Big Loves

Has it been THAT long?

2009-10-06T15:59:00.003-04:00

Where does all of the time go?! I just realized that it has been 2 months since our last post to the blog. I will do my best to get some updated photos online soon, because we have some cute ones!

All of the children are doing well. Summer was a lot of fun. We were hoping to get outside a little more, but it seems like we have had so much rain. We made the best of it and enjoyed playing inside, visiting the library, reading a lot of books, dancing, and just having fun together.

On the homeschooling front we are continuing with Five In A Row with a very flexible schedule, and adding in My Father's World, also at a slow pace. We are having so much fun learning through play that we are not diving into a structured 5 day per week schedule right now. And even when we do "officially" move into schooling, I expect the fun to continue. They just love to learn. Anyway, we do Hooked On Phonics about 2-3 times per week. Matilyn is half way through the K program, and very excited about her ability to read small beginning readers. Matthew know most of his alphabet and the letter sounds now and loves to do his "school" right along with sissy. Matilyn, Matthew, and I are all enjoying our study of John in Bible Study Fellowship this year. Andrew is enjoying some time with his precious grandmother and loving it! He continues to do well and is happy no matter what we are doing, as long as we are together. He has a very relaxed personality, which is a true blessing! LOL!

Andrew turned one on Sept. 5th and we had a nice family celebration here at the house. Matthew, Jarrod, and I all celebrate our birthdays this month, and Matilyn's is in the first of November. We are exciting that fall festivals are just around the corner and then Thanksgiving and Christmas. We were talking about decorating for Christmas today, and Matilyn broke out some Christmas music for us to hear. It was so exciting!

We may have some changes coming to the blog soon, so stay tuned.....

Car Wash Day

2009-08-07T21:07:00.010-04:00

The children had a ball playing together outside and washing their "cars". It was a great day! :)

Happy To Be Rowing!

2009-07-27T22:03:00.002-04:00

We are officially beginning our homeschooling journey this year. Due to Matilyn's birthday, she barely misses Kindergarten this year. YEAH! So happy to not need to report things anytime soon. So we are continuing to enjoy our homeschooling venture, and are now beginning to row! We are getting started with the curriculum called Five In A Row, and couldn't be happier about it. It is a literature based Christian curriculum (we are adding the Bible supplement). The children are already learning so much and having a blast! We are currently "rowing" The Story About Ping. Today we learned about the cormorant in China, which was quite interesting. Tomorrow we will be studying the map or China and the Yangtze River. For our Bible craft today we made scrolls, which the children loved. Our verse for the day was from our Rod and Staff Bible story book: John 17:17 "Thy word is truth".

Also, I was amazed to see how much information is available from other homeschooling moms who have used this curriculum. They have fantastic ideas for lapbooking, notebooking, and other crafts to expand the curriculum. Truly exciting!

We are awaiting our Hooked On Phonics package. Due to their love for hearing stories, both Matilyn and Matthew are very excited about learning to read. Matilyn is already sounding out 5 letter words, and read her first little reader all by herself. She was thrilled! We have decided to use HOP in the beginning as a fun intro to phonics. We will be adding another phonics program when we finish HOP, so that we are sure not to miss any of the important facts. Right now we are keeping things simple and exciting for them, and they are loving it.

At the homeschool fair I was able to pick up some incredible Rod and Staff readers. Their curriculum is filled with the types of readers that I have been praying to find. If any of you are looking for additional stories to read to your children, or for your children who are learning to read, I highly recommend all of the readers from Rod and Staff and Christian Light Education/Publishing. You just can't go wrong with them. :)

Andrew continues to do extremely well. He has not had any problems with adjusting. What a huge answer to prayer. We are so thankful to the Lord that He made Andrew to fit perfectly into our family. He is such a joy and blessing to us all!

We will be back-posting some pics. We have some great ones to share, but have been very busy with 2 weeks of swim lessons, 1 week of praise dance camp, and homeschooling ventures. Hope to have them on the blog soon! :)

A few pics

2009-07-23T20:56:00.001-04:00

Daddy teaches Matthew about muscles

Fourth Of July Fun

2009-07-04T21:51:00.008-04:00

Our friends Jeff, Heather, and Olivia visited us from Charleston for the 4th. We had a wonderful weekend with them! We miss you guys already!! Also enjoyed a great family time and fireworks celebrating the 4th at Joyce and Wayne's.

Thankful For Blessings

2009-06-27T14:43:00.012-04:00

All is continuing to go well since we have arrived home. Thanks to our church family, and my mother, we have been extremely well cared for and loved beyond measure. I don't know what we would have done without you. You are such a blessing to us!

Jet lag seems to have finally ended for both of us. We have spent the last week battling a bug, and the children have had Roseola. So thankful that we are all starting to feel better now.

The children love their little brother, and we haven't noticed any jealousy at all. They all play well together and it just seems that things have always been this way. Andrew just stepped right in as though he knew he belonged in our family, just as we had been praying for so long that he would. He is such a precious child. We are thanking the Lord for all of His great blessings.

Please pray for our friends Becky and Rodney, who left today for Taiwan to get their precious son Carson. They have to go through the same process that we did, so pray that they find incredible favor at AIT and have no difficulties in bringing Carson home.

Here are a few new photos for you all. Hope you enjoy them.

Fireman Small Making Silly Faces

Bath Time

Leaning To Jump Rope
Precious Baby Boy

Sporting Big Brother's Hat

Pre-Bath Turbin

One Very Happy Baby

Play Time At Home

2009-06-18T20:30:00.002-04:00

Andrew is fitting into the family beautifully, just as God planned. Just a few pics from play time today....

Enjoying Big Brother In His Crazy GetUp Playing The Harmonica

Sissy and her "Little Slobber"...her fond new nickname for baby brudder

Jet Lag.......And Blessings

2009-06-15T22:14:00.003-04:00

WOW. Never expected jet lag to be this bad! Thank the Lord for the blessings of children who are all doing well. Andrew is adjusting amazingly well, far beyond anything we could have hoped or dreamed. He is continuing to eat and sleep well and seems completely bonded to all of us, particularly Jarrod and myself. He seems to be adjusting better to the time change than we are.

We hope to post more pictures soon, when we are better able to keep our eyes opened. Thanks again to all of you for your sweet comments and continued prayers. Also to those of you who have helped in many other ways as well. We love you all and are truly blessed to have you in our lives!

Photos From Taipei International Airport, LAX, & Nashville

2009-06-11T23:59:00.000-04:00

Taipei Airport Hello Kitty Nursery

Change a diaper, baby can nap, feed baby, or surf the net for free

Entrance to feeding area in Hello Kitty Nursery

Touch Down! A precious new American Citizen steps foot on US ground!

Meeting Nina In Nashville

Worn out...night night

The Journey Home

2009-06-11T23:09:00.027-04:00

God is so good, and has answered all of our prayers. Andrew is continuing to bond very well to both of us, and is such a sweet baby. He slept for the first half of the plane ride back, which was our goal so that he would also sleep after we checked into our hotel in LA for the night. The trip went very well. He continues to only be fussy when he is sleepy or hungry. The process at LAX through immigration and customs was really a breeze. Not sure if it was the time our plane came in or not. We landed around 9pm Pacific time and were out of LAX awaiting our shuttle to the hotel by 10pm! Truly amazing! We checked out of our hotel around 6:30 am and headed back to LAX. We flew Southwest back to Nashville. There is an area on the second floor where families with children can get through security MUCH faster that through the outdoor line!!! You take and elevator to the second floor security area. We grabbed a quick breakfast from McDonalds and boarded the plane around 8am. The flight went smoothly and we landed in Nashville around 3pm EST. We had a two hour drive back home, and were all very thankful that the trip went so well. There were so many prayers answered by the Lord! We can't believe that he is home now and a part of our lives forever. He seems to be doing well with everything that's new to him. The children love him and are so glad to have us back home. I am still waiting for the jet lag to pass, and don't feel so great, but it is so worth it to have him home. Please remember to pray for those who are continuing to wait to bring their babies home. We know that prayer has made an amazing difference in our lives as well as in Andrew's. Thanks again for all of your love, prayers, and support during our adoption process. Love, Jarrod and Anita

Visa In Hand, Hearts Are Full, Heading Home......

2009-06-11T21:00:00.004-04:00

Merry Cafe! YUM!!

Playing At Starbucks

Just A Slinging

Nice Teether Too

Daan Park

Taipei 101 From Daan Park

Hanging Out At Din Tai Fung..AGAIN!

Me loves sticky rice!

Wantons

Today around 10:30 am we received a call from AIT. Andrew's visa is ready! We are thrilled! Jarrod headed there right away, and was back to the hotel room promptly with visa in hand. Around noon we checked out of the hotel room (this is check out time at the Rido). As our flight did not leave until around midnight, the Rido staff allowed us to leave our bags at the front desk with them. They arranged a hotel car to take us to the airport at 9pm, at which time we also picked up our bags.

Anyway, after checking out around noon, we walked out the hotel door to be greeted by the first rainfall that we had witnessed since landing in Taiwan. Glad we had umbrellas! LOL! So we headed for our 3rd time to Din Tai Fung, whose dumplings are, YES, addictive! (Important note...call about an hour ahead to get on their priority listing. You won't have to wait long at all! It's a great thing!)

We also found this fantastic little pastry shop a little ways down from Din Tai Fung (same side of the street) called Merry Cafe. OK...if you stay at the Rido, you HAVE to get some of their pastries. OH YUM! This is a great choice for breakfast as it is a nice little walk from the Rido. They do not have tables or chairs, but you can always take them to go and either eat them in Daan Park or if you want to dine indoors, why not head to Starbucks just down the street and grab a coffee to go with your pastries? They have sweet and savory things. The one that looks like a pizza on a long breadstick is amazing!

