The Long Flight Home (1/23/14)

How can we ever forget this trip to China!  The local Chinese dishes were delicious.  God showered us with precious new friendships from across the country and across the ocean!  The good shopping deals were enticing. We had been on the go with appointments or sight-seeing most every day in China.  We were exhausted and ready to be home. Three flights and more than 20 hours in the air, we are back HOME in Texas!  Thursday felt like the day that would never end!  We left at 12:30pm and arrived in Texas about 11:45pm the same day.  I felt like the Time Traveler's Wife.  

My little packing helpers

We were able to meet the brother-in-law of one of my 

close friends I met when I traveled to China in 2002.  

Despite the language barrier, his hospitatlity was unmatched.  

He came bearing many local gifts from Guangzhou.  

 One of our wonderful guides (Aaron), was comforting and 

helpful all along the way.  We hated to say "good-bye".

And Samuel's first flight was great!  

A very ingenious person planned for this fun play area in 

the Seoul airport which we enjoyed just before we boarded 

the plane for a 12 hour flight.  Perfect!

Joey found a little "hidey hole" where he 

could build his 3D puzzle in peace.

Joey's magic show where he licked a disgusting dime 

he found in the gate seating area and 

then stuck it to his face...MAGIC.

Free entertainment!

And this guy LOVES french fries!

Just completed the paperwork for citizenship.  

Samuel is proud to be an American (imagine Lee 

Greenwood playing in the background).

Arrived home in DFW about 11:45pm.

Riding in a car seat is so much different 

than dancing in the bus aisle while traveling bumper to 

bumper down a crowded street in China.

In my opinion, I think every child - no matter the age - should come with a label...

Warning: May cause drowsiness.  

Use caution when operating heavy machinery.

Our first night home was really quite surprising and peaceful.  Of course, we've never done this before, so we only knew what we had read or heard from others.  And like most other parenting experience, you just can't fully "get" it until you're there.  After a quick house exploration and introduction to Handy Manny, we bathed both boys and put them to bed.  Despite a small objection by Samuel (who wanted to continue hanging with Manny), both boys were fast asleep by 3:00am.  I slept in the Samuel's bedroom floor with him.  He was not too sure of his new bed and I didn't feel it was fair to leave him alone so soon.  Samuel only woke up once.  Joey slept 'til noon, Samuel 'til 1:00pm.  Russ woke up in time to take my mom to the airport and make a Wal-Mart run.  The rest of us had a PJ day.

The past 11 days with Samuel remind me of the newborn phase.  He has gradually gone from waking every couple of hours to once a night, but the "baby fog" has not quite lifted yet.  I told Russ that I probably shouldn't be operating any heavy machinery beyond the toilet or maybe the refrigerator.  Definitely not the stove!  I'm relying on autocorrect too much and we know that autocorrect itself can get someone in pretty big trouble.  We have enjoyed staying home today and just getting to know each other.  One moment I feel like we just met Samuel and the next I feel like we've been together for months.  We've spent a lot of time playing, reading, and helping Samuel become more familiar with home.  The day had been pretty uneventful until this evening.  No one wants to hear Joey yell "Ooooh, gross!  He's pooping in the bathtub!"  Consider us "broken in" as Russ puts it!

He's such a sweet little boy with a tiny bit of naughty mixed in!