As we checked in our luggage, exchanged our Taiwan money, and went through security - I was a wreck internally. We boarded our first flight, which was delayed 1.5 hours. Grayson fell alseep as we were boarding and stayed asleep during take-off and 1/2 of the 3 hour flight. Once he woke up he was of course flirting with the stewardess by talking and smiling at her! The little flirt. She kept talking to him every time she would walk by, etc. She came up to me and asked if she could hold him. I glanced quickly at mom and said ......................s.u.r.e. She stood there holding our baby and asked if she could walk around with him since I looked "exhausted". I wasn't sure whether to be grateful she was asking or was she saying that I already looked that exhausted??? So she walked with Grayson up and down the aisles as mom and I watched her like a hawk!!! Grayson was waving and smiling and giggling at everyone of course! He helped her serve people on the plane for about 15 minutes, which everyone loved. She brought him safely back to me and we completed flight #1.
We landed in Tokyo and got ready for our 11 hour flight to Chicago. Everything was going smooth and Grayson thought it was hilarious when the plane would take off and land??!!! Not sure whether we should be glad he did so good or be afraid because he loves to be scared?? :) Anyway, we boarded the plane for our 11 hour flight and got the best seats on the plane! We were in the "bulk-head" so we had lots of leg room and they even had a bassinet for Grayson that latched into the wall! We knew that he wouldn't sleep in it, but he did like to play in there for a while, which was a good break for us! He did awesome the whole ride! He slept about 5 hours while mom held him. I however didn't sleep a wink. I was too excited. Too nervous. Too anxious. Too exhausted. Too emotional. Too tired. Too joyous. Too drained in every emotion possible. I had held it together until I saw the flight path come up on the screen in front of us and it said we had 5 hours to Chicago. I lost it. I cried. I don't know what about that number made me break down, but it just hit me like a wall that in 5 hours we would see Matt for the first time in 3 months. I would hug my best friend. Grayson would be reunited with his Daddy. We would be back together - the way a family should be. I stared at the minutes on the screen while Grayson slept. I just kept looking at him thinking, "Is this real? Am I dreaming?" There were some moments when Grayson would get antsy that we would head back to the flight crews cabin where they would prepare the meals, etc. We hung out back there a lot and made many friends with the stewardess crew. Grayson loved walking around the plane and talking to everyone. I will say that everyone in our "part" of the plane was very nice and the ride went very smooth. We left the plane as the crew wished us good luck and were so happy to know that Matt would be meeting us in just a few short minutes.
We landed in Chicago and had to go through immigration/customs. That took forever. The line was soooo long. We got such a nice lady who welcomed us back and welcomed Grayson to America. We then headed to another line to turn in his "adoption packet". It all went very smooth and they stamped Grayson's passport to say he was an "American citizen" now. It was all very surreal. He told us congratulations and we headed to meet Matt! We came through the doors and I saw this hand raise up in the back of the crowd - waiving like a maniac :) I knew it was him! Mom made me stop and wait so she could get her video camera out :) We made our way through the crowd until we saw him. There are no words to express the relief, joy, and pure happiness of seeing him after 3 months. We just hugged and cried for a few minutes not saying a word. Grayson of course was squished in between us and had no idea what was going on. I handed Grayson over to his forever Daddy. Grayson just kept touching his face and staring at him. We had skyped him many times a week so Grayson knew what he looked like. Matt would always do a special "whistle" when we would skype that would always get Grayson's attention. After Grayson continued to stare at Matt for a few minutes, Matt broke out the famous whistle and Grayson's face lit up with a huge SMILE! If there was ever a moment to cry over during this process, it was that one right there. He knew his Daddy. He smiles and talked to Matt the rest of the trip. We didn't have much time at this point til our next flight left and we were not missing that flight :) We ran to the bathroom and changed into our infamous "brown shirts." We boarded the plane bound for Indy (which was freezing!). But we were so ready to be home we didn't care. The wheels touched down and the weight of the world lifted. We were home. We unloaded, woke Grayson up, and changed his clothes into his "brown onesie" that said, "Defining Hope". On the back it said, "Made in Taiwan". We headed down the empty hallway where we could hear cheers saying, "Gray-son! Gray-son!". I wanted so bad to just RUN down that hall! We came around the corner to see over a hundred people with signs, flower, balloons, etc. I was stunned. So was Grayson :) He started crying because I think it scared him with all the people, but about 30 seconds later he started smiling and talking to everyone :) I just ran around hugging everyone. I couldn't believe the support and love we felt at that moment. Just stunned. I also couldn't believe how much all the kids had grown! They all looked a foot talker! The signs were amazing. The crowd was amazing. It couldn't have been a more awesome homecoming. We took a group picture and had a prayer by Pastor Steve Ranson. I can't even begin to list all of the awesome people that showed up. The only words I could get out was, "Thank You". Those words don't seem to hold the depth of meaning that we want to express. Seems like we should be shouting it from a mountain. But by the end of our journey, God had moved all of those mountains, so there weren't any to shout from :) To sum up the amount of miracles in our adoption story - the only thing left to say is that my VISA was good for 90 days in the country. Our adoption was completed on day #89. We left Taiwan on day #90. Thank You Lord.
Our FIRST family photo
