Court Date went without a hitch!

So our court date was Friday February 5th. It happened to be when we were on our "Baby-moon" in Sapporo which helped distract us both, nonetheless it's all we could think about that morning. Yesterday (Saturday) we were happy to receive an email regarding the proceedings. They said that 3 people appeared for the court date to petition for us: a government social worker, a ChungYi (the Taiwan orphanage/agency) social worker and the Director of ChungYi orphanage. They said that all went well and that we should expect a "ruling" in 1-3 months. Once this ruling occurs, ChungYi (the Taiwan agency) will notify us of our travel date and then we are to start making trip reservations. This means we could be traveling as soon as April or as late as June.

Meanwhile, Isaac is now 9 months and Madelyn is 20 months. I think in some ways it will be like having twins, except one is more mobile (yipes!!), and we will be clueless as to their patterns of sleep, eating and overall behavior. Now this is a reality show I'd want to watch!

We were finally allowed to send them a care package a few weeks ago. We sent the "Madeline" doll and the super soft baby boy blanket that my mother had sent, as well as the adorable pajama's and moccasins that Joel's mother sent. We also made a laminated minibooklet with pictures of us as well as Isaac for Madelyn with associated English and Mandarin labels. Hopefully her foster parents will read it to her.

Mamisan's

One thing that we've decided upon is that we will definitely pursue the Nanny route. Here in Okinawa, they call this person a "Mamisan". Often a slightly elderly woman who comes and cleans your house and watches your kids. I have a few leads. Of course her main role will be to care for the children when we return to work. After a week or 2 at home together, Joel and I are hoping to take turns taking a week of leave off at a time until we are comfortable with our choice of the Mamisan and we feel that the children have adjusted "enough" to be left with someone not us. One of the things we've learned from our reading is that, almost by definition, all adopted children are "special needs children" for at least 6-12 months after you get them, occasionally, for years. Even children without diagnoses of problems or defects. I am still hoping my mother will be able come out and help care for them, essentially providing the nurturing and English interaction and education, while the Mamisan does all the lifting and carrying up and down the stairs etc. My mother is superb with babies and small children and we would feel lucky to have her.

Next post will be pictures from our awesome ski trip in Niseko and the Sapporo Winter Festival.