So nice to be home

We have been home for 4 days now. The jet lag is still pursuing Boyd and me, but the boys haven't missed a beat! Eli continues to do well. He likes to laugh. He likes to be tickled. He loves to swim. He thought it hilarious to push Lian in to the pool! He can add numbers in his head quickly. He likes Legos, and will build for hours. He will only eat fried rice or noodles, chicken sandwiches and plain ice cream. Oh well, we can do that for a while, I bet he's been doing that for 12 years. He runs from sunscreen, but let's me put it on as he complains "noooo"! He reluctantly wears sunglasses, but is compliant. Each day he picks up a few more words on English, and there are fewer attempts to speak to us in Chinese. We use giggabo or google translator to let him know what we are doing, but don't have a good way for him to tell us what's on his mind. Today we tried to get him to say some words of things around the house, instead WE got a lesson in mandarin! Hillary was able to pick up a few words, my brain must be too old....He then said "noooo EngAlish"! Rolling on the floor laughing. An hour later he said "Eli... TV?". So he was listening after all! He's also made his bed perfectly every day, willingly helped put away dishes and take care of his laundry.
Today we went to our local farmers market. He was quite clingy when we were there. He's more comfortable in being independent at home. So that's where we are most of the time for now. The other kids are a little bored but also understanding.
Seth is back to work. Hillary is working and spending a lot of time with Eli too. Grant is mobile on his moped and down at the beach taking pictures today. Jack had a birthday party to go to. Eli has asked numerous times about him. Lian is finding things to do with Eli, he is really kind and gentle with her.

Some things to remember.

You can eat a hard boiled egg with the shell still on it while you are cooking in your restaurant

You should aLways make enough room in your purse for toilet paper

Honk your horn while driving on the sidewalk so pedestrians move aside

That might be chicken feet on the Buffett

"shuttle service for airport" on the website does not mean there is a shuttle service between the hotel and the airport.

Ketchup can be a beverage or a condiment

Money in USD exchanged for RMB must be in perfect condition, but the RMB you get in return will not be, and keep your receipt if you want to change RMB back in to USD

GI patterns change when eating a different diet for 2 weeks, again, always have TP in purse. Practice squatting low, weeks before traveling to China.

If you protect your skin from the sun from an early age you can have flawless skin well past 50. An umbrella provides shade as well as protection and you can color coordinate it with your outfit.

Exit ramps and highway cloverleaf areas are good places for rose and flower gardens.

Arrive at airport for international departure from China MORE than 2 hours before flight. I Now Understand why there is a meditation room at the Beijing airport.

If visiting the Wuhan area, go to the Yangzhe River park At Night! Lighted kites, music, 6 person bikes, spinning tops, swimming in the river, lighted trees and more!

TAXI

We are in Beijing. 4 Colbrys and 6 pieces of luggage. When made the reservation the website said there was a free airport shuttle. So I only have 350 RMB. About $50. Well we couldn't find a shuttle. We were told there is "no shuttle" and then offered a ride for 380 RMB. I don't have that much. So we get in line for a taxi. We will have to take 2 she says. We figured that with all our luggage. A in dark clothes smoking a cigarette with a large van with taxi on top offers us a ride. I ask how much. He says "meter". We figure it will probably equal 2 taxis so we say yes. Load the luggage and settle in. THEN. He hands me a card. 850-1200 RMB to get downtown!!
We got out of the van....back in the taxi line.
Should we go exchange some money.? Seth and I are discussing it. Then another taxi driver who obviously saw the previous transaction offers us a ride in his Hyundai taxi. For 350RMB.
So, 3 large bags fit in the trunk, one is at Seth's feet with his seat pushed back as far as it will go. Which is ino my foot space, which is where my carry on is so my feet are up by sets shoulder. Eli had his carry on balancing on his head and the back window so the driver chuckled and put it on top of seths carry on between him and Seth. Jacks bag is at his feet with his legs spread eagle into Eli's whose are speed eagle with his backpack between them....
It's only an hour ride without the traffic jam we are in...Thank goodness I used the bathroom before we left the airport. You could actually choose between a squatty potty or a seat. I haven't
seen a toilet with a seat outside of our hotels in 2.5 weeks And there was toilet paper. In the stalls.
The driver is playing american music. Sarah Mcglaughin "surrender"...how appropriate.

