Wonderful World: Landed and Home Photos

HOME - Details, details, details!

Well, the official word, based off of Thea's expression is - She is happy with her home :) The airport greeting was a little overwhelming and she didn't want her photo taken (as you probably noticed in the hokey t-shirt family shot!) Even though she acted kind of shy and nervous, she had a smirk on her face. Outside of the terminal, as we waited to load up our car, she pointed to each of the kids and said their name. She had a HUGE smile on her face the whole way home in the car.

Once we arrived home, Thea was a little reserved, kind of quiet. I think that lasted all of 10 minutes. Janie and Eva took her up to her bedroom. It was the cutest moment ever. I videotaped as Thea looked around at the Chinese characters and read them. The characters on the wall when you walk in the room read "QiuXiang's little room" (Jenny's excellent idea). Thea was beaming when she read that. She was spinning around, looking at everything and smiling. Since I was videotaping, I didn't get the Kodak moment in a picture to post :(

We had friends and family visit for hours, which certainly helped us stay awake! Grandma Carol blessed us with a full blown feast, Aunt Kimmy and Grandma Linda contributed to the great food and Aunt Janet had a big, beautiful "edible basket" delivered. It was full of chocolate covered fruit and the kids loved it. Later in the evening, Jenny came over with her husband and sweet little baby to help with the translation. Thea listened to everything I asked Jenny to tell her, but she did not respond at all.

Aunt Kimmy gave Thea a My Twinn doll and Aunt Kelly brought over a precious Asian baby. They were a big hit. I was really proud of Thea when she let Janie hold her baby for a while. Actually, I was really surprised. Before adopting Thea, we had a list of questions answered by the orphanage director. One question was "What is Qiu Xiang's favorite toy?" The response was "She does not own a toy, but would love to have a doll someday".

My normal overkill on the photos just didn't happen (sigh). I was in a complete daze. I might have even been truely sleep walking :)

Once our company left, our troop headed upstairs to get ready for bed. It was an amazingly smooth time, as everyone was exhausted. Thea climbed into bed, we said prayers (she giggled), all the kids kissed her goodnight and 20 seconds later, she was OUT.

The morning began at a different time for everyone. Mark woke up at 3am, Thea and Kam around 5:30 and then me. Getting adjusted to EST will be an ongoing challenge for a while!

Another update in a few days. Have a safe and happy 4th of July.