Last days in China, travel, and HOME!!!!

Hello sweet friends and family!

We are HOME!!!! It's SO nice to be home!!! This is a long post because I hadn't posted in a few days - so if you don't have time for the whole thing, just watch this amazing video that our friend Katie made for us...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xmt3KgM_zI&feature=youtu.be

It was SO special to arrive home to the Huntsville airport and have so many of you there to welcome Kate home!!! We feel that she is your baby too - you have prayed for her and loved her for all this time just as we have! And your prayers have really carried us through. What a special morning!!! Thank you SO much, Katie - that video is fabulous and so special to us!!!

Ok, so for those of you with more time... here are pictures and videos from the last few days of our trip and our transition home... I have a little Kate in my lap so if there are stray letters and such, you'll know why! She loves the computer ; )) It's so much easier to post these blogs from home! In China, we had to use a VPN and it was just lots more steps to get each picture and video posted. We have such an amazing country... I take for granted things like internet usage abilities, clean water, great hospitals, clean streets, good sewage systems, etc... back back to the subject...  ;)

Tuesday was our last full day in China. First we had our consulate appointment. That's really what the whole trip hinges on. The reason we went to China when we did was because of that consulate appointment on November 6. The last thing you wait for in the adoption process is that appointment - and once they give it to you, you book your trip for the week before. Two other families from our group (Hulls and Pettersons) had their appointment at the same time. We all went together in a big bus - that was home we got around in Guangzhou mostly. Our guides arrange all that! They were so organized and helpful. We couldn't take cameras into the consulate, so that's why we don't have any pictures to share. But basically, you all get there - 12 families in all per appointment time (the rest were from other agencies). You sit in a room sort of like our DPS with windows to talk to tellers. First, the American lady who runs the consulate talked to us and said how excited they were to see our faces after looking at our paperwork for so long. She was so nice. She told us more about the process and how our little ones would become citizens and what exactly to do at the airport, etc. Then she had us all stand and take an oath. So cool! Then they called each family up individually to sign papers and such. Then we headed back to the hotel! Our consulate appointment ran a little late so we ended up missing the bus heading to shopping with the rest of our group because we really needed to give Kate a bottle. But it was actually perfect because we got some more time with our friends Ginger and Greg and their boys! We walked back to the Mexican restaurant and ate lunch. They were SO nice to make the trip to Guangzhou with their boys... it really made the last week fly by and it was such great fellowship. Thanks, guys... we love you!!! 

After lunch we took a taxi to meet the rest of our group who was shopping at Shamina Island. We were there for about an hour and it was perfect to grab a few last gifts and such! This was the only place I had to use a "squatty potty" - i.e. hole in the floor! It's traditionally how Chinese bathrooms are set up - but the hotels and many places have western (regular in our minds) toilets. So I had Kate in the sling and had to squat to potty. Phew, it was a crazy balancing act and I'm glad I didn't fall in the potty! We all needed a shower when we got back... but again, at least we didn't fall in ; ) hehe... Anyway, soon after we got there (maybe 3 pm) we got a call from one of our guides saying that the lady who helped us at the consulate had forgot to have us sign one document... so we needed to sign that before the close of business if we still wanted to leave for America the next day! Eek! So they said they would need to take the entire group back to the consulate because that would be the quickest way. So when the group met at 3:30 to reload on the bus and head to the hotel, they found out about our little issue and were soooooo nice to happily ride along on that adventure. It added almost an hour to the bus ride and they all had lots of children with them, so we were so grateful for their kindness!! It totally wasn't our fault about the form, but still we felt really bad! So we got there right in time - maybe 4:30 pm - and they rushed us inside. The same lady who helped us met us in a special area so we wouldn't have to go back through security and metal detectors and such. We signed the paper and we were off! Phew! We just prayed they would still be able to process Kate's visa so we could leave the next day!!! Thankfully, they did complete her visa and our guide brought it to us with the rest of the group's visas the next day (weds) at 4 pm. Thank you, Lord!!!

Below is a picture of us in front of the hotel (behind us is the fountain and street in front of the hotel, you can't actually see the hotel in this pic ; ). Then a picture after shopping when we were waiting for the bus (Kate loved that lollipop!). Below that is a picture of her asleep at lunch, then one of us with Ginger, then another shopping pic (the girl in the orange coat is a model! they are doing a photo shoot! super cool!)

Speaking of, now I know that ALL parents think their children are beautiful and smart (rightfully so!) but for Kate's sake, I'm going to take a minute and talk about how pretty she is for a minute! Now, I know you all think so too! I personally think Chinese people are all beautiful! They just are! But the Chinese people over and over and over and over again would come up to us and say "oh, how beautiful she is! Those big eyes! That fair skin!" To them, the bigger and rounder your eyes are, the more beautiful you are. And they like lighter skin (I have way darker skin than most Chinese - I'm Lebanese ; ) but they just love light skin and big eyes for some reason. So by Chinese standards, apparently she is a beauty! They would all ask what province she came from and go on and on about it with our guide. The province, Jiangxi, is actually known for beautiful women. So anyway, just a side note. It was just pretty remarkable how everyone would say the same thing to us about her! By the way, the Chinese people are so kind. Not just because they say our child is pretty! Ha! But for lots of reasons!

