First snow...

Three Happy Sisters!!

I can't believe my girls have only been sisters for six weeks. They are so close already. They really love each other, and all three of their personalities complement one another so well.

OK, since I promised...

I've been wanting to share the story of our adoption journey, but I just haven't been able to write it all out. I think I'm ready now. :)

With only two weeks notice of our travel, we set off as a family of four to make the long journey to Taiwan. Unfortunately, a few days before we left we heard that a Supertyphoon was headed toward Taiwan. We didn't know what to do. We decided to travel as planned...I mean really, what else would we do? We arrived in Taiwan on a Sunday morning at around 6 AM, and when we had gotten close to Taiwan the flight was very turbulent. I felt really sick...so sick in fact that I had grabbed the airsick bag, and if we had landed 30 seconds later I would have had to use it. Luckily, we landed, and for some reason I had the foresight to take the airsick bag with me. Well, several times on the way to our hotel my 4 year old "used the bag". Yikes! Our driver and his son were so gracious about it. I had planned to be so culturally aware and do everything right after all my research, but with my sick little girl my good intentions went out the window. She was a trooper, and we made it to the hotel. We found out later that we were the last flight in to Taiwan, and 90 flights were cancelled for that day.

We were scheduled to meet our daughter on Monday afternoon, but our appointment was postponed until Tuesday due to the weather. It was neat to watch the hotel prepare for the typhoon. We couldn't resist taking a picture of the typhoon message board in the lobby (see the picture at the top of this post). They also tied the lobby doors shut with ropes. The city was totally dead, which we later learned is not the norm for Taipei. We later found out that the government had mandated that for Sunday and Monday no one was to go outside. Since our meeting time was postponed, we also missed our AIT appointment which was originally scheduled for Tuesday. What a mess...when we tried to reschedule, we found out that AIT was closed on Wednesday for an in-service day. Normally it takes 24 hours after the appointment for them to prepare the visa. After a very stressful few days, we had an AIT appointment for Thursday morning. Our flight was scheduled to leave Thursday evening, and we had no idea if our visa would be ready or not. By the grace of God...with help from the wonderful man at AIT, they stopped printing on everyone else's visa and had ours done in HALF AN HOUR!!!! So we picked up the visa and flew home as scheduled.

In this post, it sounds so nice and neat...but you have no idea how stressful it was while we were living it. Not to mention that our whole trip was pretty much spent inside the hotel. My husband did a little sightseeing with some Taiwanese colleagues from his company, but the girls and I stayed inside during the nasty weather. My oldest daughter talks about how much she loved Taiwan...she thinks the hotel room and breakfast buffet were Taiwan. Haha. Someday we'll go back. And I'm still so glad we experienced the trip as a family.

Catching up....

We have been home with our little one for 6 weeks now, and boy, I forgot how busy life with a baby can be! This little girl has completely stolen our hearts. She has the sweetest little personality. I've never met an 18 month old with a sense of humor, but she really does have one. It's so funny...she does things just to get a laugh. Sometimes I'll get her all dressed to get ready to take the big girls to school, and I'll turn around and she is standing there with her pants off, just cracking up. Or if I get out the hairbrush, she'll start running from me and giggling. Or if I start to brush her teeth, she'll open her mouth wide and say "ahhhhh", and then when the brush is an inch from her mouth she'll snap her mouth shut and laugh. I could just eat her up she's so cute. :) That doesn't mean she's always an angel though. She can throw tantrums like a pro. They were much more often at first...due to all the changes and transitions, I'm sure. Also, she's had a bunch of teeth coming in, which didn't help. She's definitely settling in now, though, so the tantrums are lessening. She's also a little possessive. Let one of her sisters take a toy from her and she can stand up for herself. Haha. If I hold one of the big girls on my lap, she comes over and tries to push them off my lap. She calls me Mama all the time, and my husband Dada, so I think she's aware of who we are. She also says her name and her sisters' names. She's very, very smart for her age. I am amazed at how quickly she learns. She mimics us all the time, and she understands everything we say. She is starting to use English words correctly, too. She is a little sponge. I love her so, so much...I can't believe how blessed I am. How appropriate that next week is Thanksgiving.

To my daughter's first mother...

I've been thinking of you because today is the day that our daughter turns 6. She is growing into such a beautiful person. I wish you could see her. Regardless of what circumstances in your life brought her to me, I think you would be in awe of her strength, intelligence, and kindness. So many people love her. She is a light and a joy to everyone around her. I hope you would be happy to know that she has two little sisters who look up to her and adore her. She takes such good care of them! You should see them all hold hands and skip around so happily. She has a mom and a dad who love her more than all the stars in the sky, and extended family who love her to pieces every chance they get. She is so caring and giving, and she has the patience of a saint. I can learn from her in that area, because I sometimes am not as patient as I strive to be. Every once in awhile, she gets sad. I know that is partly because she thinks about you and wonders if you think about her. She asked me yesterday if you remember her. In my heart, I think how could you forget? She has an adorable little crooked chin that is the result of a congenital condition. When she was a baby, we found out that either you or her birthfather must have the same chin in order for her to have it. She wonders which one of you have it. She knows it makes her special and I hope she never has it surgically corrected. She also loves her belly button, because I have explained that it was her physical connection to you. She always says that her belly button is special and no one else can touch it. Sometimes she and I blow kisses in the wind to you. Do you feel those soft breezes against your cheek? I hope so. I long to be able to let you know that she is safe, warm, well-fed, healthy, cared for, and so, so loved. I ache for her to know a small piece of her history...to get one glimpse of you. But she will not. And so today I was feeling a bit melancholy, and thought once again that I will send some thoughts out in the universe to you, her first mother. I wonder if you are thinking about her, too.