First Kiss

Today she gave me my first kiss...ever...almost two years after we became mother and daughter.  It came as many of her "firsts" have...suddenly, unexpectedly, blink and you miss it.  It gave me hope for other "firsts" we have yet to see and hear.  Interestingly, she kissed my cheek while holding the little white dress her foster mother had her dressed in the day she became ours forever. Makes me wonder what she remembers...hopefully someday she will be able to tell me...another "first".  But today, she gave me my first kiss.

I'm Baaaack!

It's been four months since I took a break from blogging on this family blog.  I guess it's time to catch everyone up on our family's happenings.  Here's the bulleted version:

• The end of May Benjamin graduated from Kindergarten, and I finished my second year of teaching K5 at Blue Mountain Christian School.

• On June 9, Dave and I left for Taiwan to adopt our daughter, Sophia Elizabeth Chia-Lin Fisher!  After almost three years of waiting and praying, we finally met our daughter and began a new chapter in her life and ours!  (You can catch up on all those happenings at my other blog, Our Silk Road.)

• Since March, Dave had been commuting to Indiana for a new job.  We were scheduled to move there the end of July in order for our older boys to begin school.  Two weeks before our move, we found out that Dave's company changed their mind--we weren't moving after all!  Time to unpack the boxes and resettle in our Jonestown home!
• Due to the impending move, we didn't really take any vacation time this summer as a family.  Hopefully we will get around to that next year...I could use a vacation after this crazy year!
• The end of August brought Hurricane Irene and the beginning of the school year.  This year Jonathan is a Junior at the Northern Lebanon High School and is studying carpentry at the Lebanon Career and Technology Center.  Sabastian is in 8th grade at Blue Mountain Christian School and enjoying being back with his friends.  Benjamin is being homeschooled by Yours Truly for 1st grade...we are having a blast!  Nathaniel and Sophia, both 3 1/2 years old, are along for the ride.  My days are full!

I'm sure I've forgotten something in the craziness of the last four months, but there's a synopsis to catch everyone up!  I will attempt to post some fun photos from the summer soon...Happy Fall, Ya'll!!

Big News on the Adoption Blog!

Check it out HERE!

Adoption Donation Opportunity

Up until now, we have not had any way to offer a tax deductible receipt to anyone who wished to make a donation to our adoption fund.  However, for the next month or so, our church is taking up a special offering for our travel expenses--the final amount needed to bring Sophia home--and is willing to add any additional gifts that might come from people outside the church.  The church will then issue you a receipt.  If you would like more information on how to do this, please e-mail me at tfisher83@myexcel.com.  You can follow our fundraising progress on the sidebar of our adoption blog...thanks!

Happy Birthday, Sophia!

Today is our daughter's third birthday.  Unfortunately, we are not with her on this special day, but we know she is being well cared for by a foster family who loves her very much.  We are still in need of over $6000 to make the trip to Taiwan to bring her home.  Please continue to pray that this need would be met, and check out our adoption blog for ways you can help support us on our journey...perhaps you would even consider a donation in honor of Sophia's birthday!

We love you, Sophia!

Dossier Update

I'm happy to post that our dossier was mailed last week to our agency, and hopefully is on its way to its final certification here in the U.S. before being mailed to Taiwan!  Now we focus on our last monetary need of $7000 for our travel expenses.  God is able!

Getting Closer...

I just wanted to remind everyone about our name doily adoption fundraiser, as Christmas is getting closer, and perhaps you would like to order a name doily as a unique gift and at the same time, help us meet our orphanage fee goal!  We also have our Forever Family cookbooks available for $15--these have received rave reviews from everyone who has used them!  Lastly, we have a limited amount of beautiful hand painted Chinese glass ball ornaments available for $20.

They come in their own special Chinese box and are also great for gift giving.  Any one of these items would bring us closer to our orphanage fee goal which we hope to have to pay soon!  If we can help you check off some gifts on your list, leave a comment, and I'll get you the information you need...thanks!

Handmade Doilies by Brenda - New Adoption Fundraiser!

Are you looking for a unique, handmade gift for that special occasion coming up? Well I have just the idea for you, and I can bet that no one else will give the same gift! My mother-in-law, Brenda, makes beautiful, handmade, crocheted name doilies. She is offering her talents as a fundraiser to help us bring Sophia home from Taiwan.


