Home in Tennessee

Wow - one month ago today was our adoption board meeting in Thailand, and it seems like it was forever ago! It feels like Abe has always been a part of our family. He hasn't met a stranger since we have been home, and his infectious smile catches every one's heart. I haven't been as diligent with keeping the blog updated, but I promised myself that once school was out I would do my best to back up and add things that have been happening with the newly expanded Gaskins family so far. So, if we have talked to you since we have been home, you may have heard some of this already... however, please indulge me as I walk down memory lane and put some details down on paper. :)

We were supposed to leave Matt's family in Tulsa, OK on Wednesday, May 19 at 11:30 a.m. to Memphis, and home to Knoxville by 4:30 p.m. - didn't work out that way. We woke up Wednesday morning to some pretty rough weather. It was dark outside when we woke up, and there were severe storms in the area. I kept watching the weather channel... watching the clock... watching the weather channel... wondering if we would get out of Tulsa and headed home before the storms moved in. Well, before we left for the airport and was saying our goodbyes, I decided to check online with Delta to be sure our flight wasn't delayed. It wasn't delayed - it was CANCELED! Mother nature - score 1, Gaskins - score 0. I called Delta and the very nice lady told me that we were already reconfirmed on a different flight leaving Tulsa at 12:45 p.m. - but a layover in Atlanta instead of Memphis, and Knoxville at 6:40 p.m. instead of 4:30 p.m. Atlanta AGAIN??? As much as I had tried to avoid the Atlanta airport on this trip, twice on our return flights home that is exactly where we were headed! Oh well, at least we would be home this afternoon I kept telling myself, so everything would be all right. Mother nature - 1, Gaskins 1 - tie game. :)

Saying good-bye to family is never easy, but we are so glad we spent time in Tulsa before heading home. Other than spending some much-needed time with Dan, Pat, and Pop, these few days provided Matt and myself a nice transition into the real world with our new son. We didn't have to worry with day-to-day schedules, errands, work, bills, etc. - we just focused on getting to know each other better, and these are memories that I will cherish forever. Simple things like walking to the neighborhood playground with Abe to play and Matt putting Abe up on his shoulders for the first time...discovering Abe does not like ice cream... all three of us laying wide awake in our bedroom at 3:00 a.m. as we recovered from our jet lag... Abe laying quietly in the floor making shadows on the wall from the night light... Matt and I watching a Third Watch DVD... until finally I realized that if we are all awake, let's make the most of it! I motioned for Abe to get in bed with us and we played a little, discovered he is ticklish, played the D.S. a little, and had a lot of fun like three kids at a slumber party! That night will live in my heart as one of the most special times I can remember - because I was so at peace with everything, and all seemed right with the world.

After some tears and hugs at the airport, we told Dan and Pat bye and we were on our way. Tulsa airport has the new body image scanners that are part of the additional security screening being added to airports around the country. I was first in line, then Abe, then Matt. You go into a booth-like area and there are yellow tape marks where your feet are supposed to go. I went through, and Abe, not knowing what I was doing, followed right behind me. He walked right on through, and I was about to stop him when the security person stepped in. She tried telling him what to do, and I told her that he wasn't going to understand her because he didn't understand English too well. So she told me to "talk to him in his language" and I told her I didn't know his language - we just adopted him! You know, the things some people say (hopefully just without thinking instead of just being dumb). Next it was Matt's turn, and Abe got a kick out of seeing him in the booth. Matt was acting a little silly, imagine that, and the officer didn't take too well to that and pulled him aside and ran the security wand over him - ha ha.

Because our flights were all messed up from leaving Bangkok early and the rescheduled flight due to the weather, none of the three of our seats were located together on the airplane, but thankfully there were some nice people that switched with us so that at least Abe and I sat together and Matt was across the aisle. As had become normal for us now, we held hands as we took off - was this for Abe or for me??? We landed in Atlanta with just enough time for a trip to the bathroom and a quick bite to eat for the eating machine - Abe, not Matt. :)

The flight from Atlanta was a whole 26 minutes in the air. The only time Abe seemed remotely interested or concerned about our flights or flying in general was when the landing gear went down on this flight. We must have been sitting right above the gear because it made a really loud noise, and he looked at me with a little bit of fear in his eyes. I grabbed his hand and said "okay" - about the only thing he could understand, and then he was fine and went back to looking out the window at the ground getting closer and closer to us. It didn't seem real that we would soon be back in familiar Tennessee with our family and friends. I was so excited to see everyone, and we were also very tired - tired of traveling for sure. After we landed, I showed Abe his Family Tree Book that I had made for him so that faces would be somewhat familiar to him as we were greeting family - he loves saying Julia's name - I'm not sure why.