Here's a video of Kate in her crib at the hotel in Guangzhou. She gets so excited to see us and claps her hands! She did it yesterday too when I went to get her for the day - she just beamed and clapped her little hands! She was so excited!!! She thinks we're good parents - she doesn't know how crazy we are yet!!! No one tell her please ;)) Hehe...

Cute video of her and James playing...

At the hotel she would walk from one thing to another by holding on to things... since home, she has actually taken a few unassisted steps! So exciting! She gets so proud of herself (with good reason!).

Ok, below the top left picture is of us with one of our guides, Rebecca. She was great! To the right she is explaining to some of our group which documents to give which airport official and such. The bottom left picture is of me and Kate with our other guide, Miko. She and I are only 4 days apart it turns out! Just crazy to hear a bit of her life story and compare it to mine... same age, born at the same time worlds apart... such different lives now. She has one child (16 month old boy) and she can't have anymore (one child policy). She works - in China, it is very rare for a mom to get to stay home - they just can't make ends meet on one salary. So she is up early and home late working. She is super happy about it and loves her life and didn't say anything but positive things about it - but it's just interesting to me. Again, we are so blessed. We were there for election day, which was pretty crazy. James pointed out that on the large spectrum of world governments, though many of us have firm positions on whether we are republicans or democrats, the US political parties are relatively very similar to one another compared to the other world governments. I don't know much about politics so I won't delve too deep for fear of revealing too much of my ignorance... but that really seemed true when we were over there. We are just thankful to be Americans and pray that our country continues for our children to experience the same freedoms and benefits. So not that you shouldn't be upset if your candidate didn't win, because that is totally valid and right and we may have done the same thing (I'm not going to say who we voted for...), but I just wanted to throw that out for what it's worth!

Ok, back to the pictures. I said before that we were blessed to be able to travel in first class for those long flights over the ocean. Thank you Meme and Coco (our moms) for making that happen! Most families don't do that - they are in economy - which is great too. But let me just say that if you have miles and are able to bump up to first class, it is well worth it. For one thing, you spend a lot of time in airports between flights. Since it's such a far journey, many times you wait hours and hours and hours for the next flight because they may only send one per day with that route. And then sometimes you have quick layovers! But for those long ones, having the first class ticket means you can go in the airport first class lounge areas. I'd never been in those before but they are all SO NICE! We even showered at one! SO NICE! They all have free food and drinks, comfy chairs, and lots of other neat things. The bottom middle pic is of us at one of those eating ; ) And the bottom right is of us right before boarding the plane headed for the US!

Ok, the plane we flew on (James would know the plane type and all that, but he's asleep so maybe he can add it later for those of you who are interested!) but it had like 500 people on it! It was two story! It's a new plane (which sort of freaked me out - reminded me of the titanic for some reason, but we made it, so that's all that matters!). It goes from Guangzhou to LA. For those of you making this trip to adopt, tell your travel agent about this flight! Most families had no idea and were taking buses/trains to Hong Kong to fly out of there. But it is SO nice to fly straight out of Guangzhou and cut out part of the trip! So check on that. We had never seen a line this long to get on a plane before. It was amazing! That is a LOT of people on a plane! James took a video:

Ok, another plug for first class: your bags always come out at baggage claim first! It's so cool! And the cool things you get at your seat are just neat. They occupied me for at least an hour on both those long flights. They give you toiletry bags with fancy things inside, ear plugs, face masks, perfume, toothbrushes & paste, lotions, etc. They give you slippers and even pajamas! Many of the Chinese people change into the pajamas to keep their clothes clean and nice. Now, I can't remember if I've said this before, but China is HOT. The people must always be cold because the heat is on everywhere, and the plane was HOT. But that has nothing to do with first class! We were so glad to get to the US and feel some A/C. Usually I'm cold everywhere I go, but it was nice!

Ok, here are some videos of us when we got to the US before we got off the plane - and then one of us walking Kate off the plane - I think that's the moment she becomes a US citizen! Super cool! James had the foresight to capture that on video! YEA! He was a great travel partner for a zillion reasons!

Ok, each of our seats on the plane had a little cubby by our feet so that when the seat lays flat and you sleep, you have more room because your feet go in that cubby. Well, it was the perfect little spot for Kate to sleep! It worked great! They will also bring you a bassinet (in economy class too) so request that if that works better for you! And the pic on the top right is of the first class in our cabin - almost the whole top story of the plane was business/first class (is that the same thing?). The pictures on the bottom are in LA at the airport - Kate's first Mac n Cheese, sitting with her daddy, and family pic before boarding the plane for Atlanta ; )

Sweet little Kate... she bobs to the right and left with her little shoulders when you sing or when she wants you to sing!

