The Faulkner Vietnam Send-Off

Today is a very special day in the Faulkner family: it's the day they leave for Vietnam to adopt Kien (and hopefully Aria, too)!!! We have been waiting for this day for a full YEAR, . . . and there was no way I was going to miss it!!! Since the day that I found out we wouldn't be in town for the Faulkner's return flight from Vietnam, I had something very special planned: to surprise them at their send-off at the RDU airport! Over the course of a few weeks, I kept asking little questions about airlines, and flight numbers, and flight times, . . . until Karin finally revealed all of the specific info for me, . . . and Leia, Annie, and I finalized our plans!
We decided to make three signs, all of which say "Have a Good Trip" in different languages: one in English ("Have a Good Trip", one in French ("Bon Voyage"), and one in VIETNAMESE ("Len Duong Binh An")!!! I did some research for the last one and found a GREAT website that tells how to say common idioms in almost every language imaginable, . . . with audio recordings as well! So not only did we WRITE "Have a Good Trip" in Vietnamese, I was able to SAY "Have a Good Trip" in Vietnamese, too. Ironically, (and also something that I didn't consider), Karin and Steve had NO idea what that sign meant. Ha! (Of COURSE they didn't! Ha!) But it sure was fun telling them!!! We got there about two hours and twenty minutes before their flight to be sure to catch them. And the girls were SO patient while we waited, . . . and then we saw them! They were SO surprised and Kevin was SO excited and ran right over to us! (To tell you the truth, I was a little bit nervous about surprising a family at such a crucial moment as this, . . . and yes, when Karin hugged me, I did notice she was trembling. Poor Karin! But all-in-all they were SO happy to have such care and concern for their welfare! What does Clarence say in It's A Wonderful Life? "No one is truly alone who has friends." Something like that. ; ) Then we were able to provide some extra help by watching their carry-on baggage as they checked in. And I was told that this was VERY important baggage that even contained all of their adoption documentation! (They must REALLY trust us!) ; )
And I was so happy to see that Kevin rough-housed a bit with Leia Rose in the airport. (I mean, the poor child needed an outlet, he'll be in transit & confined for TWO FULL DAYS for goodness sake!) And there were some sweet moments with kisses as well, . . . and there was one really special moment when Kevin held up the tag on his "gankie" (that's his blanket lovie), snuggled it next to Leia Rose's face, and said, "Leia Rose, would you please kiss my gankie for my plane trip to Vietnam?" And she did! ; )

God bless you, Faulkners! We'll be praying for you!!!