We're still completely wiped out. The house is a mess. The suitcases have yet to be moved from their initial "plop" point. The kids aren't sleeping all that great at night (Keira thinks it's China time, bless her heart) and so Mom and Dad are up at all hours. Dishes are piled up. Bottles are everywhere. Diapers are climbing in numbers and taking over. We're still sick. Laundry is a mile high and several mounds wide. Mail is in a big Leaning Tower of Pisa stack. Burp cloths, teething rings, Puffs, baby food, formula, baby toys, and hairbows are strung from one end of this home to the other...
and yet...
She's in that room, folks. She's in that crib...
If I went in there right now to wonder where she was...or when or even if she would ever be home...I wouldn't have to look very far.
Because she's there
Sleeping. Happy. Healthy. Beautiful. Charming.
All 18 pounds of her
All snuggly and warm and in her cute girlie jammies
She's there
The name on the wall is not just a passing hope
Speaking of hope, I forgot to share with you
We decided while in China that we would give Keira a portion of her Chinese name, so here it is...
Keira Joy Xi
Xi is pronounced "she". Xi means "hope"
Keira Joy "Hope" is sleeping in her bed after four long years of hoping and waiting for her
She's there...in that room, even now...
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
We had many people waiting at the airport for us, even though we got in so late at night. It was so sweet!
We came home to find all kind of food, flowers, brownies, diapers, wipes, formula...you name it - all waiting for us in the house. It was very moving. Thank you so much to the two families who took care of us in this way! We are still benefiting very much from your TLC.
Our son came home late that same night, and it was so great to hug and hold him again.
We had a very, very restless and long first night home. Surprisingly, our son did not want to sleep at all. So we were up with him from 1am to 6am. Bout' killed us.
Sunday was our first day at home and Keira has done amazing. Like a new baby. We're trying to decide if it's the jetlag that is making her so docile and sweet, or the fact that she's figuring out we're here to stay. Either way, we're loving her easy going and adorable personality. She's been such a good baby these past two days.
By the way - Keira did really well on the flights. First flight was 15 hours, and she slept a total of 8 hours. It was not all together, but it was still nice to have those breaks where she was resting. We had a 4 hour layover in the states before our final flight - she did great. Then we had a final 3+ hour flight home. She slept a little bit and was a bit more fussy, but who could blame her. We had been traveling over 20 hours. She was done and so were we.
Quint has only had 24 hours to take in the concept of his new sister. In a brief nutshell, he's not loving it. In fact, it's been harder to meet his needs than Keira's. He's doing the grieving now - and it's difficult. So we're going to take that transition one day at a time, and hope it improves over the coming weeks and months. Right now, he wants nothing to do with her.
Even though the jet-lag is really hurting, we're so very glad to be home again. Even though we can't sleep well or much, the bed....our wonderful soft bed...oh friends. I could weep. It was like slipping into heaven. The house is a royal mess. Don't even care. (*much) I'm so glad to be in our home, to be surrounded by our comforts...it has made everything better on some level. The sickness, the exhaustion, the sadness, the eating, the sleeping, the lack of sleeping...all so much better when you're at home.
Today we go to the doctor. AB and I. We need to get checked out - what we're carrying is just not good. Since we had it the entire trip and since it's hanging on for dear sweet life, we need intervention. We want to be rid of it, so we can start putting ourselves back together again. Everything feels tougher when you're sick.
Keira seems healthy as a horse. Pardon the expression, but she is a tough cookie! Her doctor appointment is Tuesday.
Well, that's all for now - I'm going to try and catch a few moments of rest before the little ones are up and ready to eat.
I can't believe we can finally, finally close this "book"...I'm so happy I could cry...
I have so much to tell you all...more to come soon - I promise!
