Happy Birthday Madison!!!!

(Pictures: the blob in front of Madison is fruity and cocoa pebble rice crispies stacked on a plate)

Madison turned 9 today. I can't believe it! I can remember when she was running around our townhouse shouting her first word "fan". Now she runs around the house shouting "MOMMMMMMMM!"

Nickname: Madi

Words that best describe her: helpful, creative, active

Favorites:

color-pink

drink-cream soda

meal-Chinese, sesame chicken

snack-ice cream, pound cake, or brownies

outdoor activity-scooter or chalk

indoor activity-computer and TV

school subject-reading

toy-Littlest Pet Shop (digi pets)

game-Life

animal-unicorns, pegasus, horses

memory-when I lost my first tooth

song-"Like a Wise Man", a song from the Christmas musical "Mystery of the Manger"

What she wants to be in adulthood-a veterinarian or an artist

What kind of pet she'd like to have-kitty cat

Where she'd like to live-Near Six Flags Great America

Where she'd like to vacation-Disney World

Favorite verse- Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. (NASB ©1995)

Airport Pictures

A New Beginning

Several people have asked for updates, or should I say have complained (:-0) about the lack of updates?! We are recovering from a 13 hour time change and adjusting to several shifts in our family dynamics. So my brain has been relatively tired, along with the rest of me.

Alex is doing a wonderful job adjusting from what I can see. He loves to play with Thomas the tank engine, cars, baseball/catch, blocks, and kitchen set. He enjoyed the outdoors until the temperature plunged 30 degrees. His fatless body can't handle the cold. He likes to be held by me (mom) and he'll twirl my hair in his fingers. He likes to wrestle with dad, be swung around, or tickled. He'd play with Nathan non-stop if Nathan could handle it. He likes Madison too but doesn't interact a lot with her.

Our bedtime routine is improving...hooray! He has slept through two nights in a row. He's going to bed at the same time as the other kids and waking around 9am. He's learning to stay in his bed and has found comfort in a huge Pooh Bear.

Chris will officially return to work tomorrow and I will start my normal home schooling routine on Monday. I am very thankful for this relaxing week. Having Chris home meant an easier time getting over jet lag (a.k.a. naps taken). Several families from church have brought us meals this week. We have been pampered and have enjoyed it to the fullest. Real life begins Monday. Now that's the update you should look forward too!

Thursday & Friday

Yesterday we picked up Alex's passport and then headed to Taipei 101. It was a rainy day so the views weren't all that great. There is a mall on the lower floors with high-end designer stores. We didn't shop there but did check out the huge food court in the basement. I was tired of experimenting with food and went for the KFC option. Chris had sushi. There was a huge store called Jason's Market. It had imported food from all over. It was fun to peruse the shelves.

Today we are taking another trip to the Handicraft promotion center to get a few items. We also have to pack our bags because our plane leaves this evening. We are ready to come home and reunite with our other children. Taiwan is a beautiful country and we hope to return in 5 yrs. or so.

Thank you for keeping up with our journey and praying for us. Now on to the next chapter of our lives!

Wednesday, Oct. 3 - AIT

Today was our AIT appointment. AIT stands for American Institute of Taiwan. It is the equivalent of an American Embassy but can’t be called such as Taiwan is not recognized as an independent country. We met our Cathwel social worker, Ann, at AIT. We turned in our I600 form which names Alex as the child we are adopting. We answered a few questions and then were asked to sit down and wait. We were called to a different window and were asked a few more questions by another man. Then we were free to leave. We will return to AIT on Thursday to pick up Alex’s passport.

After AIT, we took a walk to Da’an Park. Alex played on the playground. We took the MRT back to the main station and checked out the underground mall. We ate lunch and returned to the hotel for a leisurely afternoon.

Alex interacts with both of us but he really enjoys his ba ba (daddy). He loves to be silly and giggles often. When he plays by himself he sings with a joyful heart. I see areas of common interest to Madison and Nathan. I’m thinking they will get along well.

Tuesday, Oct. 2 - Zoo & Gondolas

Today we went to the Taipei Zoo. We used the public transportation, the MRT. Once we figured out how to pay and how to read the maps, it was quite easy. Most things are labeled in English. This has become our preferred method of transportation. Alex likes it too!

Back to the zoo; it is the largest zoo in Asia. If you go, prepare for a lot of walking and sweating! Sunglasses and a hat or visor are a must. It was also inexpensive. I think we paid only $2 US per adult and Alex was free. The grounds were beautiful. The animals were active. I saw lions chasing each other and hippos playing in the water. I found this quite surprising since animals at Brookfield Zoo seem to sleep during the hottest part of the day.

Next we left the zoo and walked a few blocks to the Maokong gondolas. These trams just opened in July of this year. They take you from 90m to almost 300m to the city of Maokong where the tea houses are. The guidebook says “the Maokong Gondola lifts you into a world of emerald hills and breathtaking views of Taipei’s urban skyline”. I would agree.

We were hoping to find the government run tea promotion center but we were unsuccessful. It was too hot for us to enjoy hot tea so we mainly admired the scenery before taking the gondola back down.

We walked back to the MRT station for the return trip to our hotel. We were traveling during rush hour. Boy do the trains get packed! If you don’t know where you are going it would be easy to get in everyone’s way. Alex had to be carried when we walked so we could keep pace and not lose him.

Alex was a trooper with all the walking we did today. He didn’t seem particularly interested in any of the animals but he loved the gondola and train rides.

Monday's Pictures

Monday, Oct. 1 - Our First Meeting

Today was the big day! We took a 20 min. taxi ride to Cathwel Service. We rang the doorbell and asked for Penny Wu. We waited in the lobby for a few minutes and were greeted by a very pleasant and cordial Penny. She took us directly to the second floor where we were met by Alex and his caretaker. He was so afraid and shy. He clung to his caretaker’s leg. They were speaking to him in Mandarin but I could tell they were encouraging him to greet his ma ma and ba ba. They had us remove our shoes and we went into the play area directly off the hallway. We all sat on the floor; Penny, Ann the social worker, the caretaker, Shao-Chun, and us. He sat like a wet noodle in his caretaker’s lap. He didn’t cry but he didn’t want to acknowledge us in any way.

So we talked a little about the paperwork and items that Shao-Chun would be bringing home. They took out his remote control car and he started playing. We took out the camera and began taking photos and showing them to him. What child doesn’t like to see their picture? It became a little easier at this point. They had me put his socks and shoes on and we went to see his room. The other children were off to school so we only saw where he slept. They had me help him with opening a liquid yogurt for him to drink. I believe these tasks were meant to help break the ice. Then we put our shoes on and returned to the lobby. As we waited for the taxi he returned to his shell. He wouldn’t look at anyone or even speak to anyone. It was a very quiet ride back to the hotel.

Once we were in our hotel room I brought out some toys. I brought out a Thomas the Tank Engine puzzle. This was a very good thing! He loves Thomas and he loves puzzles. We worked on the puzzle together. He is a very bright boy! Within 15 minutes we were all being silly and giggling. It was wonderful to see him relax and smile.

We took a trip to McDonald’s for lunch. He ate almost everything. We returned to our room and spent the rest of our day getting to know each other. He normally would take an afternoon nap but he didn’t seem interested. By the time 8pm came along, we were all exhausted. He fell asleep right away.

So overall, I’d say the first day went very well. I am very thankful. Please continue to pray for us.



P.S. We have been pronouncing his Chinese name wrong all this time. I had a feeling that might be the case.