We're home!

Right now, everyone in the family can attest to the phrase "Home Sweet Home."  We left for the airport on Saturday morning.  And so our long trek began...

We got on a plane from Guangzhou to Beijing--a two hour flight.  Gabriel is a funny kid...he actually likes airplane food and eats a lot on the airplane.

The fact of life about traveling all day long with two toddlers is that we did some diaper changes at 30,000 feet.  Not sure how the passengers felt about that but when nature calls, we have no choice but to answer.

When we arrived in Beijing, we found out that our flight to Seattle had been delayed by four hours.  Bummer!  So our 4-hour layover became an 8-hour layover that felt like forever.  We were a little bit demoralized at this point because we already felt a bit tired and we had yet to cross the ocean!  Also, as far as killing time, the stores inside in the terminal not your "normal" airport terminal shops that you can peruse through with kids, but are boutiques that sell high-end handbags or silk scarves.  They also didn't have any fast food, and simple restaurants -- only coffee shops and one place that gave us our "free" (paid for by Delta Airlines, because the flight was so delayed) meal, which is a set meal -- rice, seaweed soup, bok chou, and some meat.  It was OK, but not great...

But we did find these carts and the kids got pushed around in them for hours.  These were heaven sent.

So we boarded the plane at around 9pm, beyond the bedtime for most of our kids.  They zonked out pretty quickly and actually got quite a bit of sleep because they were able to spread out a little bit.

Elvin held Gabey for most of the flight, but when he had to go to the restroom, Eliana did the honors. Eliana, by the way, did great.  We got children's Dramamine from another family in our group and it worked wonders!  She did not get airsick at all.

Also, Emily did fine as well.  With the Sudafed she took, her ears did not bother her very much.  The flight across the ocean always feels super long but overall the kids did great.  They slept quite a bit on the airplane, even Xiao Yu and Eliana.

In Seattle, we went through Customs and Immigration.  We handed over paper work in the brown envelope we got from the U.S. Consulate in China.  They took about 20 minutes to process it and by the end, they told us that Xiao Yu is a U.S. citizen effective today!

Because we arrived in Seattle so late, we had to rebook to a later connecting flight to Portland.  It was a 30 minute flight home in a little plane.

When we finally arrived in Portland at 7pm on Saturday, we had been traveling for almost 30 hours.  We had also gone through security what seemed like 7 times (and each place had different rules about whether you can bring water through, etc.) and also picked up and re-checked our baggage at each airport.

At the Portland Airport, our friends met us there; they had also brought over our minivan so that we could drive home with all the requisite car seats.  The girls are very good friends and gave each other big hugs.  The kids also got balloons.

We're not sure if Xiao Yu has ever had a balloon before but he sure liked his.

When we pulled into our garage, the kids ran out shouting, "We're home, we're home!" and they did a happy dance.  Everyone was super happy to be home.

Inside our friends left little surprise gift bags for each of our kids, including Xiao Yu.

Our friends also stocked our fridge for us, made freezer meals, and even printed out some pictures of Xiao Yu and hung them on our wall for us.  We feel very supported and blessed by our community of friends here!

And for dinner...Mac and Cheese.  The kids have been dreaming of this for days now and finally got to indulge themselves.  Xiao Yu seemed to like it fine.

We are very grateful that we made it home safe and sound.  Thank you for walking through this journey with us.  We look forward to the coming weeks and months when we can integrate Xiao Yu into our family--without having to live out of a hotel room and eating out three meals a day!

Day 16: Last day in China!

Today, our guides picked up Xiao Yu's entry visa to the U.S. at the American Consulate.  So now we can go home!  This was the last step that needed to happen.

We spent the day doing some touring and packing our bags some more.

Emily took Eliana and Karina to a Safari Park just outside of Guangzhou.  It was a HUGE place, with a train to ride on through the wild animal grounds, where they animals roam free.

A zebra came right up to the train, and Karina jumped into Emily's lap so fast you would have thought a tiger was coming!

The big attraction at the Safari Park, other than the thirty minute train ride (which has a TON of animals -- giraffes, tigers, white tigers, bears of all kinds, zebras, all kinds of birds, elephants, etc) is the panda exhibit.