Now for the details...these unique doilies are available in white or ecru/tan, horizontal or vertical, with a lacy shell or pointed edge border. They are beautiful matted and framed, or as a pillow top, and are usually ready in 1-4 weeks. They make great holiday, graduation, wedding, birthday, teacher or baby shower gifts and are excellent for first and/or last names, nicknames, slogans or favorite sports teams. The doilies cost $25 for up to 5 letters and $3 for each additional letter. You choose the color, edging, and of course, the personalization. This is a fundraiser for our little Sophia with a minimum of $10 per doily being donated to Sophia’s adoption...and you get a unique, personalized keepsake for yourself or to give as a gift!

We are taking orders on a first-come, first-served basis, so get your holiday orders in as soon as possible! To place an order, e-mail me at tfisher83@myexcel.com with your desired color, edging, and personalization. I will then send you an invoice via Paypal. As soon as I receive your payment, your order will be processed and filled! (For those orders requiring shipping, an additional charge of $5.00 will be added to cover priority shipping costs.) Please help us pass the word around about this fundraiser, and thanks for supporting our family and helping us bring our daughter home from Taiwan!

Adoption Update

It is July already...hard to believe that half of 2010 is in the history books!  By the end of this month, we are hoping to have a HUGE milestone completed toward our adoption of Sophia...our referral dossier in Taiwan awaiting our court date!  God allowed us to complete all of the paperwork on our end in record time during the month of June, but we are still waiting for some legal paperwork to come from Taiwan.  When that arrives, we sign, date, notarize, and state authenticate everything--and then it can be out of our hands and on its way to Taiwan!  There is only one thing that can slow that down at this point...when we send our dossier back to Taiwan, the orphange fee needs to go with it.  Right now we are still needing about $3000 to cover that expense.  We know God is able to provide, and will provide in His time.  Would you like to play a part in ransoming a child from a life as an orphan?  Help us bring Sophia home

HERE!

50 by Taiwan!

To help us pass the time a bit as we wait to pick up our daughter Sophia in Taiwan, and get us motivated with a little accountability and competition to do something we really need to do, Dave and I are announcing that we want to try and lose a combined 50 pounds by the time we travel to Taiwan.  We aren't trying to lose 25 each necessarily, but just a combine weight of 50 pounds.  This should be very doable as we probably will not travel until March or April at the earliest.  We are planning on eating less and exercising more...the quintessential diet plan, right?  You can follow along on our ticker as we lose the pounds and get healthier for all of our children's sakes!

We've Been Approved!

I was jumping up and down when I read the title to our agency contact's e-mail...GOOD NEWS!!  Yes, we've been approved to proceed with our daughter's adoption...and in record time, praise God!  It has been three weeks since we sent off the last of the answers to the questions we were asked by the orphanage, and I was getting ready to type my weekly "we continue to wait" post, but instead, I get to write this post!  Now we must paper chase the second round of documents, update everything (ugh!), and get our funds totally raised.  But God is good and He has a plan and it is proceeding in His time frame...Sophia, Mommy and Daddy and brothers love you, and we are on our way!

Only $2000 More Needed!

We are praising God today for another generous gift towards our adoption fund from another dear friend. We are only $2000 shy of our entire agency fee which will allow us to send our dossier to Taiwan and get our daughter Sophia's referral! Please thank God with me, and continue to pray for a miracle! Don't forget to check out our adoption blog for more updates!

New Blessings!

It's been awhile since I updated Sophia's Blessing Quilt blog, but today we have reached 25 blessings! Check it out here! We are trying to reach at least 100 blessings/fabric pieces, so feel free to participate if you would like. The information is all on this post!

Maybe We Should Have Stayed in Bed...

I was so excited about today...and nervous...that I could hardly sleep last night! Today we were headed to Philadelphia to submit our immigration paperwork...we would be another step closer to bringing Sophia home!

I must back up a moment and let everyone know that Philly and my family do not get along well. Almost every time we have gone there, we have gotten lost. We just can't figure that city out! So I made sure I had my Mapquest directions for getting there AND getting back...because getting out of the city is always our problem!

Back to my story...we left the house this morning ALMOST on time, but still with plenty of time to spare. Our trip to Philadelphia was uneventful. The two older boys were at school, so only the two younger boys were along. They kept themselves busy watching movies and listening to music. I checked and double checked my folder with all of the paperwork, and when we arrived in Philadelphia a half an hour before our appointment, I was ready to go...literally. I had drunk a travel thermos full of coffee on the trip as well as quite a bit of water before we left the house, and I really had to pee...badly!

