oh I am not sure that you want to hear my adventure in Vietnam.. It was not a pleasant adventure. I have never been so terrified in all my life. Kassi was barely alive when we got there. When she was born she was 8 pounds 8 ounces.. I have a video of her just days old and she was a very healthy baby. As soon as we said yes that we wanted her then they put her in a little tiny crate (about the size of a card box holder and left her there until we got her. They said that she was fed about once a week by a wet nurse when they could talk one into helping. She had so much gunk in her belly button and I don't even want to know what it was. She barely weighed 4 pounds when we got there as well.. she was one day short of 2 months old. It took me a full week to get her to eat an ounce of milk at a time and she didn't do well with all the vitamins in the formula after not having any food.. Her hair was so matted with gunk that I literally had to shave it off. She fit in the little hand sink for her first bath, she was soo sooo small, and she slept in a back bend. that is how we found out about the crate she was in.. it was the only way she could stretch her little body. We got stuck in Vietnam for 6 weeks which was supposed to be only a 12 day trip. I got so so sick that I almost died from the bug that I caught from what I thought was a bottled water.. (it wasnt obviously) Our plane was delayed several times and no one knew we were on our way home and there was no way to get word to them. We still do not know how they found out., Someone called our family in the middle of the night and said we would be there at a certain time.. But, we didn't have the plane scheduled from LAX until the hour before we were leaving and our family got the call the day before. (it was one of the many miracles that happened) I have never felt that afraid ever and never want to again.. However, she is an amazing miracle and blessing in our lives and the last 15 years have been a God Send for us. She is an amazing young woman and a delight to have. She is named after my Mum who passed away several years before we got to adopt her and one of her great grandmothers. We left her given name as her middle name. She was born on my Mum's birthday!! She is our little angel! Kassandra Elizabeth Mai Madsen.
Our other adoption was an extreme opposite than hers. Joshua Paul Iakapoo Madsen was born in Western Samoa.. He was almost a year old when we went to get him and it took less than a week to get back home. The country was beautiful and so amazing. The people were so friendly and helped in every way. He was and still is a BIG boy.. the man wears a size 15 men's shoe and just turned 15 years old. (Yes he plays football!) He had a bit more of a rough start after we got him home. He was abused physically before we got him and had some issues with self abuse for several years due to that. He is an amazing man and very loving and gentle. We were not going to adopt again after being in Vietnam but the agency contacted us and told us that they only had a couple of hours from the birth mom to find a home for him.. they knelt down and prayed and came up with our name..
We are of course very very blessed to have them in our lives. They have and will always be a big part of our family and because of the experiences with their countries and needs for children there our family has been involved with Humanitarian Needs for 3rd world Countries. My oldest son went to Madagascar for 2 years and again found extreme needs for the children there. We now work with a group called Unicef, through our son, to help in the efforts of these kids.
Once you have seen an orphanage and have had the experience of little ones and their parents begging you to take them home you are never the same.. Those kids still haunt my dreams after 15 years.
okay now you know part of our story.. I do need to pull out the photos and start scrapping some of their journey, This layout was one of the first as Vietnam was a very hard experience for me.
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