My Lia-Rose

She is everything I ever dreamed her to be. She is smart, she is sassy, she is beautiful, she has personality, she has a strength that neither her father or I have. We have met our Lia-Rose. I'm so sorry that it has taken me so long to post this story here. I was feeling cautious. But we just got off of a plane after spending a week in Taiwan, the birth country of our daughter. On 8-8-08 of this year Lia-Rose's file was presented to us. The chance to adopt from Taiwan came out of the blue and we are so grateful to our agency for presenting us this chance. Her photo caught us by surprise. We both recognized her at once. She is our girl. She is three years old (as of August 26th) and is a cute as a button. I will keep Lia's story to ourselves, but the wonderful news is that we truly know her story. I love that one day I'll be able to share with my daugther some of the good and perhaps the not so good of losing your birthfamily. But there is a sense of completeness that I can share with her.

Once we were given the sign-off from the appropriate people in Taiwan, we were told it would be o'k if we visited her. Note, it is not mandatory in Taiwan, but we felt that any chance to meet our daughter was a chance we wouldn't not pass up. We left last Saturday and just got back. Oh my god. I can't tell you what a trip this was.
Lia is being looked at by a Foundation (sort of like an orphange). She lives right now with a Nanny and her husband and another little girl in Foster Care. She is well taken care of and loved. She is a very well-adjusted child for someone who has been through quite a lot in her three years. We met with her Social workers and doctors. They wanted us to know everything. To make us feel secure. Then, the best part, we got three days with Lia. Three days on our own. We went to the zoo, to the museum, out to eat, shopping. Played in the hotel suite. We just enjoyed each other's company. It was amazing!

The process isn't over yet. We now wait a court date (about 4-8 more weeks). Once the judge signs off (and they believe this should be fairly quickly) we await a visa from the US Embassy in Taiwan. This might be the hold-up but this could be another 12-15 weeks. Note, we are saying weeks...sounds much faster that way!

Anyway, there are alot stories. I will begin to blog regularily here again.

And now, we unveil to my blog family...little Miss Lia Tsz-Huei Rose Carroll! (By the way, they are officially calling her Lia Tsz-Huei now!)