This Week? Absolutely NOT Dull: An Unexpected Medical Trip

As I said as I ended my last post: Tobin was getting sick. 

The only reason I wrote our doctor was because he was acting so unlike himself when sick. 

He was clutching his head in pain and moaning. He wanted me to stay with him always. He felt nauseous from the pains in his head. He threw up. 

I wrote our doctor and said: 'this may be something really serious, or absolutely nothing' and what I learned was, that there is always the in between, depending on your definition.

The cycle of headache, nausea, a little relief was happening every 3 hours or so, though the headache continued throughout. The time he kept the tylenol down he got a little relief. 

The doctor actually took it all completely seriously and said: 'this sounds like migraines, but we have to rule everything else out...you need to get on a plane'. 

Migraines, in a five year old? Seriously?

Get on a plane. I know that sounds a bit extreme, but from our experience and the doctor we consult with (who has lived in this country longer than we have), an appropriate evaluation and efficient protocol is quite hard to find. We do a ton of self diagnosing and treating often via consult, not by visiting the local docs here. 

Our doc wanted Tobin to be seen by a western trained doctor, looking for very specific things. 

So, we headed to the provincial capital where the international clinic said they were too busy. When we boarded in our town I thought we were on our way to Bangkok. When we landed, David said we were on our way to ChengDu. 

Didn't I just come back from there? Going this alone I thought I would be more comfortable in Bangkok, especially if it was one of the more serious things they were looking for. But with David navigating my flights and my friend G arranging the same driver we had last time, I was gaining confidence. I was so thankful for this driver who knew exactly where we were going, since I had never been there before. 

Tobin was lethargic and didn't even feel like playing on the ipad (something we reserve only for trips). He slept most of both flights. He had trouble walking fast through the airport (duh) so I put him in the carts with the big X over the child, and jogged through to make it out until we had to give up the cart. Once I checked us in and got us through security I hired the golf cart to drive us to our gate. 

The trip was completely smooth and Tobin's head was still hurting but he wasn't throwing up. The clinic staff was very helpful and we got in quick to see the doctor, who was expecting us. It had been about 36 hours since the symptoms had started. 

He did a full neurological exam but also mentioned migraines right away. He said that children this young can have them. Thankfully, Tobin passed the exam, ruling out the more horrible options for his severe head pain. The doc told us that most migraine episodes last 24-48 hours so that if his symptoms did not go away then we would go get an MRI. We talked quite a bit about migraines and what this could mean for Tobin. 

We made our way across the street to our hotel and already Tobin seemed better. We rested for a bit and then went across the street for dinner. I let Tobin drink a whole gatorade and he ate a little. But at least he was up for walking a bit. 

We returned to our hotel, watched some soccer on TV, and I read a story to him.  Tobin's symptoms were definitely diminishing, with some lingering headache, but not as severe. 

We (the docs I was consulting) would see how Tobin did in the night and morning before deciding to return home. 

Tobin slept great, he did not wake every three hours like the previous night. He slept from before 9 until after 7 and woke up feeling normal but weak. 

We decided to find breakfast and I had promised him some tea (cold black tea). Starbucks was down the street. It was a nice little walk. On the way we found 'rou bao' (meat filled bun) and 'dou jiang' soy milk. We did end up at starbucks where we each got a muffin and coffee and his tea. It was here that we ran into the very doctor we had seen the day before. This was a great coincidence because I was supposed to talk with him before the clear to return home. He could see that Tobin had his color back and was clearly a different boy. He said he would not need an MRI now and that if whatever 'it' was was serious it would not have gone away. 

Yea! We could go home. I immediately contacted our consulting doctor and our travel agent, who arranged all flights home. 

So thankful for this boy.

Chengdu has some cool stores in their airport. We played with robots for half an hour.

Tobin still would love a drone.

This robot could understand standard Mandarin and respond.

.
We arrived home at 5 pm, and caught a taxi to surprise the girls. I was in contact with David and he really needed to work late with our guest and others. The little medical trip was unexpected and only slightly delayed their week-long project.

The next day, David and crew continued on the project while the guys came to install our new shower. Tobin and I settled into the end of the week by resting and playing (him). I re-grouped and tried to finish some homeschool with the girls and plan Bella's birthday party that was also delayed a day because of our trip.

