I know that sounds pathetic. We made it just fine, but it didn't really feel that way some of the time. About five hours into the 14 hour flight I looked at David and said: 'this is worse than I thought it was going to be' and he replied: 'the word torture comes to mind.' Granted we both started the trip exhausted, and I made the tactical error of trying to get the girls to sleep quite a bit earlier than their normal bedtime. I thought they had to be SO tired from waking up early and barely sleeping so far...so they both fought sleep. David rocked Bella multiple times walking the aisles for literally almost two hours, while I spoke to Sophia every ten minutes about her need for sleep and how much longer the plane ride would be. Once they went to sleep (about thirty minutes past their normal bedtime) things were much better, even though I still didn't sleep. The next leg, five hours, they both slept quite a bit, and we did too! And then in the provincial capital we arrived and got into bed at a hotel by 12:30 a.m. and got a little rest.
We went to check in our 8 bags at the overnight desk at the airport to avoid taking them to the hotel. The man refused multiple times because they were closed and there was no way to put them through the security machine. He later saw us over at another desk as we tried to reassess how we were going to get to the hotel across the street with all of our bags in a timely manner. He asked me: 'is it convenient for you?' to which I said: 'no, it is a lot of trouble.' After a little discussion he obliged, without putting them through security. This was so surprising! what a blessing, and welcome home.
I was so excited on our flight into our town. And Sophia was too, she even said it, "I am excited to be going back to China." I kept reminding her she would have to speak Chinese (since she refused most of the time in the States).
We were greeted by our great friends J and his son Caleb who happened to be the first person Sophia wanted to see...it was so sweet to see them reunited. They have played together every day since (thanks K, a huge help). Abby was there to greet us too, we have missed her so much. She has been invaluable these past few days...
We arrived and started the unpacking. We realized that there were tons of ants (no shock, just a lot more than normal), and closets that were musty and moldy. And so ensued the removal of every item (linens included) and the washing of about 20 loads of laundry. I really thought it would take us two weeks to get our house settled, but alas, we are almost there!
