Home One Week

We have been home a week and overall things are normalizing. We had the honeymoon phase with Hung through Monday. His grieving began in earnest on Tuesday. He reached his limit of frustration with Mommy on Wednesday when he did not want to go for a nap at 4 pm and Mommy didn't seem to understand that he needed to stay up and play. We saw a full blown kicking, screaming, wailing, crying but dry eyed fit. Quite a show. He doesn't know that he is preceded in tantrum throwing by Lily so this amazing display of anger and emotion didn't have much effect.

I periodically went in to tell him in Vietnamese that I love him, that I am so sorry he is so sad and that he will be with us forever. That did not sooth him and he pointed at himself and every airplane flying overhead to tell me - I want to go back!! Lily too has suggested more than once this week that "He needs to go back!" But we haven't heard it in 24 hours. Hung talked to Thoa at Holt in VN on Thursday and she told us we have a boy with a "strong personality." Really? LOL.

Marshall had enough by Thursday night when he thought Hung stole a pack of gum from his room (he didn't). So, lots of tears and yelling by the kids here this week. It was expected. I have learned the secret to keeping peace. Get everyone out of the house. If there are no "things" around, there is no fighting over what is yours or mine.

We trekked to our local Fort, went to the beach, surprised Grannie B in Sarasota (she had just returned from visiting friends and relatives in New Jersey). Hung loves to go anywhere and has only gotten car sick once. He has done remarkably well in the grocery store and Target. It has helped a lot to have Jim's Mom here to help primarily with Lily. Hung also went canoeing with Daddy and loves riding his bike or the double bike with Jim in the front. We now understand "I'm sorry" in Vietnamese and Hung is clearly saying all of our names and "water," "lotion," "swim," "beach," "eat," "go," "please," "thank you" and "how are you?" More than anything, Hung loves to talk on the phone - to anyone!

Today we went blueberry picking with our friends John, Pam and their daughter LiLi who is also from China. I wondered what Hung must have thought. We were out in the country, far from any traffic. The only noise was the rustling of blueberry bushes by grasshoppers and the occasional bird. No motor bikes, no honking horns, no smoky smell in the air. A very different world than what he is used to. He understood right away he was supposed to pick the blue ones, not the green ones. He did great on the long car trip and was wonderful with Grannie B and Aunt Kristy and Uncle Joey later tonight at our cookout at home. He just finished doing a craft for over an hour side by side with Lily and no fighting. We heard lots of deep belly laughs out of him today and he did some more ball playing with Marshall. We know there will be lots of ups and downs but this week really ended up. Thank you friends for the outpouring of good wishes and food! I caught a terrible cough (no, not swine flu! No fever.) and lost my voice this week and it helped not to have to worry about cooking at all.

Waiting Dong Nai families, in the midst of our joy, we remember your pain and are praying for you to be united with your beautiful children soon.