We're Home
February 2012  |  May 2012  |  February 2013

Thursday, February 16, 2012 HOME SWEET HOME! "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to HIM be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!" Ephesians 3:20-21 "'Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Welcome home!" they shouted. This must be a glimpse of heaven, I mused. The angels shouting our names and Jesus saying, 'Welcome home.'" (Kisses From Katie pg. 140) It feels GOOD to be home! We arrived about 3 hours later than anticipated, as we had a bit of drama on our Hong Kong to Chicago flight. We were delayed about 45 minutes from departure due to the airlines having to redistribute the fuel on the plane's engines so that the plane would be more balanced. Once we were in the air, about 2 hours into the flight one of the passengers became unruly. He was not sitting in our section, but evidently he was spewing profanities and then became aggressive toward one of the female flight attendants. He was quickly wrestled into handcuffs and leg shackles by a male flight attendant and a couple of big, burley men on the flight. They also duct taped his mouth shut! He was then carried to the back of the plane (where we were) and was duct taped to a seat in the very rear of the plane. They literally wrapped the duct tape around his chest and torso and around the seat to keep him in place. Then a flight attendant sat with him the whole time he was strapped in the chair. The decision was made to divert the plane to Tokyo to get the unruly passenger off the plane. SO, that put us on a longer route home. In order to land in Tokyo, the plane had to circle around for quite a while dumping fuel. So, the 45 minutes that we sat originally to get the fuel balance correct, turned out to be a waste of time, since we ended up dumping so much fuel. After landing in a remote spot at the Tokyo airport, about 12 uniformed officers stormed the plane to remove the offending passenger. We then had to wait for the plane to be re-fueled and also more supplies were brought aboard. All in all we were probably on the ground for 1 1/2 MORE hours. All the passengers had to remain on the plane during that time. So, a little bit of excitement on our way home! Little Miss Ellie was a great traveler; however, she was NOT the perfect sleeper on the flight home. I think all told she slept about 2 hours, in 20-30 minute increments. Which translates to mean that her mother did not sleep at all. Daddy spent his travel time watching movies on the ipad, since he really could not help much with Ellie. I am NOT feeling a bit sorry for him! For me, it was just a long grueling flight. How quickly one forgets those flights. Like childbirth, I guess. By the time we landed I could hardly focus my eyes, and they were stinging and watering. Literally bleary eyed. I know a lot of you can relate to that feeling. And adding the extra fly time certainly did nothing to help. And then there was my friend Leslie, who was traveling home with her with SIX children on the same flight. I couldn't believe how well behaved those older 5 were! And her baby girl? Oh yes, THAT sweet girl slept for 7 hours. On the plane. And she continued to sleep even as we we disembarked! She got the memo. Seems that Ellie did not. Sigh.... It was such fun to have our friends sitting near us on the flight home~ probably the only bright spot! We passed through immigration very smoothly and of course our baby girl became a citizen in Chicago. We then went on to pass through customs, and a little bit of drama ensued. Yes, those little oranges that Ellie so loved, where in my carry on bag. I told the officer I had them, and he then sent us to the back of a long line. On the way to the line, I saw a janitor pushing a trash can, so I dropped the bag of little oranges into the trash can of a passing janitor knowing that I wouldn't be able to bring them in. When we got up the the front of the line, the officer I had talked to earlier, asked where the oranges were, and I told him I'd thrown them away. Well. Evidently, this is NOT what one should do in this instance. He yelled at me, made mention a $1,000 fine, asked me where the trash can and the janitor went, and then TOLD ME TO GO FIND THEM. I looked at him incredulously, and told him that I had no idea where the janitor went, and I was NOT going to look for him, as I had a connection to make, and told him that obviously I had no idea that it would be such an issue to throw the offending fruit away. I told him I wasn't up on the customs laws, but had no idea that bringing a few oranges for the baby would cause such a problem and assured him I'd never bring fruit into the US from another country again. That I had no idea that simply throwing them away would be such a problem. Issue was resolved. No fine paid. And just to let you all know what to do if you find yourself with fruit from another country, and you're not sure of what to do with it. Don't throw it away. Simply leave it on the plane. Yes, it's fine to have it on the plane, just not off the plane. So. Now you all know. Of course with the unruly passenger incident, we were delayed getting in and missed our connection. Initially we were told that the next flight we could get on was leaving 5 hours after we had landed. I was not going to handle a layover of that time length very well, so Bill went to the counter and did a little "status" dropping and we were put on a plane that was leaving in just 30 minutes, so we hurried to a new terminal and walked right onto the plane. Little Ellie was sleeping in my arms before we even pushed off from the gate, and she didn't wake up until we had landed and I stood up to disembark. She really needed that sleep. Poor baby was so tired on the long flight, that she was rubbing her eyes, which made them all read and scratching her face. We had just trimmed Ellie's nails that morning, as when she's bored, unhappy, or tired she tends to scratch at herself. Her poor little face was just a mess by the time we arrived home. Purple bags under her eyes, and scratches all over her beautiful little face. It was a LONG day. But oh, how wonderful it was to ride down the escalator at the airport and to see 6 of my beautiful children, the aunties, and my friends. And all the posters and balloons. (We sure missed Will who was just too far away in TX to come home.) Whenever I greet friends at the airport that are arriving home from China, I can just FEEL what they are feeling. And I always say I'm glad it's THEM just getting in from that long flight and not me! But this time it was me. All you China adopters know that exhausted, wrung out, and can hardly keep your eyes open feeling. SO excited to be HOME, but just the downright exhaustion from the trip and the flight. All kind of hitting you at once. The excitement of the 4 younger children was a wonder to behold. It felt so good to have them in my arms again. Their sweetness toward Ellie. Little, tiny Kate, being the big sister. Emily's first look at her newest baby sister. Drew there, and all his help with all the luggage and overseeing things. Seeing my 4 special friends. All etched in my mind. It felt SO good. Afterwards we all piled into cars and headed home for a delicious dinner that was waiting for our arrival.

