Our Silk Road

Our First Christmas with Sophia

2011-12-29T12:31:00.000-08:00

What a difference a year makes! Last year, I posted this...and looked forward to 2011 as the year that we would hopefully bring our daughter home to her forever family. This Christmas, we are looking back at six months home together, and celebrating our first Christmas together with Sophia. It was a joyous time, having all five of our children together, but it was also a time to reflect on Christmases gone by, wondering how Sophia celebrated, what she remembered. If her interest in wrapped presents was any indication, she didn't do much gift opening in Taiwan...she could really care less, and all of her presents were opened by others, eager to get the actual gift into her hands, which was much more interesting to her! Here are some of my favorite photos of our first Christmas with Sophia!

The annual Christmas pajamas in front of the tree photo...Sophia's not too thrilled with this tradition!

Enthralled by something on the tree...

A filled stocking, front and center, this year!

This one's for Miss Carol Anne, her Kindermusik teacher! She loves her rhythm sticks!

She stared and stared at her new baby doll when she first got her...does she recognize the Asian features?

Her favorite gift by far...a grocery cart from MomMom and PopPop...great therapy, too!

Happy Birthday, Sophia!

2011-12-20T00:00:00.000-08:00

Four years ago today, our daughter, Sophia Elizabeth Chia-Lin Fisher, was born in the city of Taichung, Taiwan. We will be forever grateful to her birthmother for choosing life in a country known for their declining population due to abortion on demand. While the circumstances surrounding and following her birth will probably never be fully known or understood, we thank God for taking care of our little girl for us. Today we celebrate her first birthday with her forever family. We look forward to seeing her blossom and grow in the years that lie ahead. We love you, Sophia!

First Professional Photos

2011-12-15T16:38:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Naomi Atkins, one of the fabulous duo of photographers at Inspired and Enchanted Photography, I now have my first professional photos of Sophia. It was a quick photo shoot, but the shots are great and really show her blossoming personality. If you live in the Susquehanna Valley and need a photographer for an event or a family, senior, baby, child(ren), etc. photo shoot, please check out Inspired and Enchanted Photography! Enjoy! (Please note...I have copyright permission for personal use of these photos...please do not copy from the blog...if you would like a copy of one of the photos, just ask...thanks!)

Jammie Time

2011-11-21T20:28:00.000-08:00

Sophia enjoys laying on her floor with her flower pillow. Maybe it reminds her of when she slept on the floor at her foster home. Sometimes I think she gets up from her bed in the middle of the night and lays down on this pillow--it's right next to her nightlight, too!

Drool and all, Sophia is one beautiful little girl. How I love her so!

Five Months Home!

2011-11-19T17:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Sophia's five month home mark! So many times in recent weeks I have commented to people that sometimes it seems as though she has been here forever, so I have to remember that she has only been in the U.S. for five months. She has accomplished so much in such a short time!!

This past month we continued with Sophia's various therapies, but we also had a myriad of appointments that were scheduled close together. This month Sophia had an EEG, an MRI, an orthopedic appointment and an opthamologist appointment. All of this has resulted in orthotics and glasses and a return visit to the neurologist in a week or so. Never a dull moment!

In other news, Sophia got to meet our dear friend, Aunt Sharon (Metzger) this month, and she got her ears pierced! Below are some photos from the last month...enjoy our beautiful princess!

Sophia with Aunt Sharon

Showing off her shades!

In her beautiful fall outfit for Kindermusik dress up day

My happy girl!

Finally using her push-along toy the right way!

The bag says it all...

Little pink sparkly studs...what else??

4 Months Home!

2011-10-19T09:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked four months that we have been home with Sophia. It really is amazing how far she and we have come in four short months! She is such a blessing to our family and fits right in so well. That is such a testament to God's faithfulness and grace in adoption. You never know how things are going to work out when you bring a child into your home to be part of your forever family, but so often God knits hearts and lives together so tenderly and seamlessly that it was as if that child was part of that family from the beginning of his or her life. We have seen this with Sophia and are so thankful for her fairly easy transition to life as a Fisher!
This past month we started the rounds of medical appointments for Sophia, as well as her therapies through our Intermediate Unit here in Lebanon. We visited the neurologist and subsequently had an hour EEG to rule out any continued seizure activity (we don't know the results yet). In a couple of weeks she will also have an MRI so we can compare her data from Taiwan when she was a few months old with her current brain situation. I'm so glad that Sophia was home for three months and made so much progress in that time before I visited the neurologist. I know this little girl has HUGE potential no matter what her charts say!! God has been faithful in her life and will continue to be so!

Sophia is now walking all over the place independently...she is definitely relishing in her new found freedom! She is saying "mama" and "dada" and "baba" (bottle) and "numnum" (food) pretty consistently. We are also teaching her the signs for these words and many others so that she will be able to communicate effectively either way. She now meets with a special education teacher, speech therapist, physical therapist, and occupational therapist once a week (whew!) and we are looking forward to seeing the progress she will make with all of these wonderful professionals working with her. We are very blessed here in PA to have these services at our disposal. It's very interesting to be at the receiving end of services instead of the giving end when I was a teacher! This past month Sophia also began attending classes at church with her same age peers instead of being in the nursery, and she is doing great with that. She is very observant of others and is learning a lot by being able to watch her peers. She is usually with her brother Nathaniel, and that seems to be working out well, thankfully. He's (usually!) a good role model for her!

We look forward to another month with Sophia and seeing all that she will do as she continues to acclimate and adjust to her new family and surroundings. She has brought such happiness and joy to our home. We love her so much and are so proud of her! Thanks for continuing to follow our journey!

Sophia's Child Dedication

2011-09-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

On the Sunday of Labor Day Weekend, Dave and I had Sophia dedicated to the Lord by my dad, Rev. Jim Christian, at our church here in PA. We believe that all of our children are a gift from the Lord and are on loan to us from Him. We desire to raise each of our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and so we have them publicly dedicated to God in front of our church family in order to provide us with accountability and encouragement in our efforts. It was such a blessing to have my parents there, and to be surrounded by our friends at Jonestown Bible Church who have been such a blessing to us on our journey to bring Sophia home. Many thanks to Maryellen Corrado for taking some photos for us while we were up front. Surprisingly, Sophia hammed it up and enjoyed her moment in the spotlight...we thought for sure she would pitch a royal fit in front of so many people!! The pretty dress she is wearing was made for Sophia by a dear lady at my parents' home church in DE. It's hard to see, but it is absolutely adorable. We are so blessed!

Children are a blessing from the Lord!!

Three Months Home

2011-09-18T13:35:00.000-07:00

Today marks three months since we landed in New York and began forever with Sophia in the United States. Some days it seems like she has been with us forever. She was definitely hand picked by God for our family, as she fits in so well. We were told before we got her that she didn't like loud noises and we were a bit concerned as we have four very loud sons. Well, this girl can make noise right along with her brothers, let me tell you! She's just a Fisher through and through!

This month--in fact, literally this past week!--Sophia has made made some huge steps in her development. No pun intended...she literally got up spontaneously last Monday night and started walking across the room all by herself! It caught us all off guard, but we were so excited, and she is SO proud of her accomplishment! She continues to walk regularly, strengthening her legs and her confidence daily. This is all without any therapy yet, as her IEP meeting is scheduled for this coming Wednesday, and therapies will begin after that.

Last weekend we also moved Sophia out of the pack 'n play and into her twin bed. She has done wonderfully with the transition, and we are so proud of her. Additionally, in the eating and drinking department, we changed her bottle to one that makes her suck harder to get the milk, and is squatty like a sippy cup, in hopes that she will eventually wean to a sippy cup instead of the bottle. She immediately noticed the change and stuck her nose up at it, but eventually took the bottle since she wasn't going to get her beloved milk any other way! We have totally run out of the rice milk powder from Taiwan and are just putting baby cereal in her milk for fortification, and she doesn't seem to mind. Our baby girl is growing up!

At the pediatrician this month, Sophia showed a weight gain of about 4 pounds and a 2 inch height increase. Her doctor was very pleased by this. We have several appointments coming up for Sophia in the next couple of months including a neurologist and a feeding clinic. We have found that Sophia is quite resistant to doctor and therapist "types", not matter if she is the patient or someone else, so please pray for good visits with minimal meltdowns! :) We don't expect to find out anything new from these visits, but they will help us understand her better and give us baseline data that we can then build upon as she grows.

I will leave you with some of my favorite photos from this last month. We are so thankful for our beautiful daughter. She is a joy and delight, and we feel privileged to be her parents. Thanks for your continued encouragement on our journey!

Sophia celebrated Labor Day in this beautiful dress embroidered with the flag of her new home country.

This isn't the best picture, but it shows how beautiful Sophia is in the color brown.

This was at Mom Mom and Pop Pop's house...she made the kissing motion for the first time on this bear!

My happy girl!!

Just Because...

2011-09-15T04:42:00.000-07:00

Isn't she beautiful?

She's had a busy week...stay tuned this weekend for a three month home post to see what she's been up to!!

Two Months Home!

2011-08-21T13:55:00.000-07:00

This week we celebrated the two months home mark for our precious daughter Sophia. This photo was taken today as we were leaving for church. I think her smile says it all! She is a happy, contented, little girl (most of the time!) and we are just amazed at how well she is adjusting and thriving!

Some of the milestones for this month include:

improved chewing and swallowing which means improved eating (she ate mac and cheese and mashed potatoes at Friendly's today!)
sleeping all through the night (10 p.m. to 9 a.m. most days!)
saying "Mama" and "Dada" consistently and with meaning
understanding many things we say to her in English based on her actions after we say something
staying with a babysitter for the first time for a few hours so Mommy and Daddy could have a date
staying in the church nursery all by herself and loving it!

This next month promises to be interesting as we start school here in PA. The older two boys will be away for the bulk of the day, and I will be homeschooling my first grader and entertaining two three-year-olds! We plan on taking advantage of Kindermusik and Moms Morning Out Bible studies and library story hours...you get the idea! I'm excited to see how Sophia changes and grows in this next month home. She has definitely brought more joy and laughter into our home...we praise God for her!

Sophia Elizabeth Chia-Lin Fisher...we love you!!

The Many Faces of Sophia

2011-08-21T13:44:00.000-07:00

She Calls Me "Mama"

2011-07-29T19:39:00.000-07:00

Sophia's language skills are minimal. We were told that she had receptive skills in Chinese, but was not producing any words yet. Now we have switched her primary language. Over the last six weeks, she has slowly begun to "talk". While we usually have no idea what she is saying, it often sounds like she is singing, or reprimanding, or just shouting happily. We have worked with her on words such as "Dada" and "Mama" while pointing to ourselves, but we were never sure if she equated the word with the correct person. Today, however, while at a friend's house, Sophia crawled towards me saying, "Mama, Mama". I'm so glad my friend was there as my witness...what a joy it was to here my baby girl calling my name!

Watch out world...Sophia's speech is on its way, and once she starts, I'm not sure that she will stop!

One Month Home

2011-07-18T13:06:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrate one month at home with Sophia! It's hard to believe that she hasn't been here forever on most days. God certainly knew what He was doing when He chose her for us! She has settled in beautifully and continues to surprise and amaze us with her happy, contented personality. Don't get me wrong--she can certainly let her will be made known if she doesn't like something, and she does that quite often, but we are all figuring each other out and learning how to manage one another.

Today we were down at the Lebanon IU 13 building where Sophia was assessed by a team consisting of an occupational therapist, physical therapist, social worker, speech pathologist, and another educator. They had brought in a Mandarin translator as well, who was very helpful in translating Sophia's IEP from Taiwan. We learned quite a bit by having that document translated! Sophia was hesitant at first, but soon warmed up, especially to the physical therapist. She got to try out a pediatric walker, which she eventually got used to, so we are hoping to get something similar for her to use in the near future. I was so proud of my baby girl for putting up with so many strange faces in one place! I'm excited about the possibilities for her future, too!

Sophia continues to amaze us with things that we didn't know she could do. This past week it was high fives and low fives. I had no idea she could do that! She is also vocalizing a lot more sounds, and even matched my tone when I sang some "la, la, la" notes to her! Our pediatrician said that watching Sophia would be like watching a flower slowly unfold and bloom, and I think she's right. And it will be a joy and privilege to have front row seats as Sophia blooms. How I thank God for our beautiful daughter!

Sophia a month ago on her first ever airplane ride!

The day Sophia met her brothers for the first time (Sabastian was at camp...)

It is Better!

2011-07-12T13:46:00.000-07:00

What a difference a few weeks can make! While the transition was extremely difficult, I'm happy to say that our little Sophia seems to be well adjusted in her new home and country. Or should I say, we are all adjusted to her way of doing things? Maybe it's best to say that we have done a lot of give and take!

Four weeks ago today Sophia was placed in our arms forever. She said goodbye to a family she has known for the last two years, a city she lived in her entire life, and all the sights, smells, and tastes that went along with all of that. To see her now, crawling around our house like a pro, eating foods she never had before, sleeping through most nights--all I can say is that God is amazing!

So many of my friends with adopted children kept telling me that "it will get better" and while I believed that in my head, it was so hard to get through to my heart during those first weeks. I'm not unaware that we have seen a huge change in our daughter in a short amount of time compared to some people who adopt. The sleep issue alone can take months or even years to resolve for some children, and Sophia was sleeping through the night in two weeks. (God knew I couldn't handle much more than that!!!) I'm so grateful for the encouragement and prayers that have sustained all of us, and I know that the prayers, in particular, have also helped Sophia adjust as well and as quickly as she has. God is good!!

