Home Stretch

Heading home in about 36 hours.  It's always a little bittersweet because you are so ready to get home, but kind of sad knowing your child won't see her birthland for a long time.  Plus, even though a lot of things are crazy here, I really enjoy being in China.  Aleah has been without fever for over 24 hours and her white count is normal so she got her last IV treatment today and we start oral antibiotics tomorrow.

  Greg left yesterday morning and when Aleah woke up she said "Baba already left" (In Chinese of course) and she wanted to call him. She got mad when I told her that he was on the plane so we couldn't call.  We had no planned activities for the day, but I had to take Aleah to the clinic and then in the evening  we went on the Pearl River Dinner Cruise.  It was a nice way to spend a few hours.  Most of the other families with our agency went on it too and it is wonderful to see how well the kids are doing.  Aleah didn't eat much and still won't drink hardly anything but she enjoyed the juggler/clown act.

 We had an early a.m. appt so it was a good night for her to not have a fever in the middle of the night.  This morning was the important appointment at the American consulate where we had our documents checked and applied for her visa to enter the U.S. and become a US citizen upon our arrival in Chicago.

All 8 families passed and headed to the zoo or Botanical Gardens afterwards.  We chose the zoo. Aleah decided to be difficult and would refuse to walk or run ahead at various times. 

When it was time to head to the exit we found another family from our group to follow and at that time Aleah decided to run away from me laughing. She would get a little bit away from me then stop and laugh and as I came near her, run away again.  Alyssa and Alaina were with that other family and by the time I caught up with her and carried her 42 lbs back, they were all gone and me and my mom were lost.  The map made no sense and for 15 mins we couldn't find anyone who spoke English or could point us to the exit.  Finally I thought to call my guide and she suggested I let her talk to the nearest Chinese person.  She explained our problem and this nice family helped us find our way out.  We ended up being 25 mins late to the bus and all the other families with hungry babies were waiting for us.  I was pretty stressed by this time and let Aleah sit with Nana for a few minutes while I took a few breaths.  When we got back we had just a little time before going to the clinic so we ate noodles in the room and Snicker's bars and Aleah and I headed to the clinic.  It was really a good experience for us as she seemed to be feeling very close to me and held my hand and looked to see if I noticed how brave she was for the IV.  She has been listening to Hillsong global project that I put on my phone.  It is a Mandarin Chinese praise and worship album.  She has gotten to know a few of the songs pretty quick and she was singing along so loud to Forever Reign that the nurses came in to ask her to quiet down.  Is that cool or what?   After we got home we headed to Tekila the Mexican restaurant.  She ordered soft chicken tacos and also enjoyed some Chips and Salsa.  Can't wait to get her some real Tex-Mex but this was pretty good.