TONKIN TRIBE IN TAIWAN

Faye Blais @ The Refuge ~ 2 August 2009

2009-08-07T22:44:00.015+08:00

So the Tribe took another trip down to Taichung on Sunday to the Refuge for another day of great music and great community.

The event was titled "Home made Jamz with Faye Blais"...

Jason started off the day with a few songs, joined by some of the Tribe....Willow-River, Keanu-Storm and Asia-Faith each went up on their own accord and started to play along with daddy....Talis-Rain was the photographer, along with mommy! It was just so awesome to see them up there....Willow-River also sang a couple of songs with Jason too - all unplanned and unrehearsed. To have the kids go up there and perform in front of a crowd of, I don't know, maybe 200 people, was awesome! And they say homeschooled kids can't socialise! LOL

There was of course a great line up of musicians again....just to mention a few...Avery Day and the Deng Yi Xias, D and Da Flintstones, The Stackers, Moshang, and of course Faye Blais!

Faye is an amazing Canadian singer-song writer. Her music is best described as indie/folk with hints of jazz. Her alluring vocals together with her acoustic and unique electric guitar, carry you away with the deep, soulful songs on a musical journey.

Her long awaited debut "First Tooth" was released in 2005. In early 2008 Faye completed her second full-release "Two Pieces". She has toured both Australia and New Zealand in this past year, and made a stop over in Taiwan before heading home to tour Canada.

Faye's music was beautiful, and the impromptu jam session with a few other musicians was just
great! She probably did one of the longest, but definitely the most beautiful, sound checks I have ever heard! LOL

Take a look at her website... http://www.fayeblais.com/home.html

The highlight for Willow-River was the Half Pipe skateboard ramp! They had a skateboard crew who were out there for the day strutting their stuff...and by the end of the day they were all giving Willow-River tips and advice...and of course all said he was a natural!

Asia-Faith was also on top form ~ even though she had not slept all day ~ she kept telling me she was not tired....although her eyes told a different story! LOL....Anyway, she strikes up conversations with any and all who want to listen! Our friend Colin wanted to give her NT$ 10, so he asked her what she would do to get the money...she pulled out the toy piano and began playing...so he gave her the money....a little while later while she was sitting with Colin listening to some guys playing guitar...she pulled out the NT$10 and gave it too them...Isn't that just the cutest thing???

Another great day with great people and great music!

D and Da Flintstones

Avery Day and the Deng Yi Xias ~ doing a sound check with Faye jamming along~

Boston Paul and Chase ~ talking about sound, I assume;-)

The mini photographer...

The Tonkin Boys jamming

Our princess

The half pipe built by Carpenter Greg

~ Boston Paul ~
~Carpenter Greg ~

~The Beautiful and Talented Faye Blais ~

~The Tonkin Brothers on the half pipe ~

~* Peace and Love *~

HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY, WILLOW-RIVER!!!

2009-07-23T21:27:00.004+08:00

My boy celebrated his 10th birthday! It is so hard to believe that it was a decade ago that I gave birth to him.

His birth story reads like quite an adventure!

My original due date given was the 24th June...it then changed to the 5th July (my parents wedding anniversary)....he was actually born on the 23rd July!

I was dead set on a hospital birth when I found out I was pregnant, actually I didn't even give it a second thought...I thought that is where babies are born! Jason had other ideas though (thank goodness)...he suggested a water birth...Me??? a water birth...I don't even really like swimming! LOL

But...I kept an open mind, and decided to look into it...

After much researching, reading and more researching - I had a change of heart - we decided to have a water birth at home! We found an amazing midwife, Tracy Roake, and I had a wonderful, beautiful pregnancy.

Jason and I were living on the coast in Amanzimoti, in Durban during my pregnancy doing gigs in pubs and restaurants in the evenings and spending our days on the beach. The venues where we used to play at regularly threw us a baby shower - we were really spoiled!

Two + weeks after my due date, on a Friday, 23 July, we head off for a visit with Tracy, knowing that if baby doesn't come soon, Monday I would be induced....

On the drive to Tracy, I had these weird feelings in my belly...I didn't say anything to Jason right away...I waited a few minutes, then I noticed they were quite regular....I then said to J casually that I think I am in labour! We arrive at Tracy's place and she does a quick once over on me and tells me I am indeed in labour and about 2 cm dilated...baby should be here soon!

We leave Tracy and go visit my parents, they don't believe me when I tell them I am actually in labour, and baby will be born...finally!!!

After our visit we head back home (our little 1968 vw kombi doesn't go that fast, so a trip to Durban to Amanzimtoti can take a good 25 - 30 minutes!)...

We arrive home and since I won't be going to hospital after all (I had my hospital bag all packed and ready)...I decide to unpack the bag...give me something to do to pass the time! LOL

At around 6 - 6:30pm the contractions start getting stronger...we call Tracy and she tells us to get the birth pool filled....my sister had arrived too by then (with a new boyfriend that I had NO idea was there! LOL)...and my parents were also there (but all were in another room)...

Tracy arrived with my wonderful doula, Cyrenna Sorour...who had the most magical, beautiful hands that massaged my lower back!

The water was beautiful...it was relaxing, relieving, soothing, comforting...and having Jason right in there with me pouring water over my back was just amazing! The worst part was when I would have to get out of the water for Tracy to do a check on me and the baby...then the pain was grueling! But once I got back down into that water...heaven!

But...it was not to last....at around 9cm dilated, he just was not coming...by this stage I was lying on the bed with some gas and I can't remember what else right now...but I looked a sight! LOL

Tracy told us that his heart rate was dropping and that we needed to get to a hospital....well, they asked me where my hospital bag was (and the baby bag)...so I sheepishly had to tell them I was bored and unpacked it! LOL

Well, I rode to the hospital in a pair of Jason's old shorts and a tee shirt (not even shoes)...and Jason came barefoot too - we must have looked a sorry sight! The trip on the way to the hospital was very relaxed - you would have thought we were off to the movies!

When we arrived at the hospital, they wheeled me in, did an internal and realised that baby was facing the wrong way... he was posterior - meaning he was face up instead of face down....sooooo...they tried to turn him...manually! Now *that* was painful - I actually felt my coccyx snap...I then heard them say they would need to give me an episiotmy...(the cut I had been dreading!)...they then proceeded to give me an injection (to numb the area down there where they were going to cut)....then I heard someone say, no...emergency cesarean! The first thing I asked was "Have you cut down there yet????" - thankfully they hadn't!

So I was wheeled off to the operating room...I was prepped and ready to go! Finally after some pulling and tugging, I saw my baby boy being lifted up into the world! What a moment....seeing your baby for the first time is a feeling that cannot be described! He was a little wrinkled from all the pushing, he reminded me of a little sharpei puppy...and also reminded me a bit of a tortoise! He had a little cut just above his eye, from the scalpal...but he was just perfect!

Jason followed him around and sang him his lullaby ~ Jamaican Farewell ~ (we would sing it to him all the time while he was in my belly), while I was wheeled into the recovery room where I stayed for what seemed like a lifetime, and all I wanted to do was see my baby!

Eventually I was taken to a room (there was no room in the maternity ward - it was a late Friday night and I had no reservation! LOL)....so we were put on the floor above in our own room and I insisted that my baby was staying with us...they were not very happy, but they relented, and our baby stayed with us.

The next day, believe it or not...I walked out the hospital....I was determined to go home and have Tracy care for me rather than spend another day in the hospital....they were not happy about that either! But Jason just said to them that we were out of there! It was so great to be home and Tracy was absolutely amazing - she made this amazing concoction of comfrey leaves and honey and I can't remember what else, but I put it on my wound and it healed it up beautifully!

And that was 10 years ago!

Today, that little baby is a beautiful, happy, healthy, thoughtful, kind, loving, joyful, inquisitive, caring boy, who means the world to me and his dad and brothers and sister!

WE LOVE YOU, WILLOW-RIVER!!!!

Opening up his box of "books".....

Oh, wait....that's not a book...

It's an amp!!!!

The look on his face when Daddy brought in his electric guitar!

Keanu-Storm, Riza, Asia-Faith, Angus, Willow-River and Ryan

Singing "Happy Birthday" with Nana and Papa via Skype...

Time for water balloon fights!Willow-River taking aim...

~* Peace and Love *~

LUVstock 2009

2009-07-12T15:35:00.001+08:00

The weekend of July 11 took us down to the Refuge again for another weekend of great music and great people.

Day 1 of LUVstock took place at Dong Shan Paradise, an abandoned theme park just down the road from the Refuge (to accommodate bigger crowds).

It is the annual minifest: LUVstock...In the words of Boston Paul....

The 5th (ish) annual 2Day minifest 'LUVstock' is a Celebration of Life. In a world full of haggard politics we should all be thankful for another day that we are all still alive and reasonably well.

Though this Minifest has gone through a few changes over the years from an impromptu Birthday Party [mine ;-)] to what is now called LUVstock, it promises to be one of the Highlights of your Summer.

Like last year and the year before, LUVstock has traditionally attracted hundreds of Musicians, Artists and Bohemians from around Taiwan; gathering to Celebrate Life, enjoy the company of like minded people, make music, make new connections, make acquaintances, lounge around on the grass, eat, drink and be Merry.

It was definitely one of the highlights of this Tribes summer!

As usual the Tribe got stuck in to help out - the kids made the hearts that were stuck up around the venue, Jason got stuck in with setting up the sound, and I took care of welcoming the refugees.

There was, as usual, a great line up of music from artists all around the island....some included: Jagabags, Avery and Frenz, Waysoon (great country and bluegrass music), Gruveballs (from Tainan), .22, Dr Reniculous Lipz & The Skallyunz, The Stackers, Moshang, and Militant Hippi...and some others.

There were also fire dancers, drummers, artists, vendors selling clothing and hand made items and of course yummy food and thirst quenchers!

There are lots of reasons why our Tribe enjoy going to the Refuge, but I think what I love about the gatherings at the Refuge the most is the fact that it is kid friendly....and if your kid happens to be of the furry kind, they are welcome too! The kids have an absolute fab time and they often go on until the early hours of the morning - jamming right alongside the muso's!

LUVstock ~ Day 1

Day 2 started later in the afternoon (since we all only got to bed when the sun was coming up!)...so it was great to just sit around and chill at the Refuge. The kids had a bit of a jam session with Daddy and then a few muso's had a jam, after which they had a great group called Taichung Improv - Improv comedy at its best! We had great plans to leave early so we would not arrive home too late...but with all the good music and good company....it was another late one! We arrived home in the wee hours of the morning...but this Tribe had a great one!

LUVstock ~ Day 2

~* Peace and Love *~

June Reflections....

2009-07-09T23:15:00.017+08:00

So another month has come and gone....

This month marked our 3rd anniversary of living in Taiwan...If you want to take a trip down memory lane, you can check out my previous post:

http://tonkin-tribe.blogspot.com/2008_06_01_archive.html

As with most foreigners living here in Taiwan...the plan usually is to come for a year, and then most, if not all have ended up living here for years...so this was our original plan too...and 3 years later we are still here!

In 3 years we have lived in 4 different county's...Firstly Kinmen (which is not quite Taiwan, but a little island between Taiwan and China - beautiful beaches!)...then it was Donggang in Pingtung in the south (and our first earthquake experience!), next came our move to Yilan on the east coast where many earthquakes were felt and where it rained about 363 days of the year, but was beautiful and green - now I know why...it was because of all the rain...and finally, yes I say finally, since I don't plan on moving around this island again...we are now in Hsinchu (which is known as the windy city), on the west coast (where I had my first encounter with a snake!).

