Please Forgive Me

I am So sorry for the lack of updating. Things have been crazy, good crazy, but still crazy since we have been home.

It has taken me over a week to get over jet lag. I have NEVER had problems before with jet lag, but for some reason this time has been really difficult. Plus I came home with a horrible cold so that plus the lack of sleep has left me a mess. The first week home I felt like I was living in a haze, seriously. I couldn't manage to get anything done. I simply could not sleep. I would go to bed by 8, then wake up at 1 or 2 and not be able to go back to sleep. I couldn't even take a nap in the afternoon. My body was just not wanting to sleep.

I am finally starting feel somewhat normal again. Kalia did great on the flight home and has done great with jet lag. The first couple of days was tough, but after that, she was set.

Okay, things are going GREAT! Really, really GREAT! I absolutely could not have asked for anything better. I realize we haven't even been home a month yet, but we are amazed at how well Kalia and the other kids are doing.

For Christmas we got a family pass to the YMCA so within the first few days home we utilized that. All of our kids LOVE to swim and Kalia is no exception.

Alot of the pics were taken with my phone so the quality is not the greatest. Sorry:(



We also got haircuts! Kalia has beautiful hair. It is very thick and has a natural wave to it. I wanted to get it trimmed up a bit. At first she was reluctant, but once she realized we were only going to cut a tiny bit off, she was okay. Plus Emma went first so I think that helped.





Emma has natural curly hair and has been wanting to get hers straightened for a long time so I finally gave in.



Kalia, Emma and Mylee share a room which I will get pics of up soon, I promise. I have a few finishing touches I want to take care of before I post pics. Anyway, they each have their own bed, but for some reason Kalia always ends up in Mylee's bed. This is what I found one morning...



I am so in love with this girl. She is such a sweety.


Today was Kalia's first day of school. She was SO excited and has been asking since we got home when she would go. We held off on sending her so 1 she could get adjusted at home and 2 because we wanted to get her blood work results back. In her original file she was listed as being Hep B positive. After having our doctor go over her file, he wasn't sure she was positive and told us that her body had probably regenerated which means she may have had it, but then it went away. So, before we "alarmed" anyone, we kept the possibility of her being Hep B positive to ourselves. So, before sending her to school we wanted to know whether she was in fact positive or negative. We got the results back Tuesday and she is NOT Hep B positive.

So, we spent the day Tuesday getting her a couple new outfits for school, a new backpack, and all her school supplies.

Kalia and Emma will both be in 4th grade. They will be in different classes, but will have math together, lunch, and recess. They were both a little upset about not being in the same class, but are excited to have math together.

First day of school




Sisters


In other news, Blake is doing great. While I was in China he ended up in ICU due to his Diabetes. Blake was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 2010. Over Christmas break, he numbers were out of control which caused him to get very sick and almost ended up in a coma. Thank God, he is doing much better and his numbers have been awesome. He feels so much better. Thank you to all who prayed for him.

Also, remember this post? You know, the one where I got in a wreck right before Thanksgiving. Well, after over 2 months we finally got our van back last Friday. Well, you're not going to believe what happened. Monday morning I was on my way downtown to meet Matt's cousin because we went to his Aunt's house on Sunday and I left my purse there. His cousin had to come to town so she was bringing it to me. Anyway, long story short, I got hit again. YES, again. We just got the van back Friday and Monday I was in another wreck. I will say that the first one was not my fault, but this one was. No one was hurt, thank God, but my van is going back in the shop for another 2 weeks.





Other than the wreck, things are going awesome. I cannot thank you all enough for your thoughts, prayers and rallying to help us get the funds to bring Kalia home. She is by far the BEST Christmas gift I have ever gotten. Matt and I are in awe of what God has done for us and our family. We are truly Blessed.

Home Again, Home Again

Finally! I know. I apologize for the laps in posts. We arrived home safely Friday evening just as planned. It was so nice to pull up to the house and see the kids waiting for us at the door. They couldn't get out of the door fast enough.

We had many people waiting for us to get home besides the kids and Matt. Matt's mom was there to welcome us and Steve home, as well as some of my adoptive mommy friends. It was SO good to be home and see everyone. Pics will be posted soon.

I think Kalia was a bit overwhelmed by all the people, but she did well. I don't think we were in the house 10 minutes and she, Emma, and Mylee were up in their new room.

Kalia is fitting in so well. She and Emma are getting along great, better than I expected. I am assuming she was a "mommy" figure in the orphanage because she is trying to be one too Mylee too.

She and Blake act like they have been brother and sister for years. They love teasing each other.

I promise I will upload pics soon. For some reason I am having a horrible time with jet lag plus I have a terrible cold or sinus infection. Once I get back to myself, I will post pics and a more in depth update.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Sorry for the lack of posts, but we are having trouble getting on our e-mail and since I cannot post to the blog myself, I have to e-mail the posts home for them to be posted.

The last few days have been busy, busy, busy. Sunday was an “off” day for our guide which was no big deal. We took advantage of it and rested around the hotel. We did walk across the bridge to the herbal market and pet area. All I can say is it is a must see for anyone coming over. It is truly an experience.

There were tons and tons of seahorses, not sure what they are used for and I wasn’t about to ask

Bags like this lined both sides of the streets.

Once we crossed this street we were clearly in the pet market

Monday our guide took us to a temple. I went to one when in Nanjing when I was here to get Mylee, but never to one in Guangzhou. We are clearly Christian however; it was very interesting to see.

After that we just headed back to the hotel to rest and get some dinner. We ate at the Italian place which is still extremely good.

We also stopped by Susan’s Place. If you have ever been to GZ before I am sure you are familiar with Dong. He is one of the nicest people and is truly a genuine guy. He loves to make tea for the families. Of course Steve shared some tea with him.

Tuesday we went to the Safari Park which is something else I had never done. I have been to the GZ zoo, ad I highly recommend going to the Safari Park instead. Part of the park is taking a train through a safari and some of the animals were so close we could touch them (we didn’t, but that is just how close they get). It was really cool and I was able to get some awesome pictures.

I LOVED seeing the giraffes up close.

Kalia even got to feed the giraffes

I have no idea what these trees were, but the flowers on them were beautiful

After the zoo we made one more trip back to the fabric market. Our guide asked me if the fabric market was the highlight of my trip and my answer was “no, Kalia has been the highlight, but the fabric market is definitely second.” Seriously, I could have spent hours in there looking, and looking and looking. Let’s just say I cannot wait to get home and sew.

And today was THE day. We went to the Consulate today to take our oath and as soon as we land in Chicago, Kalia Faith De Le will be an official American Citizen.

Our guide picks up her Visa tomorrow and at 4:30 pm we are on a van to Hong Kong. We will spend the night in Hong Kong and our flight home on Friday leaves at 10:00 a.m.

This will most likely be my last post until we arrive home so please pray for safe travels. I am SO ready to be home and have all seven of my kids in one place. I miss them and Matt terribly and I know they miss me.

All I can say is God is SO good and we are So Blessed…