Last post from Taiwan

Today we started out at the Dr.'s office. Maya has a fever and is coughing pretty hard, so we wanted her checked out before we put her on an airplane tomorrow. She just has a cold, nothing to serious, so that is a good thing. Despite being sick, she has been pretty good. We took her to the Handicraft Market today, it is a great place to see all the fun items that you can get here under one roof. The prices are not as good as you can find at the night markets, but I liked the quiet, non crowded, shopping compared to the people everywhere shopping. The night markets are a definete must if you are coming, you get a true feel for Taiwan at the night markets.

We also went to Taipei 101, and the Chiang Kai-Shek Memeorial Hall. Both were incredible.

It has been another great day getting to know our fiesty little girl, She definetely knows what she wants and when she wants it!! On the way back to the hotel, we threw the diaper bag in the trunk of the taxi, well 3 minute into the ride she decided she was hungry. Let's just say the cab driver was plugging his ear with one hand and driving in rush hour traffic with the other!! Rush hour traffic by the way is scary...nothing a driver should be navigating one handed!!! Have I mentioned the scooter riders? Hundreds of them everywhere, coming at you from all directions, and very gutsy!!

David has already fed Maya her first ice cream cone and that went over very well, She would not let it out of her sight!

We have had an amazing time here in Taiwan, but we are so ready to come home. This is our last post until we are back in the states. Thank you so much for all the sweet comments from everyone, it has helped us so much to know that we have so many of you supporting us.

Boys, get ready, she's coming home! We can't wait to see you at the airport. LOVE YOU!!!

Janalee, David and Maya Xiao-Pin

Getting to know Maya

Well, lets just say she is a busy little thing! She is a mover, always on the go. She knows what she wants and when she wants it and there is a high (very high) pitched scream if you don't believe her. She does not give us much of a warning when she is hungry, so we end up with her screaming while we are trying to make a bottle. Mom and Dad need to watch for the signs better before the screams. She seems to be prefering me but she will still go to David anytime, she just wants me when she is tired. She has a cute little personality, but we still do not get many smiles from her. She is a very pleasant baby and pretty much goes with the flow which will be good when she gets home to four brothers who will smother her in hugs and kisses. She is a good little sleeper- 8:30pm- 6am this morning and we woke her up to go to AIT.

Speaking of AIT we passed with flying colors, we get her Visa tomorrow!!!!

The family we are traveling with is just awesome, we have a lot in common and their little one Emi is just so cute. Emi is sick though, so that has not been fun for them, they have been to the doctor a couple times for breathing treatments since they got her. We are building a life long friendship, and we are so happy they live where we can see them once in awhile. I will post some pictures of the two of them when Emi feels a bit better.

So aside from the extreme humidity, Taiwan could not be better. Even though I enjoy the busy city here in Taipei, I wish we could get away from the big city to see the true Taiwan. I can tell from the mountain sides that is beautiful (think Kauai) but you can't see much past the highrises and apartmant buildings. Someday I will return with Maya and I will see it then.

We love this whole experience, being here still feels like a dream, especially when Xiao-Pin reaches out to touch my face or pats me on the sholder saying "mama", or when she is using her daddy as a jungle gym and he is just eating it up. He keeps looking at me and grinning. I am seeing a whole new side of my husband--he has always been a great father to the boys, but there is something different about a daddy and his little girl.

D and J

Boys:
It always makes my happier when I get to talk to you, I am so excited to get back home so we can all be together again. We love you guys so much and we are so thankful you are our boys.
Thanks for helping aunt Jennie, and for being good for her. Hope school is going ok for everyone, Way to go Tanner Man!!! Mateo, I hope Mr. T is as cool as ever, Jake- Do you like 1st grade? I sure hope so! Spencer, no worries, I know you are doing your best. Love you all!

Jen:
You are the best, but if you send me another email that starts like the last one, I will hurt you badly! Thanks again for everything, I have no worries about them while you are there.
Love ya!


