We've made it home and what a blessing it is! Thank you to all of you that prayed for safe and smooth traveling home. Anna did much better in the last 14 hours of flying than she did on her first five. We experienced no hassles in security and no delays. The flights were very smooth, which allowed Anna more freedom. She slept half of the flight from Guangzhou to Tokyo, took a nap early in the Tokyo to Portland flight and then fell asleep about an hour and a half before we landed. She slept through the landing and didn't wake up until we were sitting in the immigration office. She woke up very happy and was a joy and delight the rest of the day.
We arrived home around 10:30 a.m. Pete's brother and his wife picked us up at the airport. They brought Anna a cute stuffed bear (that she loved), a book and new shoes. We had asked them to bring clean shoes for all of us to minimize the risk of bringing anything back to our ranch that might contaminate our animals. They also brought us muffins, fruit and water!! When we got home, we saw that they had decorated along with our boys and my parents. The house looked great. I shouldn't be surprised that my mother had things looking far better than I had left them! She had the fridge stocked and stayed all day to help with unpacking and laundry. My dad had taken care of some projects outside that were a great surprise and blessing.
Thank you also for all of the prayers on behalf of our boys, our reunion and their introduction to their new sister. It could not have been a more blessed day. The boys were so excited to meet Anna and she put on all of her charm for the occasion. She was happy, smiling and eager to see all they wanted to show her. I had been most concerned for Mark because I thought he would be most affected by this addition to our family. He was so sweet with her. He kept coming to tell me how adorable and precious she was throughout the day. He was very gentle and protective and played so well with her. The two of them played in her room by themselves for quite a long time during the afternoon. Of course, I snuck in to peak and take pictures frequently. We were all very tired. I took Anna for a nap around noon and she wasn't too happy about leaving all of the action. Mark asked if he could lay down with us too. She settled right down in bed next to me after Mark curled up on the other side of me and we all fell asleep. When she started to whimper a bit in her sleep, Mark sat up and said, it's alright, I'm still here.
Anna was eager to copy all of the words Mark tried to teach her. She was also eager to try saying all of their names and Grandma and Grandpa. For some reason, she especially loved saying grandpa to my dad and would smile and giggle. I wondered if grandpa sounds like some Chinese words, but it was probably just because she quickly figured out how fun Grandpa can be.
We have a guest bed in her room, so for now, I’m sleeping there with her. For a while on Sunday night, I was able to transfer her to her toddler bed. Monday night, she kept checking to make sure I was still there. We’ll keep working on that.
The kids and I have a quiet week for settling in. I’m enjoying these moments, knowing that very soon we will have to be into a normal routine with activities and responsibilities and will be adding in medical and therapy appointments for Anna. It is good that Anna loves to go places and be with people because that will definitely define her life with us. We are thinking about how and when to start introducing her to all of the special people in our lives who are so anxious to meet her.
We are so thankful to all of you that have shared our journey. We have been blessed with family and friends that have been so supportive of us. We are especially thankful to our parents that supported from the beginning what might have seemed like a crazy journey. We are thankful to our gracious and merciful Lord for leading us on this path. We are NOT particularly qualified to walk this path and at times have felt overwhelmingly unqualified. I loved a quote I saw once that said, “God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the called.” Amen!
Dear friends, we hope you have been encouraged in some way as you shared this journey with us. If you have any questions about our experiences or international adoption, please feel free to send an email note. Through this experience, we have met some great people and become acquainted with some great organizations. If you don’t feel called to adoption yourself, but would like to support medical treatment or sponsor foster care, I have information I can share with you. If the email link doesn’t work for you for some reason, I can be emailed directly at kristine@petealdrich.com
Many blessings to all of you from the Aldrich Family Pete, Kristine, Rachel, Sarah, James, Mark and Anna
