Mina's Homecoming

I realized I never fully documented our journey home to the States from China.

So...here I go!

Daniel and I were more than ready to get home after 14 days away.

We missed Aubrey so much we thought we might literally die if we had to go much longer with her.

Mina seemed ready to leave too.

After we packed up in Guangzhou, we took a private van to Hong Kong.

It took about three hours including our wait through customs/immigration. 

Our driver was crazy fast, which made this mama scared to death.

Car-seats are non-existent in China / Hong Kong.

I strapped Mina in with me on my lap and held on to her for dear life.

We stayed the night in Hong Kong in a hotel attached to the airport.

The next morning we loaded up our bags (again) and checked in.

Next stop: CHICAGO!

The flight from Hong Kong to Chicago was 14 hours.

Let that sink in for a moment.

FOURTEEN hours.

And Mina, being under 2, was a lap-seat baby.

Which meant she was in my lap for 14 hours.

The WHOLE 14 hours -- remember at this point she still wanted little/nothing to do with Daniel.

Despite losing a paci, three poopie diaper changes in the smallest of airplane bathrooms, and having zero leg room -- we survived. 

Mina actually did amazingly well, but it was still miserable.

The minute we landed on US soil, Mina was officially a US citizen.

As you can tell, she was super stoked about this monumental moment...

I cannot tell you how amazing it felt to be back in the US of A, to be in a familiar time zone, and (honestly) to be able to use my cell phone. When I turned it on, it was flooded with "welcome home!" texts and my Instagram feed pulled up these two precious girls with the most adorable sign. Melted my heart! Their sweet family has been such an encouragement to us throughout our entire adoption process -- even being all the way in Alabama. I can't wait for our girls to all get together one day!

So, when we landed in Chicago, we had a six hour layover until our flight to Oklahoma City.

Imagine our absolute delight when we were greeted by Zubie (who drove from Kentucky) and Aunt Margaret (who flew in that morning from Ft. Lauderdale)! Zubie had a hotel room, so we were able to leave the airport/get lunch/change clothes/and rest in a much quieter and relaxed space. It. Was. Heaven!

{Sad phone pics...my camera was packed in one of our crammed suitcases. :( Boo. }

I remember one of my first thoughts while walking through O'Hare airport: Wow, it's weird to see so many white people! I can only imagine how Mina must have felt!

By the time we boarded our flight from Chicago to OKC, Daniel and I were not feeling too well.

We had been awake for over 28 hours and had barely eaten anything (airplane food -- blech).

Our internal clocks were all askew, and we were just flat-out zapped.

I remember telling Daniel when he asked how I was doing, "I'm really praying I don't throw up..."

Daniel had been sick for seven days with what was finally diagnosed as Dengue Fever.

He had experienced the following during the week: nausea, cyclical fevers, chills/sweats, head-to-toe itchy rash, and migraine-type headaches.

Needless to say, we were on our last leg -- of travel and health. 

I remember Daniel saying, "We have to stay strong...Aubrey's waiting for us..."

And waiting for us, she was!

Along with so many others!
To say we were blown away by the love and support of these amazing families would be an understatement...


The Playgroup Mamas. They were such an emotional support system for me throughout the entire adoption process. They laughed with me, cried with me, asked all sorts of questions, helped in all sorts of ways. These ladies mean the world to me.
 

Here is just a handful of our sweet, sweet flock friends (aka: church small group/Sunday school class). These women know the joys and sorrows that accompany adoption. Our flock consists of about 98% adoptive families (it's a blend of biological children and children from China, Taiwan, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Guatemala). They were such a wealth of knowledge for us as we plowed through the waiting process. Their prayers truly carried us through some emotionally challenging times.

I still get chills just thinking about these precious friends waiting for our arrival home...

By the way, how sweet are the China signs/shirts my friend's husband designed and printed for the adults and kids? And the sweetest of all -- baby Gracie's Chinese "love" character onesie. Oh my heart...

Words cannot begin to express the overwhelming love we felt the minute we rounded the corner.
I'm pretty sure this is what the entry into Heaven will be like...

(Mina had fallen asleep on the flight and was super upset that we had to wake her up. I found a sucker in my carry-on, thus the white stick poking out of her mouth in most of the photos!)

One of my favorite moments was when all the kids swarmed Mina and me to show us the welcome signs they had made. Such preciousness, acceptance, and love. 

  

  
Little sidenote: When we saw Zubie in Chicago she told us that Aubrey had a growth spurt while we were gone. I had to laugh when looking at these photos because before we left for China, that Big Sister swing top covered her bottom. As you can see, it's almost a crop top now! ;) She had literally out-grown all her clothes! Crazy!

  

 

There was a moment in the hubbub and noise and laughter.

When everything seemed to sort of freeze.

My heart felt a sharp pang as I thought to myself, "I wonder what Mina's birthmom is doing right this second?" Does she have any idea that her baby girl is halfway across the world surrounded by people who loved her instantly? That her life story began a brand new chapter?

Do you see the white string in Mina's hand among the red and black below? 

My mom brought that big bunch of balloons to the airport and made sure to include a single white one -- in honor of Mina's birthmom. Just like we did at Mina's 1st birthday party.

I love that she did that. 

I pray somehow, some way Mina's birthmother knows deep down in her heart that her daughter is cherished. That she is loved to the very core of another mother's heart. 

Life Lesson from a Homeless Man

**I wrote this post after Daniel and I went to Chicago back in April/May and realized I never posted it. Just in time for "Thanksgiving" I suppose...**

One of my resolutions was to give a meal to a homeless man or woman at some point before 2012.

While Daniel and I were in Chicago, we passed a lot of homeless men and women. They would hold their cup out, jangle it to get your attention, and then audibly beg for any spare change you might have.