We took Sophia to church for the first time on Sunday, and she did so well. We sat in the back to minimize any distraction she might cause, and she thoroughly enjoyed the music and singing. When our pastor began to preach, I took her to the nursery where she was so happy to play and scoot around...no anxiety at all! I thought maybe it reminded her of her little preschool she was attending...I was just amazed at how she just jumped right in and played. Developmentally she is at the level of a 1 1/2 to 2 year old when it comes to playing, so she probably felt right at home among the toddlers in there. It made me so happy to see her play!

Her favorite place to be is definitely home. She feels comfortable scooting all over the house now, by herself, and keeps herself pretty well entertained. Her brothers help in that department as well, running around like crazy people, making her laugh hysterically! She will come and find me and "check in" for some holding time, but then is off and playing again. So cute! She also loves to go places in the van and ride in her stroller, so we try to get out of the house at least once a day when we can. I hope that when we move later this month, she adjust to her new environment quickly, too. Hopefully it won't set her back too much...it's not ideal, but it is what it is!

When I gaze into Sophia's beautiful, deep brown eyes, I can't help but thank the Lord for bringing this little girl into our lives. As my husband loves to say, God doesn't call us to do the easy thing...He calls us to do the hard thing. But following God's call is always worth the effort it takes. I know there will be more difficult days ahead for our family...that's just the way life is. But together we will weather the next storm, and be all the stronger because of it. And, IT WILL GET BETTER!!

One happy little girl!

A Few Favorite Photos

2011-07-04T09:40:00.000-07:00

click on image to enlarge

Happy Independence Day!

2011-07-04T08:26:00.000-07:00

Two Weeks Home

2011-07-02T18:40:00.000-07:00

We have been home with Sophia for two weeks today. To say that this adoption has been life changing for all of us is putting it mildly. In some ways it feels like an eternity since we came home, and in other ways, it feels like yesterday. It is very hard for me to put into words all that I have felt and experienced the last two weeks. Maybe someday I will be able to articulate it better...once I have some time to process it all.

As far as Sophia is concerned, every day there have been little milestones, little improvements. She and I have definitely bonded this past week, and I can now say that I am starting to enjoy her little personality. It takes some time to get to know someone, and we haven't had that luxury for very long. The lack of ability to communicate with language is difficult, but she certainly finds ways--both pleasant and unpleasant--to get her point across! Sophia really enjoyed her Mom Mom this week (my mother) and when Dave saw her this morning after being away all week, she remembered him without any difficulty. Her memory is very good, actually. Her eating has improved this week, although it is still an arduous task to get her to eat sometimes. Her favorite food is her rice powder/oatmeal cereal bottle that we make for her, but she also really likes the Beechnut turkey and rice baby food. We have introduced milk into her bottle on the recommendation of our pediatrician, and Sophia has tolerated it just fine. (Her foster parents said they took her off of milk because it caused her to be constipated.) She has gone from screaming through bath time to playing in the tub...another thing her foster family said she hated. Progress, I'd say!

The biggest thing I was struggling with when we got home was Sophia's lack of sleep at night. I'm still struggling with anxiety at night because of my lack of sleep and several nights of screaming on her part! However, this week she has done much better, and thanks to my mom taking "monitor duty", I got some much needed rest, too! Last night, in fact, she slept through the night...we'll see how tonight goes before we celebrate too wildly, though! It's been trial and error, but we now have her sleeping upstairs in our extra bedroom in a pack and play. We have a fan running and piano music playing all night. There is also a little nightlight in the room. Whatever works!

Our four boys have done pretty well with their new sister. There has been a little jealousy at times from Nathaniel, but for the most part he loves his "baby sister". He and Benjamin like to run back and forth in the living room and make her laugh. Sabastian interacts very nicely with her and she really seems to like him. Maybe he reminds her of her foster brother. Jonathan is a bit stand-offish with her, but she is working on him. (The fact that she somehow kicked his already damaged DS and broke it completely tonight probably didn't help matters, but maybe he'll remember not to leave things like that lying around!) There is never a dull moment in our home, that's for sure!

I know I need to post some photos. We have to submit 40 photos with our one month post placement report, so I have been snapping photos like crazy, hoping to get some half decent ones to send back to Taiwan. I don't have the energy tonight, but want to get this posted, so I will try tomorrow or Monday. I again wish to thank all of you for your prayers and encouragement. God has worked in our family's life through you, and one day Sophia will understand just how much she was loved by so many!

PADS

2011-06-27T17:32:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe it's been 10 days since I last posted...it really feels like an eternity. We have been home in PA for a week now, and it's honestly been the hardest week of my life--right up there with those mind-numbing, sleepless weeks after giving birth. Sophia has had a very hard time adjusting to sleeping at night, and we have had a hard time knowing how to help her. As a result of very little sleep, high anxiety, jet lag, etc., etc., my health went downhill very quickly last week, resulting in a doctor's visit and trip to the ER. Consequently, I have been diagnosed with PADS--Post Adoption Depression Syndrome--a very real and crippling syndrome akin to Postpartum Depression. Fortunately, my husband and I recognized the symptoms of depression and I am now on some medication to help me over this hump, and my wonderful mother is here for the first week of Dave being back in Indiana to help me get some rest and proper nutrition. This is uncharted territory for me...I usually have it all together and under control. But this was beyond my control. But not beyond God's.

This afternoon I began feeling somewhat like myself again, but I know I have a long way to go, and proper rest is so key. Sophia has been doing pretty well during the day, alternating between playing by herself or with her brothers and wanting to be snuggled. We have gone to the pediatrician and tomorrow she has blood work to endure, but so far things look good. Eating has been a struggle, but she is doing better every day. So I really have a lot to be thankful for. We are getting to know one another and the bonding is coming slowly but surely. Last week it was hard to even be around her...it was a conscious choice each day. Now I am beginning to enjoy her little personality. We have a long way to go in our bonding and attachment, but it's starting.

I can't thank you all enough for your prayers for us during this time. So many of my fellow adoptive parents have been my cheerleaders during these three weeks. I am indebted to all of you. Adoption is a beautiful thing, but it's not without it's challenges. And adopting a toddler, as my sister who adopted two at once says, "is not for the fainthearted!" But as my mom said just today, she believes that Sophia will be a blessing to many in the years ahead, and I am beginning to agree. I can't wait to get her therapies started and see just how far her determination and strong-will will take her. God has given her so much potential!

I promise some photos soon, but several children are clamoring...back to the reality of motherhood!

Praying for a good night of sleep!!!

It Is Finished!

2011-06-17T01:36:00.000-07:00

Last night Sophia woke up a couple of times. The first time she settled back down herself, but the second time, I had to rub her back and eventually she fell back to sleep. I'm sure the mid-night awakenings are just the start of some sleepless nights for Dave and I as we attempt to settle her (and ourselves!) back to EST!

I was up again before the alarm at 6 a.m. to get ready for the day. We eventually had to wake Sophia up before she was ready, but she didn't fuss and drank her bottle, for which we were very grateful. Yesterday she really didn't eat or drink much, and we were really concerned about dehydration, especially in this wicked heat and humidity! Today she has done so much better, and I attribute it all to your prayers! God is so good!

We ended up arriving a couple of minutes late at the American Institute in Taiwan, or AIT, for short. This is where all Taiwanese citizens who want to enter the United States must go to get a tourist, student, or immigrant visa. The first floor was packed with people waiting to get tourist and student visas. The second floor was where Americans could take care of business if they were living in Taiwan (voting, updating passports, reporting births, etc.) and the third floor was immigration. That's where we went. We met our social worker who had already got the ball rolling for us. There weren't many people in immigration at 9 a.m. today. We waited a little bit and then went to a window and answered some questions, handed in our tax return from last year, and signed a couple of things. Then we waited again to be interviewed at a second window. Our interviewer was a very friendly African American officer who basically had us sign some things, congratulated us, and sent us on our way! We were told to come back at 2 p.m. to pick up Sophia's visa...from start (a few minutes late!) to finish we were there an hour. Again, your prayers being answered!!!

So now we had time to kill. With our social worker, who lives in this area of the city, we went in search of some socks for Sophia to use with her leg braces (thanks for the heads up, Mandi!) and then were among the first lunch customers at the original location of Din Tai Fung. It was so nice to see Sophia drink water with her spoon from a bowl, and try a few noodles and some broth...set my mama heart at ease a bit!

Our social worker showed us the proper way to eat dumplings (oops...no wonder people were laughing at us the last two times we ate there!) and we had a great time of fellowship. After lunch we went to a local tea store and tried two types of oolong tea, made from tea leaves harvested in the high mountains of Taiwan, and jasmine tea, Dave's favorite. We bought some to bring home, then continued on to a little food store for some dried pork powder to bring home for Sophia. (Think ground pork rinds...only thing I can compare it to!) We exchanged a few more dollars at the local bank so we could pay for our taxi to the airport (after spending money today!) and headed back to AIT to wait for Sophia's visa in the AC...it was hot!!

Promptly at 2 p.m. we were handed Sophia's visa and it was finished! I took a photo of our "sealed envelope", but then thought twice about posting it...probably not kosher to share all that info with the world! But we do have it in hand, along with her passport...praise God! Now back at the hotel Sophia took her typical 45 minute nap and is now vegging on the bed, watching TV. Good times!

We're not sure what we are going to do tonight...maybe venture out and check out the neighborhood a little bit...we'll see. Last night we took the subway to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and it was lovely...much cooler than during the day. The area around the memorial is a cultural park, and there are two buildings dedicated to the performing arts there, the National Theater and the National Concert Hall. So many people were milling around in the cooler night air, practicing their break dance moves or ballroom dancing in the open air. The subway station hallway leading out to the memorial was lined with beautiful paintings, and when we arrived, a blind musician was playing his violin accompanied by piano background music. Sophia loves music and was simply mesmerized. I tried out my camera's night feature...what do you think?

All in all, our time in Taiwan has been good. Dave and I commented today that we want to bring Sophia back some day when she's older, along with her brothers...and it must be at a cooler time of the year!! Had it not been so hot and humid, I think we would have meandered around a lot more outside, but it was just too hot. I have never sweat so much in my life! Sophia loves to be out and about...she just watches people and things and takes it all in. However, we are ready to come home and allow Sophia to begin to adjust to her family and home. It has been difficult to watch her grieve and not know what to do. It has also been difficult to be far away from our sons. Sophia's needs are different than we expected, and this has produced some anxiety and lots of talks with God on my part about unconditional love. As is so typical in our journey of life, God uses circumstances and events to teach us more about His grace and character and our need to utterly rely on Him. I'm a slow learner sometimes...

In less than 24 hours we will be hanging out at the airport. This may be my last post from Taiwan. I can't even begin to put into words my utter gratitude for all of you who have prayed us through this journey thus far. Don't stop now! God is answering your prayers in amazing ways...our faith has been strengthened beyond measure. God is SO good!

Humbled and grateful...

Visit to Cathwel

2011-06-16T01:25:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of our prayer warriors, Sophia settled down last night and slept well. This morning we allowed her to wake up slowly, as is her custom. She sleeps fairly late, and today it didn't really matter. She didn't want her bottle this morning, although in hindsight, having used a new bottle, I don't think she could really get the thick stuff that she drinks out of the bottle. But she didn't complain. She did eat a little egg, rice porridge, and mashed banana at breakfast, but still not a lot of anything. She definitely needs more practice with solid, even soft solid, foods.

Around 11 a.m. we headed out the door to visit Cathwel and the Jonah House. Cathwel is the organization here in Taiwan that our agency uses for Taiwanese adoptions. They are a Catholic organization, and we have been very pleased with what our experience with them. Our social worker suggested that we come down to visit today, and I'm so glad we did. We took some extra diapers and other gifts for the workers and children, and spent about three hours in one of their play rooms which allowed Sophia to run around and play. It was SO nice to see her playing. It really gave me hope and settled my nerves some about how she will react when we get home. I think she is bored in the hotel a lot of the time. (Can't say that I blame her!)

We were able to see the baby room at the Jonah house with all of the cribs and the sleeping babies (it was nap time). Upstairs the older toddlers were also sleeping, but one little guy woke up early and came to join us in the play room. If I understood correctly, he is 20 months old and has cerebral palsy as a result of his birth mom's drug and alcohol abuse while pregnant. Interestingly, the caregiver left him in there with us so I was able to interact with him and play with him and hold him. He seemed to love the attention! Sophia was not very interested with him, but she didn't seem to mind him. Later, one of the therapists came in and showed us how she was teaching him to crawl. Dave and I commented later that it felt as though we were watching a commercial for this little guy...he sure was a cutie, though!

I know that a lot of people think about little girls when they think about adopting, especially from Asia. But the majority of the children at Cathwel right now, ages 0-3, are boys. We were told that next year the laws in Taiwan are changing regarding adoption because the Taiwanese birthrate is at an all time low, and the government wants to keep its citizens. But many Taiwanese do not want to adopt children with special needs, so Cathwel expects that special needs kiddos will be very much available going forward. Could there be room in your heart and home?

We left Cathwel about 2:30, right before a good, old fashioned thunderstorm. Cathwel is located in a suburb of Taipei that is sort of in the mountains a bit...so beautiful. We enjoyed our taxi ride there and back. Now Sophia is napping and Dave and I are vegging. We might try to venture out tonight...we'll see what the weather holds. Last night we got Chinese take out...thought you might enjoy that photo. It still makes me laugh to get Chinese takeout in Taiwan!