So many people prayed us through this little crisis, and we were so thankful.
The whole trip could not have gone smoother.

Now we will get to researching childhood migraines.
We are not naive, we do know this is not a good diagnosis. But it is the best of what it could have been, for that we are thankful. We will rest in God's goodness to our family and His faithful care of us no matter what that entails in suffering as well.

A Peek at Last Week: Never Dull

Sophia was running down the hall at school and got stuck by a pencil. The lead was still in her arm. We tried a minor at-home surgery to get it out but it was unsuccessful. She endured it very well. The lead will either stay in her arm forever as a memoir of Chinese school OR it will come out on its own.

Rainy Season is upon us. And traffic is horrendous. It is a small dilemma, get wet on the moto, or wait forever in the car...

Last week was China's Dragon Boat Festival, which is actually a minor holiday. But the kids were given two days off of school with a 'make-up' day on Sunday which equals one real holiday.

This meant getting all homeschool done in the morning with all four at home. I actually LOVE this.

This first shot was candid. They were all diligently working. Bella continued her Chinese homework, Sophia was diagramming sentences, and I was teaching Tobin, while Gabrielle was practicing her shapes (kidding, she was just drawing little circles to her hearts delight).

 Pose for me, my perfect little children.

 The next day they asked to do school outside. SURE! We have more time, let's do it.

 G, always participating.
Level 4 Spelling of The Phonics Road

 Spelling tests, Language Arts.

On Saturday, while David was preparing to go up the mountain to our project site, I went to the market to buy 'special breakfast', long pieces of fried bread. We put powdered sugar and our homemade syrup on this. Two of four kids also love the hot, sweet soy milk made fresh at the market.

I saw this man torching pigs feet, I had never seen this before:

Then we came back and watched some EURO 2016 over breakfast.

It is now Monday. A friend flying in at 4 pm Sunday had her plane turned around because of the torrential downpour. It returned around 11 p.m  only to be turned around again because of more rain. She is supposedly arriving right now. 

David took the girls to pick her up while I sit with Tobin, who is quite ill today with some interesting symptoms that prompted me to write the doctor. He was sick last week with normal symptoms, he got better after 2 days. 

Pray for him and our family this week. 

Never Dull. 

Coming to America: The Stresses

Sophia and I leave in 18 days.

One reason this particular season of travel is so daunting is because there have been so many other things going on and that keep on keepin' on. Clear right? We will get to our list in a moment.

Another reason the stress is a bit amplified is that we are traveling to Thailand first. On top of that, Sophia and I will leave four days ahead of time for our first time at Camp Buddy, a camp for kids like ours (ex-pats in SE Asia). We are SO excited about this! But it does pose some logistical conundrums for me to solve in order to make David's last four days smooth and his trip out the door with three littles smoother!

Add in hosting someone for 7-10 days for a very important part of our project here, hosting two birthday parties (upwards of 20 people probably attending), and homeschooling for another week and a half.

Let's make a list of things that are  stressful, necessary, (and if I get my heart right) should be thoroughly enjoyed! (and David, by the way, has a different list, which includes some CRAZINESS, but won't be detailed here)

• pack for Thailand camp (mommy and Sophia)
• pack three other kids for Thailand and America, separate 
• pack all carry-ons for kids
• make 2 meals for David's last 4 days
• get new shower installed (our glass door shattered with very minor injuries and the company forgot which brand we bought so we need a whole new one. Side note. We are at year 4 in this apartment, and that is about the shelf-life for interior renovations. Everything in our house seems to be needing minor repairs. 
• host co-worker for 7-10 days (this means long days for David and tiring ones)
• David needs one more trip to our project site
• fix leaky faucet
• host Bella's party this Thursday night, inviting 5 from her class another 5 from the 'hood. Make cake, etc. 
• host Sophia's party on the 24th (early, so she can have it with friends), make cake, etc. 
• finish homeschooling and plan/pack all curriculum/papers/books needed for the States. We will mostly break from school but I will need to do about 4 weeks or so here and there. 
• order things from Taobao that we still need (shaving cream for camp fight!)
• type up plans/schedule for our helper to do while we are away, what to clean, how to prevent mold, etc.
• I will be a high school girls counselor/study leader so this involves some preparation, planning, printing out, etc.
• I am also helping another lady do a little talk at another event in Thailand, this too will take some thinking through and writing up
• buy plastic to cover some shelves
• talk to all teachers one more time and clarify our plans for our returning one month late into next semester (pack all necessary books and Chinese reading books!)
• try to solidify our stateside schedule a little bit more
• get a nice family photo

There are MANY other things, minor and major details...but it will come together and all the while we must try to fit in watching EURO 2016. Watched France barely win today. Really hope to get some live action Albania v Switzerland in a moment.

