i was so ready to get home on this day
we left Guangzhou, china on a bus with the entire travel group and drove about 4 hours to hong kong
hong kong is like a totally different county, so upon entering we had to unload all of our luggage and go through customs {again}then reload the bus and travel on to the hotel a few more minutes away
although it was late at night, i could tell hong kong was a beautiful place and much different than the other cities we had been to in china
very americanized
the hotel was the nicest we had been at so far...but we were only there for about 8 hours! ha!
the bus ride was a little frantic for all of the little ones on board
about 30 kids plus parents and other family members
all trying to sooth each other
everyone was stressed to the max!
eddie put on his music loudly and blocked everyone out for a few hours
i think all the other men with wives and children on the bus were a bit jealous for minute!
but as you can see below, ms. molly was a trooper and slept most of the way
don't worry though, because this WAS NOT a sign of what would come the next day!!
the next morning we were up early to catch our first flight from hong kong to japan
then the connecting flight from japan to st. paul, Minnesota
and then on to Nashville
all together, a 20 hour travel day
the longest flight from Japan to Minnesota was not good
probably the most miserable feeling of my life!
we were stuck in the 2 middle seats in the middle row with eddie sitting behind us
it was so cramped and crowded and molly was not happy
she had good moments and slept a little bit
but in between she would want to walk around and there was no place to walk!
she would crawl under the seat in front of me and lay down and i couldn't get her
she was wanting to stretch out, so i guess the floor under a seat was the best she could do
i was worried that someone would kick her or that she would suffocate
then she got into an eating craze at the end of the flight and ate an assortment of foods
a few minutes later she vomited it all up!
we were sitting between two men on each side and i know they were hating the flight as much as us! ha!
sometimes she would turn around and stand in her seat to play with eddie and started to throw things at him
finally she took a hard toy and threw back her arm and pelted a lady that was sleeping beside eddie right in the forhead
i was so mortified! the lady woke up startled and held her head
i tried to apologize for my child's behavior, but i know she was cursing us in her head!
we turned around and i think eddie tried to tell her that he didn't know us!!!!!!!!!!
Finally on Thursday night, May 13 we arrived home in Nashville
I had packed her special USA smocked dress in our carry on bag and we went to make a quick change
and then we were welcomed home with the most amazing crowd of family and friends!
It was SO GOOD to see familiar faces and to be home!
Molly became an American Citizen on May 13, 2010
and she received an American flag that was flown over the US Capital building on this same day so she would always remember!
love the picture of all the kiddos at the airport waiting to greet us!
doesn't molly look confused and dazed?
we went on to my house to eat and party
in the back of my head i was looking forward to this night for the entire trip! i knew we would have good food and cold drinks with ice! and thanks to my family and neighbors it was really fantastic!
molly walked into our house and has been happy ever since
it was just like she knew she was home!
she loved her rocking horse and went straight to it
and finally, a perfect ending to the trip of our lifetime!
thanks for letting me relive our journey to china again this year and for all the sweet comments here and on facebook!
it's been the best year and the best experience of my life and i know we are just beginning!
molly is such a precious gift from God and i'm forever grateful to be her mom!