Sooooo, after eating at Din Tai Fung we checked out a few areas for some traditional Chinese clothing for the children. We were not successful in finding them, even after following the suggestions of several different ladies.

After that walked through Daan Park, finally! It is very beautiful and peaceful there. We then headed for a taxi, to a market area nearby. There were many shops and we walked around for hours. Fun place to look, but still no children's clothing. Did find learning chopsticks though, which were on my list, along with a bunch of Hello Kitty things for Matilyn. LOL!

Then we walked to the EVA office and added Andrew's lap seat ticket. Next it was off to a Starbuck in the area, where we drank coffee and rested from all of our walking. We then took a taxi back to Merry Cafe for some pastries to go, headed back to the Rido, loaded our bags into the car, and it was off the the airport.

Our journey to Taiwan was a whirlwind. There was so much to be done in such a short time. We fell in love with the country and it's people, and pray that we are able to return some day. We are bringing back our precious little dumpling, and life will never be the same!

It's Official, God Has Answered And Andrew Is COMING HOME!!!!!!!!

2009-06-10T10:29:00.002-04:00

Writing again to thank all of you for your precious friendships and many prayers. You have no idea how much it has meant to us, and how we have felt the Lord's presence and seen His miracles as a result of your lifting us up to Him. We are still in Taipei, and after a VERY long day of multiple appts. and interviews, the officers at AIT have decided that they are granting Andrew's US visa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are beyond thankful. "The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Please continue to pray as we still do not have the visa in hand and are not yet through US immigration. Feels like smooth sailing from here though. We will share more details with you all later, but right now we are both beyond exhausted and heading for bed. Praying to sleep for a long time. LOL! Love you!!!!

11am appt update

2009-06-09T23:19:00.005-04:00

At our 11am appt we left andrew's visa photos with AIT. We were asked if we had our new fingerprinting update sent here. We said, yes we did, but not sure if they have sent it yet. They do not have it on file. He said they will check their computer system to see if it was sent in that last day or so, if not then AIT will email the US national visa center to request that it be forwarded here directly to AIT. He said if this needs to be done it "should" ONLY take 1-2 days. LOL! At this point we just have to laugh. Now we are to return to AIT at 1am EST for andrew's visa interview with the boss there. So at 1am, we will head back for the third time today, and see what else we need, hopefully to pick up his visa tomorrow. We may be calling the national visa center and congressman in the morning when they open to expedite the process if necessary. Please keep praying. :)

UPDATE regarding AIT appointment this morning

2009-06-09T21:52:00.003-04:00

OK...here's the scoop. Please keep praying. We are going back for another appointment at AIT for Andrew's visa at 11pm tonight EST, as they have requested some additional time to review the new documents that we brought to them this morning. Also, they needed a few additional passport photos of Andrew, in the event that they do give us a US visa for him. We left there, went and had the photos done, no problem, Kodak place just next to AIT. Then had breakfast...croissanwich at Burger King! LOL! Back to the hotel for Andrew's nap time, as he was passing out. They did ask about one additional piece of paperwork, that we do not have, but we can get it today if they absolutely need it. Please keep praying that we say all of the right things at our 11am appt., and that they approve his visa without any difficulty whatsoever. Thanks and love you all! Will post an update sometime later after our next appt at 11PM your time tonight!!!

Visiting The Original Din Tai Fung..Delicious!!

2009-06-09T07:34:00.005-04:00

Oh YUM! Think we will be going back to Din Tai Fung tomorrow. It's just right down the street from our hotel, just near Starbucks. Only took a photo of one of our dumpling dishes from tonight, because I'm embarassed to say how much we ate. Mmmmmmmmmm. LOL.

Then went strolling looking for AIT, which is very nearby, but we never found it. :) Getting online now to find out where we went wrong. Tonight will be spent completing some last minute paperwork and getting it all together for our visa appt in 12 hours! WOW...we LOVE Taiwan! Taipei is great. Seems quite safe, and all are friendly here. We have SERIOUSLY turned some heads tonight on the streets of Taipei. It is pretty funny to see people walk past you staring and then doing a complete turn around to check you out! LOL! Here are a few pics from tonight for you.....Andrew enjoyed the rice again, and fell asleep in his sling on the way back to the hotel.

Night View Of Taipei 101 from Din Tai Fung/Rido Hotel

Din Tai Fung

Sleeping Like A Baby

Din Tai Fung Dumplings

Daddy And Andrew At Din Tai Fung

Andrew Enjoys The View Of Daan Park From Our Room

Taipei, Here We COME!

2009-06-09T00:52:00.005-04:00

This morning we awakened, showered, finished packing, and ran to breakfast. More yummy food, and then we met Deana and Luke in the Lobby. We drove straight to the Songshan airport, where Jarrod and Luke purchased our Uni Air tickets for Taipei while Deana and I sat in and flew through some paperwork that we had not had time to do before. WHEW! They it was a quick goodbye through lots of tears, and I went sniffling into security with baby and hubby. We are really missing Deana and Luke already. When we landed in Taipei, someone really nice helped us to find baggage claim (typical helpful people. Love it here!), then we found our hotel directions which we had printed out in Mandarin, gave them to our Taxi driver, and we were on our way. Taxi was nice and clean, seemed very safe, with shoulder seatbelts too! OH, btw, there is a bank at the Taitung airport where you can get change from a nice guy who speaks English at no charge.... So the taxi driver brought us straight to the hotel, no problems. The Rido is another nice hotel. We have a room that is quite large with a great view of the Daan park. Seems that it's a 7 minute walk to AIT. We will be be doing a trial walk to AIT a little later, so we will let you know. We are heading to our translators shortly to pick up some last minute paperwork that we will need for our appt in the morning. The appt at AIT to get Andrew's US Visa is at 8pm Tuesday night EST, so please keep praying. It is our last big hurdle to bringing him home. Stay tuned, more to come......

Daan Park....view from our room at the Rido Hotel Taipei

Great room, nice amt of space, clean, plenty of room for the crib

Room 704

King Sized Bed

Shower

Jetted Tub

Bathroom Sink

Foyer In Our Room..NICE!

More Photos From Today...More to come

2009-06-08T19:09:00.008-04:00

After nap time in the hotel, we were able to meet the physician who referred Andrew's bio mom to Deana. He is also the doctor who delivered Andrew. We also met the nurse who was there at his delivery as well. Dr. Lee and his wife are just precious and it was our honor to meet them!

Then we went to a Christian book store, much like the ones here. I was able to find two precious books in Chinese and Mandarin for the children.

Next we went over to the church to meet Andrew's biological mother. Our visit with her was wonderful, but bittersweet. We were able to tell her many things about our family, and also to find out more about her and her family. We took many photos during the meeting, which we will be able to share with Andrew one day. He is truly loved and we are so blessed.

We also had a little time to spend with Pauline and Deana as well. This trip has been such a whirlwind. I highly recommend a minimum of 3 days, not TWO in Taitung. We didn't have a choice due to the timing of our AIT appt. and short time to plan, but if you have time do stay in Taitung 3 days. Incredible city and wonderful people, ESPECIALLY Deana and Luke. Words can not express what wonderful people they are. Their ministry is truly amazing. Please pray for more support for their ministry, as they need it and deserve it for all of their time and efforts, which can't really be appreciated until you experience their "typical" day. We are here Taiwan praying for all of you who are awaiting your journey to your children.

For those of you traveling to Taitung, we highly recommend the Kindness Hotel. The hotel is VERY clean, rooms are nice, and it's only about $70 per day US!! That includes free internet, VERY nice breakfast in their hotel dining room, and great"snack" from 10p-midnight, which is a little more than a snack. LOL. Neverending Cafe Latte, Espresso, and Cappucino. Think it also includes free bikes for touring around. There is a business center for printing, although the commands such as "print" are written in Mandarin. A little challenging! LOL! Coming up next...trip to Taipei!

Andrew's delivery room doctor and nurse

Andrew's Delivery Room MD

We love Dr. Lee!

Bike Ride Anyone? Our Hotel Has Them!

Andrew and Mommy

Kindness Hotel Taitung

The many faces of Andrew....

We love it here!!! (Video Of Andrew Below....)

2009-06-08T01:59:00.009-04:00

The pic above is for those of you wondering about the children back at home. Matilyn and Matthew are having fun playing with their cousin Alexis on the slip & slide. However, we know that they are having difficulty with us being gone. Please continue to pray for Lani as she has 4 children under 5 yrs. of age in her care, and 2 of them are missing their parents. Many thanks to Lani and Nina for all that you are doing to keep them safe and sound while we are here. You are blessings and we love you!!!

Another amazing morning in Taitung! Really wish we could spend more time here, but have to get our boy home and make him a US citizen, not to mention being with Matilyn and Matthew again. I see a family trip to Taitung in the future. This morning we had a great breakfast in our hotel and then were picked up by Luke, Deana, and Andrew to go to change his household registry. That was quite the experience, as we were the talk of the whole entire office. That includes the agents as well as those there to change their hh registry. We had many people helping us by the time it was all over. We must have been quite the spectacle! LOL! Then we headed off to meet the doctor who referred Andrew to Morninglight. We also met his wife who is a very sweet woman. We are going back to see them later this afternoon for some photos. They were saying that they would like for us to adopt them as well. LOL! Precious couple. Then we took a quick trip to see the ocean. It was beautiful, and VERY hot weather! Then we went to pick up Pauline and the children and headed to lunch. Family style Chinese! Let me tell you, this was some of the most incredible food I have EVER eaten!! Simply amazing. Andrew LOVED the rice and watermelon, which is some of the sweetest any of us have ever tasted! Now we are back at the hotel where we have had a little play time. Jarrod is holding Andrew, who is falling asleep in daddy's arms. Such a precious boy. Our newest little blessing. Our hearts are full, and we are so thankful for all that the Lord Jesus has done for us! And yes, Carol, it's JUST like the Isrealites coming out of the desert, and the promised land is SO worth it all. We love you guys and thank you for your prayers!

