Great News!

We just got the great news that Caleb will go back into the OR tomorrow and will have his lips released! Not sure how much pain there will be with that, but we are all looking forward to him being able to open his mouth! That means hot dogs, pizza, chocolate -- all those great things he has been witnessing on TV and saying "yummy" to! He has continued to be a real trooper throughout this whole process. He has been easy to entertain and has been real patient through this week, but is ready to go home! Once again-- thank you for all your thoughts, prayers, and visits! All is appreciated!

In God's Peace~ The Bastians

Another surgery completed!

I am not sure how many people continue to read these posts, since they have become so few and far between! It remains a good journal for me--none-the-less.
Caleb had his facial reconstruction on Friday morning (June 11). The surgery that Dr Hussain performed is called the ABBE flap procedure. Named after Dr Abbe, a doctor from out east, who started it, back in the late 1800's. Basically it involved creating a more prominent (and cute if I can share my opinion) nose! It also created an upper lip, and the piece between the nose and the top lip. He also had permanent t-tubes put into his ears. Needless to say, he did fabulous again. This was a huge procedure, and we are told the biggest surgery he will have. Back-tracking..... the surgery began at about 8:20 on Friday morning and took 3 hours to complete. We were in P-ICU for the first 48 hours and then were moved to a room upstairs on Sunday late afternoon/early evening. While in the ICU, he was pretty heavily sedated, but still did well with it. Today (Tuesday), he was, once again, taken to the OR to have the silk stitches (the ones on his face) removed. He was not real happy about going back into the ER, as it is still pretty fresh in his mind! We are still here until Saturday, as he has to go back into the OR to have his lips released.
I forgot to mention that when he came out of surgery, his lips were sewn shut, he had a tube sewn into one nostril, he was in straight arm-braces, and he had stitches on each side of his nose, under his nose, an IV in his arm, and on his chin- but he continued to be a trooper.

One Year Later

Wow! One year ago today was a day to remember- from excitement and joy to reality! Caleb has come a long way in one year, as have the rest of us! He has grown physically, emotionally, and educationally. He is attending Pre-school through out Special Education Early Childhood program, and between the language rich environment there, the daycare, older siblings, and life -he is understanding so much! He tries to communicate more and more and becomes more and more understandable. He still struggles to communicate all he wants to and, therefore, we have temper tantrums and misunderstandings at times around here. They seem to be getting less, but are still long and a struggle when they do occur. Caleb has had 4 surgeries on one year, with the last being a baby root canal and 6 caps on his back teeth. He has done very well with each and every one of them.
He has become more snuggly and is really a mommy's boy, but branching out more and more to daddy now. He loves to snuggle and hug and feels part of the family.
We plan to celebrate Gotcha day with Chinese food at a local restaurant tonight. God has blessed us, each and everyone!

October 12, 2009

Sorry to all of you who still check the blog regularly and thank you for your continued support. We have made it through surgery #3. Caleb had his 3rd surgery on Spetember 22, 2nd on his palate, and Dr Hussain closed his palate completely! Yea! He also lengthened his palate for future dental work. Caleb was in the hospital for 4 days this time, which seemed like forever. Brett took the first week off and stayed at the hospital with Caleb. My mom and dad, bless them, came down and sat 2-3 hours daily so that Brett could get out during the day. The kids and I headed to the hospital daily after school and I stayed and gave him another break and time with the other 2 kids.
I took week #2, which was easier as I was able to be home and then Caleb began daycare on Tuesday and did wonderfully! Week 2 continued the liquid diet, which was easy as Caleb loved pedia-sure. The bad part was, he developed an allergy to it and broke out in hives on Wednesday! We started zyrtec in the morning and benedryl at night. It took a few days but the hives eventually disappeared - thank goodness!
Week 3 started with an appointment with Dr Hussain, who thought all looked good and we moved onto soft foods. Caleb loved getting rid of the cups at every meal and we were on the downhill! This week (#4) is free for all. He is allowed to eat whatever he chooses.
He also began school last week in our early childhood pre-school program. He is so happy and loves his daycare and his school!
Caleb has been a blessing to our family and lately things have normalized! There have been many emotions along with this adoption, but all have been worth it and not so painful looking back!
It is great to see him with the kids - laughing, fighting, playing. It is like he has always been a part of the family. He is so happy and fun to be around. Even with limited speech, he tries to be funny and is the first to laugh at his silliness! God does not give us more than we handle and in the end there is always the reassurance of the rainbow! He has definitely sent me my rainbow! What a joy and a blessing!

