Oct. 18th - Finally on our way home!!!

Hi - I am so sorry that I have not been better at updating this blog.  While in China our oldest daughter was sick the first week we were in China.   Then when we got Molly two weeks ago - she was sick - so we had two sick kids.  Then on Friday the 11th - I got sick.  So between all of that and then living out of a suitcase, washing clothes in a sink, not being able to use tap water and then of course get to know Molly and entertaining Madelin - at the end of the night I was wiped out and just did not have the energy to update.

I will go back and fill in the last few days in the next week or so.  But for now we are finally home!!!  The night before we left we had a group dinner with our guide at Lucy's - it is a western style restaurant on the island.  Then Greg and I finished up some shopping and then headed back to the hotel to pack everything for the trip the next morning.  We all went to bed about 10:00pm.  The kids feel asleep right away and Greg too but I could not sleep.  I kept thinking about the flights home and wondering how in the world both of my kids were going to make it thru the long flight from Hong Kong to Chciago?  I finally fell asleep about 2:45am - which was just in time for Molly to wake up screaming.  And then at 4:00am is when we had to wake up.  Uhhhh!!!  Can you say tired!!!

We met in the lobby at 6:00am and the second I got there and started talking with Nelson Molly threw up all down the front of me!!!  What the heck is going on with puke on this trip???  Of course all my clothes were packed and already loaded on the van on the bottom of the pile so once again I am flying covered in throw up.  Lovely!!!  The bus ride to the airport was pretty quiet - everyone was really really tired.  All the babies and Madelin fell asleep on the way.

We arrived and then the airport craziness started.  We all got carts and loaded our bags and tried to find our ticket counter.  It is nothing like the US airports.  Most airports have their check-in areas in the front of the airport so you dont have to take your bags very far.  Well here you have to walk at least a mile and the ticket counters are all over the place.  I still cant figure out how you would find your counter.  If Nelson would not have been with us I am not sure we could have figured it out.

Once we found the counter we realized the lines were very long and barely moving.  All of a sudden one of the reps came over to us and put us in our own line.  If he would not have done that I am not sure we would have made our flight.  We had to go thru one area and tell them if we had anything to declare.  Then thru the departure card area - this is where we got stopped - we got pulled aside for some reason - they really did not ask us many questions just kind of looked at our paperwork and then at our passports then at our paperwork and back and forth.  After that we had to go thru security which took about 45 minutes.  Then had to walk about a mile to the gate.  We made it about 10 minutes before they started to board.  The flight to Hong Kong was short about one hour.  We landed in Hong Kong and I have to say it was so beautiful there.  The water was on one side of the airport and the mountains we on the other side - it was so beautiful - I felt like I was on a movie set or something.  In Hong Kong we had to check in with United in a holding area - they told us the flight was oversold so it was going to be full.  The women that helped us was so nice and helpful.  Then we had to go thru another security check point and then find our gate.  This airport was huge too.  We found our gate and then we had about 10 minutes before we could board.  The gate workers came over to us and told us they wanted us to board first.  So we got on the plane and got settled in for the 14 hour flight.  The staff had made an announcement if we could board quickly we might be able to leave 10 minutes early.  Next thing we know they are paging a passenger over and over.  They finally tell us that one passenger is not on the plane but his bag is so they have to take all the bags off until they find his and pull it so we were going to have a delay.  Soon after that we noticed that the power kept going on and off in the cabin and it was getting really hot on the plane.  Soon the pilot came on and said that we had a maintenance problem they were trying to fix.  They would update us in 1/2 hour.  Well now the plane is getting very hot - it was about 95 degrees in Hong Kong - and the plane felt like it was 120.  People started getting very uncomfortable and complaining.  They came on the PA and said they knew it was getting hot but they were doing their best to resolve the problem.  Well now another 1/2 hour goes by both of my kids are soaking wet with sweat and starting to not look good.  I started to walk Molly around the back of the plane.  By the time I got back to the seat I noticed Madelin was sleeping - I think it was because it was so hot.  I felt awful for both kids and us for that matter it was not fun.  We ended up leaving about 1.40 minutes late which had us worried about our connection.

The plane ride actually went better then we thought.   Not that is was fun or anything like that it was just the kids did really well and the crew was wonderful. I have not had that kind of customer service in probably 20 years from an airline employee.  It was such a breath of fresh air to actually see the flight attendance enjoy their jobs.  They all loved Madelin and came back all the time to check on her and give her treats.  I think we walked off the plane with about 20 packs of Milano cookies.  She thought she was pretty hot stuff.  Somehow the whole crew knew her name - neither Greg or I told them - but they all called them by their names.  Madelin slept a lot and made pictures and listen to her IPOD.  She was so good.  Molly was a little wiggly and wanted to be on my lap the whole time.  Greg would walk her once and awhile to give my arms a break.  She did not scream but once.  Yahoo!!!  I was shocked.  She really did great and was smiling at everyone.  Everyone kept saying what a happy baby she was.  And I was thinking to myself when is the big melt down going to happen???  But it really never came.  Amen!!!

