Our Beautiful Tessa at the Hotel

No words can express!!!!

Picrures at Snake Alley Night Market

Scroll says,"Love Forever Yi Ling

Parade outside the Market
Snake Alley Night Market

Aboriginal Theatre and Gandala Ride

We had the most fantastic day today! Wulai was exactly what I imagined Taiwan to look like outside the city. Beautiful hillsides. Green and gorgeous water running down the mountain.

We road the cable car ride up to the top and saw the beautiful waterfalls and then we saw the aboriginal dance performers. great a/c...... Then we were served a lunch upstairs. Alex Mr. Yeh's son continued to wait on us by serving us specialty plates from the lazy susan around the table. He was such a pleasure to have him with us. I could tell you I think we have flat entertained Mr. Yeh and Alex. We have laughed so much today.

We went to the Jade/Flower Market after Wulai and then headed home to the hotel to eat and rest for a couple of hours and we headed out at 7:30pm to Snake Alley Night Market. We enjoyed this market the best. It had a lot of souvenirs. I bought Tessa a Chinese Scroll and the Artist painted Love,Forever,Yi Ling. Priceless..... I also found a Chinese dress in pink on cat silk hat instead of a dragon. And another beautiful silk print sun hat. Alex and Tyler totally enjoyed the one shop that had snakes and watched the man smack it's head to kill it and skin it to serve to food.YUCKY!!!!!!!!! Tomorrow is my lucky day!!!!!!around 10:30am she will be in my arms!!!!! I know I won't sleep but who cares.... Our daughter will be ours tomorrow.

Please keep us in your thoughts that she is ok tomorrow and not too afraid.

Can't guarantee I will post tomorrow but I sure will try my darndest to get pics up for everyone!!!! we love you YiLing

Our trip to the northern coast of Taiwan.

We headed out at 10. Of course I had 2 dramamine in me by now. We drove to Keelung where you see the pictures of the bell and town. The other pictures are of the coast along the way. We went to Ocean world and saw the small show of dolphins and seals and some marine life in Taiwan. Wow did we sweat today. I hope I sweat off 10 pnds. I think overall with are outings the traffic is soooooooo scary. Cars, scooters, pedestrians. Everything that moves has the right away all at the same time. I just can't believe I haven't been in or seen a car accident. All I can say is I just continue to look out the window and don't think about how that big truck is just inches from my window!!!!!! Our room is piled high with stuff that I am trying to get ready to go to get my girl.
We ate dinner at Macaroni Grill tonight next to Taipei 101 it was excellant. All of our stomachs are just not completely settled to risk too much authentic food. We do a little but not tooo much.

I have to say Taiwan has a distinctive smell. One I don't think I will ever forget. Deep fried fishy smell, with sea weed. Not bad. Just different.

I really need to crash it is almost midnight here and I have been up since 4 am today. A little off in the time but maybe I am tooo excited also. Ya think.

Now that I finally fixed the language in my blog, I will try to post as much as possible.

It was in Chinese. I could not read my way through to post but the blogettes came through with some and I just had to continue at it here and there to figure it out... GeekSquad!!!! Sorry for not a very specific blog tonight but it is all I can do so I can upload pics....

Tomorrow we are off toWulai to the cable car ride aboriginal show and lots more, Jade/Flower Markets, and a few other things.

less than 2 days now.

Our first day in Taipei

Here we are the last time as a family of 5 at the airport.Our total flying time was 21 hours including 7 hrs of lay over. We went to Taipei 101 and walk the 6-7 floor mall. Pricey!

We did the obsevatory deck at the top of Taipei 101. We walked over and taxied back

We then headed out for dinner and found the cell phone store and bought a sim card ard for a phone I borrowed. It was 345NTaround 10.00. Our family can call us from the states and it doesn't count towards my approx 60 minutes. Glad we have it.... The Agora charges about 3.50each time you use their access in the room to use your At&T and MCI cards. It is

pretty hot and humid. Not much difference from NC. We walked from the cell phone store to Fridays, ribs and a cold coke No Ice>>>Wow the smog is really bad> You see people walking around or riding scooters with a medical style mask on. I know it is for the exausts of all the

the traffic. Tyler is sacked out and did not adventure with us girls on our adventure to dinner,

but got dinner delivered back to him. He is back asleeep. It is almost 8pm and I will fall into bed at 8:30. Tomorrow Mr.Yeh is picking us up for our trip up to the northern coast. Can't wait.