Goodbye, China Getting ready back at home WE'RE HOME! Almost all of us... Sisters meeting at last The welcoming crew! Mommy and her girls! Happy to be HOME!

It was going on mid-night when we put Ellie to bed and Bill and I fell into bed. We heard from the princess at 1:30, 2:30, and 4:30. Remember those early days home? Yeah. Ellie was easily and quickly soothed though, with verbal assurances and pats. At 4:30, I thought I was going to have to get up for the day, but after I soothed Ellie, she was content to "talk" in her crib, and I hopped back into the bed and fell asleep. I'm not sure how long she stayed awake in her crib, but the next thing I knew, it was going on 11:00 AM and Ellie was sleeping and I was just waking up! Bill and I got up and hadn't realized that the aunties and Grandma had everything packed up and they were nearly ready to go! After our good bye's, I woke the sleeping princess. Ellie played nicely with the 4 this morning while I started unpacking and running laundry loads. And let me tell you, those 4 DOTE on her! Their love was not always returned, but that did not deter them. It was so cute. Lots of giggles and smiles over the silly games they'd play with her. Gracie is trying SO hard to be able to hold Ellie without Ellie crying. Charlie shared his cars with Ellie for quite a while. He is SO sweet and patient. Kate spent her morning gently patting Ellie, and retrieving her thrown toys. And AC would run in on occasion and plant big kisses on Ellie's forehead and tell her how cute she is, but that it was hard work to be a big sister. Emily worked hard at wooing baby sister and made some great strides. A little chocolate bribery was the key to endearing Ellie to her. Ellie even allowed Emily to scoop her up and take her to wipe off her face and hands after her M&M treats with no tears. Emily's been very patient all day and not "pushing" Ellie at all, but I KNOW she's dying to snuggle her. As is Daddy. AND we might have heard a little, "Jie Jie" come out of Ellie's mouth while she was playing with Emily! Em said her goal is to hold Ellie for a picture where Ellie's not crying when being held before she leaves for school on Sunday. We shall see! It is GOOD. God is GOOD. Today having 5 of the littles around me, it felt so GOOD. And so RIGHT. And so COMPLETE. My heart is Full. To all of you who have followed along, I want to thank you. Many of you who signed the guestbook, I didn't even know that I "knew" and I am SO thankful that you let me know who you were. Your prayers, your encouragement and your introductions of yourselves and stories brought such joy each day we were in China. Many of you have asked if I will blog. And I just might. I really did enjoy sitting down each evening and writing. Getting the camera out is another story, though. If I do blog, I will just write on Emily's blog, which she's encouraging me to do. So down the road a bit, you may want to just check in and see. www.andthentherewereseven.blogspot.com And just a few thank you's~ Thank you to Joe and Jennifer! If anyone is traveling and needs a website, these are the ones to go to, IMO. They are a precious adoptive family, having made the journey to China twice before, and their understanding of their clients' needs is so apparent. Not only are the websites so visually attractive, but Joe and Jennifer could not be any easier to work with. I was AMAZED at how quickly our updates were posted after I had emailed them each day. Thank you both. You made the process SO easy, even for a novice like me! Thank you to Bill's sisters and Mom for dropping their own lives and activities and coming to help with the 4. We didn't have to ask twice. They didn't even hesitate when we asked. They blessed us and blessed our children as well. We were sad to see them leave today. And to my mom, I say thank you as well. She wasn't able to come and help, but she is always so supportive our of adoptions and she LOVES her grandchildren! All 8 of them. I also want to say thank you to my special friends here. My airport greeters. My IRL adoption friends. My Chick Fil A group! I have loved watching our little group grow over the years. And now we are a big group! 13 precious adopted children between us, including my friend Tracey. You are ALWAYS an encouragement to me. And you make coming home such a fun event! I can't wait to see who is next! And lastly, my older children. I stand amazed at all 3 of you. The young adults you are. In spite of your very imperfect mother. I know that none of you probably would have chosen to have 5 young siblings. It's not easy having parents so out of the norm, I am sure. It's not easy to be a spectacle when we're out and about. I know you've had to make some sacrifices in order for Daddy and I do have done what we've done. You've been asked if you're their parents. You ride around town in a crazy big van when you're home. But you have been understanding. And gracious. And supportive. You love them and love on them. You hold their hands. You give big hugs and kisses. You play. You read stories. And you tuck them in. You're such FUN when you come home. And you sometimes bring doughnuts, too! And you've never ONCE complained or have acted put upon. Your 4 younger siblings ADORE you. They look up to you. And I pray they will follow in your footsteps. I know that little Ellie will grow to love you all, too. Thank you guys. You are the best children I could ever have asked for. I am BLESSED. And I thank God for his faithfulness. From His first little whisper, back in Oct. 2005 'til now. Look at what He's done!!! More than I could have ever even dreamed or imagined. I'll post one final update on this site probably right after Easter. Will will be home for Easter, and I'll have ALL my children together, so we'll get a family shot. And also, I'll have Emily home to help me go through all the photos. So check back then! So now we end. Though really, it is just the beginning. "What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do." Isaiah 46:11

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