May God bless each and everyone of you!

Surgery #2 Finished!

Caleb's surgery to deal with some urological problems took place yesterday. We had to check in to the Surgery Center at 8:45 for a 10 AM surgery. Once again, he was a real trooper! He woke up and realized the pain down there, but was easily comforted through snuggling and rocking. He received great care at the Sioux Falls Surgical Center and a good friend of ours was our nurse once we got into recovery, so that was really great for all of us! Of course, Brett knows many of the people there from working there, so he is quite comfortable anyway. Once Caleb was able to pee, we were free to have the IV removed and check out. We left the hospital at about 2:30 in the afternoon. Caleb went home, Brett gave him some ibuprofen, and he went sown until about 6:30. He woke up, the anesthetic was worn off and he was himself again already. He seems to feel the pain more than with the palate surgery, but seems to be doing well, as long as the sore area isn't touched or bumped.
He woke up this morning and was ready to go! He still has tenderness, but has no restrictions other than no swimming for 2 weeks! Just time for the warm weather to come!
His next palate surgery will be scheduled in September or October. We will keep everyone updated.

Recovering Well

We had our follow-up appointment with Dr Hussain on Monday and all looks good! We were given the go ahead to start soft foods! What an excited little boy we had when he saw macaroni and cheese and a hot dog in front of him at the table! He still is to wear the arm braces through Friday and then just at night in order to keep his finger out of his mouth. We will do the second surgery in September or October. It will be the same diet then as well, so that will again be the toughest part.
Caleb is scheduled to have his other surgery on Monday, June 22 for an undescended testicle. We will be doing that at the Surgerical Center and it will be same day. The doctor says he will be running around the next day. It is supposed to be easier than the palate surgery, so since he was running the next day with that, I am confident that he will do the same!
Thank you for your continued support!

Released!

Sorry for the break in communication, but here is an update on the tough guy!
Brett slept at the hospital both nights, so that I could sleep comfortably at home. When I arrived at the hospital on Saturday morning, my Caleb was back! He was talking and running and playing and I was trying to keep up with the IV pole! He was still getting morphine for the pain, but the anesthetic was all worn off! He was ready to go home, but had 48 hours of IV antibiotics that needed to be run through him. He had a good day and the best medicine was having his brother and sister come to visit and play with him in the toy room. Sunday was more of the same, and Caleb was taking only tylenol and tylenol with codiene intermittently. We finished the IV antibiotics and waited for the doctor. Just when we were convinced that we had one more night, the doctor called and said that we could go home! We were able to leave at about 4:30 in the afternoon! We were all happy to get home! Now the real fun starts, as Caleb is only to eat from a cup for 2 weeks. Clear liquids for week one, thickened liquids for week 2, and start soft foods for week 3. He did not take in much last night, but we were able to get him to drink some warm Jell-O and a little beef broth. This is real hard for him to understand.
This morning, he didn't want the liquids, but finally took some apple juice and most of the Jell-O from lat night. He didn't want it, as it is congealed now, but finally tried it and decided it was "Mmm".
The part that I thought would be the toughest is that he has to wear straight arm braces for 2 and a half weeks, which means no finger in the mouth, plus not being able to bend his arms most of the day. He has done wonderfully with this and when we take the braces off intermittently, he is ready to put them back on, and seems to know that he has to wear them. Much better than I would do with that restriction!
All in all, things are going great and Caleb is doing wonderfully!
The dog and the kids have been at Grandma and Grandpa's and Caleb has been pointing to their pictures today, ready for them to come home!
Thank you for all of your powerful prayers!

Surgery Number 1

We arrived at the hospital early this morning for Caleb's first surgery. He had PE tubes put into his ears and his palate repair. The great news is that everything went well and he is doing very well! He is a little uncomfortable, but is very consolable and snuggly.
Dr Hussain, who is doing his cleft surgeries, reported that all went well during the surgery, but the hole was larger than he originally thought and so he needs to do the total repair in a series of 3 surgeries. He was able to use the tissue and repair the soft palate today and will repair the hard palate in 3 months. Then in a year, he will reconstruct the upper lip and his nose.
Caleb will have to be on a liquid diet for one week, thicker liquids week 2, and then expanding slowly to other foods. He is not to use a straw, fork, spoon, or anything in his mouth for two and half weeks - everything he eats is to come out of a glass. This will be a little tough for him, as his favorite foods have become all meats.
He has been a little uncomfortable, but is resting really peacefully at the moment. Will update more later. Thank you for all of your prayers!

