The Story Of You - Journey To Carmen!

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Thanks so much for visiting us during our journey,
Danny, Sally, Daniel and Carmen!

March 4, 2009 -
We're Home!!!

In the U.S. at last!!! As I write this, we are sitting in the Chicago
airport. Hooray!! The first two flights were good and now we wait
for five hours and we’ll be on our last leg to Memphis in the “tin
can” (as Jen W. calls it because of the size of the plane). We
were all really dreading the long 14 hour flight from Shanghai for
fear of screaming babies on the plane but they all did great.
Mostly slept through the entire TURBULENT flight! By the way,
Danny said I should note that we left China, our flight arrived in
Chicago one hour ahead of schedule (because we flew the jet
stream at 650 mph) but we still flew halfway around the earth and
got here before we left! (We left around 5 p.m. on March 4 and
arrived in U.S. at approx 4 p.m. on March 4th.) It was really
interesting because our flight took us east over Japan across the
Pacific Ocean over Alaska through Canada and back south to
Illinois. We flew from daylight through darkness and back into
daylight. Not sure if that’s coming across clearly but it was just
too cool!

We’ve already had to say good-bye for now to three sets of our
traveling friends and it was so very hard. Jen W. and I must be
in “cry” mode because each good-bye is killing us! The
friendships and bonds we all have developed and shared will last a
lifetime. We plan to reunite each year starting next summer
which will be in Memphis and have already thrown out ideas for
the following years. Our friends, Debbie, Bill & Miss Ella were
met here in Chicago by their son and family and will drive home
to Wisconsin today (it was so emotional watching Debbie see her
son again because I missed Daniel so much). Jen, Jason & Miss
Addison had to divert to another concourse/gate as they will be
connecting to a flight home to Minnesota. Also, Sandy, Brent &
Kaleigh who now live in Murfreesboro also had to reroute in the
airport. We’ve only been together for two weeks but it seems
much longer and the depths of our experiences together are
unexplainable. Brent & Sandy along with Jen & Jason are now
proudly enjoying their first child, already have the hang of it and
will clearly make wonderful parents. I must say it was so very
special watching them and knowing the happiness they are
feeling. Our friend, Kevin, made this trip without his wife,
Rhonda, because she is home expecting their daughter, Loryn, at
anytime and was not able to travel. We missed Rhonda on this
trip so much because we’ve waited a long time together but the
double blessing they are receiving with two new daughters will be
so worth it! Kevin’s parents, Trudy & Terry did make the
journey with him and it was such a joy to meet and get to know
them. They have been a lot of fun and what a touching, special
time to share with your parents. We’ve also been traveling with
our good friends Shane & Jen who just received their Emma. The
four of us have been together for over five years now and were
there to support each other when blessed with our Daniel and
their Hannah in 2004. We purposely submitted our China
dossiers at the same time and have patiently and impatiently
endured this wait together.   However, I will say that all of us
have talked via e-mail for months and some even years. These
are all such special people that I will miss dearly!
That’s all from Chicago. Will write more when we’re in
Kentucky!
      ----------------------------------------------------------------------

We’re truly home at last! Exhausted doesn’t begin to describe it
hence the late post. Sorry!

We made it from Chicago to Memphis in the tin can. Let’s just
say Carmen made it interesting and I didn’t pack enough carry-
on clothes for her or me! (You can use your imagination.) That
was clear when I saw a few of the Memphis arrival pictures.
Uggghh.   Speaking of the Memphis arrival, we were the last one's
out of the terminal and when we turned the corner, we
immediately saw the families of our friends the Raggios and
Beards there to greet us and snapping photos. It was such a
welcomed, beautiful sight! Matter of fact, the first thing I
remember seeing was Elizabeth smiling from ear to ear and
holding a balloon (which Carmen is still playing with). These are
some of our closest friends who have truly been with us since the
beginning and prayed fervently for both our Carmen and Daniel.
We love you guys and can’t thank you enough for being there!!
We also were able to meet the families of Jen & Shane and Kevin
& Rhonda which was also very special because we even feel like
we know people we’ve never actually met in person. It’s hard to
explain these special connections….   By the way, Pat brought us a container of Kapo brownies (special recipe from her Mom that’s
a family favorite) and Rhonda brought home-made cookies -----
------ these were both opened as soon as we got to our car. Thank
you, thank you!! (FYI, desserts in China are just awful --- just
ask Danny and Terry – ha!)

Anyway, we made our way to the Hampton Inn where we were
staying and could hardly sleep just waiting until we could get up
and go get our Daniel. We did first thing the next morning and of
course, Lisa was at the door with her video and we had ours from
the car. (not sure how well either of us video thru tears…)
There’s no telling how many kisses we planted on that boy and it
seemed like he grew inches. I’m not kidding – he changed so
much! Maybe the separation changed/matured him….I sure hope
not! Daniel immediately went to Carmen and gave her a kiss and
hug. Another grapefruit-size lump moment! We visited with Lisa and the kids for a while then went to visit with Danny’s parents where there was a huge “Welcome Home Carmen” banner thanks to Uncle Jeff. Everyone has been so excited to finally meet Miss Carmen. I must tell you though that when we got back to the hotel and the four of us were just hanging around, it felt so complete and right. Daniel and Carmen were just laughing at
each other, playing and getting acquainted in the sweetest ways and we just sat back smiling with tears in our eyes. I really can’t
put words to it but it felt whole and we were reminded again at
that very moment how much we had been blessed by God.

The next morning (Friday) we went to my Aunt Betty’s so that
Carmen could meet her and Pawpaw. That was a special time for
not only that but for Daniel and Pawpaw as they are big buddies
and missed each other immensely. After that was back to the
hotel as our bodies were still on China time and major jet lag had
hit. Later there was more time for family and friends visits and a
very special time with Granddaddy (Minna). We wanted to see
soooo many more but not enough time this visit which means
we’re coming back soon!! Saturday we drove home safely to KY
and our bed never felt so good! OH – I also have to say that when
we pulled up to the house, there were pink balloons and ribbons
everywhere and a big fruit bouquet on the front porch!! I was
truly shocked and must say this thought never entered my mind
because we’ve only lived here six months. We discovered the fruit basket was from our neighbors, The Lambs, who have been
so sweet welcoming us to the neighborhood and at church, and the
decorations were from one of our Sunday School classes in
MEMPHIS along with our friends, Lisa and Amir! You guys are
amazing and that was so very thoughtful!! Again, we not only feel
blessed by our family addition and our safe journey, but also by al
l of you who have followed along. Thank you so much for sharing
this time with us and for all of your prayers, encouragement and
kind words. We have been truly touched and love you all. Please
stay in contact!!

Note: We will have one more post in a few weeks to journal an
update from home. Hopefully then too, we will be rested enough
to reflect on this entire experience with fresh eyes. For now, I
can only say that God has been so good to us and we are humbled!

P.S. In one of the first posts I promised a “squat pot” picture and
many have asked about it. Here it is below. Use your
imagination. Nuff said there :o)