So, as usual, Annie has been the driving force of this blog! Thanks Annie!

I look so grumpy in the picture at the restaurant with Jonathan and Mary--but I really had a nice time. They were kind enough to ask us to chose what type of food we wanted and Kai Wie had chosen steak! So we went to the Ponderosa. I don't know if I've ever been to one in the States. The steak came with an American flag toothpick and the kids got a kick out of that. Kai Wei and Sarah Grace really enjoyed their son, Fisher.

Thank you Jonathan and Mary for your kindness and hospitality. I'm honored that you read our blog and know our family as you do. I am looking forward to your visit to the U S!

We also really enjoyed visiting Kia Wei's school today. So different than an American school. It had a huge court yard full of tropical plants (and puddles). The classrooms have wooden desks and I think there are more kids per class than US schools. There was a very friendly, homey atmosphere. I think US elementary schools appear more sterile or something. But maybe it is just he people here. They are such a friendly and warm & inviting culture. It makes me feel like I need to work on being a nicer person!

Anyway, we totally disrupted Kai Wei's class. We felt badly. But they had not known before the Chinese New Year that he was leaving so when he didn't show up on Monday and they found out why they were shocked. So the orphanage thought it would be nice for him to walk over and say goodbye. I'm so glad we could be a part of that. He was obviously well loved by his classmates. They were so happy and cute to see him and us. They said we spoke Chinese because when the teacher introduced us we said "Ni hao!" They said Kai Wei's Baba was handsome and they all call KW "the handsome one" too! It was so funny. They had a really nice card for him that they were passing around for everyone to sign. He was happy with that. It is probably a good thing that their English teacher arrived and we could make an exit because we really felt like we'd gotten the kids wound up. As we walked out they were changing classes and bunches of kids came up with huge smiles on their faces and practiced English with us or just said hi. It was lots of fun. I would have loved to spend more time with them!

I'm really glad I got the chance to meet his teacher. I was able to ask about his math level and that will be helpful when we start school. He seems to be happy with the idea of homeschooling which is great. I know I'll want him home for a while to get adjusted etc. But I think he may want to go to public school eventually as he is obviously very social! And of course he has been raised around groups of chidren.

The bad news. . .I don't have any cute pictures of the school because they are all (and there are lots of them) on the video camera and I don't know how to upload from that. But we will eventually. Kai Wei took the camera for a long time and got pictures of all his classmates! For now here are some pictures at the zoo and one of Kai Wei and Baba playing ping pong at Jonah House. I think Dana won.

They got Kai Wei's Visa!

Well, the paperwork is all officially finished since they picked up Kai Wei's visa at AIT on Wednesday morning. In the afternoon they went back to Jonah House and met Sarah Grace's social worker, Mr. Yeh. Wednesday evening they went out to dinner with Jonathan and Mary and their son Fisher. I stayed with Jonathan and Mary this summer for a couple of days and went to Ying Ge and Wu Lai with them, and spoke at their Sunday School class about God's heart for adoption and our family's adoption. I was glad my parents could get together with them too!

Thanks Jonathan for the pictures!

Some news from Taiwan

Well, Since it is after 9:30 in Taiwan now, and they haven't posted I guess they didn't get a chance to before they went out for the day, so here is some of what we heard from them while we chatted tonight.

Yesterday they went to the AIT apt. in the morning. It took longer than expected, due to a missing paper and the CNY holiday, but everything did get worked out eventually. After AIT they went to the zoo again since Kai Wei said he wanted to go too. Kai Wei was sad in the morning and said that he missed his friends, so after they went to the zoo, they stopped by Jonah house so he could visit. They got to see Sarah Grace again during the visit. They all played Ping Pong together and air hockey, and I think that my Mom's new children both enjoyed beating her at ping pong. ;) Kai Wei invited Sarah Grace to join them at dinner, which pleased my Mom. It sounds like they are getting along pretty well.

They met Yvonne, her friend Joe, Joe's business partner and Joe's daughter Monica for dinner. (Yvonne is the woman I stayed with this summer and Joe spent a lot of time with us, taking us to parks and museums and restaurants. His daughter Monica who is a few years older than me joined us when she could. I was really glad my parents got the chance to meet them as well!) Both Kai Wei and Sarah Grace were really cute during dinner my Mom said. They ate "hot pot" which is when you cook the food at your table in a pot of boiling water. I asked my mom what they ate and she said EVERYTHING. They let the kids order. ;) The kids "fit in perfectly and had a ball" and were laughing and giggling! Yvonne and Joe gave them a driving tour of Taipei 101 and the Sun Yat Sen memorial before they went back to the hotel. They didn't get back until midnight!

