contraption. They are a common sight in Saigon and many of them are very old and dilapidated. The drivers will follow you around and aggravate the stuffings out of you to give you a ride. They are notorious for sticking tourists as well. Settle on a price before you get on the thing. Every one that comes by me pats his calves and says"Very strong, I give you ride!" So today I decided I would test one out. It is a really good way to see the city. We rode by a lot of places today.

We saw the Ho Chi Minh City Opera House and the Notre Dame Cathedral.

The streets are very busy and It gets kinda scary sometimes as the trucks and motorcycles zip past you. I am still amazed at what people haul on their motorcycles and bicycles. They carry things you can't even imagine. Here is a picture of a bicycle so you can get an idea.

We saw several booths while on the ride selling dog meat and kangaroo meat. We also passed several Budhist pagodas where people go to pray and offer incense. These incense altars are burning all over the city. Many shop keepers burn them right in the doorways of their shop. At the temples, some of the incense sticks are 4-5 foot long and as big around as a broomstick. They also burn huge incense coils in the pagodas that are suspended from the ceiling.

After a couple of hours of riding around, it began to rain. This is the monsoon season in Vietnam and rain comes almost every day. The cyclo drivers pulled over and let us stand under a shop's awning while they put the covers up on their cyclos. Here is a picture of DeanAnne's driver assembling her cab. The rain was short and we headed back on our way. It was really hot and Jett was getting restless so we headed back to the hotel. The weather here is very similar to Georgia, hot and humid. The humidity doesn't go away here though since it rains much more frequently than back home.

Thanks for checking up on us. No adoption work today or tomorrow. Wednesday we will go to the Binh Duong People's Committee offices for our Giving and Receiving. It's really nice here, but I'm ready to move through this process and stand on familiar ground again. It can be very unnerving at times when you think about how far away from home you are and how little is under your control. We have to put everything in God's hands. The language is a very significant barrier. I recommend to anyone coming to get a phrase book and practice a little before you come. If you have any Vietnamese friends, get their help. Most of the Vietnamese people speak enough English that you can understand them. The problem comes when they try to understand you. I know this thick southern accent I got probably don't help any either. At times it can be a real problem. You ask a question and the person just smiles at you. So you say what you think is a similar word in Vietnamese and they don't even recognize what your saying as Vietnamese. Both of you smile at each other and say thank you while walking away. The people are very nice though. I doubt there's anywhere else in the world you can make such a fool out of yourself and not feel really embarrassed by it.

Drumroll Please!

May we introduce the newest member of the Fordham family, Jett Reuben Fordham. We will call him Bao (Bow) as that is his Vietnamese name and he seems to respond to it. The very first meeting was very emotional and he was scared. he quickly warmed up to DeanAnne , but would cry sometimes when he saw his 20 year old caregiver. He is very small but he can pull up and sit unassisted. he was very scared of me at the first meeting, but now since we are in the hotel room he doesn't seem nearly as frightened. This post won't be long as I have not got much to say. Everything is so overwhelming. 18 months of prayers and dreams came together today in one moment and it was extremely humbling. We are so thankful to each person who has lifted us up in prayer. Now we ask for special prayer as we go for our Giving and Receiving ceremony on Wednesday. This is an official ceremony in the province where he lives. After this ceremony we will be recognized by Vietnam as his legal parents. The next steps will be a series of interviews with U.S. immigration officials. Please pray specifically for his INS interviews and that all requirements for his visa will be met and approved as quickly as possible so that we can travel back to be with J.R. and James soon. Sometimes these steps can really prolong travel.

To my Sunday School Class and Church family: We miss each of you and hope that we will be back ASAP. Please pray for us this morning when you all meet and we hope to re-join you all soon.

To J.R. and James: Say hello to your new baby brother. Ask Me-Ma to help you say his name so you can talk to him when we come home. We love you both and miss you so much.

To all my close "guy" friends: Jett's caregiver asked me had I tried "meat dog". Apparently dog meat is considered exotic here and can be bought from the vendors on the street. I heard today that the lighter colored the hair, the more tasty the meat. I haven't tried any yet, but I might if I get the chance. I'll let you know what I think.

Jimmy: I haven't seen any live chickens, but plenty of chicken meat. The chickens are dressed whole with the entire length of their neck minus the head. The head is sold separately. Just knew you'd be interested in that.

