Extreme Weather Continued

So the schools have been closed 3 of the 5 days this week. Charlie stayed home the rest of the week and I got to stay home today. We currently don't have a ton of snow on the ground but there have been flurries on and off all day. Tomorrow is supposed to be the big problem - a big storm coming in the morning that could mean up to 6 inches here! This is pretty unusual for us. And then we will possibly get freezing rain before warming up to regular rain.

Charlie has to work tomorrow, which is the scary thing because he has to drive a long ways to get to work and has to drive over a hilly area to get there. We are keeping our fingers crossed that he can get home tomorrow evening before things get too bad. Doesn't look like we will have a white Christmas, but this is enough snow for a while - and it's not even officially winter yet!

Extreme Weather Conditions!

At least for our area. It did start snowing early this morning. We have about an inch here right now and it's still coming down. It's blowing hard and the temperature is dropping. They are saying 1- 4 inches here. It's not all that unusual for us to get snow a couple of times a year, but normally it's gone pretty quickly. This week however, they are expecting a very cold spell - high temps in the twenties and lows in the teens.

We went out with the kids and they enjoyed the snow for a little while, as you can see. It didn't take long before the wind and the blowing snow got to them and we all came in for hot chocolate.

We are in for an interesting week!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

We are on official Winter Storm watch, with actual snow expected tonight. Now, the entire Pacific Northwest typically has an insane reaction to the possibility of snow. Usually what happens is that there are days of hype, special bulletins on the TV, shivering TV people reporting live from all over the place...and then no snow.

But they seem pretty sure this time and it's cold right now.We've had some mixed snow and rain already. Charlie is at work on the other side of town and to get homehe has to go over the West Hills, which usually do get some snow, so we are hoping it will hold off until he's home. And it would be nice if it could all be gone by Sunday evening or they will cancel school and one of us will have to stay home from work. Since we used up all our vacation very recently, that's going to be a problem. They are reporting, though, that we will have the coldest temperatures in years this next week - I've seen as low as 12 degrees! It would be fun to wake up to snow-covered world.

Jack is doing very well. He had his first visit with the pediatrician yesterday and everything checked out fine, they did some labs and we will see if anything comes of that. He was sooo brave! He had to have two shots and he didn't cry or even flinch, he was actually very interested in the proceedings. They gave him Spiderman stickers - which matched his Spiderman shirt, underwear, shoes and bandaid! He will see the pediatric cardiologist in a couple of weeks to get his heart condition checked out and we were really pleased yesterday to find out that he's been accepted for treatment at Shriners. It will take some months to get him seen but we know first-hand how wonderful they are and we are very anxious to have his knees evaluated.

He started pre-school full-time on Wednesday and once he gets past being upset (actually very upset--the crying and screaming and laying on the floor kind) when I leave, he is doing fine. After thinking about it, we've made the decision to have him start kindergarten after the holiday break. He meets the age requirement and he may be eligible for extra services since it's a public school. We love the private preschool where he and the girls have gone and they will continue to go there for breaks.

We are in no way prepared for Christmas, other than putting up the Christmas tree and Charlie has done his usual amazing job of decorating the outside (and he says he is not done yet). We were planning to do the big shopping thing tomorrow - but may be snowbound instead!

Orphanage visits

I just realized I never posted about the visits we made to the girls' orphanages. Unfortunately because of our bouts with the stomach bug, plans got switched around at the last minute and I did not get to go on Bethany's visit and Charlie did not get to go on Annie's visit. But they were both highly successful.

Charlie said Bethany was welcomed with open arms. They had a nice tour, she got to play in her old playground and see her former teacher and her classroom. Bethany was very, very happy to be there and really enjoyed showing off her beloved Daddy. The staff gave her a photo album and has promised to send us some more photos via email.

Annie's orphanage is about 5 1/2 hours by car from Guangzhou, so Annie, Bethany and I had a very long day with our guide Bob and two drivers.

The staff at Annie's orphanage was so glad to see her. One of my favorite moments of the whole trip was when the woman who had been Annie's caretaker the longest saw her. She ran screaming toward Annie, with her arms open and the look on her face was just amazing. She is in the 6th picture above.

They were very, very kind to us and took us on a nice tour. We were able to see the room Annie slept in as a baby, where she slept as a toddler and also got to visit her classroom and see her teacher. They remembered us well from when we visited in November 2005 when we adopted Annie and we were able to meet several people we'd met before. The orphanage staff took a whole bunch of pictures and made a disc for us before we left. They also gave her a beautiful vase with the characters for Happy Family on it.

Even though the logistics were a little difficult, we are so happy that we made these visits. It was wonderful to see that both girls were so well-loved and well-remembered.

Settling In

Well, the sleep situation is getting a little better. The girls went back to school today--none of them were fun to wake up but we got them there on time. We got back last night from a few days at the beach, after having a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house.

