WE ARE HOME!

Oh my! You think that you are never going to get to go to China to get your child and then it seems as though you are never going to get to come back home! Well, I am here to tell you, eventually you get to do both!

We had a "blip" in our schedule; I really don't know how to say it without getting nasty, but we went through the tidy little ceremony that the US Consulate insists on with about 100 other families, said our oath, were "Congratulated" by the officer. Marney and I cheered and we were ready to head to the Guanghzou airport--we were checked out of the hotel and all the luggage was in a separate van from the rest of our group, and then Mr. Seymore says, "I do need to see the Haddad Family and the W* Family." It was clear it was not for an extra congratulations. Well, it seems that the Office of Homeland Security had not cleared our 2 babies for visas!!! Okay! I have been adopting for 6 years. I had NEVER heard of this happening in a Chinese adoption. I questioned him further once I recovered from the shock that we were not going anywhere, and the problem was with the babies paperwork not ours. Everyone wanting to immigrate to the US needs to be checked to be certain that they did not try to enter the country at another time for some criminal activity. Okay . . . our babies were 13 months and 25 months old . . . how absurd it that! We were both from the same agency, the W* family was alphabetically the last family in the NSN group and I was a special needs family tacked on later. We figure someone just did not get to the bottom of the pile!

I did email Lotus Travel immediately although I knew it was after hours for them; I couldn't sleep so I got up in the middle of the night and called them. They handled changing the flights for me and notified the Travel Insurance company for me, I need to follow through with that on Monday, but they were great. I think that this was the first time that I purchased travel insurance!

Supposeduly 99% of the visas get approved on time, but on Wedneday 9/27, 3 families were delay and on Thursday 9/28, 2 families were delayed. We did get it at 7:30 a.m. the next morning, the other family was able to make their airline connections, but we were not and had to spend an extra day. After having been in China since 9/12, it seemed like an eternity.

I know that everyone wants to see pictures and I am anxious to post them, but our luggage did not get here from New York! (all my download cords are in there even though I was never able to use them in China!) Yes, it made it from China to NY, but not from NY to Pittsburgh. Oh, and Jack, my 25 month old new son--26 months today--was tagged by Homeland Security to be patted down at the airport! Sheeesh!

Everyone is doing great. My kids at home were very well cared for while we were in China, by my friend, Joan, and my sisters, Diane and Linda, and they were at the airport to meet us which was great! Jack seems a bit disoriented, but seems happy to be here. Sammy was feeding him last night and looked at his hand and said, "Mom, why didn't you get him fingers for that hand?" Oh, out of the mouth of babes!

Praise God! We are home safely and I am the mother to 4 absolutely beautiful and delightful children! When I desperately wanted to get married and have babies, I wondered what I had done so wrong that I couldn't have my dreams and now I have these 4 terrific kids and I wonder what I could have done so right! I feel so blessed.