Well, the journey to revisit the beginning years of my life has begun...I am not sure that I will have closure, answers or complete healing in the coming weeks or months that lie ahead...but I am trying to let God hold me through this journey. Last weekend, Don and I flew into Atlanta, GA for Ms. Betty Tisdale's An Lac Orphans Reunion in Columbus, GA!!!!!
My American Twin, Heather & me :)
After arriving into Atlanta, our dear friends that we met in Vietnam- 3 years ago - to adopt our babies met us at the airport to go to dinner. We have been blessed beyond words to have Jason, Heather and Rocco Willis to travel, bond and connect with during our adoption pregnancy & after. We got to see Rocco on his birthday weekend, reminiscing when we were coming home to the States with our babies on Rocco's longest and first birthday ever. Because of the time zones & traveling, March 29, 2007 ended up being like 36 hours :).
Kim-Lan with Ms. Betty Tisdale & Ms. Truc (Mdm. Ngai's niece)
It was an honor to meet and thank in person the woman that helped get me out of Vietnam, 35 years ago. I was in one orphanage then transferred to An Lac, then airlifted out with over 200 other babies. I arrived in the States mid April, landed in CA, then onto GA. I was then escorted to Detroit, MI on Tax Day = April 15, 1975 to my mom & grandma.
I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Truc at the airport and finding our way to the Columbus shuttle together. Ms. Truc was Madame Ngai's niece, the VN Director of An Lac Orphanage. Mdm. Ngai came to the States after the fall of Saigon in 1975 and died 3 years later, 1978 at the age of 73. We had a memorial service for Mdm. Ngai at her grave site. Local & Fox National News covered the whole weekend.
There were over 50 adoptees gathered here to honor, thank and hug Ms. Betty Tisdale & Ms. Truc.
Well, I got to meet the FIRST, taller, prettier Kim-Lan in Ms. Betty's life!!! Betty's 4 daughters came to the GA reunion and they are so beautiful, precious and kind in person as I imagined they would be.
From Left to Right in the picture above: MaiLara, Kim-Lan (me), Ms. Betty, Xuan, TuVan, Kim Lan (Betty's daughter).
I am packing now for the next BIG trip to Saigon, Vietnam - in less than 2 days....WOW!!!! Yikes...I'm not sure what I'm feeling but I am thinking, I can't believe the time has come, months of planning, dreaming, praying, waiting...coming down to this moment in time. 
