Sage's Saga Sags

Quite a ridiculous, nonsense title to go with a ridiculous, nonsense process. First the good news!

Sage's adoption is final!

We are super excited the adoption is legal. Our two girls are "officially" part of the family that they have been such an important part of over the last (almost) eight months. Last year at this time we were packing bags for an adventure in Europe and discussing how different our lives could be in a year. We didn't have a clue...but are loving it!

With the final decree of Sage's adoption in our hands, we raced to the passport office. Maybe, just maybe, we could expedite her passport in time to sneak her into Xian's upcoming visa appointment. Getting to the passport office a little before closing time, we passed the adoption papers, photographs and application form over to the lady behind the counter. She quickly flips through the papers and asks where is the house registry document. (The paper we drove all over Taiwan with a few weeks ago for Xian.) Unfortunately, we do not have Sage's document and tried to explain that as foreigner we don't have the paper. Well, if you are foreigners, give us Sage's alien resident card. Um, she's Taiwanese and doesn't have one.

Confusion reigned supreme. The number of people at the counter quickly multiplied but the only word I could make out was a negative (likely reference to our lack of the document). Phone calls were made, people from the back office ventured out, lights began to be turned off and our hopes followed the setting sun. No document. No passport. We've been told that a certified copy is heading our way from Sage's birth-family but who knows when it will arrive. Tomorrow, we try to work with the Office of Household Registration to get something for the passport keepers. 

But the good news still keeps our spirits high. Here's the lil' monster...