I told Daniel after our first couple of days of walking the city streets, "I think this is the best place to check off my resolution to feed a homeless person."

I decided on our way out to a nice dinner, that I would bring back some food for the homeless man who asked us for money on our way there.

Once we finished our Italian cuisine, I had the Cavattapi con Pollo (corkscrew pasta with herb-grilled chicken breast, fresh spinach and a light creamy alfredo sauce.) and fresh bread ready to fill a hungry man's stomach.

Unfortunately, the man I saw on our way to the restaurant was long gone.

Before I had time to really wonder what I was going to do with the getting-colder-every-minute grub, I was interrupted:

"Spare change?" he asked us.
"No, but I have food for you!" I announced, instantly feeling a bit awkward now that we were face-to-face.
The man grumbled while shaking his head, "Please don't tell me it's pizza...if I have to eat one more piece of pizza..."*
I seriously laughed out loud.
"No, it's not pizza. It's pasta and bread. We just left the restaurant; it's still warm."
"Oh, okay. I'll give it a try, I guess. Sure you don't got any change? Anything?" he asked in a last attempt.
"Sorry...I hope this food blesses you tonight."
I watched as he walked down the street opening the bag.
*Ironically, the last time Daniel and I were in Chicago several years ago, we gave a homeless man our leftover Giordano's pizza.


"Please don't tell me it's pizza..." has been running through my head ever since that night.
I laugh every time I think about it.
I love it that a homeless man was picky about his free food.
It's hard for me to relate to an older gentleman who is wearing tattered clothes and sleeping in doorways or park benches every night.
But his picky-ness struck a chord with me.
He and I, all of a sudden, weren't so different.

The man was going to refuse food, Chicago's renowned deep-dish pizza no less, because he was sick of it.

Reminds me of the Israelites as they bellyached throughout the desert.
Please tell me it's not manna again.
I'm so sick of manna.

Hmmm...also reminds me of, well...me.

How often do I get sick of the manna God sends down to me each morning?
Fresh blessings to sustain me throughout the day that literally fall from Heaven down at my feet.
How many days do I just trample all over them?
Blessings I didn't work for, blessings I didn't earn.
Free manna, free blessing.

But so many days, I refuse.
Instead I hold my hand out, begging the world to fill me with something that just leads to a deeper emptiness.

So, thank you, Mr. Homeless Man in Chicago.
Your words were like a cold splash of water in my face.
You reminded me that God always miraculously provides and that I am rarely thankful for any of it.

Ever since that night on the streets of Chicago, I have started praying for gratefulness.
To hunger for it --  physically crave it.

I want to eat that deep-dish of blessing God keeps handing me morning after morning, day after day.
Because the more I look around me, the more I realize we're all begging and hungry for something.
And until we fully give our life to Christ, aren't we're all homeless?

{Concrete} Jungle Cats

So, the Chicago trip was...in a word...wonderful.

Daniel and I hit the ground running when we arrived, and honestly, I think I was more tired when the trip was over than before we left. We walked everywhere, which was probably for the best considering I don't think I stopped eating except to sleep.

Just a little snippet to illustrate:

Me: My legs are killing me. I seriously have pleurisy in my left knee.
Daniel: Um, that's impossible.
Me: No it's not. I know my body. I definitely have pleurisy in my left knee.
D: Oh okay. I didn't know it was painful for your knee to breathe...
Me: Dangit. Well, I know I at least have shin splints.
D: Okay, honey. Hey, there's the Ghirardelli store. Wanna hit up the free sample?
Me: Yes. And, I love you.

Before I got both pleurisy and shin splints ;), one of Daniel's residency buddies roamed around the city with us. He became our "Hey, can you take a picture of us?!" guy.

Millennium Park

The Cloud Gate (or Bean, as it's commonly known) at Millennium Park.

Giordanos Pizza
Don't we look like two fat Cheshire cats in this picture?!
We did practically lick our plates clean and then purr in pure contentment.

Daniel's friend (aka: our cameraman) had conferences at different times than Daniel, so our "couple" pictures quickly came to a halt. Well, unless you count the one below from the Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower).

I'm not one who's usually afraid of heights, but looking down 103 floors from
the Skydeck gave me a serious case of the heebie-jeebies.
And honestly, the elevator ride crammed with the middle school class might have been more frightening. Especially considering 80% of the boys weren't wearing deodorant.

But, I will say that the views were worth it in the end...
We were the first ones in line at Garrett's Popcorn Shop one morning.
Daniel was in charge of bringing the camera, thus this picture was taken with a cell phone. ;)
We took an architectural boat tour of the city, which was amazing.
I highly recommend it if you ever visit Chicago.
Daniel didn't forget the camera this time. :)
When Daniel found out that this building (Aqua) was the tallest structure designed by a female architect, he immediately decided that Aubrey could dominate this career field. So, Aubrey...if you become an architect one day, you have your dad and this building to thank.
We also paid a visit to the Field Museum and met Sue the T-Rex.
Of course, we found our way to Michigan Avenue nearly every day.
We preferred shopping and dining,
while others coated themselves in silver and pretended to be statues.
To each their own. :)
Now, I can't forget to mention the WHOLE reason behind this trip.
Daniel had an electronic presentation that was accepted to ARRS
(the first and oldest radiological society in the US).
His presentation was titled:
Location, Location, Location:
Radiographic Diagnosis of Calcium Pyrophosphate
Dihydrate Crystal Deposition Disease
Um, yeah.
And, let me conclude by saying that not all radiologists are
this ridiculously good-looking. :)
{Insert cat call--hehe.}
*******

P.S. Daniel -- thanks for inviting (and convincing) me to go on one of the best trips I've ever had. You definitely add more adventure and fun in my life.