You are Faithful

For reasons most of you can understand, this post is extremely overdue.  We’ve been home for almost seven weeks and each day, we find ourselves slowly settling into our new life as a family of three.   In fact, there are times where it feels like Shay has been with us always—and in some ways, he has been (at least in our hearts).  Before too much time passes, I wanted to capture the memories from our last trip and share them (this will read more like a travel log).

Day #1—Thursday, October 3 (and October 4)

We left Nashville on Thursday but with the thirteen hour time difference, we landed in Taipei around 10pm on Friday, October 4.  After getting our luggage and going through customs, we made it to our hotel a little after midnight.  When we opened our luggage, we found two surprises—one, the custom gold necklace we bought for Shay’s birth mother had been stolen.  All that was left behind was the torn gift wrapping and empty box.  When Austin opened his bag, the powdered Gatorade can (which we were bringing over for Deana’s family) had exploded somewhere over the Pacific.  He had neon green sand stuck to every single stitch of clothing in his bag.  Thankfully, our hotel offered free washer and dryer services—but Austin was up until 2:00am getting everything washed and dried.

Day #2—Saturday, October 5

Although jet lag does not make for restful sleep, we were able to sleep in a bit since our flight from Taipei to Taitung wasn’t scheduled to leave from the domestic airport until mid-afternoon.  The cool thing about our hotel (Park City Hotel in Luzhou Taipei) was a Metro station was located in the bottom of it.  Since it was just the two of us, Austin and I decided to save a few dollars and take the Metro to the domestic airport instead of catching a cab.  What we didn’t realize is traveling on the Metro is difficult when you A) have to make at least four different connections to get on the right line and B) doing this with large and bulky luggage.  The Metro system in Taiwan is rather interesting—it’s insanely clean.  Austin was actually prevented from getting on at one stop because he was chewing gum.  We arrived (a bit frazzled) at the domestic airport with only about thirty minutes to kill before our flight left.  This was not exactly how we intended our morning to start off, however, it was certainly added to the cultural experience.

Us with Shay's wonderful Nanny!

After we landed in Taitung, Deana picked us up and we headed straight to Morning Light to be reunited with Shay.  When we arrived, his Nanny brought him downstairs to greet us.  He immediately smiled and reached for me (yes, I thought my heart might burst).  He was a little timid of Austin, primarily because he just was rarely around men.  He got upset when his Nanny left (understandably) so we quickly loaded up and headed to the bed and breakfast where we would be staying through the weekend.   When we got settled in our room, he was upset (as he was the last time) but this time around, we were prepared.  Austin helped me put him in the Boba wrap and just like that, he calmed down and almost seemed to remember exactly who we were.  Even though it was officially Shay’s first birthday, we all three were exhausted and decided the best thing was to get to bed early and celebrate when we all felt better. 

Day #3—Sunday, October 5

Our bed and breakfast was only a short five minute walk to Morning Light, where we had the chance to attend Sunday morning services.  At the end of the service, they asked us to come forward and prayed a special blessing over us as a family (love!).
 

After church, we went to lunch with the Pan’s and later that afternoon, we returned to the church to spend time with Shay’s birth family.  It was a very special time—lots of pictures taken along with love and hugs (both of which defy language barriers).  We feel so extremely fortunate to be connected with his birth mother and her family.  They are such loving and kind people who genuinely love Shay and want the best life for him.  On Sunday night, we walked back into the main area of Taitung to eat one last time at our favorite dumpling restaurant.  Shay was so tired from the day that he fell asleep in his pouch as we walked back to our room.  It was a wonderful day.

Day #4—Monday, October 6

We got up early to re-pack our bags and Deana picked us up and drove to the court house in Taitung to wait for the final decree to be issued.  Thankfully, after about a thirty minute wait, the court clerk brought out the decree that the judge had signed.

Hurdle #1 passed.  Hooray!  Shay was officially ours!!  

We loaded back in the van and Deana drove us to the airport so we could catch

our flight back to Taipei.  While this was Shay’s first time on an airplane, he did really well on the short flight from Taitung to Taipei (only about an hour) thanks in part to the emergency information cards in the seatback pocket.  When we landed in Taipei, Ted was waiting on us with lunch and we hopped in the car and headed straight to the passport office. 

Oh.my.word.

I wish I could tell you what this scene looked like—sort of a combination between the Social Security Office and DMV combined, except about a hundred times more busy and chaotic.  Ted went straight to the counter to request an expedited passport review…..to which the lady promptly refused.  He explained our situation, how the decree had just been issued and that we had a flight back to the US in less than 48 hours.  She wanted to see proof of our return flight home plus even wanted to see the boarding passes from our flight from Taitung to prove we had come straight from the airport.  She made it clear that our “emergency” did not fit the description in her book.  I was so nervous that I had Shay in his wrap and I walked to the back of the office, cried, paced and prayed.  After what felt like an eternity (at least an hour and a half), she gave in and processed our form and told us to return the following morning to pick it up.

Hurdle #2 passed.  Thank you Lord!

After leaving the passport office, we returned to the hotel for a quick rest and then left to tour the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall.  It was a short walk from our hotel and was pretty impressive.  We made it just in time to watch the changing of the guard ceremony.  The grounds were beautiful.  From there, we went to a dumpling house that was recommended by our hotel.  We had dinner, found an ice cream shop and walked around a bit doing touristy stuff before heading back for the night.