Saturday Trip To the Market

Today was a busy day. We got up this morning and met with our agency representative, Mr. Hiep. He will pick us up at 9am on Sunday and take us to meet Jett for the first time. We are very excited. I don't think I can describe how we feel right now. I'm sure that first meeting will be very emotional. We have invested a tremendous amount of emotion into this over the last year, and it will all climax tommorrow. We can't wait.

After we met Mr. Hiep, our friends Joe and Katie came over to the hotel and took us down to the Binh Than market to look around. (I'm the dainty looking bodyguard on the right for the three celebrities on the left.)This was an amazing experience. The market is one of the most interesting places I have ever been. We entered the market right down the street from our hotel. The side we are on houses the meat and vegetables. You can find almost anything you can imagine here. The aisles are filled with live fish, shrimp, crabs, beef, pork, and things I have never seen before much less know what they are. The smell is putrid, but it is so interesting to walk through. We bought a few things today, but not a lot.

The market has every thing you can imagine. Clothes, jewelry, purses, collectibles, medicine, herbs, coffee, you name it. The price is negotiable on everything. The clothing sales people are very pushy. Some young girls grabbed me today and pulled me into their booth. They keep saying, "We have your size!" She tried to unbutton my shirt so I could try one on. Some of them would make excellent car salesmen. I also don't believe that many people have my size. I am something of a rarity here. I don't speak Vietnamese well but I can pick up on remarks that people make as I am passing about my heighth. We have not met any rude or mean people here. The people are very gracious and polite.

There are a lot of places to buy things in this area. People are set up to sell all up and down the street. There are also a lot of older women cooking, selling fruit, or taking things to the market to sell.

Many of the items are very cheap. We bought DeanAnne a backpack to replace her torn one. It was a North Face and it only cost $10. Many people are walking around begging for money. If you give any to them others will follow you around and beg. Many of these people are handicapped and you feel very sorry for them. There are also alot of very young children roaming around by theirself begging.

Well it's almost dark and I think DeanAnne and I are going to go get something to eat. Next time we should be able to post pictures and tell you about baby Jett. Until then, thanks for checking on us.

Safe and Sound in Saigon

Hey everyone. This update is from our hotel , The Thien Xuan. We had to stay in a suite tonight because the regular rooms are booked up. We should be able to move tommorrow. I am totally overwhelmed right now, so I'll start from the beginning (especially for those who are coming to Vietnam in the future).

We arrived at Tan Son Nhat Airport (Saigon) after a 2.5 hour flight from Hong Kong. Before you exit the plane the stewardesses will give you a declaration form to fill out and carry through customs. I was really nervous about this because I had heard people had problems sometimes coming through customs and immigration. The form was really easy to fill out. You have to keep it with your passport at all times while in Vietnam. Once we got off the plane, we had to walk down a long corridor that leads to a large open area where immigration officials have numerous lines set up. I assume they are military people, and many of them are younger. You have to wait in line until they call you forward and then they will look at your passport and visa. They want to know how long you will be staying and where you will be staying. Some people are detained longer than others for questions, but we went right through. Next you go on to collect your baggage then proceed to customs before you exit the airport. Here they will x-ray all your belongings and remove a portion of your declaration form to retain for their records. Once you clear customs you may exit the airport. It is like a mad house once you go through those doors(see picture above). There are hundreds of people standing there either waiting on someone or just watching people walk out. There was a staff person from our agency holding a sign up for us. I didn't have much trouble finding him and he led us out to the taxi.

We rode the taxi back to our hotel and boy is that first trip an experience. No amount of people telling you about the traffic will prepare you until you see it for yourself. There are 1000's of motorcycles and I am not exaggerating. People blow their horns non-stop and for no apparent reason. Chaos is about the best description I can think of. Multiple lanes of traffic merge at intersections with no signal lights. Just a lot of stop-n-go and horn blowing. It's no wonder foreigners are not allowed to drive here. It would take some time to learn this stuff. You would be amazed at what some people haul on these motorcycles. I saw one with a full size bed mattress on it. It is amazing. It is also very noisy here. Vehicle noise and horn blowing are the constant background. This picture is out of our hotel window. It is a side street so it is not as busy. This is a four way intersection with no signs or signals. People just come and go all 4 ways without stopping. It's pretty neat to watch.

The hotel is really nice and I think we will enjoy staying here. I hope to go out today and see more of what is around our hotel. I'm sure we will get something to eat later on, but I am wore out with only 7 hrs. of sleep in the last 48 hrs., and that was in an upright airplane seat. Well that's all for now, more later!