Ok Ok...here's some new pix!

Sound asleep

First Bath for us

Baba and Xiao-Pin

What a cutie!

Happy girl

It’s our beautiful little Mei Mei!
What an amazing day! Words just can not explain how we both feel. We arrived at our orphanage and were introduced to the director and a few of the office people and then they took us to a room to go over the babies schedules. I was really not prepared for what happened next. The door opened and then the world just kind of stopped as I watched my baby come into the room. I could only sit there with my hand over my mouth and tears streaming down my face. The care giver who had Xiao-Pin handed her to me and that was that...I fell completely and totally in love with our baby girl. She is so sweet and she is not a serious little girl like all of her picture make her out to be. This one is a live wire!!! She came to both David and I very easily and the care givers kept telling her who we were-Mama and Baba. Se looked at us both with curious big brown eyes as if to say "I know you, Where have you been?" Her care givers told us she loves the toy with our picture in it and that they told her who we were everyday. She recognized us! She also looks at the boys pictures very intently.
She has yet to cry, but screams a very high pitched scream when hungry! She is very curious and looks at everything around her. She is crawling and pulling herself up to things. As we speak (type) David and Xiao- Pin are having a raspberry war on the bed and she is winning!
It is truly amazing to me to know beyond a shadow of doubt that this little girl was meant to be part of our family, She is an amazing little spirit and I have so much gratitude for my Father in Heaven.
The birth parent meeting was one of the hardest things I have been through in my life. It was also one of the most amazing experiences I have had in my life. David had a really hard time, and I would have but our birth mother was trying so hard to save face as Asian people do and she was not wanting us to see the hurt in her eyes, so I forced myself to be strong for her. We said our goodbyes and then I lost it when she walked out the door.
So people, I know you are here for the pictures, so here they are. Boys, your little sister is so cute and fun, I can’t wait to bring her home for you to meet her. You guys will love her!
Janalee and David
Mama and Baba

Tomorrow is the big day

We spent most of today hanging out in our room due to some thunder storms and lots of rain. While some might think that is very boring, it has actually been a good thing. David is catching up on some sleep, and I fought off the wanting to sleep so that maybe I can stay asleep past 3am this morning, we will see. The time in our room gave us a chance to get everything ready for tommorrow, and for us to mentally prepare to meet Maya for the first time. It still feels like a dream and that I will wake up any second and be back in CA.

Next time we post it will be with pictures of Maya! I can't even begin to expalin how that makes me feel. We are both so ready to hold our little girl.

Janalee

To the boys and aunt Jen,
Hey there! We miss you all so much. We can't wait to show you pictures of Maya with us.
Remeber to email me a note on dad's email okay? I would love to hear from you.
Taiwan is a cool place to be, but I can't wait until we are all back home together as a family.
Thanks for being such great kids, and thanks Jen for everything.
Love you,
Mom
ps-Dad says he loves you george and your brothers too!
pps-Jake (and the rest of you)- I love you all the way to Taiwan and back!

Our first full day in Taiwan

We both could not sleep much past 5:00am, so our first day started early! We packed a lot into the day, we started at the Taipei LDS temple, and ended with the night at Shihlin Night Market which is quite a contrast!



We are amazed at the buzz of city life around us, and we are soaking everything in. The people that we have dealt with thus far have been extremely helpful and very kind. We are both taken with the Taiwan children and love to see them playing and looking at us with very curious big brown eyes. We have taken taxi’s everywhere we have gone and find that it is very easy to get around. The taxi rides have been very white-knuckled ride at times...I can’t imagine putting my baby in one!!!

We had a traditional Chinese food lunch at Fang’s, and I was adventurous and tried some different things. Everything was really good.


We went to some of the traditional temples here and watched the people worship. I have to say that people watching has been quite fun!