"So Sorry"

We went to the Guangzhou zoo today. Eli did not want to go. We were able to talk him into it with the help of our waitress at breakfast who spoke enough English to understand us. Once he was their he loved it. He wanted to take pictures of every animal. He has seen us taking hundreds of pictures daily. It was so cute to see him with his hat on backwards like Boyd and a camera up to his face like me:). Jack is tolerating that Eli is getting a privilege now and then that he doesn't, like carrying my camera! Eli has been good at taking care if things entrusted to him.
It is hot here, humid beyond what we are used to. I love seeing what people are wearing. The little girls walking about the zoo are dressed so cute. Frilly lightweight dresses with bows in their hair. Women dressed in pretty dresses and often high heels! They look so elegant where ever we go.
Eli accidentally bumped on to a little girl, "so sorry" he said! In English, to someone Chinese! It was so funny to me that he's already using English instead of Chinese even when he doesn't have to!
Not things are now always wonderful, but any challenging behavior has been quickly resolved with a firm "no", or a confident parental grip on his arm. He is responding to our boundaries amazingly well. He has not shed a tear. We asked our translator if he has inquired about his foster family and he has not. So we decided not to ask. Another older boy in our group has called his foster family once, which went fine. Eli has not been with the most recent family for too long. This was his 3rd foster family, so we are his 4th set of parents. Our CCAI rep, Jason has been so good with our older boys. He sat them down yesterday to give them a little reality talk about the next few weeks and more. At the end we asked Eli what his biggest concern was. "I have none" he says. We believe him. He is rolling with the flow of things very well so far. Having 4 families by the age of 12 probably has something to do with that. fortunately in his case his coping skills are serving him well.
He is a considerate kid. He is so kind to the younger babies and children. He's gentle and he plays with them at age appropriate levels. He has had younger foster siblings. He makes his bed every morning, let's hope that lasts! I have even had him make our bed to keep busy in the hotel room!
We brought an iPad and psp. It's was helpful the first few days and on the train ride, but we found it does to him the same thing it does to most kids! It's all he wanted to do. So we put it away for this week. We let him watch tv, and we got some movies in Chinese to watch once a day. He laughs and laughs at Home Alone.
The case of shingles I had is nearly healed. It was a mild case! Thanks for all the prayers! I'm so glad we were able to get the Meds I needed, even though I didn't know what one of them was! The first week was tough. The itching was insane, the burning along the cranial nerve kept me awake at night. If I touched it, it was stabbing pain. And I had a mild case, I have a new sympathy for anyone who gets shingles!
We have made it through our last official appointment. Later today we will pick up Eli's visa for entry to the United States. Tomorrow morning we will fly to Beijing, then Friday morning head for home! We have been waiting for the hard part, it hasn't appeared yet! Maybe we will get lucky and things will continue to go smoothly.
We are feeling a huge sense of relief overall, he is fitting in easily at this point. He has 3 more siblings to meet when we get home! He has been in school for only 2 formal years, but seems much more advanced than most 12 year olds. He is quite knowledgable in electronics. His language skills in Chinese are strong. He gets complimented in his Mandriva. Skills often. He can read any sign in Chinese and in pinyin. He can read Braille faster than Jack. We were told his math skills are very strong too. His biggest challenge this year will be developing english and social skills. We have him enrolled in a Montessori classroom that is multiage which will give him plenty of room to develop at his own pace.
Once home I will post some pictures for those not on Facebook! I have lots on Facebook if you want to "friend" me at Teresa Moore Colbry.

Pulseless??

Today we are on a bus touring around Guangzhou. It's Sunday here. We stopped for a blessing in a Buddhist temple. We saw an ancient home that is now a museum. Next shopping in a government run store. While riding along Eli likes to play thumb wars. Then he shot me with his finger... So I played dead. He immediately felt for air escaping my nose. So I held my breath....he grabbed my wrist and took my pulse!

Earlier post I never sent...