The Hong Kong Connection

We landed in Hong Kong at 5:00am (5:00pm back home).The airport is almost deserted at this time of day. We leave at 8:50am on our flight to Saigon. The Hong Kong flight lasted 14 hours. I was able to sleep about the first 7 hours (and I use "sleep" loosely). It's hard to describe a 14 hour plane flight. All I can say is that it feels better landing than taking off. I didn't practice sleeping in the upright position enough. The Hong Kong airport is a really beautiful place. It is surrounded by water and mountainous islands. It has been raining and the clouds and fog are hanging around the mountaintops. I threw in a picture for everyone to see. We leave here and we have a 2 1/2 hour flight to Saigon. We should be in our hotel around 12:00 if we don't have any trouble. More to come.

J.R. and James: Momma and Daddy sure do miss you. We love you both and can't wait to get back home to see you. J.R. , I haven't seen that pond you wanted yet, but let me know if you think of anything else and I will look for you. be good and we will talk to ya'll soon. We love you!

And They're Off!

It’s 4:00 right now and we are sitting in the Atlanta airport. The flight out of Savannah was great. When we got up in the air out of Savannah the pilot sounded the tone to unfasten seatbelts. Then he sounded the tone to fasten seatbelts again. It sounded like a doorbell, Ding-Dong. No joke, that’s about how long the flight was. Savannah airport is very nice. The boys were able to go all the way up to the TSA search point with us. There is only one concourse, so they could really see what was going on. They must have ridden the escalators up and down 100 times. After much hugging and kissing and crying we made our way down to the gate. Momma and Daddy hung around with the boys and they watched our flight leave. I am really impressed with the Savannah airport. It is nice to go into such a small airport, no lines, no crowds, and no waiting. We can make it there in less than two hours and minus the chaos. It’s nice to fly into Atlanta and get to skip the TSA search lines that are sometimes there. Next flight leaves at 5:30 to Los Angeles. On a lighter note, I was really worried about the size of the seats on the airplane. At 6’3” and 285 lbs. I am hardly the average American. DeanAnne and I had a pair of seats on the two seat side of the airplane. I was able to comfortably sit in the seat and DeanAnne didn’t mind lying in the floor as long as I kept my feet out of her face. That’s all for now, more in L.A.

Well here we are in Los Angeles. It's almost 10:00 here and our flight leaves at 11:50. 14 hours later we'll arrive in Hong Kong. The Los Angeles airport is very confusing. It's layout is nothing like Atlanta. We had to leave the concourse we were in and travel to another separate concourse that is for international flights. It was about a ten minute walk and their were no signs that clearly marked the way. It was chaos on the inside. Apparently a lot of flights to Asia leave out around midnight. We finally made it to our gate and here we sit now. We are flying out on a 747 and I can see it out the window as I type. Man is that thing big. It has an upper level where the pilots and first class passengers ride. The middle level is economy and it runs from the nose of the plane to the tail. Of course DeanAnne and I will be riding in the cargo hold, about as nice as we could afford. I sure hope I can hang on until they let the wheels up. I really don't want to fall out. That's all for now. Next chapter: Hong Kong.

Last Day

Well today is the last day to get ready. We stayed up until 2am this morning packing bags and going over documents. You have to take so many things with you that it just feels like your leaving something for sure. Tomorrow morning we will pull out around 9 am. My momma and daddy will be taking us to the airport in Savannah. Our flight doesn't leave until 2:30, but we will probably go eat somewhere together before going on to the airport. James and J.R. are very excited to be able to go to the airport and see the airplanes. Leaving the boys will by far be the hardest part of this trip for DeanAnne (Jon too!). We will pretty much miss the month of July 2007 in their lives. 1 Corinthians 6:20 says "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." Nothing in life that is worth having comes for free. Just as Jesus payed the ultimate price that we might be adopted as sons and daughters into the family of God, our family must pay a price to bring Jett here into our family. DeanAnne and I know that when we come back at the end of the month and we are re-united as a family with J.R., James, and Jett every minute gone will be worth it. We are not the only ones who are affected by this trip. Many of our family and friends are also affected. They will be taking care of the boys, feeding animals, taking care of the house, etc. So many people are playing a part in this adoption and we are so grateful to each and every one of them. Please remember my mother (Debi) in your prayers as she will have our boys for the entire time. Then the week of July 14-21 she will also have my nephew (Julian) as my brother (Robert), his wife (Dale), my daddy (Jerry), and several more of our neighbors and church family will be traveling to The Dominican Republic on a mission trip.