We have been able to change our flight to Saturday, so tomorrow, Friday, will be our last full day in Taiwan. We have our AIT appointment at 9 a.m. our time. We will probably visit the original Din Tai Fung restaurant for lunch, as it is right near AIT, and then hang out downtown while waiting to pick up Sophia's visa. We plan on inviting our social worker to join us...she has been wonderful and we are so thankful for her!

Thank you so much for your prayers and words of encouragement after yesterday's post. I found this quote in an article on the Empowered to Connect website today and it really resonated with me:

"As an adoptive dad, like all adoptive parents, my tendency is to focus on the miracle, blessing and joy of adoption – and rightfully so. These are the undeniably beautiful realities of the adoption journey. But they do not negate the equally unavoidable reality that there is no adoption without loss and pain. Adoption is at the same time born from and a response to hurt, loss and sorrow."

While the bulk of the article was pertaining to his adopted son's grief and loss, I think that most adoptive parents realize that there is grief and loss in their own lives in some way as well through this process. I so appreciate my adoptive parent friends who have honestly shared their hurts and hopes with me these last 48 hours. I also am so appreciative of all of my family and friends who have been praying us through this journey...some for the last three years! Dave and I told Sophia today that she is one prayed over little girl--God has big plans for her!

With continued gratitude...

Back to Taipei

2011-06-15T02:11:00.000-07:00

This morning I had a total meltdown. (Is it okay to admit that?) Last night took a lot out of us. We were prepared mentally for the grieving process, but I have never heard that kind of cry before. And there's nothing you can do about it. This morning, I took my turn at grieving. It has been a crazy few months at our house with Dave living most of the time in Indiana and the boys and I in Pennsylvania. I had to parent, prepare a house for showings, finish a school year, and get ready for Taiwan. We had behavioral issues, sickness, and other stresses. Through it all, I kept it together pretty well. But today, I had myself a good, ugly cry. I think it all came to a head and I needed to let it out. Poor Dave! But he handled it brilliantly!

My youngest sister, who has adopted five times, told me in the midst of my ugly cry, via Facebook chat, (don't you love technology!) that I could be grieving the loss of my "normal". I think she's right. I couldn't help but think about how bringing Sophia home is going to change our life completely. Of course I already knew that, but having met her in person, I realize just how much things are going to change. I was also thinking about my boys, and all of the little routines and nuances of our life together pre-Sophia, and how those will inevitably change. I'm not saying that the change is going to be all bad, but it is change, and we have so many changes in our lives right now. So, I had my good, ugly cry, and hopefully, it's mostly out of my system now.

Being back in Taipei is definitely helping all of us. The hotel we stayed at in Taichung was a boutique hotel. It was stylish and unique, but not very conducive to having a young child who doesn't walk very well. We also were in a part of town that did not have a lot of restaurants nearby and was hard to walk in, so we felt very isolated. We are now back at the hotel where we began our journey, and we feel right at home. We decided to upgrade to a triple room so that we had more room to spread out, and we have already sent three bags of laundry to be washed. (That was one of the things I liked about this hotel...you can load up a bag of laundry to the tippy top and only pay per bag instead of per piece. I have no idea how our clothes will be returned...hopefully the same size and shape as they went!) The only downside to this hotel is that it is also not near a lot of restaurants, so I'm not sure what we will do for dinner tonight. I don't think Sophia will sit well at a restaurant without some sort of restraint, and she doesn't seem interested in food, so it could be hard to sit and eat. Dave might go check out what kind of take out might be around...we did Pizza Hut last night in Taichung and it was pretty good!

Below are some photos from the day. We didn't do anything too exciting, just hung out at our hotel and took the train back to Taipei. Tomorrow we plan on visiting Cathwel and dropping off some things for the orphanage and, if the weather and Sophia allow, we will go on to the zoo and the Makong Gondola. Friday is our AIT appointment and we will probably hang around that side of town if we are told that our visa will be ready for pick up that same day. Our social worker has assured us that it should be possible, so we are hopefully going to be coming home on Saturday, rather than on Monday...we are just ready to get home! Thanks again for all of your prayers and encouragement...pray especially for a peaceful night of sleep tonight!

With a grateful heart...

"Gotcha" Day!

2011-06-14T02:49:00.000-07:00

For whatever reason, it has been hard for me to sleep through the night here in Taiwan. I keep waking up around 3 or 4 a.m., and that's all the sleep I can get. Maybe God's preparing me for a lack of sleep with our little Sophia, whose current sleep schedule leaves little to be desired! Right now it is almost 5:30 p.m. and she has been--FINALLY!--napping for about an hour or so. She fights sleep just like her brother Nathaniel. We will be working on a schedule for her ASAP when we get home!

Dave and I had a leisurely morning this morning. We knew that our social worker would be bringing Sophia to us around 11 a.m. or so. We went to breakfast and I organized all of our stuff to make it more manageable. I also haven't been feeling well with a cough, sore throat, and congestion, so it was nice to have a little calm before the storm!

Sophia arrived all dressed up around 11 or so with not only our social worker, but also the foster family's social worker. Apparently it was a teary goodbye, and while she went to Dave right away, she was very quiet and pensive. She seemed sad. We were told that the foster mother had said that it felt as though she was giving her daughter away in marriage, so that's why she was all dressed up. I tried to take a photo, but she was walking around by this time and didn't want to comply. I'll post the best I could get!

Along with Sophia came more clothes and photos and an umbrella stroller that the foster family insisted on buying for us. We decided that our plans for today would include a trip to a local mall to buy another suitcase for all of Miss Sophia's things! The social workers didn't stay long, and we were finally alone with our little girl. I think the emotions of the last few days got to me, and poor Dave had to deal with a blubbering wife and antsy little girl all at the same time! He's my rock!

We changed Sophia into something much more comfortable and cool, fed her a bottle, and took a cab to one of the local malls. The malls in Taiwan are vertical, not horizontal, and this particular one had three 15+ story buildings to it, which were attached via catwalks on most floors. We found an English map and guessed at the floor where they might have suitcases. We guessed right. Now we were pushing a little girl in a stroller, who didn't always want to be in a stroller, and pulling a suitcase. Two big Americans with a strong-willed little Taiwanese girl...you get the picture. We went down to the food court, walked all the way around, and decided on Dunkin Donuts--which tasted nothing like Dunkin Donuts. That was lunch.

We went back to the hotel and have since been playing with Sophia while watching television and resting. She seems to finally be warming up to me a little more. She loves music, and I had seen the foster mother doing some hand motions to music with Sophia, so I did the same and she really liked it. We have no idea what goes through her little mind, but if she wants something, she will figure out how to communicate it. For example, when I stopped humming, she moved closer and touched my mouth. She's no dummy!

I'm not sure how tonight is going to go. I think we will have to wake her up soon, but even so, she may not go back to sleep until really late. Pray for us in that regard, as we are both very tired. We leave Taichung tomorrow around 1 p.m. our time. We will have a day on Thursday to just bum around, and then our AIT appointment is Friday. I'm a little concerned about what we are going to do each day with Sophia. She won't eat anything solid for us yet--just her bottle--so it's hard to gauge meal times and such with her, and our hotels here and in Taipei do not have restaurants in them for quick and easy meals. We have to go somewhere to eat, and nothing is really close. We have also been told that she doesn't do well in restaurants, which I can imagine, especially if there isn't a high chair to restrain her. So, we are in a conundrum there, but we'll figure it out, or lose a lot of weight!

On a side note, I'm really missing my kids right about now. I didn't realize how much I would miss them, and now that we have Sophia, we are really ready to get her home and get on with life with all five of our kids. Pray for strength and resolve as we continue to adapt to our daughter, and she adapts to us. It's a delicate balancing act! Enjoy the new photos!

With our daughter Sophia at long last in our arms...

What A Day! Part Three

2011-06-13T15:54:00.000-07:00

When the foster parents left the room, the two social workers, ours and the foster family's, and us were there with Sophia. The foster parents had kind of snuck out of the room, but even when Sophia realized they were gone, she didn't fuss or cry. We talked with her from a distance for a bit, trying not to smother her or anything, then came over to her and tried to engage her now and then. Dave had a big break through when he got her laughing hysterically as he walked her around and around the seating area...check this out!

We were served lunch--Chinese take out (ha!)--while hanging out for awhile, waiting for the time we could check into our hotel. Finally we packed everything up--including the duffel bag and big box--hailed a cab, and headed to our hotel. Sophia loved riding in the car. She loves to observe what is going on around her, and she thought the beeping of the cab's meter was especially entertaining!

Our hotel, called Le Parker, is a small boutique hotel. Our room is definitely not conducive to a small child not too steady on her feet! It has two levels with the main bed up a step on a wooden platform. Sophia loves to walk around, so it was up and down the step, on and off the beds, always with an adult close by holding her hand. She never cried with us, was very comfortable, and even took another bottle for me (her foster mother wasn't sure I would make it right, but Sophia took it right away!). She is especially fond of Dave, which I was prepared for, and I figure when he goes back to work, we will have to get better acquainted! She isn't totally snubbing me, though, which is good. Our social worker was amazed at how well she adjusted to us, and when we told her that we had been praying and we had lots of people praying, she said she had been praying, too. God answers prayer!

Siophia got very tired, but never slept. Apparently she is not used to long naps, and only would nap for an hour at school. She typically doesn't go to bed until 11 or 12 at night, either--we have some work to do!! We believe that her foster parents loved her very much, but they might have also given in to her strong will just a tad...her strong will and determination will be a blessing to her as she grows and matures, but she will also have to learn that her way is not always the best way!

Around 5:45 p.m. we took a cab back to the Foundation where we met the foster family's children. Sophia has had a 16 year old sister and a 15 year old brother, who are both very attached to her. Our social worker explained to the family that this was their goodbye to us, and that tomorrow (which is actually today here!) they will say their goodbyes to Sophia and the social worker will then bring her to us. The social worker doesn't want us to have to be there when they say goodbye to her. The foster parents were a little surprised, I think, that Sophia had done so well with us and that we were transitioning so quickly. In fact, we were a bit surprised in that we will be leaving Taichung a day earlier than anticipated. We will have to pay for a day that we had reserved here at this hotel as it was a no cancellation type of reservation, but God made room at our previous hotel for an extra day, so we are taken care of.

Sophia went back to her foster father, but you could tell that she was a bit confused, not to mention very tired. I just pray that they had a wonderful night with her, and that God will comfort them in this time of loss. I am so thankful for all they have done, and pray God's richest blessing on them. I gave the foster mother a hug when I said goodbye and hope that we conveyed our gratitude in spite of the language barrier.

Needless to say we were quite tired by the end of all of this. We couldn't find a restaurant nearby for supper, so we hit the local "Family Mart" convenience store where we picked up Ritz crackers with cheese, Lays potato chips (Dave had seaweed flavor!), and oreo cookies. In debriefing our day, we both commented on how tenacious and smart our little girl is, in spite of her special needs. She's going to fit right in with her big brothers...let the games begin!

One more day and she is with us forever...

What A Day! Part Two

2011-06-13T15:13:00.000-07:00

The train ride to Taichung was very quick. We figured the train was traveling at speeds upwards of 100 mph at times. The scenery was absolutely beautiful. Taiwan is such a green, gorgeous island, and it was nice to get out of the city and see some of the country.

When we arrived in Taichung, we were met by a government social worker who drove us to the Foundation building. Sophia is basically a ward of the state, so her case has been managed by the Taiwanese equivalent of Children and Youth. Sophia has been in care since she was a few months old, and is with her second foster family. We met her first social worker who filled us in on her history from about six months on, including a little about her first foster family and why she was switched to her current foster family. Her first foster family was an older couple, who nurtured and cared for her through some significant emotional issues early on in her life. However, as she reached the age where she needed more physical therapy and educational type therapies, they could no longer care for her adequately. Her current foster family, who have cared for Sophia for two years, have done a fantastic job in that department. Her foster mother is actually a teacher, and developed many of the therapy toys that we have seen in photos. In fact, her inventive toys are now on exhibit somewhere for their ingenuity and creativity with special needs kids. Pretty cool!

But I digress...when we arrived at the Foundation, we only waited a couple of minutes and the foster family walked up, pushing Sophia in a stroller. It was an emotional moment, seeing our daughter in person for the first time. Right away the foster father pulled out laminated 5x7 blown up photos of our faces, and showed Sophia that now her "mother" and "father" from the photos were standing in front of her. You could see that she was trying to process this information in the midst of the greetings going on around her. Immediately we could see that this little girl was quite savvy--a thinker.

We were all ushered up to the third floor of the building where we found a room that was probably used for visitations with children and families. It contained some chairs for sitting on one end, and then a round area with wooden floors and more child-friendly seating, surrounded by books and toys. For the next couple of hours, Sophia roamed around, mostly accompanied by her foster father, while Dave and I let her get used to us. It didn't take long for us--especially Dave!--to elicit some smiles from her, but she was definitely wary. During this time I was able to interview the foster mother and take some more notes on routines, etc., and she showed me all of the things she had brought for us to take with us...a big box and a big duffel bag full! Sophia was the sweetheart of her school, and her teachers has sent gifts for her, as well as some of her schoolwork which will be treasured. The foster family had gifts for our entire family, and new clothes for Sophia. We found out how to make Sophia's bottle, which consists of some sort of rice powder and grain powder, both of which the foster family and the school teachers gave us an ample supply to take home. We will definitely be needing another suitcase!!

