She's Finally Got It

Saturday night the four oldest children and I headed down to the airport with our dear M family friends.

When Robbie and I first met a little over 10 years ago...

we were both in the process to adopt our first child from China...

...and we've come a long way, baby!

We also got to meet some of our dear S family down there.

Me and my bud, Melissa.  And, yes, that is coffee in my hand.  I don't keep it here at the house anymore...
but when I'm going to be driving until almost 2 a.m....by golly, I buy me some coffee!!!

So, why did we go to the airport late (11 p.m.) on a Saturday night???  Not to just waller around on the floor....

...no, we had some important business to attend to. 

We were there to welcome our newest friend Claire home from China.

"Welcome Home Ava Laurence and Claire"

My dear friend Vicki, her younger sister Kelley, and Vicki's daughter Ava Laurence, have been in China for 16 days meeting and bringing home Claire.

AL spotted her peeps a long way off and started booking it to get to her daddy, lil bro and sis, and her beloved Mimi.

Claire, who is 7 years old, was understandably a little more reserved than AL.

 So, we tried to give her lots of space and not overwhelm her.

Or not.

But we did finally let her daddy (whom she'd met on Skype) get close enough to interact with her.

And she got to meet her (soon-to-be-beloved) Mimi in person:

Claire is deaf, like her (slightly older) sister Ava Laurence.  Vicki began teaching Claire ASL right off the bat when they met in China, and little miss is picking it right up.  When they show her a sign once...she's got it down.

As I walked behind Claire and Elisabeth at one point, I watched in fascination as they carried on a conversation in ASL.  They told each other their names, and talked about which mama belonged to who.  It was precious...and amazing.

But little miss didn't thrive for 7 years in China without knowing how to communicate.  Even when not  signing, she is good at making her feelings and wishes known.

I can't wait to get to know Claire better. 

Just from what Vicki has said on her blog and in our texts the past couple of weeks (yes, around the world...technology never ceases to amaze me!), she is a spunky, independent little thing.

But what I do already know about Miss Claire?  While some people might think that her SN was her deafness...we adoptive parents know that her real SN was not having a family of her own.

And every child deserves a Forever Family of their own.

And Miss Claire?

She's finally got it.

Leaving the airport and heading home.  The end of one journey...the very beginning of another.

 And then it was our turn to head home also.

And this is what I felt like at midnight also:

It was about 1:30 or 2 a.m. when we pulled into our driveway.

And LK slept through our church service on my lap, not too many hours after this picture was taken.

But Vicki, when you bring home your next treasure from China (wink) at almost midnight one night...we'll be there with bells on again.  Wouldn't miss it for the world, friend!