S to the Power Of Six!!!

Taking Some Time...

The title of this segment could have a couple of different meanings. One, we have been taking some time to get readjusted as a family of four. Or two, we have been taking some time to get over our sickness we caught while we were in China. Well, actually, we have been doing both.

Some people have commented to us that it seemed that we didn't post as faithfully near the end of our trip as we were during the first week. Well, that is because I got sick, first. No, I did not get sick from eating the food or drinking the water, which I did plenty of both. I got sick from the heat. That's right, the heat. I got a boil so big on my forehead that if I was to stand nose first next to the wall, the boil would hit the wall first. Now, that was a big boil because my nose is not that small.

Consequently, I had to go to the clinic at the White Swan. First they gave me an antibiotic and a band-aide and said this should help, but if it doesn't in 24 hours, come back. Well, it was like I was feeding the growth on forehead a five course meal. It quadrupled in size and my face started to swell up. So, after about 12 hours, I went back to the clinic and they proceeded to stab this unwanted parasite with a needle that looked like a BBQ skewer. Well, it was like they just knocked the top off of Mount Fuji, blood and puss running everywhere down my forehead. Yum right? It gets better...

After the "eruption," the nurse turns to me with a piece of gauze in her hand, with dark brown goop on it, and says, "this is a Chinese remedy that we use on the children who have boils. It should help to draw the puss out." Well, not only did it draw the puss out, it drew all the fluid in my body to my face.

By the night before we left, my eyes were almost swelled shut. I believed I was having an allergic reaction to the this dark brown goop. But, the weird thing was, there was no swelling around the popped puss pocket or the band-aide. Anyway, I took the dark brown goopped band-aide off and put on a clean band-aide with the antibiotic the doctor gave me and swelling started to subside in my face, but the puss pocket started to get bigger again. I was afraid that when I went through Customs I would have to declare and third child born from my forehead. Luckily the Customs agent had a sense of humor.

Well, while all this was going on, the boys were taking time to get to know one another.

You can never really prepare yourself for the sound of two little boys' laughter, it is overwhelming and very contagious. This little display of affection toward one another went on for over an hour. They would chase each other around the hotel room trying to tickle one another. After one would catch the other, they would laugh uncontrollably. It was a very welcomed sight.

And now back to the story. Well, the day before we left, Sawyer came down with what we thought was just an ordinary cold. His temperature was up to 100.3, so we started him on Ibuprofen. We thought we were in the clear once we got home and his temperature dropped back to normal. But by Saturday night, he started to have blisters on his lips and in his mouth. So we immediately called the doctor. Come to find out, it was more than a cold. It was a viral infection that had to run it course and the only thing we could do is give him Tylenol and Ibuprofen to help the pain. Even though all off the sickness, the bonding continues...

And now a word from our sponsors...

-Plane Tickets to China: $4500.00
-Food while in China: $250.00
-Watching a rerun of a College Football Game at two in the morning with your newly adopted son from China, because we have yet to adjust to the time and who is wearing your socks: PRICELESS
There are things money can buy, but family love and memories are the only thing that truly lasts forever.