In the midst of all of this, I noted that Sophia has a very close relationship with her foster father. He was very attentive, but very quiet. The love that he has for her is so evident. I didn't let myself dwell on that too much, as I didn't want to make a scene! But I know that this is very hard for them. In fact, the foster mother told me that she had already cried a lot the night before, but upon seeing us, she just had a peace that we would take care of their Sophia and love her the way that they did. Of course, that made me cry. What an answer to prayer to have a foster family who loved our daughter as their own, and yet prepared her for us. What a blessing!

After a couple of hours, it was decided that the foster family should leave and we would have Sophia to ourselves for awhile. The plan was to eat lunch there, then check in to our hotel with Sophia and our social worker and allow her to acclimate there. We then were going to come back to the Foundation around 6 p.m. to meet the foster family's children, and give Sophia back to them for one last night. I really think that Sophia's foster parents fully expected her to break down and cry when they left, but that did not happen...

More to come...

What A Day! Part One

2011-06-13T14:29:00.000-07:00

I'm not even sure how to begin processing the events of yesterday, here in Taichung, Taiwan. For posterity (and especially for Sophia) I want to chronicle the days happenings, but if it's a bit random and rambling, please forgive me!

I couldn't sleep Sunday night very well. We had had issues with the alarm not going off at the right time the day before, and I was half afraid we wouldn't get up on time and would miss meeting our orphanage contact at the train station on time, but I was also very unsure of the days events and what was going to happen, so sleep was elusive. I eventually got out of bed around 5 a.m. and got myself ready. We were able to leave two pieces of luggage at our hotel in Taipei, but the piece we brought to Taichung was our largest, and was quite heavy. It contained all of our foster family gifts, clothes and toys for Sophia, and all of our clothes and necessities for three days away.

We weren't sure we were going to eat breakfast at the hotel as they hadn't given us our tickets for that day. I thought maybe since it was our check-out day you didn't get to eat, but as it turned out, the receptionist handed them to us as we came down to inquire about where to leave our luggage. So we quickly ate, checked out, and were on our way. We had received instructions to meet our orphanage contact, Bernadette, at the 3 East entrance to Taipei Main Station. The taxi driver dropped us off on the west side, so we walked through the station and waited at the correct entrance. We had no idea who we were waiting for, but a little after 8:30 a.m. a woman came toward us smiling. Bernadette has been a social worker with Cathwel for two years now, but worked for the hospital as a medical social worker prior to Cathwel. Her English is pretty good, although I have to strain to understand sometimes. She had already purchased our tickets, so we went to the waiting area. She told us that we were going to meet Sophia upon arriving in Taichung. We were going to go to the "Foundation" building and meet her foster parents and kind of hang out for awhile so that Sophia could get used to us. From there, we would play it by ear, depending on how Sophia adjusted to us.

We didn't have to wait long for the train. I am so impressed at the transportation system in Taiwan! We rode the HSR--High Speed Rail--to Taichung. The whole trip took less than an hour. On the train, Bernadette gave me a document that Cathwel had translated that was basically a questionnaire that the foster mother had answered regarding Sophia and some of her needs and routines. It was quite thorough, as all of the foster mother's reports have been. Bernadette commented several times on that fact, because it was a lot to translate each month. However, it showed how much the foster mother loved Sophia. At the end of this document it says:

"At last we want to tell you: Our family are very grateful of you, and respect your loving heart and courage, to willing to give our Sophia a happily and joyous life and future. Me (FM) and FF are very sad, but when we think of your attention love and care for her and all the lovely presents you have sent for her, all in which moved us and make us resting assure. All our family is wishing your family always health and happiness!"

I could tell it was going to be quite a day!

More to come...

Introducing....

2011-06-13T14:10:00.000-07:00

Sophia Elizabeth Chia-Lin Fisher

Day #2!

2011-06-12T05:30:00.000-07:00

We had another good day here in hot and humid Taipei! We left a little after noon from our hotel and took a cab to the National Palace Museum. This reminded us a lot of our Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C. It is a museum that contains Chinese artifacts that used to be housed in the Forbidden City in Beijing, but were brought to Taiwan for protection in the early 20th century. Since we have visited China before, a lot of the things we saw were not new to us. However, the museum is very well laid out and the exhibits were pretty interesting. There was an especially fascinating exhibit that took a well-known Chinese painting, and with the help of technology, brought it to life. Very cool!

After leaving the museum, we hopped another cab to the Miramar Entertainment Park. This was another huge, vertical mall that also contains an IMAX movie theater with the largest commercial screen in all of Asia. At the top of the mall there is a huge ferris wheel. Each car is air-conditioned and plays music for your entertainment pleasure. When you reached the top of the ferris wheel, you could see pretty far...we got some good pictures, but it was cloudy again, so they are not as good as they could have been.

From the Miramar, we took the subway back into town. Using our handy map, we made our way to the Eslite Bookstore where we picked up a children's book and some children's CD's in Chinese. It's a HUGE store! We then walked back to Din Tai Fung for dinner. It was much more crowded tonight, but we got in pretty quickly. This time I took photos! Enjoy!

We arrived back at our hotel hot and sticky and tired. Tonight we pack up and get ready for the real reason we came to Taiwan--to meet our daughter Sophia! When you are sleeping on Sunday night, we will meet her for the very first time. I'll post photos as soon as I'm able! Thanks for all of your prayers and well wishes...keep them coming!

One more day until we see her face to face...

Our First Day in Taiwan

2011-06-11T21:10:00.000-07:00

It is Sunday morning here in Taiwan. We have had the privilege of speaking with our three children who are at my parent's house in Delaware, as well as one of my sisters in Chile, South America, this morning. Isn't technology wonderful? As we get ready to head out for our second day of adventures in Taipei, I want to let you know about yesterday's happenings...

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After arriving at our hotel and getting cleaned up and acclimated, we decided to head out and see what we could see. It looked like rain, so we ditched the idea of going to the open air flower and jade markets and decided instead to head down towards Taipei 101 and that area of town. The subway was pretty easy to figure out, although I'm pretty sure we looked stupid at first, trying to figure out how to get the card we needed. But, we figured it out on our own, so I'm pretty proud of us! The subway itself reminds me a lot of the metro in Chile--clean and efficient. It was Saturday here, so I guess we were seeing the weekend crowds and not necessarily the business crowds. We made it to the station where we were to get off for Taipei 101, but we had to walk quite a distance to actually get to the building itself. We managed to make it before the rain, but by the time we got to the observation deck on the 89th floor, it was raining below. We still got some photos, which I will post, but I'm sure the vista would have been much more stunning without the rain!

Taipei 101 was the tallest building in the world from 2004-2010. To the tip of the needle at the top it is 1610 feet tall. The basement floor is filled with a large food court and some shops, while floors 1-4 contain some very prestigious stores like Tiffany's and Coco Chanel (no shopping there for us!). You catch the elevator to the 89th floor on the 5th floor. It takes 45 seconds to get there--amazing!--and once you reach the observation floor, you can observe the entire city all the way around you. The mountains in the distance are just breathtaking! Taiwan is truly a beautiful island.

A street view of Taipei 101 as we walked towards it.

Looking up from one of the bottom floors of the mall

One view from the observatory

This is the counterbalance...check out the cables!

By the time we finished observing, we were feeling a bit tired and hungry. We decided to hop a cab to the Din Tai Fung restaurant since it was still raining. We weren't quite sure how to hail a taxi in Taiwan, but waving your hand and yelling taxi did the trick! Dave always climbs into the front seat--which I'm not sure is kosher, but he does it anyway--so the drivers always have to throw the seat way back in order for his large frame to fit. This taxi driver was a hoot. He didn't speak much English but he communicated his family history and the history of Korea and China and Taiwan to us via hand motions and doodles on his notepad, all while driving through rush hour traffic! I may have to take back my thoughts about the driving here after that ride! He used his horn well and we made it in one piece, thankfully. I'm sure we made his day!

Din Tai Fung is a world-renown chain known for its dumplings and stuffed buns. We had been forewarned about how you ordered at this restaurant, but what we weren't aware of was the size of their helpings! We were pretty hungry, so everything looked good, and I think we ordered too much, to the humorous delight of the young couple sitting next to us! To order, you look at the menu to decide what you want, and then you fill out this order form with how many of each menu item you want. As the items are prepared, they bring them out to you, so your food comes in shifts. Dave LOVES Chinese dumplings and stuffed buns, and these were outstanding! The prices were very reasonable, and we are planning on going back again. I'll take some photos next time!

After dining we attempted to find our way back to a subway station. I think we took a wrong turn and missed the closer station, but along the way I found a cool little stationery store and bought a couple of things. (Tiffany, if you are reading this, tell Amy Grace I have a neat Hello Kitty item for her!) We eventually found a station and made our way back to our hotel. The rain had stopped by now, but the humidity was quite oppressive. We exited the station near our hotel at a different exit than where we had entered, so we were a bit turned around at first, but with our handy map we made it back in one piece. The corner 7-Eleven was our last stop for an ice cream bar, and then we basically collapsed into bed.

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This afternoon we are heading out again to see what we can see. Stay tuned...and one more thing...the humorous event of the day yesterday was when we were getting on an elevator in Taipei 101 and the door closed on me. Now it was a little startling to me, but the 10 year old kid on the elevator thought it was hilarious! His mom tried to shush him, but then gave up and told him to say "Hello" instead. Glad we could be the comedy relief!!

Another day closer to meeting Sophia...

Dong Wu Hotel

2011-06-10T21:05:00.000-07:00

We are staying at the Dong Wu Hotel in Taipei. It is not one of the typical hotels that adopting families stay in, as it is not located in the heart of Taiepei, but rather in an area known as Dadaocheng, an older, historical part of the city near the Dadaocheng Wharf on the Danshui River, known for tea production. It had very good review, however, and the price was right, so we decided to book here. We can walk to the subway station to get around, and always call a taxi if needed. I'll post some photos from outside later, but here are a few from our room, which they graciously allowed us to occupy as soon as it was cleaned this morning, long before normal check-in times.

The bathroom is equipped with all the necessities.

We have a "business double" room, whatever that means!

The shower is awesome! It felt great after our long flight!

All the comforts of home...

The view from our 5th floor room.

We Made It!

2011-06-10T17:55:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to let you know that we made it safe and sound to Taipei! It was a 6 1/2 hour flight from Newark to Anchorage, and a 10 hour flight from Anchorage to Taipei. That was a very long flight to me! Unfortunately, the flight back with Sophia is 15 hours non-stop, and I'm not looking forward to it! But I digress...

Taipei is warm and muggy, and first impressions remind me more of Santiago, Chile in appearance (with a few traditional Chinese buildings thrown in!) then Beijing, China. They definitely drive more nicely here than in China! Instead of bikes everywhere there are motorcycles--hundreds of them--and they always come to the front of the line at a red light...it's kind of funny looking! We arrived way before normal check-in and the hotel was full last night, so we are waiting in the cafe area until our room is ready. It's very nice and cool in here, and the clientele showing up for breakfast are multi-national. We opted to stay at a smaller hotel off the beaten path (blink and you'd miss it on the city street!) but it has nice reviews from travelers around the world. I'll post photos later!

Will post more later...thanks for your prayers!

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Tomorrow!

2011-06-08T07:20:00.000-07:00

"Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I love ya, tomorrow! You're only a day away!"

(Source: Orphan Annie)

Only one more sleep and we are on our way! God did some amazing things yesterday as I found out that we needed some notarized employment verification letters for our visa appointment. One of my employers was going out of town in an hour from the time I contacted her, and the other is going out of town today. Had I not found out when I did about those letters, I'm not sure what we would have done! God is good! I figured that God has brought us too far to let three little letters stop us now!

Dave is on his way home from Indiana. We will be spending the next 20 days together...we haven't been together for that long of a stretch since February! We are both looking forward to the trip and the time together as a whole family when we return. Please pray for my parents and our family friends who are stepping in to watch kids, transport kids, feed cats, etc., etc. I thank the Lord for the support group He has put around us!

So many people have played a part in making this adoption a reality. There is no way I can thank you all by name, but if you prayed, gave financially, hugged, or encouraged in any way, shape, or form, may God bless you richly! Another orphan is about to be ransomed!

This is my absolute favorite photo of Sophia that we have received. She loves music!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart...

Our Baby Girl

2011-06-06T15:23:00.000-07:00

One week from today we will meet our baby girl for the very first time. I am so excited for that moment, but it's definitely a nervous excitement. I have been brushing up on some reading regarding bonding and attachment, and am trying to wrap my mind around this whole idea of taking a little person from the only family she really knows--not to mention language, customs, smells, food, etc., etc.--and having her become a part of our family without damaging her psyche. I know it has been done thousands of times over, but it's still hard to comprehend!

Tonight I am getting out a suitcase and starting to pack. I have been purchasing and collecting things we might need for awhile, but now the moment of truth--can we pack wisely and keep the weight limit where it needs to be! I am notorious for overpacking (the "just in case" syndrome!) but we don't want to have our hands too full with luggage when we come home with Sophia. I am so thankful for adoptive families who have gone before us and have given us their packing lists and nuggets of wisdom. (Thanks, Mandi, Michele, and Robin!)

Just for fun, I leave you with another early photo of our baby girl. Today I made her first pediatrician appointment for a few days after we get home. She's becoming more and more of a reality every day!

I can't wait to see this beautiful face in person!

The Rest of the Story

2011-06-03T13:25:00.000-07:00

If you notice the counter at the top of this blog, you will see that today marks the one year anniversary of when we were officially matched with Sophia. In just a few short days (10, to be exact!) we will meet her for the very first time in person. Wow!