Coming to America: The Excitement

While we do return to the U.S. almost every two years, we have realized as our kids get a little older that the excitement, stresses, and fears change a bit.

Don't get me wrong, we are COMPLETELY excited about coming back, but I think I just forget all the planning and packing involved. And every time I start the process (months in advance), I get overwhelmed, forget what I am doing, can't make heads or tails of the next step and ask: 'why are we doing this again?' David then gives me a pep talk, and I get going again.

Maybe it is a bit like childbirth, you forget the acute pain and keep having more. And it is all completely worth it.

I certainly don't want these posts to sound like complaints, they are simply my realities right now (though sometimes my view of reality is skewed too, so who knows what you are going to get :))

I told David I may need 'driving detox' before I hit the road in the U.S. I remember two years ago in the U.S. Sophia saying as we pulled off the interstate exit to a long line of cars: "Mommy, can't you just 'cha dui' (the Chinese word for cut in line)".

Here it goes...some things we are VERY excited about:

• driving where rules are mostly followed and roads are near excellent condition
• always the thrill of drinking water out of the tap. Our kids think this is SO exciting.
• LOTS of green grass, (Sophia said one day: " I think America has a lot more trees and wildlife" to which we responded: "America has 1 billion LESS people too"
• Cousins! The kiddos have 8 cousins that they adore.
• AC everywhere! 
• Lake trips, Beach trips, Pool time, we LOVE the water. Gabrielle may be swimming for real by the time we are done
• FOODS that we miss:
• Mexican. This becomes our new dumpling night. One time a week, we hope. The good folks from La Cocina taught me the secret to good salsa!
• buying packaged/cleaner meat, not right off the animal. 
• Good coffee almost anywhere, even the gas station
• true confessions: we love us some Hardee's biscuits, though I have nearly mimicked them in China, I don't make them much. 
• Gainesville's Burrito Brothers, an ancient delicious landmark
• really good hamburgers (PTs!)
• chick-fil-a
• Hopefully some new activities: gymnastics, youth soccer for a month, etc.
• Connecting with people---our peeps! 
• Julie+Heather=therapeutic laughter!

The Home school Wind-Down (Fizzle Out)

A little blurry picture is just what this post is about. Perfect for our home school finish-line, which is never actually finished.

We finished CC cycle 1 (which includes finishing geography, Latin songs, and Science projects)
We finished Story of the World Vol 3.
We finished and started new math books
We will home school Language arts and Math for three more weeks.
We fizzled out of Fine Arts long ago
But when we remembered we did look at famous paintings and tried to remember who painted them
We periodically read and re-read the poems I had chosen for the semester
We never started the SQUILT classical music program (maybe in the summer?)
We still read aloud daily (right now on The Phantom Tollbooth, which is mostly going over their heads and will be re-read and dissected in late middle school, but they are still enjoying it, and I stop to explain many nuances as I laugh out loud)
Chinese school continues until we leave
Piano continues

The heat has come to our town as we await rainy season

The kids have done great and are thankful for the lighter home school days and So.Am. I.
Time to start packing!

TidBits: A Friend's Party, Soccer Game, and Other Happenings

 The three olders and I walked to a friend's birthday party and stopped for a pic in the truck.

Our yard (and sometimes house) is often filled with kids swinging, playing, etc. A group of 6th grade girls started coming around a few months ago and we see them many times a week. They go fishing with our kiddos and often just swing away, always asking if our kids can play.

Finally, it was one girl's birthday and she asked us a whole week prior if we would come (which rarely happens here). She reminded us every day. I figured it would be a good idea to see/meet her parents and see what her home life was like. This was the last thing I felt like doing on a school night, but I was committed.