Well we did make it to Guangzhou and in to our hotel room about 1230 am!  I have not ever thought about traveling in Friday the 13th....but we will from now on!
We are tired today but it has been sunny and beautiful, although hot.  Eli had a physical, and shots this morning and then we went out for a long walk.  We hate to waste a sunny day.  It is also hard with Eli in the room, he is very curious and plugs, buttons, cords and switches are facinating.  He is also quite versed in electronics.  He is sure we need to plug the computer in, but we have wi fi! So we walk for miles and tire him out!  We were able to pick up some movies in Chinese.  Pirates of the Carribean, and Home Alone....turns out they are subtitled in Chinese, not so easy for a boy with low vision!  He is a good reader though, he reads everything.
Today he helped us get a taxi, and order some food.  He can't really understand what we are saying, but he understands what we want or need, and he gets it done!! He is bright:)
He holds one of our hands all the time, the streets are so crowded.  He lost sight of Jack in a bookstore and was calling out for him.  "Jacka" ....."Jacka".  He can say a few phrases in English.  He has said "I lika fodder"  "I lika modder".  So we asked him if he liked Jack, he laughed..."NO!  I don't lika Jacka"  We asked if he liked Seth, more laughter  "NO!  I don't lika Seth"!  He's a character with a sense of humor!
He continues to surprise people when he speaks Mandrin, since we are all speaking english, they just assume he does also.  Once he starts chatting with them the giggles start.
Seth has been a great help here!  His endurance and patience is such a blessing to us.  Jack is a real trouper, you can tell he is putting some of his reservations to the side right now and giving it the old Jack try!  So far Jack and Eli are getting along very well.  Seth is of course being a great role model and help to us.

Lightening speed taxi.....

There is a massive traffic jam. we are thankfully on the road next to it. It's miles long. People are out of their vehicles wandering around. There are men with tools taking apart guard rails so that cars can cut across the median over to our side of the road!
We are headed back over the yangzhe river on one of the 7 massive bridges that cross it here in wuhan.
Through the haze of 2 days rain I can see a train!! Maybe we are close. The taxi driver is going faster than I have ever traveled in a vehicle on the ground right now....
The boys are asleep in the back seat. I have tried to update Eli with the translator on my phone. He seemed to understand. He reads Chinese and pin yin well.

Stuck in Wuhan... For a little while longer.

We have been trying to leave Wuhan for hours. We got up at 630 am. It's now 5 pm. It's been raining for 2 days. Lots of rain. I am currently in a taxi with jack and Eli. Boyd and Seth are hopefully in a taxi close behind us. And the other 2 families we are traveling with are hopefully close by also. We are trying I make it to the train station by 7 to catch a 4 hour high speed train to Guangzhou. Our flight to Guangzhou was delayed... Then canceled. By the time we secured our train tickets the rain has let up, but our plane was never allowed to come in, so the train is our option. We have passed an overturned bus on the highway to the station, as well as 2 men who have pulled over on the shoulder and stepped just over the guard rail to pee. We were told it's about 1.5 hours to the train station.
Wuhan is a very large city. 6 million people live in the city. We have some Chinese written on a peice of paper with the name of the train station on or, because there are many. We are at the mercy of all the kind people who are trying the best they can to help oir group of 13 Americans! Wuhan is a lush green huge city. I don't mind seeing it again. The train might be fun too....

Wu Yun Bai

We have had Eli since Monday. He has not shed a tear:). He is charming and sweet. He is energetic and extroverted and talkative. He is fitting in great. He is skinny and he eats plates full of rice for every meal!
I only have a few minutes as we are waiting for the shuttle to the airport!
Eli was well prepared by the orphanage and director. Wuhan is a beautiful city.
If you are coming, be sure to check out the park along the yangzhe river at night. It's a fabulous experience.
There are so many quirky things here that we find interesting. I wish we had more time to write about! One was when Boyd went to the bank with 2 other families and they all had to change their money together, "because the power might go out"....
We get constant triple takes when we are out walking. Because in our group we have 3 boys with albinism total. Our sons Jack and Eli, and another boy, John. He is also being adopted on this trip. He and Eli are best friends. It has been a blessing to have them both leave at the same time. They are quite rambunctious when they are together!

Got to go, hopefully will be able to get some wi fi again soon!

