The picture says it all... Havensong has a family and is finally home.

(More thoughts on this amazing journey in a week or so...)

What a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong 30+ hours! Beau and I left the hotel in Guangzhou Friday morning at 5:30am (Thursday @ 1:30pm Pacific Standard Time) and got into San Francisco at 9am PST on Friday = 20.5 hours of traveling.

Havensong was amazing. She had her fussy moments but for the most part she was one awesome baby girl! I counted about 50 laps around the whole airplane in her Snugli when she was fussy but hey, walking around an airplane at 35,000 feet with a smiling baby is better than the alternative. 

Once we passed through customs in San Francisco, Havensong became a permanent U.S. resident. We have to re-adopt her (very simply process) for her to get U.S. citizenship. It was a very exciting moment for me when they stamped her Chinese passport - ADMITTED.

We were supposed to fly to New York today due to the short notice I had to make the travel arrangements. We would have had a 7 hour flight tomorrow back to San Francisco but the Lord came through with a huge prayer request the night before we were to leave China by having two cancelations for us to fly straight into San Francisco. We still got stuck in San Fran overnight but this wasn't such a bad thing so that we could go straight to the hotel and rest up for the big day tomorrow when we finally fly home.

I have been up 31 hours (besides the 2 hour nap I took with Havensong this afternoon) and feel numb. They say coming back is way worse than going and I am starting to feel it. I am making myself stay up until about 10 tonight to try and get my clock realigned stateside.

Beau and Havensong are old cold. So much for banging the pots at midnight to ring in the New Year but we'll make up for it at the airport when Havensong is finally home.

Wow... hard to believe Beau and I have been here for 2 weeks already. It's one of those weird feelings of the time went so quick and yet it seems like we've been gone forever. 

Our new friends, Tony and his mom Jun Yi, picked us up at the hotel at 10am this morning. They wanted us to come over to their house for one last meal with them before leaving China.

Tony lives on the top floor of an apartment complex in the heart of Guangzhou. The views of the city from his balcony were amazing. His father, Mr. Pan, has a tea hut on the balcony and treated us to some amazing tea while we waited for lunch. Tony's aunt had been cooking for hours and you could smell the goodness even outside.

When it was time for lunch I couldn't believe the feast they set before us. WOW!!!! We had beef, duck, shrimp, crab, flounder, traditional Chinese vegetables, soup, and squid. It was awesome having lunch and fellowship with our new friends in China. 

Lunch was short because we had to get back to the hotel by 12:15 to get Havensong's passport. With passport now in hand, we can head home tomorrow. 

Beau and I took Havensong for a walk around Guangzhou and got some last minute things like formula for Havensong. We grabbed some dinner and headed back to the room to pack.

I gave Havensong her last bath in the sink of the hotel room and then we went down the hall so Havensong could say goodbye to her Yangzi orphanage sister, Olivia. I hope she stays in touch with Olivia over the years. Great to have that connection.

Havensong is in bed, Beau is finishing a movie, and I am typing my last blog in China. This has been such an amazing journey. I can't believe tomorrow I am actually bringing Havensong home. I can't wait to introduce her to her new sisters, her brother, her grandparents, her aunts and uncles, her cousins, her church, her new friends. 

But mostly, I can't wait to place her in the arms of her Mommy...

Had a rough night with Havensong. She still has some congestion and kept waking herself coughing. I might have got 3 hours sleep. Thankfully today we got the right medication and befriended a doctor and his wife (also adopting) to know what the correct dosages are so I am hoping Havensong (and Beau and I) get our first good nights rest tonight. It is pretty common for Chinese orphans to have small ailments. Can't wait to get Havensong home.

Today was a fun day at the zoo. Rebecca had our ride ready to go at 9:30 and we were at the zoo when it opened at 10am. The Guangzhou Zoo was very impressive. Lots of pictures to check out.

It was a sunny day at 75 degrees. What is so funny though is how the Chinese dress since it's "winter" here. Remember, today was 75 degrees out. Granted, it's not the 100+ degrees/100% humidity they have in the summer but it's still 75 degrees and sunny. Yet they dress their kids now like it's winter in Fargo, North Dakota. The older women just stare at me as if I am a horrible father because Havensong is in ONE jacket and not 2-3 plus blankets. Most kids look like walking sleeping bags with arms. 

After the zoo, we spent the rest of the day at the hotel. I turned in the camera we send to the orphanage to be developed. I can't wait to pick up the pictures tomorrow and see Havensong when she was younger. We spent the rest of the day Skyping with Mommy, hanging out with some of our new adoption friends (great picture of Havensong and one of her Yangzi sisters, Olivia, in the pictures section) and getting ready for the trip home. We have another day here but I have already started getting some things packed and ready roll. One more day and the long journey home begins.

Today was a very simple but important day. The only thing on the agenda was to hang around the room and wait for a very important phone call. The phone call announcing that our paperwork all checked out good with the American consulate and that we've been given permission to adopt Havensong. On Dec. 20th, we got the approval from China but today it's official with the U.S.

The reason you have to wait the day in your hotel room is just in case something isn't right with the paperwork. In this case, your liaison would pick you up at the hotel and work with you to try and resolve any problems. But thankfully, our paperwork was all in order and we were given the "Uncle Sam" stamp of approval.

So, after receiving the good news, we had the rest of the day to just chill in the room with Havensong. She has been a little under the weather with some congestion problems and we got our hands on some children's decongestant and it's working awesome. Havensong took a 2-hour nap without waking herself up with coughing or stuffy nose - a first since we've been here.

During her nap, Beau and I watched Monday Night Football on Tuesday afternoon. That's weird...

After her nap, Havensong was able to meet Michelle's sisters Jodi & Jesse, Michelle's Dad - Papa Mick, Brittany & Joel, and her new cousins via Skype. We also spent a good hour or so Skyping with Mommy.

At 2:30, we met in the lobby of the hotel to head to the U.S. consulate to take our adoption oath. Officially Havensong's parents now! Whew... now we can start looking forward to heading home. Two more days to go.

To celebrate the day, Beau and I treated ourselves to a couple of footlongs at Subway for dinner. Yum!