Homecoming!

We loved our trip to China, but it feels soooooooo good to be home!

All 4 of my B's together...safe and sound under our roof!

Brielle's little grin, sweet voice, and sweeter breath in the morning and all day!

A pot of coffee two times a day, made just like I like it!

Soft, comfie beds! (what is up with the beds in China?? has anyone ever figured out an explanation for the rock-solid hard beds??)

Brushing our teeth with water from the tap!

Opening our eyes and mouth in the shower!

Toilet paper in the bathroom...

and No holes in the ground!

Macaroni Grill!

Nature walks in parks!

Fresh air!

Blue sky!

English!

No (or very little) second hand smoke!

Uncensored internet access!

No eel for lunch :o)!

Running!

Friends!

Our trip home was eventless (unless you call an uncharged Gameboy an "event") and seemed rather quick. Below is a recap of our full day of travel...

5:30 a.m. ~ Leaving the White Swan Hotel

Ji Hao's last glimpse of China as a Chinese citizen - a bittersweet moment

During the entire 24 hours of travel, Ji Hao only slept about 4-5 hours. Even though his gameboy was completely out of battery from the very beginning of the trip, he was an excellent traveler. I had packed his backpack full of activites, and he quietly went from one to another. On the flight from Minneapolis to San Antonio, it was obvious that he was uncomfortably tired, but not a complaint was heard from him (just a writhing body and contorted face from time to time...poor guy!)

U.S soil (over Minneapolis)!!!

Ji Hao's first steps on American soil.

(He insisted on pulling that small carry-on all the time.)

We just made it through the immigration window in Minneapolis...

Ji Hao is an American citizen!!

Welcome to America, sweet boy!

Waiting for all SIX of our checked bags so that we can go through customs in Minneapolis.

First Starbucks in America,

therefore

first Strawberries and Cream Frappucino!

A definite hit!

Brielle, Miyah, Mei Lin, Megan, and Mom waiting for us in San Antonio!

Treasured friends waiting to greet us and meet Brock Ji Hao!

Finally holding my littlest B again!!!



I'd give anything to know what he is thinking...

Meeting Mei Mei...

Ahhhh...first hug!





The welcoming committee!
Thank you sooo very much, my precious family and friends.

We are honored and humbled by your warm welcome home.

You are a blessing!

4 B's in a van...

Homecoming day was also my birthday, which was also the one year anniversary of the day we received the call from Children's Hope that we could review Ji Hao's file. What an exciting day!
(Don't you dare try to count those candles)

So happy to be home!

Ji Hao is good at whatever game/activity we give him. He focuses on one activity for a long time before moving on to another, AND he puts away the first toy before taking out the next!

My mom and Cindy bought him foam swords and shields to replace the wooden sword now held together with dental floss. Here grandma and Ji Hao are sword fighting.

What an amazing grandma!

Brant was so good with the girls, and they loved playing with him, too.

Ji Hao's first "dip" in the pool. He was a little hesitant.
Bubbles for Ji Hao, but the girls were more interested at the moment.

Thanks again for following our journey! We have been so blessed by all your comments and e-mails. I'll be posting a few more "First Days at Home" updates here, and then will likely post further updates on my "Keeper of the B's" blog.

Final Thoughts

All NINE of our pieces of luggage are now packed and weighed (packing light is not one of my gifts). The bell boy will be at our door at 5:00 a.m. to pick them all up. We depart for the airport at 5:30 a.m. and about 24 hours later (we gain 13 hours, so it'll be a little after 5 p.m. on Thursday), WE WILL BE HOME!

Miss Brielle ~ WE CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOUR SWEET FACE!! We can't wait to hold and kiss you. We can't wait to introduce you to your new brother. We think you are going to have sooooo much fun playing with him.

Mom, Cindy, Megan, Miyah, and Mei Lin ~ THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for taking care of our little one. We know what a complete sacrifice it was for all of you. Everytime we talked to Brielle, we could see that this whole thing was so much easier on her than we could have ever imagined. We are blessed beyond words to have you! Thanks to you, too, Dad and Pat, for giving up your families! I know you were both lonely, and we appreciate your sacrifice as well :o)!

To everyone who followed our journey and prayed for us ~ Your prayers were heard! I am overwhelmed when I think about how perfectly well this entire journey has gone. We all have been completely healthy. Brock Ji Hao was well prepared for his forever family and has adjusted beautifully. We have a one and a half page letter from his birthmother, and we found the person who found him eight years ago. He hears and talks much better than we ever imagined he would. We've enjoyed the food so much more this time and have not even craved Macaroni Grill :o). The five of us have had so many laughs and made so new many memories together. Praise God!!!

Brittany posted her final thoughts in the entry below. As you'll see in her words, China's grip on our hearts has tightened. She said it so well -- each of our trips to China has left us with a longing to know and understand more. China is complex. Both times we've been here, we seem to leave with more questions than answers. These questions, and our heart for our children's homeland, will likely beckon us to return.