Jack took the beach in stride just like he has done just about everything else. There are always some fun events near our little beach town on Thanksgiving weekend and we managed to hit them all. The little local theater plays "The Polar Express" free so Jack saw his first movie in a theater. He did pretty well, but was more interested in the popcorn. The next day we went to a magic show done by Mrs. Claus and then Santa arrived. Pretty exciting stuff. That evening we went to the tree lighting and caroling and by that time Jack had reached his limit. So he spent the time in the car with Charlie and the girls and I got to see the tree lighting. We did have one day of decent weather and the kids got to dig in the sand and wade in the little river that leads to the ocean, which are where these pictures were taken.

Tomorrow Jack will spend a little time in preschool and then Charlie has to go back to work on Thursday, I go back on Monday and life goes on!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Math Problem

If one child's energy = X
And two children's energy = 2X
Why does three children's energy = 20X??

Going from two kids to three is sure different than going from one to two.

We are still trying to get settled in and get sleeping under control. Jack refuses to sleep in his own bed, he wants Bethany's bed and she does not want his bed for sure. And we are not still over jet lag and back on schedule so there have been numerous middle of the night issues.

It will all work out, just wish it would be sooner rather than later!

If at all possible

try to avoid going on very long plane trips with a 5, 6, and 7 year old. We are home safe and sound and overall things went okay and the kids didn't do too badly, we had some very interesting moments. The is the first time I've actually been glad to be in a plane with a lot of screaming children, as mine just blended in with the general chaos.

Jack unfortunately saved his barfarama episode until about 20 minutes after we took off from Toyko. It was pretty unpleasant, will spare you the details. He also has a very strong aversion to wearing seat belts and spent a lot of time kicking and screaming to try to get out of it (we just found out this applies to car seats not just plane seats). We had problems on both flights with our seats not being together. This is the first time we've had a problem with a NW flight, it was pretty disappointing that very few of their staff seemed to care that kids were supposed to be sitting far away from their parents. Thank goodness some nice people agreed to move.

Anyway, we are here, the house is intact and we are going to try to get everyone to take a nap and then get settled in. I actually don't think that plan is going to work, but that's the idea at least.

More later

Keeping our fingers crossed...

Stomachs are settled for the moment so we are trying to get the kids to bed so we can finish packing. We have a wake up call at 4:00 am--ugh!

Annie, Bethany and I went to Shantou to visit Annie's orphanage and had a wonderful visit. More on that and picutures after we get back I guess.

We can't believe we are leaving already. Seems like most folks are always ready to leave, but we always want to stay just a few more days....

next post from Oregon!

Guangzhou Barfarama

So Charlie has now been hit. I am doing fine, Annie is on the road to recovery and Bethany and Jack are the great unknowns. I will spare you pictures.

so we are hoping at least Annie and I can go to Shantou tomorrow--keep your fingers crossed.

Oh boy

Annie has what I had. She woke up very early this morning and threw up everywhere. She is sleeping now, but I don't know how long. We were supposed to take the day long trip to her orphanage today but we are now going to try that tomorrow. Charlie is going to take Bethany and Jack to Bethany's orphanage this morning - hopefully. Jack would not go down to breakfast this morning without me so Annie is asleep in the bedroom, Jack is rummaging around in the living room, the whole fancy suite smells like vomit and if one other person gets this bug before we get on the plane on Friday I don't khow what we will do.

We looked into changing our flights and we pretty much can't until the 29th! and even then it will be extremely expensive, about as much as the original tickets.

So pray for us! We didn't think we would be popular on the flight home with 3 wild kids, but if we have 3 vomiting kids it will be even worse.

B & B's Excellent Adventure and More Good Times in Guangzhou

As I mentioned in the last post, I am a little behind on posting due to a bout with what seems to be food poisoning. It's almost gone now, thank goodness, but it took a whole day to get over-ugh. So here is an update

Sunday morning we went to Yuntai Park, which is a beautiful botantical garden. It was kind of hot, and luckily they had some nice fountains for the kids to run in and out of. There was also a beautiful lake full of koi, which are extremely spoiled by tourists like us who buy food for them.

That afternoon Bethany and I went on our own little adventure. Kathy the guide took us to the Children's Wholesale Clothing Market to buy clothes to donate to Bethany's orphanage. We had a lot of fun--Kathy left us at the door and we managed to but a ton of cute clothes, get a taxi and get back to the hotel all by ourselves.

Sunday night we went on a boat cruise with some other Heritage families. The buildings along the river are all lit up at night and just beautiful.

Yesterday was a quiet day, thank goodness. Charlie and the kids went out to dinner with the rest of the group to yummy Thai food. Today we have have Jack's swearing in ceremony at the US Consulate in about 2 hours. Unfortunately they won't let us take pictures due to security reasons but it's always an inspiring time.