She lives a few blocks away and we all walked together.
Many other kids started to gather (it was 7:30 p.m.), and I made my rounds with the adults, fielding the same twenty questions. "America. Yes, four kids. No, I don't work outside the home. My husband works at yadayada,  Yes,  America is nice place to live, so is here." The questions tend to get deeper when parenting issues come up.

One lady asked where all of our kids slept. She was astounded when I told her and promptly called her grandson over and told him the breaking news: kids can sleep separate from their parents.

I actually started to enjoy myself sitting around and shooting the bull with these ladies and drinking green tea.

The kids played games, and our kids meshed right in with this crowd, not holding back at all.
Sophia is usually a take charge kind of gal, but even Bella volunteered to be 'it' one round, and Tobin joined in the fray. That our kids can do this (with language) and are not timid (with culture) wowed me once again, though it shouldn't. This is what they are used to. But I praised them all the same on the way home.

Here she is YangYiXia turning 13.

And at the end of the same week we went to our friend Caleb's soccer game at the Minority Elementary School in town. Driving there brought me back almost 15 years when I stayed with two other single gals nearby during my first trip here.

 Our school won the game! Yeah, way to go #4 Elementary School!

 I took G with me one day to pick up Sophia and Bella, she promptly sat down as if she belonged there!

Bella is doing great in school, and likes it most days, but does complain about 'all the writing'. She also gets scared of some things they learn in "pin de class" which is like a life skills class. They talk about earthquakes, bad guys, brushing your teeth, and the latest thing that kept her up at night was their talk on rabies.  Her teacher described this as : "the scariest thing in this whole book". We had to bring down the drama of it all while highlighting some certain facts (David has his own quite compelling rabies story, that we opted not to share at that time). Mostly on these nights we bring God's word to bear on all our fears and teach our kids to pray.

And that is the recent round-up.

Our countdown to Thailand and America is on...things are getting real, as we are SO busy.
Blogging tends to be therapeutic for me, so if I find the time I may write a three-part series:
Coming to America: The excitement
Coming to America: The stressors (my to-do list)
Coming to America: The fears

A Trip to THE Farm

 We finally made a road trip across our province to visit our friends who own a dairy farm.
We knew the highway only lasted 2 of the 8 hours, but we were willing.
And right off the highway, the road was under construction. BUM-PY for a few kilometers.
This was when I wedged the ipad between our front seats and turned on Swiss Family Robinson.
The kids did great and we had SO much fun hanging out with one of our fave families.

They showed us around their farm, set in some small mountains, surrounded by bigger ones.

 It was beautiful.

We topped off the first night playing sardines, our kids' first time!

 The first day we went to a small water park and had a blast.
We stayed up way too late talking, and our kids seem to rise with the roosters...

 On day two we played, Tobin and Bella milked cows, and we played in the stream on the other side of the mountain from their house:

 Their milk is delicious. David says it is like drinking ice cream.
Uncle M explained the process to our kiddos and to some customers that had stopped by.

Their tree house was pretty amazing.

And seriously, these folks are just plain fun. We did talk serious, and pick their brains about everything. M serenaded with some hilarious made-up tunes.

And basically we just cut-up. It is what we do best.

On our last night there we did a C/M family tradition: double date night. The older girls helped put Gabrielle down and then they watched a movie while we went out to dinner. One of their staff/helpers was there for a little while and she lives just down the hill, so we were not worried.

The whole weekend was a precious time of connecting. And though it serves us adults well, it is really special for our kids to connect with other kids like them every once in awhile. Tobin adores the M boys and got to sleep in their bunk. Sophia and Bella learned to sew doll clothes and pillows and learned a ton from the M girls. And everyone loved the picturesque atmosphere and the ability to get non stop dirty and sweaty while enjoying sweet friendships.

Here is Gabrielle with her new friend.

 The drive back started on the windy roads so it was a bit rougher.
We stopped for a minute to let Tobin gather his stomach and we did some seat swapping.
Then it was all good.

This trip was short but sweet and is what we hope to be many more road adventures as our kids get older. This was the farthest in our province we had gone by car!
We are so thankful for these friends and the opportunity to  see them.