FA LA LA LA LA.....

Coming down to see what Santa brought!
I like your hat Grandpa Ed!
These people are funny!
Uncle Jason
Aunt Kim and Uncle Burke

First Meeting with Nana! She smells good!

Happy Holidays from our family to yours!

It has been a week of firsts...

1. Met Nana and Aunt Marsha

2. Met Uncle Burke and Aunt Kim

3. Met Uncle Jason and soon-to-be Aunt Diane

4. Met Me-Maw

5. Met Aunt Jean, Uncle Steve, Stevie and Tanya

6. Met Santa

7. Had to wear cute Christmas outfit

8. First visit to the Pediatrician

9. Met Alexis

10. Ate Peas...Ugh!

11. Met Aunt Amy

What a wonderful time for our family. Drew is getting more comfortable and bonding with us more and more each day. He is taking 2 naps per day and is getting up once or twice during the night, but sleeping in longer stretches.

Yesterday, we went to see the Pediatrician for the first time and Drew is doing well. Today is Mommy's first day at home alone with Drew as Daddy went back to work. We are going to surprise Daddy with a visit to see him next week (Shhhh! Don't tell). ;)

The Adventure Begins

Morning Hair!

Me and Grandpa Ed

Check me out!

We're Back!

After almost 30 hours of travelling we made it home just after 3am on Thursday. Drew is a born flyer, unlike his mommy. :)

He slept for about 6 hours on the plane ride from Taipei to LA and was a ball of energy on the ride from LA to D.C.
The car ride home is another story. He cried pretty much the whole way but once we got in the house, got a new diaper and a bottle he was seemingly in heaven. He is very curious and wants to look and touch everything. Did I mention he can crawl? He also likes to pull himself up on everything, and I mean everything.

Grandma and Grandpa came by last night and stayed for a little over an hour. Grandma gave Drew a bottle and Grandpa took a gazillion pictures - will post some later.

Daddy and I are doing well, just tired. Drew spent his first night in his crib last night and he didn't like it at first...at all! He cried for about 30 minutes before he finally fell asleep and this was after a bath, a bottle a story and 30 minutes of laying on daddy in the rocking chair. He got up twice during the night and Mommy changed him and fed him and he went back to sleep pretty much without trouble. He has been asleep now for about 7 hours!

Alexis is coming home today. She is getting her hair and nails done so she will be extra pretty to meet her brother. Daddy and I are a little nervous but excited to have her home.

I have taken a ton of pics and will post more later today!

Thanks to everyone for their good wishes and prayers. We couldn't have done this without all of you!

How Cute Am I?

Is he the cutest kid or what?

We spent last night mostly watching him sleep and pinching ourselves to make sure everything is real. Oh, quick word about my grammar. Apparently in my jet-lagged state I am misspelling words.....apologies. The time difference is starting to get to me.

Today we went to our AIT appointment and waited almost 3 hours to be interviewed for Drew's passport and Visa. Finally, we got the word that we "are good to go." Drew's passport will be delivered to our hotel tomorrow at Noon and then we checkout at 1pm in order to be at the airport by 2pm in order to take off at 5pm.... a lot of hurry up and wait...but it's all good.

After that we went to the National Museum, the Grand Hotel and to see the changing of the guard. Drew did well throughout the day but without a morning or afternoon nap he is starting to get a little cranky. He is getting a bottle now and then will probably take a quick nap. Drew also has a case of the sniffles. Our agency representative says that this is normal when a baby moves from one environment to another, (i.e. to a place with a/c etc). I am slightly freaking out but looking forward to the trip home.

Hope everyone is enjoying the Blog! See you soon!

The Red Thread

An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but never break."

Meet Christopher Andrew Guthrie Lane!

We are overjoyed, blessed and tired! As we road the high speed train from Taipei to Tainan I thought about the beautiful countryside I was looking at and thinking about the birth mother and her family...wondering what they must be thinking and feeling.

As we approached St. Lucy by taxi (a very long 10 minute drive from the train station), I became anxious and nauseous - the excitement. The time had finally come to meet Drew.

Chris and I were ushered into the famous St. Lucy "Meeting Room" to wait for Drew and meet the Matron and Jessica (who provided loads of info about Drew, St. Lucy's and the birth family). They asked us if we had a special outfit for Drew and of course we did. While we waited, we kept looking out the window every time someone would pass by, anxiously awaiting a glimpse of our son.

Finally, Jessica walked in with Drew and placed him first into my arms. It was surreal....a dream come true. I just inhaled him all at once. I then placed him into Chris' arms and seeing them together was just overwhelming ....a father and son. I started to cry, then Chris did. It was a wonderful moment.

We spent about 2 hours at St. Lucy's touring the facility, getting to know our son's habits and learning more about the birth mother. During the visit, we received so many gifts, including a hand painted photo album of Drew, which included photos of him since he was 4 days old - a treasure! We also received a gold charm from the birth grandmother that was engraved in Mandarin wishing Drew love, peace and health. This was truly unexpected and a wonderful gift to pass down to Drew.

I could go on and on about this day....words simply do not describe the Love we feel for this country, the people and our beautiful baby boy.

Taiwan Sightseeing

We visited Taipei 101 today, (it's in the background of this photo). Up until 3 months ago, it was the tallest building in the world. It is a very cool looking building. One pic is attached.

We also spent several hours at the Holiday Market. This market is broken into 3 parts, (Hand Crafts, flowers and Jade). The flowers were gorgeous with fantastic prices however the pollen almost overcame us! Needless to say, both my husband and I have case of the sniffles.