Finally we made it to Hong Kong - we actually got there on time.  Shocking after such a delay.  We got off the plane and had to go thru immigration - we have to get in the non-american line because Molly has a Chinese Passport.  Of course this line is much slower.  We finally made it thru but are starting to panic a little because we dont have much time to make our connection.  Then we go get our bags - which took forever and one of our bags did not show up for a very long time.  Everyone else in the group went ahead with out of because they were worried they would miss their flight.  Then we had to go thru Costumes and again we had a special area we had to go thru.  We had to wait their while they finished our paperwork for Molly.  Then our bags had to be screened again.  Then off to the transfer station.  This is when they told us one of our bags tags was coming off so we had to get in line to get it re-tagged and then get back in line to put it on the belt.  Finally we got all that done then we had to find the train to get to our concourse and then once again thru security.  We actually had to fun a little because it was getting close to boarding time.  Finally we made it to our gate I had just enough time to brush my teeth and change Molly's diaper then we boarded the flight to Des Moines.  It was hard to believe that we were going to actually arrive on time in Des Moines.  

We arrived in Des Moines and that is when Allison and I started to fall apart.

Sat. Oct 11th

Oh no now I am sick!!!  I feel awful today and Nelson wants me to stay at the hotel now.  This being sick stuff is a total drag.  Not sure if I will be able to leave the hotel until we fly to Guangzhou.  Uhhhh.

Tonight Nelson did take Greg, Madelin, Molly and I to a local Chinese Restaurant.  The rest of the group does not like Chinese food - which I think is totally nuts because some of the best food I have ever eaten is in China.  Of course we are not eating the funky stuff that China has to offer.  We of course were the center of attention there too.  That is one thing about the Chinese they are very odvious - pretty much just stop and stare at you.  In the US we are very curious and will watch but most the time try not to just stare.  We had a great dinner with Nelson - it is so good to see him again.  But I must say I am ready to use a fork again!!!

Friday Oct. 10th

Today we are driving to Poyang.  We had asked the orphanage if we made a donation could we then come and see the orphanage?  They said that they were in desperate need of baby clothes and if each family brought clothes then we could come see the orphanage.  Well on Monday the orphanage director told our guide that they wanted more money for the donation fee that all families have to pay.  Our guide said that we could not do that because the CCAA's policy had not changed yet for the higher amount.  Basically the director then said we could not come visit the orphanage.

Well on Thurs. night our guide got an interesting call from the director of the orphanage.  She said that if each family donates $100.00 - $200.00 each plus our clothes donation then we will be allowed into the orphanage.  All the families decided that we would go ahead with the donation so we could at least have a glance at where our children have lived for the last 10 months.

So we left the hotel pretty early - it took us about 3.5 hours to get there.  It was interesting to see the country side - and to see how the majority of Chinese people live.  We saw many farmers because it was harvest time for their rice.  The roads were covered with their rice being dried.  It was a pretty bumpy ride, some of the roads were not in the best shape.  We saw tons of water buffalo and cows, lots of small villages and villagers with small fruit stands.  There were not many gas stations along the way - like in the states.  Most people get around by bikes which we saw tons of.

When we finally reached Poyang I was surprised that is was a bigger city then I thought.  There were so many people - it was a little overwhelming.   Now we had the task of trying to find the orphanage.  In the smaller cities it is hard to find things because a lot of the roads are not named.  So our driver had to stop a few different times and ask the local people where the orphanage was.  Finally we found it.   The Social Welfare Institute is actually a retirement home and then there is also an orphanage.  When we first arrived there was just one person standing out front of the orphanage but soon there was a large gathering of people wondering what we were there for.  The director came out to greet us - she told us that we could take as many pictures as we want of the outside but no pictures were allowed inside.  In front of the orphanage there were rows and rows of laundry hanging and on the porch of the orphanage there were small baby beds sitting in the sun.  Soon all the nannies came out to see the babies - they were talking and talking and then all of a sudden it was clear that they had no idea who our babies were?  Hmmmm.  So we started asking questions and that is when we found out that all our children had been in foster care!!!  Not sure why all our paperwork said she lived at the orphanage.  That part is very frustrating to me - because children in foster care vs. an orphanage have different needs and I am not sure why they would not have told us that up front.  But at least we know now I guess.