McGhee Tyson airport is like most, no one is allowed in the secured area without a boarding pass, so everyone had to wait in the concourse just outside the revolving door. I had expected to see all of my family, which is not a small family by any means, but then as we came through and we were all gathering together and hugging and smiling and taking pictures, the scene enveloped the whole concourse and people we didn't even know stopped to watch and become a part of this memory with my family. There were hats and posters and all things red, white, and blue, and it was amazing. We were so happy to be home!

We rode with Alice and Floyd, and our luggage was with Mom and Dad... lots of people and lots of suitcases. I guess I fell asleep somewhere between Pellissippi Parkway and Oak Ridge because I woke up with Alice pulling into the parking lot at my school - Norwood Elementary. I looked around for cars that I might recognize, but the parking lot was empty. I asked Alice what in the world are we doing here?? She said she was told to stop by for a moment, and then I saw it... the school sign had one of the best things written on in - "Welcome Norwood's Newest Jaguar - Abe Gaskins". It was so cool! Abe can recognize his English name, so I wanted him to see it. We all piled out and went to the sign -what a great picture and what a great memory!

When we got home, our house was decorated, our cars were decorated, the mailbox was decorated, all banners, streamers, balloons - red, white, and blue! I had sent Abe pictures of our house, so he immediately knew where we were - he smiled and said "Smokey" - one of our dog's names... (too bad she was still at the kennel). The outside of our house was nothing compared to the inside. Alice and the girls (and Judy) did a great job making everything festive and welcoming for all three of us. We all visited, Abe looked around his new home - and loved his room, shared some stories and lots of hugs, then it was time for everyone to leave and for us to get some sleep in our own bed. We wondered if Abe would want to sleep in his room all alone after sharing a room with 20+ boys and sharing our room in Oklahoma... but he changed into his pajamas, hugged us both goodnight, and went to bed and right to sleep. God is so good.

Tulsa Zoo

Today Dan and Pat took us to the Tulsa Zoo. It was a very nice zoo, and Abe was excited to see the animals. He was very talkative today, and he would say the animals names in Thai, and I would tell him the English names - most of the time he would repeat what I said. After a little while, Abe's silliness kicked in... :) My nickname for him is Turkey - and I think he knows I'm being silly when I say it because when I called him a Turkey at the zoo, he took my hand and made me point to Dan and he said "Turkey"! Then he pointed to Matt and said "Turkey"! We all had a good time together at the zoo. We figured out in Bangkok that Abe loves his greens, anything salad related - he eats it first. So we went to Panera Bread for dinner, and he gobbled down a ceasar salad - and Matt's sandwich. :)

A Good Sunday

After catching up on some much needed sleep and rest on Saturday, we were ready for family time on Sunday. We began the day with church with Matt's parents and Pop. Pop doesn't go out much, so the fact that he went with us was very special to both Matt and me. It was going to be Abe's first christian church experience! :) Abe did very well and sat very patiently during the service. The church had a more contemporary service, and Abe liked the music. During the sermon he seemed to be listening, and I was watching his eyes - he really was paying attention! The church had Communion, and I gave Abe a cup of juice, and he shook his head no... I pointed to Matt to show him that he was drinking some too - and that did the trick. He drank his juice, and then I gave him a piece of the bread... he took it all in stride, even if he has not idea about the signifigance of his actions. :) We asked the associate minister to take our picture together, and it turned out pretty good - but you can see that Abe was ready to go! It was a good day!

Catching Up...

