Home for
the Holidays 2008
Home at last Lia! After a long journey with a brief
stopover in Japan, we landed in Minneapolis for a quick
check through customs and a kiss for Lia as she officially
became a US citizen, then finally on to NC where we were
warmly greeted by friends, Don, Sidney and Isabel. The
flight was long but less difficult than our journey to
China. No panicked passengers or even soiled outfits! The
only unpleasantness during our flight came from our grumpy
flight attendant.
Don and Sidney drove us home where we were welcomed by
friends, Amy and Claire, and a hot pot of Amy’s delicious
congee. Lia had smiles for all. She just takes my breath
away, this charming baby of ours!
Our home seemed fine after a 3 week absence aside from an
accidently unplugged refrigerator. Can you imagine the
smell of thawed out fish, meat, and soup stock, not to
mention homemade sauerkraut, kimchee, kefir and kombucha
stored at room temperature for several weeks? You know you
have good friends when they insist on disposing of the
offending rotten food and cleaning up the mess. I was
heartened by their generosity but disheartened by the loss
of my homemade food supplies, carefully stored up for post
travel enjoyment. C’est la vie.
As we began unpacking and settling in, more of my family
members arrived including Grandpa, Uncle Steve, Uncle
John, and cousin Jakob to celebrate the holidays and meet
our sweet Lia. Within days, they had our house decorated
with a Christmas tree and lights and presents for all to
enjoy. In his usual fashion, Dad busied himself with
household repairs. Mom continued to help provide cheerful
care for Lia and Eva and cook meals as we all recovered
from jet lag. I must say that helping a baby and
preschooler recover from jetlag was brutal. No sooner
would one finally fall asleep than the other would wake
up, ready for attention or food. I think I stumbled
through the holidays half awake but totally blissed out
with the joy of our new baby. Poor Jeff had to step right
back to work the day after arriving home and took call
during the New Years holiday. Fortunately, Uncle Steve,
Uncle John and Jakob provided lots of entertainment for
Eva and Lia which helped ease our transition back home.
No sooner had my family departed after the Christmas
holiday, than friends began arriving. We enjoyed the good
fortune of visits from Jeff’s former fellow Roland and our
dear friends, Shan and David. Once again, Eva and Lia
thrived on the attention from our guests and we felt
grateful for the opportunity to spend quality time with
special friends. It was especially momentous having Shan
and David arrive on December 30 as David actually married
Jeff and me exactly 8 years ago on December 30, 2000.
|
Catching Zzzzzzs
Lia Becomes a US Citizen
Airport Welcome
Home at Last
Happy to Meet You Too! |
