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Monday, June 16, 2008

WE ARE AT THE WHITE SWAN!! WOO HOO!!!

Graeme ready for his first plane ride.

Wyatte, Jane, Tamara and Andy

Lorena, Jane, Aurora and Kelsey

Margaret, Lily, Jane, Wes and Graeme

Our group!

Graeme's very breif nap!

The great Uno match. This drew quite the group of onlookers.

Aurora and Lily playing Leapster

Lily, Aurora and Kelsey are watching Finding Nemo in Chinese. I wonder what Lily is thinking.

This picture was taken before we boarded the plane. Can you imagine what it was like at the end of the flight?


After a very long day of traveling, we are at the White Swan Hotel. This morning started out well as we packed to leave Hefei in Anhui Province to travel to Guangzhou where we will finalize things with the U.S. Consolate. We enjoyed a nice breakfast and packed our belongings. We all met in the lobby and checked out. Then we took lots of pictures with our guide and all of the families together. It was a leisurely morning and we left for the airport at 11:30 a.m. for our 1:40 flight.

We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to check in and headed upstairs to wait. We saw that our flight was on time and settled in for our short wait. Then, we hear that MU5225 has been delayed due to air traffic congestion until further notice. Ouch!!! They didn't even mention when we would take off. We noticed that the plane before ours was also going to Guangzhou and they had boarded so we were still optamistic at this point. We kept hearing the same message about our flight. After an hour, the plane that had preboarded still had not taken off and they deboarded the passengers. Optimism began to fade at that point. After a while longer at about 4:00 p.m. they announce that they will be given a snack for the passengers on our flight. I leave Wes with the children while the other Mom's and I get in line for the snack. We all kind of stand back in awe as we watch passengers elbowing their way to the counter to get the snack. You think I'm kidding but I have witnesses!!!! We finally get our snacks...you got it they didn't run out...no need to hurt anyone! We return to our seats and begin to snack on our crackers and water when five minutes later they announce that they are boarding our plane..WHAT! So we gather up all of our things and head to board. We are happy to be moving forward. Again, a mad rush to board. We hang back and still make it on the plane where you guessed it....we wait some more!!


We are now waiting on the runway. Some progress well maybe not. We are then served yet another snack. (soy nuts, a roll and pound cake...YUM!! (yes I can still be sarcastic at this late hour)). We wait and wait and wait. Over an hour later we start to notice that the plane next to us is deboarding. Not a good sign! Suddenly and with no notice our plane begins to move. Finally we are on our way!!! Our flight is without further incident and we land in Guangzhou. I remember feeling an overwhelming sadness when we left Chongquing with Lily. I felt sad about taking her away from her birth province. I did not have those same feelings today. By the time we left, I was so ready to be starting the first leg of our trip HOME!!!
You may wonder how Wes and I occupied the kids at the airport. Lily Wen was easy. She played Uno, Leapster and watched Finding Nemo in Chinese. She was so easy!!! Wes was in charge of Graeme who would have it no other way and he had a much harder day. He had to occupy Graeme in less than ideal circumstances. He walked him around the airport, fed him and played the fetch the cup game (you know the game, Graeme throws the cup and Wes fetches). Graeme finally fell asleep but only slept for 20 minutes. On the plane, Graeme kept trying to remove his seatbelt so Wes had to hold his hands and only when he made Graeme really mad would he then stop. He really is trying his BaBa now. Graeme even tried to bite and pinched Wes some on the plane. Five minutes into the flight, Lily fell asleep and didn't wake up until we landed. I teased Wes that I had my charge asleep and what was up with his. In the moment, Wes didn't quite appreciate the joke. More than ever, he is wishing that Graeme had first bonded with me. Wes is passed out from exhaustion.
When we arrived at the White Swan we were met by many of the families that we spent time with in Beijing. We have seen some of the children and will see more tomorrow. We shared stories and many of us have had similar bonding experiences and feelings. This was such a relief and helped after the long day. Tomorrow is a new day and we face it after the infamous breakfast at the White Swan (it has to beat the noodles and Pringles we had for dinner)!!! Dawn brings a new day and I can't wait!

9 comments:

redmaryjanes said...

Travelling with small children is such fun!
I love how Graeme is getting along. He is really adjusting so well.
Hang in there. You'll be home soon!

Faith, Hope, and Love said...

The White Swan...YEAH!!! Its always a relief to have your child finally in your arms and be in GZ. I'm happy to see some humor surfacing from you! :) You are soooo close to home now!! I felt the sadness you described when we adopted Mikayla...but I did not feel it leaving Lauren's province. It must be a "first" thing....or a "get me out of here" thing! Enjoy GZ!!!

Unknown said...

This is such an encouragement!!! Love all the pics...

Melody and Brian said...

I laughed at loud at this post. Doesn't sound like a fun day. Who knew he was a biter? We are thinking about you guys and I hope things continue to improve. The bonding will come. He won't be able to resist you! I know it has to be hard but it will get better.
Love ya,

Melody and Brian

FHL said...

Sounds like a long, exhausting day! Waiting in an airport like that is miserable for adults...so I have to imagine it's five times worst for a child! Have fun in GZ!!!

Grannymary said...

Sound like a really tough day but one step closer to home. Graeme sounds like he is a handful. I'm sure Wes was exhausted. I hope tomorrow is much better for all of you. I'm packing tomorrow so I can leave soon to see my new Grandson. Can't wait.

Love you,
Mom

Mom 2 six said...

One step closer to home !

cmorton said...

Hi, I work with your neice(?) Holly Miracle in New Tazewell. We went to China last October to get our little girl. My mother and I have been reading your blog every day!!We are so excited for you. Even though we don't know you, we feel like we do. I would love to talk to you someday about the surgeries and rehab Graeme will have to go through when he gets home, b/c cl/cp may be what we choose next time, if we do actually do this again. We did not get to stay at the White Swan, so if they happen to be giving out or selling extra Going Home Barbies, pick up one for your unknown friend in New Tazewell. That was the one thing I missed getting to do in China. If I have to drive to Harlan to get it, I will. I would love for our Sophie to meet your babies. We don't live very close to many families with Chinese babies. We are keeping you in our prayers, and we will be keeping up with your blog.

Unknown said...

oh how exhausting for all of you - especially Wes!

enjoy the WS in all it's glory, it's such a nice place to hang out while you wait to go HOME!