If you are a newer follower of our journey, you may not know that God specifically brought Sophia to our attention twice in our quest to find our daughter in Taiwan. We were "logged in", so to speak, with the orphanage our agency works with, but due to an increased interest in Taiwanese adoptions, the matching had slowed way down. We were not looking for a baby, however, so our agency contact told us to keep checking the waiting children listing. A few months earlier I had been checking around on other agencies' waiting children listings, and had requested information on a little girl listed with another agency. The social worker attempted to get information for us, but couldn't find anything out from her contacts in Taiwan. Meanwhile, we found another little girl on our agency's listing. There was something about her pouty lips that looked familiar, but it never crossed my mind that I was looking at the same little girl that I had requested information on earlier. The photo was different (she was older), the birthdates were different by a few days, and her name was spelled differently.

After we had been officially matched with Sophia, I met another adoptive mom who was adopting from Taiwan with our agency. She was excited that we were adopting Sophia, as she had seen her photo as well, and was praying for a family for her. She clued me in to another waiting children listing where Sophia was listed. You guessed it...it was the same site where I had first seen Sophia and had requested her information! What a way for God to confirm to us that Sophia was our daughter!

When we received Sophia's documents to review, we realized what had happened. She had been with one foster family her first year and a half of life, but was switched about two years ago now. The first family was in a different location that was probably supervised by a different orphanage. So she was listed with an agency that used that orphanage. Then, when she was moved to her current foster family, her file switched to Cathwel, our orphanage. That's why the other agency social worker couldn't find any updated information on her. We know that she was moved at just the right time for us to be able to find her with our agency because God willed it. That's the kind of God we serve!

This is one of the first photos we saw of Sophia. She is probably around two years old in this photo.

So now you know...the rest of the story!

One Week and Counting...

2011-06-02T13:38:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe I just typed that title...in one week we will be boarding a plane for Taiwan! Woo-hoo! This past week I finished up my duties at Blue Mountain Christian School, so aside from participating in graduation tomorrow night, I am once again a full-time SAHM (stay at home mom). This time around I feel a sense of relief and excitement, as I know what I'm getting into, and I'm looking forward to it immensely. It will be wonderful to be able to spend time at home with our "Littles" as I'm calling the younger three (since I can no longer say "little boys" as opposed to the "big boys"), and run our household without working. God is good!

Many have asked about our itinerary while in Taiwan. Here is a summary for you so that you can be praying on specific days. (Remember that we will be 12 hours ahead of EST, so adjust from these dates accordingly...or just pray and God knows!)

Thursday, June 9 - Leave for Taiwan at 9:45 p.m. from Newark, NJ

Saturday, June 11 - Arrive in Taipei, Taiwan at 5:45 a.m. (Taiwan time...will be 5:45 p.m. on Friday EST)

Monday, June 13 - Take train to Taichung and MEET SOPHIA!!!!! (We will spend the next few days in Taichung helping her acclimate to us. We are very much looking forward to meeting her foster family!)

Thursday, June 16 - Return to Taipei

Friday, June 17 - AIT (Visa) appointment

Monday, June 20 - Leave for U.S. and arrive in Newark, NJ at 9:45 p.m. (Same day we left since we will be going backwards 12 hours! Weird, huh?)

Tuesday, June 21 - Meet the rest of the family and return to PA!

We are very thankful to our parents and some family friends who are helping with childcare while we are away. Please pray for them, as they are not used to kids 24/7! Our oldest, Jonathan, will be at camp the week we are away, so pray for safety and spiritual growth for him. Sabastian, the next in line, leaves for camp on Father's Day, so he will not actually meet his sister until we pick him up on Friday, June 24. Can you keep that all straight? I'm trying, but it's hard!!

Dave will be home in PA with us until the weekend, and then he will return to Indiana for the work week beginning June 27. Please pray that our house will sell soon so that we can all be together in Indiana. This travel business is for the birds!

I will definitely be blogging from Taiwan, so stay tuned! I may not write as often as I hope to, but it all depends on how things go. I promise to post a picture of Sophia as soon as I'm able, though! Our agency has asked us not to do it until we travel, but that's next Thursday, right? (Hint...hint!)

With an overflowing heart of gratitude and anticipation...

Two Weeks (minus one day!) and Counting...

2011-05-27T17:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was two weeks and counting until we leave for Taiwan! It was a busy and emotional day as I led my kindergarten in their graduation, including my own son, Benjamin. My how time flies! But another "to do before we leave" item is checked off my mental list, and that feels great! My kindergarten children are now done with school for the year, so while the older kids finish up next week, I will dismantle my classroom and check yet another item off my list!

My parents were up for graduation yesterday, so we discussed the childcare plans with them for our trip. They will be watching three of our boys for a good portion of the time we are away, then have all four for a weekend, and then back to three for a couple of days before we return. Our older boys' summer camps coincide with our trip, so they will be duly occupied. If you think about it, though, pray for my parents as they are not used to the daily routine of caring for little ones anymore!

Dave is home, too, for the weekend, after a 2 1/2 week trip to Indiana. We have been able to discuss some of our thoughts regarding our upcoming transition to five children, and he seems so much more calm about it than I do! Basically, he's expecting the worst and will be pleasantly surprised otherwise. I'm trying not to have any expectations--we make a good pair, I guess!

It's almost surreal to think that after three years of planning, waiting, preparing, and wondering, we are almost to the point of meeting our daughter. God is good! Soon I will be able to post her photos and introduce her to you...I can't wait for you to "meet" her!

Expecting a blessing...

Jehovah Jireh

2011-05-23T10:36:00.000-07:00

Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides, has been our sustenance through the last three years as we have journeyed along our Silk Road to Sophia. Using a huge garage sale and bake sale, Pampered Chef and other home parties, Christmas ornaments, t-shirts, poetry books, cookbooks, and many, many donations from families and friends, God has provided. Oftentimes He provided at the last minute and the exact amount that we needed. We have never had a huge surplus in our bank account just waiting for us to need it (as much as I would have like that at times!). Instead, He asked us to trust Him each step of the way, and He stretched our faith time and again as we saw Him provide over and over again.

We are now down to less than three weeks before we travel, and we are shy just under $2000 to have our adoption paid in full, including travel. Two thousand dollars may sound like a lot, but I'm not worried. When we started this journey we had nothing, and God has supplied nearly $20,000--so $2000 is a drop in the bucket! To anyone considering adoption but daunted by the cost--don't be. When God calls you to do something, He equips you to do it--in all the ways that you need to be equipped!

I have found myself reminiscing a lot the closer we get to bringing Sophia home. This adoption journey has been so much more than a journey to bring home a child. It has been a journey of faith that has brought me closer to my Heavenly Father, who adopted me. I am so thankful for the journey and what it has taught me. While I may not need to rely on God for adoption finances after we bring our daughter home, I know I will need to rely on Him for grace, courage, and wisdom as we raise our daughter and her four brothers.

And so our journey continues...

Three Weeks and Counting...

2011-05-19T18:38:00.000-07:00

Three weeks from tonight--almost to the minute that I am typing this--Dave and I will be checking in at Newark International for our flight to Taipei and Sophia. Wow...I can't believe I am typing that! The light at the end of the tunnel is near. Tonight some dear friends of ours held a fundraising potluck dinner on our behalf with dishes from our adoption cookbook. It was such sweet fellowship. I love how adoption brings people together--in so many ways. Through the donations received, we are now able to pay our airline tickets in full--isn't God good?

Please continue to pray for all of the logistics of our trip, and for Sophia's attachment and bonding to us when we meet. Humanly speaking I can't even fathom the emotions she will be going through when she leaves all that is familiar to her in just a few short weeks. Please pray that God will supernaturally work in her little heart and mind.

I hope to be blogging and posting photos as we travel, so stay tuned to this blog! Thanks for being a part of our Silk Road Journey!

One week closer to holding Sophia in our arms...

4 Weeks & Counting!

2011-05-11T11:37:00.000-07:00

The weeks are really flying by now! It's hard to believe that it was almost three years ago that we began this journey in earnest, and now it is almost time to meet our daughter. Our journey certainly hasn't been without its twists and turns, and even now, so near the end, it's not a cakewalk! But God has been so faithful through it all, and we know that He who started this good work will see it through until it is completed!

I was able to finally book our hotel in Taichung, the city where our daughter is currently living, so our accommodations are set. We will probably be having to use public transportation quite a bit, but I'm told that even taxis are pretty convenient to use there, and not too expensive. I'm looking forward to the adventure of it all, as I definitely am a traveler at heart!

Please pray in these last weeks that God will continue to orchestrate His perfect will in our lives as things are pretty hectic with the adoption and our impending move to Indiana. I am very cognizant of the need to transition Sophia as smoothly as possible, and all of the bonding and attachment issues that need to happen, and I'm praying that in the midst of this chaotic time, God will give her a supernatural peace and contentment. Also pray for her foster family. They are very attached to her, and she to them, and while they are doing a fantastic job preparing her for adoption, I know their will be a big sense of loss on their part, too. I'm really looking forward to meeting them!

Finally, continue to pray for our needed funds. We are about halfway to where we should be, but I know God can move mountains in these last weeks. I'm so thankful for some wonderful friends who are planning a fundraiser for us next week here in Jonestown, and for all of our friends, family, and even strangers who have given towards our adoption expenses these last three years--we couldn't have done it without all of you!

Counting the days...

5 Weeks & Counting!

2011-05-05T09:36:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that after waiting for so long, we are down to five weeks left before we leave for Taiwan! We have tickets in hand, and one of the two hotels that we need booked. Please continue to pray for needed funds. The tickets were more than I expected them to be, but I'm choosing not to fret (or at least I'm trying not to fret!) and to allow God to continue to provide in His time.

My sister wrote a beautiful blog post HERE about our upcoming trip. The photo is from the city where Sophia is currently living. I'm so excited to get there and see the beauty of the island! We are traveling in summer, so it will be very hot and humid, and most likely rainy (think monsoon season!), but hopefully that won't deter us too much from enjoying the land of our daughter's birth.

There seems to be a lot of loose ends yet to tie up for our trip. I'm enjoying finding just the right gifts for the foster family and others who will be helping us there. I bought the cutest scrabble pendant necklace HERE for Sophia's foster sister who plays the piano. I just love the little heart on the piano keys! I'm trying to buy all homemade items or "Made in USA" items. I also am having fun picking up fun little toys and activities for Sophia to entertain her while we are in Taiwan and on our almost 15 hour non-stop flight home. (Please remember to pray for us on June 20!!!) Of course I have to make sure everything fits into our luggage and we don't overpack and yada, yada, yada...yikes! If I think about it too much, I start to have trouble breathing! :)

Thanks for your continued prayers and interest in our journey. It has almost been three years since we started on our journey to Sophia, and what a journey it has been. But through it all we have been reminded of God's faithfulness and the goodwill of family and friends. I can't wait to share with Sophia how much she was loved long before we ever met her!

Counting down the days...

June 9-20

2011-04-28T18:34:00.000-07:00

We are headed to Taiwan! Lord willing, we will leave Newark, NJ, on the evening of June 9, and will arrive in Taipei, Taiwan, on June 11, Taiwan time. We will be in Taipei for two nights, then take the high speed train to Taichung where we will meet Sophia on June 13! It will be a little over a year from the time we accepted her referral until we meet her face to face. And what a year it has been! We will stay in Taichung for three nights, then return to Taipei for our AIT (visa) appointment on Friday, June 17. We will stay the weekend in Taipei, then leave to return to the States on Monday, June 20. Whew! Makes me tired just thinking about it! And it's only six weeks away!!!!

We have not received official notice of our final decree, but we assume we have it. We did receive December 2010 and January 2011 updates, and Sophia is making TONS of progress! We are praying that God will supernaturally prepare her for the HUGE changes coming her way in just a few weeks. Will you pray with us? I can't even imagine what this will be like for her. I keep thinking about what it would be like for Nathaniel, our youngest and the same age as Sophia, to be taken from his family and given to strangers. It breaks my heart! So I'm praying for supernatural intervention to take place...God is able!

We still lack several thousand dollars to be able to go to Taiwan fully funded, but some special friends have a fundraiser planned for May 19, and we continue to trust that God will provide. No matter what, we will be getting our daughter! Our agency has asked that we not post photos until we finalize in Taiwan, so you will have to wait a little longer to see any photos on here, but I promise to update as much as I'm able while we are in Taiwan. Just take my word for it...she's beautiful!

Thanks for following along on this journey. I never would have imagined that it would take almost three years to complete. But God's plan is perfect, and we wouldn't have it any other way. To God be the glory, great things He has done--and will do!

Closer and closer to bringing our baby girl home...

We Got First Decree!

2011-04-07T16:37:00.000-07:00

From our agency coordinator today:

David & Terri,
We received an update from Cathwel. They said that they received the first (or civil) ruling on your case!

Hooray! God is good! We should be traveling mid-June...more details to come. And as soon as we have a final decree, I will be able to introduce you to our daughter. I can't wait!!

Only two more months, Sophia...

Tax Deductible Donation

2011-03-27T12:31:00.000-07:00

Up until now, we have not had any way to offer a tax deductible receipt to anyone who wished to make a donation to our adoption fund. However, for the next month or so, our church is taking up a special offering for our travel expenses--the final amount needed to bring Sophia home--and is willing to add any additional gifts that might come from people outside the church. The church will then issue you a receipt. If you would like more information on how to do this, please e-mail me at tfisher83@myexcel.com. Thanks!

Trusting God to provide to bring Sophia home...

