Since I Have Been Home

The journey home was a long one. Everything in Ch*na went great. Better than I could have planned. God was with me the whole time and never left my side. I was able to sleep on those very uncomfortable beds and eating there was not as bad as it could have been. I missed having Steve with me, we are truly a team. 

Everything in GZ went great. The van ride to Hong Kong was interesting.  The driver shaved an hour off the time. I normally do not get car sick but going 85 -110mph kinda can make you sick to your stomach. Hong Kong was fine. Again the beds were horrible but I was able to sleep. 

Getting on the plane I was fine. I was not looking forward to the 14.5 hour flight. Before I went, I had an ear ache. It had gotten worst. During the flight I get a real bad sore throat. It was so swollen I could feel both sides of my throat touching in the middle. Then somewhere above Alaska my elbow starting hurting and I got very sick to my stomach. After that the plane ride was horrible and I was not looking forward to a four hour layover in Chicago, plus immigration and customs. 

Immigrations and customs went smoothly. We made it to the termal with plenty of time and it was shortly after that Brea noticed my rash. I was still not hungry and now I had a huge rash on my body. What was going on?  I sipped on some water and just did what I had to do to get home. Finally around 7pm that night I got to see the four people I missed the most. 

The next day I went to the doctors. I had a Bactria infection in my ears and throat, an allergic reaction to food for the rash, and we still could not explain the not being hungry and now the massive joint pain. I am convinced that the joint and muscle pain is from the beds I slept in for two weeks. When I came home to my sleep number my joints and muscles started to relax then spaum. 

I am very greatful to the four women in our church that brought us meals. Each meal tasted wonderful and we were able to use it for two meals. I really had to humble myself to accept the help. 

I have not been able to take care of my family like I like to. I have had to relax and take naps everyday. I guess that is what happens when one does not eat much for 11 days. I have lost over 10lbs since I have been home. 

Yesterday was a turn around day. Steve and I noticed that when I eat I feel better and I have color in my skin. ( I have been very pale, even had white lips). My stomache has shrunk. I can not eat very much at a time.  I have to have several little meals through out the day just to keep my energy. I am getting stronger slowly but surly. I have never dealt with anything like this before. 

The rash is almost gone. I have a couple places it is lingering on but it is slowly going away. My ear and throat are almost completely healed. I think I picked up the infections before I left from dirty earbuds.  My muscles are ok as long as I stretch them. I need to see my chiropractor for my ankle if I ever want to drive again. 

Brea is doing great. She fits in this family great. She has been bonding with Steve a lot while I have been sick. She loves helping out around here. She is not in a hurry to talk, but she understands a lot of what we say. 

The Family Back Home

Coming to Ch*na by myself was going to be a challenge. It sounded insane but I have been fine. The reason I am by myself is because our kids at home need us also. They are very attached and very into a routine. If we break that routine we get melt downs.

Steve and I are a team no matter where we are. We work well together and have been able to handle many things because we have always had each other. Right now we are still a team but we are playing on different fields.

While I am here having my own adventure, Steve is at home with his own adventure.  He is Dad and Mom right now. He has been doing a great job with the kids. They are even doing school work. His biggest obstacle is the weather. 

Cleaning our lane while having three kids unsupervised inside has been a bit hard. He has is own way of coping. 

I am happy that I do not have to watch some of these. This is not all of his bad movie collection. Just the ones he is watching or hoping to watch while I am gone. 

I left the kids with notes and a calendar to help deal with me being gone. I am happy to see the chain getting shorter. That means I am coming home soon. 

Brea likes talking with Daddy and loves to pose for pictures. This one she had me take to send to Steve. 

Soon we will all be in the same place. I am ready to come home and my family is ready to welcome me home. Here is our first family picture. 

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. We appreciate them very much. 

Day on the Town

Today Brea and I went to Ancient Street. It is a famous place that was part of old Ch*na. It was absolutely beautiful. 

There were so many things to see. Most of it was hard to see because of all the vendors. 

They did have many things that were Tainjin spicific. 

This is a candy hand made. I think it is made out of honey. This was a small one. 

There we big ones also for sale. 

There were a lot of specialty foods that I would never touch. If it has tenecals it is not going near my mouth. 

Brea and I had a great time together. 

Followed by McDonalds, Brea's favorite restaurant. 

We are doing good here. Yesterday we stayed at the hotel and relaxed. It was nice to just spend some alone time with Brea. Also I had a bad stomachache for a couple of days. I think I just needed a day to relax and regroup. 

Today I packed up everything to make sure we had room. Everything seems to fit perfectly. I did this before I went out so it helped me not to buy to much because I knew I did not have the room.Tomorrow afternoon we fly to GZ. 

I am so ready to be home. All I could think about today was how it would  have been great to experience Acient Street with the whole family. But I also have to be thankful for technology. I love the fact that I can see and talk to everyone back home. 

 

Pictures!!!!

Ok, so I promised some pictures. 

