HOME!! Safe & Sound!!

Well, we made it home, and everyone is doing well!! We're still a little tired, but overall, we're doing pretty well.

We arrived in Ithaca around 3:30 Wednesday afternoon. Surprisingly, all of our flights were on-time, or even a little early. A lot of people have not had good experiences with Northwest Airlines, but I have to say that we were both quite impressed with the trip and NWA. The meals were all actually pretty good (it seems like all we did was eat and drink), service was great, our luggage made it everywhere on time and in one piece, and we made all of the flights on time or early (and no, I'm not getting paid by them to post this!!). On the way back from Tokyo to Detroit, we were able to get bulkhead seats (the front seats in our section of the plane). This allowed us a little more room, and a basinet that hooks to the wall in front of us so that Hannah could sleep a little (see photo above). We weren't able to get a ton of sleep, but we got some, and watched a few movies.

When we arrived in Ithaca, we were happily greeted by our welcoming committee, made up of Alex, my parents, Uncle Pete, and our good friend Jenn who offered to take pictures for us (Thanks, Jenn!!).

We came home to a decorated house, complete with a "Welcome Home Hannah" banner across the front porch. The banner also included hand prints from friends and family, and a paw print from Maggie, our next door pooch. It was very cute, and it really made us feel that much better being home. My colleagues from my office also sent a basket with a huge teddy bear, along with nice gifts for us, Hannah and Alex.

Today (Thursday) we got Alex on the bus, and spent most of the day unpacking. Hannah is doing well, but like us, is still trying to get adjusted to the time change. She slept okay last night, only getting up a few times to eat. Last night, my mother cooked dinner for us, and after dinner, we got the kids ready for bed and had coffee. We put Hannah in her exersaucer (a walker without wheels, to those of you who don't know), and she played for a few minutes, then fell asleep...standing up.

We all greeted Alex when he got off the bus this afternoon, and a few of our neighbors came over to meet Hannah for the first time. It was great seeing everyone, and they are all so good to our family!!

So, Darese and I have started a list of things we REALLY missed while we were in China (besides our family and friends, of course). Things that we take for granted every day, but weren't able to enjoy for the past two weeks. Here it is:

- Real drinks -- like coffee, diet Coke (their Coke Light just wasn't the same). There was a Seattle Coffee in our hotel, and I'm glad to report that a small cappuccino in China still costs more than a gallon of gasoline in the U.S.

- The ability to take a shower without having to worry about getting water in your mouth.

- The ability to brush your teeth without having to use bottled water.

- The ability to go to the water faucet to get a drink of water in the middle of the night (okay, you see where I'm going with this.....)

- We certainly won't miss seeing things-on-a-stick at vendor booths on the streets.

- Food that wasn't taken out of the tank and killed 20 minutes before we ate it.

Well, I guess that's it for now. Our plans are to relax for the next few weeks, and maybe start putting up our Christmas decorations right after Thanksgiving. Darese starts back to work part time in mid-December, and I'll start back part time in mid-January, so if all goes well, we'll be able to start Hannah in daycare February 1. We're planning on being at my parents for Thanksgiving, so if anyone will be there, we'll look forward to seeing you there!! Until then, best wishes!!

Joe, Darese, Alex & Hannah