We are so thankful to be with family and in the U.S. (I know, I have said that before, but you have no idea...). When we left Bangkok Friday morning, we felt like we were leaving in the cloak of darkness - which was a good thing considering the military had many roads blocked. Our van driver from the hotel did an awesome job driving many back roads (and sometimes the wrong way on a one-way street) to get us out of the city and on our way to the airport. He was a very nice man. We got to the airport in plenty of time, and the only slight issue we had was in the passport area. Matt and I had our passports checked, no problem. Abe, however, has a Thailand passport, and we had to get it stamped before we could go on through security. We took it over to a table of Thai workers, and they looked at it, and looked at it, and then laid it over to the side of the table and kept working on other things. We, of course, could not talk to them because they wouldn't understand us. Finally, the lady that had checked our passports came over and picked up Abe's and handed it to a man and said something - thanks for the help! He took us over to another area and looked at Abe's passport some more. Finally he asked to see our paperwork, and I showed him what Holt Sahathai had said they would need. Then he asked for more... uh oh. I told him that was it, because I knew the large sealed envelope that was given to us at the US Embassy was for when we entered the states. Finally, he stamped the passport and we were on our way through security and to board the plane. Abe had never been on a plane before, and he was so excited to see it through the glass from inside the airport. He kept saying "America!" When we got on board and found our seats, he was intrigued by the small monitor in front of him and couldn't wait to put ear buds on to listen. As the plane taxied to the runway, you could tell he wasn't sure what was going on... then as the plane excelerated to full throttle for take off, his eyes got HUGE! Matt and I held his hands and told him it was okay - and he smiled and said "okay." When we finally got off the ground, tears were rolling down my face. I turned my head so Abe wouldn't see me... they weren't necessarily tears of fear (although I have not completely overcome my fear of flying) but moreso tears of relief - to be out of such a crazy environment... and happiness... and sadness for the people being left behind in such a chaotic place. Abe did well on the flight, he played pac-man nearly the whole flight - he loves video games! This flight was rather short )6 hours from Bangkok to Tokyo) compared to the one that was to follow later. We landed in Tokyo at 2:00 p.m. there time, and poor Abe thought we were home. We had to keep telling him - Japan, Japan. :) We had to make our way to the Delta gate for our flight from Tokyo to Atlanta, and hopefully get seat assignments together. (Since we left a day early, we booked whatever was available and was told to ask at the gate to put our seats together). We were able to have seats together, but these seats weren't the greatest - but who is going to complain?...we were on our way home! We had seats at the very back end of the plane, and it was very noisy. The 747 didn't have monitors on the backs of the seats, and Abe couldn't see the movie screen. Thank goodness for the portable DVD player and Tom and Jerry! We also showed him our Nintendo DS - and he really took to Mario Kart. This kept him occupied a lot, and when he wasn't playing, he was sleeping. We had a row of 4 seats together for just the three of us, so he was able to lay down between Matt and me. He stayed cold on the flights, so he would use the airplane blanket and cover himself from head to toe - then it was lights out! He slept through some of the meals and snacks, and we made the mistake of putting his food on a tray table to save for when he woke up (we knew he would be hungry) but that resulted in a cup of orange juice sliding off the table and onto his head! He woke up with orange juice dripping down his face... he wiped it off and went right back to sleep! :) This flight from Tokyo to Atlanta seemed like it took forever (12 hours)... we were so ready to be in the US. I had an idea as we were about 30 minutes from landing. I asked a flight attendant if it would be possible for Abe to have his picture made with the captain of the plane when we landed. I explained where we had been, the adoption, and that we wanted his picture with the pilot that brought him to the US the first time. He told me that usually the flight crew hurries off the plane before the passengers exit, and that if I had mentioned it earlier would have been better. I thanked him, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted the picture for Abe's scrapbook... so as soon as we landed I took him by the hand and we hurried up to the front of the plane. Luckily, the captain was standing there talking to someone, and another flight attendant helped us out by asking him for a picture. He said yes, but then when he saw Abe, he asked me if I wanted to take him upstairs into the cockpit - YES! We went upstairs, and he let Abe sit in his seat, shook his hand, and then put his hat on his head. I got some great pictures! We thanked him, and left the plane. Matt was waiting for us at the gate, and he was glad (maybe for the first time) that he was married to a girl who doesn't take no for an answer! :)

After deboarding the plane, everyone had to go through immigration/passport checks. It was so nice this time to go in the US citizen line! We finally got called up, and I took Abe and the all-important sealed envelope with me. The man called Matt up there with us, and he checked the legitimacy of our passports, OPENED Abe's sealed folder from the Embassy, and then sent us on into an immigration office. We went inside the office and waited....and waited... and waited. Finally, someone called Abe's name, and the officer was pretty upset that his envelope was open. She asked us why we opened it, and we tried to tell her that the officer at the gate had opened it with his knife... Matt went back to him to get his name, and a supervising officer was nice enough to come back inside with Matt and tell her that we were telling the truth that the officer had opened it - not us. After about a 2 hour wait, she called our name again, gave us Abe's passport, and said we were good to go. That was it????? We waited all that time for that? You would think she could've done that already....a little bit of a power trip going on there I think.

