Don't You Just Love Pictures

They tell such a wonderful story. Today was 'bonding' day, as it was raining outside and they had to get along because they were stuck in the house together. Judson just loves jumping on his bed because it makes Sawyer and Ansley laugh. And nothing is better than getting a good laugh. And the play dishes.....oh my, they are wonderful. Ansley loves to cook! Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Extra Pictures

How Exciting! We sent several disposable cameras to Taiwan. The foster family took pictures for us and we couldn't be more excited to have them. Enjoy!

Check it Out!

I've added a link (to the right of your screen) that might interest you. It's a great opportunity to help children. It is Reece's Rainbow. It is an organization that helps people who want to adopt children with Down Syndrome. In case you are not aware, there is a waiting list of people who would like to adopt a child with Down Syndrome here in the United States. However, there are children with DS in foreign countries who are in dire need of a forever family. Check it out. You might be able to help.

First Week Home

I cannot believe it's been just 1 week since Ansley came home. It seems like she has always been here. She has adjusted so well. What a resilient little girl. One week ago, she screamed whenever I tried to brush her teeth. One week ago, her brothers were scared to be close to her. (This is as close and Judson will get and you can see the 'excitement' on his face.) I have to say, this week has gone much better than I expected. She is sleeping well and eating well. She loves her Daddy! (who doesn't!) She follows her biggest brother around. (A curse, if you ask him) She tries to take care of her littlest brother. Don't you just love that Ansley and Sawyer have the same hair styles?

It is hectic around here but in a good way. The activity level has risen significantly since Ansley came home. She is a whirlwind. She loves the cat and dogs. She loves to be outside. In one week, she has managed to get a scraped knee and forehead. She fits right in!

More later.

Trip Pictures

Okay, it's hard to just pick out a few. They took so many wonderful shots. Enjoy!

Daddy and Ansley.











Changing of the guard.











View from the 101 building (The tallest building in the world)










The CKS Memorial with Nana, Daddy, and Ansley










A park close to the hotel











Talking to Mommy on the phone

They are home!

Daddy, Nana, and Ansley arrived home today. Can I just start out by saying what a wonderful job Daddy and Nana did! They traveled half way around the world in record time. They took tons of pictures, they got the visa, they met foster parents and Ansley's aunt, they saw the sites, and they made it through customs at LAX without a minute to spare! I have the most awesome husband in the world! And my mother-in-law got on her first airplane because she loved her son and her granddaughter, whom she'd never met, that much. How blessed this family is!

I thought I'd try to post some pictures now and maybe more later.




LAX (I think)


Outside the hotel











Gotcha Day, June 12th

Gotcha Day with Daddy and Nana

Heading Home

They are packed and ready to head to the airport. They will be home in 24-hours! Ansley is doing well. She knows "Gone Gone" and "Thank you". She still clings to daddy but is allowing Nana to 'help' some. They have seen alot of sites and taken alot of pictures. Now they are ready to be "home"!

I'll post pictures as soon as I can. (Hopefully before Labor Day)

Jan

Randy is IN LOVE

Ansley already has Daddy wrapped around her finger and he loves it! Things are going well. AIT appointment went well. They pick up the visa Wednesday morning (Taiwan time). They have seen a lot of sites and have done some shopping. Randy carried Ansley around in the front carrier most of the time. (She weighs 22 pounds!) They suspect they are losing weight because they just don't have time to eat. When they do take time to eat, the food is good. They are getting lots of pictures so hopefully I can post some pictures when they get home.

They'll be home in less than 48 hours!

More later.

First Night

They survived the first night. Ansley woke up a few times, sobbing. Randy described it as very sad and heart breaking. (This is very typical, since she is going thru a mourning period. She has lost all that is familiar to her.) Randy would walk her around for a bit and she would go back to sleep. She has definitely velcro'd herself to her daddy! (From what I've heard others say, that is typical too. It may take a few weeks for her to decide that the rest of us are okay.)


Today (Tuesday morning, Taiwan time) is AIT appointment. This is where Ansley's visa will be issued. They will turn in the paperwork today and get the visa on Wednesday. They hope to do some site seeing today, also. It will depend upon how well Ansley does and the weather. They are having serious rains in Taiwan but today is supposed to be better, weather-wise.

That's all for now. More later.

Gotcha Day!

June 12 will forever be known as Ansley's Gotcha Day! It is the day she was placed in Randy's arms and she became part of our family. It was an emotional day. Randy said it could not have gone any better. He was able to speak with the foster family. They love Ansley so much and were quite emotional. He was also able to meet with Ansley's aunt. That was also a good meeting.

According to everyone (including Nana and Daddy), Ansley is quite the inquistive child. You will not be able to pull the wool over her eyes. She is also quite an emotional child who's feeling can be hurt easily. (Judson has met his match) She has started bonding with her Daddy. She doesn't want to let go of him. She is going thru some mourning (which is normal). Tonite will be a defining moment. How well will she be able to sleep and adjust to her new surroundings? How well will Nana and Daddy be able to sleep?

They have AIT appointment tomorrow morning. After that, I think they can relax a bit.

More later.

They are on solid ground!

They made it! They landed at CKS Airport in Taipei around 10pm Taiwan time. They made it to their hotel around midnite local time. They survived! After such a long trip, they do have reservations about making the return flight with a 17 month old child.