Tomorrow

2011-03-22T05:23:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is March 24 in Taiwan and is the date of our first court hearing. Please pray that we have a fast judge who finds favor with our family and does not require any additional paperwork. Pray that his first decree occurs in a few weeks or less--not a few months--as we really need to move to Indiana by the end of June, if possible, which means we would like to travel to Taiwan the end of May or beginning of June. I know this is not out of the realm of possibility, as some of my blog friends have traveled in that time frame after their first court hearing, and it is certainly not out of the realm of possibility for our God! I don't know if we will hear anything from Taiwan yet this week, but we know it is all in God's hands. Thanks for your prayers!

Please also continue to pray for the finances that we need in order to travel to Taiwan. God is supplying some much needed funds in various ways, for which we are grateful. I know He will continue to provide beyond what we could ever ask or think, because that's the kind of God He is!

Soon I will be able to post photos of our beautiful girl...stay tuned!!!

Forever grateful for your thoughts and prayers on our journey...

Amazing!

2011-03-19T20:23:00.000-07:00

This song from Third Day so eloquently, yet simply, states what I think of when I think about adoption. In many ways, our adoption of children here on this earth is a picture of God's adoption of us as His children when we put our faith and trust in Him for eternal life. The words of this song, along with the masterful visual presentation in the video, is a powerful demonstration of this truth. These guys get what it's all about! Thanks, Third Day!

(Note: You will have to turn off the music player at the bottom of this blog page to hear the video!)

So thankful that I'm adopted into the family of God...are you?

15 More Days...

2011-03-08T15:02:00.000-08:00

Waiting...

One Month from Today...

2011-02-24T10:10:00.000-08:00

One month from today is our first court hearing in Taiwan. Since they are a day ahead of us in their time zone, the hearing will actually occur on March 23, our time. Hopefully by March 24, a month from today, we will hear how the hearing went. This past month has flown by, so I'm hoping that the next four weeks fly by, too. So many of my "bloggy" friends are traveling right now or soon to get their children, and I'm getting antsy to be on my way, too. I know God's timing is best, though, so for now, we wait. Getting that update last week was so helpful in the waiting. Hopefully we will get another one sooner rather than later! Every day that passes is another day that Sophia grows and develops without us. I feel as though I'm missing out
on so much of her life, but I'm also so grateful that she has a caring foster family there right now who love her as their own. Adoption is as much about grief and loss as it is about the joy of building a family. I pray that these last few months with her foster family are joyous for Sophia and her family. We owe them so much for taking care of our little girl!

Musing in the waiting...

Updates!

2011-02-16T10:04:00.000-08:00

We received the translated October 2010 report today and some video of our baby girl!!! I wish I could post it...she's getting so big! As of October, she was over 34 inches tall and weighed 26 pounds. She was learning to walk up stairs with assistance--that's huge! And she's saying words like "mommy" and "hug" and her foster family is using her English name and they even named the dolly that we sent, and she loves her dolly! (The name's Angela, if you wanted to know!) I'm beyond excited about this update, and that's only from October! Who knows what she's doing now! I can't wait to bring her home!!!

Thankful for some good news today...

Message from Taiwan...

2011-02-15T17:53:00.000-08:00

"Sorry for the delay.
We are still translating the reports.
Once we complete the translation, we will email you as soon as possible."

Hopefully soon...

In the Waiting

2011-02-12T18:18:00.000-08:00

It's been several weeks since we found out about our court date on March 24. I've asked for updates on Sophia, but thus far have not received any. We haven't had any updates since August, so I'm really curious about her progress with walking and talking. It almost seems surreal that we have a daughter waiting for us, what with the lack of updates and pictures the last six months. But hopefully her foster family is preparing her for us, showing our photos and sharing the book where we recorded our voices reading to her. Fortunately we've been so busy lately that the time is flying by. March 24 will be here soon, and hopefully, all will go smoothly and we will travel within a couple of months after that! At least that's our prayer!

In the waiting...

Happy Chinese New Year!

2011-02-03T13:45:00.000-08:00

Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, or Chinese New Year. It is the Year of the Rabbit, supposedly one of the more luckier animals on the Chinese zodiac, if you believe that sort of thing. CNY is one of the most important holidays in China, so I imagine Sophia will be celebrating it with her foster family. Next year, we will celebrate it with her...what fun that will be!

Enjoying Chinese take out in honor of Sophia...

A Quilt for Sophia

2011-01-29T17:38:00.000-08:00

Last summer I found some fabric that I loved. It was in the pink and brown color scheme that I wanted to use for Sophia's room, and it had the little sparrows and daisies that I wanted to use as motifs in her room. I had to buy the fabric as curtain panels, but I figured it could be used by someone talented in creating a quilt for Sophia's bed.

Fast forward a year. I checked around on Etsy to find someone who could make a quilt for me, and I checked around with some of our "Blue Mountain Quilters" (ladies who get together every Tuesday at our school to quilt for our school's benefit auction) to see if they knew anyone local who could help me out. But nothing came together for me. Right before Christmas, Donna, the woman who heads up the quilters, asked me if I found anyone yet to do the quilt. When I said no, she said to bring the fabric in after Christmas so she could take a look at it...so I did.

Long story short, Donna pieced the quilt top you see in the photos, and even made the ruffled bed skirt to match. Next week it will be put on the quilting rack and the Blue Mountain Quilters, many of whom have become well known to me over the past two years that I have taught at Blue Mountain Christian School, will begin to quilt it for me. I am thrilled that Sophia's quilt is being made by people I know who are as excited to see Sophia come home as I am. As you can see, it's absolutely beautiful--I told Donna she gave life to my dream. I can't wait to see this on Sophia's bed in Sophia's room very soon!

The "pieces" are coming together slowly but surely for Sophia's homecoming...

We Have a Court Date!

2011-01-21T11:41:00.000-08:00

We found out today that we have our first court date on March 24 in Taiwan (that would be March 23 EST). Two more months to wait until that important step! Hopefully it will only be 2-3 months after that for travel! As soon as we have final decree (second court date) I can post photos of our beautiful daughter!

Another step closer to Sophia...

We are "logged in"...

2011-01-02T12:38:00.000-08:00

...to court in Taiwan, that is! I don't know the exact date, but sometime between November 22 and December 30, we were logged in to court. We are now awaiting our first court date. Yippee!

Another step closer to bringing Sophia home!

Missing Sophia...

2010-12-27T06:27:00.000-08:00

Next Christmas!

Happy Birthday, Sophia!

2010-12-20T00:00:00.000-08:00

Today, December 20, is our daughter's third birthday. Three years ago today our daughter's birth mother chose life for Sophia, and while things may not have gone smoothly in the months thereafter, we will be forever grateful to the woman who bore our little girl and gave her life. We are also so thankful for the two foster families who have been involved in our daughter's life over the last three years. We know she has been loved and cared for by so many people in her short life. While we wish we were with her on this special day, we know that she is in good hands, and, by the time she turns four, she will be with us, her forever family!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Sophia! We love you!

To Sophia, With Love

2010-12-08T14:09:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I mailed out our third care package to Sophia. It included items for her third birthday later this month, and for Christmas, both for Sophia and her dear foster family. We are so blessed to have a wonderful family taking care of our daughter right now. I'm guessing that we will be sending at least one more care package before we travel, since Chinese New Year is in February (February 14, to be exact...easy to remember this year!) and gifts are customary on that day. But hopefully we will then be traveling soon after that so we can take any other gifts in person and love on our sweet daughter face to face! Please continue to pray for the funds to come in for our travel expenses...we know God will provide in His time and in His way!

Waiting and praying...

Today...

2010-12-04T17:25:00.000-08:00

* ...friends of ours leave for Taiwan to meet their 3-yr. old daughter for the first time! Please pray for the Thomasson family!

* ...I made another $200 towards the $7000 we need for our travel expenses...every little bit helps! I still have a few ornaments and lots of cookbooks if you are interested!

* ...I received another quilt square for Sophia's blessing quilt...have you sent yours?

Thank you, Lord, for a good day...and may Sophia have had the same!

Sophia's Blessing Quilt

2010-11-27T13:18:00.000-08:00

We began collecting squares for Sophia's blessing quilt over a year and a half ago. In China there is a tradition of giving a baby a "100 Wishes Quilt" made from pieces of fabric belonging to friends and family. We have taken that idea and are creating a "100 Blessings Quilt" for Sophia. You can follow our progress at our Blessing Quilt blog...and feel free to join in on the fun...we are only a quarter of the way to our 100 blessings!

Passing the time until our daughter comes home...

Our Referral Dossier...

2010-11-16T18:11:00.000-08:00

is on its way to Taiwan! It was back from TECO in a week...that's pretty quick! Now it will be translated and logged into the courts...another step closer!

Sleep tight, Sweet Sophia, we're coming!

Christmas Frenzy

2010-11-15T14:48:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that Christmas is right around the corner, can you? As you begin your Christmas shopping, why not support a family in the process of adopting a child by purchasing items that they are selling as a fundraiser?

As you know, we are selling our Forever Family cookbooks (currently on sale...by 3 get 1 free!) and our Chinese, handpainted ornaments to help financially as we bring home our daughter Sophia from Taiwan. But there are MANY other families in the midst of this journey who are fundraising as well. Christmas Frenzy was set up by an adoptive mother of six as a way to get the word out about families who are fundraising for adoption. God has not called everyone to adopt, but He has called everyone to care for the orphans...Christmas shopping from these families is a way you can do just that!

Thanks for caring for the "least of these"!

Another Step...Dossier to TECO

2010-11-10T03:30:00.000-08:00

Just found out that our referral dossier was sent to TECO (Taipei Economic and Cultural Office) for final certifications on Monday, November 8! Hopefully we'll get a quick turn around (for our initial dossier it was three weeks, which, at that time, was long) and then our dossier will be winging its way to Taiwan for translation and we can be logged into court!

Another step closer to bringing Sophia home...

Referral Dossier...Check!

2010-11-04T19:15:00.000-07:00

Our referral dossier, and the accompanying orphanage fee, were delivered to our agency today! God provided some additional funds and the peace to use some credit we had available in order to pay the large fee, and we are thankful for that. Now we wait for our dossier to be certified one last time, and then it will be on its way to Taiwan for translation and filing in court. We are probably looking at 4-6 months more of waiting before we travel, although it could always be sooner or later. We now shift our focus to raising the $7000 needed to pay for our travel expenses. A large part of this is round trip airfare for Dave and I, and a one way ticket for Sophia. Additionally, we need money for our hotel stay, food, etc. while in country. Our 13-year old son, Sabastian, has expressed a desire to travel with us. I have told him to pray specifically for that desire, as that would be another $1750-2000 that we would need in order to have him travel with us. It sure would be cool if God grants that desire, but Sabastian knows that the answer may be no. But he continues to pray!

In order to raise these needed funds, we are still selling cookbooks, Chinese Christmas ornaments, and hand-crocheted doilies. In addition to these things, we are hoping to do one more big fundraiser of some sort. We are praying about what that might look like, so stay tuned! Thank you to all of you who have prayed us this far into our journey. I can't wait to be able to post the first photos of our beautiful daughter when we get our final decree from the Taiwanese courts!

Closer than ever to bringing Sophia home!

Cookbook Sale!

2010-10-27T11:41:00.000-07:00

We still have a few boxes of our Forever Family cookbook (as seen on the sidebar) that we would love to sell to help out our adoption expenses, so we are running a sale "while supplies last"! Buy three cookbooks at regular price ($15 each) and get the fourth FREE! These cookbooks, containing more than 300 recipes, have received rave reviews from everyone who has bought them over the last year and a half. They would make great teacher gifts, gift exchange gifts, gifts for the neighbors...the list could go on and on! Shipping is reduced as well from $5.00 per book to $10 for the four books when you buy the "three and get one free" deal. That's a total savings of $25 for four books! If you would like to place an order for this special deal, leave a comment with your e-mail address and mailing address (I will not publish it) and I will send you a paypal invoice. Upon receipt of payment, the books will be on their way!

Thanks for helping Sophia come home to her forever family!

Two Thousand Three Hundred Dollars...

2010-10-25T09:47:00.000-07:00

...is all that stands between our dossier leaving our house and arriving in Taiwan. Two thousand three hundred dollars. It's not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things, but it's more than we have sitting un-earmarked in our bank account. Could you please pray with us this week that God will show us His will regarding this last bit of money that we need? We could use credit, but we committed at the beginning of our adoption process to not do that if at all possible. We have decided to wait and pray until next Monday, November 1, before making any decisions. Thanks!

If You Recognize This...You Are Probably An Adoptive Parent!

2010-10-20T11:13:00.000-07:00

Our referral dossier came back yesterday with all of the proper certifications from Harrisburg...only two more stops before Taiwan! However, we are short the money that we need to pay the orphanage fee, so please pray with us as we determine what God wants us to do regarding that. It's exciting to finally be this close, and I can't wait to get this paperwork out of my hands! Thanks for your prayers!

Praising and praying as we get closer to Sophia...

Finally!

2010-10-11T12:22:00.000-07:00

The e-mail I have been waiting to read for over four months finally arrived today...our legal documents have arrived at our agency and will be on their way to our house tomorrow! Praise God! Last week was a rough week at our house, but through it all, God proved faithful, as always. I received several e-mails from friends just telling me that God had laid us on their heart, and they were praying for us. (Thank you...you know who you are!) I know that God's timing is best, and I look forward to seeing His continued hand in our adoption process.
Please pray that we can get all of the authentications done promptly, and our referral dossier can get back to Taiwan ASAP! Oh, and we are still in need of a few thousand dollars, but what's that to our Great God?!

Another step closer to bringing our daughter home...

Just Checking In...

2010-10-09T15:36:00.000-07:00

Still no news on our legal documents and no new updates. Only bright spot is making some new "bloggy" friends through this process. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers...it's so hard not knowing anything.

