Grateful for Grandpa

For the last 2 adoptions Ernie has traveled by himself so as to save money.  When we took the leap of faith to adopt 2 children with this adoption we began to wonder about him traveling by himself, especially since our new son has significant special needs such that he can't walk and has limited use of his arms and as an older child with Down syndrome our new daughter could have issues that would need lots of attention as well.  If I traveled we would have to take Elianna and Hannah with us due to attachment issues, then we would need to take Caleb with us just to have a kid big enough to help with all the little ones.  It would be a great experience, lots of fun, and Caleb REALLY loved the idea, but it would also mean A LOT of extra money.

Fortunately, Ernie's dad has happily agreed to travel with him.  They are both looking forward to it.  The experience of traveling to a foreign country is always exciting, even more so when it is to adopt a new child, but I think mostly they are looking forward to having time together.  I'm sure they will have a great time bonding with the kids and with each other.  I can only imagine the talk that will go on between them about life, their time in the military, politics, kids, family, etc.!

I can't say enough how much I appreciate my father-in-law's support of our adoptions and of our family as a whole.  Many people think just because THEY would never do what we are doing therefore we shouldn't do it either.  Some people are just distant, others are plain cold and even hateful to us.  We've learned to block negative people out of our lives, but that doesn't stop the feelings that come from their negativity (though hopefully it at least prevents some of it from reaching our children).

If you happen to be in San Antonio please stop by his restaurant, Asia Kitchen, to say hello and enjoy some incredible Thai food (there's plenty of great Chinese dishes also!).  And just in case you are wondering, the food isn't just authentic, it's indescribably delicious!  (His wife, the head chef, is from Thailand.  My father-in-law lived in Thailand while serving in the military.)

Here is the link where you will find directions to the restaurant along with a menu of the many dishes they serve.  http://www.asia-kitchen.com/index.html

A recent photo of our daughter Christina and her cousin with Grandpa

Ernie and his dad with the kids at our home a couple of years ago