First Snow!

Being home less than two days, we really weren't prepared for our first snow...let alone this much snow!  We got about 10 inches!  It's not going to last too long because it's going to warm up a bit next week and will all melt, but it does mean we had to dig out ten plus pairs of snow pants, boots, thicker gloves, etc.  I have to be honest- I'm not a huge winter fan. The snow looks pretty on the trees and I can live with it until about the end of the year and then I'm done with winter.  But winter always lasts until March or April, sometimes longer.  The winter gear really stresses me out- so much to keep track of, keep organized, find a place for, etc.  Everything gets wet and we have such a small entry way to begin with..it's really a bit of a nightmare here..lol.   I do wish I hadn't lost that child like wonder and sense of excitement every time it snows.  It is always a special moment when that first snow comes and the kids wake up and rush to the windows and are anxious to get outside and get in it.  It's almost like Christmas morning.  So while I can't stand winter and look forward to it being over, I'll try to just be in the moment and focus on the fact that our kids really enjoy every minute of it.  :)

Last night Rowan cracked me up. I had just emptied this suitcase and he got inside and put the lid down and then popped out. Too cute!

Waking up to check-out our first snow!  Yes, that looks like one loaded diaper, but I think it was just sitting funny. ;)

Getting loved on by their siblings!

WOW- look at all that snow!  Seeing snow for the first time is an extra special moment!

Loving the smiles from these two! :)  Maeleigh has a terrific evil eye so every time she smiles, it just makes our day!

There's that smile!

The vans...and this was before the snow was done.

The big kids spent some fun time outside today!  They really needed to burn off some energy too...lol.

Looking forward to the start of the holiday season and trying not to get too overwhelmed. ;)

On a happy note, the girls had a great night of sleep last night. I hope I'm not jinxing it for tonight.   Rick and I got a good night of sleep too, though I am still feeling pretty tired in the afternoons and Rick is crashing very early.  

HOME!

More from the Hong Kong Airport- waiting to leave!

On the plane and ready to go!   Macie was LOVING looking outside and seeing all the airplanes and she got super excited during take off too.

Before Evan started not feeling well again...poor guy!

Well, we made it home safely!  We did have some rough moments getting there, but we're here and well now.   Our flight went fine.  Thankfully Evan and the kids slept a fair amount.  Rick slept a little bit and I was only able to sleep maybe an hour.  The kids all did really well on the plane.  Evan didn't fare so well with the motion sickness/jet lag combo, but we were prepared this time.  Sadly for him, unlike in the past when he got sick during the landing, he was sick every single time he woke up. I think he had to be dehydrated by the time we landed- he couldn't keep anything down and was so pale.  We ended up landing about 25 minutes early.  We quickly went through immigration and then were headed to use the bathroom and get our bags.  The one bathroom in that area was flooding and I mean totally flooding- water was pouring out of the toilets and onto the floor and eventually it made it's way out by the area where we were waiting for our baggage. It was absolutely disgusting and poor Lena had an accident because she was not able to use the bathroom.  Luckily we were able to change her before heading home.  After we got all our bags, we headed over to turn in our adoption paperwork.  Once they were finished and our luggage went through the security, we were on our way out.  My mom, stepdad, Jayce, and Rowan were not there yet because we were earlier than expected.  That gave us time to get Lena cleaned up.  We ended up meeting them outside as the van pulled up, so they didn't get to come in with their sign and balloons, but we were fine with that.  We were just so ready to get home. It was so nice to see Jayce and Rowan again!   The baby of the family always looks so much bigger when you've been gone for a couple weeks.  He's really not all that much smaller than the girls!  We beat the other boys home and even had time to go through our backpacks and get Evan and Lena a bath.  Evan was feeling much better with fresh air, a bath, and some rest on the couch.  So thankful for that!  We said goodbye and thank you to nana and Grandpa JP right about the time Grandpa and Grandma Henningfeld arrived home from school with the four big boys.  Reid, Elijah, Jonah, and Landyn didn't act too excited to see Rick and I, but they were SUPER anxious and excited to see and meet their new sisters!  

HOME!  They wanted to start coloring the back of our welcome home sign right away.  I think we're going to have to keep markers out of reach- these two like to use them to color on their clothes and many other places where they shouldn't be used...

Lots of balloons were waiting for us!

There were even some on their beds.  This is a new bed Rick made for Lena and Macie right before we left.  We have some finishing touches to do yet, but he did such a great job!

They were loving checking out all the toys we have and definitely gravitated to the toys that Rowan likes.

Saying goodbye and a BIG thank you to Nana and Grandpa JP.

These boys couldn't wait to see and hug their new sisters.  Their sisters weren't so sure at first- there was a lot of noise and a lot going on, but they quickly warmed up to them!

This girl!  She is always doing stuff like this.  I'm not much of a sports person, but I think I think we may need to get her signed up for gymnastics.

All the kids with grandma and grandpa Henningfeld.  That is one FULL couch!

