Jon Jon home.......one year later

Jon Jon is finally home……..one year later
I am so in awe of the above statement! At times it feels like yesterday we were in China. At the same time it truly feels like our trip to China was so very long ago and that Jon Jon has been with us his entire life! I am thankful for every step of our journey to bring Jon Jon home. However, I must admit that the last leg of the trip nearly did me in! I was physically and emotionally spent. Looking back, I can see how hard it was. (Don’t get me wrong, I’d do it all again if I had to! It was SO worth it!) At the time, I just knew I was exhausted and I wanted so desperately to get home to Ethan. I wanted so much for our boys to finally be together. We landed in Chicago after MANY long hours of travel from Guangzhou and Hong Kong. Jon Jon had really been a great traveler. However, that many hours in airports and on airplanes was a bit much for everyone. When we landed in Chicago, we were so happy to finally be back in the USA! We got off of the plane and headed for the immigration line. A less than friendly lady ripped open the brown envelope that we had been guarding so very carefully since receiving it in Guangzhou. It contained all of the paperwork that said Jon Jon was ours and that he was supposed to be coming home with us. As she ripped, I just prayed she was supposed to do that! After watching her go through it and then checking our passports, we were on our way to collect our bags and head for another checkpoint. We waited for about 45 minutes for our luggage. As we waited, the reality that we might not make our connecting flight to Memphis because of this delay began to set in. The thought of not getting home to Ethan that night was pretty much more than I could bear. Tears began to flow as I realized our boys may not be together in a few hours as we had planned. We finally collected our last suitcase and went to the next checkpoint where all of Jon Jon’s paperwork was again sorted and reviewed. I continued to look at the clock. As the minutes passed, I was constantly reminded that our trip home might not end tonight. Tears just kept flowing. The man finished our paperwork, things were stamped and sorted. We were sent on our way. Jon Jon was officially a US citizen. For that, I was happy and thankful. We ran to check our luggage in again. The attendant told us that we did not have time to stand and wait to check our luggage. She said she would check it for us. She instructed us to run as fast as we could to the tram and then run even more if we wanted to try to make it to the gate. She said that we might not be able to get there before our flight took off. Boy did the tears roll then! That was not what I needed to hear! As apprehensive as I was about leaving our luggage not yet checked in amidst a sea of other unchecked luggage, I knew we had to do it. We grabbed our carry-ons, strapped on our backpacks and grabbed Jon Jon in the stroller and ran as fast as we possible could. I wonder what was going through Jon Jon’s mind. He was of course his normal laid-back self, just taking it all in! We made our crazy journey from one side of O’Hare airport to the other. We were of course stopped at every search point imaginable along the way. After an emotional whirlwind, we made it to the gate. We got checked in and boarded. We got to our seats. All I could think was “this plane is taking us home!” After what seemed like forever, we were in the air! Jon Jon entertained the entire plane on the flight to Memphis. With every move the plane made, Jon Jon let out the biggest belly laughs! He so enjoyed the plane rides. Even though he was not a big fan of sitting in a seat for so long, Jon Jon loved the movements made by the planes. Finally, after such a tremendous journey, it happened…….we landed! I have never been so happy to see the Memphis airport in my life!! Oh, the thought of seeing Ethan and having our family finally together was such an incredible feeling! After collecting our belongings, we were the last to exit the plane. We got off the plane and entered the same gate where Joey and I had begun our China journey over two weeks ago. As I now recall our journey down that long airport hallway just one year ago, tears fill my eyes. I really do not have the words to describe the feelings I had as we turned the corner and saw friends and family waiting to greet us and welcome Jon Jon home. We felt so loved as we saw all of your faces!!! Tears are rolling down my face right now as I recall Ethan running passed the security guard to meet us halfway down the hallway! Oh, how good it was to hold him after being away for so long! Seeing Ethan say hello to Jon Jon for the first time will always be burned in my mind!! It was good to see each of you at the airport. We were so touched to see so many of you there to greet us so late at night. Thank you again for taking the time to be a part of such a special moment in our lives. We are still so blessed by your willingness to be present at such a special time. The memories of returning home on July 20, 2007 will always be so very special to us. It marked the end of a journey so very long in the making. Jon Jon was finally home. After spending everyday of the first two years and 4 months of his life in the same building, Jon Jon had travelled around the world to the home God had planned for him before he was even born!