            This is from when I first met her. She was sad the she had to say good bye to her foster brother. She what crying when I first met her. I got out pictures and she started pointing at everyone, saying Papa, Mama, big brother, little brother, and little sister. She was very shy but connected with me very fast. As we were walking out the building she was holding my hand.

                Pictures outside the Orphange. 

She was so excited about having a family. 

Next we want shopping. She loves anything new. I had to say no a lot. It was great that she was asking for things. She only wants to hold my hand. When our coordinator tries and holds her hand she will not do it. 

This was after shopping the first day when we were at Pizza Hut. 

The next day (Tuesday) we went to do all our paperwork. I have not stopped praising God since. There was a very small mistake on out POA. If it would have been found we would have had to do a new one. Witch means atleast Nother week in Ch*na. No one found it. 

                Signing the papawork that makes her ours officially. 

                She is happy. 

                A bridge in Tainjin. 

                Very beautiful. 

She is bonding great. Even with Steve over FaceTime. She loves to look me in the eyes and we copy each other. She is leaning new English words every day. She is happy and loves to laugh. 

                She is doing great. 

And boy she can eat. 

And then there was one more..,

Today has been a wonderful day, with a little bit of a rough start. I get to the orphanage and went upstairs to a small cozy room.  Everyone is speaking Chinese. Before I could get the camcorder set up and my camera handed to the coordinator Brea walks into the room. A little boy was following her crying. When I looked at Brea for the first time she had tears running down her face. My heart melted and I was crying on the inside. The little boy was her foster brother and they were very close. 

I got the picture book out and we started looking at our family. She new everyone. They must have told her before. We sat looking at pictures while I asked some questions. 

When we left we came back to the hotel to try on cloths. Praise The Lord they fit perfectly.  She was excited to have new cloths and changed her shirt at once. 

She like pretty things. I brought some brackets for her and she will not take them off.  We went shopping and she asked for everything ( that is new to us, our other three still have a hard time asking for things). She learned very quickly that Mama knows how to say no. 

She is starting to bond. She hold my hand all the time. She likes to keep an eye on everything I do. She keeps asking to see Papa. 

She is a strong girl who will ask for help when needed and the rest she does by herself. She is going to move mountains one day. 

I am still adjusting to the time. I will work on getting some photos on here before I go to bed. 

Sleep...

I am a person who loves sleep. Steve has even gotten into the habit of feeding the kids breakfast so I can have an extra half hour in bed. It is something I have always been able to do with very little problem, except when I travel. 

I have never sleep on planes.  This trip was the first time I ever slept on a plane. It was only 40 minutes at a time. But something is better than nothing. I am just not a public sleeper. 

I am starting to get frustrated with my sleep pattern. I am only getting about 5 hours a night. AAAHHHH. I know the really hard bed does not help. But still I am so tied. 

On a wonderful note, I get to meet Brea at 9:30 in the morning. I am so ready to meet her. She means so much to us. It is hard being away from your kids. I know that we have 9 years to chech up on but we have a lifetime to do it.

Ok, my rant is over. I am going to lay in the dark and pray that I drift off to sleep. 

The Longest Day EVER!!!!!

On Thursday my family and I got up extra early (3 AM) and headed off to the airport.  Traveling to get to Tianjin was what I thought was going to be my hardest part. That was easy compared to leaving my wonderful husband and what I think are the greatest kids in the world. The airline allowed Steve and the kids to go back and wait with me. Having to say good bye was so hard. I have a new respect for parents and spruces that have to travel.

I could see the kids from my seat. 

The flight form Columbus to Chicago was hard. I cried.  I have never left my husband or kids for more than two and a half days. Two weeks is going to be hard, but as Elias pointed out: I will be with family as soon as I get Brea.

Since we upgraded my flight over to Ch*na I got to stay in the lounge in Chicago. As Steve put it, from a picture I sent, swanky. 

It was a long flight to Shanghai after that. Over 14 hours. I slept a couple of time for about 40 mins each. That is the longest I ever slept on a plane. Every once in awhile I would crack open the window to look at the beautiful view. Wow!!!! Bodies such an awesome creator. 

I was in Shanghai for over 6 hours. Everyone was coming home after Ch*nese New Years.  There was probably twice as many people than there were seats.  It was also cold and my coat was packed neatly in my luggage that was already checked. It took everything I had to stay awake. 

The plane ride from Shanghai to Tianjin was nice and fast. After about a hour car ride, I made it to the hotel. I was froze to the bone. At both airports in Ch*na I was taxied to and from the plane in a bus (not heated and no coat). Coming to the hotel I finally had a coat but no heat I the van and it was -4. I could not feel my fingers or toes. Thankfully I was kinda use to it from living in Ohio. 

At the hotel I got to talk with Steve, take a hot shower and sleep on a bed that is just a piece of ply board with batting on it.  The bed never felt better. 

I want to say thanks for all the prayers. I know that God is traveling with me. He was my straight over that ver long 30 some hours. He has also put some extra love in my heart for these people and this country.