Something Beautiful

Something beautiful, something good

All my confusion, He understood

All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife

But He made something beautiful of my life...

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

Giving thanks,

She's in that room

We're still completely wiped out.  The house is a mess.  The suitcases have yet to be moved from their initial "plop" point.  The kids aren't sleeping all that great at night (Keira thinks it's China time, bless her heart) and so Mom and Dad are up at all hours.  Dishes are piled up.  Bottles are everywhere.  Diapers are climbing in numbers and taking over.  We're still sick.  Laundry is a mile high and several mounds wide.  Mail is in a big Leaning Tower of Pisa stack.  Burp cloths, teething rings, Puffs, baby food, formula, baby toys, and hairbows are strung from one end of this home to the other...

and yet...

She's in that room, folks.  She's in that crib...

If I went in there right now to wonder where she was...or when or even if she would ever be home...I wouldn't have to look very far.

Because she's there

Sleeping.  Happy.  Healthy.  Beautiful.  Charming.

All 18 pounds of her

All snuggly and warm and in her cute girlie jammies

She's there

The name on the wall is not just a passing hope

Speaking of hope, I forgot to share with you

We decided while in China that we would give Keira a portion of her Chinese name, so here it is...

Keira Joy Xi

Xi is pronounced "she".  Xi means "hope"

Keira Joy "Hope" is sleeping in her bed after four long years of hoping and waiting for her

She's there...in that room, even now...

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Romans 15:13

Home again, and doesn't it feel nice?

We're home safe and sound...

We had a long 25 hours of travel

We had many people waiting at the airport for us, even though we got in so late at night.  It was so sweet!

We came home to find all kind of food, flowers, brownies, diapers, wipes, formula...you name it - all waiting for us in the house.  It was very moving.  Thank you so much to the two families who took care of us in this way!  We are still benefiting very much from your TLC.

Our son came home late that same night, and it was so great to hug and hold him again.  

We had a very, very restless and long first night home.  Surprisingly, our son did not want to sleep at all.  So we were up with him from 1am to 6am.  Bout' killed us.

Sunday was our first day at home and Keira has done amazing.  Like a new baby.  We're trying to decide if it's the jetlag that is making her so docile and sweet, or the fact that she's figuring out we're here to stay.  Either way, we're loving her easy going and adorable personality.  She's been such a good baby these past two days.

By the way - Keira did really well on the flights.  First flight was 15 hours, and she slept a total of 8 hours.  It was not all together, but it was still nice to have those breaks where she was resting.  We had a 4 hour layover in the states before our final flight - she did great.  Then we had a final 3+ hour flight home.  She slept a little bit and was a bit more fussy, but who could blame her.  We had been traveling over 20 hours.  She was done and so were we.

Quint has only had 24 hours to take in the concept of his new sister.  In a brief nutshell, he's not loving it.  In fact, it's been harder to meet his needs than Keira's.  He's doing the grieving now - and it's difficult.  So we're going to take that transition one day at a time, and hope it improves over the coming weeks and months.  Right now, he wants nothing to do with her.  

Even though the jet-lag is really hurting, we're so very glad to be home again.  Even though we can't sleep well or much, the bed....our wonderful soft bed...oh friends.  I could weep.  It was like slipping into heaven.  The house is a royal mess.  Don't even care. (*much)  I'm so glad to be in our home, to be surrounded by our comforts...it has made everything better on some level.  The sickness, the exhaustion, the sadness, the eating, the sleeping, the lack of sleeping...all so much better when you're at home.  

Today we go to the doctor.  AB and I.  We need to get checked out - what we're carrying is just not good.  Since we had it the entire trip and since it's hanging on for dear sweet life, we need intervention.  We want to be rid of it, so we can start putting ourselves back together again.  Everything feels tougher when you're sick. 

Keira seems healthy as a horse.  Pardon the expression, but she is a tough cookie!  Her doctor appointment is Tuesday.

Well, that's all for now - I'm going to try and catch a few moments of rest before the little ones are up and ready to eat.  

I can't believe we can finally, finally close this "book"...I'm so happy I could cry...

I have so much to tell you all...more to come soon - I promise!

I can see the moon...

First of all - we're in Hong Kong and WE HAVE BLOGGER!  Omg.  I was having withdrawal on that travel site we set up.  It was so hard to post and maneuver around, and put up pictures...ugh.  So glad to be back here and didn't expect to this soon - but heck!  Why not?

We left Guangzhou this morning and made a trek via train to Hong Kong.  The train was a double decker, very clean, and the ride was smooth and lovely.  We really enjoyed it!  I'm so glad we didn't take a plane.  It was only a two-hour ride, and so much cheaper.  Half the price and way more roomy and comfortable than a plane.  Yay!

After arriving, we made our way through customs, etc. and really found ourselves to have already left China in so many ways.  It's very different here.  For starters, they have lanes on the road that they actually use.  That's sarcasm for the drivers still in China using those lines as "suggestions" rather than defined driving space.  Oy!

