Home Sweet Home

We loved getting to spend time in China and to soak in as much culture and time with China friends as we could, but boy were we happy to fly into Portland, see our children, family and friends and sleep in our own beds again! We had a tight connection in San Francisco and then our flight from Hong Kong arrived a half hour late. We were in the back of a 747, so by the time we got off of the plane, we had less than an hour to clear immigration and customs and make it to boarding our flight to Portland.  When we came around the corner into immigration, the lines were huge!  Thankfully, the line for new immigrants was empty except for one person being helped. What a joy it was to watch the immigration officer clear his paperwork and stamp our passports to mark Joshua officially becoming a US Citizen!  No time to stop for a picture with his newly stamped passport, we still had to collect our luggage, clear customs, recheck our luggage, go through security and sprint through what seemed like the entire San Francisco airport to our gate. Thankfully the luggage and security people had compassion on us and cut us to the front of the line even as they were telling us we would probably not make our flight. We were so desperate to make our flight that we literally sprinted through the airport, nearly knocking people over on the way. Poor Joshua was exhausted and trying to ask for something to eat as I carried his backpack and mine while dragging him along. He was a good sport though. I was thankful we were all in running gear!    Mark was so excited that he talked the entire flight to Portland. Pete was in a different row and was able to get some much needed sleep. He hadn't been feeling well. Joshua was awake and excited until we started our descent into Portland when he grabbed his blanket and fell fast asleep. We had to drag him awake after the plane was completely empty. I didn't know how he would do with the crowd waiting to meet us in his exhausted state. We stopped at the restroom and got him a cold water bottle. We told him everyone was waiting to meet him and he seemed to understand. He started saying all of the kids' names as we walked toward security. What a blessed sight it was to see our kids, my parents and several friends. One special friend was there taking great pictures. I'll try to download some or create a link.  She got a great shot of us walking toward security with Anna in the foreground - her feet were about 8 inches off the ground. Joshua did great meeting everyone, giving hugs and flashing his great smile.   On the drive home, he was pretty quiet and looked like he might be going into sad mode, but I think he was just sleepy and taking it all in. When we got home, he charged straight for the door and started exploring the house. I was so thankful we had sent him a photo book with labeled pictures from around our home. He seemed very comfortable.  After visiting with the kids a bit, I was exhausted and not feeling well. I hadn't slept at all on the flights. Thankfully, our older kids were able to take over while Pete and I slept. We ended up sleeping about 2 hours while they showed Joshua around inside and out and made him ramen noodles.  He had a great first day home and seemed to enjoy his new siblings, new home, new room and new toys.   Yesterday, he woke up around 4:30 a.m. I convinced him to go back to bed until about 5:00. He and I are having a hard time with the time change. I had a bad headache all day yesterday and leaned heavily on my older kids. Pete had to start working at 5:30 am and was busy into the evening. Again, I was so thankful for my older kids!  They were able to get everyone fed and keep Joshua and Anna occupied while I snoozed off and on whenever I had the chance. I felt well enough in the afternoon for a short outing. Joshua kept asking to go fishing, go skating, go ride on the four wheeler – all the things he had seen in his book and heard we could do in America. He tried riding Anna's slightly broken tricycle and a bicycle with training wheels that was way too small. I decided to go get him a little scooter. He was so excited about it. On the way back, we stopped at a produce stand. He enjoyed that very much too and we learned he loves tomatoes – just like Daddy!   He fell asleep around 4:30 on the couch and slept for 2 hours. He woke up when friends dropped by.  He seemed disoriented at first, but quickly joined in playing with the boys. Later in the evening, we had our first dinner sitting around the dining room table, finally able to fill the chair that has been empty for so long. He enjoyed every bite of the dinner Rachel made for us.   Having him in our circle for bed time prayers has been almost surreal, but very special.  He doesn't understand, of course, but sits quietly.  Last night, Pete decided to reverse our normal order and pray oldest to youngest.  Poor Mark, when we got to him, we all listened for him to pray and instead heard snores from where he was kneeling with his head down!   This morning, Joshua woke up at 3:30 am!  And, therefore, so did I…  He worked on puzzles for a long time while I worked on my "to do" list and calendar. Around 4:30 or 5:00 I asked him if he was tired and told him mommy was tired. We found the letter factory DVD for him to watch and he made a bed for me on the couch. I think he just wanted me to stay near. He seemed to enjoy the DVD. He knows pinyin letters (Chinese letters like ours), but several of them are pronounced very differently so I think this will help him.  As an example, the town he and Anna are from is Shi He Zi.  We would say "shee hay zee", but it is actually pronounced more like "shur huhdz".   When his DVD finished, he came and curled up next to me on the couch. I offered him part of my blanket and he said, "thank you" in his carefully pronounced way. He stayed there until the sun was up and then let me know he thought it was time to get up and make breakfast. He really seems to enjoy snuggles, hugs and kisses and collects many of them throughout the day. I had read multiple times how important physical closeness is for helping adopted children to bond.  I've read of adoption therapies for older children trying to overcome attachment disorders that involve trying to replicate the type of physical closeness that children would have experienced as babies and toddlers, even giving them bottles. I had wondered how physical closeness would work with a  six year old boy. I'm thankful that he appears to be very comfortable with it.  I've been told his orphanage is one of the best of the 40 orphanages my friend works with in his province. However, she also reminded us that there is no "good" orphanage for raising a child.  Children need families. We are very thankful to be Joshua's forever family.   After he ate this morning, he went and woke up Anna. I was a bit disappointed to have her up at 6:15, but it was cute to see them come around the corner holding hands. They have been enjoying one another this morning while everyone else sleeps. She is trying to convince him not to be afraid of our dog.   There is much more I would like to process and share about our journey to bring him home and the many miracles along the way. Hopefully, I can find some time to work on that over the weekend. We are so very, very thankful that we are blessed with the support of family and friends. We have been blessed by all of you in so many ways. Joshua has not only been adopted by 2 parents and 5 siblings, he has been adopted by grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.