Finally ready...

I've wanted to make a calendar with our pictures for a while. I actually have used a couple of different companies to make them, but when I got the final product in hand, I wasn't so pleased. I finally found one, though, that offered exactly what I want. A desktop calendar with our photos, captions and dates marked for Vietnamese holidays. Woohoo! I'm stoked. Here's a composite of all the pages:



And of course you can get one yourself! I'm charging $8.99 and the couple extra bucks will go toward the shipping of all those clothes to the Tam Ky Baby Orphanage. I'm also selling some of the not-as-useable-for-Vietnam stuff on ebay to pay for postage, as well. All these shirts and pants have been sitting here for far too long.

[I've tried a dozen times to get this button to work, but nothing seems to help. Ugh. So, if you want the calendar, hit me up on paypal. Donate [at] teresaandkids.com is the address. So much for simple and easy.]
THANK YOU!

i love mango

I hadn't had lunch yet, so on the way to get the kids from school I was daydreaming about what I'd eat when I got the chance to stop at a store. Fruit sounded good. It always does these days, but the choices are limited to apples or bananas. Sure there are some others out there, but my favorites are so expensive ($3 for one Asian pear?! Who can afford to buy them?).

Pondering my lack of choices, the thought of mangoes burst in and I couldn't get them out of my mind. Oh how I ached for the sweet nectar of mango, so juicy it slides down my chin and I have to stand back to avoid being dripped on. I miss having a nice thick oval piece, sliced off the side of a deep yellow mango, cut into squares, right up to (but not through) the skin. Sucking the delicious meat of the peel, saving the pit for later. It's the best part, if you don't mind the stringy bits.

I never knew that memories of mango could bring me to tears.

The cold, damp weather lately makes me crave the warm days of the spring, when I didn't realize just how lucky I was, licking mango juice from my fingertips.

Love is grand

No, not for me, silly! One of my students/friends from Thanh Hoa was married on Sunday. I wish I could have been there, darn it. But I'm sure it was lovely and I just wanted to wish him a hearty congratulations.

Here's a photo from the photo montage (with an epic 8-hour photo shoot!) with Cuong and Huong. The wedding photos are always done well in advance of the actual wedding. A custom I know some brides would appreciate here.



Congrats Cuong!

Happy Teacher's Day

Today is Teacher's Day in Vietnam, a fact I was ignorant of until this morning. I woke up to several nice emails from my students in Thanh Hoa, wish me health and happiness. It was the perfect way to start my day. I'm so grateful for all the students and what they have taught me and I'm so glad that I have made some impact on them. That they haven't forgotten me or my love for them, makes me happy.

The kids and I are currently pondering ways that we can do more. It was an amazing experience to live in Vietnam and to feel like we were making some sort of difference. For me and Stuart, being here leaves us feeling a bit empty and lost. We're trying to figure out a way to do more without more money. Heck, I can't even pay my meager rent these days, I surely can't be handing out money. But, maybe there's something we can do. Any ideas?

Make a Wish

Audrey celebrated her birthday on Saturday night, but officially hit the big 1-0 today. Now, both kids are in the double digits. Whoa. I'm old!

pointless, but cool

from the Portland Yelp site

Adoption troubles

ROGERS -- Teri McClain, a world away without much outside communication, has spent most of the last four weeks with her new child in Hanoi, Vietnam, sitting, waiting and hoping for a breakthrough.

One wrong answer last month caused her and three other families with newly adopted children to hold desperately onto hope their new children will be awarded visas and the opportunity to start a new life in America.

What was called a "mix up" by Ventures For Children International President Marvin Harlan, a Fayetteville group helping families nationwide adopt children overseas, has the McClain family pointing fingers. McClain and three other mothers adopting children from Vinh, Vietnam, on Oct. 15 were asked by the U.S. Consulate when they first heard their children were available for adoption.

McClain, an art teacher at Grace Hill Elementary School in Rogers, and the mothers gave the wrong answer, Harlan said.

Instead of referring to a legal referral date, the mothers told of earlier dates when Ventures for Children alerted the four couples of children being available in for adoption.

Read the full article.


Teri's blog

kids are funny

The other day we were at Fubonn, the local Asian shopping center, buying some groceries. We were walking through the vegetable department when I stopped to look at the long Thai green beans, then turned to choose some limes. Next to me was a young boy and his sister sat in the cart right next to him.

He grabbed my arm and asked "Are you Vietnamese?" "Khong. No, I'm not," I told him. He yelled back ('cause kids can never be soft-spoken) "I am! And my mom is Vietnamese and my dad is Vietnamese and my sister is Vietnamese!" I told him he was very lucky.

I'm still not sure why he asked the question--I certainly don't look Vietnamese--but it was sweet.

Happy Birthday, Stuart

My favorite boy (quickly becoming a man) was born 15 years ago today. How'd all that time go by so quickly? He's turned out great thus far and I'm proud to be the kid's mom. But I worry how fast the next four will go and soon enough he'll have a life completely his own. While I cheer for that day (for him and me-ha!), I know I will miss him dearly. Already he's so independent it almost scares me. Yet, looking back on the photos, it doesn't seem all that long ago that I could hold him, nestled in the crook of my arm.

Stuart at 4 days old

She's a published author!

Yea for Audrey. Here's the article. You might not be able to read it, but that's okay... you should just buy a copy of the magazine. Seriously, support New Moon and these kinds of publications. They are rare these days.

The pictures are of Audrey with Thuong (I think) and Truc at the Home of Affection, Audrey with Kieu/Emma at the Baby Orphanage and a shot of her. The other is some stock photo of Vietnam (we've got better! -haha).

And here's a preview of her book we're working on. It's the story of a girl named Quy (kwee) who lives in Vietnam. This is the first of a series that she plans to write. My former students Ha and Man helped out with the translation. Her grandma is helping her color the illustrations with watercolors. Whee! We'll be working on pictures over the next couple of weeks and will have books ready for Christmas. If you are interested in getting your own copy, please let me know via our Vietnam With Kids site.

NaNoWriMo and more

So, the month has started and I am going to give NaNoWriMo a valiant effort, but not betting money on making it happen. Life's been crazy-busy lately.

Stuart's birthday is on Sunday and we'll be heading to our new favorite Vietnamese restaurant to celebrate with some bun cha and che. Mmmm.

Our dinner party is on Saturday and I'll be attempting pho ga on my own. We'll see how it goes.

Stuart gave a presentation on our trip and the country as a whole for his Global Studies class. Plus Audrey got her article published in New Moon. I'll scan it in tomorrow, but really you should just order a copy and support their fantastic publication.