They have over a dozen pandas, and the really big deal is, one of the panda mommy's had triplets recently.  This is a hugely rare event, and they safari park is making the most of it!  They were very cute, and fun to see.

Other than that, there were miles of paths to see birds and snakes and kangaroos and koalas and on and on and on.  We only made it through about one-third of the park, in the four hours that we had!

Elvin, Erica, and the boys stuck around the hotel so that the boys could take a nap.  We went to a park across the street from the hotel and hung around.

Preparations for the upcoming Chinese New Year on Feb. 19 were in full swing.  There were giant colorful decorations everywhere being put together.

While Elvin was carrying Gabriel around, they were accosted a few times by older Chinese ladies saying, "It's cold!  Put more clothes on him."  This is common in China--that older ladies will make "helpful" and unsolicited comments about how someone else should keep their child warm.  Elvin responded: "He's from America.  It's cold there, he's fine!"  And they would laugh.

We also checked out the koi in the pond.  They were huge.

One interesting thing was there was an older man writing calligraphy on the ground, using a giant sized paintbrush on the end of a broomstick.  His handwriting was great.  It was art.

Today the boys got along better.  Xiao Yu is getting to know our family better and also the boundaries of what he is and is not supposed to do.  And Gabriel is giving Xiao Yu more space, although at times he decides to instigate things. 

The girls came back in the late afternoon with stories about how they saw baby pandas, white tigers, and even fed a giraffe.  Karina showed Elvin a little backpack she got.

She stuffed it full of Starbursts (one of her favorite candies) and put in on her doll, also purchased in China.

After dinner, we passed by a shop and also purchased a pair of shoes for Karina.

And also for Eliana.

Except for toiletries and other knick knacks we are now mostly packed.  All the kids are in bed and we are as prepared as we can for the flight home.  

We will be taking a flight tomorrow back to Beijing at 11am.  After a 4-hour layover there, we then fly to Seattle on a 11-hour flight.  After going through customs and immigration, and a five hour wait, we then take a short flight back to Portland, OR.

All in all, it will be a 26 plus hour journey, this time with our little Xiao Yu.  Hopefully he won't go too stir crazy on the plane.  Emily still has a cold, so we hope that this won't bother her on the way home too much.  We have decongestants and whatnot for her to take, so hopefully they will work.  We are all looking forward for our trip to be over so we can get be home, sleep in our own beds, and not have to eat at a restaurant every meal.  Karina is most looking forward to eating macaroni and cheese when we get home!  Ah, the comforts of home!

Thank you for faithfully following us on our adventure through China.  Thanks for posting your comments and for your thoughts and prayers!

Day 15: Trip to U.S. Consulate

Today we left for the U.S. Consulate early in the morning at 7:40am.  It's about a 20 min. bus ride from the hotel and it's to apply for the visa in person.  Since our appointment was so early in the morning, we left the girls at the hotel with Erica.

The Consulate does not allow any phones or cameras inside the building, so...sorry, there is only one picture on the outside of the building.

The consulate building is both modern looking and imposing.  Buses are not allowed to park in front of the Consulate so our bus parked a block away and we walked in.  The front of the building was crowded with Chinese, maybe all who wanted travel visas into the U.S.

Once inside, we went to an area specifically designated for adoptive families.  This consulate issues over 2,500 adoptive visas per year to American families.  We took a little oath saying that everything we wrote on the visa application was true and then one by one, the families were called to the window where we paid fees and did more paperwork.

It was a relatively fast procedure and we were back in the hotel about 2.5 hours later.  Tomorrow, our guides will pick up the visas on our behalf and deliver them to the hotel for us.

After lunch and after naps, Elvin took Xiao Yu and Karina to the hotel playground.  Here is Xiao Yu crawling through a tube on the playground.  This is good because when we first got Xiao Yu, the first day, we did not see him crawl at all.  We are not sure if he was not able to crawl (maybe his foster parents never put him on the floor to play) or if he was too shell shocked to show off any of his skills to us.

Karina was a good big  sister and showed Xiao Yu around the garden.

Later Gabriel joined us and we went into the indoor play room.  Here, unfortunately the two boys clashed quite a bit.  Xiao Yu is not accustomed to sharing and Gabriel isn't the best at it either.  So Elvin had to intervene quite a bit to prevent Xiao Yu from hitting or biting Gabriel.  By the end of the hour in the playroom, Xiao Yu was quite frustrated and at his wit's end.  This has been a hard transition for him...finding out about the boundaries in our family that may be different than his foster home.

