Disclaimer

I would like to take a break from the story of our trip to say a few things.
I think the first and foremost thing that I have to say is that I am eternally grateful to China and all of those involved in the CCAA who had a hand in me getting my son. We are incredibly lucky to have him.
The second thing I want to say is this, I will NOT be giving you all the rose colored glasses version of things. It was a hard trip in many ways and I need to be honest about that. I need to be honest for myself, for my children and for any of you out there who are planning on making this Journey.
The third thing I want to say is this, no matter how wonderful it is to be in the country of your children's birth, it is very far away from home and it is difficult. It can be wondrous and amazing and magical and still, at the end of each evening when you are using bottled water to brush your teeth, you realize that the average person will have no way to ever relate to what you are experiencing.
If you were to do this trip and NOT get a child it would still be hard. But we do this thing and we are there, half way around the world where nothing has comfort and then you get a new child to Parent. I mean from the second they hand that baby to you, it's all over but the shoutin' - as my Mother would say. Like say, you have just known this child for about 35 minutes and he just barely deemed to eat a snack out of your hand, the Orphanage folks are gone and they just called to board the bus and you have the horrific realization that in about 45 seconds you will be changing the first messy diaper that you have seen in years.
Things like that.

So yes. It was wonderful and I loved it but I spent a portion of each day wondering how I was going to make it until we got home.
I do not remember the trip for Ev being like this and I can say that Nanchang was WAY more difficult to be in that Zhengzhou was. I can't quite put my finger on why it was so hard and tiring. I will even admit that Liam is a much easier child to deal with than Ev was, so most things on his front were, dare I say?  Easier than his sister. Easier than expected.

Ok on with it then.