Still waiting...

Tired

2010-09-24T15:05:00.000-07:00

Ya'll know I keep it real around here. And I know I run the risk of sounding whiney and selfish, because there are MANY others who have been waiting longer than we have to bring their precious child(ren) home. But I am tired. Tired of waiting week after week for paperwork that should have been here months ago. Tired of checking my e-mail religiously, looking for that next update. Tired of wondering how we are going to fund the remaining costs involved in this adoption. Tired of second guessing myself. Just. plain. tired. But then I remember...

"Come to me, all ye who are weary and heavy-burdened, and I will give you rest."

It's in HIS hands...

Getting Closer...

2010-09-18T06:53:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to remind everyone about our name doily adoption fundraiser, as Christmas is getting closer, and perhaps you would like to order a name doily as a unique gift and at the same time, help us meet our orphanage fee goal! We also have our Forever Family cookbooks available for $15--these have received rave reviews from everyone who has used them! Lastly, we have a limited amount of beautiful hand painted Chinese glass ball ornaments available for $20.

They come in their own special Chinese box and are also great for gift giving. Any one of these items would bring us closer to our orphanage fee goal which we hope to have to pay soon! If we can help you check off some gifts on your list, leave a comment, and I'll get you the information you need...thanks!

Until Sophia is home...

Dancing Eyes

2010-09-16T18:31:00.000-07:00

P.S. We got our June and July updates with a couple of new-to-us photos (we're unsure of when they were taken). Still no legal documents...

Anxiously awaiting the day we can look into those dancing eyes...

No News is Good News?

2010-09-11T18:14:00.000-07:00

Usually the little diddy above is true...but I'm not so sure if it applies to our situation! Still no updates and no legal documents. Still a bit disheartened, but trying to wait patiently on God. Fortunately, life is busy now that school has started, and I can't think about it so much...

Still waiting for Sophia...

Still Waiting...

2010-09-01T16:52:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted in awhile, but there really hasn't been anything to post about. We haven't had any updates or information on where our legal paperwork is since the beginning of June. It's a bit disheartening, but we know the whole process is in God's capable hands. Tonight Dave said he "has a feeling" we will hear something soon...I'm not sure how is "feelings" pan out normally, but I'll keep you posted!

Patiently waiting for God's perfect timing to bring Sophia home...

P.S. Don't forget about our doily fundraiser...scroll down to the next post to find out more!

Personalized Doilies by Brenda - New Fundraiser!

2010-08-15T15:36:00.000-07:00

Are you looking for a unique, handmade gift for that special occasion coming up? Well I have just the idea for you, and I can bet that no one else will give the same gift! My mother-in-law, Brenda, makes beautiful, handmade, crocheted name doilies. She is offering her talents as a fundraiser to help us bring Sophia home from Taiwan.

Now for the details...these unique doilies are available in white or ecru/tan, horizontal or vertical, with a lacy shell or pointed edge border. They are beautiful matted and framed, or as a pillow top, and are usually ready in 1-4 weeks. They make great holiday, graduation, wedding, birthday, teacher or baby shower gifts and are excellent for first and/or last names, nicknames, slogans or favorite sports teams. The doilies cost $25 for up to 5 letters and $3 for each additional letter. You choose the color, edging, and of course, the personalization. This is a fundraiser for our little Sophia with a minimum of $10 per doily being donated to Sophia’s adoption...and you get a unique, personalized keepsake for yourself or to give as a gift!

We are taking orders on a first-come, first-served basis, so get your holiday orders in as soon as possible! To place an order, e-mail me at tfisher83@myexcel.com with your desired color, edging, and personalization. I will then send you an invoice via Paypal. As soon as I receive your payment, your order will be processed and filled! (For those orders requiring shipping, an additional charge of $5.00 will be added to cover priority shipping costs.) Please help us pass the word around about this fundraiser, and thanks for supporting our family and helping us bring our daughter home from Taiwan!

Raising the ransom for our Sophia's adoption as creatively as possible...

Sophia's Room...Sneak Peek!

2010-08-13T13:14:00.000-07:00

"lighthearted pink" paint on the wall--chocolate brown accents to be added later

sparrows and cherry blossoms as the "motifs" in the room

Designing and dreaming while awaiting Sophia's homecoming...

Crazy Love Challenge - A Place Called Simplicity

2010-08-12T12:48:00.000-07:00

This post is part of another Crazy Love Challenge over at A Place Called Simplicity. I have followed this blog for quite some time and am in awe of how this family puts into action the heart of Jesus in their own lives and the lives of others...check it out!

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My husband and I have been married for almost 15 years, and have four sons, two through the miracle of adoption from domestic foster care, and two through the miracle of birth. They range in age from 15 down to 2 and keep us on our toes! However, we have always had a desire to adopt a little girl from an Asian country, as God has placed on our hearts a love for Asia and her people in many ways throughout our lives. We started the process of a special needs adoption two years ago, first thinking China, and then being led to Taiwan through a variety of open and closed doors. At the beginning of June, we were matched with a 2 1/2 year old little girl with special needs, whom we have named, Sophia Elizabeth. She is currently in foster care in Taiwan. (We are unable to post a photo at this time, but trust me...she's beautiful!) We are waiting for legal documents to arrive from Taiwan so that we can return everything that is needed for our referral dossier and start the Taiwanese court process. We are hoping to travel to bring Sophia home in the spring of 2011, but only God knows the exact timeframe!

We stepped out in faith for this adoption, and God has provided in many amazing ways, especially through the generosity of His people, our family and friends. We have also done a series of fundraisers such as garage sales, various home party fundraisers, flower bulbs...the list goes on and on. Here are some ways you can help right now if you wish to help provide the "ransom" to bring our daughter home from Taiwan:

1. Pray for us! God is teaching us much patience during this adoption, and we are slow learners sometimes. Your prayers really mean a lot!

2. Order one of our Forever Family cookbooks which were compiled and published by us specifically as an adoption fundraiser. The reviews of this cookbook have been awesome...there's something in it for everyone. Click on the sidebar photo or the link above for more information.

3. We have set up a "100 Good Wishes" link on our sidebar that allows you to donate directly to our adoption fund and leave a good wish or blessing for little Sophia.

We are currently fundraising for the last bit we need for this phase of the adoption which is our orphanage fee and the related expenses for paperwork and authentications. We need approximately $2500 more to meet this goal. Then we will start saving for our travel expenses which will range from $5000-$7500, depending on when we travel. I know God will provide in His time, and we appreciate everyone's prayers and encouragement as we wait on Him! We will be launching another fundraiser this fall just in time for Christmas, so check back with us often. Thanks for praying for us and all the other families who are on this journey with us. To God be the glory!

Trusting and praying until Sophia is home...

A Bit Bummed

2010-08-11T10:29:00.000-07:00

Okay...so I'm about full disclosure, you know? And I just really need to do some venting, so here goes...

I'M A BIT BUMMED RIGHT NOW!!!

Now don't get me wrong...I know God is still at work and everything, but we waited for so long prior to our referral (which we requested--in God's providence, of course--or we would still be waiting!) and now we are waiting for over two months again for paperwork to come from Taiwan so we can hurry up and wait some more! In the meantime, other blog friends of mine are rejoicing in finding their children and getting their paperwork to their respective countries and in probably traveling in late 2010 or early 2011 for their children. And while I'm REALLY HAPPY for them, it kind of bums me out that we are still waiting, and we initiated our process before some of these families. Before you chide me and tell me that every adoption situation is different and God is in control and yada, yada, yada, please know that

I KNOW!

It's just that I'm a bit bummed right now, that's all. Thanks for listening...

Hoping Sophia knows how much we love her and want to bring her home...

Crazy Love Challenge

2010-08-03T13:13:00.000-07:00

In perusing blogs this afternoon I came across this blog and a post from a couple of days ago entitled, "Crazy Love Poured Out". I am familiar with Francis Chan's book, Crazy Love, and if you haven't read it, you will be challenged in your Christian life if you do. Anyway, the post was a call for adoptive families who are in the process of fundraising to bring home their kiddos to link to the post and just see what God might do...so, here's a little about us and what we are doing to bring home our daughter, Sophia Elizabeth, from Taiwan:

My husband and I have been married for almost 15 years, and have four sons, two through the miracle of adoption from domestic foster care, and two through the miracle of birth. They range in age from 15 down to 2 and keep us on our toes! However, we have always had a desire to adopt a little girl from an Asian country, as God has placed on our hearts a love for Asia and her people in many ways throughout our lives. We started the process of a special needs adoption two years ago, first thinking China, and then being led to Taiwan through a variety of open and closed doors. At the beginning of June, we were matched with a 2 1/2 year old little girl with special needs, whom we have named, Sophia Elizabeth. She is currently in foster care in Taiwan. (We are unable to post a photo at this time, but trust me...she's beautiful!) We are waiting for legal documents to arrive from Taiwan so that we can return everything that is needed for our referral dossier and start the Taiwanese court process. We are hoping to travel to bring Sophia home in the spring of 2011, but only God knows the exact timeframe!

On this journey God has provided in amazing ways for our expenses. We have done a variety of fundraisers including garage sales, home parties, and our Forever Family cookbooks (which are still for sale!). We have also been blessed by gifts from family and friends. We have never had all of the finances ahead of time, but just exactly when we need them...God has been, and will continue to be, faithful!

We are currently fundraising for the last bit we need for this phase of the adoption which is our orphanage fee and the related expenses for paperwork and authentications. We need approximately $2500 more to meet this goal. Then we will start saving for our travel expenses which will range from $5000-$7500, depending on when we travel. I know God will provide in His time, and we appreciate everyone's prayers and encouragement as we wait on Him!

Trusting and praying until Sophia is home...

Home Study Update...Check!

2010-07-29T08:05:00.000-07:00

We received our home study update in the mail this week, notarized and ready to go! Now we just wait for the legal documents from Taiwan. Nothing we can do about those but...wait! So, we wait...

Slowly but surely we are coming, Sophia...

A Little Movement

2010-07-22T13:07:00.000-07:00

It looks like our home study update will be finalized this week and hopefully we will have our notarized copies by the end of next week. That just leaves the legal documents from Taiwan...and then we can get everything state sealed and off to our agency! Every little bit of movement helps!

Slowly but surely we weave our way to Sophia...

I Know I Sound Like a Broken Record, But...

2010-07-14T08:21:00.000-07:00

we're still waiting! Right now we are waiting for the legal documents that we need to arrive from Taiwan and for our social worker to complete our home study update. [Insert BIG sigh...] All in God's perfect timing...but it's hard to wait!

Oh...and we found out that Sophia will get her care package next Tuesday, July 20. I was hoping she already had it, but at least we know when she's supposed to get it, and can probably expect another update shortly after.

Trying really hard to find joy in the journey on these long summer days...

Please Pray...

2010-07-06T18:43:00.000-07:00

...for a special envelope that was mailed today that we hope might help us raise some much needed funds to help bring Sophia home!

Every day is a day closer to Sophia!

From our Family Blog...

2010-07-02T09:56:00.000-07:00

I published this today on our Family Blog...thought I would publish it here, too...

_____________________________________________

It is July already...hard to believe that half of 2010 is in the history books! By the end of this month, we are hoping to have a HUGE milestone completed toward our adoption of Sophia...our referral dossier in Taiwan awaiting our court date! God allowed us to complete all of the paperwork on our end in record time during the month of June, but we are still waiting for some legal paperwork to come from Taiwan. When that arrives, we sign, date, notarize, and state authenticate everything--and then it can be out of our hands and on its way to Taiwan! There is only one thing that can slow that down at this point...when we send our dossier back to Taiwan, the orphange fee needs to go with it. Right now we are still needing about $3000 to cover that expense. We know God is able to provide, and will provide in His time. Would you like to play a part in ransoming a child from a life as an orphan? Help us bring Sophia home

HERE!

Progress!

2010-06-29T17:39:00.000-07:00

Today we were able to check off another step in our referral dossier process...another step closer to Sophia! We finally had the final paper in hand that needed to be notarized on our part, so we headed to the notary and got all nine documents notarized at the same time...check! Tomorrow we meet with our Social Worker to update our home study, so when that gets back to us, we will have all of the paperwork on our end ready to go. We also go and get re-fingerprinted for USCIS tomorrow afternoon...check, check! We are still waiting for the legal paperwork to arrive from Taiwan that we need to sign. Once that gets here we will need to sign and notarize all of that, then take the entire huge pile to Harrisburg to be state authenticated. I'm thinking I may just go to that office one day personally, as you can wait in line and get it done. We'll see how adventurous I'm feeling when the time comes. But gettting any step in this laborious process accomplished is means for celebration, as anyone who has "been there, done that" knows. We are making progress!

Hang tight, Sophia...we are coming!

50 by Taiwan!

2010-06-28T18:44:00.000-07:00

Dave and I have a little weight loss challenge going on...check out our family blog to see how we progress!

Keeping busy as we "weight" for Sophia...

Sophia's Care Package

2010-06-22T13:13:00.000-07:00

Today we sent off our first care package to Sophia!

This is a photo of all the goodies we put in it.

This is her first dolly, handmade with love by another adoptive mom. Check out her Etsy store!

This is a 24 month little summer outfit and sandals, and a touchy, feely book.

Hershey's candy for her foster family...I also made a card to thank them for their outstanding work!

A panda blankie

In addition to all of this there were two little photo albums with family photos. We are so excited to hear that Sophia and her foster family received their gifts! I'll keep you posted!

Until Sophia comes home...