Now I don't mean to get graphic here, and I have no idea how men feel when they really have to pee, but there are probably some women out there who can relate when I say I had to pee so badly that it hurt! And after having two babies, my bladder control is not what it used to be. So, I was EXTREMELY anxious to find a restroom. Since we had a half an hour before our appointment at the immigration office, I figured we would head in that direction and stop along the way at a restaurant or something and use the restroom. The only problem was, there was no restaurant along the way. We were in an area of Philly with lots of hospitals and medical facilities and such, but no restaurants. We walked the two blocks or so to the building we needed and found no place to go along the way. AND when we got to the building we needed, there was a line all the way down the block! I thanked God that we WERE early, got in line, and figured by the time we got to the security guard checking ID's at the door, it would be time to go in and I could just use the restroom there. I could hold it that much longer...but not much more!

If I didn't have to go so badly, I would have enjoyed people watching in our line a bit more, as there really were people from all over the world in line. In listening to their conversations, I realized that at 11 a.m. there was going to be a swearing in of new citizens. Our appointment was at 11:15 a.m. Thus the long line. When we finally got to the security guard, he looked at our ID's and asked the usual question that you get at government buildings anymore, "Do you have any knives, sharp objects, recording devices...cameras?" Well, as it would turn out, I did have my little digital camera in my purse...I carry it quite often when we go out. And, as it would turn out, we were not allowed to carry cameras into the building. The guard's instructions: since the document we were submitting was in Dave's name, he could go in the building and check in, while I WALKED BACK TO THE CAR AND DEPOSITED THE CAMERA! By this point, my poor bladder is about to burst, and this guy wants me to walk back the two city blocks, go up to the 11th floor of the parking garage, walk the level down to my van, deposit my camera, and reverse my route--all in a matter of minutes so that we don't lose our appointment time? Is he nuts? Of course all I could do was meekly agree and head off, all the while repeating in my head, "I don't have to go; I don't have to go..."

Long story short, I made it to the van and back, although I took the elevator to the wrong level and couldn't find the van right away. Ugh! But I made it back to the building (barely!) and found that the line was gone (it was past 11 a.m.!) A different guard was right inside the door so I explained that my husband was somewhere with our paperwork and I needed to find him. While I was talking the original guard showed up and told the new guard that I had gone back to the car to deposit my camera...to which she, and the other guards doing the metal detection responded, "Oh, they can bring cameras into the building now!!!!!" I should have known the right hand didn't know what the left hand was doing---it was a U.S. government building after all!

Dave was close by, and when I found him, he was at a little window, giving a lady our paperwork. We signed the last document, and she told us that we would get our fingerprinting instructions in the mail. At this I was confused, because all along I thought that we were going to be fingerprinted today--thus the personal trip to Philly to bring our paperwork in person. Another man had stepped up to the window, so I politely waited to ask the lady about this, although by now my bladder was screaming, as was our 1-year old, and I was sweating bullets from having raced (as fast as one can race with a full bladder!) two city blocks, 11 parking garage levels, and back in record time (for me, anyway!). The man was paying for something, but when he noticed me waiting, he said I could talk to the lady, so I asked her to clarify the whole fingerprinting thing. She did, and then I said I had been "misguided" as I thought that the fingerprinting would occur today. As I walked away, I heard the man and the lady commenting on my "misguidance" and how "don't you just love the way people say 'they told me thus and so'? Who are 'they' anyway...certainly the 800 number wouldn't have told her that!" Now first of all, perhaps that lady has to deal with people who don't speak English very well on a regular basis, but I do speak English and I didn't take too keenly to be talked about. Secondly, I am an American citizen, unlike many of the people who come to her window, and I pay her salary with my taxes. Therefore, I should be treated with respect, right? Well, apparently not! I made it to the bathroom, fuming inwardly all the way, and then fumed all the way back to the parking garage aloud to my poor hubby. And to think--I could have just MAILED the paperwork!

At this point we had lots of time to spare, so we debated whether to leave the city or find something to eat. We decided to walk towards Chinatown. I had seen the sign for it as we entered Philly, so we figured it couldn't be too far away. It wasn't, and the sights and sounds were all new to the boys, who enjoyed seeing a Life Lion helicopter take off from the medical center, the Philadelphia Convention Center building site (it's being expanded), a fire truck, and noisy motorcycles. Dave and I noticed the homeless men waiting at the Catholic rescue center for lunch, the "free stress tests" at the Church of Scientology we passed, and the great diversity of people all around. Cities are so interesting for people watching!

