We are HOME!!!!!!

I know how Dorothy feels. There is NO place like home! Especially when you have been gone 20 days. We have never been away for that long and quite honestly don't want to be again.

So now that we are home, we are all settling into our new normal with our new roles. Jaida, bless her heart, is struggling greatly. Xin is doing very well, Julia and Sam are coming out of jet-lag phase and are really my right hand man and woman. Will has gone back to work-poor guy, lots to do there. And I am the tired, overwhelmed but very blessed mother of 4. Two toddler/preschoolers and jet-lag don't mix well. It is getting better though each night. More sleep comes and that is a very good thing!

We have had only 1 tantrum since we have been home and that was the day we all got up at 3:00am because we just couldn't sleep. He is picking up the language well and motions and shows me what he wants vs speaking Chinese all the time. He absolutely loves playing outside and hanging out with his brother and sisters. He is sweet, affectionate, smart, silly and curious. The hardest part is that he is like a cave man. You have to watch him every second, which is tiring, because he doesn't know simple things...... you don't touch the hot stove, or pull the lamp cord or the curtains down. You don't walk out into the street or put your entire hand into a bowl of food or the dog's food. You get the picture. But it is WORLDS better than it was in Beijing. He has made huge strides and it will continue to move forward. It is so cute to watch him discover the world. Very simple things kids take for granted he has never done nor seen. Sad really. I am sure we will Americanize him soon enough and he will be spoiled rotten. But for now we will go through the process of showing our little boy how to be a part of a family, how to love, how to trust, how to get along in society and how to love the Lord. It has been quite the journey these past few weeks and we did not do it alone. We had all the love and prayers that sustained us and most of all we had our God. We did not do this.....He did!