Although traveling had never been high on my priority list when we were in South Africa...I always said to Jason when the kids were older and off on their own, then he and I could travel the world...turns out the universe had different plans! It was actually me who did all the research and lay in bed one night and said "J, I think we should do this"....and I am so glad we did!

Don't get me wrong, it hasn't been plain sailing, not by any stretch of the imagination. It is very hard being away from family and friends and all that is familiar to you. When you are in a foreign country where everything is foreign, the language, culture, religion, food, eating utensils, toilets, even the side of the road they drive...but it has been a wonderful experience, and one that has also brought us our beautiful little girl.

Not sure if many will know this, but since I was about 14 years old or so, I wanted to adopt a little girl from China. I had seen documentaries on tv and read articles about the orphaned baby girls and I knew in my heart that one day I would adopt a little girl. I had no idea how it would even be possible, but it was something that I knew would happen. When I first met Jason I told him I wanted lots of kids, including my little girl from China. The years went on, and then when we decided to move to Taiwan Jason said to me "you know what this means?" and I looked at him puzzled???? and he replied "we will be that much closer to China"...and then it dawned on me....of course!

For more about the adoption journey, you can check out our adoption blog...
http://adoptingasia-faith.blogspot.com

We have made a few life altering decisions while here in Taiwan too.....

We became vegetarian around August/September last year...for two reasons...namely health and ethical. We decided we would no longer support the meat industry...after watching www.meat.org - meet your meat ***warning*** it is quite a disturbing video.

Also having done research on the effects of meat on your body, and the significantly raised risks of cancer, heart disease and diabetes, not to mention that when you eat meat you may be consuming hormones, drugs and other chemicals that have been fed to the animals before they were killed....we have stopped eating meat (which includes fish and chicken too). It has taken a bit of adjusting for me who has to do the cooking, but it has been great!

We now are also doing a lot of juicing and eating more raw foods...so we have lots of fresh veggie and fruit juices. It is quite funny...I was starting to research all about the raw food lifestyle, next thing Jason comes home and says a colleague at works wants to sell us her juicer (for NT$ 300 - about R73)...talk about the law of attraction!

The other decision we made is to immigrate to Mauritius...

Jason and I spent a few weeks in Mauritius back in 2000 (Willow-River was about 10 months old and I fell pregnant with Talis-Rain while we were there...)...anyway, while we were there we would often talk about living in Mauritius...I never really thought it was a possibility...till we were in Taiwan and I started researching it and found out Jason can get citizenship through descent (since his mom was born in Mauritius). We have now made so many plans for when we are there, namely to build our own sustainable home (actually it is called an Earthship ~ check out our blog http://tonkin-tribe-jagabagsrefuge.blogspot.com/) and to have a little vegetarian restaurant/live music venue, with a few other ideas alongside it. We are looking so forward to it, and absolutely can't wait!

Jason is now teaching in the Hsinchu Government English Program. He has been teaching at a local elementary school since January and is loving it! It was tough the first month or two when he started because we were without a salary for 6 weeks!!! But...we survived, as we always do! He definitely prefers the Government school to teaching at the Bushiban...the Bushiban tend to use and abuse you...although he likes to be abused...preferably by me! LOL....but seriously...the Bushiban do tend to take advantage and expect more and more from you....the other great thing about him teaching in the Government Program is that he gets to be home in the evenings at around 5pm...so we love having Daddy around for dinner! Jason has now started his own blog...Taiwan Perspectives... http://jasontonkin.blogspot.com Check it out sometime....

June also saw us take another trip down to the Refuge in Taichung...we love going down there for the weekend....although this time we just went down for the day...it was nice to just go and chill and listen to some live music....

June is also the month that we had the Dragon Boat Festival...

Dated : 5th day of the 5th lunar month

Qu Yuan
The Dragon Boat Festival, also called the Duanwu Festival, is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month according to the Chinese calendar. For thousands of years, the festival has been marked by eating zong zi (glutinous rice (糯米)wrapped to form a pyramid using bamboo or reed leaves) and racing dragon boats.

The festival is best known for its dragon-boat races, especially in the southern provinces where there are many rivers and lakes. This regatta（赛舟会）commemorates the death of Qu Yuan , an honest minister who is said to have committed suicide by drowning himself in a river.

Qu was a minister of the State of Chu situated in present-day Hunan and Hubei provinces, during the Warring States Period (475-221BC)（战国时期）. He was upright, loyal and highly esteemed for his wise counsel that brought peace and prosperity to the state. However, when a dishonest and corrupt prince vilified Qu, he was disgraced and dismissed from office. Realizing that the country was now in the hands of evil and corrupt officials, Qu grabbed a large stone and leapt into the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth month. Nearby fishermen rushed over to try and save him but were unable to even recover his body. Thereafter, the state declined and was eventually conquered by the State of Qin.

The people of Chu who mourned the death of Qu threw rice into the river to feed his ghost every year on the fifth day of the fifth month. But one year, the spirit of Qu appeared and told the mourners that a huge reptile

（爬行动物）in the river had stolen the rice. The spirit then advised them to wrap the rice in silk and bind it with five different-colored threads before tossing it into the river.
During the Duanwu Festival, a glutinous rice pudding called zong zi is eaten to symbolize the rice offerings to Qu. Ingredients such as beans, lotus seeds（莲子）, chestnuts（栗子）, pork fat and the golden yolk of a salted duck egg are often added to the glutinous rice. The pudding is then wrapped with bamboo leaves, bound with a kind of raffia and boiled in salt water for hours.

The dragon-boat races symbolize the many attempts to rescue and recover Qu's body. A typical dragon boat ranges from 50-100 feet in length, with a beam of about 5.5 feet, accommodating two paddlers seated side by side.

A wooden dragon head is attached at the bow, and a dragon tail at the stern（船尾）. A banner hoisted on a pole is also fastened at the stern and the hull is decorated with red, green and blue scales edged in gold. In the center of the boat is a canopied shrine behind which the drummers, gong（铜锣）beaters and cymbal（铙钹）players are seated to set the pace for the paddlers. There are also men positioned at the bow to set off firecrackers, toss rice into the water and pretend to be looking for Qu. All of the noise and pageantry creates an atmosphere of gaiety and excitement for the participants and spectators alike. The races are held among different clans, villages and organizations, and the winners are awarded medals, banners, jugs of wine and festive meals.

It has been incredibly hot here, and so the boys nagged to cut their hair...much to my dismay...so the boys all got their hair chopped off! I then decided to go for a trim myself, and ended up cutting off way more than I had anticipated....but....it is hair...it will grow back!

Here are a few pics of them before they cut their hair...and a few of Asia-Faith too...aren't they just beautiful???

and here they are enjoying the new pool we bought for summer...with their summer haircuts!

Lanybug, our little foster baby is doing really well...she is becoming more vocal now, and testing out her little voice by babbling and trying to "talk" to us...it is too precious! She is 2 months this month. It really is great having a baby around the house again!

Well...that was June....hope you are yours are happy and loved!

~* Peace and Love *~

Visitor in our garden...

2009-05-25T13:24:00.000+08:00

We had a visitor in our garden...couldn't believe how much and how fast he had eaten through my plants, before he was discovered!

We relocated him to the house across the road...it is empty and there is plenty in there for him to munch on!

~* Peace and Love *~

My birthday...

2009-05-25T12:41:00.001+08:00

Sunday 24th, was my birthday...and we decided to go to a local park, 18 Peaks Mountain...when I first heard of this park, I thought it was somewhere in the mountains...it actually is in the middle of the city! LOL

We went to a local little breakfast place and got some pita filled with salad, and juice and headed to 18 Peaks...

It is hard to believe when you are walking around 18 Peaks that you are still in town! For some reason though they have these speakers all around with artificial birds singing....other than that it was really beautiful.

The kids had a blast...it was just very busy...lots of people around, next time I think we will go in the afternoon...maybe it won't be as busy...but a great morning was had by us all!
~* Peace and Love *~

English night...

2009-05-22T12:34:00.001+08:00

Jason has been practicing a song for the last few weeks, Keep Your Mind Wide Open, from the movie Bridge to Terabithia, with a class from a local high school, which they performed at their English Night. They invited our family to sing with the class - the kids had a great time, and of course, had the paparazzi following them afterwards! The following day, they invited Jason to their school and gave him a beautiful card, thanking him for his help and inspiration...it was really sweet!

Here is a pic of Jason and the boys with the class...

~* Peace and Love *~

~ Lanybug ~

2009-05-20T14:18:00.001+08:00

Yep....we are doing it again...we are fostering a beautiful little girl.

She was born on the 27 April and we picked her up when she was a week old, on Monday, 4th May.

I was a bit nervous about fostering again...it was really tough on all our hearts when Doodlebug went to be with his forever family, but how can you possibly say no? I know we couldn't, and so here we are with a beautiful little girl...Little Lanybug.

Isn't she a beauty?

~* Peace and Love *~

They sleep where they fall....

2009-05-19T12:22:00.001+08:00

My kids have the ability to sleep where they fall...not to mention, in any position! LOL
~* Peace and Love *~

A day in pictures...

2009-05-18T12:13:00.001+08:00

Willow-River took these pictures...

The boys spent the day "helping" these guys remove the mud from behind the basketball courts...

They also rescued the crabs, and returned them to their home when the trucks had left, and also collected an assortment of rocks;)

~* Peace and Love *~

Sun Moon Lake

2009-05-17T13:46:00.000+08:00

Our community where we live planned a trip to Sun Moon Lake...

http://www.sunmoonlake.gov.tw/sun.aspx?Lang=EN

I think this place is one of the most beautiful that we have seen (besides Kinmen Island), since arriving in Taiwan.

We had to be up with the sparrows, as the bus was leaving at 7am! We all got given a breakfast sandwich (vegetarian especially ordered for our family - and a few others too).

We were entertained with the movie on the way, Slumdog Millionaire, very good movie, thank goodness it wasn't Karaoke!

Our first stop off was at the "Luxury bathrooms"...and that's what it was...bathrooms...

Then it was back on the road, and another movie (this one was Chinese)...

We arrived at Sun Moon Lake, and it was absolutely beautiful. We first went for lunch, and were ushered to a special vegetarian table. The food was not too bad, some of it was quite enjoyable - of course the boys just stuck to the plain rice!

After that we went on a boat trip around the lake, and to a little sightseeing island.

On the way back home, we made another few stops, a peacock farm, a winery and some kind of shop selling cakes and sweets.

We ended off the evening with dinner at a restaurant in Toufen - which was also quite a good meal. It ended off with Willow-River pretending to be a statue and the people were loving it, and of course taking his picture!

We got home at around 9:30pm, but it was such a lovely day, and we all had a great time!

~* Peace and Love *~

Rock Stars...

2009-05-12T12:38:00.008+08:00

So the kids want to be rock stars....here is a sneak peak at them in action, with their friend Meenakshi...

~* Peace and Love *~

~ Fireflies ~

2009-05-09T13:41:00.001+08:00

The kids went with Jason and Sheila and her daughter Meenakshi, to go and see some fireflies...

~* Peace and Love *~

Willow-River doing what he loves best....

2009-05-04T16:46:00.000+08:00

Willow-River is always at his happiest when he is "working"...

He found this E scooter at the dump, and spent hours "working" on it...

~* Peace and Love *~

Leofoo Village ~ 16 April 2009

2009-04-18T11:05:00.016+08:00

Jason's school was going on a field trip and our family were invited to go along.