His son was with him this am when they picked us up and we dropped him by school at 7am. He is so sweet. He is 15. He will go with us to Wulai on Sunday. I left the 2 day tour up to him.

Her are some pictures. 2more days!!!!!!!!!!

Yi Ling is Finally Done!!!!!

After waiting 2 mos were heard word on the 16th of July that her final ruling had been finished in the courts in Taichung Taiwan. That makes her officially ours.
That Monday I had one of the hardest days yet. I could not leave the house. Shed many tears wondering when they will finish up with her court process. I had drafted a email up to my case manager Traci in Tucson and sat there and just could not bring myself to send it to her in my whiny, bawl baby stage. I felt she would not want that on a Monday. So I saved it to my folder and circled around the house. At 4:44pm I got the call on my cell phone. I cried so much I had no mascara on. Trying to listen to when her AIT appt. was in Taiwan it was all such a blur.
After waiting so long to adopt our journey to Tessa will finally come to our travel to Taiwan.
My Mom, sister in-law, and Tyler will all be traveling with me. We will be staying at the Agora Garden Hotel in Taipei, Taiwan. Tessa Yi Ling is about 2 hrs south in Taichung. We will fly out of New Bern on the 25th to LAX, catch the 1am flight on Thursday and arrive in Taipei Friday the 27th at 5:am. This will give us a chance to go sight seeing and catch up on our sleep. Monday the 30th is the day we drive to Taichung and pick Tessa up from her Foster Family. This will be a very hard day. On the 31st we will have her AIT appt. where we file for her visa, and the 1st of August we will hopefully be able to pick it up. We will be leaving Taipei at 6pm on the 3rd of August and fly into LAX at 4pm. We will stay the night in LA and fly back to New Bern on the 4th. Words can't say how anxious and excited we are to finally be taking this journey to our new daughter Ms Tessa Yi Ling.
We will try to post as often as possible so check back daily as we will try to journal into our blog
daily. Please say a prayer for us as we travel and that Tessa Yi Ling does not grieve to hard for everything she once new. We are forever greatful to have been allowed to have this opportunity to adopt through this program in Taiwan.... We feel very blessed.
Wish us luck.... Tyler 14 hrs on the plane. I am sticking him with my Mom... He He....

Updated Photos and Video Today

We had hoped to have her final ruling by now but we will certainly take photos and video if we can't have a ruling.... Better than nothing!!!! We also received her 6-8 mos development chart. She is getting up on all fours, whether this means crawling??? and she sits by herself. We will see.... Maybe next week will bring us the Final word.... Please!!!!!!!

Taiwan family picnic

We got home last night from such an inspiring weekend in Salisbury NC. I drove Tatumn and I there on Friday afternoon. After switching hotels I called Amanda and she and her family came to meet us and take us downtown for dinner. We had the best time getting to know each other and our kids played so well together for just meeting. She has 2 adopted darling little girls.
We went back to their house while the girls played they showed me albums of their girls before and during their adoption process. Then we went through a stack of photos of Taipei. How cool were those photos. Just to see what we will be seeing soon.
The next day we got to Dan Nicols Park where we were meeting with 6 or so other families who have adopted, are adopting and waiting on their referral(Photo and info on a specific child) or are waiting through the courts to bring their child home also. Brought some tears to my eyes to see these beautiful children. Some were very quiet and one doll baby has only been home a few months was very busy taking it all in. It was so great to get to know these families. It truly will be great to see all of us hopefully together again next year with all of our babies home.
I feel as if I would have missed a huge part of what will soon be Tessa's future family had I not gone. I am so thankful for getting the chance to meet each and every one of them...
I emailed another girl in my agencies office today since Traci is probably having a great vacation and asked Simone about our wait for our final ruling. She says there have been a handful of parents who have waited the full 8 wks. UGH!!!! Wish we weren't one of them. And they will be sure to let me know when they have word. Can't be soon enough......
We shall keep you posted as we here anything new.