10 February 2011

Thursday, February 10, 2011 - 3 comments

2/10/10 - Check please!

Never a dull moment 
February 10, 2010
Life is never dull.
Welp we’re coming down to the last 36 hours, give or take of this journey, but the last 36 hours have been filled with much laughter and many, many tears.  It’s hard to imagine that in two more days we will be home.  Home!  Can someone bring me an ice filled cup of iced tea or Diet Coke to the airport??  How about a carne asada burrito from Los Gordos??  That has been the question of the day around these parts, “What’s the first thing you want to eat or drink when you get home?”  LOL!!!  
We have been eating good though these last few days I must say.  After our White Swan photo shoot a bunch of us had gone to Lucy’s like I had mentioned in my last post.  Well, our time there didn’t end when we paid the bill.  In the middle of the night I woke up feeling as though my blood sugar was pretty high so I got up to test and see if I needed insulin...well guess what we left at the table at Lucy’s??  Yeah, my blood sugar meter.  Note to all those coming after us...always check and double check and triple check that you have everything!  


Needless to say we spent the next morning going to several pharmacy’s near our hotel then finally getting a taxi to a pharmacy across town who carried medical supplies. It was pretty comical trying to tell people what I needed.  I finally got the cutest pink meter and we went on our merry little way...until we realized that everything was in Chinese and the results read in a different format than what we are used to in the US.  Luckily I was able to change my pump to match the meter and I’ve been back on track and good to go!   Phew!  Life is never dull with me around, never.  :)  Thank you my sweet for always being there with me on the ride!  I love you!!!!!!!
The entire time we were out looking for a new meter we were pressured by the clock to get back to our hotel to wait in our room for a call from the consulate if there was any questions regarding our paperwork.  Of course we made it back with minutes to spare and waited our hour and got the okay to get out and play!  After a few hours of people watching along with people watching us and a bit of shopping we then headed out for an evening dinner cruise on the Pearl River.  It was a fabulous ride with an okay dinner buffet.  It was a perfect celebration with so many beautiful families that we have gotten to know and love.


Once back to “the box” we settled in for our usual long night.  Our little cricket is doing so well with bonding, but night time has been a struggle for her.  She fights sleep for as long as she can and will wake up every half hour or so until she finally falls asleep in the early morning hours.  It has been tough, I wont lie.  We’ve tried everything but she wakes up just scared outta her mind in the night. We are just exhausted!    But by morning she is all smiles for us and will go to no one but the three of us all day.  Bonding and attachment has been wonderful.  Thank you God! (but we could use some sleep...I’m just asking)  :)


With some sun coming through our window this morning, we knew it was going to be a good day, a great one in fact!  For one our girl slept until almost 7, yeah!!!! 6 full hours!!!!  And the first full sunshiny day since our time Beijing!  With smiles on our faces we wandered around some shops and the park while Jacob did homework and then took a quick nap before we headed out for to the consulate for our swearing in ceremony.  (As we were boarding the bus one of our INCREDIBLE guides, Simon, handed me my meter I’d left in Lucy’s!  Oh Simon I love you so!!!!!!!! )  Outside the consulate was filled with dozens of families who we have seen all over China, from The Great Wall to the airports!  There were lots of dressed up parents and many beautiful girls and handsome boys in tow, and of course lots of crying by both parents and children.  


Once we crossed that security check point my tears started and then when as we sat watching families being called one by one to confirm their paperwork my tears became more steady and then the moment came for us to raise our right hands.  I lost it.  The most amazing thing happened as we repeated those words, our sweet Jennifer Lee Xiaocheng held onto her daddys finger and rested her hand on my arm and afterwards she looked at us both and smiled.  God is SO good!  And here I go again....crying like a baby.
Until tomorrow.....
Much love and joy!
Mike and Kayce


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Oh goodness when I realized I'd lost my meter I was a mess!  We'd asked our guide to point us in the right direction to a pharmacy but each place she'd send us to was only full of Chinese herbs!  I remember once we were lead to a "western" type pharmacy and I saw it from the taxi I just about cried my eyes out!  Right there in the very front of the building was the name of the meter I used.  The place was HUGE and filled with everything we see in the states but only in Chinese.  I wanted so badly to go all through the building but we had minutes to spare before we had to be back in our room.  Oh well!  Life is an adventure or nothing at all!


We'd also had our Pearl River dinner cruise that night and while it was nice to see the city from the water, we were tired.  Bone tired!  Sleep at this point for us was becoming a big issue and that was all we wanted to do.  I also look back at the pictures from the last of our trip and realize the camera was not out as much....so much was missed!  Sleep deprivation paralyzes your mind and the little things just get lost.  What pictures we did get were from Big J's perspective and I just treasure what he captured.  

3 comments:

What a story- I'm sure as she settles in her sleep will be better. Still such an exciting time for your family! She is just beautiful!

wow, what an ordeal! Just part of the journey!

lea
xo

Cannot understand how scary that would have been to have lost your meter. So glad you were able to find one and then get yours back too.

Like you, I wish I'd taken more pictures. Thankfully my family took up where I left off.

Precious memories of your final days in China.