This morning Kai Wei said he was feeling happier. He showed us some of his toys, both things he brought with him from Jonah House and toys that my parents brought over. He also showed us some yo-you tricks. My Mom said he is very proud of his new clothes, and also the "jacket system" he has, which he keeps telling her has "2". :)



They were headed to Kai Wei's school this morning so he could say good bye to his friends. They were all surprised when he didn't come back to school after the holiday. My Mom seemed excited that they would get to see his school.

My Mom is really ready to come home, and we are certainly all ready for them to come home. If only it were Thursday night! Just 2 more days...


Kai Wei's tiger and Jonathan's leopard greet each other

Probably not what you were hoping for

I'm sure you were all hoping for a post from Taiwan. I am too. :( but, this is the best I can do for now. We did talk to them last night (our time, Tuesday morning for them) and they were getting ready to leave for their AIT appointment. Kai Wei looked VERY happy, but I forgot to take any pics. We should talk to them again tonight, so maybe we will have more news and pics then.

We had a snow day here, which was fun! It's the first day my school has cancelled this year, so I was quite pleasantly surprised. Jonathan made Daniel an "Anglo Saxon" lunch (Daniel is studying the Middle Ages), we worked on a Welcome Home banner for Kai Wei, and we went "exploring" in the snow.



Mom, please show the snow pics and this note to Kai Wei. Thanks!

凱維，今天我們有雪！我們沒有學校 因為 有雪。 我 (Annie) 跟 Rebecca, Jonathan 和 Daniel去出玩雪。很好笑，很漂亮。這個是照片的今天的雪。你喜歡嗎？ 我們 願 還有雪你在家。下個 星期五 見！ 我們很高興你回家！。

(Kai Wei, today we have snow! We didn't have school because it snowed. Me (Annie), Rebecca, Jonathan and Daniel went out to play in the snow. It was very fun and very pretty. . These are pictures from the snow today. Do you like them? We hope there is still snow when you are home. See you next Friday! We are very happy you are coming home.

Kai Wei!

A RAINY DAY IN TAIPEI
(too bad I can't get the picture to change orientation!)
So we went to Jonah House today and picked up Kai Wei. We had a really nice time meeting him and going around Jonah House and meeting his friends and seeing his home of these past 2 years. He is very excited and nervous too. He did really well today and has been really sweet. As a matter of fact, after getting his own dinner tonight (at the hotel buffet) he came back to help me bring my coffee.

He thinks I know more Chinese than I do--so there is a bit of a communication gap! But we are getting along. I hope you enjoy the pictures and I posted some on yesterday's post too that I couldn't get to post last night. I think the trick is to do them one at a time.

Please pray for Daniel at home. I guess he is really missing us. Thanks and Good Night!

EATING LUNCH -- Chi wu fan



DANA & KAI WEI OUTSIDE TAIWAN STORY HOUSE
(Still a rainy day & still can't orient the picture :-)

More on our first day!

So Annie wins. I don't know how she posted so fast--as I thought they were getting ready for church when we called! The pictures from the video chat are good! It is NICE to be on the Taiwan end! The internet connection has been bad tonight. I hope I can get some pics posted of our day.

I don't have too much more to say other than that we all had a great day despite the COLD, DAMP, GRAY day. What's with this tropical island!?

HOTEL LOBBY



AT THE ZOO!
Sarah Grace is wonderful. She is very happy to be with us and was very cute and fun. She really showed a lot of interest in some exhibits at the zoo which we were glad to see. She loved using our video camera (used most of the battery taking pictures (the same pictures) of monkeys). She has been very affectionate and is not afraid to make her needs known which is great. It has been helpful to know the small bit of Chinese I've learned--I wish it was more. She knows a small bit of English too--so we're doing OK. She knows "what?" "there it is" "Wow" "O yeah" and numbers among other things. She is a little shy to talk to people for us (understandable--as most kids don't speak for the adults they are with!) I have to wonder if people wonder why she is with us. I think her age and the fact she is obviously not a fluent English speaker throws people off track. It is more usual for foreigners to be adopting babies OR coming back with their older children who do speak English but don't speak Chinese. The guy at the little restaurant asked her in Chinese who we were and why she was with us(in a nice interested, friendly way, probably because she had to help us order!). She said we were her parents. He seemed a bit puzzled but told us (in English) "she is so cute" and gave her a deck of cards from his shop!

AT THE ARCADE

They had a good day with Sarah Grace!

Well, Daniel and I just had a short chat with Mom, Dad and Sarah Grace. It's almost 9 there, so they have to bring her back to Jonah house for bedtime. Sarah Grace looked happy! Unfortunately, something is wrong with their microphone, so they can hear us, but we can't hear them and we have to communicate via the chat feature. They also kept losing their connection and had to reinitiate the call. They went to the zoo and Sarah Grace liked the animals and bugs. They didn't go on the gondolas, because she is afraid of them.

Hopefully they will update the blog later today with more info and pics!