The night market was amazingly crowded and it was not even the busy time of night. We could barely walk down the alley and the smells were getting to both of us. We found some great traditional clothing for Maya in little sizes, and a few other treasures. We had a great time.
So now it is almost 8pm and we are so sleepy we are going to call it a night.
One more day until Maya!!!
D and J

Hi boys,
Good luck on your soccer games, play hard and drink lots of water!!! You will all do great.
We get Maya soon!
Love you,
Mom and Dad

These did not show up on the previous post.

top picture: Us and the Grey's at the airport

Bottom picture: Our plane at LAX

We are in Taipei!!!
We made it in around 8 pm last night, got to the hotel around 10pm and then to a little walk down the street to get water and some snacks. It is a busy place, and the traffic is crazy!!! Scooters everywhere and the cars will not necessarily stop for you even if you are in a cross walk! This will be an adventure for sure!
The flight was pretty non-eventful and a lot better than I was expecting. We met up with the Laura and the Grey family and LAX and so far it has been great! We both had a small panic attack LAX when we were standing in line waiting to check in at China Air and I asked David about the passports. David turned an awful shade of white and told me he didn’t remember packing them and that they might still be on the kitchen table at home. After what seemed like forever, we finally found them and now we are here. Let’s hope that is the last of the panic attacks!
It seems strange to be in our daughters homeland. It is going to be very hard waiting until Monday to get to finally hold her in our arms. We have waited so long. It almost seems like a dream. Lisa Grey and I were joking that we might have to do some stalking over at Chung Yi!
We tried to post last night, but the connection was not working very well, sorry about that to all of you who have been checking all day long.
It is 6:30 am right now and even though we are still both very tired we could not stay in bed any longer,
the view from our hotel room looks just like I thought Taipei would look- lots of crammed together buildings that are dingy and dirty, crowded streets, laundry hanging out to dry.
Will it really dry here? It is so humid that the tiled sidewalks seem slippery!
Well, we are off to see what today’s adventures have in store for us. Only two more days until Maya!
David and Janalee

Hi boys,
got your Monk-e-mail, loved it! Olive juice too!!! I loved talking to you all this morning, it made me feel better. Only two more days until we get to see Maya. Be good for Jennie.
WE LOVE YOU!!!
Mom and Dad

TAIWAN BOUND!!!

We leave in two days, I am no where near ready, but it will happen!

We spent a lot of time this past weekend working on our orphanage donations, thanks to the ladies and gents at church, the boys were able to put together 60 hygiene kits for the older kids at Chung Yi. Each kit has a toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, comb, brush for the girls, hair stuff for the girls, deoderant, a washcloth, and a beanie baby. We had a couple boys help out which made it easier...thanks Chris and Blair!







We are also taking clothes, blankets and toys thanks to some family members. It blows me away that so many people are so generous. Thanks to all of you.

Thanks to everyone who has offered a helping hand, and for all of you that have offered to help with the boys. It makes it that much easier to go knowing that they will be taken care of.

HUGE thanks to Aunt Jennie, the boys are so excited to have you here! I just hope that after this week at some point in your life you will want to have kids!! You are the best little sis and I am not worried at all about the boys with you here...just remember that I as their mother will never be as cool as you are to them! So don't spoil them to much!

Here is the schedule:
Aug. 24th- Travel to Taiwan
Aug 28th- GOTCHA DAY!!!!!
Aug 29th- AIT (Visa)
Aug 31st- Travel back to California

This is the last post until we are on our way, so stay tuned for the good stuff!!
David and Janalee

Summer is officially over...





As much as they were complaining about school starting, they were all
excited to go this morning. I am not ready for summer to be gone, but
life without a schedule was getting old!















Spencer- 9th grade-A freshman!
Tanner-7th grade
Matthew- 5th grade
Jake- a big 1st grader

Luckily, we have four very smart boys who love to learn, but they all hate to do
their homework!!!

Let the count down begin!

