We made it!!

Just wanted to let everyone know we made it back...everything went very smooth until the drive home...Benjamin did NOT like sitting in a car seat!  More later...

thanks,
SB

The Grand Finale

Today was our last day in Taiwan and we tried to “recap” everyone’s favorite things that we have done during the whole trip.   The kids unanimously voted to go swimming in the Jacuzzi tubs and go back to Peace Park to play on the playground.  Scott’s favorite was the food so we made sure to go back to our favorite spots to eat.  The kids learned how to use chopsticks and are very proud of it!!  My favorite was shopping for souvenirs, which we did some in the morning as well!  We had a great final day and are very excited to get back home!

We start our LONG trip back at 6:30 AM to travel an hour to the airport for the 18 hours in the air, flying to Tokyo with a 2 hour lay over, then to Minneapolis with a 6 hour layover and finally arrive in Birmingham at 9:45 PM.

I wanted to take a moment to give thanks to God for our trip.  It has gone so smoothly and I am very aware that this is the answered prayers of many people.  The LORD has been so gracious and merciful to our family and I am humbled to be a part of His perfect plan for our family.  We are so blessed to know Christ personally and we will continue to pray for the country of Taiwan, where we have seen people praying to many different gods in Buddhist temples.  This has been a great learning opportunity for the kids because they hear about people not knowing Christ at church, but now they have witnessed it.  As we start our journey home, our continued prayer is that we can have the LORD’s wisdom and guidance in how to raise our kids to glorify Christ.  

AIT appointment

We started our day early today and ate breakfast quickly in our room so that we could be down in the lobby to go to our big appointment at 8:00AM.  We had no clue what to expect except that we were to bring all of our adoption papers as well as our passports.  We arrived at the AIT and there was a very long line of people waiting, but we were escorted inside.  We were told to sit among many other people in this waiting room and occasionally, Scott was called up to the window for more information.  We expected to be taken in to a room with just us and talk to some American people about the process, but we were all totally wrong…  After about 1.5 hours, we were done and told that we could pick up Benjamin’s visa later that afternoon.  We did not see one American person and they did not serve hot dogs and apple pie!!

                 

We headed to the Taipei Zoo and enjoyed seeing all the animals, including 2 pandas and penguins.  Benjamin did very well, but did end up sleeping the last part in a stroller.  We headed back to the hotel for a few hours.  Scott went with our tour guide back to AIT and received Benjamin’s visa, so we are all set to return to the US!!

                 

 Check out the little kids on a field trip...

 Nice giraffe

I'm tired!

We decided to get dim sum tonight and went to a restaurant in the hotel b/c the kids were tired of walking.  We got the kids milk to drink and we got 2 cokes, which unbeknownst to us were priced as gold!!  Our food was $22 but the drinks were $34!!!  In general, the shops on the streets are inexpensive.  All 5 of us ate for $6 at one spot, so we were in shock!!  Oh well….  One more day to go and we head home!

Fun times in the hotel!

A sobering reminder…

We have had a great time the past 3 days.  Benjamin is doing great, Bryce and Elise are being the best big brother and sister anyone could ask for, and we haven’t gotten sick yet!  We are so thankful for how the LORD has blessed this trip and our time together.  However, there are things that keep reminding us of the conditions Benjamin was raised in his first 3 years.  When we were in the orphanage, and in particular, in his room (shared with 7-8 other kids) we saw a child (<1 year) lying in the crib on his back just staring at the ceiling.  He probably stayed like that for hours upon hours because he was not crying or requiring any attention…so he lays and he lays on his back.  One of the things we have noticed about Benjamin is the back of his head is really flat…probably because he was lying just like the boy we saw for hours and hours.  No attention, no one reading to him, no “tummy time’, nothing…just lying there staring at the ceiling.  Another indicator of his past is that he goes to bed with a bottle of water mixed with milk and wheat powder.  He just lays on his back with the bottle straight up and drinks it until he falls asleep.  He has probably done that his whole life, propped if unable to hold…. These are sobering examples of the fact that his first 3 years were not ideal and will impact him for the rest of his life.  We do rejoice that he gets to be a part of our family now, and hopefully those scars will gradually get smaller and smaller, so please continue to pray for him…

On another note, we traveled to Yangming mountain today, and hiked up (1.7 km) to the top.  Benjamin wanted to be carried the entire way so I put him on my shoulders and off we went.  We got to the top and it was overcast and foggy so we just took a break, had a snack, and came back down.  Afterwards we went to a memorial in Taipei that had another changing of the guard.  The kids liked it and while we were there, several of the people wanted to take pictures with us.  I warned everyone before we got here that that might happen and on a few occasions people have wanted to take pictures with Elise.  I asked her if that makes her “feel special” or makes her “feel weird” and she says, without a doubt, makes her feel weird!!  She has handled it well, smiles and comes back to us.

