Thursday, January 19, 2012

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:(

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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.

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

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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...

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

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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.

14 comments:

Love for Lilly Yin said...

I had horrible jet lag this time too, not sure what the difference was, but mine lasted about 2 months! I thought I had PAD or something, but I finally bounced back.
Glad you are back in the land of normal!

Goosegirl said...

Oh wow! She looks beautiful and happy. And I will be praying for Blake too. Type 1 is awful. My 20 year old has it and every day is a battle with her numbers and immune system. I hope your guy is feeling better now.

Leslie said...

Oh the jet lag. It can be brutal.

She does look happy and how neat she was trusting on the hair with you and it must have helped to see her sister go first!

Can I just say that I would set some real boundaries on the bed thing? I hope I don't offend but Mylee is younger and I would make it clear Kalia is NOT to get in Mylee's bed. You just don't know and that would be a RED FLAG for me having adopting an older child with a history I really don't know. I am sorry if I offended by saying this Mandi, but I just had to say it. If you set these boundaries, it could prevent something happening that you would not want to happen (and hopefully never would anyway). Just my 2 cents and I really don't mean to offend.

And I am thankful none of you were injured in these wrecks. Sorry it happened to you twice! :(

Anonymous said...

Glad that Kalia is doing wonderful! I am so thankful to see another post!! Love the pictures too!

Good thing nothing happened in this wreck...only the car!

BrOwN CiRcUs said...

Hi Mandi! So glad to get an update. She seems like a sweetheart! You have had quite the crazy few months, no wonder your body clock is off, stress from the trip, the accidents, and Diabetes. My oldest son also has type 1, he is 22 and it's a daily worry still :( You are handling it all with such grace :) Blessings!

living4him5 said...

Beautiful pictures of all your girls!!

I am so thankful she is finally home...totally worth the wait!

God bless and hopefully you get some good sleep!

Blessings,
Amy

Rakuzen said...

You all look happy and well-adjusted!! Kalia is just unbelievably pretty, and I don't doubt she will get even prettier as she gets older. (:

Thank GOD y'all are okay after your wreck!! <3

Tracy said...

Thanks for the update! I'm glad to hear everything is going so well! Praise God! She is lovely and you are all blessed to be together as a family, finally!

Our family: said...

Glad to see that Kalia is doing so well! She is so beautiful and looks so happy. Sorry to hear about the van. Thankfully no one was hurt. I understand about the jet lag. I am not looking forward to that!
Blessings,
Lydia

Joy said...

I am glad you are all doing so well. I was wondering if you were going to post the winners of the fundraising items. Maybe you already did and I missed it.

Eve Noelle said...

Wow is she beautiful! And how perfectly she looks like she is fitting into your family. Wishing her luck as she starts school!

MJ said...

I can't get over how totally different Kalia looks!! She's home, with her family...that's the look.

So glad all is going well with adjustments, and that Blake is OK.

Julie said...

Oh, I am so far behind in bloggy world! I did not even realize you already made the trip over to get your beautiful daughter. Congratulations to your whole family. One of these days, I will have to brew a cup of coffee and sit down and catch up on your journey!!!!! Again, congrats!!!!

PhD in Publication by Juila said...

Hi there! Just passed by to see what’s cooking. I’m glad you guys were doing okay and enjoying the blessing of life. Thanks for sharing a wonderful and inspiring story. You’ve just made me realize that life has been kind and nice to me. Thanks for being an instrument. God Bless!


My Webblog: http://online-phd-uk.co.uk/