WE'RE HERE!

It is very hard to believe. After 2 years of planning I somehow feel unprepared and at a loss. This hotel is quite nice, nicer than I would normally choose. But the price was right. It has about 10 floors with a middle atrium that goes all the way up and an enclosed balcony of plexiglas--so when Kai Wei gets here on Monday I can start to do my typical Mom thing and be afraid he will vault the 3 foot barrier and fall to his death. Why is it that moms think their kid have NO SENSE--at least when it comes to heights--Maybe because they do things like tie ribbons tightly around their neck and saw their hands with saws?

Anyway the trip here was very smooth and very uneventful. Thank God! I was really apprehensive, but I did great--so thanks for the prayers. On my own I really can't handle the idea of being 30,000 feet in the air and going 800mph. . . God really gave me a sense of peace. I've never been on such a long flight. They just kept feeding us (OK with us!) It is kind of surreal.

Speaking of surreal, the one airport we changed plans in has this funky tunnel with mood lighting and funky lava lamp type walls and weird piped in music. It connects one terminal to another. I had to wonder if that would be Kai Wei's first impression of America! I kind of hope not! He's a kid--he'll probably notice the snow!

So the picture is our one picture for today--Dana in Japan--sadly we didn't make it out of the airport and the scenery all day has been gray with black tarmac. (except for above the clouds!). Tomorrow we will see the sights. AND SARAH GRACE! And possible Kai Wei!

God Bless!

They're off!

This morning, I (Rebecca, as opposed to my mother or sister who normally post here) dropped my parents at the airport. They're in the air now, somewhere between here and Chicago, then Japan, then Taipei.

Normally I'm completely envious when I leave someone at the airport and then head back to the car. This time...I was completely envious. But this time I'm not just waiting for them to come back with pictures and souvenirs - this time they're bringing home my brother! After a three year wait, I think I can handle another week. (Unless my dad's dog causes me to go into shock from his behavior and shrill barking...Dad, where's the shock collar?).

As far as how things are on the homefront - It's only been a couple of hours. Daniel's off on a field trip with friends and I had him ready on time (no worries, Mom - clean shirt and pants and neither had holes. See, I'm learning!), Tim's taking care of his own running to and fro, Jonathan's at school and all is quite on the western front. Hm, ominous book to mention - doesn't he die?

Seriously though, I'm not worried about this week. It'll go by fast. It has to go by fast, because compared to three years a week is nothing. If you have any desire to know how things are going on at home, you can read about my clever solutions to the dog's behavior on my own blog Sparrow Alone. Otherwise, the next post will hopefully be about my parent's adventures in Taipei!

Please keep us all in your prayers!

All packed and ready to go!

Well, as unbelievable as it sometimes seemed, the time has finally come. Twelve hours from now, my parents will be flying over the Pacific Ocean. In just 8 days, my brother will finally be home. We are so excited and anxious. We have a hundred questions about what he will like and what he won't like, how he will interact with us, and how difficult it will be to communicate at first. We're so looking forward to having him home and part of our family. I keep thinking about all the fun things we will do together, and anticipating his enjoyment of them. I hope it snows so we can take him sledding for the first time (though, we already have plans to go tubing at the local ski-slope whether or not it snows, so there always is that back up). Kai Wei has told us that he enjoys basketball, so I imagine him playing outside with Jonathan, and his excitement (hopefully) at playing on the team at church. I wonder if he will want to go out on the lake in a canoe, and what he will think of our dog, and the cats, and our ducks. I wonder which of the foods we make he will enjoy, and which he won't. I wonder if he will help me when I study Chinese. And, the best part is, soon I won't need to wonder. Soon he will be here and, little by little we'll find out. I just can't wait!

My parents fly out tomorrow at 9:30 am and will arrive in Taipei around 9:30 pm on Saturday. Sunday morning they head to Jonah House to meet Sarah Grace and spend the day with her. They'll pick up Kai Wei on Monday morning. All of us at home will be anxiously waiting for updates- hopefully they'll be able to keep in touch frequently through skype and will post often to the blog!

It's so amazing that this is finally happening!

I shared the news with my students today, and they were very excited and enjoyed looking at the pictures on our blog. They all want me to bring Kai Wei to school, which I thought was really cute. I told them maybe he'll come to the Block Party later on in the spring.

