Lucy Gets BIG Air!

Screamin Demon #360!

Hah! I love it! My 38 year old sister is the belle of the Denver Roller Derby Dolls (Bad Apples team.) As a Blocker and a Jammer, she takes and gives out hits like a 300lb linebacker, not a barely 100lb girlie! She is amazing and I hope to be able to watch her at her Championship game on October 17th in Denver. I told my sister that she looks "hot" in fishnet nylons and she told me, "Thanks for the compliment about my fishnets. The only problem with the fishnets when you fall, is that you get a floor rash that looks like a waffle! Pretty…" Sounds like a serious roller derby occupational hazard to me! Ha ha!

Go Screamin Demon #360!!

Sigh!

I thought it would be fun to purchase the girls pretty princess costumes from Kid to Kid, so they could play dress up like real girls. As you know from previous blogs, my three little tykes are quite the tomboys (Dan's influence! Ha ha!) Anyhow, my attempts to make them "pretty" backfired. Apparently, Abbie didn't think she was pretty enough and thought she would make herself up with a little bit of mascara. Did I say "little bit?????" Anyhow, I am not sure if she is Abbie or Alice Cooper. Ha ha! Never a dull moment with that little monkey girl!

Let The Games Begin!

Our family is very excited to cheer on the athletes at the 2008 Beijing Olympic games. Of course, Lucy and Abbie are partial to both of their home countries! :) The games begin on 08-08-08. The number 8 is considered to be very auspicious in Chinese numerology. I am sure China has gone all out to make these games highly successful and very memorable. What a wonderful opportunity for China to make its grand debute to the entire world! On behalf of our entire family, we wish all the athletes a safe and exciting time in China and best wishes in their quest for the Gold!

Pioneer Weekend 2008 Fun!

Hi Everyone!

We took the girls (all four of them) and headed up to Ogden for some Pioneer Day fun! First, we went to Roosters Pub for some grub, then to the Union Station Train and Car Museum. Will filled out bellies with delicious Farr's ice cream at their original store and rounded out our great day at the Hill Airforce Base Aerospace Musuem. Lots of fun and seriously tired girls!!

Holt Ambassadors

Hi Everyone:

Our family has signed up to be Holt International Ambassadors, helping to spread the word of love through adoption in our community. We are excited about directing our energy to help other children, like our Lucy and Abbie, find their forever families through education. Wish us well!

Love, Tracie

Kiddos

Hi Everyone! I always seem to be busy with kids, dogs, rabbits, work, you name it! I can't believe I haven't posted anything at all since June 23rd! Nothing really exciting going on, just more cute pictures of the kiddos. Love to all! Tracie

Girls, Girls and More Girls (Plus a Boy!)

Did someone say it was easy being a parent of three under the age of five?? It may not be easy raising five kids, a rabbit, a new puppy and Dan (just kidding), but they sure are cute and I love them all! :)

New Pictures of our Gang!

New Member of our Clan!

Meet "Fred Fred" the Shih Tzu! He is 11 weeks old, smiles, and is just the cutest and most well behaved dog ever! :)

Happy 5th Birthday "Geeg"!!!

It's so hard to believe that our little Gracie (Geeg) is already five years old!! Time sure does fly by fast. It seems like just yesterday that you were in mom's tummy taking up a lot of space. Ha ha! I remember the day you were born. You had those big, beautiful, buggy blue eyes and your arms were reaching out for me. You are definitely Daddy's girl and love to have so much fun with him. Never one for Barbies and "girly" things, we have had so much fun with you through all your phases....Thomas the Tank Engine; The Wiggles; bugs; The Transformers; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; Super Heroes; Evil Emperor Zurg...and so much more! We love you Geeg, more than words can express. Happy 5th Birthday Baby!!

Fun Weekend with Mom and Dad!

Our weekend started out with a long bike ride (yes, I am now pulling a trailer too!) Then we went to Dan's work party at Boondock's and rounded out the weekend with an entire day at the Gateway Children's Discovery Museum. It was warm and the girls had sooooo much fun!!

