The drive out to Ba Vi orphanage

We shot these from a moving van so they might be a little blurry. It was very hot and the smog settled in for the day.

Everyone is carrying something or someone on the back of their motor bike.
There was standing water all along the way.
Maybe a cemetery?

About an hour outside Hanoi city. More rural but lots of places to rest.
This one is for Betsy and The Moore's. Pepsi makes a good showing in Vietnam.

oops, out of order...still in her orphanage clothing, meeting her daddy for the first time. The nannies ask for diaper and new clothing right away. They love the new, western style clothing.
Our first sight of the orphanage grounds.
The secure gate. As we drove through the gate and up the 100 yds or so to where the babies were we saw a few women drop what they were doing so they could greet us as we parked and exited the van. They were very excited and immediately invited us to come in and meet the babies. They were sincerely happy for these few children to be going home.
oops, another one out of order....obviously haven't mastered this "blogging thing". Chris thought this was where the bricks are baked. On one side was a pile of "brick making material" and the other side was a pile of nicely stacked bricks. Smart guy, that Chris!

We spent 90 minutes at the orphanage. Housed here are mostly children, some babies and there is an elderly wing too. I spent some special time with some of the babies that lived with Hadley. Some are referred to waiting families and some are not. Some never get adopted, hence the older children on site, because of "paperwork problems". A lot of them watched, knowing that we were there to pick up children that would finally have forever families.

One of the nannies that cared for Hadley. There weren't a lot of babies and the wing where the babies reside is broken into 3 even smaller rooms. It was obvious that over time these women had grown very close to our children. Each had a special goodbye to give, lots of hugs, kisses and tender words. It was beautiful.

This little guy, Minh, has been here for nearly a year. He has charmed these women over that time. It was especially difficult for them to say good bye to him. He is going home to Casanovia, NY with a wonderful couple.

Ba Vi orpanage appeared to be a very peaceful place. It was very run down but clean and tidy. The babies sleep on rice mats that are either on the floor or in a crib. Many were also in "bouncy" type seats. There was play equipment for the older children, and plenty of space to run around.

I was a very hot, humid day. It is definitely summer here. Hadley came to us with a terrible heat rash and some other minor skin issues. More importantly, she greeted us with wide eyes and many smiles. She is smaller than we thought, about 14 lbs. All the clothes we brought are too big. I pulled out 3 outfits(all the same size) for the nannies to choose from and they got a good laugh at my poor planning.