Anita

Deana, Anna, Anita, and Andrew at the beach

Amphitheatre at the beach

Temple near the beach

Taitung

Our boy LOVES sticky rice! LOL!

The best lunch EVER...the food was still coming...Delicious!!!

The AMAZING Race!!!

2009-06-07T11:02:00.006-04:00

The past 45 hours have been a SERIOUSLY AMAZING race! Without the Lords help, we would not be here right now. We almost missed 2/3 airplanes and one bus! I don't think I would be cut out for the show. Running what felt like 2 miles through airport terminals to be able to board the plane reminded me that I really need to get back to the gym! LOL!!!

Our first flight was with Southwest Airlines from Nashville to LAX. Great flight, although my precious chocolate milk was confiscated by TSA! Wahhhhhhhhhh. So, don't bring the yummy drinks. If I had only thought about it....ANYWAY, the door to the airplane was being shut as we boarded the plane! What a great flight with a wonderful crew. Southwest is awesome! Our sweet flight attendant found out that we are traveling to bring Andrew home and upon our approach to LAX announced to everyone over the loud speaker that there were special guest on board the plane who were not only celebrating their wedding anniversary, but also going to get the son in Taiwan! The whole plane exploded into clapping and cheers. That was fun! LOL!

Then on to LAX. Hmmmm, where to BEGIN. That place is a strange bird. Much like a foreign country to me. It was there that I told Jarrod I discovered that I am not a big city girl, nor a west coast girl, but a southern girl to the core! The International terminal was a little nuts. Very loud, tons of people standing in a bunch of lines, just people EVERYWHERE. Felt a little chaotic, although we were never lost. So it's very doable. Upon entering the international terminal at LAX I saw this sweet little older woman with a straw hat reading something like "ask me" and so I asked her about finding EVA ticket counter. She said, "Now honey, that line doesn't open for about 45 minutes." And I then asked here what we should do until then. She replied "Darling, you two need to get as far away from this crowded bunch of coughing people as possible. I keep getting coughed on by these PEOPLE!." Then she gave my hand a sweet squeeze and sent us on our way up to the second floor food court to wait. It was extremely crowded, so we found a very quiet and secluded little area around an elevator, which no one was using. We sat there until our line opened, in order to avoid Novel H1N1! (There are a lot of masks being worn, especially here in Taiwan), but we haven't heard much coughing. So after standing in the EVA line our CARRY ONS were weighed. Now, here's a LITTLE tip. You carry on bag can not weigh more than 15 pounds. HELLO...our BAG ALONE weighs that much. We had to mostly empty our carry ons, but thank the Lord we had left our check on bags quite empty. It was fun emptying our bags out in front of all of those people. LOL! Then is was on to International security clearance, which was ok. Just plan on more time than you think it will take, just in case. Took a huge amount of time in Nashville, as they had to confiscate my chocolate milk and run our bags back through. (Have I ALREADY mentioned that?!!" LOL!!!) Then in LA we exchanged our money for NTD, found a place to plug in our computers, updated our blog, and chatted with Rachael for a few minutes via facebook. That was a nice treat! By that time, our plane was boarding. The EVA flight was amazing and unremarkable. There was one time that the seatbelt signs came on and the pilot announced that we would be experiencing turbulence. There was never any at all during that timeframe! (Thanks for praying, God hears and answers! He is so amazing!). At another time we did have some turbulence, but it was the smoothest long flight I can ever recall. We flew Evergreen class, which is a step up from coach. I would recommend it as it gave us more leg room and the seats recline farther with a partially extendable footrest. Slept about one hour due to excitement. Jarrod did a little better, but we are both exhausted.

When EVA touched down in Taipei we proceeded to immigration for a VERY long wait. Then we ran to get our luggage and then went to catch the express bus from Taoyuan airport to Songshan airport. It was the express bus. This was a little confusing, but let me tell you the Taiwanese people must be some of the most helpful people to Americans that we have ever seen! We love it here!! We had people coming up to us to help us in figuring things out. With 3 minutes to spare we boarded the bus for an approx. one hour ride. We FLEW off the bus into the airport, purchased tickets for our flight to Taitung, walked briskly to the terminal, and saw that our plane was BOARDING! LOL! We flew Mandarin to Taitung, which I believe is run by China Air. Uni is associated with EVA, and also flies this route, but didn't have a plane running until later in the afternoon. The Mandarin flight was very good, and took about 50 minutes TOTAL, about 35 minutes in the air. FAST! We were here so early that we beat Deana and Luke to the airport.

The Taitung airport had free WIFI so we were able to plug into that with our MagicJack and called family to let them know we had arrived safely. For those of you who want to call home from Taiwan or to receive calls, this is the way to go! It cost us $40 to buy MagicJack, $20 for one year of service and $20 for the plug. We have a US phone number through it that people can use to call us here for free. No cost to us or for them. It's great! Also has voicemail for when you don't have it on. NICE!

Luke arrived and brought us to pick up Deana and Carson at the Children's Home (he's soooooo sweet and just completely precious!) and then we went to church where we met Andrew for the very first time. It was amazing! He is adorable and just a perfect match for our family, just as the Lord planned. At the same time we also met Jo. Also adorable!!! Church was wonderful and we felt so loved. It's amazing to have a church family all the way across the world! We are very thankful for their prayers. Also, they were asking us if our church is supportive of our adoption, as sadly some churches are not very supportive. We were able to share what a blessing our church family is to us and how they have a heart for orphans and for each other. We are very thankful for our home church and love you all!

We then came to check into our hotel, Hotel Kindness. It's quite nice, although they do NOT have cribs. The bed is comfortable, the rooms are VERY clean, and it's near to most everything here. Even has a Family Mart convenience store right next door. We have a king sized bed and it costs about $70 per night. This includes breakfast and a "snack" from 10p-midnight, which has a nice selection of fresh fruits, noodles, and incredible Ice Cream. Some of our favorite ice cream flavors were mango, pineapple, Taro, and Swiss Chocolate. Yummmmmmmmm.

For lunch we went out with Luke and Deana where we had our first hot pot and a delicious bowl of noodles. Mmmmmmmm. Andrew did great, and loved his small little pieces of watermelon, which kept him quite content. We then came back to the hotel with Andrew for a MUCH needed nap. I could hardly wake the boys after 2 hours of sleep. Honestly had to drag myself out of bed as well. So glad that we did as we really enjoyed chatting with Luke and Deana tonight and getting the tour of the Children's Home. It's a great place for the expecting moms and babies waiting to be adopted. Also a great opportunity for a missions trip for a church group who would like to help out. We are praying for them as what they are doing is unbelievable. They are so self sacrificing and loving to all of those involved in their ministry. The light of Christ is shining brightly in Taitung through the ministry of the Pans!

At then end of the night we decided to let Pauline keep Andrew so that he wasn't immediately taken away from all that he knows. It would also give Pauline one more night with him, which she seemed to long for, as well as giving us a much needed night of rest. We truly wish we had more days in Taitung, as our first day has been a wonderful experience here.

Regarding how Andrew is doing, it has been far beyond anything we could ask or expect! (Imagine that!) He came to me readily at the church at our first meeting, has been calling us mama and dada all day (melts our hearts), and comes up to both of us laying his head on us giving love. Prayer is a wonderful thing! When he has fussed it has only been for sleep or food, and he was easily soothed by each one of us. During our time at the hotel with him, he had fun exploring his new toys and laughing with us. He seems to love being in the sling with mommy, and he enjoys holding a blankie and sucking his thumb when it's time for sleep. He says LAH LAH LAH when he is getting fussy for a nap. Too cute!

4 AIRPORTS, 3 AIRLINE FLIGHTS, 2 CONTINENTS, & 1 PRECIOUS BOY!

THIS IS THE AMAZING RACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are at the hotel now getting ready for a very busy day tomorrow. We have to go to change Andrew's household registry, after which he can come into the USA as a full American Citizen. We then have to fax it to be translated by our translator in Taipei. We will pick it up after flying to Taipei the very next day, and the morning after that we will have our AIT appt for Andrew's visa. Please keep praying. Our AIT appt is Tuesday night at 8pm EST.

Here are some pics from today. For correct time frame view from BOTTOM TO TOP.

Love you all! :)

Oh NO, think I heard something...better check one MORE time!

Let's GO for it!

Come ON Carson, Let's get this Pizza! MMMmmmmm!

Playing with mommy and daddy on the bed after bath time

Got your NOSE! Pinch, pinch!

DON'T wake a sleeping baby....shhhhhh.....

Content in mommy's arms

Sweet Baby Boy

ooooooo, what was THAT?

Nap time cuddles

Already Daddy's Boy

Finally in our arms

Andrew & Pauline

Family

GOTCHA!

Taitung

Mandarin Airlines Taipei to Taitung

En Route To Taipei Over Japan

Our Race

Made it to LAX

2009-06-06T02:20:00.004-04:00

Quick post...made it to LAX. This place is nuts! LOL! Trying to find food on the international terminal is a challenge. So excited to be on our way, but exhausted. Posting a few pics from our journey so far, although they should be viewed from bottom to top for correct order! LOL!

