...Home...

     We left the hotel at 7:30AM on Friday. (7:30PM Thursday U.S. time) We loaded into a van with two other families and drove to the border in Shenzen. We knew it was going to be about 2 hours for this portion. I barely slept the night before because of nerves and excitement. I'm not sure many of us slept. How could we?! We were finally going home!!
     As we drove, I started to worry. I had no idea if we were going the right way. Signs were in Chinese and obviously it wasn't a trip we had ever taken before. To make my mind wander even more,  I overheard the couple in front of us say they didn't remember seeing these things on their way into Guangzhou from Hong Kong. They were very tired and slept during their commute, but the first part was all I needed to hear to make my Mama heart start formulating ideas of how we weren't actually going to the airport. I blame it on my nervous mama heart and not getting any sleep. But, either way, I made Eric use our beloved international data plan and pull it up on Google maps. Thankfully, we were indeed going the correct way. I made Eric check it throughout the trip. Thank you, Lord!
     When we got to Shenzhen, we had to split up into two smaller vans for the remainder of the trip. This "crossing the border" part took a while and was a little nerve-wracking. We had to fill out forms and drive through two border stations. We waited a while to work our way through both stations. Each time, our driver had to open up all of the van doors and the trunk. And each time, we had to show our faces and our passports to the patrolman and explain who Josiah was...they always asked us what his (Chinese) name was before we could proceed. They even quizzed us on whether he was a boy or girl at one  station. At the second border check, a lady actually came out and checked all of our temperatures- all 5 of us! Craziness. Thankfully, we were fever free because otherwise they would have re-checked us in Hong Kong.
     We arrived at the airport and checked our luggage fairly painlessly. It was insanely busy though. Luckily, we had enough time to grab lunch at the food court (Food on planes is awful!)...but there were no tables. We're talking thousands of people and trying to find a table like a needle in a haystack. Talk about stressful! We finally pulled up two high chairs and set our food tray on top of one and put Josiah in the other. Eric and I sat in extra chairs we had pulled from surrounding tables. Here's our guy eating congee...and french fries...yum!

     After lunch, we made it to our gate with less than an hour or so to spare which was perfect. When it was time to board the plane, we were allowed to go whenever we wanted since we had babies. This was a nice gesture, but we preferred to board later than earlier because #lesstimeonaplane. Here's our sweet boy looking out at his ride HOME and playing with his most favorite toy ever.

     The security in Hong Kong was no joke. Obviously we had already been through several security checks up until this point. But unfortunately, we had to go through one final check as we made our way onto the plane. Everyone's carry-on and personal item was checked and then a man was checking our tickets individually to see if you needed an extra "random" check. This was an international flight... we're talking a big plane...with a LOT of  people. But guess who won the door prize for a random check?! Ding, ding, ding! Me!
     I had the pleasure of going off into a third line with a few other lucky winners to be checked more thoroughly. I was holding Josiah which they told me was no big deal. But after watching others complete their "random checks," I knew that Josiah would have more fun with Eric. Honestly, I almost unraveled at this point. I fought back tears as I watched Eric and Josiah pass by easily and begin to board. Eric could see that I was ready to break down and waited for me.
      By the time it was finally my turn for a random check, I was fed up. But thankfully, no drugs were detected! (sarcasm) I must admit that even though you KNOW you're not hiding something...it is still scary to watch them insert their wand (that just rubbed your shoes or hands or other body part) into a machine and watch it read "processing" for 20 seconds before it reads "No detection." Yikes! Talk about agonizing! As if I wasn't already a nervous flyer...this pushed me over the top.
     But, alas! I was allowed to board the plane! And thankfully, it was a pretty uneventful 14ish hour flight. Josiah assumed this position for the majority of it...praise God! The extra seat was worth every penny!

     Eric was able to sleep a little...I didn't sleep at all. By the time we landed in Dallas, I had been awake for almost 24 hours. We had to go through customs and immigration...along with lots of other people waiting in line. The first man to direct us asked if we had just adopted our babies. He was so kind and spoke with another woman who let us cut all the way to the front. This saved us SO much time!          There were 4-5 adoptive families on our flight and four of us stuck together so we weren't issued green cards. Sometimes adoption isn't as well known to officers so they'll issue your child a green card. *This isn't a huge issue, but it involves more paperwork and usually your congressman.* The Consulate warned us of this possibility on Tuesday so we decided to go with the strength in numbers approach. Thankfully, our officer had no problems with our paperwork and we were given an easy green light! Josiah and I celebrated his U.S. citizenship with a tired selfie!

     We had to grab our bags and recheck them for our connecting flight. At this point, we said our "see ya later" to the other couple we had spent time with in Kunming. They were in a different terminal than we were for the last leg of the trip. I held back tears... I was still in disbelief we were all this close to home! And we were all so, so exhausted. 

     We sat in our gate and waited...trying not to fall asleep. Sitting across from us was a lady who complimented Josiah on how good he was being. He was playing nicely with (you guessed it!) his stacking cups. I explained that we had just come off a 14+ hour flight and the conversation allowed me to share our heart about adoption and how we met Josiah. I also learned that this couple actually went to the same church as my parents and oldest sister years ago! Only God!

     At 8PM (8AM China time), we boarded our final flight from Dallas to Detroit. *Fun fact: We took 5 different flights in 15 days! Yeah us!* Sleep deprivation was more than setting in though...Eric and I tried to do the math about how long we had officially been awake and we.just.could.not.even. Josiah had his moments on this last flight but we survived. He was up for the long haul now.

     When we touched down in Detroit...it was almost still too surreal. But suddenly, I wasn't as tired anymore, ha! I had the chance to share our exciting news with several people who overheard Eric and I talking about our sweet boy. People shared in our excitement as we made our way to baggage claim. The airport was quiet and it was as if we had our own quiet, special moment bringing Josiah down the empty halls as a Murray. We were now just one shuttle away from a hotel full of our other sleeping Murrays! My mom had driven up on Friday night with all 3 kiddos to a hotel near the airport.

    This was the sight I saw when we walked into the room just after 1AM (1PM China time- and on Saturday)... I hugged my mom and we both cried. The kids all grew at least a foot!

     Wow. Just wow. Fifteen days ago, Eric and I left home to travel across the ocean to become a family of six. We left our three babies in the great care of family and friends to go and bring home the child we've all patiently waited and prayed for these last two and a half years. And God did it! He did it all! God allowed our family to overcome so many obstacles and challenges. And He grew us in so many ways! I am eternally grateful for this opportunity to raise another child and teach him about the love of Jesus Christ...an opportunity he might not otherwise have had. 

     Thank you for following along, friends! Our Josiah is home! He's HOME! Here he is meeting Sydney for the first time...it was all smiles and giggles. He just loves his brother and sisters!

     I hope to continue sharing our adoption journey as I see fit...but not daily! Haha! No one wants to see that. But I do pray our story...God's story...has encouraged you in some way- big or small! Thanks again!