Muffin Heads

Girls doing what they do best - BEING SILLY GIRLS!!!

Qianxi

I Don't Want my Picture Taken!

This is one of my favorite pictures from the mission. I think she had it with the pictures!

Last Two Days Playing in Beijing!

Hi Everyone!

I am now wedged into my United Airlines “Economy Class” seat (new name for back of the bus), and am heading home from Qianxi/Beijing, China! It was a long two weeks and we spent much of our time on buses traveling around from location to location. I am really looking forward to Internet access and the modern conveniences of home such as: no “squatty potties”; no “running water trough style potties”; no potties that don’t flush; no potties that back brown sludgy water in the bowl and lastly, my personal favorite, no potties with signs that say “Please only pee here or you will be punished.” No kidding! Clearly, the Operation Smile presence is needed in China as we screened over 200 patients and performed procedures on 191 in only four days. Under the leadership of Han Kai, our Chief Plastic Surgeon, we finished our work early and were able to pack up to prepare for our two days of rest and fun in Beijing. The bus and airplane rides from Qianxi to Guiyang and on to Beijing were uneventful (thank goodness!) The China National Acrobatic Troupe show (Peking Acrobats) was simply stunning, but the rush hour traffic and magical feats of our bus driver stole the show. The next day, we enjoyed a Western style breakfast, complete with soggy pancakes, corn flakes with half and half, something called “Alpine Mash” (yogurt with soggy shredded wheat biscuits in it?) and thankfully, no spicy eggplant. There is a story to that. Everyone in the group loved something called Qie ze (chee ay dzuh). Basically it is battered and cooked eggplant. Some was horribly spicy and others were marginally delicious. You just never knew what you were going to get – that was the fun of it! On Thursday, we boarded a tour bus with a lovely guide named Jenny. We first stopped at a pearl and jade market, where we learned about how they carve jade, the different types and how to tell good from poor quality. Then we went on to a Chinese Friendship Store (government run) to visit a cloisonne factory. We got to see how cloisonné vases are painstakingly made by hand. Although, not to my personal taste, I have a new found appreciation for the hours of hard work that go into making these works of art. I did buy a small pink cloisonné Christmas ornament with two pandas hugging on it for the girls. Next, we boarded our bus for the Great Wall of China. We climbed a moderately steep section of the wall and were asked about every three minutes to stop and have our pictures taken with someone. I even had a little kid climb on my back and give the peace sign for a picture! This was a work of architecture, blood, sweat and tragedy that is unreal and extremely difficult to explain. You know how sometimes you can go to a historical site and feel the ghosts of the people past? That was how I felt at the Wall. It was a clear, warm and lightly breezy day (perfect for climbing) and we could see for eternity in all directions. I have some marvelous photos! After the Wall, we had a few minutes of shopping time and I actually got to ride a dromedary camel! It only cost me $3.50 to sit between the two lumps of the furry, smelly beast and have my picture taken by my new friend Lauren. After my “ride” was over, the camel came up to me and I wanted to get a picture of his soft face and furry lips. It was a GREAT photo opportunity until the great beast’s tongue swept out and up under my camera right across my lips and nose. I was disgustingly French kissed by a camel!! Half a bottle of Germ-X and an entire pack of Listerine strips later, I was able to rid my face of foul smelling breath and was consoled by a team mate who tried to cheer me up by saying, “At least camels can’t lick their butts!” I am not so sure about that. This camel could really have used some Listerine too. We then drove on to enjoy a few hours at the Forbidden City and Tian An Men Square. The square is the largest in city square in the world and can hold over 1 million people. Its vastness was sobering. The Forbidden City was home to approximately 45 emperors during the Qing and Ming dynasties (I believe that is what we were told.) I do remember for a fact that the emperor had one wife and 3,000 concubines! Busy guy! Every night, a eunuch would come to the emperor with the names of the concubines so one could be chosen by the emperor to be his bedmate that evening. Concubines were aged 13 to 16. Older concubines were allowed to remain at the city for the rest of their lives, but no longer spent time in the company of the emperor. Each had their own room and there are over 9,000 rooms at the city! For safety, the emperor would sleep in a different room each night. It would take 27 years to sleep in each room! Concubines could move up in status (even to empress), by producing a son for the emperor. We got to see their rooms and I could just imagine them stepping delicately amongst the water and peony gardens in their tiny “golden lily” feet and silk slippers. Only girls from prominent families were chosen as concubines. Apparently, this was a great, but lonely honor for these women. We then shopped at the Silk Street Market, which completely wore me out. They were ruthless bargainers and it was really annoying. I am sure I got ripped off many times, so I tried not to make many purchases. Three hours later, we boarded a bus for a Peking duck (and more qie ze) dinner and then headed back to the hotel around 11:00PM! Long, but fabulous day! It was a great trip and I always learn something and see something unique and new every time I travel to the birth country of my little Lucy and Abbie. It is a truly spectacular country and it is exciting many more people with get to enjoy it’s splendor during the upcoming Olympic games, where they expect MILLIONS!! Thank you Operation Smile, for once more providing me with an incredible opportunity to help others have a smile on their face and joy in their hearts. - Always, Tracie