Day #5—Tuesday, October 7

Ted picked us up after breakfast and our first stop was the passport office (check out the picture of Shay’s passport—could there be anything cuter?!).  Our next stop was the Taiwan Adventist Hospital for Shay to get his physical completed.   He was weighed, measured and his medical records were reviewed.  Unfortunately, since he had turned one only a few days prior, he was due for his varicella (aka—chickenpox) vaccine.  Cue panic from mom….this was not what I wanted to hear, knowing we were nearing twenty four hours before boarding a flight (and how shots can make little ones cranky and tired).  We had to go from one area of the hospital to an outpatient area for another doctor to evaluate Shay prior to the vaccine.  Shay did great, only crying for a minute (more about being separated from me than the shot itself).  We needed his physical form to be completed and released the following morning in order to take it to our AIT appointment.  It normally takes around a week to get it released, however, they agreed to complete the form and have it ready for pickup on Wednesday morning.

Hurdle #3 passed!  Only one left! 

After we left the hospital, Ted took us to lunch with another family who had just

completed their AIT appointment.  It’s amazing how you can meet a complete stranger and within minutes, the bond of adoption makes you feel like you’ve known them forever.  After lunch, we felt like we could relax a bit since the majority of the steps were behind us.  We walked to Taipei 101 building and bought tickets to the observation deck.  It was amazing!  We came back to the hotel late that afternoon, just in time for the after effects of Shay’s vaccine to kick in.  He did not feel well and cried for almost an hour before falling asleep around 5:30pm….and slept through the night until 5:00am the next morning.

Day #6—Wednesday, October 9

We got our bags re-packed and tried to prepare for the long day ahead of us.  After breakfast, we jumped on Skype one final time to see family before checking out of the hotel and doing a little shopping.  Ted picked us back up and we had an early lunch nearby the AIT office since our appointment was at 1:30pm.  Our appointment consisted of turning in all our documentation and then waiting about an hour for them to review it and then conduct a brief interview with us.  After answering a few basic questions signing some forms, we were handed a sealed packet and told not to open it and turn it in to immigration when we landed in the United States.

Hurdle #4 passed!  Praise Jesus we are coming HOME!!!!! 

I cannot tell you what a huge relief it was to drive away from that building, holding Shay in my arms, complete with his sweet little passport and all his official documentation.  

Since our flight did not leave Taipei until almost midnight, we had several hours of downtime.  Ted drove us to Luodong to spend the afternoon at the Home of God’s Love (the orphanage he and his wife run).  It was about an hour drive from Taipei and we got to see beautiful countryside (and drive through one of the world’s largest tunnels).  Once we arrived, we got to meet some other families and get a tour of the new building under construction.  We had dinner and at 7:30pm, a van arrived to pick us up and drive us to the international airport.  It took a little less than two hours to get there and by this time, we were getting worn down.  It had been a really long day and the real adventure was only beginning (meaning 23 hours of travel ahead).  We had to purchase a ticket at the counter for Shay which ended up being a longer process than we had expected.  After getting through security, finding our gate, getting Shay into his pajamas and changing our clothes, it was literally time to start boarding.  Thankfully, we did get bulk head seating and a bassinet reserved so Shay had a little bed to sleep in (although he wasn’t super fond of it).  It was a long twelve hours to Los Angeles but Shay slept around seven or eight hours total.  

Upon landing in Los Angles, Austin and I made our way through customs and then we were told to go to another area to get Shay’s documentation processed.  This was quite an experience…..we were ushered to the front of the line since we were US citizens, but there literally hundreds of people (from all parts of the world) waiting to get processed.  After a short wait, Shay’s documentation was reviewed and we were free to go.  We had a layover of a couple of hours and did our best to keep Shay busy (when in doubt, we fed him….that seemed to work).  I was most nervous about the flight from Los Angeles to Dallas but he did great.  I put him in the wrap and he slept all but thirty minutes, waking up near the end to take a bottle.

Thursday, October 10

After we landed in Dallas, we had breakfast (our bodies were so confused at this point as to what day or time it was).  We found a family restroom and changed clothes, brushed teeth, and washed faces.  We boarded the flight to Nashville and within thirty minutes, Shay was asleep again.  When we landed in Nashville, I actually had to wake him up.

When we stepped off the plane, there was Wendy, capturing our homecoming.  I will forever be grateful that she was there to take the pictures as it was truly one of the happiest days of my life.   We were overwhelmed by the amount of friends and family that were there to see us arrive.  Despite all the traveling, Shay was extremely happy and was particularly amazed by the balloons people had brought. 

And that’s the story of how one Shay Douglas Cooper made his long journey from Taiwan to Tennessee.

There are so many things I want to write about that have happened in the last seven weeks—how life feels so much more intentional than before, how adjusting to being a mom has already changed me, how much I love seeing Austin be a dad, how amazed I am each day by our child.  There will be time for all those stories and more, but for today, I’ll simply say this-- God is faithful.  Even when I doubted his sovereignty, even when I was defeated and brokenhearted, even when I thought I couldn’t wait one day longer, He was faithful.  Thank you, Lord, for allowing me to enter into motherhood in this special and sacred way, for blessing Austin and I with this child who we love more than words could ever describe. 

Austin and I have said for months that this song was the perfect fit for our adoption story.

Never once did we ever walk alone. 

Never once did you leave us on our own.
You are faithful, God you are faithful.

We love each and every one of you!

Austin, Abby & Shay