"Happy New Year" to MAILE in Vietnam!

TODAY is TET (the Vietnamese & Chinese New Year Day!!!) We had quite a celebration of LOVE today showering Maile Noel Thuy with gifts, message board/ notes, video, song...and warm friendships. I was shaking like a leaf almost the whole shower, not only trying to keep the G&R date a SECRET until the right moment, but just all the attention & gifts given was quite overwhelming. I know how I felt today with so much focus on me, I cannot imagine how overwhelmed Maile will be in her transition to the States & the "Crazy" Carlson Krew!!!! It was such a great shower, THANK YOU Susan, Alisha & Jolin for your amazing hospitality, generosity and love!!! The hand-frosted cookies & message board from Susan was so spectacular...I cried for minutes looking at the "Maile board!!"

I know one highlight for me (as well as my friends) was having Mandy there who just returned from Ninh Thuan, Vietnam adopting her littl' girl ANNA. She is also '2' & was in the SAME orphanage as Maile...they were PLAYMATES together & we found each other...living 1 hr. apart! What a gift to give our girls!!! The ONLY thing I wanted guests to do that didn't happen was leave a message for Maile on the VIDEO CAMERA...so if you want, post a comment here & we will keep it for Maile to know those who came, celebrated and prayed for her safe journey HOME!!!!

From the bottom of our hearts, we cannot thank you enough for sharing your time, prayers, gifts & love for our sweet baby girl...there was much laughter, love & tears throughout, what amazing group of ladies I have been honored enough to call "friend." It was so humbling to see my circle of friends from church, school, the Y, real estate, dance, etc...come together to share ONE thing in common: Our LOVE for you Maile Noel!!!!!!!! I wish my best friend from MI, Sybil, could have been there...I know she was in spirit... I hope you get to meet her & "her 3 boys" THIS summer! It's a RELIEF to be able to shout at the ROOFTOPS our G&R date now to come get you Maile...I have tried to keep it a secret since 12 Feb 2007! Yikes. The dance studio will find out this week and everyone will know soon enough that on 14 Mar 2007, you'll be "Forever Ours..." I really don't know how to adequately ever thank everyone for their incredible kindness & generosity, but I pray they will feel it from our hearts to theirs.

Stay tuned, NOW the exciting journey is on the horizon...we have bought our plane tickets for 10 Mar - landing in Saigon, 11 Mar at 10:40pm (YIKES!!!) - then recover on Mon the 12th, leave at 6am on the 13th to see our baby girl for the FIRST time & then Wed. 14th of March will be the G&R ceremony! If all goes as planned, we'll have a flight back to DFW landing on 29th of Mar at 10am!!!! Details to follow Maile's homecoming...it will be as emotional of a day as it was today, if not more so... Wow, my cup runneth over today...Thank you God, Thank you Mom, Thank you FRIENDS!!!

Humbling touched with gratitude, on behalf of Maile...we thank you!
Kim-Lan & her 3 boys
(24 days until we get Maile!!!)

"In love, He predestined us to be adopted as His children..." -- Eph. 1:5

Maile Noel...we are coming for YOU!!!

Happy Valentine's Day 2007...

I can stand it no longer...I have to share with you, ONE WEEK of Maile's dossier heading to Hanoi, it was approved & sent with ours back to her Province. Then, onto the Local Justice Dept & the People's Committee to set the "Giving & Receiving Date." We have a G&R date to get our baby girl, Maile Noel Carlson ONE MONTH from TODAY, March 14, 2007...we will officially be "DELIVERED" our first daughter!!! With over 18 mos. into this adoption pregnancy (& feeling VERY pregnant), we will see, hold & get to keep our baby girl!!

In keeping Maile's identity confidential until we bring her HOME, I am sharing a couple pictures from the incredible orphans from last year (Mar 2006) when I visited my homeland & orphanage for the first time. It's like Christmas AM when you see their faces light up with blowers, "Hot Wheels" cars, stickers, etc. and feeding them like littl' birds, candies that they did NOT know to take the WRAPPERS off!!!! It's the MOST humbling experience I have ever had and I consider it an HONOR to make a FULL Circle in my life!!! My mom was adopted (domestically), then I was adopted from Vietnam and then to adopt myself - the 3rd generation now! Wow, what an AWESOME God we serve...

Stay tuned for updates as the real EXCITING part of the journey begins...I will welcome diapers, feedings, bottles, rocking, etc...just to hold my baby girl in my arms--NOT looking forward to the "sleepless" nights, I get very little rest as it is nowadays. But, Maile Noel Thuy Carlson, we are so in LOVE with you and we are COMING to get you sweet, baby girl...

Counting down the days until March 14th, 2007...a day we'll never forget!

Kim-Lan & her 3 boys...but not for much longer

Phil. 1:3

Maile's Paperwork is onto HANOI !!!

I am very excited to report an update in our "5000+ baby steps" to get Maile Noel Carlson....We got an email today saying Maile's paperwork (dossier) has been sent to Hanoi to match up with our dossier!!! Then, once approved (upto 1-2 weeks), it will go BACK to her Province for the Local Justice Dept. for review (upto 2-4 weeks.) Once that is approved, it will be onward to the "People's Committee" who will SET our G&R (Giving and Receiving) DATE!!!!! YES, that is the BIG Date we are waiting for!!! Ahhhhhh...

So, we are PRAYING that TET (Vietnamese New Year) does NOT slow down too much of our paperwork time! As we KNOW in the U.S.A., Christmas & New Year tends to slow down businesses for weeks as well...ugh. We covet your prayers that Maile & our dossiers will be sent back to her province BEFORE TET (Feb. 18th)!!! Hey, why not pray to the God of miracles who can do ANYTHING!!!

If ANYONE knows of anyone with travel perks/ points/ bonus miles - PLEASE let me know if they can help with any travel arrangements for us (2 roundtrip adults & 1 child- ONE way ticket home!) We know God will continue to provide HIS amazing faithfulness...To Him be all the glory.
Anxiously awaiting a G&R date for Maile!!! Kim-Lan & her 3 boys (but not for long!)

"Trust in the Lord...He will direct your paths..." Prov. 3:5-6

Time to order our VISAS!!! :)

Hello Family/ Friends…

Well, today marks MONTH 17 of our ADOPTION PREGNANCY…and believe me, I feel VERY PREGNANT!!!! We are so ready for this sweet baby girl, it’s not even funny!!! God continue to give us our little RAINBOW in the STORM as we get a snip-it of Maile (My-lee) Noel here and there…. I was concerned & prayed about missing my 1st Student Concert for my dance studio in June, then we continue to see how God works! We get an email 2 days ago to ORDER OUR VISAS for TRAVEL!!!! (The Visa applications are already in the mail!) Our adoption agency said to order a 3 mos. VISA from 01 Mar-01 June because NO travel date is set yet!! Thank you God, we needed this!!! It’s NOT a G&R (Giving and Receiving) date YET -- but it's still progress (G&R date will be our DELIVERY DATE of when Maile Noel Thuy Carlson will be ours forever)!!

The next big thing we want to hear is that Maile's dossier (paperwork) has gone to Hanoi to match up with our dossier!!! With TET (Chinese/ Vietnamese New Year), many offices are closed and will slow down the process!!! We are still PRAYING for MARCH/ EARLY APRIL travel date to get Maile ASAP and bring her home way before my dance studio's FIRST Student Concert mid-June!!! We covet your prayers on this painstaking process that is "slow as molasses." But, we KNOW Maile is meant for us and we'll be ready when they say "come and get her!!!" I will keep you posted...

Take care...signing off for now, Ms. Saigon