Home again, home again. Jiggity jig!

Our last day in China... "Follow the Pandada flag!"  One of our guides - Vivian - led us through Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.  Our group always looked for the Canada flag with the Panda holding the red maple leaf.

Bronwyn, Dean and I at Tiananmen Square.

The gentleman standing to the right of me was a real gem!  He and his wife were accompanying their daughter and son-in-law and some more family as they came to pick up their daughter in the same province as we picked up Bronwyn.  We were quickly adopted ourselves by this wonderful family.  They were a huge unexpected blessing on this trip of many unexpected blessings.

Little B slept a lot as we walked through the square and on to the Forbidden City palace.  It was so hot that she usually had a mild heat rash on one cheek from laying against my chest. 

Now that we are back in Manitoba, it's hard to believe we were really there, exploring all the places that date back to before our country was even founded.  Even the brick walkways in this court yard are over 600 years old. 

Our last afternoon in China we had a farewell dinner together with all the other FOI adoptive families, and they brought in a couple of performers for the kids.  As usual, the food was delicious. 

When we returned to the hotel Bronwyn received her official letter from the Canadian Embassy, declaring her a Canadian citizen!



That's the last step before we can leave for home.  By this time, homesickness is always lurking in the back of my mind. 

FINALLY!!!  We are on the plane... but the plane is still on Beijing tarmac...

... and still on the tarmac...

... and still on the tarmac...



3 hours after being seated on the plane, we take off.  Bronwyn fell asleep shortly after, and slept till about half an hour before we landed in Vancouver.  What a gift! 

I, on the other hand, had a minor melt down.  Dean took the baby and I sat and cried.  I suddenly wanted to be home so bad, and we suddenly seemed very far away...  18 days in a hotel without my kids... a new baby... being on an airplane (which I still hate, even though we've been on 6 flights in 3 weeks) - it all added up to be very overwhelming.  I had what I came for, now I just wanted to be at home.

When we landed in Vancouver, we were paged to meet our party.  Our party?  To our surprise, Dean's cousin, Jennifer, had come to meet us at the airport!  She brought all sorts of snacks, as well as a beautiful gift for Sweet B.  She drove us out to Steveston and bought us a fresh haddock lunch on the dock.  It was exactly what we needed. 

We landed in Winnipeg and took at taxi to the Greenwood Inn at 1:35a.m.  We were exhausted, but it was early afternoon according to Bronwyn's clock.  We were all hungry and finished off all the snack that Jennifer had packed for us back in Vancouver.  That little thing was in no mood for a sleep!   We got her down for just over an hour.  Then Dean continued to sleep while B and I showered, played and she ate. 

At 8 a.m. she finally fell asleep and so did I. 

We slept till 11:30 - when we had to leave the hotel.  Ugh!

Now to stay awake until bedtime on Manitoba time!

The introduction to her carseat went better than expected.  At first she was just hesitant...

Then somewhat curious as to why she was strapped in...

And finally, just distraught that I wouldn't take her out as we drove home.

I was concerned that the older 4 would feel hurt when they met Bronwyn, since she generally won't go to anyone except Dean and I.  Especially now that we are in a new place again.  But she did great.  She's seen them on skype so many times, and we've paged through her little album over and over.  She hesitantly went to sit with the kids one after another. 



It was love at first sight for all of us, and little B is a perfect fit in our family. 

By this point she was so incredibly tired.  A little crying and she rolled over in her crib and had her first sleep in her very own bed.