Greetings from Qianxi!

On Thursday, it took one plane, one bus and three cab rides by myself from Beijing to Qianxi, but I made it! I am so proud because I HAD to use Mandarin to get around and I actually did it. I don’t know how, but I did. My only goof was that I was at the wrong bus station in Guiyang, the capitol city, but someone helped get me to the right station. I bought my ticket by myself, somehow found the bus and settled into a zebra print covered seat at the back of the very full bus. Shortly after take off, my seat mates all fell asleep – on me. It was very cozy indeed. J When I pulled up to the hospital (that I didn’t even know the name of!) every clapped and cheered! To get to the hospital, I was surrounded by about 30 people trying to communicate to the cab driver where I needed to go. I finally made the international sign of stitching a cleft lip and palate and everyone started nodding and going “Ah ah ah!” The light bulb turned on and the proud cab driver knew exactly where to take the crazy American lady wandering in the bowels of Qianxi. He did not want to charge me for the ride! Of course, I just had to pay him and gave him 50 yuan. I think I made his day. Food in this area is either wickedly spicy, or bland. I am living on a high carb diet of noodles and bread. I could really use some fruit and thing I will hit a street market for an orange I can peel today. I have drank so much bottled water, that I have had to suffer and straddle the “through” with water flowing, which is our hospital restroom. Everyday, they burn deodorizer in the room that smells like pot (not that I would know what that smells like. It’s just what others have told me.) Our hotel is another story. Everyone has something funny or gross about their room to tell. My room mate Carey and I have a leaky bathtub. Every night we stand in about a half inch of slow draining water. We each bought a pair of $1.00 plastic butterfly sandals to wear. One of the doctors stepped into his fiberglass bathtub and broke the tub in half! Ha! Many people have complained of moldy walls, spiders and cockroaches. I feel very lucky to have a decent and comfortable room to go back to! Our hotel is at the base of a hill with an ancient stone temple at the top. At about 6:00AM every morning, we wake up to gongs, the national anthem and someone screaming and chanting. It is quite strange. At night, the karaoke bar livens up and the music is so loud it sound like they are in our room. Carey and I have taken to wearing our airplane ear plugs to bed! Ha! Last night, I went to sleep singing “All Out of Love” by Airsupply with a Chinese accent. Yesterday, we did surgery on 48 patients, including two burn skin grafts. This was my first experience with this procedure and it was extremely interesting. The students have done a phenomenal job with their presentations. Smoking is prevalent in China; therefore, the students have been giving “smoking information” presentations to groups of people. They allow smoking inside the hospital, so there are many, many people to present to! Internet and phone access is next to impossible in this area of China. It is mountainous and extremely rural, so bear with me! This is a large Chinese minority area and I have met Yi (dancing people), Bai (white people), Hanjiu (sweet people) and Miao (mountain people.) They are easy to identify by their unique native costuming. Apparently there are several minority groups in Guizhou. I wish I had time to go out into the rural communities and see how they live. It would be extremely fascinating! One of my favorite things are the unique baby carriers. Some are velvet and intricately embroidered. Some are cross stitched with bright patterns and others are fashioned out of bamboo and worn like a back pack. On Monday, we will go to Qianxi High School #1 in the morning to give presentations about Operation Smile and our student presentations to groups of students. I learned that all of the schools we will visit have over 2,000 students each! In the afternoon, we will visit the local Social Welfare Institute (orphanage) and educate and play with the children. I