I think these are in the Atlanta lounge... just some more videos so you can see Kate in action!

Ok, here is the immigration place at the airport where we turned in Kate's adoption documents to immigrate to the US! So cool! The guard who helped us has her same birthday - very cool! Then there's Kate eating her first oatmeal in the US! And James gets good pics of the flight path that comes on the screen in front of your seat on the plane. Here's one of our plane almost to LA! And on the bottom is a pic of happy Kate... then a pic of when our plane flew over Huntsville on it's way to Atlanta... we were right over home! Just a few hours away from being there!

Here is Kate playing with James ; ) And Paula had sent me these two pics on the top center and right - she put us up on her church's prayer wall! So cool! And then there's a picture of a sign Henry was making - so sweet ; ) We love you, Claunches! Bottom right is a picture of me eating at Qdoba in Atlanta at 7 am - right when they opened. James (so sweet) had looked at the Atlanta airport maps while we were still in China and called and found out when they opened and was so excited that I could get some on the way through (I love that place!) so fun ; ) Then the pic on the bottom left is of some Vietnam vets ... the plane that would take us from Atlanta to Huntsville had actually just come from Huntsville - I guess it just goes back and forth. So getting off the plane were 11 Vietnam veterans from Huntsville on their way to Vietnam! The Vietnamese government has a program that brings them back for a visit. Special that on the trip when Kate became a US citizen, these guys were there - who fought for the freedoms she will now experience. Very cool. Thanks for serving, guys.

So after I think 40 hours of travel, living one day twice (which is super weird), we arrived in Huntsville! And here's the video that Katie made that I talked about earlier - thanks Katie! We have such PRECIOUS family and friends and this was the sweetest homecoming we could ever have imagined. Thank you everyone!!!! We love you! Airport homecoming video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xmt3KgM_zI&feature=youtu.be

Many people had signs for us and for baby Kate! At the airport and then the fence in front of the house was decorated (those pics to come at some point!) but here is a fun one that I think Frederick made? Of Kate's family tree! Precious.

And here are some more signs! They were all just precious. Thanks everyone. Bottom right is a picture of the beautiful flowers from Rivertree, our church family. What a treat! We love you and are blessed to worship with you! (ps. we went to a marriage sermon at Rivertree last night - it was R-rated so they did it at night to make sure no kids were there! and it was great! we left the "big" girls at home and took Kate. she slept in her bucket most of the time and it was great to hear some fun music, good teaching, worship, and see more of our church family and let them meet Kate!) Again, a reminder that we have freedom to worship... what a special country we live in. We are BLESSED to be here and be FREE - both free in Christ and free to worship Him!

Since we've been home, we've had lots of fun! We are exhausted and jet lagged and not sleeping very regular hours... we are way behind on phone calls, texts, and emails, so sorry about that! We'll get there at some point! We love you all and appreciate your love and support so much! Molly and Anne love Kate (and she LOVES them! claps when she sees them!). Molly does have some moments of weakness where she doesn't understand why I'm holding Kate and not her ("Mommy, put IT DOWN! Hold MOLLY!) and equally, Kate doesn't appreciate me holding Molly! They both like to be held - which is really so sweet! And a blessing! I will miss these days! Much of our time home has been of everyone in my lap! Which, speaking of, this is random, but a lap child in China has to buy a ticket too! The cost is 10% of the RETAIL price of the ticket (so if you used miles, they don't look at the reduced rate you paid, but the full price!) so my LAP in China cost $600 US dollars for Kate to sit in! Good heavens! So it's an expensive lap ; ) haha. But it's been sweet to hold all my babies! And then there's a picture of some of the fabulous food that people have left! We have frozen meals, breakfast items, casseroles, muffins, etc, etc. Y'all are all so wonderful! thank you!!!!! The one pictured is a very fancy gluten free meal from Carol - it said "lunches for liz" and has all sorts of fancy and super yummy food! Ak!!! Thank you, Carol! And thank you everyone else!!!! It is such a blessed to just worry about how to hold everyone and not how to feed them too! We are so blessed.

More pictures of being home, playing, eating, holding daddy's hand...

And some videos from being home...

Ok, I think that about covers it! Thanks for sticking with me in this crazy long post! We love y'all and are so thankful to be home. If I were still doing quiet times, I would post verses... but so far I'm just listening to praise music! Which is great too ; ) God is carrying us through and we know He is so faithful and so near. Thank you, Jesus, that we are home safe and sound! And that we are blessed to have such a precious community around us to help us raise these children of yours. We love you!