Love,

Anita

BIG NEWS....BIG NEWS...We have our miracle!!

2009-06-02T01:44:00.005-04:00

God is soooooo good and we are once again in awe!

We are traveling THIS Friday to bring our baby boy home! PRAISE THE LORD!! WOOHOOOOOOO!!!

It is all falling into place, though as you can imagine with such short notice it's a little bit hectic around here. (So happy to have this to "fuss" about!!!) Thank you just doesn't seem enough to say to all of you who have been praying. The Lord has answered and we are thrilled! As always, His timing is perfect. We will be flying out on our 16 year anniversary! Now, how's that for an anniversary present?!

Please continue to pray for our safe travels, for the children while we are gone, and that we have no problems in Taipei with bringing Andrew home. Also please remember Jarrod's sister in your prayers, who will be here at the house keeping 4 under the age of 5. She is just incredible and we are blessed to have her in our lives. We are continuing to remember our friends in prayer, who are waiting to bring their precious baby boy home, and our many other friends who are in the midst of this crazy process. Please pray that they hear some incredible news from AIT soon as well. We love you all and look forward to introducing you to Andrew very soon. :)

Please keep praying for a miracle

2009-05-31T22:53:00.005-04:00

We should be hearing from AIT this week. Please pray for a miracle, that they give us approval to bring Andrew home!! We are thrilled to have seen him again. Here are some pics that we snapped during our chat with him. He said "MA MA" during our chat! :)

Adoption Update

2009-05-22T21:38:00.005-04:00

Well, Tina had her interview at AIT. It was 3 hours of repetitious questioning. She was almost in tears after it was all over. Some of their questions are quite concerning and just didn't sit right with any of us. That being said, we COULD get approval from AIT next week. However, with all of the red flags that they are sending up in our case and another case as well (PLEASE keep praying for them too), Jarrod and I have contacted our government representative's office. We are encouraged, as the two people there who are currently assisting us are extremely helpful. Truly God-sends! They are beginning to cautiously step in, so as to not offend and make things worse, but to hopefully keep things moving in the right direction. We are pleading with all of you to continue praying with us during this crucial time in our adoption. Only the Lord knows why all of these things are happening, and how they will be resolved. We are continuing to trust in Him for wisdom, guidance, and peace in the midst of the storm. Thank you again for all of your prayers and support. This is a huge trial, but we are believing for miracles!

Please Pray For Tina

2009-05-15T21:45:00.003-04:00

Please pray for Andrew's biological mother, Tina. She is being required to travel to Taipei for an interview at AIT. This is the institute that represents the US government in Taiwan with immigration issues.This past week another biological mother made the same trip to AIT, and it was horrible. She was harrassed for FIVE hours, completely inappropriate. This is the short version of the story. So please remember Tina in your prayers. Her interview is at 10pm EST on Monday night.

Please continue to pray for Luke and Deana who are helping us to bring Andrew home. They are having to help these poor mothers make the very long trip to Taipei, and this entire thing is very much taxing them. Our foster mom, Pauline, also had no plans of Andrew being with her this long, and needs your prayers as well.

We are trusting the Lord and leaning on Him for everything. It's all in His hand, and we truly appreciate your prayers. We know that He hears.....

More "seemingly" big mountains

2009-05-06T21:53:00.008-04:00

We are now facing another obstacle. AIT is now requesting an appointment with Andrew's birth mother in order to interview her. They have had our paperwork for weeks now, and after writing to them directly, this is what we have heard. They have requested that we have her contact them to schedule an interview. We are continuing to pray for more miracles. That they will agree to speak with her in the next day or two, and that immediately after they speak with her they will give us our visa appointment for May. So that's the latest......we are facing mountains, but we serve the God Who moves them! :)

Still waiting, hoping, & praying

2009-05-01T20:36:00.004-04:00

Another week has passed with absolutely no word on an appointment date with AIT. We believed that we would be traveling in one week, but don't know how that can happen now. The expiration of our US paperwork is quickly approaching, and so we are again on the edge of our seat continuing to pray for miracles....... Haven't seen our boy in quite some time either, which is also very hard for us. We want to thank you all again for your prayers. We know that the Lord hears.

Oh YES, Lovin' The New Camera!

2009-04-29T21:38:00.009-04:00

Ok...the Lord has GIVEN us a new camera, well, actually two new cameras. A friend of ours had a raffle to raise money for her adoption, and we WON THE GRAND PRIZE. We were so excited! The Lord allowed this to happen during the most difficult week of our adoption journey. The awesome camera that we won replaced an older model of the same camera that we owned. It's a fantastic Canon DSLR, with some really great upgrades over our old model. Thus, this new one works with all of our lenses and our external flash! WOOHOO!!

Jarrod and I both have a love for photography, but I have never truly found the DSLR love, soooooooooo as a result of winning our great new DSLR we have been able to sell our old camera. Thus I have been able to purchase my dream camera as well.

God is so good, and this sweet gift from Him has come at a time when we really needed some encouragement. My new Canon Powershot SX1 IS came in the mail today, and below you will see some of the results that I got straight out of the box on automatic setting! The SX1 IS is amazing, much like a DSLR, but I don't have to change the lenses because it has a great wide angle as well as a fantastic zoom built right into the camera body! And did I mention that it does High Def. Videos as well? I won't bore you with all of the other things it does, but let's just say I am beyond thrilled!

Wanted to share with you some of our very first shots. Can't wait to photograph and video our baby boy in Taiwan! WOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Continuing to wait for a date......

2009-04-29T15:40:00.001-04:00

Please keep praying as we continue to wait for a VISA appt. date from AIT in Taipei.....

God Is SO Good!!!

2009-04-25T23:32:00.004-04:00

Ok, this one's for YOU Mary! LOL! I wasn't going to post yet, as we have had an exhausting week. Still trying to get everything ready for our new addition. How can we NOT be ready yet? Will we ever be "ready"?! Does it feel this way EVERY time that you have a child? I know that it did for us the last 2 times as well.....LOL!

So, on Tuesday our power of attorney received our FINAL DECREE for the courts!!! This means that according to the courts in Taiwan, Andrew is now officially our son! This is incredible news and we are thrilled! God is truly moving mountains, as our first and final decrees were both translated and in the mail to the American Institute in Taiwan by the next day. Thanks Luke and Deana!! AIT received our paperwork at the end of this past week, and they are currently in the process of reviewing it.

We are praying that we find out an appointment date for Andrew's visa from AIT by Sunday evening or Monday. We are specifically praying to get the date of May 18th. If we get this appointment date, we will not have to update our US paperwork, and will be "leaving on a jet plane" about 2 weeks from now! The Lord has done great things, and we are amazed to see how perfectly He has planned it all. This should NEVER surprise us, but somehow He always does, and in such a sweet and wonderful way.

The other great news is that it appears that he has also done a miracle in allowing our precious friends to be in Taiwan at the exact same time as us, when they will also be meeting their son for the very first time! Our sons have been in the same foster home together, and for us to be traveling together will be a real miracle, since up until this point we have been on different time frames in the adoption process. We are soooooooo excited about this!

So to sum it all up, God has done it again! We are overjoyed and waiting with great expectations for an AIT appointment, at which time we can make flight arrangements! Please continue to pray for our travel time, and also for Becky and Rodney as they prepare to travel as well. They are waiting for final decree, which they should receive soon. Also, there are many others who are waiting to bring their babies home. Please remember them in your prayers too.

We can not thank you all enough for your prayers and support! We love you!! Will let you know as soon as we hear from AIT! WOOHOOOOOOOOOO!

Mountains are MOVING!

2009-04-21T10:44:00.002-04:00

God is miraculously moving mountains!!!! Please keep praying. More news to come soon! :)

He IS Worth It All

2009-04-20T01:47:00.003-04:00

The Lord often speaks to me though song, and today was no different. I heard this song for the first time in church today, and with all that we are walking through right now, needless to say it touched my heart, because it's where I am.....

Our Precious Son

2009-04-17T15:17:00.002-04:00

Please please please help us pray him home.......

2009-04-15T21:46:00.000-04:00

We need a miracle

2009-04-14T23:49:00.011-04:00

Posting a brief update. We are growing quite discouraged here at times. Our travel has been delayed, and at this point apart from a miracle I don't know that we will even be able to travel by May 11th. We had requested our AIT appt for May 18th, but it seems that things just aren't moving much, and I don't see how we could even get an appt. with AIT by May 18th at this point. AIT has a current 2.5 week delay between when they decide to give you an appt. and when one is available. That means that all of our paperwork must be received, mailed to translators, translated, sent to AIT and reviewed by them all within the next 2 weeks in order for us to even get an appt. with them on May 18th. And, if the do receive our things about 2 weeks from now and give us the date of the 18th, that means our child care provider will only be able to give less than 2 weeks notice at work, which I am not sure will work either. Please pray for a miracle with the timing of all of this. Even without thinking of the planning aspect of the travel for everyone, the thought of actually getting the paperwork ready and sent to AIT and having them review it within the next 2 weeks is not seeming likely at this point to us. And then there is the issue of our home study. We are thinking that we will have to go ahead and update it if we don't hear something about an AIT appt. soon, which will cost around $400-500. Then there is another trip to Atlanta for re-fingerprinting. Oh, did I mention that our US government paperwork approval is about to expire the first of June, which could even push our travel into July or August? Lord, we need miracles here.......

