Thursday,
June 24, 2010
I can’t believe that I’m about to write this, but this will be
our very last post from China!!! Wow! We made it… and not only
that, but we did truly enjoy most of this trip. I had been
hoping for the best, but also preparing for the worst.
Thankfully, things were on the better end of the spectrum. Our
last day in Guangzhou consisted of breakfast, a walk to get
coffee at Starbucks one last time, a movie in the room to keep
the girls happy since everything else was packed, stopping by
the Consulate to get Leah’s visa, going to the airport, flying
to Beijing, and going to bed! We will fly out of Beijing around
noon on Friday, and arrive in San Francisco at about 8:30 am
local time there (an 11 ½ hour flight). We then leave there at 4
pm, and arrive in Pittsburgh at midnight! Yeah!!!
I think I’m just going to try and form some final thoughts here.
This morning, Leah was so lovey with me! She wanted me to hold
her almost all morning, and she just kept hugging me tight! I
was thinking of how far we have come from that first day when
she came into the room and saw us for the first time. She was
scared to look at us, and didn’t move or talk. She has truly
become a part of our family in such a short time, and I know
that she will only get more comfortable as time goes on. She can
be a very gentle and caring sister as well. She wants to take
care of any need she sees, and it’s so sweet to watch! And a
little of her extra energy has gone away a bit. Don’t get me
wrong, she is very active and strong, but in those first couple
of days she was almost a bit hyper as well. That has calmed
down, and I think a lot of that was her not being comfortable
yet. I also have to say that Kyra and Ryann are still totally in
love with their sister! They had been so excited to go and get
Leah and their feelings for her have only grown. I’m so happy
because we didn’t know how things would be when she was finally
with us. Would they be jealous, or annoyed by her? They are
neither. They are very patient with her, and just adore having a
little sister! If anything, they fight between the two of them
for who gets to sit beside Leah the most. They seriously can’t
get enough of her. Thank you Lord!
I also want to say thank you so much for all of you who have
followed our journey, read my ramblings everyday, prayed for us,
and left wonderful comments in our Guestbook! You have all been
a part of this trip with us, and we truly appreciate each and
every one of you! We seriously would have felt a million miles
away, but instead, we felt very close to home!
We have had some awesome experiences here that we will never
forget. And I pray that Kyra, and hopefully Ryann too, will
remember this trip as they get older. I don’t think that Leah
will remember this time, which in a way is good. I think it will
be healthy for her to only remember us as her parents when she’s
older, and not that she had to go through several transitions.
I’m not saying that those transitions won’t affect her in the
long run, but she won’t remember being moved around China before
her Mommy and Daddy came to get her.
We are so thankful that we had this opportunity to visit her
country, and learn a little about the people and culture. China
has given us a most precious gift in our daughter Leah, and we
are forever grateful! |
Our first time holding Leah on Gotcha
Day!
All of us with Leah, the orphanage director, and a women from
Christian Action (Gotcha Day)
She’s officially temporarily ours (Gotcha Day)
Together at the Warlord’s compound (from Xining) |