We went to Leofoo Village theme park. We all went with on the bus...about 8 buses in total...and of course with Karaoke to entertain us! http://www.leofoo.com.tw/leofoo_eng/index.php

The weather was not too wonderful...it was drizzling a bit, but I guess it was better than being too hot!

The kids had so much fun, well, we all did...Asia-Faith was not too sure about some of the rides...I was actually surprised that they allowed the kids on some of the rides...as long as they were above a certain height they were allowed on...and some were seriously scary!

Jason and I went on the "Ring of Fire", which at one point you stop at the top of the ring and all I kept thinking of was the movie "Final Destination", where they are on the roller coaster....yikes!!! But, we lived to tell the story...

We all had such a great time...the kids wanted to know if we were going back the next day! LOL...but we will definitely go back sometime soon.

Asia-Faith not impressed anymore...she wanted it to stop...it did, just after she said that!

~* Peace and Love *~

April come she will....continued...

2009-04-15T22:53:00.000+08:00

On April 12 we met up with our friends from Yilan at Taipei Zoo to celebrate their son Ben's 3rd birthday. It was hectically busy....to be expected I suppose for a Sunday...but we had a great time...

Birthday boy Ben...

Ben's beautiful sister, Jade...

My good friend Amanda with baby Daniel...
The birthday cake...a layer of chocolate and a layer of vanilla with butter icing - yummy!!!!The birthday bunch...

My monkey's...

The view from the MRT...

Here are some various pictures from April...

Talis-Rain was trying to get the bump he got on his head in the picture! lol

You gotta love the many faces of Keanu-Storm...

Hello Kitty...A puppy we were puppy sitting over the weekend...Our fairy-princess...

~* Peace and Love *~

April come she will....

2009-04-13T21:53:00.017+08:00

So what has the Tribe been up to lately....

On the weekend of March 21st we headed down to Taichung to a place called The Refuge for a RockNReggae party, the first time we went was for New Years eve....it is a great place to Create, Relax, Jam and meet like minded people...

Jason opened up the day with a short set, after which there were a few more bands, including Militant Hippi, Native Space, and others...there was also some fire dancing - which the kids absolutely loved...Our friends Sheila and Joseph and their daughter Meenakshi joined us there too...and Joseph had a bit of a jam (he plays the Sax and bass guitar)...We really had a great evening...the kids had an absolute ball and I don't think they got to sleep until after midnight... (except for Asia-Faith who passed out on the blanket!)...Willow-River was very impressed with "carpenter Greg", who happened to live next door and had a house full of tools...Willow-River spent most of the next day at Greg's house watching him build!

Artist...Asia-Faith

Beautiful Bella...

Sandy...Isabelle
Joseph...

Sheila...

Boston Paul...Could not stay awake...Talis-Rain playing Poi...

Then the next day, Willow-River and daddy had a bit of a jam together....my little drummer boy...
We had such an awesome time...and can't wait to go back to The Refuge again soon!

The kids have also spent a bit of time building fairy gardens...

We have had two of the boys loose a baby tooth each, with a couple more loose ones ready to go sometime soon...

Willow-River lost his tooth a couple of weeks ago...

Talis-Rain was watching a movie the other night, when his came out... and Keanu-Storm's tooth was quite stubborn and didn't fall out for a long while...his new tooth was already almost completely out by the time his baby tooth fell out!
Lots of movies have also been watched...here is a pic of them watching Kung Fu Panda...lost count as to how many times this one has been watched!

Then the other night I just about had heart failure....I thought the kids were downstairs watching a movie, so after I finished in the shower, I went downstairs only to find Talis-Rain fast asleep, but no sign of the other 2 boys...so I thought they must have decided to go to their own bed instead (which is strange because they usually fall asleep watching a movie, or if they are in their bed they usually call for me to tuck them in)...anyway, so I take Talis-Rain up to bed only to find Keanu-Storm's bed empty...so I check Willow-River's bed...empty...so then I am thinking maybe they are playing hide and seek with me...so I call out to them - nothing...I go back downstairs, check behind the chairs, under chairs, back upstairs to my bedroom, under my bed...then I start to panic....they are nowhere! Now I am thinking they have been kidnapped (crazy I know...but strange things pop into a person's head in times like these...), then I think maybe they went to their friend Meena across the road to go fairy hunting or something...but think that they would have told me they were going, as they usually do...so I go to Jason and tell him I can't find the boys, and that he must go across the road to Meena's house and see if they are there...so off he runs, panic stricken too....and I go upstairs to check for them again...this time I think let me just check in Asia-Faith's bed...and what do I find....but this...
they had both fallen asleep with Asia-Faith!!! So I ran across the road to tell Jason and Meena's family that they were safe and sound...Meena and her mom had just grabbed their jackets and were about to go searching too!....Kids...gotta love them!

That's all for now...more to follow...

~* Peace and Love *~

HAPPY 8th BIRTHDAY TALIS-RAIN!!!

2009-03-12T20:51:00.000+08:00

Wow...8 years old! Where does the time go???

For the last week Talis-Rain asked me that I only call him "Birthday Boy"....and if I slipped up he would remind me that he is "Birthday Boy"...

We had a little party for him...they couldn't wait to have it...but I managed to get them to at least get dressed and brush their teeth before we started with the party! LOL

His cake, like Asia-Faith's was a couple of donuts that I stacked and added a candle to (the candle in a shape of a ? ... at least I can reuse it for each birthday!)...I actually think this is going to become our traditional birthday cake...except I will have to make another plan for Willow-River, as he does not like donuts, or cake....I remember one birthday I made him a "worm cake"...It was actually a french loaf filled with ham and salad....he loved it! (Although this time it will be a vegetarian worm!) LOL.

Talis-Rain loved his gifts...they spent the entire day playing with his hotwheels...making the track different shapes, then having the track elevated, then seeing how many cars they could get on the track at once...then they had turns choosing a car and guessing whose car would go around the most before it stopped...then they got out the bigger car track too...and the train track....then of course the donut (from the donut cake) became a steering wheel for Talis-Rain...then I showed them how to make bunny teeth with the marshmellows - of course we had the Jonas Brothers rocking in the background too (yep we are BIG JB fans in this house!)...I think our neighbour was very entertained!

~* Peace and Love *~

Chinese Calligraphy

The ? candle and our new traditional birthday cake;)

Yo dawg...

Let's get this party started...

everything is a steering wheel for a boy...

this kept Keanu-Storm entertained all day

My kids are so full of joy!

"Drumming" to one of JB's songs...

Bunny teeth...

HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY

2009-02-25T23:12:00.007+08:00

Asia-Faith is now 4 years old!

We had a lovely afternoon...Jason got off school early (he worked on Saturday, so they got Wednesday half day)...

We took a drive to a little harbor nearby and then stopped off at a park where we had a birthday party for Asia-Faith...then on the way home we stopped off at the beach...it was so great watch the kids having such fun in the sand!

We didn't have a traditional birthday cake...so we bought some donuts and stacked those with a candle on the top...although the matches I took with were too wet (from the humidity)...so we couldn't light the candle...but Asia-Faith just pretended to blow the candle out...too cute!

~* Peace and Love *~

We are celebrating!...and catching you up on what's been going on with our Tribe...

2009-02-17T22:25:00.010+08:00

Today we are celebrating Asia-Faith being in our family for 2 years!

2 years ago today, we boarded a train, headed for Taitung to go and meet our precious little girl for the first time...

It is amazing to watch her grow and become the little person she is...although we have come to realise that she has quite a tiger in her tank...Even the boys have commented that she is going to be a toughie when she gets older - no-one will want to mess with her! And she is quite the performance artist too....I think those little performances may get her an Oscar or 2 one day.

Then she has her gentile, loving side, where she wants to hug everyone, and calls her brothers "my boys"...and herself "mommy's baby, and daddy's baby"... she is such a sweet little girl...and I am so blessed to be her mommy.

Lately she has been talking a lot about where she was born and knows she was born in Taiwan, and her boys were born in South Africa, that the boys grew in my belly, and she grew in her birthmom's belly...She loves to look at the album I made for her with photo's of our forever family day, and listen to me telling the story about the day we brought her home...

Often these talks will lead to her talking about our little foster baby Doodlebug her friends Jade and Ben and their new little brother Daniel, all of whom she knows have also been adopted...I have a feeling there will be plenty more questions and little talks in time to come...

Enjoy the pics of our little fairy~princes....

Meeting our little angel....2 years ago

Our train ride home...full of smiles and laughter

Out little angel...today, 2 years later

trying out the red marker on her lips....

Trying out her new rollerblades...
Daddy and his princess...

On another note....we had an emergency trip to the hospital last weekend....the boys were playing with their friends at the park, when Keanu-Storm ran home and told me that Willow-River had a hole in his leg...so I quickly got on my bicycle (I was in a long skirt which didn't make it any easier...)...anyway, I get to the park and see Riza the friends nanny tending to the wound...so I walk on over thinking it can't be too bad...take one look and put my face in my hands and (I don't remember this part)...but...apparently I screamed...then I told them to hang on I was going to get Jason! I cycled home and met J along the way...screamed at him to get the car - we need to go to the hospital...cos all I remember seeing was Willow-River's bone! In the meantime I got the kids that were at home and the health insurance cards and ran to the entrance to meet J....the whole way to the hospital, Talis-Rain and Keanu-Storm were discussing whether Willow-River would have his leg cut off (boys!)...and all Willow-River kept asking was how were they going to close this hole in his leg...me...well...I had my head out the window and was puking my guts out!

So we get to the hospital and they send him for x-rays to make sure there was no bone damage...it was when they returned that I was told by J, that according to Willow-River, I hadn't been much help at the park since all I did was take one look at his leg and start to scream...sorry boy.....anyway, he forgave me and thought it was rather funny! The doctor gave him 6 stitches and we were soon on our way home...what a way to end a weekend! He had the stitches out last night, and it has healed pretty well.

Jason has started a new teaching job...he is now with the government program and is loving it (it has only been a few days), but what I love about it most is that he is home to share zoo time with me and eat dinner with us every evening now....at his previous schools he was only getting home between 7:30 and 8pm, now he is home by 5pm!

Jason has been getting rather crafty lately...he has been making these beautiful suncatchers from recycled cd's and other materials....and has also been making mobiles with wire, glass marbles, stones and bamboo...Kitty especially loves the suncatchers when they catch the sunlight and dance around the room...she can "chase" the sunlight forever...

The boys are doing really well...they are VERY into the Jonas brothers at the moment...took these pics of them the other morning.....mmmm....I see the Tonkin brothers in the making...

Keanu-Storm is on guitar....

The other night Willow-River skyped papa and ended up watching the rugby game with papa...the game was being shown in SA on tv, and papa had his laptop with skype on so Willow-River could watch the game...he was so excited!

Just some random pics...

We were waiting for our pizza....

Where we get our pizza and chips...yummmy...

Boys and their boat...Pirates of the Caribbean...

Willow-River making a gun...
The finished product...complete with a loading mechanism!
another gun creation...

~* Peace and Love *~

Xin Nian Kuai Le!

2009-01-26T17:38:00.000+08:00

Chinese New Year or Spring Festival is one of the most important traditional Chinese holidays. It is sometimes called the Lunar New Year. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first lunar month (Chinese: 正月; pinyin: zhēng yuè) in the Chinese calendar and ends on the 15th; this day is called Lantern Festival. Chinese New Year's Eve is known as Chúxī. It literally means "Year-pass Eve".

