We made it! It was a brutal day(s) of travel–left the White Swan at 7:30AM and arrived at home at about 11:00PM…about 28 hours of travel door to door. Lydia was great on the first flight from Guangzhou to Beijing. And, she really did quite well on the flight from Beijing to Newark. Having the bulkhead seat with the bassinet was a HUGE blessing (as well as the fact that Mark got the seat with me). Anyone who is traveling with a child under 2 NEEDS to get those seats. Lydia slept on and off as did we. But, she cried very little. But, when we were only 15 minutes from landing (after I had changed her into a cute coming home outfit, mind you), she got airsick and threw up multiple times all over herself and us and our diaper bag. Nice. So, she was not too happy and neither were we (or the surrounding passengers). As soon as we got off, we called my mom to tell her we had landed (there was a whole entourage waiting for us). She then informed us that Ashlyn was sick and had thrown up twice at the airport. Nice. Welcome home to us, huh? She was a real trooper though and still was very happy to see us and Lydia and sat nicely while we grabbed a quick bite of dinner with the whole fam. It was great to be reunited with the kiddos–brought tears to both of our eyes. They are just in love with Lydia. Evan said last night, “If I were doing this, I’d pick her too.” Drew said, “I wouldn’t. I’d want a boy.” He’s a kick. He loves his baby sister though. She wasn’t ready to go to bed until after 2AM and then was awake again by 5AM (this was her “afternoon nap”….ugh). Even though the other three went to bed super late, they were up between 6:30 and 7 ready to give her tours of the house and show her every toy she could play with. Poor thing is probably way over stimulated. She did really well today though and was asleep tonight by 8PM. If she sleeps through the night, I may sing the Hallelujah chorus tomorrow morning.
I have really enjoyed following your China adventures! I’m glad you guys arrived safely back home and are now reunited with your kids. Also glad to hear the flight was not all that bad (I’m dreading this myself!) I am friends with Nicole Settle and she pointed me to your blog. We are both adopting girls from Nanning in a few months.
Lydia is a DOLL!!! Beautiful!!!!
Thanks for sharing with all of us.
Nikki
http://www.ladybugmakes4.blogspot.com
I am so glad to hear you made it home and in one piece!
I hate both of your girls were sick. How is everyone today?
Praying for you guys as you try to get over jet lag and enjoy your family.
And one more thing, how can you look so good after 28 hours of travel? Seriously?!!?
praising the Lord that you are home safe! Love seeing the kiddos all checking each other out. praying the girls are both feeling better today. Funny that both were sick…well, funny in a sad way! ;) YAY! You are home! praying for the jet lag and continuing transition!
Kelly,
I am so happy to hear that you are home safe and sound. Can’t wait to see the pictures of Lydia’s homecoming!!! I hope you are getting some rest!! Those first few days home were really tough on me!!
Tricia
What a great family. Thanks for sharing your journey to China. Your journey as a family has just begun.
Violet
Shaanxi mom
YAY! to being back on U.S. soil, to finally being a family of 6!!! loved following your trip and can’t wait to hear more! Praying for that good long night of sleep for you ALL!
Wow! That is just so incredibly awesome. I dont even know what else to say. Amazing pictures and climax to the story after such a long wait/journey. So happy for you guys!
WeLcOmE hOmE !!! What an honor it’s been to follow your journey to Xi’an and back. We anxiously away updates from home now! :) :) .. as if you have the time and energy! lol. We’ll give you a day or two off, then start stalking again!
God Bless you and your precious family!
S.
PS… my anti spam word is “missed”!!! No kidding!
congratulations! so glad you are home safe and sound! hope everyone is feeling better today too!
Love the picture, beautiful family. Hope poor Ashlyn feels better soon.
Ali
Welcome Back! Loved following all of your trip and reliving many of the parts. It’s seems like forever ago we were in our book group dreaming about these days! Congrats! Gina and Mia
WELCOME HOME!!!! What a sweet, sweet thing it must be to come home after that long, wonderful journey! I won’t even tell you how many times I hit “refresh” in the last 24 hours. I couldn’t do the math in my head, so I just had to wait for the very exciting “Home Sweet Home” post!!!
