July 20th

I know I am out of sync, but as I get time to blog I am just going to post to get some of these pictures out. On Monday, July 20th (Happy Birthday, Richard!) we went to the Club House to hang out and wait to purchase tickets to the community BBQ on Saturday. While hanging out, alot of our neighbors from our street came out to hang too. So, we pulled up some chairs by the pool and let the kids play until 830pm. We would have stayed longer but the bugs were coming out in full force. Nicolas had a blast hanging in the pool and playing with the kids. He played so well and tried pizza for the first time and loved it. Thanks Liz & Bam. Our friends, Liz and Bam were having a party for their son during the same time everyone was there, so they provided everyone with pizza.

July 22nd - A Visit with the DiMatteo's

Our friends Jen, Tyra and Judy came to visit us on Wednesday. Jen and Judy went with us to China and Jen picked up the beautiful Tyra. It was so much fun to see them and hang out with them because it has been awhile. The girls loved being together and Nicolas loved meeting Tyra. :)

Thanks Jen & Judy for all the goodies, the kids are loving them!!

We Made it!!

After 25 hrs of traveling we made it home safe and sound on Saturday at 945pm. The flight over is long too, but not as bad because you are on a mission. :) On the way back you just want to get home.

Nana & Papa, Uncle Kenny and Aunt Jen were there to greet us. Nana brought balloons and was a hit with Nicolas. He loves balloons. They also brought rice, yum! yum! and presents for Natalie and Nicolas, which they loved, Thank you very much!!

When Nicolas got to the house he was overwhelmed, just a little. He told a Chinese lady in Tokyo that he was going to live in a castle. We really don't live in a castle but I guess, to him, compared to his foster home he thinks it is a castle. The kids played until 130am and we all went to bed, trying to get back on this time clock. Natalie woke up at noon and we had to wake Nicolas up at 1230pm.

His first day home was fun, but not long. After lunch we played in the pool for most of the afternoon. Once they were ready to watch a movie, Nicolas passed out in the chair and he is now in bed.

I am going to share pictures in this post of some of our flying yesterday and playing in the pool today. After I organize the pictures I will go backwards and post more from Taiwan.

Poche Family Pictures

Hello family and friends !!

We are all adjusting well with our new addition. Natalie is so excited to have Nicolas as her brother and Robin and I are excited to have Nicolas as our son!

He is a ball of energy but when he sleeps he sleeps like a rock ! Today we had to wake Nicolas up after he slept for over twelve hours !! I cannot remember the last time I slept past eight hours never mind twelve, oh well we hope he sleeps this long on the way back home.

Hello to all of the Universal team that may be following this journey.

Enjoy the pics !

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.

Earthquake or Tremor . . . . .

So, why would we pose this question in the middle of all the excitement of the adoption. Well, Joe and I don't know the difference between the two because we never experienced either . . . .until now. Around 2am this morning we were woken up by a loud noise and the room swaying back and forth. It didn't help that we are on the 12th floor of the hotel and the hotel is split into two towers. It last about 1-2 minutes and when we finally got a hold of the front desk they told us it was tremors and they are used to getting this. We never heard of this while we were planning our trip. Who would have thunk!?! When we met our social worker around 7am she informed us that it was a 3 on the earthquake levels. Something they really are used to here. They have gotten a 6 before, a couple of years ago. Hope that it isn't time for another one in that category.

Last day before 4

Today was spent site seeing Tawain in walking distance from our hotel. We have seen every scooter made by man on the streets of Tawain. There are alot of Sushi places as well as American eateries. We are still getting used to the time difference but we are all doing well in Taipei and we are excited about meeting our son tomorrow!!