Later on in the afternoon, Emily and Elvin were packing bags while the kids played around in the hotel room.  The hotel room is very non-child proof which makes packing a little hard.  Xiao Yu likes climbing onto chairs.  You might notice in the picture that the electrical outlets are covered with blue painter's tape that we brought along with us to keep curious fingers out.

Xiao Yu used the phone (or what we know as a remote control).

And Karina, who asked to be allowed to chew bubble gum, somehow ended up getting gum in her hair.  Mommy spent about 30 min. washing it out.  We packed until dinner time.

After dinner, we went to McDonald's for ice cream as what is turning out to be our nightly ritual.  Gabriel pointed to the ice cream he wanted..."pink ice cream with a green cone."  Yes, the red bean paste one.

And we would appreciate your prayers as Emily has come down with a cold--sore throat and runny nose.  We hope that she will be able to ride on the airplane with no problem with her ears and that the kids wouldn't catch the cold, at least until we are back at home!

Day 14: Group picture and Xiao Yu's 2nd B-day!

We had a fairly low key day again.  At breakfast, there is a side room that they've created for all the adoptive families.  It comes with a play area that the kids really like.  This hotel has somehow cornered the market on the adoptive families with amenities such as these.

Later that morning, it was picture time.  Each family took turns taking pictures on these steps in the hotel lobby.  The girls put on their silk dresses.

Here is the Yuen family!

The girls have become very attached to one little adopted girl in our group.  Karina especially loves holding this little girl's hands.  Karina has mentioned that she wishes we had adopted a little girl instead of a little boy...

Here is a group picture.  Although we were all strangers when we arrived in China a little over 2 weeks ago, we have all become very close to each other because of this shared experience.  We've traded baby advice, in a pinch given each other diapers when one forgets to bring some along, and looked out for each others' kids when hanging out in a group.  Some families are starting to travel home starting tomorrow...we will miss them!

Here is also the requisite "babies in a row" picture.  Here we are setting them up.  We put Xiao Yu in the left side on the end because we know he might bite.

And here are all the ten kids!  The guides said that it was amazing that none of the kids were crying!

Here is a close up of Xiao Yu.

Later on in the day, we were back in the hotel lobby and Gabriel & Karina decided to reenact the group picture.  They got on the steps again to pose and asked Daddy to take a picture.  Cute couple, huh?

Later on in the day, we went shopping in an area called Shamian (pronounced "shee-ah mee-en") Island.  We bought some stuff in shops.  Emily's bargaining skills came into play as you have to usually cut most of the quoted prices in half.

Gabriel was getting very antsy in these stores with breakables, so Elvin and Gabriel and Karina headed into the local 7-Eleven where they were allowed to pick out one snack or candy.  We have probably shopped more often at 7-Eleven on this trip that in the past ten years combined in the U.S.

The island had bronze statues that the kids liked to pose in front of.

There was a playground that the kids had fun at while some of the adults did more shopping.

At night the buildings were lit up nicely.

This is a picture for Gabriel.  He is obsessed with all the taxis and buses here.  He will often tell Elvin, "I found another taxi, a blue one!"  And then repeat this...every 10-15 seconds, for taxis and buses.

When we are in the hotel room, he will often stand at the window and watch the buses and taxis below.

When we got back to the hotel room, there was a birthday cake waiting for Xiao Yu!  The guides told the hotel that it was his birthday today and they delivered a cake.

It was a mango mousse cake with fresh fruit on top.  Xiao Yu loved it, and would have eaten the whole thing, had we let him.  The other three kids tried it and said they didn't like it.  Eliana said it tasted like it might be pineapple.  She probably has never had mango flavor before!  They also gave us two candles so we didn't have to use the ones we brought from the States for just such an occasion.

Xiao Yu pretty much had no idea what was going on but he enjoyed it nevertheless.  The song ended and...he did not blow out his candles.  He just stood there smiling.  So we let the other kids do the honors.  We feel lucky that we got to celebrate this 2nd birthday with him!  Happy birthday, Christopher Xiao-Yu Yuen!