Drunk on Emotion

Too difficult to describe via blogging but our last three days have been emotional in a myriad of ways. Some of which is just to personal to share on the internet. From a lack of sleep to frustrations with travel, compassion for our girls circumstances and a moving experience with the birth mother this morning; we are teetering on overload. I think this is why we are so desperately homesick. It has been something that only Dave and I will fully feel or understand. Our meeting with the girls birth mother was moving. She was deeply grateful for our willingness to adopt the girls and my heart just broke at the thought of her losing her children due to poor choices and behavior. Let's just say, many tears were shed and hugs were given to try to offer love and understanding. Although I felt hesitant about it, I am so glad we agreed to meet her. If I had to pick one emotion I have felt more than any other over the past 8 or 9 days, compassion would be it. Just completely aching for my girls in so many ways and then today I felt so deeply saddened for the woman who gave them life. Although many of you may question why we have pursued this aoption, I must tell you that the lessons already have been so deep and impacting that I cannot compare it with anything else.

Dave is at the playground with the girls right now so that I could post on the blog. The weather today is beautiful and the girls just need space to run and play. Ya Wen has fallen head over heals in love with Ba Ba (Daddy). She wants to be with him constantly and nobody else. Shu Ting is more of a Mama's girl and our issues with carrying her were "saved by the purse". She now wants to carry Mama's purse everywhere and pretends to be talking on my cell phone. The girls play pretend in the hotel room with the phones and it is about the cutest thing ever. Chloe and Shu Ting had a pretend cell phone conversation last night all the way home from the restaurant. It was sooo cute. You would all be amazed at how much Chloe is able to communicate with the girls in chinese. It has been gratifying for her and for us.

We are going to try to enjoy our last and final day here in Taiwan tomorrow and will depart for home on Thursday morning. We will arrive in SLC at 1:00pm Thursday afternoon.

Zai Jian!!!

Twists and Turns

We haven't posted anything over the past few days which is a result of being exhausted and overwhelmed to say the least. Thank Heaven Chloe is with us is all I can say! The girls are so fun and full of energy and most certainly testing their boundaries with us. Shu-Ting particularly has exhibited a strong will that would be hard to trump. They began by wanting us to carry them everywhere (move over Luke!). Shu-Ting is exceptionally tall for her age and weighs approximately 45+ pounds. Dave, Chloe and I would take turns holding her but she is just to heavy to carry very far. When we tell her she has to hold hands and that we can't carry her, she sits down on the ground and refuses to move. If that doesn't have an effect then she will begin the yelling. This is particularly pleasant when we are out in public and everyone is already staring at three blonde Americans with two Taiwanese girls. To make matters worse, Ya-Wen gets involved when she sees Shu-Ting upset and the two girls begin shouting at us in Chinese saying heaven knows what. Everyone around us can understand what they are saying while we are clueless. We are creating a free circus show for anyone in Taipei who wants to observe. Although frustrating, it is a sure sign that the girls have not received consistent, appropriate and loving boundaries or discipline. Dave and I are committed to providing boundaries while showering them with love and affection.

We attempted a trip to the jade and flower markets yesterday. After about 10 to 15 minutes of constant stares, gawking, pointing and whispering towards us and the girls; Dave and I agreed that the public recognition of us was creeping us right out. It was an uncomfortable feeling that did not feel right. Consequently, we turned around and left. Nice cab fare for nothing!!!

We received a call from Sally notifying us that the birth mother of the girls has requested to meet with us on Tuesday morning. We don't quite know what to think of her intentions or how it will impact the girls behavior afterwards but we feel we should accept the invitation to meet her and assure her that we will provide the girls with a healthy, happy and secure life. This all came as a complete surprise to Chung-Yi, Sally and us. We are hoping it will prove to be a positive experience. Another one of the many twists as this whole adoption comes to completion.

We are desperately homesick and wanting to be back with our family. We are running into serious roadblocks with re-scheduling our tickets which is costing us into the thousands and causing us to be unable to all fly home together. Frustrated wouldn't be the half of how we are feeling. The foster Mom's choices have cost us gravely in countless ways.

We attended the English speaking ward today and it was a positive and uplifting experience. One of the families who lives right next to our hotel invited us over for dinner so the girls could play with their children and some toys. It really was a lifesaver on a discouraging day for us.

We have our final appointment with AIT in the morning which will "seal the deal" for getting the girls out of the country. They are so excited to go to America and meet their big brothers. We can hardly wait to get them out of a hotel room and into a home.

Music to our ears

We've decided that the most beautiful music is the sound of Shu-Ting and Ya-Wen speaking chinese to each other and to us. With their sweet little voices and the tones of the chinese language, it sounds like beautiful music coming from their mouths constantly. They are chatter boxes and even though we don't understand most of what they say, it is music to our ears.!!

We spent the day at the Zoo yesterday and had a great time. The girls loved it and were tired out by the time we headed back to the Hotel. We saw a couple of giant Pandas and many other fun animals. Went out for dumplings last night and let's just say.....DELICIOUS!! We discovered that the girls love jasmine tea and are masters of chopsticks.

My closest friends who are all in the category of systematic women, or OCD or anal retentive will appreciate that Ya-Wen is one of you. I'm hoping that the angels warned her that she was getting a disorganized, ADD mother! We are getting the biggest kick out of watching her have to put everything in order. She is extremely particular about all of her things and where she puts them and what she does with them. Oh, heaven help me!!!

We are enjoying our time here but looking forward to being back with the family and in a home where the girls have some space to run and play. The hotel room is not conducive to two high energy girls.

Overjoyed!!!!

Yesterday was a whirlwind day but unforgettable to say the least! We received an email from Laura upon landing in Taiwan that the "hand off" would be done at our Hotel at 10:00am. We had 30 minutes from our arrival time at the Hotel before meeting the girls for the first time. Ya-Wen immediately came to Mama for a hug and both of the girls knew exactly who me and Dave were. They were excited to see Chloe and she was a big help with the girls while we went over all of the paperwork and information sharing with the Chung-Yi Social workers and Sally. You'll notice from the photos that they came with some groovy play glasses and they think they are so cool and want to wear them everywhere we go. The girls are exhuberant, playful, affectionate and giggly. We couldn't have asked for a better response. They have asked several times where their big brothers are. Drew, Seth and Luke; you are missed! The girls loved bathtime and laid down for bed peacefullly and went to sleep. Jet lag had hit us all by about 6:00pm and so we all went to bed at 7:30pm.
Today is rainy but we are going out to do something fun as the girls are wild and crazy in the Hotel room. They have energy coming out the wahzoo! We certainly are getting lots of stares from people and it is quite evident that the girls are recognized by many around here. Sally advised we go out with the girls as they just have too much energy to try to stay in a room.
May I just end this post by telling y ou all how blessed we feel. We are all so comfortable together that it just feels right. Dave and I definately feel a sense of peace that our family is finally complete. We loved watching the girls sleep and even listening to Shu-ting grind her teeth all night.