Sunday, June 15, 2008

We're here!!

After spending an evening celebrating birthdays and saying some tearful goodbyes (mostly mommy crying!) we woke up early on Saturday morning, ready to be on our way to China! My sister's husband, Bob, drove us to the airport so that the little ones could sleep, we knew there would be lots and lots of tears if we woke them up early just to tell them we were leaving. We had anticipated some sad moments of realizing mama and baba were gone and Angie's closet shelves are stocked with goodies that are sure to put smiles on the faces of our babies... there is everything from stickers to Disney Princess jewelry to silly string to slingshot airplanes. Definitely something for everyone :)The flights were, amazingly, pretty much okay! On time, easy connections and pleasant layovers. Chris and I commented several times that it felt a bit odd for us to be able to sit and talk about 'things' without having to worry about who would take Mei Mei to pee or getting after Jude for pulling things out of the airport trashcan. So it was really a very nice day! We each purchased a book, I can NOT tell you the last time I bought (and read!) a non-fiction book. I LOVED it and it really helped my queazy stomach as we got closer and closer to Guangzhou.

Our last flight landed at 11:00PM and we were just so GLAD to be in China again. I walked off the plane and it just smelled like China! Must be the humidity or the heat, it was both hot AND rainy ;) As we waited for our bags I went and got a luggage cart and we packed our carry-on backpacks on it while we waited for our checked luggage to come through. I went to throw my gum away and then walked around to the other side of the conveyor belt to see if I could see our last bag, leaving the luggage cart with Chris. A few minutes later Chris was calling to me, "Stefanie! Where is our cart!?" It was no where. No cart, no backpacks. All of a sudden my head was spinning, filled with everything that was IN those backpacks... cameras, video camera, paperwork, really irreplaceable stuff. We both started looking anxiously from cart to cart, certain that someone must have mistakenly taken our cart assuming it was theirs. No cart. I started freaking. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, Chris called to me, "Stefanie! Over there!" and sure enough, it was on the other side of the conveyor belt, over where I had been standing and waiting. It must have been well behind me because I certainly didn't see it. After wiping the sweat from our brows, we praised God who must have sent an angel to deliver that cart! So thank you to everyone who has been sending up prayers in our behalf, we definitely feel them, even half a world away!!