The flight from Hong Kong to Chicago was almost 14 hours and it seemed longer. All things considered Iris did a great job. There were three other adoptive families on the same flight so it was nice to see familiar faces. Iris fell asleep about one hour into the flight but only slept for 45 minutes. After a few hours she ate and then attempted to sleep. She did fight it but finally went to sleep. Not too long after going to sleep it was time for them to serve more food so she woke up. Eventually she slept for about 6 hours which was great.
Once we got to Chicago we knew the hardest part was over. Melissa's sister came to the airport and was the first family member to meet Iris. It was nice to see a family member and she brought gifts for Iris. (As you can see we changed her cloths in Chicago)
The trip to Kansas City was short and sweet. Melissa and I were completely worn out at this point but we knew the end was near (Melissa and I did not sleep at all on the long flight from Hong Kong). Iris was also worn out but she maintained enough to make the final leg manageable.
We arrived to Kansas City with about 15 people waiting to greet Iris. It was awesome. I did not get any pictures but am hoping that others took pictures and will email them to me. I was busy trying to video the experience. We quickly hugged and kissed Ansley and Elliot before they starting playing with Iris. She quickly took to the kids (Ansley, Elliot and Alex) and they played for several minutes. Most of the adults were crying with excitement and it was truly a wonderful moment. Iris was showing them how she can light up any room. God is good.
After several minutes of hugging and greeting everyone it was time to get the luggage. Only two of the three suitcases made it so we had to fill out a claim form and hope for the best. It would later be delivered about 11:30pm (just as we were about 2 hours into some much needed sleep). We were glad it made it.
Once the luggage arrived that would be the last sleep I would get for the night. Iris woke up and was not going back to sleep. About 1:00am after trying to convince her to sleep I decided to get up and let her play for a while. About 4:00am she decided she would try again so we went back to bed. Iris did go to sleep for about 2 hours. However, Elliot then woke up so I went to his room where by this point I was way beyond going to sleep.
Iris woke up about 6:15am and so did the entire house. The kids are so excited and so is Iris to have a new brother and sister. Not sure Iris understands what is happening but she is having fun figuring it out.
It will be nice once we all get back on our regular routine and schedules. Hopefully tonight everyone will sleep good and start the process.
Attached are some photos from our journey home. I will post some pictures of arriving at KCI once I have them. I will also post some pictures with Ansley and Elliot later today.
Welcome Home!!!! Hope you all have a restful night of sleep tonight! And many blessings to you as you are settling in to being a family of 5!!
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