It’s been four days and we are slowly emerging from the jet-lag
fog. Our travel day on January 28th was the longest day ever. It
was thirty hours from the time we left the White Swan Hotel
until we walked into our house. It was a very challenging day
and each of us experienced our own “meltdown” at different times
during the process.
We had three flights the first being Guangzhou to Shanghai. We
left the White Swan at 5:30 am. When we arrived we checked in
and went through security. As soon as we made it through we were
told to board a bus/shuttle to the airplane. It was crowded and
hot. The shuttle traveled 10-15 minutes to the plane. It was
very unusual. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered this in the
US. By the time we got there the plane was ready to leave. We
had some turbulence on this flight and when we boarded we
realized that our three seats were scattered all over the plane.
Fortunately the seat beside Kassidy was vacant so Shawn was able
to sit with her.
We arrived in Shanghai at 10:30 am. After picking up our luggage
we found out that we could not check in until 1:30pm. So we
loaded our luggage on a cart and headed to Burger King. We
wasted some time eating a leisurely lunch. After that is was a
long wait in line to check in followed by a long wait to go
through security. We had maybe an hour to wait to board the
plane. This was a long 13-hour flight. Tia slept approx. 10
hours and Kassidy slept a few hours. It was a long one for Shawn
and myself.
I don’t remember the time when we landed in Chicago. I was
thinking that we would have time to grab a bite and collect
ourselves but it didn’t work out that way. By the time we made
it through customs and security (again) we were running to catch
our flight to Harrisburg. Thankfully we made it! Upon arrival on
US soil in Chicago Tia became a United States Citizen! This was
a big day for her!
When we arrived in Harrisburg and entered the gate Kassidy fell
to the floor and said, “I’m so glad we are home!” I would have
done the same but Tia was strapped to me in the baby carrier. We
made our way to the landing above the baggage claim and we saw
family and friends waiting for us with tears and smiling faces.
It was SO good to see everyone! Thanks to everyone that was
there. I hope we had a chance to visit with each of you... it’s
sort of a blur to me now because we were so tired. Tia was all
smiles for the grandmas (which was very nice).
Tia has been doing really great since we have been home. She has
such a beautiful smile and we love to see it! As I write this
the tears are so near to the surface when I think about all that
we have experienced in the last few weeks. The Lord asked us to
wait so long for this precious daughter but He knew the exact
child that was for us. We feel so blessed to have traveled this
road of adoption. It has been a bumpy ride at times but so worth
it. We will never forget the emotions the first day we met Tia
and how fragile she seemed. Even though we’ve only been with her
for two weeks it is amazing how love can bring people together.
She is very willing to accept our comfort, love and attention.
We think of Tia’s birth family and hope that somehow they will
know that she is so very loved by us. This may seem like the
conclusion of our journey but it is only the beginning as we
look forward to watching Tia grow and blossom. It has been so
fun to share our experience with you and I hope your heart has
been touched by our story.