Passover/Easter Celebration 2009

2009-04-12T15:30:00.009-04:00

We had a great day today. I'm so thankful for all that Jesus has done for us. The sacrifice that He chose to make for each one of us is amazing, and I'm filled with thanksgiving for our precious Passover lamb. We are truly blessed to be children of the one true God and King! Praying that you all have a holiday filled with His presence and the understanding of all that Jesus has done for you. :)

And so this is how most of the photo taking went today, at least when we were trying to get family shots. LOL! This is real life! Wonder how it will be trying to photograph a family of FIVE!?

Not sure what kind of egg was found here, but it MUST have been a doozie! LOL!!

Beautiful.....

2009-04-08T21:11:00.000-04:00

Seemingly Bad News

2009-04-07T09:17:00.007-04:00

Got some seemingly bad news today. Appears that our travel to get Andrew will be delayed again....... Please pray about all of our paperwork getting to AIT very soon, and that it is approved very quickly, so that they will give us an appointment to get Andrew's visa. Also, for those at the American Institute in Taiwan who will be reviewing it. And for us as we continue to wait for God's perfect timing. We know that He has it all under His perfect control, and so again, we wait and pray..... Thanks :)

Asking For Prayer...Again :)

2009-04-05T01:08:00.006-04:00

We are so thankful to see how the Lord is working everything out in His perfect timing. There are wonderful stories to tell, but only have time right now for a very quick update. We are praying to get an appointment with AIT arranged soon (this appt. is to get Andrew's visa while in Taiwan). We need to find out about this appointment very soon in order to make all of our travel arrangements. We are most likely around 2 weeks from traveling, and airline ticket prices could start going up this close to travel time. We are trusting in God for His perfect provision yet again, and asking that you keep praying with us. Jarrod and I are so excited to be in the "planning travel" stage! At times it felt like this day would never arrive, and yet HERE WE ARE! :) Please keep praying for everyone's safety while we are traveling, and that all of our children will do well during this time of change and transition. Also, we still have to wait for the judge give her final ruling prior to travel, and this is the first time that she has ever had to make a final ruling on an adoption case. We know that your prayers have been so important thoughout our adoption journey, and can never thank you all enough. We'll "keep you posted"......

PRAISE GOD, IT'S OFFICIAL!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-29T23:33:00.003-04:00

We are BEYOND excited!!

WE OFFICIALLY HAVE FIRST DECREE and have been APPROVED to adopt Andrew! Our blog will be going private, so if anyone would like to follow along on our adoption journey, please let me know by sending me a note to my email: calledtoadopt@yahoo.com. WOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Thanks to everyone who has been praying! We know that it has made ALL of the difference. Please keep us in your prayers as we wait for FINAL decree and plan to travel. We are asking for traveling mercies and for wisdom when planning our travel arrangements and child care for the children here.

Please also remember the others in prayer who are waiting for a decision from the judge in order to bring their babies home. Now that our case has been approved, we are praying that the other approvals will be received VERY soon!! :)

Just adding a few more pics...

2009-03-29T21:53:00.000-04:00

God is moving things........

2009-03-27T22:54:00.003-04:00

On Thursday I got a call from a friend who lives in Charleston and is relocating to TN. We have believed for some time that the Lord may be planning for her to help with the children while we are gone. Long story short, there have been many roadblocks to them getting here, mainly with the selling of their house. What seems to be nothing less than a miracle happened on Thursday, and she called to tell me that she has good news! They may be moving here in about 2 weeks!! That morning I also attended Bible study and it was amazing. The Lord continues to confirm that He alone is in control of the timing in our adoption, and it's such a comfort knowing that He is working it all out perfectly. THEN today while we were visiting my mother, Matthew (our 2yo) was playing with a little toy wagon of his. All of a sudden he lifted it up into the air and was moving it all around. When I asked him what he was doing, he replied "The plane is flying. It's going to get ANDEW!" He then landed the "plane", and using his little fingers like pretend people he boarded "Andew" onto the plane saying "COME ON, Andew!" The "plane" took off again, and after landing the plane again, the people (aka his fingers) got off the plane. He proudly exclaimed "Come on, we're HOME!!" Let me explain that Matthew has NEVER before talked about Andrew coming home. Now, it may just be me, but it seems that the Lord is moving right now. We are really beginning to believe that we may be hearing something soon. Please keep praying......

New PICS!

2009-03-23T15:40:00.007-04:00

So we have heard nothing from the judge, except that she hopes to give us a ruling "soon", but none of us are sure what "soon" means. We are just leaving it in the Lord's hands, but asking everyone to please keep praying. Here's our precious little blessing! We can't wait to hold him! Andrew now has 2 teeth, is enjoying the occasional oatmeal with fruit (VERY much!), is sitting fairly well, and trying to crawl army style (LOL)! Looking forward to posting great news soon!

I Stand In Awe Of You

2009-03-21T20:18:00.003-04:00

The Lord is so amazing, and we stand in awe as we wait.....

Thankful For Beautiful Weather

2009-03-10T20:17:00.000-04:00

We've been having so much fun the past few days spending time outdoors enjoying the beautiful weather. Going to the playground and finding pecans was an added bonus. I'm going to remember that tree is there earlier next year! We still found a bunch of great pecans, came home, cracked, and ate them. YUM!! The children also had fun playing with friends, riding bikes, and playing in the dirt discovering earthworms and a bunch of other neat creatures! LOL! But I must say the highlight for the children is finally having it warm enough to run around on the golf course again with daddy! It's something they love to do. Here are a few pics from their play time tonight.

2009-03-08T23:12:00.001-04:00

Enjoying Our New Beanbags

2009-03-07T19:54:00.001-05:00

So how's this for Jehovah Jireh? We got the new Pottery Barn catalog in the mail and the children were admiring the oversized bean bag chairs. I knew that there was NO way we would be getting new ones. Just "happened to" be checking our local Craigslist the same evening and guess WHAT!? Yep, TWO Pottery Barn Beanbag chairs in excellent condition, cheap! WOOHOOO! Contacted the woman and picked them up pronto! LOL! So, here are the kids enjoying their new chairs. Matthew is getting a red slipcover for his soon. I love Craigslist and Ebay! :)

News... prayers needed

2009-02-22T21:25:00.000-05:00

Well, we did finally hear from our judge last week, who has decided that she DOES need the entire copy of our state laws on adoption, even the domestic/USA parts. So, she now has them, in English (which she said was OK). We are not sure how she is going to read them. Please pray that she finds what she needs soon so that we will get approval to bring Andrew home. We are the first in a line of adoption cases that she is hearing, so I pray that we are at least paving the way for others to sail quickly through court without difficulty. Please remember them in prayer as well, as some of those families are also aready in the court process with this same judge. Looks like the earliest we would travel would be sometime in April. We pray that it's no later than that, since Andrew is already 5 months old now. Thanks again to all of our prayer warriors. You are all precious to us and we can never thank you enough!
Love,
Anita

Please keep praying

2009-02-18T00:14:00.002-05:00

Still no news from the judge. Please keep praying. Here is a little trip down memory lane, with some new pics for fun!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Please pray! And....new pics

2009-02-11T09:48:00.038-05:00

We are posting to ask everyone to please pray. The judge in our case has never tried an international adoption case before, and she may ask for our ENTIRE state laws on adoption. Generally, and abbreviated form of the state laws is required, and is provided by the American Institute in Taiwan. These abbreviated laws contain all laws pertaining to international adoption, and omit only the domestic/US adoption portions of the laws, which are not in any way relevant to our case. If we are required to have the entire TN adoption law translated, it could cost us thousands and thousands of dollars and take quite a long time in translation. This appears to be the only thing that is holding up a decision in our case. Please pray that our judge quickly understands that ONLY the short form of the law, which she already has, is needed in order for her to make her decision.

The past few weeks have been quite trying. On top of the above, both or our oldest have had bronchitis, and I have had a terrible GI bug which has wiped me out for the entire week. We are praying to all be completely well soon and looking forward to rejoining society... :)

So....on to the good news. We just received new pics of our baby boy. We were so thankful to see his precious face again! It's amazing how much he has changed in the past 3 weeks. The waiting is growing more difficult, especially in light of the unknown, but we trust that the Lord is in control and all will happen in His perfect timing. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to wait......

Andrew And Carson (on the move!)

CHEESE!

Andrew 5 Months Old

CHEWING on his passy

Anna "Hey, gimmee that passy!"

Andrew "HELLLP. She's after my passy!"

Carson "WOW! Look what just landed in front of me! Woohoo!"

Andrew "Psssstttt...Hey Carson, It's in my hand. She'll never find it here!"

Carson "WOW, that's a BRILLIANT plan!"

Anna "Now...whereeeeee is that passy!???"

3 little miracles

WOOHOOO NEW PICTURES!

2009-01-19T15:37:00.011-05:00

I had such a nice surprise this morning when I awakened! New pictures of Andrew! So here he is, for those of you who have been asking how he has changed. He was about to fall asleep, as you will see in the last photo. I am more than amazed that Deana was able to capture them all together in one place, which I am SURE was no small task! LOL!

Please continue to pray for us and for the judge presiding over our case. Our court date was Dec. 29th, and we are waiting to hear the judge's decision/first decree. Please also remember Luke and Deana in your prayers. As you can see, they have their hands MORE than full.......

"Hey Anna, on the count of 3 LET'S ROLL outta here!! 1.....2....."

Josiah: "May I PLEASE go to sleep NOW?"

Andrew: "Stay CALM...it's all gonna be OK....uh, I THINK...."

Anna: "These boys are HILARIOUS!!"

Carson: "Lullaby, and goodnight....."

Four Precious Blessings

This is OUR version of the White Swan Red Couch photo. TOO CUTE!

