Reunited! And Man! It Feels SO GOOD!

We left our hotel yesterday around 7:30AM.  We checked into the airport in Guangzhou for our first flight toward home.  All went well with baggage and such and we headed to our gate.  It was downstairs in the basement.  We had a little over an hour to wait and it was HOT!  There was a toy store right beside our gate, with all kinds of toys making all kinds of noise.  I was a little worried that Caleb would want us to buy the entire store, and would have a melt down when he figured out we weren't going to do that, but all was well. He watched, he played, and he waited patiently.  Finally it was time to load the busses that would take us out to the tarmac to load the plane.  We gathered our things, managed to get on and grab a bar or handle for the ride.  That bus took us on an 10 minute journey!  Every time we'd make a turn and see another plane, we'd think, "This is us."  But nope!  We kept going.  Until finally, we pulled up to a hangar, where all but one of the planes were in pieces, obviously being worked on or repaired or something.  That one plane ---- ours!  Yep, a little unnerving!


But, by then we were so ready to go home it just didn't even matter.  We loaded that first plane, and our seats were in the middle section of the plane - not near a window.  Caleb came unglued and I thought to myself, "Oh boy, this is going to be an awesome 24 hours!"  Hahaha!  He settled down quickly and we had a great flight - until time to land!  He was not a fan!  As we descended, he became uneasy and wanted to be held.  But because he was over the age of 2, he had to be in his seat and buckled in.  It was terrible!  I just didn't care.  He wanted to be held.  He wanted to feel safe.  And I wasn't about to tell this terrified little boy that I couldn't do that for him.  I took him in my arms.  He settled and we landed without the attendants even knowing.  One flight down, two to go!

Because of something having to do with Caleb's Visa, and the fact that he was leaving the country and upon landing in the US would no longer be a China Citizen, they could only give us the boarding pass for that first flight when our guide checked us in at the airport that morning.  So upon landing in Beijing, we had to collect our baggage from the in-country terminal and recheck it for the international terminal and get the last 2 boarding passes for Caleb.  This was a bit of a challenge.  None of the signage was in English.  We know no Chinese, etc. etc. etc....  But we got it all done and made it to our gate in plenty of time.

This was a long flight.  Caleb did great.  He watched movies, played games, talked to the flight attendants, watched more movies, then fell asleep.  The flight was very empty, so we were able to spread out, stretch out and rest.  Caleb slept most of the way home.  Jodie slept for a good part of it.  Me?  Not so much.  I would doze off but never for more than a few minutes.  It was terrible!  A 12 hour flight, and I couldn't get more than a 5 minute nap.  Ugh!  And, to top it off, now that I am on a US plane, I should be able to eat the food and be fine right?  Nope.  Y'all, I went 2 weeks, eating things that are way out of my norm, enjoying every bite, and feeling great the entire time.  Then I ate an American meal on a Delta flight and felt AWFUL!  That was, by far, the worst 12 hours ever!

We landed in Detroit and got in line for customs and immigration.  There were several adoptive families on the flight with us, one family from our travel group.  The did us a favor and told their officer that we were trying to get to a connecting flight, so they pulled out of line and processed Caleb's immigration paperwork right there for us.  This was awesome!  If they hadn't we would have been in that line for HOURS!  So such a blessing!  One more flight to go!  Let's do this!

DELAYED!  NO!!!!!!!!!

The ceiling was low.  The weather was iffy.  And our plane hadn't even left its originating airport!  This was a hard blow for me.  I just wanted to go home!  Buy now, I had been up for 24 hours, with no sleep on the flight, and I was sick.  No fun!  But fortunately, that delay never turned to cancelled.  The plane got there, and they finally let us on!  Then there was a mechanical issue.  Really?!?!?  Take me home!!!!  They got that fixed, and we were finally wheels up.

Then, this.....

Finally!  My girls in my arms.  My boy in my arms.   This family of 5 - together - in the same country - 1 big happy family.  Oh, happy day!!!  It was 12AM EST, 1PM China time (after we had left our hotel at 7:30AM the day before).  I had been up 29 hours.  I felt terrible.  But all was well.  We were home.  We were reunited with our girls.  Nothing else mattered.

We are so thankful for all my parents did for us and the girls while we were gone.  It's been a very long time since they've had little feet under their own for 2 whole weeks.  But there was nowhere else I would rather the girls have been for that 2 weeks.

Mom and Dad met their newest grandchild, loved on all of us, loaded us up, and said good-bye.  Just another reason I am so thankful for them.  They knew, all on their own, that the next few days need to be ours.  And as much as I am sure they would have loved to hang around and get to know Caleb, we do need this time.  It's a whole new world!

We came home, unloaded, showered, and went to bed.  By then it was 2:30AM.  To say we were exhausted wouldn't have done it justice.  But, we were home, and that's all that mattered.

Homeward Bound TOMORROW!!!

Tomorrow we start our journey home to the US - a day that cannot come soon enough.  We are so ready to get home, to bring Caleb back with us and to start our new life as a family of 5.  My heart is in pieces, as it has been far too long since I've hugged an kissed my biggest babies.  My arms ache for them, much like they were aching for Caleb all those months leading up to this trip.  At this point, it's almost hard to even talk to them over FaceTime.  I see their faces and fall apart.  I just want to go home.

Our journey home starts around 7AM, when we will meet our guide in the lobby and head to the airport.  We will catch a flight to Beijing, have a short layover there, then board to very long flight back to the USA.  We will fly back into Detroit and go through customs there before loading that precious plane for our final flight to Raleigh/Durham.  Because of the type of US Visa Caleb has, when we land in Detroit and he put this sweet feet on the ground, he becomes a US Citizen!  How awesome is that!!!  It'll be another unending, very long and draining day, but at the end....

THESE TWO!  I can't WAIT to get my arms around THESE TWO!!!!!

In the meantime, here are few pics from our time here:

 Our first night with Caleb.  We didn't know what to expect, so we decided to play it safe and just order in pizza at our hotel.  Yep, Papa Johns in China!  It was pretty good too!!!

We rented a paddle boat at the park across from our hotel.  This was a lot of fun!

On the 24th, we had to go back to the Civil Affairs office to finalize the adoption.  We had to answer questions and take an oath to care for Caleb, to never abandon or abuse him, for the rest of his life.  Gladly!

One day, as Jodie napped, I was reading and Caleb was playing with his toys, being a silly boy in our room.  Then, he climbed into this chair and fell asleep!  It was so funny to me!

These are just a couple of sweet moments that I will forever cherish.

Thanksgiving Dinner - with new friends, turkey, dressing, pie......can't you see it!?!?

Tonight, as we lay our heads down for one more sleep in China, we are forever changed.  This journey has rocked me to my core.  We have seen things and been taught things that we can never unsee or unlearn.  We have made friends that will be life long friends.  As we head home tomorrow, pieces of our hearts will stay here and others will spread all over the US as our new friends begin their journeys home in the coming days.  We leave China, already knowing that we will be back again. “We [have] learned that orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend they’re not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes…” – David Platt, “Radical”

Good night, friends.  See you soon!