Landed in Manila

So....We're back! This time, not Colorado, but Manila. I never would have guessed it, NEVER! I have said all along that I was pretty neutral on the idea of coming and I have stayed true to that during the entire process. Maybe a chemical imbalance or knowing what to expect, but I am OK with it either way. When we were back here in September, I felt the old anxiety creeping back, but it stayed at bay and hasn't returned. It could be I was nervous about doing this again, for the last two years we were here, I was NOT a happy camper. Anywho, I am on this boat and we are sailing.

We arrived late Thursday night the 5th after about 26 hours of travel. Very short connections made for quick layovers and no time to waste. That's the good part. The kids were amazing. I had Aleah and Jones with me and Curt had Ellery with him. Aleah is a big help for me when I need to run to the restroom or grab a toy that fell. Jones either watched movies or slept. He really wasnt as difficult as I had imagined. Of course, he is making up for some of that as he has been quite a handful these last few days. Running amok and "fighting" us as if we really are Power Rangers. Ellery was good too, she hung out with Curt, watched movies and worked on a word search book she got from Santa. Smart Santa gave her just what she needed!

The girls seemed happy and excited once we arrived. Lots of "oh, I remember that" and "oh, yeah." Jones pipes in as well, but he doesn't really remember.

Manila is growing like crazy, there are tons of new buildings that weren't here before and the grocery store makes for some fun findings. Products we never saw sold here before, remembering the fish tanks we can buy from, the smell of the fish tanks we can buy from and oh...the smells. This is a smelly place. I did sort of forget that. For all you that know me, I smell almost everything. Not necessarily a good thing here.

We went to see our house yesterday. It's coming along quite nicely. The owner is doing some repairs and painting, so it looks nice and new. Here, nice and new means white paint, so even the dark desk that was in the office, is now white. To our surprise, they laid new tile in the ktichen all the way back through the maids quarters. What a nice surprise!

People have asked us if we are worried about the kids here and their safety and we sort of giggle. In general, Filipinos are gaga over kids. For instance, yesterday in a restaurant, a waiter (not ours) came up to Jones and introduced himself to Jones. He then asked Jones if he wanted to go get some Oreos and Jones said Yes. He picks him up and carries him off to another part of the restuarant. Curt and I just laughed. We were never asked, nor were a part of this conversation, but watched it all. Jones returned a few minutes later with 2 Oreos...they serisously love kids here and it's all with good intentions.

Another tidbit yesterday while I was shopping with Aleah. Aleah says "Mom, we stand out here, nobody looks like us. I guess it's easy to find each other." That makes me smile as she NEVER noticed before when we lived here and it took til she was 10 yrs old before she sees these differences. I think that's pretty good.

Like all moves, the un-fun part happens...we were informed our shipment is no longer esitmated for Jan 28, but now for Feb 5th. Grrr! Oh well, we knew there was a good chance of this, it's never a smooth process.

So off we go, trying to catch up on a lost day's worth of sleep and start our life here. The to do list just started over again, in the reverse from last month. Cell phone plan, cable installation, painting the bedrooms, change out some light fixtures, polish the marble, get kids into school, get Jones in a school...get the drift. Instead of cancelling it all, we are starting it all. It's a hurry up and wait kind of world, nothing we can do until Monday. So for now...not much has happened of interest here, so you just get my rambling for now. OK, I hear several people laughing about my short stories going long right now, but really if I only wrote the previous sentence, wouldn't you be disappointed?

Hugs from Manila,

Julie, Curt, Aleah, Ellery and Jones