Oh, and by the way, Happy Chinese New Year! I was hoping to cook Chinese food for dinner before we got our travel news, but in all the preparation for travel and other business of life, my one celebration was wearing my Chinese shirt today. :) It is though, the year of the rat, which just happens to be MY year, so I'm a little partial to it. ;)

We're on our way!

Well, just about! We will leave this Friday! We're very excited and nervous too. After ALL this waiting it seems like things are now happening quickly.

We will pick up Kai Wei on Monday and we will get to meet with Sarah Grace twice over the week. I'm busy now making arrangements for here and there as well as packing and buying last minute items. It hardly seems possible!

Our last webchat was very sweet! Kai Wei talked with us for a while and then asked his social worker if he could go now, since we were going to come and get him soon! I think the chats are fairly stressful for him. Poor guy. I hope he finds himself more comfortable with us in person.

Sarah Grace on the other hand is a ham and loves the attention. We had a nice chat with her, as she really seemed interested in us this time, really for the first time. She asked some questions, made a lot of silly faces and then sweetest of all--had the Pink Panther doll she was playing with wave to us and kiss us.

Stay tune, we'll be posting some from Taipei as well as those on the home front.

PLEASE PRAY for safe travels and health and safety for all.

GOOD NEWS / BAD NEWS!

The GOOD NEWS is we are going to be TRAVELING IN FEBRUARY!!! Dana and I are planning to go in mid February and spend about 10 days. It hardly seems possible to me--I've been imagining it for SO LONG.

The bad new is that Sarah Grace will not be able to come home with us yet. But we are feeling blessed and are believing that this too is in God's hands. On the positive side Kai Wei will get us all to himself for a couple of months (all SEVEN of us!) He will have a chance to establish himself a bit. And another positive is that Sarah Grace will get a chance to meet us, her new parents, and spend some time with us. (Hopefully this doesn't backfire and she does LIKE us!) We think it will really be good for her to feel like she knows us a bit before it is her turn to fly that long journey to the land unknown. . .

Of course the down side is the added expense of a second round trip air fare and stay. Also, if the court in Taiwan drags the case out too much longer (like not having even the first hearing by March 1) We will have to go ahead and update our homestudy and apply for an extension of our I-600A (petition to adopt through USCIS)even though we won't need it if we pick her up before May 16. Another $300 and all that paperwork. . .

Please pray for all the court proceedings and travel to work out and for us to travel and meet in peace and great joy.

God Bless!

Eight Dogs!?

We talked to Kai Wei and Si Ya again tonight. As always, it was good to see the kids, but we're starting to get impatient for the REAL THING. We don't want to talk to them just over the internet, but actually have them here in our home, in their home. However, it really is good to talk to them and get more glimpses into their personalities.

We had a "lost in translation" moment with Sarah Grace that could have been slightly disastrous. We were asking if she likes animals and then asked her if she liked ducks. She said yes, so Jonathan told her we had eight ducks outside. Her eyes got wider than I've ever seen any child's eyes open. She was shocked. My Mom, who was listening to the Chinese, said "wait a minute, did she just tell her we had eight dogs ? " Thinking back we thought she had said "ba gou" (eight dogs). Apparently the social worker misheard duck as dog. Since Sarah Grace has seemed frightened of the fact that we have a dog on several occasions, we hurried to clarify that we had eight ducks, not 8 dogs. "ducks, not dogs!" "quack quack quack" We hope she realizes now that we don't have 8 scary dogs, only 1 (non-scary) puppy and a flock of ducks.

Happy Birthday Sarah Grace!

Yesterday was Sarah Grace's 8th birthday. It's hard to believe that half a year has gone by since we first saw her picture and she's still not home. Eight somehow sounds so much older than 7, and I'm sad we didn't get to spend any of her 7th year with her. I can't wait to have this little girl home. She's a bundle of energy, that's for sure!



We spent a couple of days over the Christmas break rearranging rooms in the house so that the girls have the largest room (since with 3 of us, it was going to be a tight squeeze in the room Rebecca and I were in). It's fun to have it all arranged now with a bed all ready for Sarah Grace, and clothes for her in the closet and a dresser, and even empty drawer space. (and believe me, that empty drawer space was not easy to come by). Not too much longer now until she's living in it!




Happy 8th birthday Sarah Grace!