We all talked outside for awhile then they let us go into one of the rooms where some of that babies were.  It was a small room with about 6 babies in it.  Some where in little cribs and some where on the toilet chairs.  They all were so sweet - I just wanted to grab them all and run.  We were able to touch and talk with the babies I just pray that they have parents coming to get them soon.  Then the director wanted to take us to her office and this is where we gave them our cash and clothes donation.  The staff was all there as we presented the gifts.  They were all surprised at how many clothes that we brought and so happy.  Our guide Nelson told them that Madelin's preschool had been collecting outfits and raising money to buy outfits for the children of the Poyang SWI.  We also gave them a few pictures of the students that ran the lemonade stand and some of the kids holding up the outfits that they bought.  The staff thought it was so neat that the majority of the clothes donated came from other children.  They thanked us over and over and wanted to make sure how much they appreciated all your kindness toward the kids at the SWI.  Thank you again.

Then one of the foster mom's showed up - she watched Scott and Kim's daughter.  He could not come on the trip because he was sick.  The foster mom was very disappointed and so was the little friend she brought too.  She had two children in her home one was Ella and the other was a little albino boy that would also be adopted in the next two months from an American family.  He was so cute and the foster mom said that he and Ella were very close.  Now we had quite a crowd outside the orphanage all trying to see us and the babies.  It was nice to be able to see the orphanage but also very sad.  We are thankful we have some pictures to share with Molly wen she gets older - but seeing those kids still waiting for families will always be stuck in my mind.

We all loaded the bus and then took a small tour of the city and then stopped for lunch at a local restaurant.  We were in the center of Poyang and I dont think many westerners come around here because we drew very large crowds here.  It was almost a little uncomfortable because we could not understand what they were saying to us.  The more you looked around the more people we would see that we watching us.  Even in all the buildings there were groups of people at each window pointing at us.  We finally reached the restaurant along with a large crowd of people that started to follow us.  When we arrived at the restaurant they were going to seat us in the main dining area but because of all the extra people watching us they ended up putting us in a private room on the third floor.  It was nice not to have a crowd watching our every move.

Once we were seated they brought tea for everyone - I did not notice that they put a hot cup of tea right in front of Molly.  I did not notice because I had Madelin on the other side of me who was talking to me at the time.  Next thing I know Molly is screaming because she knocked the hot tea cup over and the hot tea was all over her lap.  I quickly picked her up and yanked off her pants.  The owner of the restaurant brought in some kind of special cream they kept saying - it was for burn victims they said.  Poor Molly had first degree burns all over her lets.  I feel so guilty - but I did not see the waitress put it down.  Who in the world would do that anyway.  Guess they do things different in China.

When we were all done we got back on the bus and started off on our long drive back to Nanchang.  The van on the way back kept over heating so we would have to stop often and let it cool down.  Here they just stop the car in the middle of the road.  I was a wreck each time they stopped because of all the other traffic I was so nervous we would be hit from behind. 

It was an emotional day - and one that I am kind of glad is over.  But I will never forget the children still at the orphanage.

Thurs. Oct. 9th

Today is Walmart day - I am so bummed I cant go because Molly is still so sick.  So I send Greg and Madelin to try and find some clothes for Molly.  We have nothing that really fits her.  I have advised Greg when in question ask Allison for help.  It will be interesting to see what they come back with.

I am going a little stir crazy being here at the hotel.  Thankfully we did get a suite so at least I can move around a little.

Today we find out that Scott is now sick.  Man I swear our whole group is falling apart.  This is my first trip to China where everyone is getting sick or having some kind of issue.

The group is also going to the Pagota today - this is one of my favorite places in Nanchang - I am sad I wont be able to go.  It is so beautiful there plus there is lots of shopping.  This is where we plan to get our chops.  It is suppose to be one of the best places to get them in China.  In 2004 we got ours in Guangzhou but once home we realized they really did not work.  So we are excited to get one for each of us here.

Greg and Madelin came back with the outfits - apparently they did not have very many small clothes there.  But they did find a few things that will work until we can get home and do some shopping.  I am also hoping we might find a few things in Guangzhou.  We also have been looking for paper towels but I guess they dont use them here.  Can you even imagine?   

Molly seems to be feeling a little better later in the day.  She is smiling more and is starting to trust me more and more.  Today she finally laid her head on my shoulder for about 3 minutes.  She is also a thumb sucker - which I totally love!!!

Tonight I am starting to not feel good my throat is killing me.  I am hoping it will go away by morning.

Wed. Oct. 8th

Well today was a hard day around here.  Molly is very sick.  The poor little thing really does not feel good.  Today our guide Nelson thought it would be best if Molly and I stay at the hotel and try and get her some much needed rest.  This whole experience has been bringing back lots of memories of when we finally got Madelin -  she was very sick also.

Molly took a great nap in the morning and then we played and played - but since she is not feeling that well she just kind of sat there and let me do all the work.

She wants so bad to put her head on my shoulder when I hold her but the trust is not there yet - so when she does she realizes wait a minute I dont really know who this lady is.  And then pulls back quickly.