After everyone left, Rick and I were wondering if we could even make it up til the kids' bedtime.  We were really starting to feel the jet lag and exhaustion.   We had tacos for dinner- thank you so much to the Johnson family from AWANA for that...such a blessing!   Then we went through backpacks and got homework done and studied for spelling and reading tests with our first and second graders. We actually had everything finished by about 6:30 p.m. and started bedtime a little early.  Macie fell asleep on Landyn while playing in her bed.  SO sweet!  The girls were all out very quickly.  The boys...not so much.  Rick and I were out pretty quickly too, but it was only a couple hours later and we had someone crying.  Evan came down many times, not able to sleep.  We were up a lot on and off between about 9 p.m. and 1 a.m. and I was in and out of rooms and beds all night.  I am feeling it today!  

Evan and Lena both decided they wanted to go to school today- Friday.  It's a short day for Lena so that shouldn't be too bad.  Hoping Evan makes it through the day!  We've gone through the mail and the school work that came home while we were gone.   We've had some phone calls that needed to be made and Rick's been outside trying to get our lawn cleaned up and garage re-organized for winter.  That was the biggest shock to our systems- the weather change!  We went from 70s and 80s to 30s and 40s!  We are so not ready for winter!   I've heard it's supposed to snow tonight too. Yikes!  The girls may wake up to their first snow tomorrow....crazy!   Tonight we plan to take it easy and have a movie night- a big thank you Rick's Vivayic team for the packages to make it a fun one tonight!   I am thinking I'll be sleeping during the movies.  I'm definitely dragging.  We are hoping that each night gets a little easier.  We will get through this, but these are definitely the hard days- getting used to our new normal and recovering from jet lag.

So glad to be home!

A Night in Hong Kong and Home Bound!

Yesterday afternoon, Wednesday, we checked out of the Garden Hotel and said goodbye to our guide, Lucia.  We took a van from Guangzhou to Hong Kong.  When the van pulled up, I knew I recognized the driver.  It was the same driver Michelle and I had from Shenzhen to Hong Kong when I traveled to China in September for advocacy work.   Small world!  I've said it before, but God is in the details.  It took us about 3 hours to get from Guangzhou to Hong Kong.  We had to stop and get out at one point, but thankfully didn't have to take all our bags through that area- just us and our passports.  Evan had mentioned that he needed some fresh air at one point- I thought getting out would help him.  The van was nice and cool too.   That was apparently not enough. Literally about a minute before we are to get out of the van, Evan starts throwing up.  Thankfully he caught a lot in his hands and shirt and I caught a lot in my hands and then in a pair of pajama pants I'd later just throw out.  Glad we had a bag of baby wipes on hand too.  We had minimal clean-up in the van, but I think we shocked our driver, Joe. I felt so bad.  I never did get to say goodbye to him.    Evan felt bad too, but there's not much you can do.  He definitely didn't have the flu and he never gets car sick so I think it's just a combo of things.  This almost always happens to him when we are about to land in Chicago or when we are in the car on the way home and I attribute it to lack of sleep and jet lag.  We're hoping he got it out of his system, but we'll be prepared with a bag on the plane and in the car on the way home, just in case.

Getting ready to leave the Garden Hotel in Guangzhou. Some of these are blurry because a little person changed my camera from auto to manual focus...

Macie does smile.  She's just got a serious face about 50% of the time and she had just woke up from a nap before we headed down to the lobby.

Saying goodbye to our wonderful and kind guide, Lucia.

Van ride back to Hong Kong.

We got checked in and to our room.  It was time for quick baths/showers and a good night of rest.  It was the first night Macie didn't cry before bed- maybe because we were all in the same room together.  

There were 3 in the bed and the little one said...

In the morning (Thursday, November 19th), we woke up and got ready and then headed straight into the airport. Our hotel was connected to the airport, which was very convenient.  We had one little melt down waiting in line for immigration and a lot of stares, but other than that, it was fairly easy and uneventful.  We are currently sitting at the gate waiting to board our flight back to Chicago!   We're getting very excited to be home, see our boys back at home, and to sleep in our own beds.

Our plane.

The kids waiting.  Macie is in awe of the airplanes.

Lena has adopted the traditional Chinese pose that children here do for photos. 

We LOVE our shirts, Fannie!

She likes to try and turn her head every time I take a picture. :)  She may be precious, but she's got some stinker in her too.  She can be really stubborn and is an amazing tattle tale. ;)

Evan and I have our matching shirts on.  I originally bought two kid sized shirts like these for Lena and Macie but the smallest size they came in was child medium so they fit Evan and Reid a lot better than they fit the girls. :)

Pretty soon the US will have two pretty darn adorable new US citizens! :)

We are anxious for everyone to meet them, but we also want to work on continuing our journey to building attachment.  We have learned from past mistakes.  This article sums up what I'd want to say pretty well.   I'd love it if our local friends and family took the time to read it.

http://www.nohandsbutours.com/2015/10/13/it-takes-a-village-a-letter-from-a-newly-home-family/

We won't be in totally hiding, but we do plan to cocoon some and want our family and friends to know that at this time it is very important that Rick and I be the ones to hold the girls, feed the girls, meet their needs, etc.  We don't mind our family talking to and interacting with the girls, but we really do need to be the ones who hold them, help them, etc.  We've read enough books about this and have adopted enough children now to know why it is so very important.  Thank you for understanding and for all your support and prayers.  We cannot thank you enough!

Wisconsin, here we come!!!