Day One of the Rest of Our Lives

This is one loved kid. I mean he has fabulous parents but you should have seen the special mothers who have cared for him the last six months. They had written him cards, had gifts for him and couldn't stop balling and telling us how much they were going to miss him. By the time we left everyone but Ehren was crying.

The way it works at Hannah's Hope is there are 3 shifts and in each shift the child has the same caregiver. That means he had 3 people who cared for him specially while they were there. The start that Hannah's Hope gave Ehren is unlike you see in normal orphanages and we will be forever thankful for the love and care he received in Taitung from his special mothers.

I can't wait to show him the notes and cards that everyone gave him. Show him the videos of everyone telling us exactly how he likes to nap/eat/play. And most importantly I can't wait to bring him back here to see what a fabulous place he lived in for the first six months.

After leaving Hannah's Hope we spent some time buying the things we think we need for a baby. We'll see if we were right. We'll probably spend some time tonight googling stuff. Like do we need baby powder? What is baby oil for? You know crucial parenting knowledge.

Most of the day he was happy and playing but we had a small issue with a nap that I think he would label a catastrophe and that meant the rest of the day he wasn't his bubbly self.

It made for quite an interesting situation at the restaurant where we tried to eat dinner. Are they staring at us because we are Westerners with a Taiwanese baby or because we are Westerners with a screaming Taiwanese baby? We'll never know!

Introducing......

Ehren Taylor Wen Fykes

In case you didn't get that he said "Can't wait to meet y'all." You just didn't catch it because it was in Taiwanese. Love you all!

Hello Taiwan

Guess what it's doing in Taipei?

That's right it's raining.

Though even with the rain this place is great. I think we'll have no trouble coming back here and having a great time once Ehren is older. God willing everything goes so smoothly with AIT that we won't have time to even scratch the surface of Taipei which will leave us plenty to do on our next trip.

The only difficulty is that everything is in Chinese and almost nothing is in English. Thailand was a breeze because 80% of everything was translated. I can't imagine this being the first international city you ever visit. For us it just means a much greater sense of accomplishment when you figure something out. We were able to buy our train tickets to Taitung and make a payphone call to the person meeting us when we arrive... all without any English. You would have thought we had negotiated peace between two unstable governments. It makes travel feel new and exciting.

One other thing of note is everyone is in winter coats here. I don't exactly know the temperature but I'm in short sleeves and in a really crowded place I still sweat. I know it gets very hot here so this is their winter temperature but a fur lined jacket? Really? We only brought Ehren short sleeves so we may have to find him a jacket.

While we stopped for some ice cream there was a little girl sleeping on the bench next to us. She was probably a year old and Joshua and I just stared at her. Her mom was probably keeping an eye on us thinking we were going to try to grab her and run. Don't think the idea didn't cross our minds. I'm having trouble sleeping I just can't wait to get Ehren.

Tomorrow is the train ride and then Monday is the big day. I don't know exactly the time but if you think about it on Sunday night probably 8 or 9 send some prayers our way that everything goes smoothly for Ehren. This is going to be a pretty traumatic experience to be ripped from the only people he has known and given to these strangers who smell and sound funny. If all the adults in this metropolitan city stare at us, I can't imagine what a six month old will think.

Goodbye Thailand

Today is our last morning in Thailand, we catch a flight from Bangkok to Taipei shortly. Thailand has left a great taste in our mouth, we will definitely be returning. The people are the most hospitable we've encountered anywhere, and we have a new appreciation for Thai cuisine. We've also gotten to experience two very distinct seasons in the life of tourism here...Low Season and High Season. When we first got to Bangkok it was low season. It was oppressively hot and humid, but there weren't very many tourists. Now, two weeks later in Bangkok it's like a switch got flipped. The temperature has dropped to the 80s and the tourist population has tripled.

November 1st apparently really is the date. That's when everyone knows to hit Thailand. I would say being here right at the change has been perfect but if you want a comfortable trip with a little higher price tag and you don't mind crowds I say wait until November.

It's hard to believe it has only been about two weeks since we left Nashville. Tiffany wants Dr. Pepper pretty badly but other than that we could stay here for much longer.

We're only three days out from picking up Ehren in Taitung and the excitement is starting to be too much. While we're in Taipei our task is to find 18 gifts for him, so we have something from Taiwan each year for his birthday. Wish us luck!

Lost in Translation

See You Guys in Taiwan in a Few Days

Our last day on the islands gave us a short reprieve from the rain. And when I say short I mean just long enough for me to be totally toasted. We continued on our quest of relaxation but we were able to snap a few photos without the rain.

The only thing missing is that you can't see the emerald water. This should just whet your appetite to vacation at Thailand's beaches - we don't want to take away all the surprises.

La Laanta is by far the most amazing place we've seen on the beach. Ideal honeymoon place and seems very family friendly as well. Tell your friends!

Sorry To All the Other Tourists

Right now the locals say it is very rare to have this much rain in Koh Lanta. Its the beginning of high season which means the sun should be shining and the hotel prices sky rocket. We are good on paying twice what we paid last night but is has been two days without the sun. Cloudy is one thing but it has been raining for two days as well. Actually there is now flooding in the southern part of Thailand. It just follows us around. More than anything it makes for a miserable beach retreat for everyone who has made the journey south in Thailand. For us it is a nice change. It leaves us with nothing to do but talk, spend time together and sleep which is probably exactly what we need right now.

On Monday our family will expand from two to three. Ours days will no longer be ours and the reality of our new jobs raising a little boy will be upon us. We will no longer think 7am is an early morning and everything about how we live our life will slow and change.

Are we ready? Probably not. Does that make us any less anxious to get our hands on his already six month old head? Not in the least.

I think all this rain is just for Joshua and I to relish in the seven and a half years it has just been the two of us while getting us rested and unbelievably ready to go get Ehren.