plan to purchase yogurt drinks and little snack cake for each child as our gift. While I am there, I will also meet with the Vice Director to explain what Operation Smile does and educate the staff about our new Cleft Healing Center in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. Operation Smile – China pays for travel and surgery for the patients and family. As a matter of fact, we have held back 20 Qianxi patients and will send them to the center in Hangzhou to start getting the word out to the community. On Tuesday, we will go to Middle School and High School #2. Also each with over 2,000 students! We will go into the English classes and hear a lesson, and then we will do our presentations. Afterwards, the students are looking forward to practicing their English with us (and I will practice my Mandarin in return!) Last night, I met the English teacher and eight high school students. We talked for two hours and they wanted to give me an official Chinese name. They debated and argued about what to name me. One boy wanted to name me after a traditional Chinese poem, a girl wanted to give me a name with symbolism to Operation Smile’s work in China. They came up with Xie Mei. It has two meanings: 1) Thank you America for helping our children, and 2) Beautiful person. How cool to be given my own Chinese name by the students. I feel very honored. The children are beautiful! There was one little boy wearing a bright yellow knit suit with split bottom pants. He mother was walking him through the courtyard with a harness and I knelt down to take pictures of him. In a split second, he gave me a huge smile and then let loose a powerful stream of pee right up and on to my shoe! Thank goodness they are closed toe and have been on many missions. They had to disinfect my shoe with Germ-X. Ha Ha! I met a family yesterday. The parents are very new wave looking and are only 18 years old. The baby had her cleft lip surgery yesterday and the mother will have her lip surgery today. That is so cool! The father was amazing. The love for his little baby daughter was palpable. You could just see it and feel it throughout the ward. Many elderly grandmothers have brought the babies and they are so tiny themselves. They are beautiful and so thankful for our help. Many have tears in their eyes. The hospital of course does not compare to U.S. hospitals, but it is rather nice and the post-operative rooms have beds and are very comfortable. This is a smooth running mission. In addition to working with the students, I have been helping out with the medical records team and am planning on training on becoming part of the medical records team on future missions. I look forward to having another role I can do with Operation Smile. It is now the Azalea Festival and on Tuesday we are going to a famous mountain covered in bright azaleas. Beautiful! On Wednesday, we head back to Beijing and will enjoy some sightseeing in Beijing at the Great wall, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden Palace and the Silk Market. Believe it or not, in all my trips all over China, I have never seen the wall! I really look forward to standing on it in my Operation Smile Team China t-shirt with our entire team of 47 people! I think this is the last trip for my Fuji S5100 camera. The battery compartment broke and I have resorted to tape and rubber bands to hold it together. Very classy! I can’t properly explain what it is really like to go on a mission. It is really hard, the conditions are difficult, but it is so amazing and fulfilling. It renews my faith in people and our world and I absolutely love it. On Sunday, I walked across the bridge to buy bottled water and other necessities (toilet paper) and ran into a street market. It was filled with minority people and I observed many things I have never seen before in China. A elderly man was smoking a twisty shaped water pipe and an old woman was fanning incense over what appeared to be tarot cards. I bought the most wonderful piece of sponge cake with orange glaze and coconut, hit a few shops then snuck my way back into the hospital. It’s a lot of fun to explore!