Days of The Dragon

Just some shots from the last week

By the pink peonies

Dimples!!!

Eating some Vietnamese food from our local Vietnamese grocery!
 

And, one year ago today we officially became a family!

In some ways it’s like Parker has always been there, and like it was so long ago that I went to Viet Nam. But, in other ways it feels like it was just yesterday. It’s certainly been the best year of my life.

A picture from just after the G & R ceremony

I’ve never shared these photos outside of our family - but, to celebrate one year since I met my son I am posting a couple of the pictures from that day, today. He is 4 1/2 months old in these photos.

I remember that day so well. I held Parker An for a long time, and walked him around the grounds of the orphanage - showed him to some kids that live across the street and were curious. He fell asleep in my arms the first of many, many times.

Our very first family photo!

First smile with dad caught on camera

Two of my favorite photos of Parker with one of his nannies
 

OK, that’s it - the rest are private

One year ago today was the day before I’d go meet my son-to-be for the first time. This was the day I arrived in Da Nang, from Sai Gon. I had the privilege to visit two other orphanages that my agency works in. Here are a few pictures from that day.

I was really touched by a special little boy at the Da Nang orphanage.

One of the caretakers at the Da Nang orphanage

Some kids at the Hoi An orphanage

Along a river in Hoi An

Silk Factory

Last year I was about to leave Cleveland for the most awesome journey I could ever imagine. On May 9, 2007 I left for Viet Nam - for my then son-to-be. Some pictures I took while at the various airports that I stopped at from Cleveland to Sai Gon.

The two posts I made last year on this day:
http://www.cobaltdragon.com/index.php/2007/05/09/leaving-on-a-jet-plane/
http://www.cobaltdragon.com/index.php/2007/05/09/may-09/

A shot I took while walking to the LAX international terminal after arriving from Cleveland

A few shots from Taipei’s airport

Bye-Bye Taipei

Hello Sai Gon!

I made a similar post when Parker An became proficient at walking. Well, yesterday Parker made an intellectual move into human-ness.

Yesterday, Parker pretended. He grasped something that is so fundamentally human it is exciting to think about it in-and-of-itself.

He was playing with an empty plastic cup. Then, he found some fluff that Lexi had extracted from one of her toys and he played with that for a few minutes and brought me some to see. A few minutes later he was playing with the cup and the fluff. He was pretending that the fluff was something to drink. He put the fluff into the cup and then acted as if he were drinking it - tilting the cup up until the fluff hit his nose. Then, he’d take the fluff out and start over. He shook his head yes when I asked if he was drinking.

It was really amazing to watch. We celebrated by clapping.

By Mildred Loving (1939-2008)

When my late husband, Richard, and I got married in Washington, DC in 1958, it wasn’t to make a political statement or start a fight. We were in love, and we wanted to be married.

We didn’t get married in Washington because we wanted to marry there. We did it there because the government wouldn’t allow us to marry back home in Virginia where we grew up, where we met, where we fell in love, and where we wanted to be together and build our family. You see, I am a woman of color and Richard was white, and at that time people believed it was okay to keep us from marrying because of their ideas of who should marry whom.

When Richard and I came back to our home in Virginia, happily married, we had no intention of battling over the law. We made a commitment to each other in our love and lives, and now had the legal commitment, called marriage, to match. Isn’t that what marriage is?

Not long after our wedding, we were awakened in the middle of the night in our own bedroom by deputy sheriffs and actually arrested for the “crime” of marrying the wrong kind of person. Our marriage certificate was hanging on the wall above the bed. The state prosecuted Richard and me, and after we were found guilty, the judge declared: “Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix.” He sentenced us to a year in prison, but offered to suspend the sentence if we left our home in Virginia for 25 years exile.

We left, and got a lawyer. Richard and I had to fight, but still were not fighting for a cause. We were fighting for our love.

Though it turned out we had to fight, happily Richard and I didn’t have to fight alone. Thanks to groups like the ACLU and the NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund, and so many good people around the country willing to speak up, we took our case for the freedom to marry all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. And on June 12, 1967, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that, “The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men,” a “basic civil right.”

My generation was bitterly divided over something that should have been so clear and right. The majority believed that what the judge said, that it was God’s plan to keep people apart, and that government should discriminate against people in love. But I have lived long enough now to see big changes. The older generation’s fears and prejudices have given way, and today’s young people realize that if someone loves someone they have a right to marry.

Surrounded as I am now by wonderful children and grandchildren, not a day goes by that I don’t think of Richard and our love, our right to marry, and how much it meant to me to have that freedom to marry the person precious to me, even if others thought he was the “wrong kind of person” for me to marry. I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry. Government has no business imposing some people’s religious beliefs over others. Especially if it denies people’s civil rights.

I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard’s and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment, the fairness, and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight seek in life. I support the freedom to marry for all. That’s what Loving, and loving, are all about.

The next pick for the Doing Good series is the Global Volunteer Network. This is an organization that connects people who want to volunteer in some of the world’s most impoverished areas. They operate programs in many countries - including Viet Nam, where you can volunteer in an orphanage or teaching English.

It’s certainly a worthwhile experience if you have the time and ability to participate.

What is your favorite rice for the following things?

1) Fried rice

2) White rice for eating with a Vietnamese meal

3) Brown rice

I have tried Jasmati for fried rice, but it was too sticky and didn’t incorporate ingredients very well - and Jasmine rice seems like it wouldn’t be sticky enough, though I admit I haven’t tried it. I have a sweet rice, but that would also be too sticky. I don’t remember the brown rice that I bought, but it was way too dry - I think maybe I need to try a shorter brown rice.

What are your favorite brands or types rice?

Whew! Not sure about anyone else…but, I felt the need to post some pictures of my favorite human being! What do you think of the hair cut?

You cannot see me!

Now you can

This is a tulip in my front yard!

Just taking a little stroll

I have everything completely under control!

Dad told me to kiss the flower, so I did

I can squat like a pro!

Hmmm

Samantha, Lauren, Ali, and Caitlyn - my 4 cousins!

This is Ali, my newest cousin - I met her tonight for the first time - she was boring!