Mythology

According to tales and legends, the beginning of Chinese New Year started with the fight against a mythical beast called the Nian or "Year" in Chinese. Nian would come on the first day of New Year to devour livestock, crops, and even villagers, especially children. To protect themselves, the villagers would put food in front of their doors at the beginning of every year. It was believed that after the Nian ate the food they prepared, it wouldn’t attack any more people. One time, people saw that the Nian was scared away by a little child wearing red. The villagers then understood that the Nian was afraid of the color red. Hence, every time when the New Year was about to come, the villagers would hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. People also used firecrackers to frighten away the Nian. From then on, the Nian never came to the village again. The Nian was eventually captured by Hongjunlaozu, an ancient Taoist monk. The Nian became Hongjunlaozu's mount.

To learn more about Chinese New Year...

http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/culture/lunar-NY/

and

http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mroth/438/CHINA/15-day_celebration.html

Gong Xi Fa Cai

~* Peace and Love *~

HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY KEANU-STORM...

2009-01-02T16:15:00.004+08:00

I can't believe my baby boy is 6 years old already...just seems like yesterday he was still in my belly!

There is a little habit this little nunu bug has....when he was a few months old he discovered a mole on the side of my neck and while he was nursing he would have a little finger resting on it...well, not a day has gone by, and we are now in year six...that he has not had his little "fix" of my mole...every day, sometimes a couple of times a day!

We had a little party at home for him, with all his favourite treats and we skyped Nana and Papa and sang Happy Birthday...the joys of modern technology...

While I was wrapping his birthday presents, Talis-Rain was up with me...he decided he wanted to give his brother something from him, so he went to his room and found all sorts of his little treasures which he wrapped up in a box for his baby brother...too precious!

Happy Birthday Nunubug....WE LOVE YOU!!!

~* Peace and Love *~

PS: The baby Jason is holding is a little Taiwanese baby, Daniel, who we were looking after for 2 nights while his adoptive parents were away...he is too precious...

Singing Happy Birthday via skype...

Christmas 2008...

2008-12-26T19:47:00.001+08:00

Christmas eve we skyped Nana and Papa and had a bit of a sing-a-long with them...Talis-Rain had already fallen asleep...so we were one kid short...but we all had a really good time!

Papa and Nana

Milk and cookies for Santa...Christmas morning....early...very early!

The kids were very happy with their gifts...the boys each got an mp4 (daddy too), Asia-Faith got a new baby who is named Molly...and mommy got a fancy digital photo frame...

We decided to head to Taipei for the day, and go to the Taipei zoo...We met up with our friends Kim and Colin and their kids, from Yilan, and had coffee (the kids had ice-cream...unbelievable as it was so cold!)....then they headed on their way back to Yilan and we took our time around the zoo...

We all had a fabulous time...lots of walking...but lots of interesting animals too! Willow-River had a great time acting as our tour guide...he had the map and was leading us around the zoo, informing us as to what we would be seeing next!

By the time we left the zoo it was time to eat....so we headed to the MRT building where there are quite a few choices of places to eat....we decided on the pasta place....and we kind of had a deja vu feeling as our first Christmas in Taiwan was also a pasta meal...

Then it was time to start heading home....always an adventure! We get to the train station and buy tickets for home (Hsinchu)...we SPECIFICALLY asked for the EXPRESS train to Hsinchu, as last time we went home from Taipei to Hsinchu we were on the milk train - it stopped at every possible stop - so the trip took about an hour and 45 mins... (although from Hsinchu to Taipei it takes about an hour)...so we ask for the express...the ticket says express...and what do we get??? Well the train didn't stop at every stop....but probably every second one!!!! So our trip home took us around an hour 20 mins this time!!!! We were NOT impressed...we were so tired, and we knew when we arrived in Hsinchu, we still had to catch another train to Shianshan (about 7 minute train ride)...then the boys still had to ride their bicycles home!!!! So it was a very long day, but one which we all thoroughly enjoyed!

This is not a very good pic....but it is the only one I managed to get of the Koala...I felt so sorry for him...he looked so sad and his cage:(

Christmas dinner...

From our Tribe to yours....

2008-12-24T19:49:00.001+08:00

~* Peace and Love *~

Happy Winter Solstice...

2008-12-21T19:49:00.005+08:00

In the Northern hemisphere, the Winter Solstice is the day of the year when the Sun rises and sets farthest to the south; however, in the Southern hemisphere, Winter and Summer Solstices are reversed so that the Winter Solstice is the day on which the Sun rises farthest in the north east. In the Northern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice marks the first day of the season of winter.

Winter Solstice is the birthday of the Sun and of the year. It is a time when we experience the greatest darkness, when the hours of darkness are so much greater than the hours of daylight. And yet, it is within this time of greatest darkness that the Light of the World is reborn, for now the hours of daylight will begin to grow and the hours of darkness will lessen.

Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn - the cycle and circle of Nature's year. In an age where most of us have lost touch with the life and rhythms of our mother, the Earth, the cycle of the year is a sure way back into the Center of Life. As we struggle to reclaim the lost heritage of our natural life rhythms, it is through the gateways of the Wheel of the Year that we come to understand once again the cycle of birth, growth, fulfillment, decline, and finally death, which turns to birth once more.

Enjoy this tale about Winter Solstice...

It is a story about Grace. Do you know what Grace is? No? Well, Grace is a gift that Spirit bestows on all of us, regardless of whether we deserve it or not. It is an unexpected gift of Love, and we need to learn to recognize it and be thankful for it.

A Winter Solstice Tale

Once upon a time, there was a land shrouded in darkness. This was not always so; at one time, it had been a land of great Light and depth and beauty.

Until the darkness appeared. And strange things began to happen.

At first, the darkness was just a vague impression on the periphery of sight, an uneasiness that tickled awareness, then fled. Over time, the tickle turned into a shiver as the darkness sent out tendrils like premonitions. People were not afraid, however, for one reason: it made the Light in the land even more beautiful and radiant. The darkness became a riddle that called out for an answer. And as time went on and the riddle went unanswered, people forgot to notice and give thanks for the Light, for they were fascinated by the darkness. And slowly, over time, the darkness spread and the Light became dimmer and dimmer, though the people didn't even notice that the Light had changed. You see, their eyes became accustomed to the dimness and they could see just as well as ever, or so they thought.

But not all the people forgot the beauty of the Light that used to cover the land. Sometimes they read about it in old books; oftentimes they dreamt about it; and some passed the knowledge of it down within their families from generation to generation. And in not forgetting the Light, it turned out that it lived on in their imaginations so brightly that it filled their eyes with its very own clarity, and they could see things that other people could not see. But the ones who remembered were only a few compared to the others, and if they talked about what they could see, they were most often ignored and sometimes reviled.

Eventually the land grew so dark that more people began to acknowledge that they really couldn't see very well at all! But since there were so many others still stumbling around in the dark, everything became even more chaotic and frantic. In short, things got even worse!

And the darkness deepened.

One day, a woman sat watching her children at play. This woman was neither young nor yet very old, and her children were not babes nor yet were they grown. And because she was one of those who loved the memory of the Light, and had imagined it and longed for it until it shone in her eyes, she was seeing something that no one else saw. She saw her children, who had been filled with a sense of her own inner Light, growing dimmer and dimmer with each passing day, for the full weight of the darkness around them was too hard to fight off.

Gradually a resolve grew in that mother, until finally one night before she put her children to bed, she told them that she was leaving on a journey. Since she did not know how long she would be gone, she wanted them to take care of each other, to love each other, and to remember her own love for them every day. She promised she would come back to them.

The woman set out that very night, determined to travel to the source of the Light which used to cover the land, and entreat it to come back with her. Although she had no idea where to begin her search, she walked through the cold lonely winter night with great joy in her heart, despite her anguish over leaving her children. For she rejoiced in the thought of seeing the Light at last, the Light she had loved and imagined all her life. She soon found herself singing to the Light in the dark of the night. And although their own light was very much dimmed in that land, still the stars and the moon in heaven heard that mother's song, and they sang back to her of the glory she was seeking.

In the morning, the woman came to the outskirts of a village. But something was terribly wrong! Trees had been uprooted and left to rot, the fields had been dug up in piles of dirt, while all the animals in the fields looked as if no one had taken them back to the barn for weeks! In the village, it was even worse. People scurried around like ants in a disturbed anthill. They were so focused on looking for something, they completely ignored the woman, even when she called out to them. She had never seen such chaos. They were dismantling their homes, turning up the streets, peering into dark places. When she finally managed get someone to stop and speak to her, she was told that there was a great treasure of gold hidden somewhere within the village, and whoever found it would be rich beyond imagining. Then before she could ask another question, he rushed off to continue his search.

Shaken by what she was seeing, the woman came upon the village green - a small patch of undisturbed grass with one bare-branched birch tree. As she walked over to rest under the tree, she saw the most beautiful golden glow (like the glow of a summer sunrise in our world!). When she stood under the tree, she saw that within the golden light was a carved wooden chest full of gold coins. There, right in the midst of the village, was the gold in plain sight! Yet obviously, no one had seen it. As a matter of fact, she now began to notice that people's eyes would glaze over as they looked in the direction of the green, as if they couldn't even see the tree - as if they saw nothing at all! Then they would quickly turn their gaze away and begin seriously squinting at the ground they had already gone over. The woman watched this for a while and then sighed, and silently turned to go. It was not for her to take the gold, even if she could have carried it away.

At the edge of the green she stopped, for she noticed a young man building a house. As she watched him, she saw that he had the eyes of a dreamer, and that there was some Light in him. So she went to him and brought him to the tree, and asked if he could see the chest of gold. Well, he couldn't see the chest, but he did imagine that there was a hazy golden something in the air. So he asked the woman to describe the gold to him and perhaps he could imagine what it looked like. Well, the woman did, and before very long, the young man could see the skillful workmanship of the carved chest, and the abundance and goldenness of the coins. Then the woman told him to take the gold and use it to help the villagers rebuild their homes after the madness of the search had passed. And the young man promised willingly.

When night fell, the woman was deep in the woods, near to an ash tree on a knoll. Pulling her cloak tightly around her, she lay down under the tree, planning to rest for a few hours before continuing on her way. As she slept, she dreamt that a round, luminous moon came down out of the heavens and sank into the earth beneath the tree. She got up to search for it and started digging up the earth around the tree, until she came upon a pearl-like crystal, which shed its milky light upon the tree. The light grew brighter and her heart filled with hope that she had finally found what she sought. But suddenly, the villagers were there and when they saw the light-giving crystal, they took out their pick-axes and hammers and began chipping away at the stone, until all the light disappeared and there were only shards of crystal left scattered on the ground.

The woman awoke crying.

She peered desperately into the darkness of the surrounding forest, fearful of the villagers, but there were only the animals and birds of that place, making little adjustments in their dens and nests. She looked at the knoll beneath the tree, and without thinking, began digging up the earth. Very soon she came upon the shining stone of her dream, and with an anguished cry, she stopped. She didn't want to expose the light, but it was her only clue to finding the Light. What should she do? What should she do?

She sat there, waiting . . .waiting for an answer. And before long it came. She heard a gentle voice telling her to Come In. But come in where? Why into the stone, of course! And once again without thinking, the woman stretched out her hand to the stone and suddenly felt herself slipping into its' pearly light.

Once inside the light, she immediately felt a sweet warmth such as she had known as a child when her grandmother had rocked her to sleep. In truth, she felt as if she were being held within a woman's arms, all safe and snug and listening to a lullaby about the beauty of the Light that used to shine upon the land. Then she remembered her quest. And with this memory came a voice that bade her go on, on through the luminescence in search of the source of the Light. She felt a gentle shove on her back and started walking, even though she could discern no path for her feet to follow.

