Yes, we are FINALLY HOME!!! Hallelujah! It was a long journey home. I apologize for not getting anything up on the blog...but as you can imagine, we've been busy adjusting!
We left China early Wed morning & arrived home to Newark airport late Wed night.
Overall, the flights with Roy went VERY WELL - What a PRAISE!!!!
On the long flight of 15hr 40 min, he slept TEN hours!!! It's a miracle in itself! We woke him after 10, afraid he'd never get to sleep that night once home.
We were so fortunate there were extra seats on the long flight. Roy was able to stretch out & sleep well. I managed to score 3 empty seats nearby & nap myself! Ahh...that made for a WONDERFUL flight. :-)
Unfortunately, we had a SEVEN HOUR layover in Hong Kong. We will NEVER do this again with a toddler. Roy had not slept well the night before & was very "out of sorts". We didn't have a stroller, just an ergo carrier. We couldn't soothe him for the life of us. Finally, we sat down & just let him "cry it out" for a bit. Meanwhile, I am also literally crying it out - I was exhausted & overwhelmed. Mike said he wasn't far behind me there. Suddenly, this beautiful Chinese Grandma is near us & she keeps trying to help. She spoke not one word of English. Finally, out of desperation, Mike hoists Roy onto her lap! She almost immediately calms him down & holds him for 20 minutes. It was as if they were old friends. I then cried tears of happiness. Those 20 min were just what Mike & I needed to get through the rest of the layover. We do realize we just broke every rule about bonding with your new child. What can I say....we were in survival mode.
Once we got home, my cousin Kristina picked us up & drove us home. We all stumbled into bed around 2am. Roy even slept till 7am. We didn't let him nap the next day and put him to bed at 5:30pm and he slept through to 8am! I think he is already over jet lag - NO JOKE!
Mike & I are struggling some with jet leg (notice, I'm writing this at 2:40am!) Considering how bad it could be, we are doing great!
Roy is slowly adjusting here too. He is not sure what to make of Maddie - perhaps competition? She is soooo doting on him & he stares her down.
I'm sure in no time, they'll be fast friends.
Happiest news for us is that we have Roy sleeping in a CRIB!!!! We thought we might have to co-sleep for life! He doesn't love it, but only takes 5 min to calm him down & get to sleep. This makes a big difference for Mike & I!
Here are some pics of Roy around home:
We went to our nephews first birthday yesterday where Roy met some of his cousins!
Here is Roy with his (future) partner in crime, Matthew. These two cuties are from same orphanage & ONLY 11 days apart in their birthdays! What a blessing they are to us!!!
The siblings - I hope to have more of these soon where they are both happy. :-)
Finally, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for all your PRAYERS! I truly believe we wouldn't have made it with out them. They mean the world to us. If I may ask - please keep praying for us during our time of transition. It's not easy on anybody. Maddie expected Roy to be snuggling up to her immediately. I'm happy when he doesn't swat at her. Maddie is also used to a very fast past lifestyle - we go everywhere! We need to hang low for a few months & teach Roy we are a family and that he is SAFE here with us. Of course there is frustration as we have a major language barrier. This makes it extra tough on all of us. So please....keep those prayers coming!
Love,
Dawn, Mike, Madelyn & Roy-boy