We get Eli TOMORROW and a little visit to the ER

We have made it to Wuhan.  I wish I could upload pictures, I have not been able to yet. We have heard some news about Eli. We were so happy to hear today that Eli has been prepared for our arrival and to come home with us.  This will be a difficult day for him, he will need time to adust.  He will be spending his last night with his foster family tonight. We are sure it is a difficult day for his foster parents, foster brother and sister.  We feel fortunate that his best friend, another boy with albinism whom he has grown up with, is also meeting his parents tomorrow and coming home to Colorado!
Just in case that is not exciting enough, we have more news.  Unfortunately today we had to visit the ER.  It was quite a remarkable experience.  It started Saturday, I awoke with what I thought was a bug bite on my nose. The next day it had spread up to my eyebrow. It itched, it was red and today it was painful.  By this afternoon my eye hurt too.
Boyd kept saying "that does not look like a bug bite to me....I think you have shingles"....by my eye?!  In China?!  The evening before we meet our new son?! On a Sunday?! We called our CCAI rep, she immediatly came back to our hotel to go to the ER.  It is dangerous to have shingles near your eye, we knew it needed to be taken care of tonight.
We left the hotel at 5pm.  I have worked in the ER.  We were not convinced that we would get in and out in a timely manner on a Sunday night.
It's about 97 degrees outside here.  Wuhan is a beautiful city.  Joanna our rep thought it would be faster to walk the 2 kilometers to the hospital than to find a cab at 5pm.  We are quick walkers, and we were damp by the time we arrived. Walking in China requires one to be alert.  Sidewalks are also road ways for electric scooters that you cannot hear.  Occasionally a car will even beep at you to get out of the way...on the sidewalks!!  Joanna got us registered quickely, we paid up front to be seen, about $1.20.  We walked to the ER nurse. "Do you need to see the women's clinic", she asks...."no".  "Do you need the skin clinic?"  "yes" we exclaim. To our slight confusion, Joanna walked us up to the dermatology floor, not in to the ER. The hospital complex is big, it is old. It does not smell of anticeptic and it is not sparkling clean. Joanna leads us down the hall, up the stairs and right in to the charting room and introduces us to a Doctor. The young female Dr. did an exam, she asks alot of questions. We suggested that it might be Shingles.  "No" she says. This worried us...we were pretty sure that this was what I had.  Then a man turns around from his chair, he is the "professor".  How lucky are we feeling now, not only have we made it to the hospital before it closed, but that the dermatologist is still there on a Sunday night!  He quickly agree's with our suspicions.  They order the medications, but feel that we probably wont make it to the pharmacy before it closes.  They discuss keeping me there for IV meds....
Joanna is speaking in mandrin, asking for oral meds.  Please, we hope, let us get the oral meds tonight, we have a very big day tomorrow!!  They quickly order the meds on a computer in the charting room.  Patients with various skin diseases are peeking through the door way at the caucasion couple (Us!). We are worried we won't make it to the pharmacy on time.  We are told if we do not make it to the pharmacy and the condition gets worse than we must return for IV antivirals.
We rush back downstairs, we have to pay our bill for treatment and medication before we can go to the pharmacy...656 RMB, which is about $104.00.  We rush to the pharmacy, it was open!! They fill our order of 3 medications in about 2 minutes!  We need one more cream, walk to pharmacy number 2, it's open!  We pay $3.00 for an acyclovir cream.
We walk the 2 kilometers back to our hotel in complete amazement.  We are first feeling very blessed, very lucky, and safely held.  We walked into a Chinese hospital and got immediate treatment and medications.....cool. One of our biggest fears of being out of the country is that we would need medical care. The right people were there, the pharmacy's were open, and Joanna efficiently maneuvered us through the process.
I am not happy that this has happened, but we are releived to have the treatment, and amazed at the process. We have been asking for prayers for Eli tomorrow, please add a speedy recovery for me, and that the meds work quickly.
Boyd and Jack just looked out the window.  The sun has gone down, the buildings are lit up and reflecting on the lake outside our hotel.  The lake is surrounded by a beautiful green park and a large walkway.  There are people dancing, there are people roller skating.  They are going to go check it out, and we will then try to sleep!

We are on our way

We are boarding the plane towards Asia in the next few minutes. The flight has so many Asian faces...beautiful little girl faces that make me miss our sweet Lian already! It's hard to leave Hillary, Grant and Lian for the trip. It's so nice to have Seth and Jack with us. We are so blessed to be able to take this journey! Pray Eli is ready for his family to bring him home, that leaving his foster family, friends, and country is as smooth as possible. We love all the support from everyone!

Our last day's "Before Eli"

Domi, Nelli, Janno and Antia Graduated!

Lian and Grant

Saying Goodbye after 10 months in America

 Lian Graduated from 5th Grade!                Seth and Grant helped Boyd put up the owl house!!!!!

We snuck in a camping trip!

This is the crew I took camping, they were so much fun!

In Ludington Michigan

Last Wednesday we put Domi on a plane back to Switzerland just in time to pack for China!.

NOW, we are packed, we have a folder full of details on feeding dogs, cats and fish.  Instructions on trash day and tennis lessons.  We have the papers for Eli's adoption filed, double checked and secure in the carryon bag.  We are surprizingly calm and at peace.  All your prayers must be working. 

I wish all the kids could come with us, it's hard to leave them for so long!  Our next post should be from  CHINA!