we made it!

Omigosh.

I have never traveled so long in all my life!

Talk about a labor of love for our sweet James.  When we got our travel approval three weeks ago, a friend said 'Congrats!  Your water's broken!'  Now I feel like we just got through labor!  Those 30-hours from the time we got up on Thursday morning until we arrived in Hong Kong were looooong and sometimes very uncomfortable.  Toward the end of our 13-hour flight, I wanted to crawl out of my skin.  I needed to stretch my legs and lay down so bad!  I was so yearning to lay horizontally and sleep!  As Tommy Beam would say, my legs were tight as ticks!  The swelling, sitting and lack of mobility was awful!  And the sleep was fitful and interrupted.


But now we're at our hotel and we're thrilled!

Payton was unbelievable.  The girl is meant to travel!  She rolled with everything.  Hoofin' it down the concourses from gate to gate with her backpack on her back and jacket tied around her waste.  She slept like a champ -- God gave her what we like to call the 'McCormick Sleep Gene.'  Girlfriend can sleep anywhere and that served her well on this trip.  She's a gem and it's so nice having her along.

I'm already missing my Little A, Jack-Jack and Brookster.  Ugh.  It's going to be a long two weeks.  But, I know it's all worth it!  And I know they know it, too.  We'll be home before you know it, kids!  We love you to pieces!  :)

Thank you so, so very much for the prayers!  They were absolutely answered.  Not one hiccup along the way.  We had plenty of time at our layovers, our flights were smooth -- including the landings! -- we did not have one incident.

Actually, I take that back...we did have a funny bobble!  JD was so proud that he only packed one bag for the trip and it was so small that he was able to carry it on.  He also only packed one pair of shoes -- his boots (go figure, he loves those things!).  Well, during our 13-hour flight we all kicked our shoes off, including him.  When we started to descend, we started packing up our things and he went to put his boots back on.  But he could only find one!  Next thing I know he's on his hands and knees in the aisle looking under our row of seats and the row in front of us.  I was like, 'What are you doing?'  He said he couldn't find one of his boots.  So I moved all my things from under the seat in front of me thinking it may have slid over.  Nope.  We looked and fished under Payton's things.  Nope.  So there he is sitting with one boot on and the other foot in just a white sock.

Payton and I pick up all of our things off the floor and we ask Payton crawl down on the floor and look really well.  She says she doesn't see it.

Now JD's starting to act irritated.  Of course, I'm cracking up and so is Karen.  We are completely dumbfounded.  I mean, where does a boot go!?

The plane lands and we realize we now have to sit and wait for everyone to get off the plane so we can search high and low for JD's boot!

About 75% of the plane has deboarded and this woman goes passed us down the aisle to leave the plane.  JD hears her ask out loud, 'What's this?' as her suitcase runs over something.  She holds up the boot to the woman walking behind her and asks, 'Is this yours?'  The second woman says it isn't and so she tosses it on the floor in the bulkhead about five rows in front of us!

JD sees this and runs to it, 'Here it is!'  Karen and I are hysterical at this point!  It appears that the food cart dragged it forward a couple of rows and people were just walking right by it.

I kept saying to JD, 'You have to laugh!  This is hilarious!'  He found it funny after the fact, but not when he was faced with walking through the airport with one foot in a cowboy boot and the other in a bright white sock!

Nothing like a good laugh!
  
Love to all!