Stevie’s Adoption Story 🤍

So many people have prayed and helped us in our adoption Journey. Stevie is so loved and we feel it. The way she is jumping right in makes me think she feels it too. 

Our adoption trip story is so long as we were there a month! But we want to share as best as we can so you can see the fruits of your prayers and because we are so grateful for your prayers for Stevie 🤍. 

We got to our quarantine hotel in Taiwan pretty effortlessly. All the officials in the airport were so friendly and helped us get the correct documents, phones and registrations for our stay and quarantine. Seriously everyone in Taiwan that we met were so welcoming, friendly and helpful. 

We quarantined in 2 rooms for two weeks but luckily they gave us adjoining rooms! Once we got a schedule going for our day the weeks went by a little faster! 

We thought we were going to get to Skype with Stevie one more time there but for whatever reason that didn’t happen. 

After our two week quarantine (consisting of the government texting us every day to make sure we didn’t feel sick and tracking our location to ensure adequate quarantine), we got to leave the hotel for our health monitoring week. 

Once we left the hotel, we went to our new hotel that we had previously booked. Once we arrived, the hotel notified us that policies had changed and we could not stay at another hotel until we had been In Taiwan 21 days 😆😆. The polices had changed in all the hotels we called. Our guide we worked with for travel sat at a coffee shop with us for about 2+ hours calling for us to help us find a place to stay. Our guide was so amazing and helpful. We were so grateful. Lucas and I had a peace though the whole time because we knew God had brought us there and would take care of us regardless. 

So Samantha our Guide helped us find an apartment to stay at that was perfect! 

So for the next week we spent all of our time soaking in all of Stevie culture that we could. Going to tourist places to learn more history, sight see, and then also going to local places to really experience the culture. Sam our guide really made that week for us. We miss her!! 

The 4th week in Taiwan was the week we met Stevie. That Monday, the social worker we had been working with and our other guide who had been driving us (also amazing, he bought Stevie a few toys and helped us so much!) both met us to drive to pick Stevie up. 

We were so nervous and knew she would be too more than likely. 

We drove to her county and to the adoption center. We took the elevator and when we got out she was already in a near by room playing. We didn’t think at that point to stop and get a video going… we just walked in and met her. 

She was playing in the floor with toys and her foster family was there with the social workers.

She was so precious. We all were smiling so big. We sat in the floor to meet her, she came up to us and sat in my lap for a split second and then got up and continued to play. 

I gave her a bracelet I made at my sisters the night before we flew out. And then I gave Stevie a matching bracelet I made to give foster mom. Stevie loved it and smiled so big. 

We also couldn’t help but feel foster family’s happiness and sadness. We know how well they loved her and are so thankful for how she was loved. My heart hurts even now thinking about the sadness foster parents experience with each child, especially them raising her for 3 years 🤍.

After we played, foster family snuck out so Lucas and I , plus the social workers, could take Stevie to a farm! We got to see cows, feed them, walk around and just spend time together. 

That trip it really hit us that we now have a three year old to raise. She was so happy, ran around so much, wanted to do all the things. She was so sassy from the beginning and we LOVED it. I’m pretty sure at one point Lucas and Stevie were running up a hill for fun 😂. 

We ate lunch, had some ice cream, and after us chasing her everywhere, she finally fell asleep in my arms 🤍. 

We drove back to the adoption center. We waited for foster family to return. Stevie went back with foster family and we went back to our apartment. 

That night Lucas and I prepared our apartment for her to be there the next day. 

The next day (Tuesday) we went to the adoption center again. We played more with Stevie. She was more reserved (the agency and foster family did an amazing job of preparing her for the transition, so she knew what was going on). 

We had a meeting with foster family and the social workers to talk about how Stevie had been cared for and what we might need, her schedule, sleep, feedings etc. and a chance for us to share a moment with foster family as we all made this transition. 

The transition was quick. We all went downstairs for goodbye and pictures, and then we with the social worker took Stevie back inside to play as foster family left. 

After that we went with the social workers and Stevie to eat at a hello kitty restaurant. I still have no idea what the actual name was because at that point it was a whirlwind. 

She played so hard. Which has continued to be her personality 🤣.

After lunch we went to the apartment and it was officially us and Stevie as a family. It was so much better than we expected. We played, we ate, we FaceTimed family, it was so good and we were thankful! Night time was good but then sweet little Stevie vomited in bed and then it was pretty hard grieving that started after that. (I can’t imagine feeling yucky and not having my comforter there.)

But she let us comfort her and we finally all got to sleep in the living room futon. 

The next day (Wednesday) she continued to be sad, missing her foster mother. It was heart breaking. The blessing was that she let us comfort her in her sadness. That day we went to the adoption center that was located near where we were staying for a document meeting where we received all the important documents for Stevie and also some memorable type items. I hadn’t gotten emotional but this got me, seeing all of her sentimental items from growing up this far. Its hard to explain but seeing these, receiving these, I felt like we received another piece of her in our family puzzle… but also to see how well she had been loved and the care her adoption agency took to make sure she has so much of her life to keep with her. 

That day was hard because she was so sad, grieving hard. We went back to the apartment, played games, let her sleep, and finally we all went to sleep. 

Thursday we had our visa appointment for Stevie in the morning. She. Was again so sad. Missing her foster mom so much. We got her visa documents quickly thank goodness and then went back to the apartment. That afternoon we had to go get all of our Covid tests done. We all did not enjoy that but Stevie was a champ. We then went and got ice cream and that was a little glimpse of peace. She enjoyed herself and we had such a good moment. 

Friday we went to the zoo.. It was hot for her and she wanted to mostly just be held. So we went back to the apartment. She did so well traveling with us on the metro with just us as a family.

Saturday was travel day and she was a champ!! Seriously she did better than we did 😂😂. But thank goodness she really did handle travel so well. 

It was about 24 hours of travel Including  layovers. 

When we got home, Lucas’s mom had put us food in our fridge and pantry to help make it through the next week. There was also a bike waiting for Stevie from @lisa too! My family had left Minnie Mouse balloons outside our house and she loved it!! 

The first week home, we all had jet lag. There was a lot of grieving. She loved and missed foster mom. But we figured out a good sleep schedule and we’re able to get our days and nights back! Every day we saw huge changes and she has adjusted so well. 

We are learning parents and she is learning us. She has adjusted so well so far. She is learning English like a sponge! Google translate was our good friend and now we barely even use it! 

She is sleeping so good at night.

She eats well and lets us know if she likes or doesn’t like something. 

She can tell when we don’t understand her and we can tell when she isn’t picking up what we are saying. Her mandarin phrases are gradually transitioning to English. Especially the last two weeks it’s been pretty much English only. 

She loves FaceTiming her cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents. She even says “call ___” or “I want ____” saying who she wants to call. 

She loves girly dresses and playing outside. In the dirt, and climbing on everything at the playground. 

She loves helping Lucas out in the yard or fixing things, and she loves helping me with things I’m doing too! 

She loves chicken nuggets and pizza 😂. We also have found food that she is use to originally and she loves those too! 

 She loves learning and is always repeating us, asking “what is that?” And “where are we going?” 

It’s been a bout 1 month home and huge changes have happened in that time home. We love our little Stevie. We feel all the prayers. It doesn’t mean things were a fairy tale or smooth. We know we have felt the prayers because of the grace we have felt with us and in Stevie in going through this tough yet beautiful transition 🤍