back home again

Hi from Canada!
We are home now, and trying to get over the jet lag…it will take time yet…
Our flight from Beijing to Vancouver was uneventful but long. Aurora did sleep for almost 7 hours, but she is quite active when awake. Kira had trouble settling to sleep, and then only slept for one hour!!! We got to the Vancouver airport, and were able to avoid the long line up at customs, mainly because of our new citizenship letter for Aurora, and an official let us go to a side desk. Yay, that saved us at least 2 hours!! But our luggage was slow to unload; we had the Canadian and Chilean para-olympic athletes on board, so lots of equipment and luggage to unload.
Then, we arrived at our hotel, and had a room arranged to meet some friends. That was really great to see so many people drop by, and welcome our new little girl! Thanks so much everyone and we really appreciated seeing you all!! Sorry we were so exhausted, and poor Kira fell asleep on the chairs at one point. We were all in bed early, but the girls woke us up at 2am. Wide awake!! Oh well, we were ready and off to the airport at 5:30am.

We arrived in Calgary at 9:30am, to meet Tom’s sister and family! What a great welcome home! Balloons, which Aurora immediately loved, and some food for home! Yay!
Aurora was not as crazy about the car seat, screamed for most of the drive but did settle, watching her big sister beside her also strapped in. We had a little visit at home, before Kira was off for a nap, followed by the rest of us. It is now early Monday morning here; 4:30 am and I have been awake since 2am, when Aurora woke up. Kira is playing in her room, wide awake. It has been going ok, but the early mornings are brutal. Kira and Aurora are having deep sleep naps in the late morning/early afternoon, so hopefully that will gradually get better. Tom is going to work today; it will be a rough day for Aurora and I, and Kira, as she loses her playmate, my sister, who is flying home today also. I better go put the coffee on, and make it a full pot…I’m going to need it. But honestly, Aurora has already seemed to settle in easier than Kira. It sure helps having Kira for Aurora to adjust. They are getting along great for the most part. Kira puts up with a lot, but Aurora will get there. Will post some photos later on…

Our journey to China and back again has ended, but our journey with our 2 little girls is just unfolding. It has been another amazing adventure, and worth it all and then some!! We couldn’t have done it without my sister coming along; she has been a saint and a life savor several times along the way; thank you so much for joining us!! And we have absolutely no regrets about bringing Kira along. She needed to be there, and enjoyed it all. When I ask her what she remembers the most about her trip, she says, more than once, “meeting my little sister, Xuhua”. Wow, that says it all.

Thanks for coming along with us, and for your many emails. I know this blog website has given people trouble posting, more so than before. I’m so glad we were able to post and show photos while in China.
I would like to continue to share photos from time to time. If I change to a new blog, or photo website, I’ll keep you posted.
For now, cheers from us to you!
Family of Four, plus 2 cats who have not yet returned from their vacation,
Norma, Tom, Kira and Aurora