We left immigration and headed to the food court. We found a McDonald's, and this one was the real deal! :) We all ate, called our families, and relaxed for a little while. We had a long layover, and it turned out to be a good thing since we were held up in immigration so long. We left the food court and headed downstairs for our luggage (our luggage was marked final destination Tulsa, but we still had to pick it up in Atlanta? Go figure!). We took our luggage to another terminal, went through another security checkpoint, and then found our gate to wait for boarding. We were supposed to leave Atlanta at 8:55 p.m. EST, but by the time we got to our gate, they had already moved our departure time mto 9:55 due to weather. Okay... wait some more. Finally, we started boarding the plane about 9:30. We got situated, put things away, and then the captain came on the intercom and said there was a problem with the brakes (not a thing you want to hear, especailly after 24 hours of flying already). He said the problem could be fixed, but the mechanics would have to jack up the plane, and we would have to get off the plane first. So, back off the plane we go. Abe looked at me very funny - I could tell he was thinking... wait a minute - we never went anywhere! :) Abe and I got ahead of Matt, and moved over to the side of the terminal to wait for him. A man came up behind us trying to get around and said "excuse me". I tried pulling Abe closer to me to get him out of the way, but he didn't move fast enough for the man I guess because he made a rude gesture toward Abe. (Abe didn't see him) I said very loudly to him "He doesn't speak English... he didn't understand what you were saying... you don't need to be rude!" Lesson to all - don't mess with tired travelers, and leave my son alone! :o

About 10:45 p.m. we were back on the plane and ready to leave for Tulsa. The pilot told us that we should have a smooth flight until about the Memphis area. He said there were be turbulence due to the storm system moving through. I hate turbulence... but it's much worse in a small plane...but at least he warned us what to expect. I let Abe sit by the window, and Matt sat across the asile from me. We prayed together before we left, as we did everytime we were about to take off, and Abe was so excited to see out the window! It was dark, but he was very into watching the lights below get smaller and smaller. Then he was watching the lights blinking on the plane's wings. As we cleared the clouds, he was looking at the stars. Everytime he would see something, he grabbed my hand, made sure I was looking, and pointed out the window. After we reached a certain altitude, the flight attendants tell us we can use certain electronics... I think Abe was used to hearing these words because as soon as she said them, he asked for Tom and Jerry. I got out the DVD player, he put in his ear buds, and he was very content watching cartoons. I watched with him - it kept my mind busy - and it is hard not to laugh when he laughs at them - you all know how contagious his smile is! :)

We landed in Tulsa safely, thanks to new brakes, and we were very happy to not have to get on a plane for a few days. It was chilly when we got off the plane - much different from the 112 degrees we left behind in Bangkok! Matt's mom and dad were there to greet us - and Abe said hello and shook Dan's hand and gave Pat a hug! They bought a jacket for Abe, and it was a good thing to have! We gathered our luggage, and off we went. They had a booster seat all ready for Abe in their car, and he wasn't sure about it at first - but he likes it now. Thailand had very few, if any, safety regulations related to cars and children, or at least that we could see, so it was new to him to buckle his seat belt as well. We were all talking and sharing, and poor Abe crashed out about 10 minutes into the drive home.

As we were settling in, Pop came out of his room and saw Matt. They greeted each other, and Abe was very curious to see who Matt was talking to... I took him by the hand, and I was very happy to see Pop - he hugged me and gave me a kiss - then he said hello to Abe. We talked for a few minutes, and then we finally got settled and ready for bed about 3:00 a.m.... we woke up Saturday at 4:30 p.m. - WOW! We were more tired than we thought... or maybe our subconscience knew we were safe and allowed us to catch up on our sleep. Either way, we are thankful to be "home" for a few days, and can't wait to be be in Knoxville on Wednesday the 19th at 4:50 p.m. Knoxville time. God is great!

Much love,

Amy, Matt, and Abe

Back in the Good Old USA!

We are unbelievably tired and mentally exhausted, but we are finally back in the US - or "America" as Abe says. I will post more tomorrow about our travel home - but we are so glad to be home. Thanks to everyone for their prayers.

Amy, Matt, and Abe

Good Bye Bangkok - Hello America!