We got everyone to bed early because we have an early morning appointment at AIT (American Institute in Taiwan).  The US does not have an official Embassy in Taiwan because of relations with China and the different political ramifications of acknowledging that Taiwan is independent.  We are not sure what we will do, but it will take care of the immigration paperwork so Benjamin can come back to the US with us.  So, another great day and 2 more to go…

Swimming and Touring

We had another nice day in Taipei…it started with Benjamin sleeping until 9:20, that boy likes to sleep!  While waiting for him to get up, both Nanette and I went for a run (at different times ;-) ).  After everyone was up and had breakfast we decided to go up to the 20^th floor of the hotel and feed the fish in the garden.  When we got up there, all of the kids wanted to put their feet in the water of the Jacuzzi tubs.  So we let them and I knew it was going to lead to everyone getting soaking wet.  Instead of fighting it, I went and changed and we decided to take a little dip.  We were real concerned about B & E getting the contaminated water in their mouth and drinking it, but we figured we would live on the edge!

After playing in the pool, we came back and cleaned up and had lunch.  Funny thing about eating out here is that there are no forks and usually no napkins.  So just imagine having 3 kids who can’t use chopsticks try to eat noodles and soup without a napkin…it just doesn’t work.  At one point I told Elise to just wipe her hands on the tablecloth!  I think we have finally come to the realization that we need to BYON –bring your own napkins wherever we go.

We then took a train to Danshuei, which is an old port town that is primarily a tourist trap now…but it has a great view of the water and mountains with some shopping.  It is extremely hot/humid here, so walking around really wears the kids out quickly.

After Danshuei, we went to the Shinlin night market, but it was so crowded and hot that we decided to just get some dinner and then head back to the hotel.  Dinner consisted of the kids eating sausage on a stick and we had traditional won-ton soup and an oyster omelet.  Not bad, but a little greasy…

Benjamin is doing well, seems to be having fun and he calls us mama and baba (Chinese for Daddy).  Bryce and Elise are being great big brothers but they would much rather just stay at the hotel and run around nearby as opposed to doing all of the touring…but we are going to see as much as we can.  Big appointment on Tuesday at the AIT (US Embassy in Taiwan).

Learning English

It's been 1 day and Benjamin is already starting to learn some English and copy our words.  This video is dark and I'm not sure how to get the edited video up, but I thought it would be fun to try and post a video (~28sec long).

I hope it plays...

He’s a sleeper!!

After his first bath!

We have been blessed with a junior suite at the hotel, so we have the 3 kids in one room and we are in the other.  The doors are like shutters with the slanted wood so light/sounds can get through.  We got everyone cleaned up and in bed about 7:30 last night and we all crashed.  Well, of course, Bryce and Elise were up at about 7am this morning so they came into our room and we all just reflected on the day yesterday and looked at the pictures.  Their teachers sent a lot of work with us because B & E are missing 2 weeks of school, so we had them get started on some homework while we waited for Benjamin to wake up.  Our guide/translator was coming to pick us up at 10am to tour around Taipei.  At 9am we wondered when Benjamin was going to wake up…we finally decided to wake him up at 9:15 so he could have time to eat breakfast and we thought it might be a little scary for him to wake up in the hotel room (probably the first time he has slept anywhere but his orphanage).  He sure is a deep sleeper because Nanette, Bryce and Elise were all touching and talking to him, while Scott was going to Dunkin Donuts, and he still would not open his little eyes!  Thankfully, he got up and was happy to see everyone and all 3 kids started playing where they left off yesterday!

Our first tour stop was the Lungshan Temple, a 300 year-old Buddhist temple in the middle of Taipei.  We walked around and admired the architecture and watched people of all ages pray to multiple false gods and make offerings of food, incense, and other items.  It was a great opportunity to explain to our kids that we worship the one and only true God, who hears our prayers.  We reminded them about the story of Aaron making the golden calf for the people of Isreal to worship, which was very similar to what we were witnessing.  As I walked around and looked at their faces, it made me thankful that I had parents that introduced me to Jesus Christ at an early age and that the LORD drew me to himself and saved me through His Son.  We have heard that Taiwan is ~85% Buddhist, and who knows if anyone would have introduced Benjamin to our Lord.  However, in God’s sovereignty, Benjamin has been placed in our home, where he will hear about the saving grace offered through Christ! “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” Eph 2:8-9

 Notice the offerings on the table and people praying.

 People praying to the gods...

 Enjoying a cold drink on a very hot day.

Happy and Hot

After visiting the temple, we went to Taipei 101, the second tallest building in the world.  It was the tallest until they opened up the Burj in Dubai a few years ago.  We had a great time; Nanette carried Benjamin most of the time so her arms got a nice workout.  It is great to see him want his mama!  Bryce and Elise had fun and we toured the top and got to go out on the observation deck, which is on the 91^st floor.  We could tell Benjamin was getting tired so we then came back to the room so the kids could take a nap and we could get some rest.  We have had him for about 24 hours now and things are going very well.  We just need to learn a few of the key words like “hungry, nap, etc…” and hopefully that will get us through until he learns a little English.  It’s frustrating for us when he talks and we don’t know what he’s saying, so it is probably even more frustrating for him.

 Taipei 101

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