Hope: One Less: Arrival Day

Wow, what a day! I am not even sure where to start. We worked till 11:00, left the house at 12:00 (which was about the time she was landing at JFK from Beijing), stopped for a quick lunch in Champaign (Chipotle is one of our faves) and we were on our way. Despite heavy nerves, we were surprisingly at peace. I distracted myself with my first attempt at an adult coloring book and it worked well. Luckily, no traffic which was a blessing and we arrived well in advance of when we needed to be there. We met our airport coordinator, Jason; Jill and Wes who are hosting a 10 year old boy; and Tiffany (and her mom) who are hosting the 46 year old pediatrician/chaperone. We had a bite to eat at the Hilton restaurant and waited what seemed like (and was) a long time. Jason was hoping to get a gate pass to go meet our small arriving group but Delta said no. Finally, about 7:15 they rode down the escalator. As you will see in the video, she immediately came to the poster with her picture. A huge thanks to Tiffany for capturing these first moments on video. Surprisingly, there were no tears (for me or her!!). She seemed to warm right up to both of us and wanted to have her picture taken. She hammed it up by giving lots of kisses and smiles. We said good byes to our new friends and headed to the car. For precaution, she wore her sea band bracelet. It must have worked because she never had any motion sickness. She went into her car seat with no issues. She did come off the airplane with 5 layers of clothes including a puffy vest and winter coat. Needless to say, we had to remove some layers to fit and be comfy in the car. We read books, colored (her file says she doesn't like coloring, but I beg to differ), ate fruit snacks and goldfish, and played peek-a-boo. She even wanted to share her snacks and feed them to me. We made a few calls to family. While talking to Nana, she was pretending to be on the phone by holding her hand up to her ear, talking and giggling. She tries to mimic everything we say. Other than two bathroom breaks, I am grateful for a peaceful and easy ride home. Chris says at the gas station, she wanted one of everything, including windshield washer fluid:). The last hour and a half she was pretty quiet and finally fell asleep. They said she had slept a lot on the plane rides but was still really tired. She livened up once we arrived home (at 11:30). She was quite interested in the undecorated Christmas tree, especially the box of candy canes underneath. This girl definitely knows candy. She also liked the Bath & Body Works small candle that Kinsley carries around. We showed her her room and I think she might be a girly-girl. She thought she should wear a headband to bed. She found the drawers with her new clothes and was a fan (pulling out a skirt). She immediately pulled out her slippers, ripped the tags off, and wanted them on. Good thing they fit :) She changed into comfy jammies (which at 5T are still plenty big) and brushed her teeth like a champ. Chris stayed with her the first half of the night and I took the second half. She went right to sleep and never woke up. She is still out now. I'm guessing when she does wake up, we are going to hit the ground running. So grateful for all of your calls, texts, emails, and FB comments. We have been overwhelmed with the outpouring of support and prayers.

We will see what adventures today brings. I'll upload a video or two later.