Day Fourteen Til Now

I'm back! Sorry to leave you hanging for the last week but I have literally been in survival mode😯😴😴😴😴! Things are just wonderful, but let me pick up where I left off. On Wednesday we had to go to the US consulate to apply for Logan's visa. We were one of four families from our group left to do this. The others had their appointments on Tuesday. Th consulate was located close to the building where we had to go to for the medical exams. I don't know what I was expecting, but it definitely included more pomp and circumstance than the simplicitic steps we took. There were hundreds of people waiting in line and crowded around the building. You aren't allowed to carry anything in. No cell phones, cameras, purses, etc. Our guide told us that many of the people were trying to get paid to hold people's belongings while they went in. Talk about crazy! Anyway, we were able to take a separate line which was much shorter. We only waited about ten minutes before being allowed to enter. Once inside we were asked to take a number. Each of us was called up to present our paperwork. When all of our paperwork was submitted the one and only authentic US worker came to the window and asked to stand fur the swearing in ceremony. I honestly don't remember a thing we said. I was too busy wondering why she couldn't come out from behind the window and make this big step more personal. Oh well, the government.. Need I say more? Normally visas aren't ready until the following day. Most families depart the following day after receiving visas. Well, to our surprise our visas were processed the same. It had something to do with the Fourth of July. Now this should have been great news. What it actually meant was we were stuck in China for a day with nothing to expect or do. We had our visa, our last piece of the great paper chase. Needless to say Thursday was a hard day. By this point we were soooo homesick. Basically we spent the day in the hotel. We wondered next door to a mall for a few souvenirs and across the street to The Coffee House, an Australian restaraunt that served western type food. We intended to swim but never got around to it. We packed and napped and watched the World Cup in Chinese, Wimbleton, the BBC, and somehow made it through the day. The big news for the day was an email we received from United Air stating that our flight had been cancelled. What?? Yes, we panicked. I believe Craig would have swam home at that point if he could have. We called our guides who gallantly saved the day. I was never too worried because every little step of the journey happened within God's perfect timing. Raymond got on the phone and was able to get us a new flight which left only ten minutes later than the original one. The bad part was that it was not direct  like the original. It added several hours and two lay overs but at least we were headed home.
On Friday July Fourth I woke up at 4 am. I showered then finished packing and gad our bags waiting for the bellboys by 5:30. We went downstairs to meet Raymond and Jocelyn and say our goodbyes. They put us in a nice van bound for Hong Kong. So for a bit over two hours we headed to HK. The drive was beautiful-very enjoyable. We saw miles and miles of port areas, then beautiful mountains. We had to stop at the HK border and present our passports again. At that point it was like entering a new country, not a new city. We were amazed that they drive European style! The HK airport was enormous but very nice and very clean. We had over an hour to wait so we found a okay area for Logan Grace. She loved being able to crawl and stretch. We boarded our flight onto a very large plane. It was a double decker. I later found out it carried 600 people. After we were seated another family from our group sat down in front of us. We had no idea. It was kind of funny. Their little guy didn't name a peep while Logan cried for 5 1/2 hours straight and then some. It was stressful and miserable and exhausting. This was the equivalent of labor in a biological birth. It was definitely the very worst and most difficult part of the trip.  Twelve plus hours we traveled before hitting US soil. We landed in San Francisco. We headed for immigration which we dreaded. Many people had told us to expect long waits. Some families have even missed flights because of the wait. But like so many other parts of the trip God showed up big time. We were through the line and within ten minutes Logan a Grace became a US citizen! What a great way to celebrate the Fourth of July. She may never get how different her life could have been living in a communist country, but we will never forget all that we saw and learned from China.  After another layover we boarded a plane for Houston. I think it was around four hours. LG slept a little and fussed a lot. She was so over travel by this point. We were excited to land in Houston an hour early only to be disappointed to spend an extra hour on the Tarmac due to heavy rain. Around 8:00 pm we took off for Nashville. LG slept most of the way. This flight was much shorter- only two hours. At this point we were exhausted. Our total travel time was around thirty hours. Craig had only slept about eight hours in three days. I felt so bad for him. When the pilot announced twenty minutes until landing we were soon able to see fireworks from the plane. It was pretty neat. It was close to ten when we arrived in a Nashville. We practically ran off the plane.   We made the short trek through a very diserted airport pass the secure area to see the best sight I the world. Our little welcome home party was clapping and squealing and smiling. I will never forget they moment. Ever. Our kiddos were as excited to see us as we were them. It was that moment when we became a family of six!🙏💓😍😍. Also to greet us were our parents and Craig's sister, Kerri, my Nanny Bowman and three of the best friends a girl could ask for. This blessed my socks off! Love you, girls! After a few pics and hugs we grabbed our luggage and headed home.
The kids talked nonstop all the way home. Isaac must have kissed me and told me he missed me at least one hundred times. Craig talked nonstop to his dad, too. Funny! Logan took this dull in stride. I think she loved her siblings from the moment she saw them. I can't describe how wonderful home looked and felt. The kids whith help from some special friends decked out the yard with signs and balloons. At this point we were living off of adrenaline and didn't crash until 2:00 am!
Jet lag had been horrible! Our nights send days have been so confused! But each day gets better. Logan takes pretty much evrything in stride. She is such a pleasant little thing. The siblings already have her spoiled. I think she will walk soon if they will ever put her down. She loves for them to walk  while holding her. If they set her down she wines, then they pick her up. Rotten, I say. She got a good report from her check up. She eats anything and ecpxpects to eat whenever anyone else does. We are having a ball just watching her learn and experience new things. We are amazed at how fast she is changing and at how her little life has changed in just three weeks. She has already brought us so much joy. We are truly blessed.
Thank you for your interst in our new Story. I will continue to blog when I can. Please check back from time to time. Continue to pray for LG as she adjusts to her new life. School will be starting soon and she will be staying in a home are setting. This will be another transition for her.
Tammy