Most of the people here speak English - which is nice.  Obviously, it's just easier on us since we're on our own for the first time since arriving in China.  Without the help of our guide to translate and help us navigate a little bit, we were a little bit relieved to find that most of what we've experienced in HK seems to be very Western.  A nice treat at the end of a long trip...

Our hotel is the Marriott SkyCity and it's just outstanding.  I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone traveling to HK.  First of all, it's right on the ocean.  So yeah.  There's THAT.  Second, it's at the airport - so it's super easy.  Third, it's gorgeous.  The room...it's just a piece of HOME that we weren't planning on.  The bed is SOFT people.  There must be ten down pillows on that bed.  Oh.  My. Gawd.  I wanted to cry.  The room is nice and cool, and you can actually control the temperature for once.  (Don't get me started...they don't let you control anything...not even your room temp.)  The bed is HUGE.  They brought me a lovely Graco pack-n-play for Keira - all made up and adorable.  The room itself is just classy...very nicely designed, the bathroom is amazing, and our room looks out over the ocean.  So awesome...we had no idea.  Just expected another so-so hotel experience, since we didn't have anything to do with choosing the hotels. 

In fact, once we saw our room/hotel - I was actually glad we had an extra night just to get some much needed rest and relaxation.  We ordered room service, because we're too sick to go out.  The food was just wonderful - another little piece of home.  We have nothing left in us.  We wanted to explore the city...my friends, it was not gonna happen.  All we could think about was medication and rest. 

So here we are, and it's actually quite late for us.  Anton and Keira are fast asleep, and I should be too.  But I just couldn't get over that we had all of the websites that have been blocked to us for over two weeks.  So exciting!  Facebook, Blogger, and e-mail...oh my!  I could shed a tear...(tee hee)

I looked out the window tonight and up in the sky, for the first time in over two weeks, I saw the moon.  I actually saw sky.  Friends, you do not realize how much you miss clean skies until they are no more.  What a wonderful sight that beautiful moon was for my homesick eyes...haven't seen the sun since the first day we landed.  Double oy!  Kind of depressing...

We leave tomorrow morning to head back on our long journey home.  Half dreading the long flights with an infant, but so relieved to be heading HOME, and overwhelmingly happy to get to see our boy.  I can tell you that more than a tear or two have been shed over missing that little guy.

Even though we leave on Saturday morning in Hong Kong - we actaully travel back in time.   Not too often you can say that.  So even though we travel greater than 24 hours total - we still get home tomorrow night.  Isn't that great?  We'll be so tired and it will be bedtime for us all - hope we can make the most of that!

I did want to ask for prayers for those of you that can/do/will:  we are still sick.  In fact, Anton and I are so depleted that today was almost our biggest challenge.  You know we must be sick when we're so happy to have a day to rest before coming home.  As badly as we miss home, we are quite miserable physically.  To be blunt - I've been throwing up for two days.  Ack.  There you have it.   I know, too much info.  But I want you to understand what we're facing so that you know how to pray.  Anton, bless his amazing heart, has carried Keira all over China - and pretty much had to wait on me daily.  This has taken a toll, and now he's out for the count.  Breathing is not something you necessarily think too much about.  But here...you think about it.  And we aren't able to breathe very easily.  Whatever we had or have...it's gotten worse.  My breathing in particular is extremely labored.  Our chests are full of congestion, and our coughs are non-stop.  That is the reason, I believe for the vomiting.  Too much crap in my lungs and chest and my stomach is just upset all the time.

We are dreading the flights, because I can't seem to keep food down, can't breath, Anton's nose is completely stuffed up, - and I have to tell you, we've been on anti-biotics the entire trip.  We're not hatching some horrible plague.  We were feeling sickly before we came.  It's just compounded daily.  The air quality here is a force to be reckoned with.  If you're planning a trip over here, I would highly recommend bringing along an inhaler and a lightweight face-mask.  It could only help you.  I wish to God we had those with us right now...

I'm drinking lots of water, so I'm not feeling at all dehydrated.  We are both still coughing fiercely - and it's causing those around us to feel understandably uncomfortable.  Add in a small enclosed space on a plane, and you're not the most popular people.  Add to that, an infant that doesn't exactly like us just yet...and screams at the top of her little lungs...  We need your prayers to get us home - are you getting that?   

Also, we're a little nervous about the jet-lag.  We've heard it lasts at least a week and sometimes longer.  We're going to be introducing Quint back to his home, his parents, and his new sister.  We're switching time-zones, and everything will once again be new for Keira after long hours traveling.  Anton has to return to work Wednesday, and I'll be on my own. 

So, before I sound like I'm hosting a big pity-party...I just wanted to ask for your prayers.  It's a big transition for us coming up - and I'm praying we have the health and the stamina, presence of mind, and fortitude to get through it each day with grace and wisdom.

I'll be sure to post when we're home - probably a short one on Sunday...

Thanks for loving us - we sure love you!