Sen. McCain in Hanoi

The day after I got back to Hanoi, Sen. McCain arrived here as well. He came with Sen. Lindsey Graham (South Carolina) and Sen. Klobuchar (Minnesota). I was lucky enough to attend his meetings with the Prime Minister, Chairman of the National Assembly and his speech to a group of students. In between his official meetings, we made a quick trip to Truc Bach lake in the center of town. Sen. McCain landed in the lake after his plane was shot down during the Vietnamese War. Given that Sen. McCain's father was the head of the military's Pacific Command at the time, the Vietnamese quickly put up a monument at the site to those who shot down "Tchan Sney Mcaan" (a Vietnamized spelling of John Sidney McCain). Above is a picture of the Senator standing in front of the statue which remains today. McCain joked with his fellow senators that it didn't hurt his feelings that they called him an "air pirate" on the monument, but that it did bother him that they said he was in the Air Force and not the Navy.

It was amazing how Sen. McCain was treated like a rockstar here. At his speech to students, he was greeted by screaming teens snapping pictures furiously while trying to press in and shake his hand. It was a sight to behold. His staff even joked that the students seemed to have him confused with the Beatles. The next day, the delegation made a visit to the Hoa Lao prison, better known as the "Hanoi Hilton" where Sen. McCain spent many years. It is amazing to think that how far we have come in the past 30 years and the wounds that have healed. Regardless of what you think of his politics, Sen. McCain is to be commended for the crucial roll he has played in our reconciliation with Vietnam even though he suffered so much during the war. Less than 15 years ago we didn't even have an Embassy here and now 80% of the country loves America. My how far we have come! I guess it helps that more than 2/3 of the country was born after the war.


At church on Sunday, our Branch President informed me that he saw me on the national nightly news which covered the delegation's meetings with Prime Minister and Chairman of the National Assembly. Later while visiting the Communist Party of Vietnam's website (yes, I do that frequently for work) I came across the video news coverage of the meetings. While watching the video, I was surprised to see that the cameramen zoomed in on me several times (I guess that is because I was intently taking notes of what was being said). I have tried to download the footage to post it on our blog but I guess I am technologically inept because I haven't been able to do so. Here is the link to the Communist Party's website where the video was posted: Lãnh đạo Đảng, Nhà nước tiếp đoàn Thượng nghị sĩ Hoa Kỳ is the one with Sen. McCain (literally translated as Party and National Leaders Welcome a Delegation of United States Senators). I guess with that I have used up a couple more seconds of my 5 minutes of fame.

Christian in Hanoi & Jennie and the Kids in California

We enjoyed a great month together in Utah visiting with family and friends. Christian came back to Hanoi on April 5 only to be greeted by 1,200 unread work e-mails. I guess taking a month off of work will do that to you.

Jennie and the kiddos left Utah on Friday to visit her Mom and Briant in Southern California for two weeks before Christian heads back to the States for a couple of days to help bring the whole family home. Expecting Jennie to survive a 30+ hour flight alone with three kids, as cute as they may be, was just too much to ask. We look forward to being back in Hanoi all together as a family on May 5.

Anneliese Update

We've had an exciting past couple of weeks here in Utah. After spending 10 days in the Hospital, little Anneliese came home with us to Grandma Bitter's house. Jennie's Mom was a real lifesaver during the time before Christian could get here. She flew out the same day as the birth from California and did a great job helping out with Emma and Xander. We couldn't have done it without her. Thank you Mom! Christian took over in taking care of our older two kids upon arrival and has loved having quality one-on-one time with both kiddos. Jennie has been amazing dealing with Anneliese and the sleepless nights that accompany a newborn.

Not long after we brought Anneliese home from the hospital, Christian's parents and younger sister Denisha with her two daughters arrived in Utah to join in the celebration of Anneliese's birth. Denisha is a professional photographer and took the above photos and arranged them for us after returning home to her family in Kentucky. Emma and Xander have loved having quality time with their grandparents and great-grandparents. We are also looking forward to the upcoming visit of Jennie's Dad & Elaine at the end of this month.

While Christian's family was in town, Briant also drove up from California to be here for Anneliese's blessing. We are supremely grateful for the sacrifice of so many family members to be here to share in our special time. It was a wonderful celebration to have so many close family members on both sides of our family here for that special occasion. We are so blessed to be staying with Grandma & Grandpa Bitter who have been so accomodating and loving and have put up with our quirks and many visitors. Huge thank you's are also in order for Auntie who has been so generous in babysitting and everything else, Desiree & Chuck for giving the tired parents a rare night out together and Natalie for taking Jennie to the hospital at 4:00 am for the birth.

Anneliese continues to grow and is such a cute little princess. She is still on oxygen - largely the result of being a premy in high elevation Utah. We hope that by the end of this month she won't need her oxygen "top-off" any longer. Emma & Xander are enjoying helping Mom and getting to know little "Ah-Lisa" as Xander calls her. Time continues to fly by. In less than two weeks Christian will be getting back on an airplane headed home to Hanoi - with the rest of the family to follow a month later.