DeanAnne's office is giving her a shower today. She was really excited. After she comes home from work today we will make some final preparations and then we will be off tomorrow. I'll try to keep everyone posted as we progress through our trip whenever possible. Thanks for your support and continued prayers.

*QUICK OFF TOPIC NOTE: Just thought I would share something with everyone for what it's worth. Saturday night DeanAnne and I took the boys to Chic-Fil-A in Dublin to eat and play on the slide. While the boys were playing I ran across the street to Office Max to pick up a few things . While I was in Office Max I saw Herschel Walker. For those of you not from Georgia, Herschel Walker carried the Bulldogs to a 1980 National Championship in what is considered to be the best freshman year for a college player ever. He is ranked in many top 100 college players ever polls as #2. He left UGA after his junior year and joined the now defunked USFL. After the USFL he went on to play in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys. He was traded to the Minnesota Vikings for 5 players and 6 draft picks. This trade is considered to be the turning point in Dallas Cowboys rise to dominance as they acquired Emmit Smith and several other powerhouses with the draft picks they got for Herschel. He went on to do very little for the Vikings. He played for several other teams and was eventually re-acquired by Dallas where he retired in 1997. He also was on the U.S. bobsled team in the 1992 Winter Olympics.He is a born-again Christian and commented freely about his faith in numerous interviews while in the USFL. In 2006 he claimed on a talk show to still do the same routine everyday he has done since high school 2500 sit-ups and 1500 push-ups daily.

I called my friend Mark Abney in Raleigh, NC to tell him I had just seen Herschel. When he answered the phone I said, "You'll never guess who I just saw at Office Max in Dublin." He said, "Herschel Walker". I think I was more amazed that Mark guessed it than I was at seeing Herschel. He was very friendly and he attracted quite a large crowd. I didn't see him refuse to sign an autograph for a single person, and in fact he carried on conversations with many of them.

Ready to Fly

Well I just got off the phone with our travel agent, Todd Gallinek. He comes highly recommended from scores of adoptive parents. I hope he comes through for us. The plane trip is now finalized. This is what it looks like:

• July 4 - Depart - Savannah, GA - Arrive - Atlanta, GA - Delta Airlines


• July 4 - Depart - Atlanta, GA - Arrive - Los Angeles, CA - Delta Airlines


• July 4 - Depart - Los Angeles, CA - Arrive - Hong Kong - Cathay Pacific Airways


• July 6 - Depart - Hong Kong - Arrive - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - Cathay Air

Total flight time will be 23 hours in the air. With layovers the trip will take about 32 hours.If you notice we leave out of Los Angeles on the 4th and arrive in Hong Kong on the 6th. The flight is only 14 hours long but since we leave at 11:30pm on the 4th and we travel through multiple timezones we will land in Hong Kong on the 6th.

We are also flying out of Savannah which I have never done before. Tickets cost $10 more. We are almost centered in between Atlanta and Savannah but I would pay $100 extra to not have to drive in Atlanta.

Flying out on the 4th means we will miss the annual 4th of July shindig with all our Rebie community friends at Jimmy and Amy's house. We were gonna kill and barbeque a whole hog. Jimmy says if I'm leaving, then the hog killin' is off. Oh well, I guess it'll be the Piggly Wiggly meat counter for Boston Butts this year. I really hate that we won't make it since it has really become a tradition, but we've got important business to take care of this year and I think Jimmy and Amy will understand. I guess we'll just send J.R. and James in our place.

Wednesday Worries

Well, we didn't get a whole lot done today. DeanAnne got some documents notarized, and I stayed on the phone and computer. Speaking of DeanAnne, let me show ya'll what she's doing while I work on this blog. She will probably kill me when she sees this, but I just couldn't resist. I'm gonna make some kind of reservation for flights tommorrow. Hopefully tommorrow night I'll have a flight itinerary. We have waited so long to get this far, and now that we are here, things are beginning to sink in. In seven days from now we'll be several hours into a 20+ hour flight. 10 days from now we will be meeting baby Jett. I'm ready, but I can't help but be nervous. Our friends Joe and Katie, who are also adopting, made it into Saigon today. I'm looking forward to hearing about what it's like first hand. That's about it for tonight. To be fair, I'll just post a picture of myself sleeping so maybe DeanAnne won't be to mad. And for those of you who are wondering, that is my natural hair color.