Tomorrow we are gone all day to Shantou, Annie's orphanage. 10 hours in a van with 3 energetic kids should be interesting!

Still in GZ

Things are fine with the girls and Jack-who had his first kicking and screaming meltdown last night in the hotel lobby.

I apparently have food poisoning or something and have been horribly sick since last night, so am behind on pictures and posts. Hoping this will get better soon and no one else gets sick. Tomorrow is the swearing-in ceremony and on Weds we are driving 12 hours round trip to visit Annie's orphanage. Prayers and good thoughts would be appreciated as the idea of taking that drive sick with the differences in Chinese toilets is really worrying! I just don't want Annie to miss this opportunity.

Charlie is really being a trooper and is taking care of all three of them.

More later

More of Day 1 in Guangzhou

I should preface this by saying that I totally understand we are not in the "real" China - we are staying on an island in a river in a big city, in an area that caters to adoptive families. But I still love it here.

Charlie, bless his heart, stayed with the kids in the hotel for a couple of hours this evening while I walked Shamian Island in search of t-shirts and shoes for Jack. The sights, sounds and smells are so foreign, yet familiar- this is our third time in Guangzhou and we will have spent a total of around 6 weeks here altogether when we leave on Friday. There is a school here so we always see lots of schoolchildren, which makes me wonder about what our kids might have been doing if their circumstances had been different in life. There is also a wedding photographer and today there were several brides and grooms taking photos at all the beautiful spots around the island. The women are especially gorgeous in fancy western-style wedding dresses. It makes me think that my girls may look like that one day on the eve of their own wedddings.

Shamian Island has changed, with some of the familiar shops gone or moved. But I found our old favorites and the funny thing is how many shopkeepers remembered us. Not only remembered us but remember when we were here last and one man even remembered our names. His shop has moved from the main drag to a side street due to the government taking back his old building. He invited me to sit down and have tea with him. I am sure it is partially a marketing thing, but it was pleasant to talk to him anyway. I ran into numerous families walking around and chatted with several.

Jack is doing well--several people have commented on his "energy" already. We have issues with jealousy from all three of them, mostly relating to who gets to sit with Mommy or on Mommy. But as I write this, the three of them are rolling around on the living room floor laughing their heads off.

This afternoon our group met for the requisite "Red Couch" pictures - a tradition in which adoptive families take a photo on a sofa at the White Swan hotel. Amidst the madness of trying to get a bunch of kids ranging from babies to about 8 to sit on a couch and smile for the camera, you couldn't help but notice the joy radiating from this group-such happiness that these amazing children are finally in the arms of their families.

We are in Guangzhou

Just a quick note--we got to Guangzhou just fine and are settled in our hotel room at the Victory (more on that later, but we have an amazing room). Jack really enjoyed his first plane flight--luckily it was less than 2 hours long, so it was a good test.

This morning he had his medical exam and did fine. We were relieved when they said they did not hear any heart murmur. It did turn out that he is color blind for the color green. The medical exam was the usual madhouse - dozens of adoptive families crammed into not a very big area with multiple crying and screaming kids.

There are 10 other Heritage families here, which makes this trip very different for us. We are leaving in a little while to go get a group picture taken when all the kids and their families.

Hopefully we can do some shopping today too as it is much warmer than in Hefei and poor Jack doesn't have many clothes.

More later on our trip to Jack's orphanage.

Last day in Hefei

Can I just say that 5 year old boys have an astounding amount of energy? I thought we were prepared for this with the two girls coming home at about the same age, but Jack is something else. Charlie took him out for a long walk this morning while the girls watched movies and it didn't slow him down at all. He never walks, he runs and jumps and leaps through the air--maybe he is being Ultraman?

No pictures this morning as we are hanging out in the hotel until 2:00, then going to Jack's orphanage and straight to the airport. The guide said Jack is looking forward to his first plane. It should be interesting--at least this one is only about 2 hours long, we don'thave to start out with the 10 hour trip.

We've enjoyed our stay in Hefei, though a lot of the time was spent hanging out in the wonderful hotel room. Everywhere we went in this city there was new construction going on. We hope to come back some day on homeland tour and it will be interesting to see how things change in the meantime.

More tomorrow from Guangzhou!

Thursday in Hefei

We had a fairly low key day. We met Jane the guide in the afternoon and picked up the official adoption paperwork. Then we visited a local DVD store-DVDs are much less expensive over here and we got some good ones, including, what else, Ultraman for Jack The girls are watching Cinderella now and he gets a turn at the DVD player when they are done.

We also visited a gorgeous temple which is where these pictures were taken. Charlie and I enjoyed the beauty, the kids enjoyed the winding paths and trying to fall into the water.

Tomorrow we visit the orphanage and then go directly to the airport for our flight to Guangzhou