The local crafts were beautiful. The detail and time spent on some of them just made you want to weep. We purchased a Chinese Zodiac porcelain wall-hanging for Drew. It is very cute and made for a child's room. It has all 12 of the Chinese characters for each year (i.e. Dragon, Pig, Rat etc). 2008 will be the year of the Rat. 2007 is the year of the Pig. We learned so much!

We tried out some of our Chinese as well. I was a bit nervous but our guide said we did well. She was very sweet and helped us haggle with the vendors. It was fun!

We ended our sightseeing adventure a little early because we were so tired and wanted to catch up on our sleep before picking up Drew. Before we went back to the hotel we stopped at Memorial Hall, which is a beautiful building. I will post more pics later.

We made it safely to Taiwan!

We arrived a little after 10:35pm (Taiwan Time) on Saturday night. We then went through Customs and Immigration and finally found our luggage (we were getting a little worried). Chris did great and I did better than expected on the long flight. I didn't start complaining or going crazy until about 4 hours before we landed. :)

EVA Air was very nice. The Service and food were outstanding. They even present you with warm towels after you board and again before you land. We were very impressed!

We are certainly feeling our ages though because after a 29 hour total-trip, I think every bone in our bodies hurt......

Attached are photos of our room for your viewing pleasure. We are getting ready to go and try the breakfast buffet. We will provide you with a review as soon as we can.

For those of you that know me well, I am pleased to announce that I tried a traditional Chinese "snack" last night. I did opt for a fork instead of chop sticks and lasted all of one bite because it was SPICY.

Today, our guide, Mei Ru, is taking us to the Holiday Market, Taipei 101 and lunch. More pics to be posted soon.

We pick up Drew on Monday at 2pm local Taiwan time. Pics should be available by Noon on 12/17 EST. Stay Tuned.

Thanks again for your prayers and good wishes.

More Pics

So, posting on a blog is new to me and the post below is the one that should be here....Well, you learn as you go, don't you? :)

Attached are some photos from one of our many Baby Showers and pics of Drew's room as well as a cute photo of Alexis posing on our couch.

12.13.2007 (Thursday)

Today is our 4th Wedding Anniversary! Time is flying, but then it always does when you are having fun, right? Above is a photo of one of our many Baby Shower Cakes. Isn't is cute?

Today, while my husband is at work I am in charge of packing, cleaning, the bank, getting all of our travel docs ready and getting Alexis ready to go stay with Grandma and Grandpa Guthrie. There's a cute photo of Alexis below....she looks like she is posing, doesn't she?

We cannot hardly believe that tomorrow morning we will boarding a plane to go pick up our son. I still can't believe I can say that...."our son." It is truly a dream come true.

According to our itinerary we will be picking Drew up from St. Lucy's on Monday 12/17 at around 2pm. Tuesday, we have his AIT appointment to request his passport and on Wednesday Evening we start the journey back home. We plan to post as much as we can while we are there, (hubby is taking our laptop).

All I can say now is....STAY TUNED!

First Ruling!!!! Yipee!

The Judge issued the first part of our final adoption decree earlier this week! Now there is a manadatory 10 day waiting period and then the Final Decree will be issued and then ....we TRAVEL!

Hooray!

New Pic dated 9/26/07 .....Isn't he adorable?

9.25.2007 and the wait continues....

Well, first things first....
The dresser is finally finished....6 weeks later. I will post a pic soon...needless to say it looks almost as good as the picture. :)

Our good friends Traci and Julie gave us a wonderful baby shower last Sunday! We are so blessed to have such good friends and family. Everyone had a great time and enjoyed all of the gourmet food! A BIG Thanks to Traci's dad for baking a ham for the event.

No news on Drew. Our agency indicated that we most likely will not have a hearing but rather just a Ruling from the Judge. It will most likely be mid-October before we receive another update.

Keep your fingers crossed!

No News YET....

Did you see Drew's updated photo? It was taken on his 6mth birthday. He is sooooo cute!

We sent him his first care package about a week and a half ago...hopefully he has it now.

Somehow my husband managed to stuff 5 onesies, 4 outfits, 2 pr.socks, a disposable camera, candy for the Nanny's a photo of us, a card, a teether and a toy into a shoe box! I guess I know who will packing for our trip to Taiwan!

No news on the Hearing yet. Our agency (JOH) will notify us once a date is set. We are hopeful it will be soon.

Baby Shower this weekend!!! ....can't wait.

9/2/2007 The Wait Continues

I thought the wait to receive a referral was tough, but now that we have seen our precious son's face the wait is 10 times worse.

I spoke with our Agency early last week and asked when we could expect to hear something more about the court process and was advised that the wait could be 1-2 months. Can you say "depressed?"

Chris and I are keeping our chin's up and focusing on the positives and the blessing that is waiting for us in Taiwan.

8/28/2007 Update

Well, it's Tuesday 8.28 and our dossier is in Taiwan! I talked to our Agency yesterday and was advised that we probably won't hear anything about our hearing for 1-2 months. :( We are hoping for more pictures though in the next 2-3 weeks.

We are still trying to put together Drew's dresser, but it is proving to be more daunting than we thought!

The Road to Authentication 8/15/07

The Commonwealth turned our first set of authentications around in less than 24 hours! We couldn't believe it. We completed the next step by sending the docs to the Taiwan Embassy in D.C.. Their turnaround time is 2-3 days. After that, the docs are sent back to our agency and then off to Taiwan where our Power of Attorney will represent us.


We are still hopeful that we will travel no later than December 1st! Keep your fingers crossed!

Thanks to everyone for their love and support!

8/10/2007

This is our very first blog! Woo Hoo!