Update on Us

It has been a long time since I have updated "what is happening" around here! I am happy to report that everything is going extremely well! Caleb is adjusting quickly and quite well - every day he understands more and we are down to one or none crying episodes a day. It would happen more often the first week and then became less and less frequent. It was usually a misunderstanding of what was happening or what was going to happen, such as one night; I think, he was hungry and just dropped to his knees outside and cried. Once he began that, there was no consoling him, where today he started to cry when we left the Pavillion, and I assured him we were going to eat and then he was fine.
Since the last post, we have been to visit a pediatric urologist and found out that he needs a minor surgery as he has an undescended testicle. It will be a same day procedure and the Dr. says he will be running the next day. We are just to let him know when we want to do that this summer. We will let him recover well from the palate surgery before we do that one.
We also did some speech assessing and he is eligible for speech services, which will began next week. It will be fun to see him progress, especially after the palate is fixed. He has been like a little sponge and just soaks up everything. He has began to point things out to me when we drive. It is so cute! Today he saw cows, and yelled, "Mama, mama, moo." We have been working with words and putting signs together with them, so that he can communicate his needs. As he learns the structure of the day and where things are located, he is doing much better with that also. If he can't get his point across, he just helps himself! I really like that a lot! That has also helped all of us with our frustrations. It is amazing to see him eat now also. In the beginning, he would eat and eat and eat until we stopped him. Now, he eats until he is finished and then will stop, even with food left on the table or on his plate, at times. Another amazing thing is watching him drink. He is able to drink from a cup with very little spilling and is able to swallow many times consecutively! He is just amazing! I'm sure that I have bragged enough for one night. I will post some new pictures also.
Good night and thanks for continuing to follow- I now call it- my journal (which I have never been consistent at, but will update it as often as I can!)

A new surgery date and additional surgery

We visited the ENT yesterday - yes another Doctor. Caleb did very well as the doctor wanted to check his ears for fluid and do a hearing check. They found a mild hearing loss in both ears and so he will need tubs in both ears to drain the fluid off. We are well versed with this procedure, as Keanan has had tubes put into his ears 3 times thus far. Dr DeSautel will go in and put the tubes into his ears right before Dr. Hussain does the surgery on the palate. We have re-scheduled both surgeries to be done on Friday, May 22.
He and I went to the school yesterday to visit the Early Childhood Speech therapist and then also made our way up to the Occupational Therapist and Physical Therapist, so we could show off his fine motor skills! With his speech delays, the speech therapist (Pam) would like us to start services right away before surgery and then continue after the surgery. He would need 2 tests (a receptive and expressive speech assessment (PPLS) and a Developmental assessment (BDI-2)). I give the BDI-2, so am hoping that I can just give that one here at home and things will move more quickly for qualifications. A speech therapist would come into the house and serve him through the summer and then after turning 3, he would get to go to school and be served with a small group of 3 year olds. He seems to be understanding a lot of vocabulary (receptively) and also tries to imitate much of what we say. We are working on body parts and adding words and signs as he needs them. He is so easy to work with and loves the attention and the exploration of everything!

Happy Easter!

Caleb enjoyed coloring eggs for Easter with Keanan and Abby. He also enjoyed an Easter egg hunt last night with friends, but was a little unsure when 2 excited kids pulled him from his bed this AM and expected him to be as excited as they about hunting for baskets and eggs! He enjoyed the toy from his basket and we have discovered that his favorite candies are gummy bears and m&m's (basically chocolate)!
After his shots last week and knowing that he has several Dr appointments this month, we have decided to postpone his surgery on his palate. He seems to be doing really well fitting into the family, and I want him to have his time to feel secure and not like he is constantly being poked and prodded.
We are using some sign language with him and he is picking it up really fast and using it with some prompting. He has communicated with gestures for so long though, that is still his main communication. He can make some of the funniest faces and do some really goofy eye things! Of course the kids laugh and so, why change that?
After church, Grandma and Grandpa came over for lunch (which they brought most of!). We had planned for them to come here, as Brett is on-call. The way things turned out, we could have just as well traveled to Colman, as Brett spent the day at the hospital. We had a nice meal here; and then after Caleb's nap, took the dog for a walk and the kids played on the playground in the park.
The kids are really good for Caleb. He is a "pain" already at times, but then the next second, "he is so cute and funny"; they just can't resist him!
We hope that everyone had a nice Easter holiday and were able to spend time with friends and family!
Jesus Christ has risen indeed! Happy Easter!