An update from The Mom

Little Anneliese (pronounced "On-Ah-Lisa") just after her oxygen tubes were removed.
This is the German spelling and pronunciation.

I checked out of the hospital yesterday. Alexander, the little gentleman, insisted on rolling my luggage up to the house. Anneliese is still in NICU Level Two. She will stay until she can eat all by herself for a whole day. That is the only thing that we are waiting for. She has a feeding tube and has a "bili blanket" which helps with the Jaundice - it is a blanket with blue lights in it that slides up her back inside of her onesie - it's like using a tanning bed without all the bright lights and sunglasses. You can see it glowing under her blanket in the pic below.


Her condition is very common for a 36-week-old baby. She is eating the right amount every 3 hours and is starting to differentiate between being full and hungry. She will nurse, and will sometimes do a very good job, but she doesn't have the energy/stamina to nurse long enough to get full. It is exhausting to her, so I am feeding her every other time to let her conserve her strength. This allows nursing to be a positive experience for both mom and baby. They feed her through the tube at night and the off-times during the day when I am home trying to rest. Overall, she looks really good and we just need to be patient and let her development take place. The doctors and nurses are excellent and I feel so good about the decisions we are making together about her care. Emma and my mom came today with me to feed Anneliese. Because of RSV germs, Emma is not allowed inside the NICU unit. They watched through the window as I showed them all of Anneliese's tubes and gadgets : )


Christian hops on a plane tomorrow! The whole family can't wait!!! Grandma talked with him this morning and told me later "that's one homesick daddy." : ) I'll talk with him the last time tonight and then we'll see him Sunday evening. We're excited for daddy to be here!!!

Introducing Anneliese Rebecca Marchant

Yes, we have a name. Anneliese Rebecca is named after her Auntie Anneliese Wood and Grandma Becky (Jennie's middle name is also Rebecca). Jennie's sister Anneliese passed away a little more than three years ago and blessed all those with whom she came in contact. We hope our own little Anneliese can touch the lives of others in her own way.

These photos are cribbed from my sister Desiree's blog. All those family members out there reading this blog that have pictures of my little girl need to e-mail them to me. Love ya!

New Baby Girl!

Jennie went into labor this morning almost exactly a month early. Our new little girl not only came early but quickly as Jennie was only checked into the hospital for about 45 min before she was born. They didn't even have time to give Jennie her epidural. She is such a Super Star! Our little girl was born at 6:45 am (MST) on February 24 at the American Fork Hospital in Utah. Our new bundle of pink weighed in at 6 lbs 3 oz and a petite 17 inches. I'll post pictures as soon as I get them.

I am still in Vietnam and will be flying out this Saturday to be with Jennie and the kids for the whole month of March. I called United and begged for them to move up my flight but they wanted me to pay $2,200 (in addition to the $1,500 I already forked out for the ticket I bought several months ago.) For those of you keeping track, yes I missed Xander's birth similarly as well during our time in Prague. I guess I win bad Daddy of the year award - again.

We hope to announce our little girls name soon. Stay tuned...

Obamarama and Krazy Weather

It has been interesting living in Vietnam and listening to people's thoughts on our new President. His name seems to be gold here and now the entrepreneurial Vietnamese seem to be trying to cash in on it. In fact, just around the corner from the U.S. Embassy a new karaoke joint was just built (the Vietnamese LOOOOVVVVVEEEEE karaoke). The name of the new establishment you ask? Obama Karaoke. I truly wish I had a camera right now to post a picture of the sign outside. Alas, our camera is with my cute wife and adorable kids on the other side of the Pacific ocean. But to describe it, the words Obama Karaoke are in a gothic white script on a black sign. Below that sign is just the word Obama in blue neon lights. Talk about classic.

As for the weather, today in Hanoi it reached a high of 94 degrees (tomorrow will be 91 degrees). Yes, you read that right and no Hanoi isn't South of the Equator where it is currently summer. It is still "winter" here in theory. I love seeing people all bundled up on their scooters zooming around town. On the ride to a meeting in the middle of the day today I felt like yelling out the car window "It is 94 degrees! What are you doing in a winter parka???"

This winter has been incredibly warm here as contrasted to last year's cold winter. (I know if it never snows here it can't get too cold right?) Well, we are in Northern Vietnam and it isn't the tropics. In fact, on a recent work trip to the Chinese border I was informed by some government officials that in one province alone 13,000 water buffalos died last year due to the cold. Those poor water buffalos just couldn't adjust to the cold weather and keep themselves warm. Luckily, that was last year and not this year, since we are now celebrating the year of the water buffalo. Talk about a potential for some serious bad karma.


For the record, we love water buffalos! They are so mellow and extraordinary (they aren't as cool as elephants but definitely "splendid" - to use a British-ism). They were also the only thing that kept us from going unhinged on our tragically long bus rides in Laos. Xander loved spotting the "buffwos" as he called them and it helped pass the time.