26 1/2 hours later…..we are home!

by Michele

We left our hotel in Hong Kong at 7:15 this morning (Thursday) and we drove into the driveway at home around 8:45 pm (Thursday) so our trip (just transportation-wise) was 26 1/2 hours long.  We made it.  Thanks to everyone who was praying for us because really it went pretty smoothly, or as smoothly as you can travel with two toddlers over the date line.

We started off the day at 6:00 with showers and breakfast.  We were not going to shower the girls but they filled their diapers enough that we just wanted to start the day clean.  We had some banana and oatmeal then headed out the door.

The Hong Kong airport was busy but we got through the lines in time to play a bit in a play area around Gate 26 (for those of you who are going through Hong Kong and have some minutes to spare before hopping on a plane.)

We left Hong Kong without a hitch.  Our plane was on time, everything was going well.  Before we even took off, Quinn was out for her morning nap.  Jenna quickly followed in her footsteps.  They proceeded to take a 2 1/2 hour nap.

Ted and I were optimistic, we only had 12 1/2 hours left on the first plane.  Jenna woke up in a good mood.  She contently played until she fell asleep a few hours before we landed.  I think Ted was ready for the break.  Quinn on the other hand was a different story.  About 3 hours into it, I noticed that she felt hot.  I walked around and talked to a few other adoptive families on our flight to see if any one had a thermometer.  It turns out that one of the flight attendant’s family was on board and they had one so we took Quinn’s temp.  She was at 102.2.  Nobody had meds because all of the children’s bottles come in 4 oz so they were all checked.  Quinn proceeded to fall in and out of sleep for the whole flight.  She wanted her butt patted the entire trip (in total about 11 hours straight).  I was exhausted.  About 1 1/2 hours before we landed, she seemed to snap out of it and I was able to lay her down and get a 20 min catnap before they started serving food.

When we landed in Detroit, I took Quinn’s temperature again and it was back to normal.  We cleared customs in a little over 2 hours.  Adoption paperwork makes you go through an additional step so it does take a bit longer.  We went up to our gate and we had another 2 1/2 hours before our plane took off.  There was a plane that was heading to Minneapolis sooner that we wanted to take but it was leaving the gate right as we were getting to ours.  Our travel agent told us we really need three hours to clear customs so I guess I am glad I listened to somebody once in my life time.  Anyways, Quinn was feeling a bit better because she allowed me to set her down so she could play a bit in the waiting area.  She still has not eaten much food since the morning.

We boarded our plane and the girls actually wanted to sit independently, something they did not want to do on the 15 1/2 hour flight.  Don’t worry, it did not last long, they were on our laps come take-off.

We all slept the 1 3/4 hour flight, which was good.  When we got to Minneapolis, Ted and I were concerned how Quinn and Jenna would take to car seats.  They were always allowed to climb all over the car in China.  There was a little screaming but nothing too bad considering they have been on the go for the last 24 hours.

Jenna

Quinn

When we got home we were welcomed with tons of notes, balloons and fresh food.  Just so you know, there strawberries were in my mouth before the van was unpacked.  I was so craving strawberries…I don’t know who filled our fridge or who knew that I needed some strawberries but it was perfect. (Just so you know, I am eating cherries as I type this…I am in heaven).

And obviously, people were reading our blog because we were welcomed to our dinner table decorated up with Chinese lanterns just like the ones that were all over in China.

  Just so you know, Ted’s comment was, “We should give our keys out to more people if every time we come home, our house is filled with food, supper ready in the crock pot, cleaned and decorated, complete with new pictures of our girls on the refrigerator.”  Our rooms were filled with balloons too.  Our girls were very scared when they first walked into the house but once they saw the balloons, they ran out of our arms to go play with their balloons.

Within a few minutes of getting home, a certain neighbor (who just couldn’t wait until morning to come see us) stopped by for a visit.  And, of course, then she had to play a while with the girls.   I am sure they will grow to love her just as much as my boys love her.

They also found the toy bins…they are having a hard time falling to sleep because there are so many new toys for them to play with.

Anyway, it is really late now and I have been going for about 30 hours with about 2 hours of sleep so I am off to bed.  Tomorrow my boys come home.  I am ready to cuddle them because I really miss them.  Skype can only satisfy for so long and then you just have to have them in person.