First Step toward fixing the palate

All seems to be going well with Caleb and his adjustment. He has gotten up and out of bed in the middle of the night the last 2 nights. But, when taken into our bed, he has gone right back to sleep. He has adjusted well with his days and nights, which was much easier than I can say about myself when traveling over there.
Caleb had his appointment with Dr. Hussain (cleft palate specialist and plastic surgeon) yesterday afternoon. Dr. Hussain looked his mouth and then took time to answer all of our questions. We have scheduled the surgery for May 1 at Avera McKennan. He will put a palate in at this time. He will plan another surgery in about 2 years to fix the nose, and thicken the skin under the nose. Unfortunately, he will not do the surgery in conjunction with the urologist, so we will have to plan for 2 sugeries, which is not appealing. Caleb goes to the pediatric urologist on the 21st of the month.
We have been out visiting every day and I am ready to stay at home for a day, but he really looks forward to getting out and going! I hope winter is going away and then we will be able to play outside more. Caleb doesn't really like the cold and the snow did not appeal to him. It doesn't help that he took his mittens off as soon as he got out in it! Hopefully after the hot summer, he will like the snow a little more. We will also be able to explain it to him better, as he will have a greater understanding of vocabulary.
Today, we went for lunch with Abby. I wasn't sure if Caleb would like the lunch, but I'm not sure why I thought that. He loved it and ate during Abby's lunch and was still eating 30 minutes later, when Keanan came out, so we stayed for his half-hour lunch also.

Day 3 Beginning

It is hard to believe that we have only been home for 2 full days! Without much sleep on the plane, we were all tired for the last 2 days, but able to get days and nights turned around much more quickly. I am happy to report Caleb sleeping through the entire night last night, as well as, Brett and I. I feel very refreshed this morning and it seems as though everyone is on track also.
After sleeping in on Thursday, Caleb and I took the kids to school, where we spent 2 hours. He was the show and tell in both classrooms, and loved all the attention in there and all over the building.
Caleb went to the Dr yesterday (Friday) and did very well, as we were there for almost 2 hours, and at the end of that time, he had to have blood taken from his arm. He cried as they took the blood, but did not even try to pull away, and was easy to console afterward. After nap and the kids coming home from school, we visited the zoo. We stayed indoors and only visited the stuffed animals. Abby and Keanan had a blast dragging Caleb from exhibit to exhibit and showing him everything! He loved every minute of it. If all this lavishing continues, he will be one spoiled little boy! I figure he might as well enjoy it, as it may not last forever.
We plan to attend church tomorrow, and then Caleb has an appointment with the plastic surgeon on Monday, and shots on Thursday (The Children's Hospital wants to redo all of his immunizations). I know that he will do well with them, but hate to see him have to go through all of that.
Take care and keep up the prayers for the little guy, as he is just beginning with needed medical treatments.

Home Again!

We made it home after a long day of travel. Caleb did very well with the whole 29 hour day! We took off from Guangzhou at 6 AM on April 1 (which would be 5 PM here on March 31) and flew from there to Shanghi. After a 5 hour layover there, and an hour nap for Caleb, we took off for Chicago. The funny thing was, we left there (Shanghi) at 4:55 PM on the 1st and got into Chicago at 4:30 PM on the 1st. Caleb took a little nap on the plane from Shanghi to Chicago (2-3 hours), otherwise he was up for the flight (13 hours). He did very well, sometimes, I think, better than we! Once in Chicago, we had many stops, as we had to go through customs, then pick up our luggage, then go through immigration, and then go back through security for our domestic flight to Sioux Falls. Caleb officially became a US citizen!
Caleb fell asleep right before we boarded to plan to go to Sioux Falls, which left Chicago at 7:50 PM. Brett woke him up shortly before we landed in Sioux Falls, and he loved the lights as we came in. He was a real trooper!
We knew what lay at the end of this road, but he did not, so was not as in a hurry to get to the waiting area, as we. He was somewhat confused when those two kids, he'd watched on video and seen in pictures were right there in front of him! The kids, with the help of Mrs. McGuire, had made a welcome home sign for us and were standing there holding it. Through all my tears, I wasn't able to read it that night, but did read it today. Thank you 3M for the special welcome home! There were many hugs and kisses, and the end result was 3 smiling kids hand in hand getting on and riding down the escalator! What a beautiful sight, even with blurry vision!