Quite unexpectedly, she found herself in darkness again, but this time a very warm, almost cozy darkness. Before long, she realized that she could see what was around her, because unlike the upper world, this lower world's darkness was very alive! She could see all the flower bulbs tucked into the earth for the winter, just as snug as her own children in their beds at night. She could see the roots of the trees stretching down into the earth, just as their branches reached up to the heavens above. There were rivers and streams of pure water, flowing through crystal rocks, as well as solid rivers of gold, silver and copper veining the ledge. The stones themselves were so colourful, they rivaled our most beautiful sunsets, and there were jemstones that twinkled like the stars in heaven! She walked past all these wonders until she came to the center of the earth, and in that dark cavern, beyond a pool of azure water, she saw a glorious Light.

Gazing across the watery depths, she suddenly found herself standing before the source of that Light. There, in the heart of a shining halo, was a Child, a most wondrous and beautiful Child. And just as mothers always do, she couldn't help but smile with love at the sight of the tiny child enfolded in the Light. And the Child smiled back at the woman and she seemed to hear a Child's voice say to her, "I have waited for you so long! How glad I am you have finally come." With these words, the woman's heart grew large with love and she bent over and, picking up the Child, cradled it in her arms. She wrapped the baby inside her cloak and turning, left the cavern. She made her way back to the pearly chamber, and as she passed through it, she felt a feather-light kiss upon her brow and knew that she was loved just as surely as she loved the small baby in her arms.

She could not say for sure when she finally left the luminous light behind and emerged into the wintry night, because the pearly light and the first snowflakes blended into each other. As she hurried home with her precious burden, the snowflakes drifted down faster and faster from the night sky, and she had to go slower and slower. But a Light came from within her cloak where the Child lay next to her heart, and as she went on, the animals of the forest and the winged ones of the air saw the Light and followed after her.

She passed silently through the village, now quiet and cozy under its blanket of snow. As she passed, the young dreamer suddenly awoke in his chair next to the hearth, and with a cry of delight, joyously ran out into the snowy night. Then the children of the village awoke from their sleep and ran to the windows and saw a Light filling the night with splendour, and they called to their parents to Come out! Come out! And see the great wonder.

As the woman approached her own village, followed by a great crowd of humans and animals, she was so intent on getting home to her own children, she didn’t see them and her neighbors hurrying down the road to meet her, for the Light now flew before her and filled the night.

When the woman saw her children standing there in the snowy night, she cried out with joy and stumbled through the snow to embrace them. Then, gently unclasping her cloak, she bent to show them the baby. A great glory shone from the Child, and all the creatures there that night imagined that they each sheltered the baby from the storm. Everyone felt their hearts open and they smiled, just as anyone would smile at the sight of a beautiful newborn baby, and the Child smiled contentedly back.

No one could quite remember when the Child and the Light began to fade away with the storm, except the mother who heard the silent farewell in her heart. The stars glittered brightly in the cold dark sky and the moon sent down her blessing. Feeling filled with Grace, the people felt a great peace and joy descend upon them, and the Light lived in their eyes. The animals and the birds sang out their own joy, and there was great rejoicing all around. And in the days that followed, a peace was made between humans and animals which exists to this day.

And from that night, the Light and the image of the Child lived on in their hearts, and it spread from heart to heart, until the Light was as bright as it had once been in the land. Now, all people could see and love the Light, but they did not reject the darkness either, for they had finally solved the riddle. They knew that the darkness had a beauty all its own. For it was in the darkness that the light of the stars and the moon brought to mind the Child and the Light that had come back to them on that cold and snowy winter's night.

Copywrite: Cathy Lynn Pagano

~* Peace and Love *~

Baking and taking a tumble....

2008-12-18T15:48:00.005+08:00

So I can do many things, but baking is *not* my forte....but when my little boy, Talis-Rain, held up a box of "cake mix" while we were at the supermarket...I thought ...why not?

So we bought some paper cups and decided to make cupcakes...The boys were very eager...they even made chef hats out of newspaper...very imaginative...

We begin...we start with the eggs...each boy wants a turn to crack one....so Talis-Rain tries first, and misses the bowl, so the egg lands on the counter...Keanu-Storm tried next and although he tried to crack the egg on the side of the bowl...I think maybe he thinks it is just some sort of ritual or something, cos even though the egg had not cracked...he proceeded to crush the egg in his fingers...but at least got it in the bowl! LOL

Willow-River then decided cracking eggs was not all it is cracked up to be, so left me to do the honours (and to be honest I was running out of patience!)...

Then we added the rest of the ingredients, and all four got a turn to whisk....and then put into the paper cups...it went well, then by the time the cupcakes were done, I noticed they were slightly *dark* on the tops...and realised my error...I had the oven on grill instead of bake! Talis-Rain being ever so diplomatic says "Don't worry mom...I like them burnt"....(he really does take after me since I always loved the slightly burnt on the bottom biscuits or rusks my mom used to bake).

Now it is time to ice the cupcakes....so I take out my new packet of icing sugar, and take about half a teaspoon full as a little taster...only to realise...my icing sugar is flour!!!! The packet is all in Chinese...except for the "Taiwan Sugar Company" at the bottom...who would have thought a sugar company would also make flour!!! The joys of living in a country where sometimes you don't have a clue as to what you are buying.... So we had to go an borrow a cup of sugar from our neighbour....but the cupcakes turned out great and the kids (and daddy) loved them! Willow-River actually ate one too...his first time to eat cake....can you believe that????

It was actually only the second time (I am almost, but not that ashamed, to say)...that I have baked! I have made crumpets, banana fritters and pancakes...but the first and last time I baked cupcakes was when I made them for Willow-River when he went to playschool for a few months and for his 3rd birthday had to take a cake to school...needless to say it was also an instant box cake, and I burnt those too! LOL

But since my kids enjoyed them so much, I think I will attempt to do it a bit more often!

Now to the tumbling....yesterday morning (Wednesday), I was walking down the stairs with my laundry, to be folded, when my foot slipped out from under me and I ended up in a heap at the bottom of my stairs! I at first thought I had broken my leg since I basically came down the stairs in the jazz splits...but then realised it was my shoulder that was actually injured the most! After straigtening my legs and making sure nothing was broken, I sat up straighter and tried to put my shoulder straight and heard a wierd sound like my shoulder was going back into place or something...all I know is it was soooo painful...I could hardly move it at all....the boys were all at the park, Asia-Faith was having a nap, and I was in a pile at the bottom of the stairs with the laundry all around me!!! The sole of my foot has a huge blue bruise on it now too.... I battled to sleep last night, and Jason called me earlier to tell me to take it easy today, leave the chores, and just relax my arm....so that is exactly what I am going to do...fortunately I don't need to move my arm to type...just my fingers! LOL

First Kitty, then Asia-Faith, and now me....well, they say it comes in three's.....so I guess we are done!

~* Peace and Love *~

Christmas is coming....how many more sleeps???

2008-12-15T23:30:00.007+08:00

That is the question every morning....."how many more sleeps?"...

Our landlord came over on Sunday, bearing gifts for the kids...so now the gifts are under the tree and it must be about 100 times a day I am asked when can they open them...and why can't they open them now......pure torture!

The weather here, as I type this is 15 degrees Celsius!!! Freezing...well, for me anyway...I don't do the cold very well....I can't wait for summer to be here again!

On Saturday we had to take Asia-Faith to the hospital...she tripped and hit her head on the corner of the wall where the tiles meet and it made like a puncture on her forehead...there was a lot of blood, typical of a head wound, and when we cleaned it up you could see a definite hole, so we decided to take her to the hospital to have it checked out in case she needed a stitch...instead after waiting for our turn (you have to take a number and wait)...the doctor took a look and put another plaster on and told us to come back on Monday (NT$ 230 later!)...

So Monday we take her back...bear in mind I don't drive, so now we have to take a train into town...which only takes about 7 minutes, and then walk to the hospital...which is not far from the train station...along the way there are all sorts of little "hole in the wall" shops...and a few pet shops with beautiful little puppies and kittens (all with rather large price tags!)....that I am very tempted to take home with us...but then come to my senses and continue walking on....

We then get to the hospital...take a number and wait again...to have the doctor take off the plaster and put on a new one (the hole still doesn't look like it is closing to me...), and then tells me to bring her back on Saturday again! (another NT$ 230 later...)

Since we are already in town, we decide we will head to "Jason's"...it is a supermarket, with a lot of imported foods....anyway....we have to catch a shuttle bus from the one shopping mall to the other where Jason's is located...the kids loved this as the bus driver was all decked out in a Father Christmas outfit, the bus was decorated, and Christmas music was playing....So we get to Jason's and of course our first order of business is to find the salt and vinegar chips...after all that is the main reason we go to Jason's...it is the ONLY place we find salt and vinegar chips!!! Next thing Willow-River finds some bovril...he is so excited...so I buy him a bottle....then I decide to look for some baking powder, because our local supermarket stocks every kind of flour you can imagine...but alas...no baking powder!!! I finally find some and then am asked by Talis-Rain if we can buy a chocolate cake mix...I think why not?...I figure it can't be too difficult except that I don't have a cake tin! I read the back of the box and it says you can make them into cupcakes too....and then what do I see in front of me....those little cup cake cups! Problem solved...so we grab some of those too, and I decide it is time for us to get out of this shop! What started out as just a stop for some salt and vinegar chips, has turned into a lot more...

We finally head on back to the train station....I buy the tickets (and note the time...5:22pm)...I buy our tickets and ask the teller what time our train is...5:27pm she tells me...right...I have less than 5 minutes to get myself and 4 kids across to platform 2! So up Asia-Faith goes under my arm and we run off like the wind...we get to platform 2 and within about a minute the train arrives....whew! Then when we get to our little town...we still have about a 10 minute walk to go till we get home....but we survive...even though it was freezing cold...and the Jason's paper bag carring our loot tore so I ended up having to put all our goodies into my handbag...lol...but we made it home and then of course it was zoo time, and I had to whip up a dinner...mac'n cheese with salad....by the time it was ready to be eaten, daddy arrived home, so it was good timing!

Kitty has recovered very well....her hearing and balance all seem to be back to normal! I am so relieved...for a few days there I thought we were going to lose her...I remember sitting next to her and just sobbing my heart out thinking she was leaving us...but her time isn't up yet I am happy to say...she still has a few lives left thank goodness!

We now have a table tennis table! Last week a lady who was leaving the complex called the boys and told them to ask me if I wanted to take it...what a question! Of course we did...so we now have it in the top floor...it is great...

The kids have been nagging to take them to the zoo...so we finally gave in and took them there last Saturday (after going to the hospital)....Jason and I aren't crazy about animals being kept caged...but we took the kids and they absolutely loved seeing the animals...can you believe they even had tigers, a hippo and bears! Very sad....anyway...the kids loved it and they had a ball running around there....then they had to endure grocery shopping...but they know at the end of it on the way out we have to pass the ice-cream lady...so they don't whine too much about the shopping 'cos they know what is coming on the way out! LOL

~* Peace and Love *~

Daddy and his fairy princess...

It's our Anniversary!

2008-11-29T01:17:00.002+08:00

Today is our 10th wedding anniversary!

Hard to believe it has been 10 years already....it has not been all smooth sailing, but it definately has been worth it. We have weathered many a storm, have 4 children, completed an independent adoption in a foreign country, lived on 2 different continents and still have many more journeys ahead, and I can't wait!

We got some positive news about Kitty tonight too...we had to take her back to the vet and he is happy with her progress. She has gained her balance back so is not falling all over the place that much anymore, her ears "flinch" a bit now too. I am also syringe feeding her every couple of hours because she wasn't eating or drinking on her own. Last night and tonight she actually walked around the bedroom and then jumped on our bed! So I am sure with lots of rest and love she is going to be on the mend!