While thinking about how busy the children all keep Deana, Luke, and Pauline, Andrew pauses for a sweet moment of prayer..............

Celebrating The New Year With MOMS!

2009-01-10T12:38:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year to all of the moms out there!
You have such an important job! Always remember, you are NOT alone.
Enjoy! :)

Our Court Date Has Come And Gone

2008-12-29T14:31:00.001-05:00

HORRAY! Our court hearing was last night. It seemed to go fairly well, although the judge does not seem to be familiar with international adoption cases. Please keep her in your prayers, that she will give us a favorable decision for bringing Andrew home in the Lord's perfect timing.

Thank you all for your prayers and support! We feel them often and KNOW that they are making a huge difference. We hear that Andrew's formula should be on it's way to him, after we were asked to pay taxes on it in Taipei. We are so thankful that this issue seems to be resolved. Here are some great new Christmas photos that we received from Deana last night. Our little boy is growing and we are thrilled that he is in such wonderful hands! Pauline, Luke, and Deana are such blessings to so many! Please pray that they will be blessed beyond measure.....

Andrew With Pauline

Shocked by the camera flash! LOL

Andrew and his friend Jo

Retooning The Nativity

2008-12-24T20:19:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas Everyone

2008-12-22T09:28:00.004-05:00

Wanted to share one of my favorite "new" Christmas songs with you. Wishing you all a very blessed Christmas!

God Provides One Step At A Time

2008-12-21T22:05:00.017-05:00

You know, in the midst of seemingly impossible circumstances, it still amazes me to stand and watch the Lord work. He always proves Himself faithful in His perfect timing. It's wonderful to watch Him work in the lives of others and marvel as He moves mountains. And then there are many times when He works in our own lives and we almost can't believe that He has chosen to show His grace and favor to us. And we are still surprised and awed each and every time that He moves! And then time goes by, and we wonder if He is still at work in our lives. As we follow Him, we must always remember that even when the Lord seems silent, His plan is unfolding perfectly. He IS at work, all His will is coming to pass, in His time.

Our adoption of Andrew has been quite the journey of watching the Lord in His faithfulness and perfect ways pave the path to bring Andrew home to us. We started the journey wondering how in the world we could ever afford to adopt him. We took the first step of faith and decided that we were not going to worry. If the Lord has called us to adopt Andrew, as we are walking in Him and He will provide. And provide He has! Over and over again! Not all at once in a HUGE monetary donation from one individual, but through His people little by little over time. And sometimes He has even provided through those who don't know Him at all. We have never had an abundance of finances in this journey, but have always had just what we need, walking in faith and watching Him provide step by step. And, He's done it AGAIN!!

We were recently looking at airplane fares and wondering HOW in the world we are going to pay for the entire flight. The Lord has blessed my work with H&GP and we have saved quite a bit to go towards our trip, but not the entire amount. And as of today, we have found out that a family friend is donating round trip tickets for both Jarrod and myself from TN to California! Paid in full! We are so thankful that now our domestic portion of airfare has been covered. Praise the Lord!! We can't wait to see how the rest of this journey will unfold!

Please pray for us, the judge in our case, and the Pans who will be representing us in court on December 29th. We also ask that you pray for our friends Becky and Rodney who are adopting Carson. Their court date is Feb. 5th.

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas celebration, as you celebrate the most wonderful gift ever given. Oh, and we hope you enjoy the new pics! I went a LITTLE photo HAPPY! LOL!! :)

I love playing with my Pauline

This is Deana doing what we call "tickle bug"!

Me and my buddy Carson. He's coming home soon too!

I'm getting a LITTLE tired....

2008-12-13T00:11:00.006-05:00

James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Could you be a family that God desires to bless through the miracle of adoption?

Calling ALL Prayer Warriors!

2008-12-12T22:34:00.005-05:00

We are asking for prayer from everyone. Our niece Gabrielle (only two days younger than Andrew) is sick. Please pray for little Gabrielle to be healed!

Also....Andrew has run out of his formula, and we have sent more via USPS. (Yes, he is eating, just a different kind of formula). HOWEVER the shipment was STOPPED in Taipei, and the Taipei post office is requesting that Luke and Deana come to TAIPEI to pick it up! That is not a small trip! They are holding our baby's formula hostage!! Please pray that when Luke speaks with them that they will immediately ship Andrew's formula on to Luke and Deana, if not sooner.......

Andrew's First Hair Cut

2008-12-01T22:20:00.017-05:00

Well, since Andrew was born with a very FULL head of hair, at only 3 months old he is ready for his first hair cut! Sooooooo off the the barber he went with his sweet foster mommy Pauline. He wasn't too thrilled about the powder (LOL), but all in all I think it went pretty well. We are so happy that Deana was able to snap some photos of the event and would like to share them with you. :)

Mommy says I look like my brother Matthew here (above)....

AND in this one too....

A Few More POST Hair Cut Shots

2008-12-01T21:02:00.014-05:00

So you may be wondering just what I think of the whole hair cutting experience. As you can see above, it was a little bit SHOCKING for me!
"No, REALLY, it's GO TIME!!"

"So put up your DUKES!" (LOL!!!!!!!!!!!)

Uh, oh, he's winding up again....

Looks like he can even STILL shock Deana with his delivery!

" OH, Pauline is back. I'm better now....."

"Here I am with my friend Anna. Isn't she cute!!"

Hallelujah! A Court Date Has Been Given!

2008-12-01T20:54:00.007-05:00

We a thrilled to announce that we have our court date!!! We are praising the Lord for this much anticipated news. While we were anxious to hear a date, we have been praying that all will happen on His timeline, not ours, so we are excited about the date.

We will be entering court on December 29th, 2008!!! We are hoping to travel no later than March 2009 to get Andrew, although it is possible that we will be traveling sooner. For those of you who are following along to get some idea of a timeline for your own adoption, here is how things have gone since referral:

Referral Received: Prior to Andrew's delivery
Birthday: Andrew was born September 5, 2008
(We had all of the possible paperwork done on our end at this point). As quickly as possible after Andrew's delivery we completed the POA and Adoption Contracts and returned them to Taiwan. This could not be done prior to his delivery.
Applied to/registered for court in Taiwan: November 6, 2008
Court Date Received: December 1, 2008
Court Date Will Be: December 29, 2008

Please keep Andrew, our family, and of course Pauline and the Pans in your prayers. Praying that you all have a wonderful time celebrating Jesus' birthday! :)

Smiles, Hair, And Bear

2008-11-26T23:00:00.008-05:00

We now have our first glimpse at Andrew's precious smile! I can't believe how much he has grown and changed in the past 3 weeks! Hope you all enjoy the new photos as much as we do.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

Andrew with his cute friend Anna

A melt our hearts smile

"Who ME???"

I love my new Drew Bear that Daddy, Mommy, Matilyn,

& Matthew sent to me. It has their voices on it too!

That milk was gooooooooooooooood!!!!!! How do you like my HAIR? :)

Did you know that I will be getting my first hair cut soon?

Check back for pics.....

He Loves His Thumb

2008-11-24T08:00:00.005-05:00

We hear that Andrew loves his thumb, and now we have proof! It so great to see our sweet baby boy again. And check out that hair!! :) So, for those who have been waiting patiently, here's a pic for you!

Please keep praying that we will receive our court date soon, and that it won't be too far in the future. We also ask for prayer regarding the judge who will be presiding over our case. And please remember to keep Luke, Deana, and Pauline in your prayers as they serve the Lord so sacrificially by taking care of our little one and helping so many others who are in need.

2008-11-23T00:39:00.000-05:00

Please pray for us

2008-11-17T01:15:00.004-05:00

We would really appreciate your prayer as we are experiencing some unexplained delays in the assignment of our court date in Taiwan. Please pray for God's perfect timing. That those involved with our court case will feel an urgency to move our case through the courts quickly and perfectly. We truly need miracles and favor.

We hope to have new pictures or video of Andrew to share with you soon. He is now eating about 5 oz of formula per feeding, so we imagine that he has grown some since we last saw him a couple of weeks ago.....

We are preparing to send new clothes to him, as we hear that he has outgrown his newborn clothes. :)

One Step Closer To Andrew

2008-11-10T15:43:00.005-05:00

We are so thankful to announce that we have received the official
approval from AIT for our adoption of Andrew. We have also been registered for court in Taiwan(thanks Deana!), and are now waiting to find out our first court date! We are still hoping to travel by the end of January 2009.
I can't thank you all enough for your prayers, help, and support during our journey to Andrew!
Love,
Anita

Richt Adoption Story

2008-11-06T23:57:00.002-05:00

This is the story of Georgia Bulldogs' coach Mark Richt and his family, who adopted 2 precious children from the Ukraine. Enjoy!

Great news!

2008-11-06T09:36:00.002-05:00

Great news......We are registered for court!!! We are so happy. Now we wait to find out our court date...... :) YEA!!!!

Skype With Our Baby Boy

2008-11-03T23:45:00.001-05:00

We were able to see Andrew live tonight via Skype Video! It was so much fun and such an unexpected treat. I did snap some photos, although most turned out blurry. He is such a cutie pie! I believe that we may be registered for court now, but we have not heard yet. Hoping to have more good news soon.... We are so blessed to have such a wonderful foster family. Andrew is clearly doing fantastic with his incredible foster mommy, and we are so thankful for her!

A sweet smile

My Great Foster Mommy

And he's OUT......

Night Time At The Roussel House

2008-11-03T20:32:00.002-05:00

I always enjoy singing with Matthew prior to putting him down for bed. He most always requests O The Blood Of Jesus and Something About That Name. If you will notice, on the video he keeps requesting to sing O The Blood Of Jesus (which you will hear him say as "O BUD!"), which we had already sung 3 times. LOL! Tonight, Jarrod captured him on video singing with me. He is such a blessing, and we just had to share this one!

