Yes...we are still alive!

We are all still alive and kicking. We got home on Dec. 24th and the last few days have been a blur of activity between the jet lag, Christmas and just re-adjusting to being home (hey - when is the maid coming in to clean my room and make my bed and John wonders where the nightly turn-down chocolates have gone??).

We arrived in Hong Kong on Dec. 23rd after an uneventful flight. We checked into our hotel and then headed over to Hong Kong Disneyland. The girls were so surprised and so excited to get to go. We got there just as the parade was starting so it was great for them to get to see everyone they would want to see in one fell swoop. We then went and enjoyed a lot of the rides. By 8 that night we were all wiped out and went back to the hotel to crash. The next morning, Dec. 24th, we headed over to the airport and caught our flight back to Chicago. We were so blessed with a less than full flight. The row of seats in front of us only had 1 person in it so my dad was able to move up there giving Kate a place to sit and sleep. Once again, the girls did awesome on the flight, including Kate. Kate slept for parts of it and then was content to just sit and play in the seat. She truly is such a sweet, content and calm baby.

We arrived in Chicago and proceeded through immigration where Kate became a US citizen. The immigration officer was a little persnickety (I guess I would be too if I was working on Christmas Eve) but warmed up after he saw Kate's sweet smile! We drove home and were in bed by 7 pm that night. Of course, the next morning we were up at 3:30!! EVERYONE was so we just threw in a movie and started our day. Kate has actually done fabulous with the jet lag. Lauren, on the other hand, was killing us the first few nights. She's never a terribly great sleeper so this has thrown her for a loop! We hit the wall, per say, with Lauren on Wednesday night when we were literally up with her every single hour from 10 to 3am! Yikes - I wasn't sure we were going to live through it! :) Fortunately, last night she went to bed at 7am and didn't wake up until 6 this morning. I'm prayerful we are over the hump with sleeping difficulties for Lauren. Kate went to sleep last night around 9 and woke up around 7am! Oh, happy day - another good sleeper. I think God knows that one tough sleeper is about all I can handle! :)

Well, here are a variety of pictures from this past week. They range from Disneyland to Christmas to just cute shots of Kate. This has been such a fun journey to be on and we count it a privilege that you take time out of your busy lives to follow along with us! We hope your New Year is filled with Christ's blessing!

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