Coming Home - June 9th

Well, we are now safely home.  On Thursday, we awoke in Beijing and packed our bags for our flight later that afternoon.  Anna played nicely on the floor while we gathered everything together. 

We met downstairs at 1:00 pm, loaded our bags and boarded the bus for the Canadian Embassy.  Ivy, our guide, went and collected the girl's Canadian visas and by 2:15 pm we were at the airport for our 4:15 pm flight.  It was definitely cutting things close but it all worked out in the end.  It was sad to say goodbye to Ivy who was such a great guide.  She and I were both crying as we said goodbye.  She grew attached to Anna. 

Saying goodbye to Ivy.  She is crying here.  I started crying soon after...

With Rachel and Fiona waiting to board our plane in Beijing

The plane ride home was 10.5 hours.  Neither Randy or I slept, however Anna did well thanks to a man who gave up his seat so she could have one (he moved to another seat at the back of the plane).  So we piled pillows and blankets on the seat and she slept for 5.5 hours which was great.  She was still tired of course, but did well all things considered. 

Once we landed in Vancouver, we went through to Immigration and they processed her paperwork quickly - thankfully they take the adopted babies ahead of everyone else :)  Then it was off to meet my parents, grandma and granddad, for the first time.  It was a beautiful moment. 

Becoming a new immigrant!

Meeting Grandma and Granddad!

Once home, my brother Russell and his family, Karen, Lauren and Adrienne, came over with dinner to meet their new niece and cousin.  Anna loved meeting them all.  Russ even got Anna doing belly laughs!  She also liked meeting their dog, Farley (sorry, didn't get a photo of this meeting).  It was probably her first time meeting a dog.  She was very curious and even reached out to pet him. 

Anna is already captivated with her new cousins

 

Anna also got to meet Jen and Wendy, our friends and tenants.

We're glad to be home and are so thankful for the prayers and support we have had along the way.   Thanks everyone for supporting us in our journey to this point.  We hope we can connect with you soon and introduce you to Anna!  She loves people (did the pictures give it away?) which is great.  Off to try to sleep now...