Day 3: Today is the 9th Birthday of Thomas. We took a van one hour out of Bangkok to the floating market. Jessica freaked out when they tried to put her on a long boat, so I stayed with her on shore while Juergen took the other three kids on a 1 ½ hour boat shopping tour. They came back to the van with loads of stuff! I guess they could not resist a bargain! Juergen has been good for the Thai economy! After the floating market we went to the crocodile farm and elephant grounds. To be honest with you, we are all still suffering from jet lag. We walked around the grounds, but didn’t really care about staying long. The kids got to feed elephants, and get their picture taken. Then I went to the elephant show with the kids, and Juergen waited with Jessica who only wanted to watch her portable DVD player. The elephant show was packed with Thai school kids all wearing uniforms. I thought the school kids were much more interesting then the show. I took a few pictures of the show, but my battery ran out on the camera. Juergen and the kids watched a guy feed the crocodiles. We could have seen more, but we were really tired, and voted to go back to the hotel.
Thomas is really acting up today. He is a real bossy brat! He gets this way when he is insecure. I know it will take him some time to process everything! I’m sure everything is really weird for him! Philip does not seem at all effected by being here. He is eating the Thai food, and being his goofy self! Thomas seems to demand attention, and is miss behaving as if it was a test to see if we are truly going to accept him! I think it will get better as he gets over jet lag, and goes to the quite beach town of Hua Hin. Bangkok is really over whelming! Jessica is also over whelmed!

He got his long awaited birthday gift. A special kind of Lego. He has been asking for this Lego for two months. Later we will take him swimming. I also need to shop for some food. We take a 3 hour van ride to Hua Hin tomorrow. We will be staying in a private apartment. We have a kitchen, and no more room service(sad)! Somewhere in Bangkok there may be parents who gave birth to Thomas 9 years ago! I wonder if they are thinking about him today? As we drove through Bangkok on the way home from the floating market I could not help but wonder about his birth parents. I am sure (because he was a sick baby) they don't even know if he is dead or alive. They will never know his smile, or how very smart and loving he is! We live in a world of extreme contrast! Our win is there very big loss! I (like so many other adoptive parents) only wish they knew how great he is, and that he is loved!