Congratulations Graduate

This is slightly belated, but congratulations to Caleb for graduating Kindergarten! Before we even got home that night, he was talking about how important First Graders are. I think I may have forgotten to mention that First Graders are big enough to help change diapers.

Newsflash: Arizona Birds Are Suicidal

Would you believe it happened again today? I left the dog out back and noticed ripples in the pool. Surely no two baby birds are that stupid... but there it was, another baby finch flopping around in the pool. I was very concerned about this one as there was much less flopping and much more gasping for air than last time. I got the net, scooped the bird out, then went inside and got the hair dryer - again. I didn't hold out much hope for this little guy, but he made it. We let him go after Caleb got home from school today. This one's name is Puddin'-pie.

I don't name the birds - I just save them.

Meet Fluffy

We had a bit of excitement over the weekend. Seems a baby bird fell into our pool and then couldn't get back out. Thankfully, I was walking by the back door when I noticed something splashing around in the pool. After making sure it was a bird (you can never be too sure about strange critters in AZ) I got out the net and scooped it up. The thing was so little and pitiful I decided to put it in a cage with an old sock so it could hopefully recover. A hour later the poor thing was still all wet and shaking so I did something I've never done before. I used my hair dryer... on a bird. That seemed to warm him up a bit so we gave him some water and food and then left him alone. Needless to say, in less time than it took to dry him off, Caleb became attached and insisted we needed another pet. We considered it for all of five minutes before saying 'no'. By the next day after church it was obvious the bird was ready to go back into the world (just not near our pool). Caleb was tearful but perked up when we let him hold the bird (now named Fluffy) and release it. Thankfully Fluffy is a common finch so I think we will be seeing lots of him around.

May Updates!

What a wonderful surprise to receive our update today - just in time for Mother's Day! I thought we wouldn't have them until sometime next week. Our little girl is growing and getting bigger all the time. I think she's getting some teeth now too. Check out the video - she practically devours her hand! lol



Coincidentally, we picked up a teether and a baby toothbrush at the store tonight - before we even saw the video. Talk about timing... We are starting to gather the essentials - bottle liners, baby nail clippers, baby medicines, wipes, etc. We will wait for diapers until we get back from Taiwan because we don't know what size she will be in.

We have also received new measurements. She's growing but she's sticking to that 10th percentile curve like glue! As of April 29th, she weighed 15 lbs and was 25 inches long. If she doesn't hurry up, her little cousin Josiah is going to beat her soon! ;-)

Civil Ruling!

We received notice from our case worker this morning that the judge in Taiwan issued our Civil Ruling yesterday! This is huge - and extremely fast! We only have one more step (the Final Ruling) before we can go get our daughter! There is a mandatory waiting period of ten days before the judge can issue the Final Ruling. This is the last chance for anyone to object to the adoption. Once the judge declares the Final, she is legally our daughter and we can go get her! We are not holding our breath for ten days (although it would be nice) but hopefully we should have the Final within the next month.

Thank you all for your prayers and kind words throughout this process. It is amazing to finally see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. We are starting to price out airfare and hotels and trying to figure out what we would like to do while we are in Taiwan. We would like to be in country for about ten days so we will be able to see a bit of the country and absorb some of the culture. Pray that the right airfare and hotel are available when we need them. Also, pray that we find a couple thousand extra dollars laying around the house in the next week or two... or some unknown rich relative decides to visit us. We're not picky - we'd take either one. lol

Our updated I-171H is here

Hooray! We just received notice tonight that our updated I-171H is processed and being sent to Taipei via the NVC (National Visa Center). We will receive our original in the mail in the next few days! I'm so happy - this is the last loose string from our move that we needed to tie up before we could travel. Now all we need is the Judge to get our case expedited! lol Hopefully we will travel before my fingerprints expire in the middle of August.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to my brother and his wife on their first baby.
We're glad you're here Josiah Ray!

April Updates are Finally Here

What a great surprise to see the updates in our inbox this morning! She has really grown between last month and this month - I think her outfit is probably a 3month size and she finally fills it out! lol Where Caleb was wearing 12month outfits at 6months, she's the opposite - 3month outfits at 6months. At least she'll get plenty of use out of her clothes!



Her video (see above) makes us smile. She is so busy checking everything out! We can't wait to get her home and are praying that everything went well with our hearing and that the judge took a look at our stuff and said 'I think these people are ready to have their daughter home. Let's expedite the process for them.' We can dream can't we? lol

Those eyebrows crack us up!

We Have a Court Date!

Hooray! We just received word from our caseworker that we have a court date scheduled in Taiwan! This is the first of three court hearings. After this there will be a Civil Hearing and then there will be a Final Ruling. Once the Final Ruling takes place she will legally be ours! After our first court date, which is scheduled for April 18th, we can expect a 1-2 month wait until our next court date. We pray it will go quicker, but are just thrilled that we have our first court date so soon! Our dossier was sent to Taiwan on March 17th and usually it takes appx. 2 - 2.5 months to get a court date so we feel like we are finally making up some time. We are hoping and praying to travel in June, but it could be anytime this summer.

Our Baby is Six Months Old

Happy half-birthday sweet baby girl. I hope we get to see you soon!