we're HOME!

on the red couch

in the elevator at the White Swan

saying good-bye to Laurie and Claire

XiXi, holding Jack, and me before leaving the White Swan for the last time

just before take-off (and ripping the frame off the window...)

"I loved the emergency instructions card" said Jack.

Elizabeth, feeding Jack

Elizabeth, feeding Jack (part deux)

and still adjusting to the time difference--13 hours' difference, to be exact. Yesterday and today, Jack woke up at 4:00 am and would not go back to sleep. He wakes several times during the night as well. And, Jack and I have colds. I am exhausted, but every day gets better. Elizabeth loves her new brother very much but struggles with having to share her Mama. She cries often and wants to be picked up and held. From the very beginning, though, she wanted to feed him and to change his diapers. She begs me to let her prepare his bottles and to pick him up and to hold him. I have to go back and re-read Siblings Without Rivalry...I know that with a little time, things will be much better.
As an aside, I'm reading Lost on Planet China by J. Maarten Troost. In fact, I took it with me on my trip. For ANYONE who has traveled to or plans to travel to China, it is a must-read...
As for our final day in China...On Friday, I let Jack walk around the hotel room naked while I filled the bathtub. He followed me to the bathroom and watched me from the hallway. Then, without warning, he started to pee. Boys really are different from girls...Laurie, Claire, Jack, and I had breakfast at the buffet, and Laurie checked out of the hotel. She put her things in my room, because she was not leaving until 6 pm. We then did last-minute shopping, taking turns while Jack and Claire napped. We also took them downstairs for the obligatory photo shoot on the red couch. The pictures came out very well, I thought. I feel badly that I don't have similarly good pictures of Elizabeth (though I do have them, they aren't as good as they could've been...) We met the Valentis at Lucy's for dinner, and then it was time for Laurie to leave for the airport. It was very hard to say goodbye, but I know that we have forged a life-long friendship through the adoptions of our four children and that we will see each other again very soon.
Friday night, I finished packing around 11 pm and then could not fall asleep right away. I woke up at 4 am; left my luggage outside my door as instructed at 4:30 am; and was downstairs with Jack by 5 am to meet XiXi and the Valentis for our van ride to the airport. I didn't really plan on a special outfit for Jack to wear home, except for a blue one-piece fleece that had American flags all over it.

At the airport in Guangzhou, I had the "good fortune" to have my luggage hand-searched before check-in (oh, joy!). Thank goodness for packmates--my clothes were easily moved around--but after packing everything so carefully, I was ticked that everything was pulled out, felt, and shoved back inside the suitcase. One rather funny thing: After boarding our plane but before taxi-ing away from the gate, Jack decided to rip the frame off the airplane window! The flight attendant said, I've never seen that happen before! Leave it to Jack...She called a mechanic to fix it, but we were able to force it back on with a little effort. Didn't exactly inspire confidence in Northwest airplanes, though...I had the good fortune to have an empty seat next to me, so Jack slept for a portion of the flight to Narita, Japan.

I wasn't so lucky for the longer flight to Detroit--I had an aisle seat in the middle of the plane and held Jack for the entire flight. My arms ached by the end of it all. I sat next to a really nice guy, though, who was very patient with me and with Jack, and on our walks up and down the aisle Jack got lots of smiles from the other passengers. When we landed in Detroit, Jack became a U.S. citizen! I thought it fitting--Detroit--Motor City--cars--he's a boy...We had to retrieve our checked luggage in Detroit and then go through Customs. Thank goodness for Jay--he put my suitcases on a cart for me, and I somehow managed to push the loaded luggage cart and pull Jack in his stroller, computer case hanging off the handles, with the backpack on my back. One of the Customs employees took one look at me, said to a co-worker that she would be right back, and quickly took my luggage cart from me and pushed it over to the place where we were supposed to dump our checked luggage. She truly was a gift from God. Next was the security checkpoint from hell. Not only did I have to take out the laptop, camcorder, and camera, but also everything with a battery in it (my cellphone, for instance) AND all of the cords and chargers (for the camera, computer, camcorder, and cellphone). I also had to take off my and Jack's shoes, take him from his stroller, and fold up his stroller so that it could be placed on the conveyor belt and go through the x-ray machine. This (all of the cords and chargers) was a first for me. I was sweaty and tired and ready to just take someone's head off--but I didn't. I think it took me a good twenty minutes, once I got there, just to go through security and to put everything back in place. Do I feel any more secure for all that? Not one bit.
Our final flight from Detroit to Portland was entirely uneventful, and we were met at the airport by Elizabeth, my parents, and wonderful friends who are like family to me. It was SO GOOD to hug my little girl!!!!!!!!!! She seemed so tall! and more beautiful than I remembered! As for the drive home from the airport? Jack didn't mind his carseat a bit. I sat on the floor of the minivan on the ride home, sandwiched between him and Elizabeth. It was so good to be home!