Video Update Has Arrived! YEA!!!!!!

2008-10-27T23:43:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone. We received a video update today. We are sooooo excited. Here is our squeeky nosed little guy. Also a peek at him hold up his head during tummy time. Matilyn was THRILLED to see him laying on the blanket that she picked out for him! Please join us in praying that we are able to apply for a court date this week. We are awaiting the go ahead from the American Consulate in Taiwan before we can proceed.

Enjoy! ;)

Fun At The Neighborhood Fall Festival

2008-10-26T20:22:00.008-04:00

Tonight was our neighborhood fall festival. We all had a great time! There was a jump castle, inflatible slide, clowns, face painting, hair painting, balloon animals, popcorn, a live band, bbq, pizza, ice cream, and nintendo wii hooked up to big screen tvs (hilarious!). Jarrod said the Wii was pretty acurate, since his bowling score was his normal 118. LOL! AND Jarrod and I each won a door prize! It was such a blessing to see friends and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Balloon Animals ROCK!

She's Painting a BUS on my arm. wow!
The bounce castle stradle jump. LOVE that HAIR!

OK, Who's Scared And Who's Having Fun?!! LOL!!!!

The Boys Brave The Slope

Flying down the BIG slide! WOOHOOOOO!

Just Havin' Fun

This popcorn is so goooooood

Andrew Is Growing

2008-10-19T14:46:00.000-04:00

Andrew had a visit to the pediatrician, and is now 22 inches long (he grew about one inch) and weighs approximately 11 pounds 6 ounces (gained a little over 3 pounds since birth). He's growing well. Thank you for praying for us! Please keep us in your prayers as we are getting ready to enter the courts in Taiwan.

NEW PICS! Our Precious Baby Boy Is Growing!

2008-10-14T09:59:00.003-04:00

OK, I know that I'm a biased mommy, but isn't this one of the most adorable babies you have ever seen!!? Thanks for taking such great care of our little one Pauline! Thanks for sending new pics Deana! We love our little boy, and it's so much fun seeing his sweet face again.

Please Pray For Us

2008-10-13T14:29:00.000-04:00

Please keep our family in your prayers, as most of us are still fighting off this horrible cold. Matilyn was running a fever again today. Think we will be playing indoors tomorrow again.....
We have missed so many things that we normally get to do, and will be glad when everyone is well again.

Celebrating with Kristina and Travis Today!

2008-10-10T00:53:00.003-04:00

We just want you both to know how excited we are for you! We are soooooo happy that the closing is over and you are in your beautiful new home! We are thankful that the Lord brought you to Chattanooga, and are blessed to have you as friends!

USPS....again!

2008-10-09T17:00:00.000-04:00

OK, for those of you who don't know, the last time I have to mail something to Taiwan it was a complete nightmare. Today to the tune of a VERY LONG TIME at our local post office MAIN branch (alone with a 4 and 2 year old I might add) it was USPS nightmare, revisted! Let's just say that I am more than very glad to have that all behind us. The paperwork is thankfully now headed to TECO in Atlanta, and the straight on to Taiwan. Please pray that it is all completed properly and gets back to Taiwan in a speedy and perfectly completed manner. Also, we are asking for prayer as we register for court in Taiwan, that we don't have to wait long at all for our court date. We are praying to travel prior to Chinese New Year...... Oh, did I tell you that Andrew is now one month old!? Time is flying......

WOOHOOOOOOOO! Contracts have arrived!

2008-10-08T22:48:00.000-04:00

I met the mail lady at the door this morning, and almost hugged her! She delivered out contracts and translated home study. This is the FINAL bit of paperwork that we must complete prior to entering the courts in Taiwan. It took quite a while to get the home study from the translators, but we finally have everything in hand! Today I ran around town getting everything notarized and county court certified. Tomorrow it's all going into the mail! YES!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks to all of you for your prayers. The Lord has answered again and the next step is complete! We are so thankful!

Birthday Surprise

2008-10-07T22:45:00.007-04:00

Today the children received their birthday present, a playhouse! They love it and spent a ton of time outside cooking for us and for each other, playing peek-a-boo, and just going into and out of the playhouse. It was so much fun to watch. We love this house, as we can all easily fit inside with room for more! It has a little kitchen cooktop and sink, and a table too. They love the shutters and bay windows. It was a great surprise!

Very Excited About Our Playhouse

Matilyn Discovers That The Playhouse Makes A Great Puppet Theater

The Show Called "Paprika and Paprika", Named After These Two Puppets. I Guess They Are Twins.... LOL!!

Mr Personality Poses In The House

Paprika Rings The Doorbell! She Loves Doing That!! LOL!!

Skype With Andrew

2008-10-06T22:26:00.003-04:00

We were able to see our precious baby boy via skype (live video feed) this morning. He's growing like crazy! Up to around 4 oz of formula with each feeding. And sometimes even allowing his wonderful foster mommy to sleep for 6 hours at a time during the night now! We hear that he had been fussing some during the day, and thus getting lots of holding. LOL! The picture quality is not good over skype, but we did manage to snap a few shots. We are hoping that we will be able to OOVOO soon so that we can record the video chats, and thus go back and watch them later. Wouldn't that be neat! We just loved seeing him by video! What a treat!!

Watching Deana

Looking at the camera light

Getting Hungry

In GREAT hands

Our Sweet Baby Boy

2008-09-28T23:02:00.003-04:00

Can you BELIEVE all of that hair? We still can't believe it.

He is growing like crazy and oh so cute. He's stealing our hearts!

Mommy and Daddy can't wait to come get you, little guy!

Andrew singing "Jesus Loves Me This I KNOOOOOOOOOOW!"

Isn't it truly amazing how advanced he is already! :)

That camera phone kinda scares me.....

Ok, I'll try to pose a little for this one. How about I pull my head back and try a chubby baby pose?

Here's another nice black and white shot. Check out my cute little lips and my sweet eyes!

YUM! Order Your Freshly Harvested Pecans Now

2008-09-25T14:38:00.002-04:00

For those of you in the the Chattanooga area, we are getting ready to place our orders for our Pecan Fundraiser. These are the same fresh pecans that we ordered last year, and they are delicious! We are taking orders now, and the pecans will ship out after they are harvested, around the middle of October. These Fancy Medium Pecan Halves come in one pound bags. They freeze beautifully and are perfect for eating straight out of the bag or for holiday baking. The cost is $10 per one pound bag. Please contact us via email at calledtoadopt@yahoo.com for more information.

Homeschooling Preschool

2008-09-22T22:46:00.013-04:00

We had a blast today. We did a study of Noah with crafts that were a big hit. While I read from my Bible (Genesis 6-9) we discussed and the children colored. They each colored a rainbow and two pieces of an ark. When they were done we stapled the ark pieces together and added the rainbow for a handle (Matilyn cut out her rainbow. She loves cutting paper with scissors), resulting in some cute little ark baskets. We then added animal crackers to their arks. They had fun loading the animals on board. They were more excited about the clean animals and birds, since they came in 7 by 7!! LOL!

What tastes better than animal crackers from Noah's ark?!!

Enjoying the fruits of our labor, or crackers of our labor if you will....

mmmmmmmmmmm

Completed Ark Baskets

Then we acted out the story using a huge box that we could crawl into. Matthew loved marching up to the box pretending to be all sorts of animals as we sang and made animal noises. Then we made progressively loud rain sounds, followed by progessively quiet rain sounds (mommy's favorite part. LOL!). At the end of the story I hid some "olive branches" and Matilyn was the dove. She went out looking for them and had a blast on her olive branch hunt!

Next we made playdoh animals and loaded them into an ark box. Matilyn made sure to load up plenty of food, so that they wouldn't get hungry!

Cutting Playdoh Animals

This ark is getting full!

It was such a great time together learning about our awesome God!

Andrew Photo Update

2008-09-22T14:46:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone. We are excited to have some new photos of Andrew. Apparently he really enjoys his naps, A LOT! LOL! Enjoy!

Now THIS is what we call 'Out Like A Light!'

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Our sweet baby face

Church And My New Favorite Adoption Song

2008-09-21T15:10:00.004-04:00

Church was AWESOME today, as usual. We are so blessed.

Just wanted to share a song (yes, I know I have shared a lot of songs lately, but the Lord just keeps speaking to me through songs...). We sang this one in church this morning, and the words reminded me so much of all of us on the adoption journey and our babies who are waiting to come home. Listen to the end. It's so worth it!

Praying for you all to have supernatural strength as you wait....

Great Family Day

2008-09-20T23:00:00.000-04:00

This afternoon, after my Home & Garden Party and nap time, we ate dinner and headed out for an evening on the town. We had a blast with the little ones, visiting the aquarium. Then it was off to Rembrandts for coffee and CHOCOLATE! YUM!!!! We ended the evening with a nice stroll downtown. What is the place? It's not the Chattanooga where I grew up. I love this town!!!

Walnut Street Bridge

The Glass Bridge

"Look, Look! It's gonna FLY!"

"Look, Matthew, It's a BUTTERFLY on mommy's arm!"

SHARK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Practicing counting with the children. "1001, 1002, 1003..."

"Mommy, can I give the fish LOVES? I want to pet him!"

