We even left the hotel at the same time the next morning, since both of our flights left at 11:25 a.m. (us on United to Chicago and them on Continental to Newark). We found a McDonald's at the airport and had breakfast together. I have to admit...the hotcakes & sausage tasted very good after having traditional Chinese breakfast for two weeks straight.
We had 3 seats together on the airplane and 1 seat in another location (but on the aisle). We were successful in getting another passenger to trade seats with Brock so he could sit across the aisle from the rest of us. Shaling absolutely loved the flight. She giggled and squealed at the take-off, the landing, whenever they showed our location on the map, etc. She had some difficulty in understanding why she couldn't put her feet on the seat in front of her and that stressed me for a bit, as the passenger in front of her was a bit perturbed. She & Preston only slept for about two hours, as they both insisted that they weren't tired.
Here is a picture of them playing with the DSi:
We landed a little early in Chicago (11:15 vs. 11:40) and then went through immigration, where we got sent to an office to wait our turn for her paperwork to be processed. There were about 20-25 people in the room. When Brock asked who all had to go to the office, an immigration official told him that it was typically first time entrants to the U.S.A. Our wait was only about 20 minutes. Shaling had to give fingerprints and sign two documents. It was actually somewhat anti-climatic, as she really didn't understand what all was happening. We then went through customs, which took all of about 30 seconds. They didn't go through our luggage at all.
We re-checked our luggage and then took a tram to the right terminal for our flight to Springfield. We found our gate around 12:30 or 12:45. After some bathroom stops and food runs, we settled in for a bit. Our flight was scheduled for a 4:52 departure (4:32 boarding). By about 2:30, I looked at Brock and said, "I don't think I can make it." At this point, it was 4:30 a.m. the next day back in China and we'd been up since 7 a.m. We leaned against each other and took about a 30 minute nap. We eventually made the kids put the DSis away, as they were getting a bit rowdy. Shaling gave it up and fell fast asleep. Preston did not; he read a book.
By 4:20, we'd watched 5 different flights board and depart. Snow flurries had become a lot heavier and we both silently wondered how it might affect us. We anxiously awaited our boarding call when there was an announcement that our flight was delayed because we had no flight crew. They were on their way in from another destination and were an hour behind. We groaned...heavily...but were not alone. Two soldiers were on our flight for their first trips home in MONTHS. They finally began boarding us at 5:15. The pilot then announced that we were still waiting for the First Officer to arrive. We sat on the plane for an hour before they arrived. Then, we had to be de-iced. We finally rolled away from the gate around 7:00 and didn't depart until 7:15 p.m., giving us about an 8-hour layover. Ironically, I had felt really sorry for Carl & Kim (the family that adopted Natalie/Ma Meixin) because I knew they had an 8-hour layover in New York that day).
Fortunately, it was a very quick flight, as we landed in Springfield just after 7:40 p.m. Both Shaling & I had slept during our wait on the plane and a bit during the brief flight. A new friend of mine, Shannon, who has adopted from China 3 times, and her daughter Kaci surprised us a 2-person welcoming committee. Shannon's husband works at the airport, so she knew when we were landing. Brock went out and warmed up the car and pulled it around. The kids helped retrieve the luggage. We went through Popeye's on the way home. As we pulled down our block, Shaling spotted the house (she recognized it from the pictures we sent) and began pointing and talking excitedly (in Chinese). She got her "second wind" and hurried in the house, but not before giving commentary on the snow. "Brrr...."
We let Preston give her the grand tour as Brock finished unloading the car and I got supper ready. She was delighted to see her "Welcome Home" balloons from our neighbors, Gary & Brenda. She has no idea what the balloons or the card said, but she knew it was for her. Her she is standing by her balloons:
After giving her a bath and getting pajamas on both kids, we realized the kids were still happily playing, so we decided to go ahead and get our unpacking done. I figured that would make for a more relaxing Saturday. We finally tuckered out around 11:30 p.m. I told Brock that I would lay with Shaling for a few minutes, but then come to bed. If, however, she cried, even once, I would stay with her the remainder of the night. No need to traumatize her the first night home. She seemed content in her new room. She had asked me in Chinese to confirm that it was her room. I only understood the word "mine", but I could tell by her gestures what she was asking. She immediately grabbed two stuffed animals waiting for her - one from a coworker and one from her Uncle Scott & Aunt Barbara. She slept with both of them.
Well, she made it until just after 5 a.m., when she came bounding in our room and called us by name. She then tried to open our blinds (she's never seen blinds...just curtains). She wanted us to know that the sun was out (time to get up). Brock tried to lay down with her, but she would have none of it...repeatedly gesturing towards the sun. He asked her to close her eyes for a little bit (showing her "a little bit" with his finger and thumb). She obliged, but 5 minutes later sat straight up and showed him the signal for "little bit".
He took her downstairs to watch television. I eventually joined them for awhile, but after eating some breakfast, went back upstairs and crawled in bed with Preston for awhile.. He was snoozing soundly. Preston finally woke up around 8 a.m. and I told him he could go downstairs and watch television with his sister. Brock came upstairs and we went back to our own bed. Then, around 9:30 a.m. or so, Brock went to go play basketball. Yes, I think he's NUTS. The kids began waking me up around 11:40, but I didn't really get functional enough to crawl out of bed until well after 12:30, closer to 1:00.
After showering and doing some light organizing, we welcomed Grandma & Grandpa Coonrod to the house to meet Shaling. She happily jumped right into their arms. It helped I think, that we had Skyped with them while in China. Grandma showed her some new clothes and Grandpa showed her her new bicycle. She immediately wanted to ride it, but ended up wiping out in the snow. She popped right back up with a smile on her face. We decided to go eat at New Buffet City, as I thought she needed some familiar foods. She hadn't eaten very well over the past 24-36 hours.
Here she is with Grandma & Grandpa (and Preston):
She fell asleep on the way to the restaurant, but woke up and ate a good lunch. As she was so tired, Grandma & Grandpa headed out shopping and then home, while we took our tired girl home. She & Dad laid down for a nap from about 4:30 p.m. to about 7 p.m. She and Preston have been playing together well the rest of the evening...air hockey, video games, the piano, computer games, chasing the cat, etc. It is amazing how natural we feel as a family of four already. This girl just continues to amaze us.
Since I didn't have internet access in Hong Kong, I didn't get a chance to post these pictures from our last day on Shamian Island in Guangzhou (these are the obligatory "fun" statue pictures that most adoptive families take):
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