Thank you for all of your support and prayers throughout this journey, they were much appreciated and needed. It was many days to be away from my kids, and I was reminded of the fact that I have always taken my kids for granted. I know that God sent us on this journey for many reasons. Just a couple are: One, to save Caleb and to give him a "forever home" where he will be loved and cherished; and Two, to stop and remember how much we appreciate what HE has already given us in the 2 kids we left at home for 15 days. Our love and appreciation for Keanan and Abby became crystal clear.
Through all of the ups and downs, tired days and sleepless night (rock hard mattresses), sickness, etc... what I truly missed while I was gone was Keanan and Abby. Even though I missed them so badly that I ached, I was comforted to know that they were safe, happy, and well taken care of by my mother; whom I have also taken for granted many times throughout my life. Thank you mom for giving up so much to be here and for taking such awesome care of the kids. Thank you also, mom and dad, for welcoming the new little addition with open arms and a loving heart.
May God bless you all. Good night from Brandon, South Dakota!

Good Night Guangzhou

Our day was uneventful again. We did the red couch pictures, but Caleb was not a good participant! He posed for pictures with everyone prior to and then refused to sit on the couch with the rest of the children.
We went to the consulate and had the "swearing in" with 2 other busloads of people from our hotel. All went well, we got Caleb's (Wu Lang - until we enter the US in Chicago) passport and visa. Everything is official! Congratulations Abby and Keanan, you are officially a big brother (for the 2nd time over) and big sister! We can't wait to see you at the airport tomorrow night!
Following the ceremony, we went out to a Thai restaurant with our new good friends from Des Moines; Dave, Paula, and their new son Andrew, did some last minute shopping (bargaining) before finishing packing and turning in for the night.

Good night from Guangzhou for the final night!

Terri, Brett, and Caleb

Last day in Guangzhou

This has been an amazing journey from beginning to end! It was very tough in the middle, but looking back, there is not a part that I would want to miss out on. The hardest part was being away from our other two children, although I couldn't imagine them being here for the full 2 weeks with us, either.
We are on the final countdown here in Guangzhou and in China as a whole. We are all ready to leave the "Suite Life" here and get home again! The plan today is for our group to take red couch pictures at 2:00 PM here (pictures of all of our children dressed in traditional Chinese wear), then the bus ride over to the consulate to take our oath, and get Caleb's visa that takes him and us out of China. We will leave the White Swan at 6:00 AM and we fly out of Guangzhou (in the province of Guangdong) into Shanghai (in the Shanghai Municipality). We have a bit of a layover in Shanghai though and do not leave there until 3:00 in the afternoon. It will be a long day, as we gain 13 hours at sometime during the day and get into Sioux Falls at a little before 10:00 PM.
We will be very excited to touch the soil of South Dakota, snow or no snow! Thank you for following our blog and for supporting us on our journey. Thank you for your prayers and we will ask that you, please, once again keep us in your prayers through our travels tomorrow as it will be a long day for us, and an especially long day for a 2 and a half year old.
Thank you again and I will update pictures after the swearing in and the red couch pictures.

Guangzhou Day 2

Good Afternoon from Guangzhou! There is not much new to report from here today. This morning, I accompanied Shiyan to the US consulate to redo some paperwork. Apparently there was a comma in the wrong place on one piece of paper that needed a notary. The trip there took about an hour and then the waiting and the paperwork itself took about an hour and a half. The paperwork was about 5 minutes and the waiting made up the other portion of time, but all is finished now and we are on the way to be officially finished here in China. Our whole group will return to the consulate tomorrow for our swearing in, or taking the oath to provide for our children. I was the only one that needed to go from our group, but thankfully, there were 2 others from another group (China Adoption with Love) that needed to redo the same paperwork, so we were able to share a cab ride back to the hotel.
The cab ride started out somewhat interesting. I handed the cab driver the card with our hotel name on it. He then handed it back twice, so we were a little leary as to whether he knew exactly where he was taking us. We made it back safely and in a timely manner.
After returning and Caleb's nap, we took a walk to a park down the street, where Caleb played on a slide and on some other equipment with a little girl.
Our group is planning to go out for Chinese dinner tonight, so after a brief stop in the playroom, we are getting ready to meet our group.
Have a great night as we look forward to our last day here tomorrow!