Chattanooga Aquarium's Newest Exhibit

'A Crab Tank Full Of Roussels'

Song For My Fellow Mommies

2008-09-20T11:28:00.000-04:00

Here is one of my old favorites. Wanted to share it with all of you who have been little girls, teens, wives, and mommies.
Love, Anita

Dinnertime Photo Opps

2008-09-18T23:56:00.002-04:00

Over the past few nights, we had the opportunity to take some fun photos of the children. Here are some of the results. Enjoy!

Yes, he STILL loves ketchup!

Having fun with a popsicle stick pose

"Chocolate is great, but would someone PLEASE clean my hands!"

"PEESE!" Matthew asking for another popsicle. Matilyn was cracking up saying, "Look at Matthew, he looks like a CLOWN!"

Praise Report: POAs Arrived In Taiwan!

2008-09-17T21:49:00.002-04:00

We are so excited that our POAs have arrived safely in Taiwan! This is such great news. Thanks to everyone for your prayers for Andrew!

Please continue to pray that our final paperwork arrives here quickly and safely. Also pray for our other paperwork that is being submitted in Taiwan to AIT. Basically AIT will give approval for us to proceed with the adoption of Andrew. After their approval, and our receiving and sending our last packet of paperwork to Taiwan, we should be ready to enter court there. I can't wait to report that we are in court! That will be a great day!!

Nice! COOL Weather AT LAST!

2008-09-17T16:00:00.001-04:00

We had such a nice cool morning here today, so we decided to play outside. The children were thrilled to ride their bikes and had fun just running around in the yard. They then took mommy for a walk to our neighborhood playground. We had so much fun swinging and sliding. They were thrilled to see and catch several lady bugs. Matilyn was fascinated watching them. We also played a fun game where they were on the ship (slide, rock wall, play gym) and I hid underneath it, jumping up and saying rrrrroarrrrrrrrrr and pretending to be a shark. (Yes, I know that sharks don't roar, but they LOVED it! LOL!!!) Needless to say, naptime was grand as well! LOL. I love cool weather....

Our Scrapbook Is Complete

2008-09-16T22:55:00.000-04:00

Tonight I finished our scrapbook. This is a compilation of photos that will be seen by the courts in Taiwan during our adoption proceedings. I used our scrapbook that we made months ago for FFC, and added a few updated photos. One new photo of the children and some of Matthew's and Andrew's bedroom. So glad to have this completed! We are planning to mail it to Deana within the next few days. Yea!!

Andrew's Video Debut!

2008-09-15T23:59:00.002-04:00

Our day was great today, and ended with an incredible surprise. I was on my way to bed an a little birdie rang my phone telling me that I had a video of Andrew in my email inbox. THANKS LITTLE BIRDIE!! LOL!

The funny thing is that I was just looking at pictures of him from his delivery and wondering how much he has changed. Jarrod and I want to thank our incredible foster family for the wonderful updates, and for taking such good care of our baby boy! You are amazing!

It is so much fun to see Andrew smile and to see him get sooooo excited about dinner time. Enjoy!

BSF And Inspiration

2008-09-11T23:59:00.012-04:00

Today was wonderful! I awakened and got the children ready to go to their grandmother's. After dropping them off I headed off to Bible Study Fellowship. On the way there I was listening to the lyrics of this awesome song! Someone recently asked which song really speaks to you about adoption. This song REALLY speaks to me, about adoption and so many other things in life! It's one of my favorites that we sing at church, so I thought I'd share it with you....

This year in BSF we are studying the life of Moses, Exodus through Deuteronomy. The lecture today was amazing! Our teaching leader spoke about something that has been on my heart for quite some time: "Do you want your life to count for something?" She then answered that in order to live this kind of life, one that is lived to the fullest, we must make knowing God our top priority. Not just knowing ABOUT God, but really knowing Him intimately, like you know your spouse, you best friends, or your children.

At one point she quoted some verses that made me think our our precious Andrew:

Psalm 139

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place.

When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16 your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me

were written in your book

before one of them came to be.

God has always planned for Andrew to be a part of our family. And He has always planned for all of us to be alive, right here, right now. He has a plan for my life, and for yours. Which inspires me to continue asking, am I living this life to the best of my ability? I want to KNOW Him well enough to hear perfectly when He calls, so that I can move in His will and in His perfect timing. And as God has recently re-confirmed to our family, as we listen and respond in faith, even when it's not the easy thing to follow Him, it is so worth it!

I love that BSF continues to inspire me to move into an even deeper relationship with the Jesus. If you are looking for a great Bible Study, BSF is in many different areas and many different countries. There is also an incredible children's program too! There are even classes in Taipei! (We should check that one out, Becky!!) For more information you may visit the website at: http://www.bsfinternational.org/

Baby Update & Prayer Requests

2008-09-11T00:45:00.005-04:00

Andrew is doing well. He seems to be tolerating his formula very well, and from what we hear he is a very good sleeper. (Thank you Lord!) We are so happy that our foster family is not protecting him from noise during nap times, since it's not always quiet around here! LOL!

Please pray as we await an important piece of paper from our social worker, that it arrives very quickly. It is holding us up a bit. Once that paperwork arrives, it will be translated and added to our home study, which can then be sent to us for some final notarizations. We are praying that we will receive the final paperwork soon, so that we can return it to Deana and hopefully around that time be entering court......

Please remember to keep Luke and Deana in your prayers as he travels to China on an important missions trip and she is caring for a house FULL in Taiwan.

Gotta Get Out Of The House

2008-09-10T00:36:00.003-04:00

Today was one of those days that we just had to get out of the house. I know all of you moms know what I mean. LOL!

So it was off to run an errand, and then I was going to stop by mother's for a visit. After heading off to my errand I discovered that mother was not going to be home today. WHAT TO DO!!?? There was no way that I was going home before nap time today. LOL!!! So then it "hit" me! THE MALL! There is a great indoor playground where the children could have fun and get some exercise. They had a blast! Wish I have taken the video camera to share some footage with you. It was hilarious watching them. After playing for a while they hopped into their stroller, happy as clams, and we were off for some lunch. We had fun talking and eating together. After lunch, we stopped by Smoothie King for a little treat. YUM! I think it was the hit of the day with the little ones. Next we went to Build A Bear to check out the possibility of sending a bear with an audio message from the family to our Andrew. (Thanks to Sarah for that great idea). Matilyn was in stitches over some of the bear outfits. Then we went to Kohl's to window shop, and then home for a late nap. It was a fun day for all!

Bath Pics Of Our Baby Boy

2008-09-09T14:08:00.001-04:00

Our sweet Andrew taking his bath

Am I finished yet?

Wait a minute, this is not so bad. Kinda nice actually!

We Love Our New Announcement, Sarah!

2008-09-08T15:37:00.001-04:00

Our friend Sarah made this AWESOME birth announcement page for us. We love it! Wanted to share it with all of you. Thanks so much Sarah!!!!!!!

You can follow along with Sarah on her journey to her precious Josiah, at http://taiwankiddo2.blogspot.com/

Just Saw A LIVE VIDEO Of Our Little Andrew!!!

2008-09-08T01:07:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone!

Well, the adoption contracts are now signed and Andrew is home with his precious foster family!

They were so sweet to take the time to let us see him via Skype on LIVE VIDEO!!! Yea! We were not expecting this any time soon, so it was such a treat for us! We were able to snap some shots during the video, and are hoping to get OOVOO going so that the next time around we can record some video to watch again! :) Here's a peek at our little guy.....

Welcome To The World Gabrielle!

2008-09-07T08:21:00.002-04:00

My sister-in-law, Lani, had her little girl today! Gabrielle, who is Matilyn, Matthew, and Andrew's cousin is only 2 days younger than Andrew! We thought this was pretty neat! She weighs 7lbs 11oz and is 21 inches long. She's such a cutie pie too!

Please pray for Lani as she recovers, for baby Gabrielle, and for a great transition for their family. Welcome To The World Gabrielle!

We are so blessed!

Gabrielle Rose

Alexis Meeting Garbrielle For The First Time

Happy Family

Are You In Need Of A Blogover?

2008-09-06T22:55:00.002-04:00

A HUGE thank you to Sarah K for this AWESOME blogover! We were greatly in need of a change, and she made everything look just perfect!

If you would like a fresh new look for your blog, just contact Sarah at taiwankiddo2@yahoo.com for more information.

Paperchasing Again

2008-09-05T20:58:00.000-04:00

After finding out about Andrew being born, I drove to my mother's house while our Power Of Attorney forms were being sent to us via email. I thought I would save time by being at my mom's when they arrived, since she lives closer to all of the upcoming errands! LOL! So when the POAs arrived, I quickly tried to print them out. What happened next was hours of frustration as I tried to convince mother's computer to print out our documents in CHINESE! Let me just tell you, it wasn't fun and it never worked. Thank the Lord that Jarrod had a computer at work which was much more cooperative, and he was able to print out all of the necessary paperwork. YEA!!!!

Next, I spent the ENTIRE day running around town getting things notarized and county clerk certified. Then it was off to purchase a money order. Next to FedEX and the Post Office to find out the best ways to ship everything! WHEW! I must have been at the post office for OVER AN HOUR as they tried to figure out the right way for me to ship the packages! I kept getting completely incorrect info from them. I have to thank my awesome friend Sarah, because honestly without her insisting that the postal workers were steering me in the entirely wrong direction, I think I would STILL be at the post office...... *sigh*

I am so thankful to mother for keeping our children. Don't know WHAT I would have done without her. They ended up missing their naps. We got home at 7pm, just in time to get them ready for bed before they crashed!!

It was such a busy, but awesome day!! The POAs are in the mail, on their way to TECO and then off to TAIWAN!!! YAHOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now we wait for the contracts to arrive, and then start the process again. At least I will know what to do this time around! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!