I LOVE Photos Even More!

2010-06-17T14:18:00.000-07:00

I'm really loving opening my e-mail these days! Today we had five new photos of our little Sophia, and several videos. Yeah! I can't post them on-line yet, but when I can, I will. You will have to take my word for it that she is absolutely adorable with the cutest little poochy red lips. Her foster family seems to be letting her hair grow longer, which I was hoping for. She often has the top part up in a little pony tail a la Baby Pebbles from the Flintstones. In these latest photos she looks so much more mature then in the two photos we received with the referral. Our baby is growing up! I can't wait to bring her home!

We are coming little Sophia!

I LOVE Updates!

2010-06-16T08:43:00.000-07:00

This morning we received the monthly care updates on Sophia from our adoption coordinator! The foster mother is doing them, and they are so detailed! Even the orphanage liasion made a comment that the foster mother is doing an exceptional job at keeping these up-to-date. Starting in June, we should receive a monthly update and photos...yeah!

Sophia has made a TON of progress since the beginning of the year. She is now approximately 24 pounds, and 33 1/2 inches tall. According to my size chart information, that puts her right at the beginning of 2T clothing. It may be a tad big yet for her, but she'll get there! She loves music and playing the piano, is able to pull to standing and walk with assistance, and loves being out and about learning and seeing new things. She is going to fit right into this family! I feel such peace knowing that the foster family is taking such good care of her, and it seems as though they will do a great job of preparing her for the transition of adoption. What an answer to prayer!

I wish I could post a photo, but am going to wait until after we have passed court to post one publicly. However, if you happen to see me somewhere, I'll try to have one with me so that you can see our precious little girl! Continue to pray that our paperwork progresses well and that we can raise the last $3000 we need in the next 4 to 6 weeks.

Thanks for sharing in our excitement...until Sophia comes home...

Hope is Fading...

2010-06-14T18:34:00.000-07:00

...not for our daughter waiting in Taiwan, but for the millions of other boys and girls around the world who are waiting for their forever families. View this post on my sister's blog to see a powerful video created by a young man who gets it!

Whew!

2010-06-09T13:15:00.000-07:00

Things have really been busy on the adoption front this week as we scramble to renew this and that! So far I have managed to get Dave's passport renewal and our child abuse and criminal clearnace requests mailed out. We have also managed to receive a re-fingerprinting date with Immigrations for June 30. Thankfully, we don't have to return to Philly for that! Yesterday we had a phone meeting with the adoption coordinator from our agency to discuss our service plan, and from that meeting, we have an on-line international adoption training to complete this summer. It sounds pretty interesting, but it might be tricky to find a time that Dave and I can sit down and complete it together! I'm working on getting paperwork together for a grant request, so that is a matter of prayer. We have requested updated growth information and photos from the orphanage so we can include an outfit in the care package we are putting together to send to Sophia. We are also setting up a date to meet with our social worker in person at our home for our home study update. Whew! I told you it has been busy around here, but it's all good, and I'm officially on summer vacation, so I have time to do it! God is good--the timing couldn't have been better!

Things to pray about:
         - A quick turn around for all of our paper work and home study updates. Many items are out of our hands and we must rely on the offices from which we are requesting information, and the USPS!
         - Sophia's continued therapy and development. Pray that she might be prepared for meeting us and the adoption process as much as possible for her age and developmental level.
         - That God will prepare our entire family for meeting and loving our new addition. This will affect each of us in a different way, and we are praying that we will all grow closer to each other and God as a result!
         - We still need approximately $3000 for this phase of the adoption process. God will provide!

Thanks for continuing to journey with us!

Here's the deal...

2010-06-05T10:58:00.000-07:00

Now that I have had time to process what the next steps are in our adoption of Sophia since being officially matched yesterday (yeah!), I will attempt to share them here in order to get them down in some semblance of fashion for myself and anyone else who is interested!

Today we started checking some items off of our suddenly very long to-do list. Dave's passport needed to be renewed, so that was sent off today after filling out the form on-line, writing the $75 check and getting the passport photos ($10). We also mailed the hard copy original of our adoption agreement to our agency. They should receive it early next week and it will probably be mailed to Taiwan on Friday, the day they usually send out mail to Taiwan. Once the orphanage in Taiwan receives the agreement, they will work on getting the legal papers together that we must sign, notarize, state seal, and TECO seal before returning them to Taiwan. A friend who is a step ahead of us on this journey said it took about 3 weeks from the time the original adoption agreement was sent to Taiwan to receive their legal documents. Meanwhile, we also must do some paperwork on our end to send back with the legal documents as part of what is called our "referral dossier". This is our second such packet of paperwork. Since we are nearing the renewal dates on some of our old paperwork, we actually need to update our home study (to the tune of $300) which includes updating medical paperwork (fees involved) and our financial statement. We also need to be re-fingerprinted by the FBI (hopefully free) and renew our child abuse and criminal clearances in state (fees involved). So, as you can see, we have probably close to $600-700 of fees just in order to get the documents ready to go back to Taiwan in order to move to the next step...the court process. Additionally, we have an agency fee for our future post-placement reports that is due right now which is $900. Thankfully, by God's grace, we have the money in hand to cover all of this, but it is eating into what we have saved for our orphanage fee which must be paid when our referral dossier is returned to Taiwan. We did find out that what we owe the orphanage is $6200, which is on the low end of orphanage fees, for which we are grateful. All told, we need to raise about $3000 more dollars right now to cover all of these fees, then we can work on travel expenses. (Note: We have updated our ticker and our Chip-in to reflect that we are still in need of $3000 for this phase...the Chip-in had to be adjusted in a weird way, but you can tell that we are still in need of $3000 to reach our goal. I also changed our 100 Wishes page to reflect our goal better as well. Donations can be made either through 100 Wishes or the Chip-in...it goes to the same account.)

Which takes me to the inevitable question...when do we travel? Well, once our referral dossier is returned to Taiwan, we await a court date. There may be more then one court hearing before we get a first decree. When we get that, we will find out our travel dates. The final court hearing is held while we are in Taiwan, but we do not attend. It is at that hearing that we get our final decree, and then we file our paperwork in person in Taiwan at the American Institute in Taiwan-US Embassy in Taiwan (or AIT for short). We will be able to pick up Sophia's IR3 Visa before returning home which, if I understand correctly, makes Sophia a U.S. citizen upon arrival in the U.S. The timeline for all of that to happen is typically 6-8 months, including the referral time. This means that, if all would proceed in a timely fashion, we might be traveling in early 2011. But, as anyone familiar with international adoption knows, there are many roadblocks that may arise. We will continue to pray for favor and expediency and that God would continue to provide for our needs as they arise. We are beyond excited, but know that the road ahead is still an arduous and bumpy one. However, at the end of our journey lies a beautiful little girl who is waiting for her forever family to come and take her home so she can start her own journey of growing and healing and learning. Please continue to pray for us--we covet your prayers and thoughts so much! Blessings!

Inching closer to our daughter every day...

We've Been Approved!

2010-06-04T11:48:00.000-07:00

I was jumping up and down when I read the title to our agency contact's e-mail...GOOD NEWS!! Yes, we've been approved to proceed with our daughter's adoption...and in record time, praise God! It has been three weeks since we sent off the last of the answers to the questions we were asked by the orphanage, and I was getting ready to type my weekly "we continue to wait" post, but instead, I get to write this post! Now we must paper chase the second round of documents, update everything (ugh!), and get our funds totally raised. But God is good and He has a plan and it is proceeding in His time frame. Will write more soon!

Sophia, Mommy and Daddy and brothers love you, and we are on our way!

100 Good Wishes for Sophia

2010-05-29T03:16:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to announce that we have launched a 100 Good Wishes Campaign to support Sophia's adoption from Taiwan! Through the link to the right, you can visit our 100 Good Wishes page, and leave your good wishes for Sophia. This is based on the idea of the 100 Good Wishes quilt, a Chinese tradition that spans generations. The 100 Good Wishes folks have set up their organization specifically to help adoptive parents in their efforts to raise the necessary funds to bring home their children. Please feel free to pass along our information to any friends you might have who would be willing to support our endeavor as well. I will leave the Chip-in information posted as well; both the Chip-in and the 100 Good Wishes go to the same account. Thanks, and God bless you!

Waiting...

2010-05-27T13:41:00.000-07:00

We are almost at the end of week two of waiting to hear back from the orphanage in Taiwan regarding our request to be matched with "Beautiful Jade". I know that the orphanage deliberates long and hard on their matches; they want to make sure that the "fit" between the family and child is a good one. They really do try and cover all of their bases, which benefits the adoptive family in the long run. However, it's a bit trying to wait, not knowing what they are thinking or even being able to prove yourself to them in some way. Ultimately, we have left this decision in God's capable hands, and we know that His Will will be accomplished.

Until then...we wait...

God is Good

2010-05-20T18:34:00.000-07:00

"God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good." How often I have been reminded of this quote on this adoption journey! Time and again God's goodness has shown through as He has been faithful to meet our needs. And now is no exception. We are at 29% of our anticipated need for the orphanage fee...praise God! We have been waiting for nearly a week now on the orphanage's decision regarding our match with the little 2 1/2 year old girl we have grown to love. As we continue to patiently await a decision, we know that God is in control. He will continue to provide for us financially, emotionally, and spiritually as we wait for His will to be made known. I am SO thankful to have a God like that!

Waiting and praying....praying and waiting...

Chip-In

2010-05-14T11:01:00.000-07:00

We need to gear up our fundraising in earnest again so that we have the necessary funds for Sophia's orphanage fee when we are approved for her adoption. God miraculously provided what we needed when we paid our homestudy fee and then our agency fee, so I know He will do the same again. We still have many cookbooks left (see link on right) for $15 + $5 S&H. We are also changing our donate method to a Chip-In button (also on right) so that everyone can see how quickly we are reaching our goal. This money needs to be sent to the orphanage when we send back our referral dossier, so I am thinking positively and put an end-of-June date on the Chip-In widget. Of course, that can always be changed! Thanks for praying for us, and if the Lord so leads, feel free to donate and help us bring Sophia home!

Trusting God to continue to provide what we need when we need it to bring Sophia home!

Exciting Week!

2010-05-13T17:51:00.000-07:00

What an exciting week this has been! This morning we received a list of five questions from the orphanage in Taiwan. They wanted some clarification and explanation on a variety of issues. I was able to respond this afternoon. Pray that if and when the responses are translated, they will make sense. I'm not sure if there is an English speaker on the other end or not, but I know our home study had to be translated. We have been told that a decision could take weeks to months, so we continue to wait. Yesterday, after a series of events that I will have to post about later, we really felt God's confirmation on this little girl, so we are at peace with what lies ahead.

Thanks for your prayers...until Sophia is home...

Getting Closer...

2010-05-10T18:07:00.000-07:00

Today, Monday, May 10, might well go down in the history books for our family. It may be the day that we saw our daughter for the first time. Please pray as we have requested to be considered as the adoptive parents of a beautiful two year old little girl whose name means "Beautiful Jade". How appropriate! When we are able, we will share more details, but for now, please pray that God will grant us favor with the orphanage and those who will be making this decision on the other side of the world. Ultimately, we know that if this is God's will for our family, He will continue to move us forward. If not, He will close the door. I'm so glad He is in control!

Resting and waiting...

Still Waiting

2010-05-07T11:43:00.000-07:00

We have been waiting for some updated information on a little girl from Taiwan for two weeks now. It's hard to wait when you know that there is a child who needs a family and you are potentially a candidate for that child, but we need to make sure that we are in God's will and right now that means we need some additional information, if it is available. Continue to pray!

Meanwhile, I have been reminded this week that God has a plan for each of us--a plan that is really a journey. And to fulfill that plan, we will have lots of ups and downs and all arounds that are all part of the journey, leading us to be better prepared for our ultimate destination. When the going gets tough, it is the knowledge that God has that plan, and has put us on the journey, that keeps us moving forward. I am reminded of Joseph and all that he endured as part of God's plan for his life, and to save the lives of his family (truly preserving God's chosen people) and the nation of Egypt. I'm sure he didn't understand what God was doing when bad things seemed to happen when he was doing the right thing, but in the end he told his brothers, "And as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result..." (Genesis 50:20). What a testimony!

And so, we continue to wait on this part of our journey, resting in the fact that as we have stepped out in faith, God seems to have the adoption of another child in His plan for our lives. When, where, and how that will all happen remains to be seen, but my God is more than able!

Walking to Sophia by faith, and not by sight...

A Must Read

2010-04-30T11:25:00.000-07:00

It's the end of another month on our adoption journey. Continue to pray for wisdom for us in some important decisions that need to be made as we move forward. My sister sent me the link to this blog post today, and it was so very encouraging to me at this point on our adoption journey. If you love Jesus and want to understand His heart for the orphaned children of this world, you must read it.

Jesus, please give me your eyes and your heart as we wait for our daughter...

And the Beat Goes On...

2010-04-02T19:27:00.000-07:00

We had a successful Pampered Chef fundraiser, thanks to many family and friends. Thank you! We continue to wait for a referral, and rest in the Lord for His timing and provision. You can pray that I sell a lot of cookbooks and copies of my sister's poetry book at our church this month, as we are putting out information this weekend in the church newsletter and will be putting out samples of both books in the lobby. I am also in the midst of a flower bulb fundraiser which is being communicated to the church, so I hope for a good response to that. To be honest, I'm getting pretty tired of fundraising, but I feel that I need to do something to keep the ball rolling and people's awareness of our situation up. So, the beat goes on!

Until Sophia is home...