{China #13} Traveling HOME

Jeff and I both had a rough night of sleep(Wednesday night,  19^th).  Too soon, our 5:20am alarm was going off and we needed to get ready.

 At 6:45 we were checked out and ready to roll!  Our first flight left at 9:15am.  It was a 4 hour flight. One of the Flight attendants on this flight was Chinese(it was a Japanese airline), who asked me about Emerson and thanked us for adopting her and told us that she was a “lucky girl”.  My response was, “no, WE are the lucky ones!”

 I could tell that Emerson was tired on this flight, but she refused to keep still, long enough to sleep, until she HAD to sit on my lap(because she wouldn’t buckle into her seat).  Right before we landed, she fell asleep.  At least she was happy for most of the flight.  She wasn’t easy, because she got into everything and wanted to feed herself when the meal came and was grabbing butter off of my tray and grabbing food off of Chase’s tray.  She was like a “bull in a China shop”. J  By the time we were done with the meal, it looked like a tornado had gone through! 

Once we arrived in Tokyo, Emerson woke up shortly after we got off the airplane.  We had a long layover and Emerson was TIRED!  Usually she cries, while I rock her.  She will fight it for a bit and then finally sleep will take over.  But considering that she doesn’t want Jeff and only me, I was VERY EXHAUSTED!  I didn’t have the strength in my arms and the emotional stamina to carry/rock a screaming, exhausted, over tired 2 year old in my arms.  Jeff and Chase finally took her for a walk and to a children’s play area, to give me a break(because Chase is with Jeff, she will go).  She was happy going down the slide and giggling at Chase’s antics.  She never did nap during the layover.

Our flight took off at 6pm(Thursday) from Tokyo.   Emerson fell asleep in my arms before we were up in the air.  Sadly, she only slept for 50 minutes. L  This flight was only 11 hours(much better compared to our 16 hr + 2hrs. on the runway before we took off to Hong Kong), but still it seemed like an eternity!  As Emerson grew more tired, she became more active and wanted to move around.  After 4 hours, she finally fell asleep and slept for the next 5 hrs.  YES!  She and Chase got LOTS of attention from the Flight attendants, getting extra juice, extra ice cream(yes, they served ice cream as a snack!), a few “wings” pins…lots of attention!  Emerson was awake for the last few hours and was happy as could be!

After arriving in Chicago at 3pm Thursday(it’s always a crazy thing to arrive sooner than we left!), we “busted a move” through immigration and customs, only to find out that our flight to Peoria was canceled!  What a disappointment!!  No welcome home party at the Peoria airport. L

After “chasing our tails” all over the airport to rent a car, we finally got a car and started our drive home.  I felt like a “pack mule”, with my purse slinged across one shoulder and Emerson in the sling on my other side and pulling a piece of luggage behind me….up escalators, on the tram...etc..Jeff and I were SO exhausted and discouraged.  Good thing Emerson wasn’t screaming her head off.  She was quiet and observant the whole time.  On the way home, she sat in my lap, in the back seat and slept.  Chase slept, too.  It was foggy, raining and we were caught in rush hour traffic in Chicago.  NOT FUN!

I was SO sleepy that when I tried to keep my eyes open, they were going cross-eyed.  I worried how Jeff was doing, because he had gotten even less sleep than me (none due to his cough).  Eventually the fog cleared as well as the traffic.  I sat in the back, praying for renewed energy and wakefulness for both of us.  Then the wind got BAD.  There were a couple times that we were almost blown off the road (literally).  God answered my prayer, I WAS AWAKE!  I prayed HARD, all the way home.  There were times that I thought about texting my parents, but I felt like I couldn’t…I felt the need to pray without stopping.  

We couldn’t wait to get home.  We couldn’t wait to see Aubs and Abram.  Alas, we pulled into our driveway, seeing that some of our family and friends had come to welcome us home.  WHAT A LOVELY SIGHT TO BEHOLD!  Abram jumped out onto the front porch in his jammies.  We were expecting, “DADDY!!!”, but instead got, “Where’s Emerson, Where’s Xixi?!?!”  Aubrey was quick to join in with him.  We just had to smile at the two of them SO excited about their new sister!

Emerson seemed to be in shock, but after 30 minutes or so, slid off my lap and started wandering around.  About that time, our friends and family were leaving, too(8:45pm or so).

Though I never did get the “welcome home” party at the airport(which is SO contrary to my personality…guess that’s what seclusion does to me), the few family and friends at our home was the next best thing!

Up next…a post-travel blog post(hopefully in the next couple of days).