~* Peace and Love *~

Our precious Kitty....

2008-11-26T22:18:00.003+08:00

Last night while I was in the bath I heard a noise, but thought it was just a door being closed...so I carried on in the bath and then afterward went downstairs to watch a bit of tv...I noticed Kitty lying on the couch and I called her thinking she would come over and sit on my lap as she usually does, but instead she just kind of lifted her head and looked at me...

It was then that I noticed her nose looked kind of dark, instead of a pink nose she usually has...

I immediately knew it was blood and called for Jason straight away (I was too scared to pick her up)!

He picked her up and I said to him that I think she had fallen from the ledge between the staircase! Jason put her on the floor and she couldn't even stand...she kept falling to the side... Jason picked her up again and gently pulled on her legs to see if they were perhaps injured but she had no obvious signs of broken bones or anything...she just sat there....I told him to go to our landlords and ask about taking us to the vet (this was around 10:30pm)...

While Jason was at the landlord, I went to look at the bottom of the stairs where I suspected she had fallen...and there was blood all over the floor! I was horrified...

Our landlords, Oliver and Lucy, took Jason and Kitty to the vet while I stayed at home with the kids...

Jason called me from the vet to say that she had a concussion and suspected punctured lung... Jason arrived home a little while later with Kitty...the vet had given her an injection and has told us for the next 3 days she is "critical"...we have to monitor her and keep checking if her skin starts feeling "crunchy"....(kind of like air bubbles) and if this happens or if her condition deteriorates at all in the next 3 days we are to take her back to the vet, possibly for an operation...

I sat with her this afternoon and just cried...I sobbed my heart out! This is my baby! We rescued her when she was barely a week old...her eyes and ears were still closed and she still had her umbilical cord attached! I hand fed her every 3 hours...she is our baby...and to see her lying there so helpless is so sad! I just wish she would get up and be her "normal" self again...chasing the kids around and then turning around so the kids can chase her! Coming when we call her (just like a dog...first time I have had a cat like that!)....and sleeping with me at my feet....it now also seems like she has lost her hearing (her one ear has dried blood all over it)...today I was clicking my fingers and clapping behind her ears and she didn't even flinch...her ears didn't move at all...hopefully it is just due to the concussion and once that goes, hopefully her hearing will be fine...and because of the concussion (I am assuming), the pupils of her eyes are two different sizes and she can't really stand properly...she just seems to fall over all the time....

We are hoping she really pulls through this and will be back to our "Hello Kitty" again soon!

"Hello Kitty"... March 2007

"Hello Kitty"... in recent months ... she really loves to climb into bags!

Rag Rolling, cows, roasties and water fights!

2008-11-20T14:10:00.011+08:00

So life has been carrying on regardless...the kids have been enjoying the beautiful weather, on the few occasions we have a bit of rain it reminds us of all the rain we left behind in Ilan...lol

We are now heading into winter, and the temperature has dropped suddenly...no easing into winter...oh no...just wake up one morning and it is on with the winter woolies!

I have discovered an interesting new technique to curl my hair, thanks to my friend in Ilan, Kim...I use cotton wool strips (I finally found a use for the box of 2000 that I bought), however you would normally use strips of rags (which is why it is called Rag Rolling)....anyway, you roll your hair around a strip in the same way your would roll your hair around a curler....anyway, you do this with all your hair, leave it in overnight and take it out the next morning....and viola...curly hair! I have experimented and done it with thicker pieces and thinner pieces to get different size curls.....and have done it to Asia-Faith's hair too...and the curls last a good couple of days...try it sometime!

Well, the boys have now discovered how to do wheelies on their bicycles...so Willow-River got a nice big roastie on his knee the other day.....it won't be the last either! LOL

A couple of weeks ago, it was so hot the kids were playing outside with water, soon the neighbours kids joined in.....pretty soon the little water pistols weren't enough so they all tried to find bigger water carriers....

We have a "farm" near our community, so we took a walk there to go and take a look at the cows...It is such a great walk and the kids had so much fun too, just running around and seeing the cows....we didn't see any female cows, those are apparently kept somewhere else...hopefully we will get to see them next time...

~* Peace and Love *~

New look....new month.....new name....

2008-10-12T15:23:00.005+08:00

Hey all...

Hope you like the new look of the blog as much as I enjoyed putting it together...it did cause me a few headaches...but managed to get it sorted!

Wow, October...2 months till Christmas...I am reminded almost daily about this from the kids!

So that covers the new look, the new month, and now the new name...

Asia-Faith's name has now legally been changed to our Chinese family name and her "new" Chinese name, Mei-Ya. It was such an efficient procedure I could hardly believe it...

Our dear sweet landlord took me and the kids (or as Jason would have me say...the kids and I....) to the Household Registry Department. We had been there a week before to fill in documents and such to get Asia-Faith removed from the Household Registry in Taitung and moved to one here in Hsinchu...

Anyway, there were a bunch more forms to fill out, but they were able to change her "birth" name to our family name and her new Chinese name...Mei-Ya...and then they even asked if I wanted an English version of the document (for NT$ 150), so I said definitely, and then they said well for an extra NT$20 I can get 2 :) Although the English version will only be available in a weeks time...(which I now have!).

However I did get the Chinese version so we were able to head straight from the Household Registry Department to a travel agency (I was told by my landlord this is the way it is done, so who am I to question...), anyway, we went to the travel agency to apply for Asia-Faith's Taiwanese passport! That will be ready in about 2 weeks time (because of the Double Ten day public holiday it will delay the paperwork a bit), but we will have her Taiwanese passport soon!!!

Then after the travel agency...we headed to the Hospital, to the Health Insurance Department and were able to change her Medical card name to her "new" name (took about 10 minutes if that!), and that arrived a few days ago!!!

Wow, I have to say...Taiwan is efficient!!!

Our next step, once we have all these documents, passport and birth certificate in hand is to send it off to our South African liaison office and they will then start paperwork for her to become a South African citizen and get her South African passport!!! Although this part of the journey could take a good few months!!!!

The kids are doing so well...they have made some friends here in our complex....one boy, Ryan is the same age as Willow-River, so it is go great to see him have a best mate again (his dad is British and mom Taiwanese), so he speaks English...

We had a braai (bbq for non South African's), on Friday afternoon (it was a public holiday). We got some sausages and rolls and invited Ryan and his brother, and pretty soon we had quite a few kids from the complex here...it was great!

Jason is enjoying his new school where he is teaching...he even got given a raise! So he was very happy about that!

Me....well, still carrying on regardless, loving my new home and enjoying my kids and my man everyday!

~* Peace and Love *~

PS: Some of the pics were taken a while ago...

Asia-Faith our future Sharks Rugby Player...in a loose ruck!

Goodnight Hello Kitty!

WE HAVE OUR FINAL DECREE!!!!

2008-09-03T15:57:00.002+08:00

Did you hear me?????

Asia-Faith is now officially, finally, without a question... OURS!!!!

Jason called me at lunchtime to let me know our landlord in Yilan had called him to say some documents had arrived yesterday and she was forwarding them on to us in Hsinchu.

I called Deana (http://mlchome.org) to let her know that I should be receiving them at least by Friday....and then shortly after that our new landlord knocked on my door with some mail for us...I immediately opened it up and since it was in Chinese asked her to read it for me...just to make sure it was the final decree and not a letter saying they need more info...and true enough...IT IS OUR FINAL DECREE!!!

So one year, 6 months, 2 weeks and 3 days later...she is ours, although she has always been ours in our hearts and in our minds...but it is just great to know that legally, on paper, she is ours!

The paper chase is not yet over....there are still a few things to be done, such as remove her from her current household registry, apply for her Taiwanese passport, and then apply for South African citizenship and passport....let the fun begin!

~* Peace and Love *~

We have moved.....again....East to West....

2008-08-29T14:29:00.004+08:00

Well, we have finally settled into our new home!

We moved last week, 20 August, from Yilan on the east coast to Hsinchu, on the west coast!

The movers we had were excellent...they were so quick and efficient!

They ended up packing 3 trucks!!! Can you believe it???

We arrived in Taiwan with just a suitcase each, and now needed 3 trucks to move us!!!! I wish I had taken a picture of it... never thought of it at the time!

The kids and I ended up catching a bus from Yilan to Taipei as there were no trains until later in the day....ended up taking the wrong bus...there are 2 different bus stops, next to each other and one was for going to the station, the other to the city hall....guess which one I booked us on??? The one going to the city hall!!!! I only realised after booking tickets that there were 2 different busses...although to swop tickets would mean waiting another 40 minutes or so for another bus...which the kids were NOT keen on doing....so we caught the bus and had to catch the MRT to the station! Now those that know me know I am CLUELESS with direction, I have no sense of direction at all!!!! So here I was in the middle of Taipei getting to the MRT and then trying to find our way out to get to the train station!!!

Now also to add to all my frustration....I had hurt my back in the last week and so I was really even battling to just walk...and now here I am underground with 4 kids and it was sooo busy and not having a clue as to where I am supposed to go next....LOL

Finally I find an information booth and the lady headed us off in the right direction...we finally managed to get on the train....which was a whole other story.....

When I went to buy us tickets for the train, I tell the cashier 1 adult, 4 children...what does she end up giving me???? TWO (yes 2) tickets!!!! and there are 5 of us!!!!

Now I am already stressed cos I am feeling completley lost, and then figure it must be a ticket with 4 seats for kids and the other ticket is for 1 adult....some kind of new computer generated ticket or something...I don't really check if there are 4 seats assigned on the ticket, just assumed that it was correct....until we get to the platform to catch the train, sit down for a minute to catch my breath, check out the ticket and realise they are individual tickets...so we only have 2 seats, and not only that....they are not even seated next to each other!!!!

Too late to go back to the cashier, as the train is about to arrive...so I ask a lady who spoke English, and she reminded me that kids under a certain age/height don't have to pay...well, I know that, and under other circumstances I am always thrilled about this rule....but where are they supposed to sit for the next hour????

Do I put the kids in the baggage space above my head or what?????

She tells me just take any seats that are available when you get on the train... So the train finally arrives....and it is full....not many empty seats...finally I ask a man if he would mind swopping seats with me, so I at least have 2 seats together....he willingly obliged, so 5 of us shared 2 seats...luckily our dear landlord, Ahma, from Yilan supplied us with some snacks for the ride which kept the kids minds off the tight squeeze! LOL

We finally arrived in Hsinchu....and would you know it, the first time in a year that we have had our car...it wouldn't start!!! So Jason had to get our new landlord, Lucy, to come and fetch us from the station...finally we arrived at our new home...the movers had already been and unloaded and headed off again...before we even arrived...they were really great!

So now we are living in the "country"...it is about 25 minutes or so from town!

It is an area known as Xianshang (I hope I have the spelling right!),

We have a 4 story house now with a garden....it is lovely! The stairs take a lot of getting used to though...but at least it should get me into shape! LOL

It is in a gated community...meaning we have a security guard at the front entrance, so it is pretty safe for the kids to play and explore...the roads are very quiet, so they can ride their bikes around, skateboard or rollerblade....or go to the various parks they have around here.

There are also a few South African families who live here too, I have met a few of them, but I believe there are quite a few more...

We have cable tv, different to what we had in Yilan, it is an Australian network, so we get to watch rugby...which Willow-River is VERY happy about!

