December 2015

Wow I really didn't intend to go so long before updating our Were Home post. So many have asked how the flight home went and if we made it home alright. The trip home was a hard one. We made it to the airport early in hopes that we could get an earlier flight. We had no luck and an hour and half was wasted with our guide walking back and forth not even sure who to talk to. So we had a three hour flight to Beijing. Hope slept the whole flight. When we arrived in Beijing things got complicated. We could not find one person that spoke English to ask about whether we needed to collect our luggage or not. We ended up waiting for the luggage and it did show up. Our stroller didn't make it in time and was left at the Beijing airport. After we collected the luggage we still didn't know where to go. We were told that we had to go check in again. Once out in the main entrance I lost it and started crying. At this point we had less than an hour and no clue where to go. Right then an American who spoke fluent Mandarin walked by. He saved us and showed us the way. We had to check in again. One by one she had to go through our passports and issue new tickets. The luggage was scanned and they had to remove the souvenir swords that they got to show and then repack. After what seemed like an eternity we were sent on our way through even more security. My oldest son has a pump so each security point takes longer than normal. The little kids and I made it through so we ran ahead to make sure the plane would wait for us. We made it just in the nick of time. The others were shortly behind us. They even moved our seats and we were able to be seated all by each other. Hope was a trooper along with all the kids. She slept the whole way back. She became an American Citizen as soon as we touched down in Seattle. Sadly I didn't take any pictures, I was exhausted at this point and just wanted to make it home. Our last flight was delayed by several hours. My father in law Robin was suffering from a swollen jaw and pain. He ended up having an abscessed tooth that was pulled the next week. We are thankful that it didn't happen sooner. We made it home late that night and showed Hope around our home. She was very nervous and it was a tough night getting to sleep.

We have been home over a month now and so much has happened over the last month.
Shortly after returning home we celebrated Thanksgiving and the kids returned to school. She's met most of the extended family already. She had her first doctor's appointment and had several shots and blood work. She has already gained three pounds since we met her. We received great news on her blood work and all was normal!

This is amazing because this was why she was considered a special needs adoption. She has visited the kids schools several times, went on a train ride with Santa, went shopping, had a play date, attended church, and had her first dental appointment.

She now is a very active little girl and always on the move. We've had to do some child proofing since returning home. She is talking a lot and copying many words. She can point to all her body parts and even name some of them. She can point and say the names of all our family.

She turned 2 on December 13th and we had a Frozen Birthday party for her. She didn't really understand all that was going on but got a hang of it fast. She had her baby dedication this Sunday!

She is still a mommy's girl but is slowly opening up to daddy. She also is fond of her grandma's! She loves giving her grandpa's and uncle knuckles but doesn't want them to hold her.

We love this girl so much and are so Thankful God chose us to be her parents!

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