We also are having some issues with the orphanage.  Originally we asked if we could come and look at the orphanage but they said no.  Then we asked if we donate something like an air conditioner, heater or washer would they let us come and visit?  They finally said yes if we brought with us baby clothes 0-12 months in size.  All the families agreed and brought clothes.  Well then yesterday we had to pay our donation fee - well the orphanage director said that instead of that amount they wanted two thousand more dollars.  Over the last year there has been talk of the CCAA raising their donation amount to the amount this orphanage was requesting however they have not changed the policy yet.  So our guide told the orphanage director that the policy has not changed so my families cannot pay the higher fee.  She said that they really wanted us to pay the higher fee and if we decided not to that we would not be able to visit the orphanage.  All of us were pretty upset.  Of course we knew that things could change once we got here - because we are in China and that is how things work but it still was a sad moment for all of us.  We all talked as a group and decided that we were not going to pay the higher fee because we were not 100% sure that money was going to go to the kids.   So on Friday we will drive to Poyang and see the orphanage from the gate - and that is where we will leave our donation clothes.

This evening was not fun.  Molly and the other babies are having poop issues.  Poor kids.  Molly has been trying to poop from noon until about 9:00pm.  You can see how much pain they are in which just makes me sick to my stomach.  We even when out to dinner tonight our family and Nelson and in the middle of the restaurant Nelson wants me to hold her with her back on my chest and my hands holding her legs about the knee and then he wants me to say push, push, push and make grunting sounds.  We are already feeling like all eyes are on us so there is no way I am going to do that.  But when we get back to the hotel Nelson and the doctor decide she needs to have an enema.  Oh man I really dont want to do this but at the same time she is in so much pain.  This was the worst night so far.  So Nelson gives her the enema - I wont go into lots of detail but after about 15 min. some of it is out but then all of a sudden we have tons of blood.  I mean tons of it.  I see Nelson turn white then I see Greg he turns white and I start to cry.  I am asking Nelson what is going on???  He said he did not know this has not happened before.  And now Molly passes out cold.  He calls the doctor immediately and he rushes over.  Molly has not moved in about 10 minutes.  I have been trying to wake her up but nothing is working.  The Dr. arrives and he checks her out and says that she is okay he said that this can sometimes happen and since the blood is very red we dont need to worry.  He said that she passed out because she was so tired from all the hard work trying to poop.

After the Dr. leaves I run down to Allison's room she let me use her panda phone so I could call our Dr. in the US.  I get thru to Dr. Uthe and she asks me a series of questions and she thinks that Molly will be okay.  She said yes the other Dr. was correct that this can happen but the part that concerns her is that blood in the potty or stool can be symptoms of the melamine.  She told me that it might happen again tomorrow but if it continues to happen we need to go to the hospital as soon as possible.

Tues. Oct. 7th

We had a decent night with Molly - she did wake up a few times but for the most part slept.  She did pretty well today - we were a little concerned since today we went back to the Civil Affairs office to finalize the paperwork.  But she did pretty well.  When we arrived we saw the Poyang Staff sitting there but Molly did not seemed phased.  We got our family photo done and then we had a meeting each family with the Civil Affairs Staff to make sure we had the correct child and that we were willing to take care of this child as our own and offer education.  Of course we all agreed and then we were off to the Notary and the Passport Office.  Then we had the afternoon to ourselves. 

She did pretty good today but she is sick.  We have been trying to keep her well so we dont have to go to the hospital.  She wants Mom all the time.  Madelin some times can make her stop crying if I leave the room - so that has been helpful.

Scott's mom is sick again now she is throwing up - everyone is very worried about her.

Each of the girls are so darn cute and each have their own little personality.  It has been fun getting to know them.

We have been busy

Well I need to spend sometime posting - but we have been pretty busy here.  I just posted some pictures of Molly from the beginning of the week.  

Molly has been really sick.  We need prayers.  We almost had to take her to the hospital two nights ago.  I am doing everything I can to get her better.  I don't want to take her to the hospital if we don't have to.  I know they will put an IV in her head (yes I said head - that is how they do it here) and I don't want to do that.  I have been spoon feeding her water trying to keep her hydrated.  And I finally found something she would eat - steamed egg.  Very interesting dish.  Last night she seemed to be doing a little better I am very anxious for her to wake up this morning to see how she is doing.

We leave for Poyang in a few hours.  I am praying that Molly is feeling better so we can go - this might be our only chance to see the city where she is from.  We will be dropping off all our clothes donations at the orphanage around 11:00am.  The trip will be along drive 3.5 hours each direction.

We have had lots going on in the last few days around here - I will try and post more over the weekend.

Madelin is doing pretty well - she is swimming everyday so that is helping I think.  She does not like me being with the baby all the time.

I have been up since 2:00am - I think I am getting sick.  My throat is killing me - hope I dont have strep.  Started taking meds though just incase.

More to come.