On the adoption front...our final papers had still not arrived before we left Yilan as I was hoping...the mail man actually arrived just before we left for good on Wednesday, and he had nothing for us!!! Although we have been told by the social workers that it was sent to us....not too sure where they are at the moment.....so at least we know it has been finalised, and Asia-Faith is OURS....it is just a matter of having that final piece of paper in our hands to know it is real!!!!

Well, that's all for now...here are some pics of our new home....

~* Peace and Love *~

For Doodlebug ~ 3 April 2008 - 8 August 2008

2008-08-14T10:48:00.001+08:00

Well, on Friday, 8 August...we had to say goodbye to Doodlebug...he is now with his forever family...

It was a very sad day, well, actually a sad week, for our family as we had all grown very attached to him.

It was the first time I had been a foster mom, and honestly, I don't know if I could do it again.

For 4 months I rocked him to sleep, sang to him, tended to him as if he were my own, loved him as if he were my own, and tried to protect my heart...but before long he had crept in and now I know he will always have a special little place.

Our family still miss him lots, I miss his warm little body in my bed next to me (where he used to sleep), I finish doing dishes and think to myself I need to get Doodlebug's bottles ready for the night...only to remember he is no longer here...he was such a tiny little boy, but he has left such a big void....

~* For Doodlebug *~

I knew from the start this day would come,
And I thought I’d be prepared to send you on
I never knew it would be so hard,
You see, you have crept into our hearts.

Your beautiful smile, your precious grin,
The void you are leaving you can’t even imagine
I would do it all again, you bet I would,
For the memories you have left us are so very good!

Now my precious Doodlebug,
We need to send you on,
But please remember we love you,
And forever stay strong!

~* Starr *~
08/08/08

~* Follow Your Path *~

As I sit here holding you,
Tears streaming down my face
You are smiling and gurgling,
Oblivious to the changing pace

Your are a delight and a joy,
And you are one special boy
Filled with love and laughter,
Your memory will linger long after
Your journey with us has come to an end,
But your life is just beginning my little friend
You have a new path, Follow it well
Maybe one day our paths will cross, who can tell?

~* Starr *~
08/08/08

WE HAVE OUR FIRST RULING ~ PART 1 OF FINAL DECREE!!!

2008-07-29T22:16:00.004+08:00

WOOHOOOO!!!!! CAN YOU HEAR ME SHOUTING FROM TAIWAN???

This afternoon a mailman arrived with two envelopes that I had to sign for....

I knew it could ONLY be something about the adoption!

I opened them up and it was 4 pages long...all in Chinese!!! It did have our names and Asia-Faith's birth date on them, so I knew it had to be something regarding the adoption.

I quickly called Deana (mlchome.org), and she told me to scan and email them to her....and then I waited....

Finally a little later in the afternoon I got a call back from Deana to say......it is the first part of our Final Decree!!!!

I cannot believe it....we are almost at the finish line.....

Basically what this means is....

FIRST RULING (Part 1 of first decree)

Once the District Court hearing has been completed and the judge has had time to make a decision to finalize the adoption, he/she issues the first part of the Final Decree.

This is a short statement signed by the judge that is forwarded to the parties involved (social services organization on behalf of the adoptive family and the birth family) notifying everyone of his/her decision to finalize the adoption.

This first part of the Final Decree must go to each party and there is a waiting period of 10 days before any more can happen to ensure everyone has been notified of the judge's decision.

The First Ruling generally comes about a month after the Hearing. (although in our case it has been 8 months...buy hey, who's counting!) LOL

So the document was dated 24th July...so hopefully they count the 10 days from that date and not the date that we signed for the document....(wishful thinking?)...

After the 10 day waiting period is up, the second part of the Final Decree is forwarded to all parties. When the second part of the decree is received....the court process is DONE!!!

Then the last process will be to have her name removed from the Household registry

The household registration is a file located at local government offices in Taiwan that contains certificates and information about each person in Taiwan.

The child's household registration is attached to his/her guardian's file until the adoption has been finalized by the Taiwan courts.

Once the child has been legally adopted in Taiwan, you file with the government office to remove the file from the guardian and create a new file showing that the adoptive parent(s) are the new legal guardians.

Anyway, we are just sooooo excited right now....I had to call Jason right away, as he is already living in Hsinchu to give him the great news - and he was so excited and couldn't wait to go and tell all his work colleagues!

The boys kept shouting "She is ours!", too precious...and then Asia-Faith was running around saying "I am Asia-Faith MeiYa Tonkin" ~ Got to love them!!!

Now just to get through these next few days!!!!!

On another note, Jason has now moved to Hsinchu...he left on Sunday and because of the typhoon Fung Wong schools were closed yesterday, so today was his first day at his new school. He will be looking for an apartment for us and then myself and the kids will move on over....so in the meantime I am busy packing, packing, packing! (Well, not too much packing has been done yet, but the thought is there! LOL).

~* Peace and Love *~

We are going west!

2008-07-24T22:45:00.003+08:00

That's right folks, the Tonkin Tribe are going to be moving across the island again....

This time we are heading west....to a place called Hsinchu.

Jason went for interviews this last week and had decided to take the position that was offered. He will be leaving on Sunday and then in between working he will be looking for an apartment for us to move to.

I will be staying in Ilan with the rest of our tribe, and then hopefully we will move there towards the end of August.

I don't know too much about our new hometown, but I do know that it is also known as the "windy city"....so we will be going from the wettest part of Taiwan to the windiest! We sure do know how to pick them! LOL

I also know that it is "Silicone Valley"....Jason is very excited about this fact! LOL

On the adoption front.... the remaining documents that we needed to sign arrived on Monday morning (21 July), and Jason and I signed them and sent them back off in the mail, and Deana (http://mlchome.org) called on Tuesday to say she received them and had taken them to the courts!

So now we wait, again,.......hopefully we will get our final decree SOON!!!!!

Well, the heat is still unbelievable here! We were very fortunate to get an aircon donated to us from our landlord's daughter. Then about a week later a family on the 3rd floor was having a new one installed and so gave us their old one....now we have 2!!! I have never met such generous people as the folk here in Taiwan.

I cannot tell you how many times neighbors from the apartment building have rung my doorbell and given me vegetables or fruit or some kind of tea that they have made...the Taiwanese are really a generous bunch!

A couple of weeks ago the boys decided they wanted their hair cut....into mohawks, so at about 8:30pm I took Talis-Rain and Keanu-Storm to the hairdresser...Keanu-Storm was so tired he actually fell asleep and the assistant had to hold his head up! Then the following evening Willow-River decided he wanted his done too....they really do look super cool!!!

Doodlebug is still with us, he will be leaving in a couple of weeks...He is too cute....he smiles so much and loves to "talk"...we are really going to miss him!

I have started a photography blog (as if I don't have enough blogs already! LOL)...I am a real amateur, but if you want to take a look....http://starrwyn.aminus3.com/

So that is about all from the tribe for now....hope you and yours are happy and well.

~* Peace and Love *~

HAPPY 9TH BIRTHDAY WILLOW-RIVER!!!

2008-07-23T22:15:00.005+08:00

Today it is my big boy’s birthday…

He had been asking me for the last few days what we had gotten him for his birthday, and saying that he really wanted a skateboard.

Well, turns out that is exactly what I had got for him a few weeks ago when I went grocery shopping in Taipei a few weeks ago. I saw it in the toy store and knew that he would like that, then like I said that is all he has been asking for! Needless to say when we gave him his gift this morning he was thrilled!

My mom and dad (aka nana and papa) skyped to wish him a happy birthday and then Aunt Mel and Uncle Gordon skyped too.

We went to MacDonald’s for lunch, Willow-River’s request, then we took them all to the park so Willow-River could try out his board and then to the pool for a swim.

Willow-River likes the fact that here in Taiwan he is actually 10 years old, and not 9...

The Chinese traditional way of counting one's age is different from the Western way. In China, people take the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year as the starting point. No matter in which month a child is born, he or she is one year old at this time, and one more year is added as soon as he or she enters the New Year. It is very puzzling for Westerners when a child turns two years old when he or she is actually two days or just two hours old. This can occur when a child is born on the last day or hour of the previous year.

It has been a long day, but I will add more soon...some interesting news coming, so keep checking back here to get the scoop!

~* Peace & Love *~

2nd Anniversary of Living in Taiwan....a walk down memory lane

2008-06-23T14:19:00.015+08:00

Already half way through the year! Wow

This month marks our 2^nd anniversary of living in Taiwan. It is hard to believe that 2 years ago we left our home in South Africa and boarded a plane (or 4) for Taiwan.

It seems like just yesterday that Jason and I were talking about the possibility of moving to Taiwan for a season (Kinmen actually, which is a lovely little island between Taiwan and China). It was actually my ex-boyfriend Jimmy who suggested we look into it, as he was living there and saw great opportunity for teachers. So I started researching on the internet, and finally one night I said to J, “why don’t we do it?”. Now that came as a BIG surprise to Jason, as I had always told him I was not going to travel until the kids were older and out on their own, and then the two of us could travel the world together like the elderly couple Jason and I met while on our way back from Mauritius in 2000. They had sold up everything and just traveled around the world. So when I said to Jason it was maybe a good idea he was thrilled! It took about 8 weeks or so to pack up our home, get tickets and things sorted and then Jason was on his way.

Our new journey begins…. Part 1

Jason left in April, 2 months before myself and the kids, and he ended up living in Kinmen with Jimmy, sharing a room for the 2 months! LOL Can you imagine my ex-boyfriend and my husband sharing the same room….would love to have been a fly on the wall! LOL

The boys and I left in June, and boy was that a trip to remember!

I had organized with the airline that I had extra baggage allowance, because for those who know me well, know I can’t pack lightly – and I was planning on going for a year – and my mom can tell you how many times I packed and repacked my luggage!!! So, finally the day came and it was time to leave. The boys each had their own suitcase on wheels and a backpack with snacks and toys and things to occupy them (which by the way were never even opened the whole trip!)LOL

I had my BIG suitcase and another suitcase with homeschool supplies and my scrapbooking stuff. So I had 5 suitcases, three backpacks, my handbag, laptop backpack that I had bought for Jason as he had bought a laptop in Kinmen and wanted a bag for it, and in the bag was a bottle of Amarula as a gift for a family in Kinmen, and I had a guitar….not forgetting 3 kids too….do you have a picture in your mind yet???

The journey……Part 2

I was constantly counting bags and kids and making sure I always had 5 suitcases and 3 kids and not 5 kids and 3 suitcases! LOL

Funny thing is that when leaving Durban airport, I already forgot my handbag in the x-ray machine!!! I heard my family who were waving goodbye shouting for me and motioning to me and then I realized I had left my handbag….I knew then it was going to be a long journey.

Our first flight was from Durban to Johannesburg, a short flight and we were all so excited!

Our next flight was from Johannesburg to Singapore, about a 10 hour flight. This flight was fun….. When booking the tickets I noticed that Singapore airlines have these neat little tv screens on the backs of all the seats, and they had kids video games….Great I thought, that will keep the kids busy the whole flight – NOT! But it sure did keep me busy.

The journey…..Part 3

I had 2 of the boys sitting in front of me and Keanu-Storm was sitting next to me behind the 2 boys. The problem was that every time the boys hit the wrong button and the game went off, I would have to get up and restart the game….so almost the entire trip I was getting up and down, to a point where an elderly gentleman actually asked me if I was going to be sitting at all during the flight!

Then to top it off, none of the boys slept at the same time, they kind of slept in relays! I think I managed to get about a total of 2 hours sleep! LOL Then we have Willow-River, who doesn’t travel too well, and ended up getting air sick and

so I was up and down the aisle with him to the toilet a couple of times and not to mention his ear ache…he suffers terribly with his ears when he flies….

