GOTCHA DAY 2009

Here are some pictures from our Gotcha Day with Nicolas. It was quite a day. We met the social worker, Anne, at 7am. We had to take 2 trains to get to Pingtung, where he lives. Riding a train for me was a first. So, in one day I had two firsts, and earthquake and a train ride. :) The first train we took was a bullet train which was really nice. The second train was the usual train, thank goodness the ride was only 30 minutes. Oh, another first, Joe, Natalie and I ate Lay's chicken chips on the train. They were good and that was all that Natalie talked about. Then from there the government social worker picked us up and brought us to the government building where we were to meet Nicolas. So much happened in that small amount of time. Everyone was suppose to meet at 1130, but the Foster mom and family were having a hard time with the adoption, which made us very worried as we sat there and waited. We also found out that we were suppose to meet the birth family, but things went heywire the day before. Finally, we were called to the balcony of the building and we saw Nicolas, below, playing on the swings with a family member. He was all dressed in his tradition clothes. For those of you who saw the pictures we received in June, we found out what the costume was. He is an Aborigine and that is a costume they were. And as you can see he has it on in his pictures. Cathwel gave us a book on this culture so we can better understand it and keep it alive for him.

So, the moment has come and the whole group enter the room. Nicolas aka Allen (his foster family changed his name from Chia-En to Allen and he ran over and gave Joe (Papa) a big hug and then came to me (Mama). He is a very sweet boy and very active. He gave Natalie a run for her money. The Foster family was awesome. They are truly attached to Nicolas and it showed, but on the other hand they have been so good to him. They take him to church and they teach him about his culture and they have spoiled him alot, especially grandma. We found out he likes to dance and sing, so I think he will fit in to our karaoke family. :) It was a very emotional meeting because they are going to miss him and we felt for them. Natalie and Nicolas hit it off really well. You wouldn't have known there was a language barrier. They chased each other and hugged and played. After that meeting we went to meet the birth mom, she was very emotional and didn't want to take any pictures with us or Nicolas. She gave us a bag of clothes that she had bought him. Nicolas was very good when he left, he didn't cry but you could tell it wasn't really sinking in. Him and Natalie held hands as they walked to the car, it was too darn cute.

We left the city building and went for lunch and then boarded the trains back to Taipei. It was a 2 1/2 hr trip total and both kids fell asleep. First Nicolas and Natalie was mad that we wasn't awake playing with her, but within 10 minutes she was out, then mommy. Daddy was out before Nicolas was. :) We were excited to get back to the room because it was quite a long day for us all. Natalie was funny because Nicolas kept talking to her in Chinese and she kept saying "I know, I know". When we got back to the room we ordered some noodles and rice and went to bed early, that is why there hasn't been a post sooner.

The first picture is of all of us. His foster mom was in the gray skirt and his foster dad was right behind her. The rest is grandma and cousins and an uncle.