Tuesday, we went to the US Embassy again to apply for (and pay for) Lilah's visa. The credit card system was down, so we could only pay cash (US currency). Fortunately, I had taken out enough cash at a bank on Monday to pay for some suits I had made. Everyone got their visa, and we stopped by the Somerset hotel for some margaritas. Cherie Clark was there, and had just finished dinner, so we got to spend some time with her. Cherie has been helping orphans since the Vietnam war, and is usually dedicated to spending time with families and their babies. She apologized for not spending much time with us, but we all agreed that we had been just fine, and that she had been where she was most needed, helping the families stuck here by the US government. We had left our cameras at home to make entering the embassy easier, but I got a great photo of Cheri and Lilah together on someone else's camera, which I'll post as soon as they email.

Now that everything was done, and we're leaving Friday for sure, Cherie told met that the embassy fully investigated Lilah's case, travelling to the orpanage and researching all their logs and documents for any holes. I would have lost my breakfast if I'd heard that last week, so I'm glad she waited to tell me afterword. My man purse was fully stocked, so we joined some other families for dinner at Al Fresco's, the American joint from the other night. We were all real smooth at handling tired babies, and I even performed a roadside repair on a #2 blowout! We had a great time, but after all this healthy eating, a bacon cheeseburger gave me some pretty crazy dreams last night.

I'll pick up my suits in about 15 minutes, then begin strategizing my packing for the trip home. Joyce has an unused checked luggage allowance, and Lilah gets one, too, so I bought a $10 large duffle bag to spread the weight out and avoid another overweight charge. I'm really looking forward to being home and having our family back together. The Internet video calls with Faith and the kids have been great, but my connection keeps failing, and I really want to just sit and hold them all while I sleep off my jet lag.

Tyler