Arriving in Taiwan…..

Finally we arrive in Singapore, at around 7:30am, and had airport assistance who took us through to our next flight (to Taiwan). When we landed in Taipei the airport assistance I had asked for ended up being someone telling me “At the top, turn left – Immigration – then get baggage at number 5”….,so much for assistance! Anyway, we finally get through, and get our baggage. Jason was there at the airport waiting for us and it was so good to see him again after 2 months. This was the first time we had been away from each other, so it was good to be with him again.

Typhoon hits…no flights to Kinmen

We then had to get on a airport shuttle bus and go to another airport (about a one hour drive), to catch a plane to Kinmen island, only to arrive at the airport and find out all flights had been cancelled to Kinmen due to a typhoon….

So we were preparing to stay in the airport for the night, when Jason decided to call our family (a brother of a cousin by marriage, who happens to live in Taipei), and he offered to fetch us for the night and we spent the night at his apartment. We left all of our luggage in a locker at the airport – I was not going to be lugging all that lot around for the night.

Michael was very kind and took us out for dinner, although having traveled for so long and having hardly any sleep, I was really looking forward to going to bed, but we went for dinner first, and then headed to Michaels for the night. The next morning he had to teach, so we ended up catching the MRT (underground train) to the airport – thankfully we had left our luggage at the airport!

We eventually arrive at the airport and book an available flight for later that afternoon (4:25 pm) and then finally we are on our way to Kinmen!

Keanu-Storm slept the whole flight and Talis-Rain and Willow-River didn’t stop talking the whole flight!

During our journey Talis-Rain always says whenever we take off “I’m a riding cowboy!” – too cute!

We arrived in Kinmen (after a 50 minute flight) and were met at the airport by….yes, Jimmy, and he took us to our new home….

Life in Kinmen

We stayed with a family, Tapushi and Sumati and their 2 little boys, Fufalong and Amarita. There was also another family, Alan and Una and their 3 girls, CC, Cherry and Jen Jen. There was also another lady, Supraba.

They are completely vegetarian and organic – no eggs, onions, garlic or preservatives either!

So dinner was very interesting….rice (at least the boys ate that), tofu (chili or powdered), seaweed, white carrot, mango and sweet potato dish and a few other things I don’t really know what they were.

Things that were new to us were:

1) not flushing the toilet paper – you put it in a bin

2) taking your shoes off before entering a home

3) the shower is actually the whole bathroom – there is a drain in the middle of the bathroom and the bathroom is tiled from floor to ceiling – I love it – it makes cleaning the bathroom so quick and simple

We lived with them for the 2 months we lived on Kinmen island. The school where Jason was teaching wasn’t doing too well, so we decided that it was the end of the school term, so it would be a good time to look for a new job. Being a small island, there wasn’t much work available, so Jason decided to head to Taiwan and look for a job in Taiwan.

On the day that Jason left, it was one of the worst days of my life!

The worst day of my life!

When we came back from taking Jason to the airport, I noticed Keanu-Storm’s eye was a little pink (I thought he may be getting pink eye), and he was also not feeling too good, so I had him stay in the room with me and he slept next to me on the bed while I was writing my journal, then he woke up and Talis-Rain came in and they started playing together when I noticed Keanu-Storm was lying on the floor with his back to me. I asked Talis-Rain if Stormy was sleeping and he said “No, mom, his eyes are open, but he has white stuff coming out his mouth”. I jumped up and ran to him and when I saw him, his face was going blue and his eyes were glazed and he had white foam coming out of his mouth! I screamed for Tapushi and he grabbed him and ran for the car. We sped to the hospital, and while on the way, Keanu-Storm started coming around although he was still “out of it”. We got to the hospital, and they put him on a drip and started doing tests.

The results

The doctor said what most likely happened is that because we had the aircon on in our room (it was VERY hot, so it was on at about 18 degrees celcius or so), and because he had a fever, it caused some kind of shutdown – I later did some research and found that this type of thing is common in children under 5 years old, and can happen once and never again. He also mentioned that he may also have Thallasemia, where his red blood cells are very small and don’t carry enough oxygen.

Later that afternoon he was released and his brothers were very happy to see him arrive back home, and to date he has not had another episode like this again. (although I am still weary of airconditioners, and just have fans in my apartment).

The following day, we were boarding a plane to take us to our new home in Donggang, Taiwan.

Moving to Donggang, Taiwan

We stayed in a hotel for the first 2 weeks or so (the hotel belonged to Jason’s new boss’s family). We then found ourselves a little apartment. The only snag we had was that it was unfurnished and all we had were the suitcases we had arrived with.

The boss’s dad lent us a tv – which was great and then we slowly built up our little home.

We arrived in Donggang in August 2007, and it was around this time I made contact with Deana (Morninglight Children’s Home), and told her we were interested in adopting. I had contacted many orphanages and agencies, and was told the same thing all the time, that they only worked with Americans and they do not do independent adoptions.

Deana and I emailed each other back and forth and then in February she sent an email about Asia-Faith and within 2 weeks, Asia-Faith was home with us!

We lived there for a year, and when Jason’s contract was coming to an end, he asked me if I would consider moving to another part of the island? I was not too keen (I don’t like change too much), but Jason said do we want our whole experience of Taiwan to be Donggang, or do we want to experience other parts of the island… he had a point.

Fleeing a typhoon and going east!

Before we left South Africa and while researching, we had looked into going to Yilan/Ilan however, teaching jobs were hard to come by because most foreigners wanted to be on this part of the island.

So we decided to look into opportunities there. Jason went by bus and had a few interviews and then he landed a job. He left earlier again, about 8 weeks again, and this time he took the scooter all the way along the coast (a two day trip). He found us our apartment and got things set up.

The kids and I followed a few weeks later….actually a pending typhoon got us to move out quickly, since we had a typhoon earlier and our little town was flooded, so we wanted to get out while we still could!

We took a taxi to Kaohsiung and juts before getting to the station Asia-Faith (who was sitting on my lap), through up all over me! Just what I needed. I also realized that our cat (who was in her carrier basket), had been put into he boot of the car and I was hoping she was still alive after the hours drive! She turned out to be ok…. We then caught the High Speed Rail and I was so happy to see Jason’s face when we arrived in Taipei. We then caught another taxi to Loudong, to where we would be staying, with a friend, Sam, while waiting for Mark (who was the tenant of the apartment we were moving to ), to leave back to Canada.

Finally it was time to move in…

Move to Ilan and a trip to Hong Kong

We moved into a furnished apartment (we bought all furniture, bedding, linen, a scooter and a car from Mark – the guy who left), so we are pretty well set up.

We live very close to the sports park, and it is a great place to ride bicycles or just to go play or kick a ball or whatever.

Shortly after moving to Ilan, we had to do a visa run to Hong Kong because of our visa expiring - paperwork was held up with getting it renewed – but they wouldn’t listen to reason and we were told we had to leave.

Fortunately Rory, Jason’s nephew was also living here in Ilan and he and his friend Stuart offered to look after Asia-Faith since she couldn’t leave the country.

We ended up spending the night in the airport – the boys thought it was a great adventure. Rory and Stuart did very well with Asia-Faith (even though when we got home we noticed her nappy had been put on the wrong way! LOL)

Ilan has turned out to be a VERY wet place…..I think it rains here more than anywhere else in the world – or very close at least! LOL

The earthquakes here are also something we will Never get used to….

Ganglions

Jason had an op a few months ago…. He had a “ganglion” on the back of his foot… then I could not believe it, but I then got one on my wrist!!! How is that …weird I thought! LOL So I went and had mine removed a few weeks ago, and to say it was painful is an understatement! I think because mine was right on the “bend” of the wrist, it was more sensitive….so more painful! At least I got out of washing dishes for a few days.

ADOPTION UPDATE & DOODLEBUG TOO

Our little foster baby, Doodlebug (also known as Declan), is still with us. He came to us when he was just 13 days old, and is now 3 months old. He is such a little cutie pie, especially now that he is becoming more alert and smiling and cooing….he is too precious. His adoptive parents are hoping to be arriving in July to fetch him….he sure will be missed, but he will at least be with his forever family!

Our adoption journey feels like it is never going to end! LOL

The judge requested more documents from us which we got, only to then find out they still needed more! So we got these too, had them translated and delivered to court this last Monday (16^th), so we are hoping that now this is all the judge needs and that he will sign our final decree already!!!

Then our next step will be orgainising her South African citizenship and SA passport! The fun never ends! LOL

THANKS FOR YOUR TIME, AND YOU CAN THANK ME FOR MINE

So our experience here in Taiwan has been interesting, enlightening, frustrating at times too, (with the language difference), stressful (when you are not sure sometimes whether you still have a job, and if no job you have to leave the country – and with Asia-Faith’s adoption not finalized, this makes it difficult as we cannot leave without her!), and also being away from family and friends is also really hard. Still it has been 2 years so far worth of memories that we will always treasure in our minds and in our hearts!

Well, this has been long, but this has been our life for the last 2 years, some highlights, some lowlights, some snippets, and some tidbits!

I hope you have enjoyed our little trip down memory lane as much as I have, and we hope to hear from all of you real soon….we LOVE to hear from our family and friends back home!

And in case you want to email us:

Starr purplepixiestarr@hotmail.com

Jason jagabags@hotmail.com

~* Peace and Love *~

Where does time go???

2008-05-14T11:22:00.004+08:00

Well, I guess there is truth in the saying "time flies when you are having fun"....

Just look at the date of my last blog post!!!

So what have we been up to???

Well, we have a new baby:o)

Now don't go all ballistic.... he is not ours to keep.....we are fostering this little "Doodlebug" until such time as his adoptive parents arrive from the States and can take care of him themselves. So he has been with us since the 3 April, and he was only 13 days old when he arrived.

We have all been enjoying him so much and will all be a little sad when he leaves, but will be glad for the memories:o)

On the adoption front....a little progress. We found out that the judge was needing the adoption laws of SA stamped by the government.... So I sent a copy of them to the South African Liaison office in Taipei, as I thought if I had to send them back to SA....well, don't need to go into great lengths about that one do I???? Needless to say, going that route, Asia-Faith may be 18 years old before we get them back! LOL

Anyhow, the office in Taipei called me yesterday to say they were done and putting them back in the post today (Wednesday), so I should have them back by tomorrow and then can send them on to Deana who will take them to the court, and then hopefully that is ALL they need and then can finally issue the final decree!!!! Woohoo.... holding thumbs, crossing fingers......

We went to the beach two weekends ago and the kids had a blast! Well, we all did... it was great to be in the sun again! I still don't like the black sand though..... I just keep thinking of the white sand beaches in Mauritius.... looking forward to that again one day!

We had an earthquake here the other night...it was 3:42am..... I woke up with the bed shaking...I was wondering what on earth Jason was doing, then I realised he was fast asleep and then it clicked that it was an earthquake! It measured 5.7 - I couldn't go back to sleep, so I waited up for the info to be put on the internet so I could check it out... that's how I know the precise time it was! LOL Took me a while, but I ended up falling asleep again (for a little while until Doodlebug woke me for his bottle!).

On Sunday, Mother's day, we went to Kim and Colin for the day and had a bbq with them.... Colin made these scrumptious kebabs....banana wrapped in bacon with pieces of peppers and pork and challots - it was really very yummy.... not to forget the delicious salad that Jason made too - finger licking good!

Well, that's about all the news I can think of for now....

~* Peace and Love *~

Tenpin Bowling...

2008-03-15T16:58:00.000+08:00