The situation here has not improved, and God opened the door for Delta to have some room on a flight leaving here at 5:55 a.m. (4:55 p.m. Tennessee time)... so we are packing up and heading out as soon as we can. Rob and Michelle contacted Delta earlier tonight and found out they had openings, changed their flights, and then called to let us know they were leaving earlier... Hey - don't leave us behind! :) Anyway, it took a lot of time on the phone with Delta representatives, but finally we are on the same flight with Rob and Michelle (and baby Grace) to Tokyo, and then we fly on to Atlanta - hello good ole U.S.A.! We should be in Atlanta at 2:40 p.m. Friday afternoon. It has been quite the adventure here, and we are very glad we came - for many reasons. First and foremost, Abe. Secondly, being here has made us appreciate our country and all it stands for. It won't be hard to keep our lives in perspective after being here and seeing things we have seen... and Abe will be a good reminder of just how good we have it at home! For everyone who has followed us, laughed and cried with us - thank you for going along with us, and we can't wait to see you all and hug you and talk to you in person!

We love you all, and see you soon!

Matt, Amy, and Abe

Don't Worry About Us - Just Pray

First, let me start with we are all okay, don't worry.

Now, this entry is pretty lengthy, as it has been a long day. Okay.... the last 18 hours or so have been very up and down here in Thailand. Matt and I both talked to our parents last night before bed, and both of them got to talk to Abe (I say talk, but it was more speaking because he really didn't understand what they were saying although we were showing him their pictures as they were talking). We decided it was best to head off to bed because we were supposed to be at the U.S. Embassy at 7:00 for Abe's visa interview. Rob called our room about 9:30 and told us that the Embassy had emailed him an alert that the Thai government had plans to cut off all water and power sources to the protest sites at midnight. Okay - we were a little concerned by that bit of information, as it also indicated that residents were being advised to leave the area and some US Embassy offices were told to close. While we are a few miles from the protest site, we weren't sure if this would affect our appointment at the Embassy. We got on the phone and contacted Mo, our HSF social worker, and talked to her a bit about the situation. She said that she would feel more comfortable meeting us at our hotel and going with us instead of simply meeting in front of the Embassy. After we all met in the lobby, we left our hotel about 7:30 a.m. We headed to the U.S. Embassy - no trouble. In fact, we read in the mornings newspaper that the government had decided to hold off cutting power and water to the protest site based on pleas from surrounding businesses and residents that would also be affected. That seemed positive and we felt that we had been worried over nothing. When we arrived at the Embassy, the taxi driver let us out on the opposite side of the road and we had to walk up and over a catwalk bridge to get to the other side and the Embassy entrance. Mo was walking ahead with Rob and Michelle, and Matt, Abe, and I followed behind. A Thai policeman was on the bridge and I noticed that he was looking at us very carefully. I had Abe by his hand and as I walked passed him he stepped in between Matt and me and took Abe by the shoulder and stopped us. He began speaking to him in Thai, and I had no clue what was going on, so I immediately turned and looked to find Mo. She noticed that we weren't behind her, and looked over in our direction. She nodded her head to the policeman and he said something else in Thai and let us go. What was that about???? I asked her later and she said that Abe told her the policeman had asked him where he was going with us... she said that may happen a lot here and to keep him very close to us. Wonderful! We finally get into the Embassy, and we had to leave our cell phones and cameras at the security desk. So, no pictures inside the immigration area of the Embassy. I was very glad that Mo was with us, because she took care of letting the appropriate people know we were there, and got our places in line, paid the fees, etc. All we had to do was wait...and wait... and wait. We met up with 2 other American families that we had met at the DSDW meeting. They were adopting older boys as well, but they were using the Thai Red Cross as their agency. They were there on their own, whereas Holt made sure we were accompanied throughout the process. I told Matt... Holt has its faults, but they definitely made sure we were guided and taken care of while we have been here. Abe was very shy at first, but we could tell he wanted to play. The boys had some cars, and finally Abe got in the floor and played with them while us adults talked about this whole crazy process. I was glad the boys could play - it made the 2 hour wait go by faster for them. Finally, our name was called and we had to go with Abe to a window and talk to an immigration officer - thankfully he was an American (and he spoke Thai to Abe). We had to answer some questions that confirmed to him we knew the child we were bringing to the U.S. - things like how he came into custody, his medical history, etc. Everything went well, and he talked to Abe a lot, and he told us to come back at 3:00 to pick up his paperwork, passport, and visa. We all were done and able to leave for a little while.

