The Jones Team: Scenes from Portland, OR

Well, now that we are home I should post a little about our life back in Portland.

First, I want to announce that the day before we left China, Magdalena slipped off a step at the Campus Village lobby and cut her upper lip open. We had to call the doctor off a hike he was heading out for (it was a Sunday) and he graciously gave her three stitches in her upper lip. Then I had to bring her back the next morning (flight left at 2:45 pm) to get an antibiotic ointment. Needless to say, this was NOT the way we planned to spend our last 24 hours in China! And the entire plane trip, everyone - Chinese, Koreans, Americans alike - kept asking me whether I knew that my daughter's lip was bleeding? It wasn't anymore, of course, but between the stitches and the red antibiotic ointment, it did appear to be so. Good grief!

When we got home, my parents met us at the airport and between our little Honda, their car, and the rented minivan, we managed to get our 5 boxes, 4 tubs, 3 suitcases, 4 carseats, 1 double stroller, and 1 bag of golf clubs back home to our house. However, since our furniture was not to be delivered until Friday, April 1, we promptly headed to the Embassy Suites for the next week. My folks stayed the first two nights as well, and graciously offered to keep the girls in their room. Thanks to Skype, the girls had absolutely no qualms about going with them, even though they hadn't seen them in the flesh for four months.

This first two nights of sleep (I slept through the night, having not slept on the plane at all) allowed me to get through the return with little to no jet lag. Alex unfortunately woke up for a few hours each night, but my parents bore the brunt of it with the girls waking around midnight and running around until four in the morning both nights! The third night when we had the girls back with us, I let Alex get sleep, and Lucia was pretty much through the worst of it, but Magdalena didn't go to bed at all until 3 am or later. I was pretty miserable the next day!

Fortunately again, though, come Thursday afternoon, my folks took the girls to Eugene for the weekend so Alex and I could receive our stored furniture, etc, and unpack the house. We spent the entire day Friday, Saturday, and through Sunday afternoon (April 3) unpacking and had things in decent enough shape for the girls return that night.

Though we tried getting both girls to sleep in the same room, Magdalena especially is a very light sleeper and Lucia had a cough, so couple that with her not remembering the house very well and we were up several times during the night for the first four or five days that they were home. Magdalena would essentially stand up crying in her crib for "MaMAAAAAA!!!" unless she could see me, and I ended up putting a foam mattress down and sleeping on the floor in their room a few nights. We finally wised up on the weekend and put Lucia on the futon in the old office now playroom, where she has been ever since. We just let Magdalena cry it out, and after three nights of that, she has finally started going down without a fuss for both nap and bed. I still want the girls to eventually be in the same room, but I think we're going to wait until we all feel completely caught up with sleep and all hints of coughs or colds are over!

Alex went back to work pretty much right away, on April 4. I have been home with the girls, though I am actively looking for work (anyone know someone who wants a Project Manager, Operations or Process Excellence independent consultant?). Magdalena had her eye doctor appointment on April 4, where the doctor confirmed that she will need surgery - still the same diagnosis - and took a few more measurements. We are scheduled again for May 10, then he thinks he'll be able to recommend a surgery date for the summer.

Our second weekend home we had a MISSION: to buy a new car! Since Alex's company only covered the rental minivan for two weeks, we either had to pay for it ourselves or find our car FAST. After a few dismal days of searching Craigslist and not finding what we really wanted, we bit the bullet and purchased a brand new car. This is the very first new car I have ever bought, though it was Alex's third. We bought a "predawn-gray" Toyota Sienna LE, and are having a DVD player installed. Yes, this cost a LOT of money - more than I thought we'd spend on a car - but at the same time, we plan to keep it for at least 10-15 years, and eventually we do want more kids, so we figured we'd just go for it now. Some readers may be confused as I always insisted that I *never* wanted a minivan! But the Sienna doesn't really seem like a minivan - it is definitely nicer than our Buick in China - and I guess now I'm kind of used to that bigger car from the year we spent in China and all our minivan rentals whenever we came home. So I'm happy with it. Hopefully the next one we buy will be a Mazda5, though, five-speed!

My parents have been helping us still, and I've been trying to get the girls outside as much as possible despite the erratic rainy weather. We have been to the park most days, and I just bring a towel to dry the swings and slides they want to go on. The girls are settling in, and while Alex is still putting in some pretty long hours to get up to speed in his new group, he is starting to feel more comfortable there too. We are looking forward to reconnecting with friends (had a great Family Friday last week), family (Easter at my parent's with my mom's family including my cousin and her young kids should be fun!), neighbors (next door neighbors expecting a baby boy in July!), Engaged Encounter group, and Church friends.

I do miss China, though, I have to say. Especially Lucia's school and my yoga, soul grooves, body pump, walking and running friends (and the ayi, giving me the opportunity to exercise on weekdays!). I also miss the cheap produce, pedicures, and speaking Mandarin. But I don't miss being driven around everywhere, the constant stares, the hour long drive to Church. Though I hope we return to China someday, I guess time will have to tell.

Here are some photos from our past week to leave you with:

Here are the girls reading and playing in the playroom (formerly office):