Saturday on the Plane & Home

This part is an off-line post...
We're coming to you at about 35,000 feet on our way (about 30 minutes into the flight) from LA to PHL.  We have a few hours to kill, hopefully with naps, DS Games, etc...


This morning was a bit of a challenge, since Lisa had some trouble yesterday re-booking our flights for this morning.  We had to wait about 30 minutes at the ticket counter before they finally got it straight.

We grabbed some quick breakfast (coffee & Bagels) at the airport as we waited for the flight to board.  We were able to board right away - due to the kids.  By my eyeball, the flight is only about 40% full.  The baby is exhausted and has been nodding off in her huge (comparatively speaking) seat - we've got sweatshirts all around her so when her head bobs she won't hit the armrests.
Kyle just finished up with his DS game, and decided to lie down to rest (NOT SLEEP!)  Since the flight is not full, he was very happy to be able to move over and have the window seat.  Across the aisle, Lisa is surrounded by Dylan at he window (engrossed in his DS) and Ashley.

The past week in GZ, HK and LA has been tremendously challenging and trying as we juggled everything to make sure we're able to get the baby home as quickly as possible.  Our "family time" in southern CA will have to be rescheduled, but the boys were very understanding of this, especially since they had such a good time with AR at HK Disneyland.

As I think I mentioned before, Lisa and I are disappointed as well, since our few days of lower stress family time were very memorable for K & D's trips.  But our primary concern is Ashley.

It's hard to believe that this trip is drawing to a close.  As the events of the last week have unfolded, when we're in the moment, it seems like the time can't move fast enough.  For instance, each early morning hour on Tuesday morning when we were waiting for the first doctors to look at Ashley felt like it hung on the clock for three times as long.

On the flip side, much of the time we spent sightseeing (between official appointments), like our day at the Big Buddha, seemed to race by, sliding into the history of the trip much faster than it should have.  Thankfully, we again have a full library of photos to look back on and relive each moment.  This time though we have TWO cameras full of memories, once through AR's eyes in addition to our own.

We're tired, we've run out of clean clothes, and we are SO looking forward to seeing our own home through the windshield as we round the corner after coming down the hill.  In a few hours, we'll be walking back up the Jetway, and back out of the terminal that we walked into just a few days ago (or so it seems).  As we started this trip and we were walking TOWARD our first flight from PHL to SF, that's what I told AR - that's the point where it hits me - how fleeting these moments (or weeks) really are.  I told her in "In about three weeks, we'll be walking the other direction, we'll have a new member of our family, and it will seem like it was yesterday."    We're home and it does.
Stay tuned for new photos from the tail end of the trip...

Thanks for following along...we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.




From Home after our drive from the airport...

We made it home just fine, after being joyously greeted by Grandmom & PopPop ("the ones that live next to us") and Uncle Sean.  Thanks to them for having our car ready at the airport with the baby's car seats and the boy's boosters.

AR went to their house to fetch her car and drive home herself.  I hope she sleeps well tonight.  She deserves it as much as anyone.

On the way home, the boys were somewhat chatty and I'm sure Ashley was silently contemplating what type of hotel we would be staying in tonight!  And for the first time, Lisa and I were able to look in the rear-view mirror and see the whole gang together for the first time in our own car - it's humbling - we are so fortunate to have been blessed with three new little people in just under four years.  Our "dream team" has been thoughtfully assembled from three cities in three different provinces from half a world away.  Three stories...as unique as the children who've lived them...and five lives changed forever.

Had anyone shown me, on our wedding day 19 years ago, a portrait of our family as it is today, I would have likely said "I think you may have the wrong number."  But right now today, as we're all here, home at last, I can't imagine our lives any other way.

The house is silent, save for the occasional humming of the refrigerator, as I sit at our large kitchen table, I can't wait to have Sunday breakfast and see just how much smaller this table is with everyone here.

The boys are long asleep.  And Ashley is lightly sleeping, as she begins settling down into the rhythms of her new life here as part of our family.  I'm signing off now to go get some sleep...in our own bed...with all of us here.

(Except Murphy of course, who will be be added to the mix tomorrow when we see him at Grandmom & PopPop's for Sunday Dinner!)

Our story is not over...in many ways it's just beginning.

God night all.

C