Gotcha Day! July 14

Gotcha Day!
We didn’t sleep much last night waiting for our 10:00 appointment at the orphanage. We started the day off taking some pictures in the courtyard at the hotel. We then ventured into the alley behind the hotel and met a lady who had two dogs and one had 2 legs and 2 wheels.

Marybeth and I planned to wear the same clothes we wore when we adopted Rebekka since we had had great success with them…yes we still fit in them!

Our taxi driver got a little confused going there. The orphanage is on a side street and he had to ask directions and we were only 2 turns away but the side streets seemed really narrow. For those of you (adoptive families) going after us, it was a 30 minutes ride from the hotel to ChungYi and it was 240 NTD = $7.50 and 180 NTD = $5.60 coming back because the driver didn’t get lost.

The paperwork was only a few signatures and more importantly information on Owen’s medication, routines, insurance while we are in Taiwan and information for our AIT appointment on Friday to get his visa. We got to talk with the foster mother and ask questions and she was VERY informative and really loves Owen. She did not ask us anything but poured her heart out and gave us his belongings. We gave her a gift and she did not really want to accept it, she was very moved. The Birth mother was not present but left us a gift for him and a note that she wanted him to have on his 18th birthday. We left a gift for her as well. This process, including meeting Owen lasted 1 ½ hours.

Now for the good stuff. We did not really know what to expect. We were told via SKYPE that he was being prepared for today. In a perfect world, he would run into our arms and be so happy and ready to go with us. Reality is we expected him to be timid and have some separation anxiety or attachment disorder. Well what happened when the door opened and he entered the room was…PERFECT WORLD. I mean he literally ran to Rebekka and they hugged the breath out of each other and he made his way to Marybeth and then myself. I have the pictures and video to prove it. We so blessed to have this child enter into our life, especially this way. We could not believe it; the room was flooded with emotion from everyone (us, social worker, orphanage personnel and Country officials). Everyone there took a lot of pictures.

The foster mother told us he might have some issues at nap or nighttime and cry for her. She said he might think this is a play date and may be returning at night. She was 100% correct. After we got back to the hotel, we ate at Chili’s since that was the first American restaurant we ate at with Rebekka. When we returned after lunch and put the kids down for a nap, Owen was grieving for his foster mother. That was very hard on us. He never slept. In the evening we ordered pizza and stayed in our room. He and Rebekka played a lot. We discovered that he brushes his teeth and goes potty by himself, which is what we were told. He watched me floss Rebekka’s teeth and then I flossed his, I couldn’t believe it. He was able to say his alphabet by repeating it after hearing it on a Spiderman laptop game. He also says Mom, dad, Steve, Bekka, Rebekka, sissy and “I’m outta here” compliments of Spiderman.
After bath time, the kids played and then we went to bed. He took his glowworm we sent him a few months ago and was a little hesitant but he and Rebekka fell asleep in less than 5 minutes.

MAN WHAT A DAY!!