We leave for Taiwan in NINE days!!!
I am feeling it more and more each day. I am trying to not stress over the small stuff, but I also am having moments where I feel like I can't breathe. I am just so nervous that I will forget something and they will tell me I can't have my baby girl!!! At the same time that I am feeling the stress of it all, I am overwhelmed with what is happening in Taiwan right now. I know that Maya's birth family is saying their goodbyes in the next few days and that breaks my heart for them and for her. I am so looking forward (yet still a little nervous) to meeting them. I hope that I can reassure them and give them the comfort they need.

NINE more days!!!! I can't believe this is really happening!

I have FIVE kids!

Ok-so today I was talking with someone and they asked me how many kids I have. I said "five, four boys and a girl" and then I sat there because after it came out of my mouth I was kind of shocked! Not as shocked as the lady was when my answer was five.... but I actually got tears in my eyes and the lady that asked me probably thought I was crazy, I sat there half listening to the conversation (she also probably thought I was RUDE!) thinking to myself a couple of things...one was WOW! I have FIVE kids...FIVE!!!...I got a little bit scared for a split second! The other thing I thought was WOW! I have FIVE kids...5 little blessings! I did not think twice when asked how many kids I have to just say five. Before now, I have always said I have four boys and we are adopting a little girl from Taiwan, I guess it is happening...it has been kind of hard to believe up until this point, but the closer we get to getting on a plane and bringing her home the more real it all becomes. I have FIVE kids!!! oh, only 22 more days by the way!

HER FIRST SMILE!!

(for us anyway)

July updates are here! We did not expect them for a few more days, so imagine how excited we were to get them early. The pictures are not the greatest (just a bit blurry), but I'll take anything that lets me see my little girl. We were very excited to see the picture of her smiling in the walker, that is the first smile we have seen, usually Maya seems so serious! We also noticed her very skinny little legs...something I am not used to! All of my boys were very BIG, two of them were ten pounds at birth, and all of them wieghed in around 25 pounds by six months! We are talking lots of cute little baby fat rolls on thier legs, so this will be different!

So, we have our travel schedule-

Aug. 24th-Leave for Taiwan

Aug. 28th-Gotcha Day

Aug. 29th-AIT

Aug. 31-Head back home

We are leaving for Taiwan in about a month! I am so excited and nervous! We have lots to do to get ready, and I have four little men to get ready for school...Our oldest, Spencer, starts HIGHSCHOOL two days before we leave! Do not ask me how this happened--last time I looked at him I swear he was starting Kindergarten and telling me to "go home now" as I whimpered at the classroom door. At any rate, I suspect that this month will go really fast yet really slow at the same time.

She wants to meet us....

A couple days ago I got a call from Laura at FFC telling us that Maya's birth mother and father and maybe one set of grandparents want to meet us. I am very nervous about this meeting, but so happy that I will be able to look her birthparents in the face and thank them for the gift of their daughter. I hope that I can ask the right questions, and I hope I can give the answers that her birthparents need. How do I even begin to say thank you or help them to understand how grateful I am for them, and for the precious little girl I am blessed to call my own? I have a lot of thinking to do...

WE GOT THE CALL!!!!!!

It is official! Maya Xiao-Pin is our baby girl--we have our final decree!!!

We can pick her up on AUGUST 28th

We are thrilled and feel so blessed to have this little one to love.

Stay tuned for the juicy details!

JUNE UPDATES!

Okay people, I can't take it much longer...if we don't get travel news soon you can find me in Taiwan!!! Here are the latest pictures of our sweet little Maya, HOW CUTE IS SHE??? She has changed so much this month. When we saw these pictures our hearts swelled a little and broke a little at the same time. The waiting game has not been very pretty the past few days, even Dave who is usually my rock is having a hard time. The boys are doing fine, they ask all the time if we got any news yet and then move on to the next thing with out a care in the world...if only it were that easy for me!