We made it to Chinatown and Dave chose a restaurant. Now, although we were in the middle of Philadelphia, nothing related to the restaurant was in English. We walked in, were seated relatively quickly, but soon realized that we were definitely in the minority in the restaurant. I had to ask for a high chair several times before getting one, and even once we were seated, no one came to take our order. As I glanced around, I realized that ladies were walking around with carts of food, and people were choosing items off of the cart. That's a bit scary when you have no idea what you are choosing, and the ladies don't speak English! I think Dave had chosen a dim sum restaurant, and didn't know it.

Finally a woman with a cart came to our table. By this time, Nathaniel is playing the drums on the table with his chopsticks (did I mention there was no western silverware to be found?) and Benjamin had to go to the bathroom...again. (Did I mention that he went when I did back at the immigration office?) Dave tried out the two Chinese words he can say fairly well...they are both for food items, go figure! At this the lady responded in a flurry of Chinese that Dave didn't understand at all, and he lamely pointed at two items on her tray and said, "Pork?" to which she nodded, so he nodded. She put them on our table and then asked about some other weird looking items, but we said no thank you. We quickly prayed for the food (all eight little pieces of it) and Dave picked one up with his chopstick and took a bite. (I figured if he liked it, I would at least give it a try! I wasn't feeling too adventurous at this point!) He cut off a piece for Benjamin who ended up spitting it out in the bathroom (more on that in a minute) and I tried one. Now I usually like Chinese food, but this was fatty and chewy and not too palatable. Dave got up to take Benjamin to the bathroom, so I tried to get my little drummer boy to try a bite...to no avail.

(For those of you who know Nathaniel, this is VERY odd, as he usually eats ANYTHING!)

By this time, we were quickly becoming the object of intense stares and not-so-hushed comments from the tables around us. Dave was still in the bathroom with Benjamin, and I was trying, quite unsuccessfully, to get Nathaniel to eat what neither of us really wanted to eat. He threw his chopsticks on the floor while playing with the bite I had put on his plate, and then wanted my chopsticks. I was trying desperately to use my chopsticks properly so as to not look too dumb to the people across the way who were staring and whispering. Inwardly I was dying of embarrassment and couldn't figure out what was taking Dave and Benjamin so long in the bathroom. (Come to find out that Benjamin carried his one bite of food in his mouth all the way to the bathroom and ended up spitting it out in the toilet!) When I finally saw them coming, I was more than ready to leave the restaurant and Philadelphia. Dave took a few more bites, decided he really didn't like the food either, and went to pay the bill while I gathered up the stroller and Nathaniel. Since we had not ordered much, he found out that he couldn't use our credit/debit card, so I had to use the cash I had. I told him to wait outside with the ever increasingly agitated boys, and I paid. I was so relieved to get out of that place! As we started down the sidewalk, all of a sudden we heard, "Hey, hey!" We turned around to see a little old Chinese man, whom we had not seen before, coming after us. "Tip, tip!" he hollered. My first thought was to tell him that A) I didn't even see you in the restaurant, let alone serving my table, and B) In this country we tip for good service, not mediocre, and C) No one really served our table at all! But instead I handed him a couple of bucks, tried not to melt of embarrassment, and we headed back to the car. See...I told you we should have stayed in bed!

To make a long story short (again!), we ultimately ate at a T.G.I. Friday's outside of the city, and even that wasn't by choice, but because a semi-truck blocked our path to the restaurant we really wanted to go to, but with everything that had happened thus far, we figured we might as well quit while we were ahead! It was a lovely meal, though, with an EXCELLENT waitress, and the kids behaved pretty well. The rest of our trip was uneventful, although we tempted fate a bit with low gas on the turnpike...you have to live on the wild side every once and awhile!

The only photos I got of our adventures today were these:

But after writing this post, I think they are most appropriate, don't you? Let's hope our trip to Taiwan to adopt Sophia is less eventful than today!

The Cookbooks are Here!

Visit our adoption blog to find out how you can help support our adoption by purchasing one of these great cookbooks! Thanks for helping us bring Sophia home from Taiwan!

Adoption Fundraiser Opportunity

We have been blessed with so many donations to our upcoming garage and bake sale...continue to pray for good weather and lots of buyers! In this process, a couple of ladies from our church have also offered to help us do a "fundraiser within a fundraiser" through their home businesses. One such opportunity is through Avon. If you are interested in purchasing some items from Avon to help us with our adoption expenses, please leave a comment with your e-mail address, and I will send you a listing of what is available. Special combos of items have been created for this fundraiser in all the categories we know and love from Avon...perfume/cologne, makeup, lotions, etc. We will receive up to 40% of the retail price of anything ordered during the fundraiser, and all of it will go towards our international adoption expenses. Items can be sent anywhere as long as you are willing to pay the postage! Thanks in advance for your support and for helping us bring Sophia home from Taiwan!

