Taking in Taipei...

Today was a day to rest, reset our body clocks, and explore Taipei. We found a great little noodle shop close to our hotel. Amelia checked out the playground equipment at a couple of parks. We walked up and down the streets. We tried out a dumpling restaurant famous for their xiaolongbao (little steamed pork dumplings). Amelia was very good to try everything. She also found a shop she loved: Miss Lulu's Bakery. We decided we'd have to bring Lucy back for a photo op.

This last photo is for my friend Lorene who has a strange fascination with toilets of the world. These are the buttons to control the toilet, which runs on electricity. Notice the seat warmer? Notice the choice of spray action (cool water, warm water, direction)?


Please pray for us tomorrow. We will fly to Taitung around lunchtime and will meet Lucy sometime tomorrow afternoon.

We made it!

We are here and weary! We figure we were in transit about 28.5 hours in all. Amelia did GREAT. She is a fantastic traveler. I don't think I heard a single, "are we there yet? Our longtime family friend was our pilot from DFW to Tokyo, which means Amelia got extra perks, like visiting the cockpit and getting to take home the original map with the flight plan charted. She also got warm chocolate chip cookies! Thanks, Steve, for getting us here safely. Tomorrow is a bum-around kind of day, and then on Tuesday, it's Lucy Day!

The Packing is Underway!

If you could even see the stacks of stuff I have, you would be saying, "what is she thinking?!" I am not known for packing light. Amelia is even worse than I am. Have no fear! By Saturday, we will be packed, ready, and under the weight limit! The Countdown to Lucy has begun!!!!

Trick-or-Treat 2011

Changes coming

Expect a new look, a year's worth of updates, and exciting travel news soon! It's coming! I promise. Amy

Not this year...

Each year we come a little closer to conquering Amelia's significant fear of water. Our efforts have been somewhat complicated by her eye surgeries, which have forced her out of the water (much to her delight!) for the past couple of summers. This summer, however, she was neither recovering from nor scheduled for surgery. Time for swimming lessons. Oh my word. You would have thought it a rare form of torture. Even the swimming instructor at the local university said in all her years of teaching, she had never seen a child whose fear of the water seemed as organic as Amelia's. I agree -- she gets in the water, and it's fight or flight time, which is no fun for anyone. She does fine as long as she can sit on the steps or dangle her feet. Anything more is a challenge. She did, however, make it through one lesson without screaming -- see the smile?! In the end it was clear that this wasn't her year to learn to swim. I guess there's always next summer.

Kindergarten graduation

Kindergarten is officially over. I thought I would be teary, but I wasn't at all. My favorite part of the ceremony was when the children recited the scriptures they learned all year, from A to Z. Very special! All of the children were honored in one way or another for their unique gifts. My child wasn't the one winning any awards for kindness or gentleness or self-control (we keep working on these things!), but she did earn several academic awards. I was proud of her, but more importantly, she was proud of herself.

The end of kindergarten is a little bittersweet because we won't be back at this school next year. The Lord is prompting my heart in a different direction for Amelia's academic needs. I am so thankful, though, for the wonderful start she had at this school. Here, she learned to trust new places and people, she learned to be proud of her Chinese heritage, and she learned to be concerned for the physical and spiritual needs of people here and around world.

After the graduation ceremony, we celebrated with our friends Cece, Mariah, and Sara over a giant brownie ice cream sundae. Then we went out for Amelia's big surprise of the day: to have her passport photo made! She is so excited to get what she calls "my first American passport". The passport is in preparation for travel to China and maybe Taiwan later this year. Plus, it's just a good idea to have one!

Praying that the Lord will continue to gift Amelia and bless her and develop her spirit all the days of her life.