Maya's Mock Meet

Maya had her first mock meet for gymnastics last weekend.  They are preparing for her first Level 4 season, which starts the middle of September.  They brought in a judge and went through all of their routines like they will at an actual meet.  It was a great learning experience for the girls and the parents.  The judge talked with them after each event to tell them what they could improve upon and how deductions are taken.  Wow, is the scoring complicated.  One of the girls on her team has a family member that's a photographer and she took the attached pictures.  They turned out really awesome!  Hopefully she'll be able to continue taking them throughout the season, because I tried to take some and all I got was a big blur!

Not Leaving!

Well, our journey has been postponed a bit.  Apparently AIT, the US Consulate, is doing their investigation of the adoption and they are requesting more information.  This is exactly what our agency was concerned about when I talked to them last Friday.  However, when we spoke on Monday they assured me that they were pretty confident that it wouldn’t be a problem and we should go ahead and book our tickets.  Now with two typhoons, Typhoons Tembin & Bolaven, expected to hit Hualien and Taitung counties today and continue through the weekend they think that could delay them getting the information to AIT on time so our agency has advised us to postpone our departure.  I believe Ciana’s birth mom is from Hualien and Ciana is in Taitung so you can pray for their safety as the typhoons make landfall.

The Journey Begins

The two year plus long journey that this adoption process has taken so far now comes to fruition with a journey across the ocean.  Our travel dates have been confirmed, our tickets are booked and we are scheduled to depart this Friday morning.  The last few days have been a whirlwind.  We found out on Friday that our requested Consulate appointment date of August 31 was accepted, but changed to August 30th.  There was some question about whether they would be ready for that date or not, so we had to wait until Monday to get the official word that yes, they thought we would be okay to accept that date.  So, I spent the weekend packing what I could.  Then when we got the word yesterday we frantically searched for flights.  With the short time frame our travel agent was having trouble finding anything.  After much stress, we finally settled on a plan and we are all booked to go.  The first leg of our journey takes us from Des Moines through Detroit and then directly into Taipei with a 17 hour flight.  We will have a free day in Taipei before flying to Taitung on Monday to receive Ciana.  We’ll spend two days in Taitung and then fly back to Taipei for three days before returning to the United States.  While this is an exciting time, it is also very stressful, anxious, etc.  Please pray for our health, for smooth flights and easy connections, for an easy attachment and anything else you can think of!  All in all we’d like prayer for, as I've heard it said, a smooth delivery!

Waiting Again!

I guess we should be used to waiting by now, but here we are waiting again. This time we’re waiting on AIT to confirm our appointment date. Our request of an August 31st appointment date was sent to them on Tuesday, August 14th and we heard yesterday that they’re beginning their appointment procedure for our case. So, we’re told we should hear something soon. If we don’t, it is likely they will push the date out a little further. If they accept our proposed date we could be leaving in one week!

Meanwhile, Ciana turned 4 months old on Friday, so we got an update and some new photos! She is now 13 lbs 8 oz and 24.4” long. She has so much hair that they are able to put in a piggy tail! She had a friend go home to be with her forever family recently and we were told she has been refusing her bottle because her friend left.  On the bright side, they said she is rolling over and she feels very good about herself after each time she rolls over. She is smiley and playful!

It's Official!!!

It was 9:46 this morning when the call came in.  I was upstairs at work talking to the girls about the status of the adoption and how I have been waiting patiently by my phone expecting to hear something any day.  It was now 20 days into the 30 day maximum wait until our final decree would be issued.  I got back to my desk and checked my cell phone, like I have many times over the recent days, just to see if by chance I had received a call from our adoption agency.  I was totally expecting to see a blank screen like I had many times before, but instead it said I had a new voice mail message.  I thought it could be the call I had been waiting for, but didn’t want to get too excited until I heard for sure.  So, I listened to it and it was Kate on the other end saying she had good news, that she had received our final decree!  That’s it, the Taiwan court has made it official and Ciana is now our daughter!  I knew I was scrambling to get everything done and ready for some reason and just in time it seems.   Our documents have been sent to the translator and should be forwarded to AIT (American Consulate in Taiwan) yet this week.  Once they receive them we can request an appointment date which will determine when we travel.  Kate suggested that she might request an appointment on August 31, which would mean if AIT accepts that date we would leave here on August 24th or 25th.  That’s only 2 weeks away!  Tomorrow she will be 4 months old, so it will be different for us to have one that young.  That date is exactly what I had been thinking and hoping for, since it couldn’t be more perfect for Maya’s schedule, but I guess God’s timing is always perfect!

Ciana's Room

Well, Ciana's room is finally done.  I spent most of the month of July painting and decorating her room in preparation for her arrival.  Maya helped out a little too.  When I wasn't sure how to paint the white dots, she even suggested I use a different type of brush, which as it turns out is exactly the one I needed!  I debated a lot about how to decorate it and what color to use as the background.  In fact, I even went back this last Sunday and painted over one entire area that I didn't like after I had put all of that hard work into it.  One day I had the idea in my head to get letters with her name and put them above her crib.  I walked into Hobby Lobby that afternoon and there they were in the exact color that I needed.  I am happy with the finished product now and hopefully Ciana will enjoy it too!

FIRST DECREE!

Exciting news! We just got a call from our agency and they received our First Decree from the court! What this means is that we are now in the last step of the process prior to travel and bringing Ciana home! What happens next is the court will send a notice to Ciana’s birth mom outlining the case. She then has between 10 and 20 business days to sign and return it to court saying that she still wants to proceed with the adoption. After the court receives the signed copy from her they then have a maximum of 10 business days to issue the Final Decree making Ciana officially our daughter! Then an appointment is scheduled with AIT, the US Consulate in Taiwan, which determines our travel dates. So, it sounds to me like we could be traveling around the end of August or first part of September, which is exactly what I have been thinking and hoping for lately.


This is really exciting, but also stressful, because I feel like we aren’t prepared at all. I’m working on painting her room and getting it ready and those that know me know that is not a quick process as I am putting a lot of detail into designs on the walls. Also, I just took on my first paying painting job painting murals in a playroom for someone’s son. We also need to get a new car seat since Maya’s is now expired. Also, we don’t have clothes that small since Maya was a year old when we brought her home and believe it or not, I haven’t been shopping! However, I do have a nice shoe collection started for her already!  Oh well, it will all get done somehow. Please continue to keep us in your prayers and continue to pray for a smooth delivery!