Hi, again. It's Wednesnight here. I'll try to catch up as much as I can before this place closes down.

Saturday morning we piled into the van for the 6 hour ride back to HCMC that really took 9 hours. Did I mention that Kiana screamed most of the way? My mom and I passed her back and forth without success and Thuy held her for quite a while as well. She did sleep fitfully, but would wake up if you so much as moved a muscle. She take a few gulps from a bottle, but then spit it out and cry. Thuy thought she was car sick, but that didn't explain why she screamed all night. Mom started using phrases like, "hyper sensitive" and I started wishing I'd listened to my dad when he admonished me to not press my luck with a second child.

About 4 pm we stopped at a rest stop and I let Kiana suck on the bottom of my ice tea glass...she instantly quited. Now realizing that she was teething, I applied a little Orajel and within a few minutes she drank a whole bottle and fell fast asleep! It wasn't a great sleep, but at least the last few hours on the road were a little quieter. To add to this day's misery, Maia was running a fever and not feeling well...she eventually developed a slight cold and is all better now.

Part of the reason it took so long to get back to HCMC is that we stopped by an orphanage on the way back...Vin Long I think it's called. CHI is hoping to start adoptions there very soon. While we waited for Thuy and her staff to finish their business, we walked the grounds. This is another orphanage that houses both children and elders. The children were in school, but the elders came out to see us. I gave Maia some gum and cancy to pass out and all signs of shyness flew right out of her! On her own volition and unaccompanied, she even walked up and gave a piece of candy to an old man with a long Ho Chi Minh beard! You all know how shy she is, and she is especially shy, even scared, of men with goatees. She and Alison, the other little girl in our group, had lots of fun passing out candy. We took the ferry back across the Mekong...it was just as fun as the first time.

When we finally got back to the Rex Hotel in HCMC, the entire van heaved a sigh of relief. She got a beautiful room over looking Le Loi, a busy street just off of the main drag. It drives some guest crazy, but mom and I love listening to the sounds of HCMC. Mike, one of the new Dad's in our group, picked up some pizza for us from a nearby restaurant, but Maia was asleep by the time he got back. Mom and I retired early, as neither of us had slept much while in Rach Gia.

The Rex provided a lovely rattan cradle for Kiana. We popped her in there and she slept really well most of the night, only waking up for diaper changes and bottles. Other than one night terror, the incessent screaming was over!!!!!

In addition to her shock at being removed from her home and all the people she knew, I think now that Kiana was probably feeding off of our emotions as well. We were anxious about the hotel accomodations in Rach Gia, the long bus ride back to HCMC, and I was worried about Maia's fever, since at the time I didn't know if it was going to develop into something serious. She probably sensed our relief at being back at the Rex.

Sunday morning we all woke early, just because. After breakfast, I took 2 of the other familes to the Binh Thanh market. Maia was still a little under the weather, so mom kept her and Kiana at the hotel to rest up.

Oops. The internet cafe is shutting down. See you all tomorrow.