More Paperwork - Day 2 Guangzhou

This morning (Sunday) after breakfast, we took a walk through an open market across the bridge (we are on an island). Following this, we went through the all of the paperwork that Joyce and Judee, at Bethany, helped us prepare and put into a clear envelope. Everything had to be put into order for the US Consulate. Shiyan, our guide here and employee of Bethany, walked me through everything and helped all of us, in our travel group, put things into order. After finishing, I met up with Brett and Caleb, who were just leaving the playroom downstairs. When Caleb saw me, he ran into my arms with a big hug - this was a first for that!
We went and did some shopping and picked up our laundry. The shop owner read a book to Caleb in Chinese, and he loved it. Even though he is understanding more of what we say to him, there is still quite a language barrier for us. He smiles more and more each day and it is so easy to get him to laugh and play! He seems very comfortable with us, as we with him. He continues to point to the computer, which tells us he wants to watch the video we took of Keanan and Abby a few days before we left. He is so intent each time he watches. He giggles and points and you can tell he is ready to jump right in there with them! The longer we are with Caleb, the more I realize and know for sure that he is the child that God has chosen to become a part of our family.
We continue to bond and learn Caleb more and more each day! We are all excited to get home and see Keanan and Abby, as well as, begin life again. It is hard to keep track of the days anymore, as each day seems similar to the last. This trip has been well worth every second, the good times and the hard. God has been there to help through many trials in our group, as without our faith, this would be even more difficult.
May God continue to bless each one of you and we thank you again for your support, your prayers and for following our journey.

Guangzhou Day 1

We made it to Guangzhou last night at around 8 PM. Caleb did very well on the short flight from Nanning (about 50 minutes). He loved the buttons on the console and I don't even think he knew he was in the air. He then stayed nicely in his seat and colored for the remainder of the flight, this gives me high hopes for the 13 hour flight home, but I will try not to keep them too high! He loved the landing and giggled, but did not like the long taxi after landing and let the whole plane know about it!
We are staying at the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou, and it is very nice. This morning, we were reunited with all of the families that we started the journey with in Beijing, as well as some families that did not do the Beijing tour with us. How exciting to meet all of their new additions, as well as, hear their stories of the highs and lows they also have encountered.
Today was the day of the medical examination. Caleb did pretty well until he was laid on the table and examined, and then: just when he got over that, he had to be weighed and measured. All in all, there were tears; but nothing too traumatic. On the way back to the hotel, we met a wonderful Christian man named Jordan, who has a shop here that sells everything we need to take back to the kids. We told him we would be back to shop tomorrow and he is planning to write out Caleb's name in Chinese calligraphy for us. He got very excited about the name "Caleb" as he recognized it from the Bible.
We made some discoveries about Caleb today that Keanan and Abby will be excited about. Keanan - Caleb loves oatmeal! Abby - Caleb loves Cheetos! He saw Kai today (the son of a family we began the journey with) and took right to him. We think it's because he looks a lot like you Keanan! Love and miss you guys and keep praying for all of us as our journey is soon coming to an end here!

Guangzhou here we come

Last night we took a cab and went to a shopping district. We ate pizza at Pizza Hut. Caleb loved the pizza and the french fries, but was not too fond of ketchup on his fries.
We are up and ready for the day here. This, our last day here in Nanning, is bittersweet. I am excited as it means that I am one step closer to getting Caleb's visa, finalizing the paperwork, and getting home to our other 2 children; which I miss dearly! For Caleb, though, I feel some remorse, as we are taking him from the only home he has ever known to a strange new land, where everyone will look and talk differently.
I do hear that the beds in Guangzhou are much softer and more comfortable. Even with the beds, we have all been sleeping well here. Caleb is basically sleeping on a blanket placed on top of a hard board, but he sleeps very peacefully, both for his nap and through the night. I am also excited to meet up with all the couples that we began this journey with, as well as getting to meet some of them that went straight to the provinces of their children. It will be fun to watch all of the kids interact with each other and to meet all of their little ones.

Hope all is well with everyone and God bless.