We made it!

It's 4:36am in Beijing and I am wide awake. Mike and the girls are asleep in our hotel room at the Crown Plaza. We were too delirious last night to request a cot so we crammed five bodies in two full size beds. Poor Mike got the short end of the stick and slept half on the bed and half on a chair pulled up next to the bed. I will make sure a cot is delivered tonight!

Yesterday was quite eventful and possibly one of the most taxing days our little girls (and us too!) have experienced. After waiting literally all day on Tuesday and going to an airport hotel at 11pm, we were up and at'em, hoping to depart on the newly scheduled 10:30am flight. We were at the airport at 8:30am and had a run-in with a very cranky and unprofessional TSA employee. I am the least confrontational person out there but I refused to have my family barked at. We were stopped in Security as we were in St. Louis and had several bags opened and checked. We then proceeded to check out the gate where we had spent so many hours at the day before. The plane was there and all seemed well. We were given multiple vouchers the day before for food because we were so inconvenienced. Ours totaled $235 which was not difficult to spend in O'Hare. So we headed to Wolfgang Puck's for some breakfast and then I went on a search for a Pepsi. Those of you who know me well know that this girl needs her Pepsi like fish need water! 

We returned to our beloved gate and were informed after awhile that our plane was being delayed again because catering hadn't removed the meals from the previous day's flight nor brought in new ones. As you can imagine, hundreds of very agitated passengers stormed the desk with lots of shouting. We had made several friends from so much time together and we all started questioning the possibility of there being more to the story. North Korea had just announced it launched a successful hydrogen bomb test. A woman who works for the UN and a man who works for the US Consulate both believed there was a connection. I, too, was quite suspicious and Mike probably was as well though he didn't let on. He is always so protective and calm so I'm sure he didn't want to increase the level of my discomfort. After two more hours, lots of yelling and a threat from the captain to not fly the plane and go home (yes, that really happened!), we boarded and actually departed. It had been almost 24 hours since our original flight time but it felt like an eternity. And throughout it all, our girls were rock stars. We had multiple people approach us to compliment our family and the girls behavior. We were so proud.

The flight was L.O.N.G. Wowser, 14 hours in a plane is something to write home about (ha!) but I won't write too much. It was quite an uneventful and involved a lot of sleeping by A, E, and J, and a little by Mike and me. We watched movies, played on the tablet, colored, played with stickers, etc. I had done a pretty good job of having each girl set up with lots of activities but they had done so many of them the day before! We were served three meals and several snacks and they were surprisingly good.

We arrived at the Beijing airport at 4:30pm which was 2:30am our time. It was so confusing, your body doesn't know what to do! The airport was beautiful and architecturally impressive. We had no problems with baggage claim, visas or customs and found our private guide, Cindy, waiting for us. She ushered us to a van with a driver and we were on our way to our hotel. She was so sweet and informative. She taught us about the city and ran through our diminished schedule. We've lost a day of touring and sightseeing which is disappointing but that is not the reason we are here. It's easy to keep our eyes on the prize and that is our son. I am giddy with anticipation and can hardly believe we are on the same land as he is. I teared up as Anya and I had this realization last night. He is just a short plane ride away now! Today, we will climb the Great Wall! One of the Eight Wonders of the World. It is extremely cold in Beijing right now so we won't be there all day but the trek to and from will be an all day affair. After we get back to the hotel, we are going to meet one of my closest childhood friends, Debbie, and her daughter, Emma. I can't believe that I get to see one of my dearest friends halfway around the world!

Our flight to Nanchang, the city where Magnus is located, is in the morning tomorrow so we're not sure if we'll be able to see Tiananmen Square or the Forbidden City. There aren't enough hours in our schedule and we have the girls' health and sleep in our best interest. I cannot wait to see what today brings, I know it is going to take our breath away! 

Oh wait, I need to back up because I don't want to forget this! I'm going to blame the lack of sleep for my scattered thoughts. During our 45 minute drive from the airport to the hotel, Cindy told us how to pronounce Magnus' Chinese name, Ke Qin, as 'Ka Tcheen'. She said that it means 'hardworking' and 'able to overcome'. Well, that brought tears to this mama's eyes. He has had so much to overcome and he has had to be hardworking to be where he is today. My little boy was hospitalized for seventy days (you read that correctly...7-0) for his heart surgery. He amazes me with his strength and was named Magnus because it means 'warrior'. Cindy also said that his nickname from the nannies at his orphanage means 'handsome boy' and the exact phrasing is used in public when someone wants to butter a man up - ha! Like, oh, Mr. Handsome Man, can you please tell me where the Forbidden City is?' We laughed out loud as Cindy loved that this is his nickname. She said he must be very popular with the nannies for them to call him this! Oh no folks, we have a ladies man! It looks like Mike will not only have to chase the boys away from Anya, Eliza, and Juliette but the girls away from our Mags as well. I love it!

All our love,

The Refreshed Duff Family of Five