Home Sweet Home!!!

We made it home safely!!  Thanks everyone for your calls and prayers.  It was quite the adventure.  We headed to Hong Kong by van Friday night.  We started out and there was a problem with the van.  We were going to transfer to a different van once we got to the border of Hong Kong.  I assumed the problem was that the air conditioner wasn't working when the driver rolled down the windows in the van as we headed off.  Maria and I had some laughs as we noticed we were the only ones on the road with our windows rolled down in the rain and 90 degree heat.  Well, we made it about 45 minutes from the Hong Kong border before our van decided to go kaput.  The driver was very nice and we waited 45 minutes on the side of a 5 lane highway while another van came to pick us up.  The poor driver was so apologetic and from what I could understand, being that no one spoke the same language, he was very concerned for our safety.  I believe I heard some Chinese swearing that night as he was talking on the phone! :-)  We transfered vans and made it to Hong Kong.  Ana was a trooper throughout the whole event.  She slept right through it all.  We woke up Saturday tired and ready to go home.  We spent the day at Hong Kong Disneyland rather than doing more sightseeing.  We were so tired and Ana had been kind of fussy the last few days so we thought we would just spend the day having fun with her.  It was so amazing to see how she was just so fascinated by everything.  She rode the carousel, Dumbo, Buzz Lightyear, Winnie the Pooh, Adventureland and Small World.  Her favorite had to be Small World.  Her little head didn't stop turning as we rode the boat.  It was a long and hot day. By the end of the night, we were really ready to head home only to find out that our flights might be delayed or canceled due to the hurricane.  We made it safely back, though, before flights were canceled.  We were greeted by my family and friends as we entered the airport.  So very special!! 

This has been an amazing adventure!  So many memories were created that I can cherish with Ana about her birth country and story.  It was also so special of my sister to have traveled with me.  She gave up a lot to help throughout all of this.  She was a great TC- just another acronym in the adoption world for travel companion!  We will always have these memories to share.  The people in my group were so wonderful and we established such a bond together.  I feel that we will stay in contact with many of them.  A BIG thank you goes out to my friend, Deanna, who posted for me throughout this whole trip.  She selected the pictures and posted my emails.  Just an aside for those who are waiting to travel.  We figured out during the trip that if you get an international cellular data plan that you can access blogspot.  The hotels had wireless in the lobbies but not in the hotel rooms.  If you have an adapter for the IPad, you would also be able to upload and post pictures.  We did not, so every night Maria would upload the pictures to Shutterfly and Deanna would select pictures from Shutterfly. 

I will post pictures from our last days in China as soon as I get a chance.  I thought I would end this post with 10 things I discovered about Ana in the past 2 1/2 weeks. 

1.  She loves to cuddle.  I just love the way she tucks her feet on either side of me and grabs on tight!
2.  She has the most adorable giggle.
3.  She can put on her socks and shoes but doesn't like to wear them!  She is also putting on her pants, just can't get them up past that big diaper.
4.  She loves animal crackers, Chinese cocoa crisps, and french fries!  We are working on ice cream--who doesn't love ice cream?!?
5.  She loves to be outside-- just like her mama!
6.  She loves leaves.
7.  She is a great traveler!
8.  Her big smile is just as special as her giggle. 
9.  She must have circus blood running through her!  She can bend her body in half.  Too funny some of the positions she gets in and tricks she does.  Our guide, George, mentioned that Hebi is where most of the acrobats from China come from.  They train from the time they are little.  This also happens to be Ana's birthplace. 
10. She loves her little feet rubbed-- but who doesn't?!?