LOVE the pictures, and I feel for poor Ashlyn. I got the stomach bug a couple of days ago, and I was pretty certain I was going to die, so when I saw that picture of her, my heart went out to her! Love what looks like a big blue plastic bag in your hands too for your arrival….wonder what might be in there! Oh, the life of a mom!!! I hope everyone is feeling better, got some sleep, and beginning to feel somewhat normal! And, I hope the jet lag doesn’t make YOU sick!
Enjoy your first few baby days at home. I imagine it must be a lot like the haze of bringing your newborn home for the first time!
The family picture is priceless, and somehow, you look no worse for the wear!! :)
So glad you are back!!!
So happy you made it home, sounds like Lydia was a real trooper!! Love the pictures of you all together, it brought tears to my eyes!!
Really loved reading and following along with you on your trip. I have a ton of questions!!
Enjoy your beautiful family!! Hope the jet lag won’t be too bad for all of you!
Congratulations again!!!
~Allison
So glad you are home safely and reunited with the rest of your family. I would check your blog in the am before work and at night before I went to bed. I enjoyed following your journey and prayed for you guys – especially on the trip home; that is the most stressful leg of the trip in my opinion. Blessings as a family of 6!!! Thanks for sharing.
Christa
Yay! So glad you are home and that Lydia did well on the flights. I love the pictures! So sweet how Evan just sat there till you got there, and the picture of Mark hugging the kids brings tears to my eyes! I can imagine the excitement in your house right now. Hope the jet lag wears off soon and that Ash feels better (and the rest of you don’t get it) so you can really start having fun as a family of 6!
Kelly, So happy to see those coming home pics! Your family is beautiful. Can’t wait to see how big Miss Lydia is the next time we see here and can’t wait to meet the rest of your kids!
Heather
Love the photos! I guess I needed this morning cry!
Kim
So happy to see and hear that the Raudenbush Family is all together again! Welcome back. I’ll be praying for easy transitions for all. Big hug!
Welcome HOME! I think you’re right about the plane seats- we didn’t get bulkhead seats with Aaron and it was TOUGH. I just kept saying, “Eventually this plane WILL land!” :) Can you believe this part of the journey is over and you are HOME? Just amazing!! Have a blast introducing Lydia to her new forever home! Yahoo!
This was so much FUN watching and hearing about your stories along the way…
The kids look so excited to begin a new life together as a family of SIX!!! We are praying for you all with this precious little addition to your family, how FUN. Reminds me that every child is a GIFT for us to care for, love and protect for as long as we can.. God’s babies, He has done GREAT things!!!
Thanks so much for sharing all of this with us!
Hugs from the Allen’s. :)
I haven’t posted but I have been following along and enjoyed your journey! Congratulations! You have a beautiful family!
I have so enjoyed following your trip — brings back so many sweet memories of this time last year for us – going to get Ally. We will pray you have a “sleeper” in the US like we have
God Bless — What an Awesome God!
Cheryl
I’m so glad you made it home safely! The reunion with your family was so sweet, thanks for sharing!
I hope Lydia loves her new home!
Welcome home!! Glad you survived the flight! Can’t wait to watch the blog and watch Lydia blossom! It’s been great going through this journey with you!
~Laura
Welcome home!! Can’t wait to see Lydia in pictures with her forever family…hugs~
Oh my, your pictures made me cry, even with sobs! Brought back so many memories. The picture of you son sitting and waiting really grabbed me! Welcome Home and I’m glad to hear it went well till the end! We also had the bulk head seating with the bassinet and what a blessing those seats were! Enjoy your bonding time. I do hope we can meet sometime. I am friends with Andrea Zavod, the woman you emailed last night. She is my best friend and my husband is going to China with her…hopefully sometime very soon! My email is sherrycrist@hotmail.com and my blog is http://www.rachellorraine.blogspot.com.
Again, welcome home and enjoy your wonderful gift from God!
Blessings,
Sherry
i have been following you guys now for weeks! i have loved every minute of it.We too are adopting, and we also have 3 kids. Congratulations on your family of 6! The photos are soooooo sweet! the kids excitement is lovely. i look forward to staying in touch and checking on your progress w/the new addition. your family is just beautiful! Thank you for sharing.
cathy
http://www.ourforverdaughter.blogspot.com
Oh my that little girl is in for an amazing time with your family! I can see all the fun pictures and post already! Welcome home Raudenbush Family!
LUUUUUUUUUV IT!!! And Love the family photo!!!
Welcome Home Raudenbush family…and welcome to America Sweet Lydia!! :)
Hugs,
Tanya