We Are Home!

In our hotel in Hong Kong waiting for the shuttle.  Caught a great pouty look from Hudson.  He can get the lip out pretty far just like his 2 older brothers.

Once again Ethan amazed us with how well he did on the 14 1/2 hour plane ride.  That doesn't even count the extra 1/2 hour we had due to having to wait for clearance to take off.  Ethan enjoyed playing with play dough, his toy plane, and matchbox cars.  He also took walks on the plane to talk with Wei's family who were seated a few rows up from us.  Thankfully he did sleep 2 different times and woke up happy and cheerful. 

This little fellow did pretty good as well considering his age and all the changes he endured prior to the flight.  He had 2 good temper tantrums in the beginning which got us a few concerning looks from those around us.  I am sure they were hoping that his screaming would not last the entire trip.  Thankfully, it did not.  Hudson also played well with his stacking cups and toy cars.  He had a short nap and then later slept about 5 1/2 hours.  Unfortunately, he did not wake up happy and cheerful!  However, once we got off the plane, and he got back into his Baba's arms, the crying subsided.  He took another short nap in David's arms and then he did wake up  happy and cheerful - full of smiles - as we all enjoyed dinner at Chili's in the Chicago airport.

This was right before his nap as we stood in line to eat at Chili's.  David and I wanted to sit at a table rather than on the floor, and I was craving a salad which of course was off limits in China.  Ethan and Hudson enjoyed chicken and fries.We left there thinking we only had an hour til our already delayed flight would take off.  No such luck.  The terrible thunderstorms had flights backed up considerably and some even cancelled like Wei's family who had to overnight in Chicago.  Thankfully our multiple delayed flight did finally depart around 8:45 PM CST.  Although I smocked Hudson's "coming home outfit" and had it packed in my backpack, David and I decided it was not worth putting Hudson through changing his clothes as he was so tired, and we knew that would not go over well!   

We were so happy to see our family waiting for us.  Lilly and Ellie were so excited that they ran pass the secured point and all the bells started sounding.  Thankfully the airport was deserted and the security guard just smiled and reset the alarms.  It was late - 11:45 PM - but Lilly and Ellie weren't the least bit tired as they were SO excited to have us home.  We got lots of hugs and kisses.  Hudson was not too thrilled with the hugs and kisses though.    

Ethan was so happy to see Lilly and Ellie - his 2 favorite playmates.  As we were walking out of the airport, the 3 of them were in front of me hand in hand.  I was too tired to pull out the camera, but it was a sweet moment.

Hudson screamed the entire way home.  He wanted David who was driving and thus he screamed.  I am really glad we don't live too far from the airport.  We all had heard enough screaming.  Once home, we quickly got everyone ready for bed and SLEPT! 

Some thank yous to some very special people:
Thank you to my dear cousin Sheri who stayed with my children for the first 10 days of our trip.  She only has one son so that was a huge change for her to care for 6 children in all.  Thank you also to her mom, my dear Aunt Lulu (I couldn't say Louise when I was little so "Lulu" stuck) who came to give Sheri a helping hand for several days.  Thank you both so very much!

Thank you also to Drew and Linda, friends of ours from church, who kept the children after Sheri returned  home.  Drew and Linda went from NO children to 5 children in an instant.  The children had a wonderful time staying at their home with their many pets - cats, chinchillas, visiting raccoon and babies, bunny who is litter boxed train, etc.  Thank you also for staying up late and driving the children to the airport so they could welcome us home.  We are so thankful for your sacrifice.

Last but not least, thank you to my dear friend Jen who kept the blog running for us.  Jen has 5 children of her on and is a teacher who didn't finish school for the summer until June 10.  I know you are extremely busy, Jen, so thank you for sacrificing your time to update the blog for us.

It's great to be home and a family of 9!  We are still trying to recover from jet lag and are waking up way too early.  Hudson is doing better now that we are no longer living like nomads and seems to be enjoying getting to know his new siblings and his new home!