SHE'S SIX MONTHS OLD

Yesterday Maya turned 6 months old. We are still waiting for travel news, surely it has got to be soon. I've been told that this call will change everything...I do know that a lot will change, for example, she will be here with us, I can watch her sleep at night, I can kiss her big fat cheeks and hear her sweet little baby sounds, I can look into those big dark eyes and I can finally show the world this sweet little girl instead of explaining one more time why she is not here yet (an answer I really do not know myself). But for me, everything changed the day we saw her picture for the first time, read all about her and her birth family, and knew beyond a shadow of doubt that this was our baby girl. That is the day everything changed...

SANTA CRUZ


Ok- So I am trying really hard not to just sit here and stare at the phone!
We are still waiting for our phone call to say that we can go to Taiwan and
pick little miss Maya up to bring her home, so needless to say I am going
nuts trying to keep myself busy! I decided to share some of our family
Vacation photos of Santa Cruz. It is our tradition to go camping at a great
place right next to the beach every Memorial Day Weekend. This year
was great, the boys played on the beach everyday, boogy boards, sand crabs,
football, the giant aquaball, and burying each other in the sand were the
favorites. We love it here.




Well, back to waiting...

Maya's May update!

KISSES IN THE WIND...
I hold you in my heart and touch you in my dreams
You are here each day with me, at least that is how it seems.
I know you wonder where we are.....What's taking us so long,
But remember child, I love you so and God will keep you strong.
Now go outside and feel the breeze and let it touch your skin.....
Because tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.
May God Hold you in his hand until I can be with you,
I promise you, my darling, I'm doing all that I can do.
Very soon, you'll have a family for real, not just pretend.
But for tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.
May God wrap you in His arms and hold you very tight.
And let the angels bring the kisses that I send to you each night.

Author Unknown


What a cutie! We are amazed at how much she changes every month. This update made me really sad. Believe me, it is great to see her new pictures every month, but this one makes me realize the life she is living right now. We can't wait to kiss those big fat cheeks and finally see her smile. So far she has had the same cute look on her face in almost every picture we have of her. This is one serious little princess! The boys ask us everyday as they run through the door after school if we got travel news yet, today Jake and I had a fun conversation about what he can do to help when she comes, he sees his little throne shrinking more and more each day, but he is ready to have his little sister home so that he can feed her some milk or soda or what ever those babies drink--his words, not mine! We are busy preparing for Maya to come home. We are so excited that maybe if things continue going smoothly we will be posting from Taiwan at this time next month! Keep us in your prayers!

GREAT MOTHER"S DAY NEWS!

On May 13th around 5:00pm I received the best Mother's Day gift I could have this year. Laura from Families For Children called to let us know that we have had our court hearing in Taiwan and all went well. Both of Xiao-Ping's birth parents were in attendance, and everything went very smoothly . If things continue to go well, we can expect to travel by the end of June!!! We are thrilled, shocked, and panicked all at the same time. We have so much to do before we travel that I don't really even have time to breathe! The boys are so excited and were all jumping up and down and telling anyone in sight at church on Sunday that Maya is coming home soon. What a great experience this has been for them. We are so blessed to have these four young men in our lives. They are going to be awesome big brothers to our sweet baby girl. So Mother's Day this year is not one I am likely to forget anytime soon, I got our wonderful news about Maya and my four boys and hubby spoiled me rotten...can't ask for much more!

April updates are here! It was a relief for us to get these pictures of Xiao-Ping this month.
David and I have been a bit nervous after our little roller-coaster ride over Easter weekend, so seeing pictures of her this time was just a huge relief. We are more aware than ever of the heartache that is happening half way around the world, and we are both in awe of her birth parents and the decisions they have made so that she can have a better life. We know that Maya is truly a blessing given to our family, and not one to be taken lightly. This little girl has already changed our lives in so many ways and we have not even held her yet. This little one is very loved...by a family that is making heart wrenching decisions so that she will have a better life, and by a family who is so blessed to be able to help give her that life.