Extension!

Straighter? Stronger? Higher? No, LONGER! (The kids near the gondola at Sun Moon Lake)

It's time to get the word out! (And find out who ELSE is reading the blog besides my mother. Hello Mom!)

We are officially extending our time in Taiwan by one month! I had hoped before we came that we would, but all our research into extending pointed towards the expense almost equaling what we spent on airfare just to change flights! Once we got here and I saw the kids adjusting so well, and Q so happy, I further hoped things would work out. I had faith they would.

But as we went along and especially after settling down in our home-base, I realized life with 4 kids in Taiwan is HARD. For one thing, I don't like grocery shopping or doing laundry, and due to the tininess of everything here, I need to do laundry every day and shop every three days. For another thing, we don't have a car, so every little bit of movement, either of myself, or more significantly, our family, requires a trek down the hill to the MRT station, requires money, and once we get anywhere, a LOT of walking. AND our place isn't even as big as 1/3 of our home! I miss space to let the kids run wild - let ME run wild.

And I've missed our friends, my food in our kitchen, our home, and the lovely fall. Yes, the jungle and warmth are beautiful too, yes the people here are kind and the food is fantastic. But I still miss home.

Yet, when Q asked me about extending, I hadn't thought about it in so long, and figured it was such a long shot anyway, I told him we could do whatever HE wanted to do.

Turns out, I underestimated the awesome powers of persuasion my husband can master after reading a few online suggestions on how to talk the airlines out of the penalizing change fees! GO Q!

We're staying! And it still cost a pretty penny. But not quite as pretty as the penny we'd originally feared!

And.... I'm happy. Though coming home before Thanksgiving would be nice, staying here is STILL the opportunity of a LIFETIME! We'll have more time to develop friendships here. More time to learn Chinese. AND because our renters aren't out of our home 'til Dec 19 anyway, extending the stay here means we won't come back to Utah but STILL be homeless. Besides, extra time will make our current home-base a bit more like a real home. So perhaps it wasn't Q's choice after all, but our choice - MY choice - too.

When we told the kids, they took it in stride. We didn't know if they would be excited (though we hoped they would be) or sad (though I didn't think that would happen), and really, they were neither. They might feel a bit about the whole thing like I do - missing the loveliness of home, while truly appreciating the loveliness of here......

So that is OUR news! Please post YOUR reaction to it! Thanks for sharing this adventure with us!