Help Another Adoptive Family

I have come across so many families doing so many creative things to raise money to bring their adoptive child(ren) home. On my Taiwan adoption yahoo group, the adoptive mom behind this fundraiser asked for prayer because at this point, she will only break even, if that, with her fundraiser, and it only has two weeks left. If you are interested in helping this family bring home their little Josiah, a special needs child, please check out her blog. Even if you are not personally interested in the prizes, they would make great gifts. Thanks...and don't forget to scroll all the way down on the blog to see a photo of little Josiah!

A New 'Do and New Posts

Late last week we took the little boys to get haircuts. Here is Nathaniel's result...

No more baby here! My little boy is growing up! In this picture you can see one of his favorite places...the kitchen cupboard! He gets into EVERYTHING!

On another note, check out our newest blog, Sophia's Blessing Quilt, for some new posts. Our first blessings are rolling in! Feel free to join the fun! Have a great week!

Sophia's Blessing Quilt...An Open Invitation

January 1, 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

While we are waiting for the arrival of our daughter, Sophia Elizabeth, from Taiwan, we are working on a project that we REALLY need your help with. We are creating something called a "100 Blessings Quilt."

To welcome and celebrate a new life, there is a tradition in the northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei, or "100 Good Wishes Quilt." It is a custom to invite 100 people to contribute a single square patch of cloth. The 100 patches are sewn together into a quilt that contains the luck, energy, and good wishes from all the families and friends who contributed a piece of fabric. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation. Believing that God has called us to adopt from Taiwan, we are calling our quilt a “100 Blessings Quilt”. God, not luck, will guide Sophia’s life, so blessings are more appropriate!

We are asking you to please participate in this project. We love the idea of welcoming Sophia into our home with a quilt that represents the good wishes and blessings you are all sending her way. Here is what we would like you to do:

1. Choose ANY 100% cotton fabric that you like. It can be from clothing or from a fabric store. It just needs to be a design and color that you like.

2. Cut ONE 7" (pre-washed) or one 8" (un-washed) square from the fabric. Tip... if you have no idea how to work with fabric, ask for assistance at a fabric store and show them this letter. They will probably cut it for you.

3. Include your "good wish/blessing note" for Sophia. We will place all your notes in a scrapbook that we will give to our daughter someday. Also, please include a small piece of fabric on the note so we can always remember which fabric was yours!

Ideas for selecting fabric squares:

*Select a fabric that is meaningful to you.

*100% cotton fabric is best, as it washes and wears better.

*If there are several members in your family, please feel free to send more than 1 set of scraps. It would be so special to include good wishes/blessings from all members of your family!! In China, these quilts were originally made from garments of family and friends, which would surround the child with luck/good wishes.

Ideas for good wish/blessing note:

What would you wish for a child to have in his/her life? Some ideas that come to mind are good health, perseverance, compassion, and sense of humor. Or, what blessing do you wish to give to Sophia? Perhaps a favorite Bible verse you find meaningful, or other inspirational quote. Use that as a guide for your good wish/blessing note. Keep in mind that she will not see your note until she is older, of course. Also, you could write down why you chose the fabric that you sent, if that is especially meaningful, as well. Remember, please include a small piece of fabric on the note.

Please take a few minutes from your busy schedules to help us create this very special keepsake for our daughter. We have created a blog entitled, “Sophia’s Blessing Quilt” (http://www.blessingquilt.blogspot.com/) that will have photos of the fabric swatches as they arrive, as well as the notes. You will be able to keep tabs with us as our “blessings” pour in! There is a link to the quilt blog from both our family blog (http://www.merrilymusingmom.blogspot.com/)and our adoption blog (http://www.oursilkroad.blogspot.com/). Feel free to pass along this information to others whom you feel might want to participate with us!

Thank you for investing in our family, and especially in our new daughter’s soon arrival from Taiwan. May God bless you richly!

Sincerely,

Dave and Terri Fisher

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If you would like to participate in this project, please leave a comment on this post that includes your e-mail address, and we will send you an e-mail with our physical address. I moderate my comments, so I will not include your e-mail address when/if I publish your comment. We can't wait to see what fun fabrics arrive from our blogging friends!