They leave to pick up Ansley at 11:15 local time, Monday. In less than 24 hours, Randy will be holding his daughter in his arms! How exciting is that!

More later.

Nana Survived!

Randy and his mom have landed at LAX. Nana survived the first leg of their journey. (It was her first flight ever) How lucky we are that Nana is able to travel with Randy and help with her newest grandchild!

The flight was non-eventful. They have a slight layover before they start their next leg. (A mere 13+ hour flight) They arrive in Taiwan late Sunday nite (That's Sunday morning our time)

More later.

June Pictures

So May pictures were NOT the last, here are the last before we travel. Look, she has enough hair to do a Pebbles-do.

Taiwan Itinerary

OKAY. We have the details nailed down. Here they are:

1. Saturday, June 10: Randy and NaNa leave here at 1pm.
2. Sunday, June 11: Arrive in Taipei around 10pm. (That's 10am, Sunday, here)
3. Monday, June 12: GOTCHA DAY!!!! (taking the train to Taichung)
4. Tuesday, June 13: AIT interview and apply for Ansley's visa.
5. Wednesday, June 14: Pick up visa. Leave Taipei at midnite Taipei time.
6. Thursday, June 15: Arrive home at 6:45am

In between, they hope to see as many sites as possible. It is currently the rainy season and raining ALOT in Taiwan. So the sites may be limited. It's a whirlwind trip but we're happy to finally have our daughter home. We will soon be a family of 5!

Taiwan, Here We Come!

We got THE CALL today!!!!!! I hear our case worker say: "congratulations" and then blah blah blah. Then I hear: "AIT appointment on June 13" and some more blah blah blahs. Then comes: "Pick her up on June 12" and more blah blah blahs.

So I'm jumping up and down. Then Judson is jumping up and down and running thru the house and saying he is going to Taiwan because he is adopting too.

Not sure on the itinerary right now. With only 10 days, we've got some hoops to jump through. I'll post more when I have the details nailed down. I'm still shaking and trying to sort things out.

Update number 999

We got an update from our agency today. Apparently the courts were having trouble finding Ansley's birthmother. She was always working when they tried to deliver the legal paperwork. However, that has been remedied. She has signed off on the paperwork. So now, we wait for the judge to make that final decree. Hopefully, that will happen next week. Keep your fingers crossed!

Randy's Thoughts

I feel that I should begin by saying that Jan and I talk about the adoption all the time, as one would expect, so its safe to say that I share the feelings and thoughts that she's expressed on this blog. However, here are some of my personal thoughts and feelings on the adoption.

As you probably well know, we currently have two sons, Judson 3 1/2 and Sawyer 1 1/2, both absolutely wonderful boys with abilities and needs that make everyday exciting to say the least. Sawyer, has had a rough start due to heart/lung issues and he has Down Syndrome. Through his first year of numerous doctor's visits and ultimately heart surgery and his following 'miraculous' recovery, Jan and I realized that we have a great deal more energy than before we would have thought possible. So, after Sawyer started steadily making normal progress we decided that we had enough room in our hearts and home for a little larger family. That's what has brought us to where we are today, waiting any day now for travel plans to pick up our new daughter Ansley.

I have been asked several times by friends and folks that I work with "Why did we choose to adopt?", especially after all the time and worry that we went through during Sawyer's first year. My response usually starts out with basically, "We're crazy!" But really I guess it comes down to that even though there are times I feel like literally pulling my hair out over a spilled 'this' or a broken 'that', the boys have taught and returned much more than we have given. (That said, come back and check on me in ten years or so when the teenage years kick in and I'm sure I'll have a different story that involves a military school ) They've taught me to look at things through new little eyes that look at things in a very bright, fresh and excited way and are not clouded or blinded by what years of 'living' can sometimes do.

Through watching the boys grow we have also learned that time passes by very quickly, too quickly. Although its not a pleasant thought, we all know that we only have a relatively short time in this life. So, with that we've decided to fill as much of the time we have with the greatest little blessings we know of. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to elevate kids to being the best thing for everyone, nothing could be farther from the truth. Sometimes when people ask me why I have made a decision to do something, I find they are really trying to decide what they want to do. Only an invidual can decide what is the best way to spend their time and I'm sure there's an infinite number of 'right' anwers and many don't involve raising children at all. I guess adult life boils down to three steps, (1) decide what's important to you and pursue those things (2) try your best, (3) keep trying.

May Update

(OK, had to break away from the "THE" theme) Here are Ansley's pictures for May. Should be the last update before we travel. She is 22 pounds and 30.5 inches. She is wearing an outfit we sent her.

The Doodles

Ansley has two pup-dawgs eagerly awaiting her arrival. One is extremely happy because he got to go to the groomer today. One is very sad because she did not.

The Boys, Again!

Ok. So here we are waiting on the travel news. How could I resist posting more pictures of the boys? I mean, they just got out of the bath tub. They are all squeaky clean and just plain adorable. DON'T BE FOOLED! The little one is a constant motion machine. He's always on the go and leaving a path of distruction where ever he's been. The big one, he gets to clean up after the day's distruction is complete. (Don't feel sorry for him. He creates quite a mess all by himself) Thanks Nana for the matching John Deere shirts!