Hello Kitty overload at the Taipei airport

Well, we didn't get to fly on one of the Hello Kitty planes, because they don't use those for flights from the continental US to Taipei. I did, however, make sure to document the Hello Kitty-ness of the EVA Air area at the Taipei airport!

In the check-in area...

The family area inside security just before you get to the gates...

The seating, playing, and shopping area at one of the gates...

a new friend

named Perry.

Or, given his get-up below, Agent P.

This, my friends, is a show of sweet love for a three-year-old boy.

She's not so sure what to do with him.

Hmm, that hand looks interesting...

...maybe no one will notice....

...if I taste it a little bit.

stories and prayers with our three children

I didn't post all the pictures from The Archibald Project here, though more will be coming (as well as sweet pictures from our arrival at the Raleigh airport), so please check out the amazing ways they documented our adoption journey on their Facebook page and in these blog posts: the country, our first meeting in the hospital, and her release from the hospital.

Also, a friend set up a page for meal sign-up for our family. I think it works by signing up with your email address, then waiting for one of the friends coordinating the site to approve you, and then - once you get the approval email - choosing a date from the calendar there. I haven't used this site before, so let me know if you have any questions, and I'll ask my friend!

~+~

Life is settling into a new normal, with story time and prayer time and bed time with three kids.

loving story time with Daddy

talking about the pictures

story time can be pretty active around here!

two pairs of eyes on the book, one pair of eyes on the mama and her camera

getting ready for prayer time!

praying as a family (well, minus the mama behind the camera...)

not gonna lie... this sort of thing happens sometimes during prayer time around here

realizing that Zoe's prayer time seems a bit intense...

...yep, she's snoozing.

the pictures I've wanted to share for so long

Most days, I have yearned to share these pictures with you.

Some days, I have cherished having them to myself.

You see, when I post pictures of Robbie and Jocelyn here, I know I still have the best moments. The ones not caught on camera. The special bonds that are formed through physical presence and not just visual images.

I've memorized these pictures.

I've prayed over them.

I've fallen in love with them.

For Zoe, the pictures were all we had of her. Until now.

Now, I can share these pictures with you and the rest of the world, because she is now in our arms.

the face of an orphan

This was the face of an orphan.

She was three months old then.

Now she's eight months old.

She's not an orphan anymore.

She's our daughter.

David Platt wrote in Radical, "We learned that orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend they’re not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes."

Seeing her face changed everything for us.

And while I've said from the beginning and still believe that everyone is not called to adopt, I do hope for some of you that God uses a little face to change everything for you too.

Because as much as people say that Zoe is blessed, God has changed so much in us through this process that we know the truth.

We are the ones who are blessed.

pictures thanks to an amazing non-profit called The Archibald Project; learn more here or here