Now it was time for Mo to say goodbye to our children, both Grace and Abe, and there tears all around. It is hard to say goodbye to someone we haven't known personally for long but know that we both care so much about the same child... she hugged Abe and I hugged her... she asked us to please come to Thailand again in the future and bring Abe with us. We thanked her, and we promised to send her lots of emails and pictures. We called a taxi, and as we were getting in, Abe waved one last goodbye to Mo and his past here in Thailand.

We all got back to the hotel, and decided it was a good time for swimming. Both Abe and Grace love the pool! We went down for a little while and let them have their fun, then it was time for lunch. We ordered Abe a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with french fries. He like the fries (of course) and he ate about half the sandwich... .we will have to work on American food with him! We had about an hour after lunch before we had planned to meet Rob and Michelle in the lobby to head back to the Embassy to pick up the paperwork. Rob called our room about 15 minutes before we had planned to leave and told us that he saw on the news that the government had planned to use its military to barricade the protesters in beginning at 6:00 p.m. Where did this come from??? Great - so we decided to head on over to the Embassy ahead of our scheduled 3:00 appointment so we could get over there and back before things started happening, if any. The road where the U.S. Embassy is located, there is a very small protest site that we have seen before. It has never really been manned, and it is not the main one and certainly not near the size of the other site. As we were on our way to the Embassy for the last time, we noticed this site looking a little more active... and we saw a few police vans lined up on the streets. We finally make it to the Embassy, and the doors were locked... we showed the guard our cards that said to return, and they let us in. After clearing security, a lady was waiting for us and motioned for us to come on inside. We got inside and the waiting room was empty, and we saw a lot of the Embassy employees leaving. An American man came out and told us they were putting our things together, and so we were okay with the wait. However, we were getting worried about the Red Cross American couples - they weren't there yet. Finally, they showed up and said that they were being told outside the gate that the Embassy had closed and were not allowing anyone inside. They said they tried to show their cards, as we did, but they were told that they Ambassador had just issued an email that directed them to close and end all operations - pending the situation with the protesters. An American man, the same one that talked to us, heard the situation and told the guards to let them in - perfect timing! The Suttons said they felt there was an angel watching over them that let the American man walk by when he did, and he attributed it to their taxi driver having a cross in his cab (instead of the typical Budda) and playing American Christian music - a real rarity here in Thailand. At any rate, we were all where we needed to be in order to get our paperwork needed to head home. As we were waiting, we learned that the Embassy had been ordered closed on Friday as well as closing early this afternoon - thank you God that we got our paperwork in today instead of waiting! Finally, a man came out with the paperwork for all 4 of us, and we checked things over to be sure things were in order - and we were good to go. I wish that we could have taken a picture of our boys together, but again, security keeps cameras as you enter the Embassy. We exchanged information, and we decided to meet up again tomorrow if everything was safe and all clear.

Matt, Rob, Abe, and I left the Embassy and decided to get a taxi for the ride back (our hotel is within walking distance but the road is pretty dangerous). We hailed about 4 or 5 taxis, and they all denied our fare - what was going on here? We started getting nervous, and we could see that traffic had really picked up while we were inside the Embassy. So, Rob suggested we walk a distance the opposite direction we were trying to go and see if we had any better luck there. Finally we got a taxi that was fine with our destination -and we all piled in very fast! As we were driving along, we passed many, many police armored vehicles and military personnel, and we were all thinking the same thing - we were very grateful we were in a cab and moving away from this area and heading somewhere safe. If this was going on at the smaller of the sites, I can't imagine the chaos at the larger location. Abe was falling asleep in the taxi.. thankfully he has no idea what turmoil is going on around him, and we hope to keep it that way. We have been collecting newspapers to bring home and keep so that one day we can share all of this with him.

We are safe and secure in our hotel room, with no plans to go anywhere tonight and probably tomorrow. We are keeping our eyes and ears open and looking at the internet (local news is no good to us because it is not in English) for updates. We are in no danger here - the worst thing may be some sort of power or water interruption, but the hotel says that is not likely. Thankfully our appointments and trips are done, so we have no where to go. Unfortunately, we have checked on moving our flight out to Friday, and everything is booked solid - so we still have to wait until our scheduled flight on Saturday morning (Friday afternoon at home) before we can leave. Our cell phones are still working, and we will be calling home as soon as we think everyone there is up and awake. We are OKAY - I promise. We just wanted to post the news before anything was broadcast on the world news at home. Just pray for things to stabilize... or at least maintain for the next 36 hours or so.

Much love,
Amy, Matt, and Abe