Farewell for now, China. We will be back!

Farewell to China

by Brittany:

Shanghai...Nanjing...Guangzhou...China. It's been an experience. More pleasant at times and less at others, but an experience nonetheless. Now, as I write this, so much of me yearns to stay here, to talk to the people, and explore the heritage of Xi Ji Hao (Brock) and Xi Ai Mei (Brielle).

And yet, I miss my friends, my home, and my life (especially my cell phone). I am torn. I love my home and I love China. Part of me wants to go home, to see my friends again, and settle in. But two weeks felt more like three days. I want to come back, to know more and dig deeper into this vast culture. However, today we took the final step of the adoption process, meaning China's had her turn- it's time we fly back to America and plough ahead into the future.

So what was this final step in the process? Well, just today, bus loads of Americans stepped into the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, passports at the ready. Escalators ascended through floors, and it was upon these that we rode our way up to floor 4, where the command of a consulate employee herded the parents into a line. Upon arrival at the counter, they got their passports and faces compared oh-so-carefully (literally about three seconds), then we all had a seat.

Minutes later, I found myself rising again, dragging little Brock out into the aisle with me. I lifted my right hand into the air in obedience to the man who was speaking to us. A chorus of "I do"s followed the little statement about all of the information provided about us "....was true to the best of our knowledge." Cheers and claps ensued as happy parents displayed various signs of joy to their new child. The process was over...and the adoption sealed!

We really didn't do too much more today. Every time we stepped out to go shopping, rain seeped through our clothes and chilled our skin. I did manage to buy a few last-minute things, though.

Lucy's provided us with our very last dinner in China. A restaurant that serves mainly American food but also satiates the appetites of their Chinese customers, Lucy's is a popular place among U.S.A. visitors to Guangzhou. Although it's not our particular favorite, we chose to go there, just as we had two years before.

Now, as I look back on all that we've done, all the things we've seen and the people we've met, it's truly hard to believe. Experiences like this are unforgettable, and, when your time's up, you are left with a longing to experience more. Although I am excited to get home, I know that I will miss China and always look back on this trip with the fondest of memories. I hope to return someday when I'm a bit older and see once again the people whose past is now so complicatedly intertwined with our family's.

I hope as they grow up Brielle and Brock will know the richness of the culture of their land, and come to appreciate in full the heritage which God has given them.

On the bus to the U.S. Consulate

Our CHI guide, Elsie, giving us instructions.

Singing Chinese children songs on the bus!

The all-important, can't-open "Brown Envelope" issued by the Consulate!

This kid has obviously done Legos before! We were packing, and he found some Legos I had brought, but never gave him. Next thing we knew, he had followed the instructions and built this...

Then, he neatly "displayed" them on the desk. He continues to amaze us!
Brant "playing" with Ji Hao.

Hmmm...Ji Hao was laughing like crazy, but I'd be pretty freaked out by that big blue giant.

We did tell Brant to come up with a better game to "play", by the way.

Day 13

Morning on the Pearl River (view from our hotel room)

White Swan Breakfast

This morning, our cooordinator went to the American Consulate for Ji Hao's visa appointment. We had to wait in our room for one hour in case the Consulate had any questions about our paperwork. Thankfully, they had no questions, and tomorrow we will go to the Consulate to take "the oath" and to receive Ji Hao's visa.

Next on today's agenda was the adoption group photo. Traditionally, adoption groups take the children's photo on the White Swan Hotel's infamous "red couch". Then all the families gather in front of the lobby's waterfall for a family group photo.

Group Photo

We had a free afternoon, so we spent it shopping on the island. Knowing we had just a few more days left here, we hit the shops hard in order to finish off our shopping list. The two times we've been here, we've tried to buy both of our adopted kids many things from their homeland. Every year, on their Adoption Day and birthday, we can then give them a piece of their heritage.

The day would not be complete without a trip to Starbucks. Ji Hao has consistently asked for the Tiramisu in the display case and then methodically eats it in thin shavings to make it last. Yesterday, however, we introduced him to the Chocolate Frappucino, and now he is hooked on that! They don't have a Strawberries and Cream Frapp here in China, but my guess is that he is going to love that as much as his little sister. Looks like we'll be needing to limit our trips to Starbucks once we get home, or all these kids will never get to go to college.

We ended our day with a group "Farewell Dinner" at the Cantonese Restaurant down the street from the White Swan. The food is served family-style on a huge lazy susan, and it tasted much better than the last time we ate there. One of the dads in the group was celebrating a birthday today, so our guide asked Ji Hao and Adele (a nine year old girl in our group) to go up in front and sing "Happy Birthday" to him in Chinese. Both of them went up and sang without hesitation.

Tomorrow is our last full day in China. We have had so many unforgettable experiences here, but we are all ready to get back to the routine of life at home. We can't wait to see how Ji Hao and his little Mei Mei respond to one another. We are also excited to introduce him to "normal" life with our family (if there is such a thing as "normal" at our house). Our journey has really just begun...