July 2011

"Every house where love abides
And friendship is a guest,
Is surely home, and home sweet home
For there the heart can rest."
~Henry Van Dyke

Ahhhhhhh. Home. How good it feels to be home.

What Adrienne and I like to refer to as "the longest day of our lives" began Friday morning in China, when we met our guide at 7:00 a.m. for one last bus ride; this time, to the Guangzhou airport. Having learned that we missed our last "big, delicious buffet", Kelly was kind enough to run to the dining room and bring back a bag of baked goods . . . one last example of what an awesome job she does for GWCA families!

Before we reached the airport Anna Kate had already gotten sick, though her belly was empty so there was nothing to clean up this time. Considering that we had 24 hours of travel ahead of us I became quite nervous . . . though I'm happy to report that she was a healthy traveler for the rest of the journey. Must be something about buses!

Our first flight, from Guangzhou to Shanghai, was smooth and uneventful. We had to claim our bags and re-check them at the United Airlines counter, which took some time. After that we snacked, rested and shopped a bit and before we knew it, it was time to board the plane and be homeward bound! The plane was very nice, and though we were in economy it was comfortable. Apparently Anna Kate thought she'd been hired by United to be part of their in-flight entertainment, because for the first 5 hours she did every trick in her small repertoire . . . clap, wave, flap, nod, smile, babble, yell, bend, stand, sit, lean, pull sister's hair . . . repeat. I thought my arms were going to fall off. Somewhere over the Bering Sea Gramma B commented, "This must be why some families use Benadryl." Very true. Thankfully we were surrounded by nice people who seemed to think she was cute (at least they acted that way, which was kind.) She finally wrapped up her act and then moved into her encore . . . cry, sleep . . . repeat.  During intermissions we changed diapers, waking up all of Business Class.

Well, nothing lasts forever, including a flight from Shanghai to Chicago, and after 13 long hours we landed. This was another wonderful moment in our journey . . . landing safely back in the USA!

Our celebratory mood was a bit overshadowed by the fact that it took 2 and 1/2 hours to get through US Customs and Anna Kate's Immigration process. The poor baby was so tired by this point and quite hard to console while standing in the never-ending lines. When we were done we had to re-check our bags and go through security . . . only to find that our flight to Pittsburgh was delayed! I'll admit I shed a tear . . . but felt better after eating dinner and resting a bit. One short flight later and we landed in our city!! Woo-hooo!

When we came down the escalators to the baggage claim area, there was our whole Pittsburgh family . . . even the cousins, at 11:00 p.m. . . . what a happy sight!!! We'll never forget it! We were so excited to see Joe, and Anna Kate went right to him. Her new cousins welcomed her so sweetly, and she took it all in quietly. Oh, it felt SO good to have reached this long-awaited day.

More of our first days at home, coming soon . . .

(Thank you to Susie and Jeff, and Dena, for the wonderful photos!)