Life with 2 Dumplings: China Travel Group Reunion

I have to begin by saying that this post is another one that has to be back dated. Back in August of this year, our China travel group had it's first reunion. We adopted our children from the Guangdong Province in southern China almost two years ago. Only two of the other four families that were with us the entire time were able to make it. Bob, Pam, Emma, Sandi, and Little Hannah....we missed you greatly and hope we'll all be able to get together next time.

For our first reunion, we planned a week long Disney vacation. Lisa, Russell, and Analise drove all the way down from Carrollton, Mississippi while Rebecca, Jay, Ben, and Hannah flew down from Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Because of Patrick's busy schedule, he decided that he wanted to have a bar-b-que at our house for everybody over the weekend. It was the first time we had all seen each other since we said good-bye at the White Swan Hotel in November 2007. Ben, Hannah, and Analise had grown so much since that time. We were all filled with so much joy at seeing all the children flourish with their forever families.

All of the kiddos had a blast running around the house and splashing in the pool. Their laughter just melted our hearts. Patrick prepared a fabulous feast of surf and turf (lobster and steak). And naturally, we had a bunch of different desserts for everyone to share. We had such a nice, relaxing time together.

Since Lisa and Rebecca's families had traveled so far, they really spent their time checking out all that the Walt Disney World Resort had to offer. Caleb and I had the opportunity to join them one day at Epcot. We spent a lot of time in China, naturally. And I have to tell you....I really wasn't expecting to be moved as much as I was. But seeing the 360 degree movie had me in tears. I really felt like I was right back in China. In part of the movie, they showed the Temple of Heaven. And when Caleb piped up, "Mama, look! There's Beijing!" I almost totally lost it. It just felt like home.

One of their last days here, Caleb and I joined Lisa, Russell, and Analise at the Magic Kingdom. We had to leave early and sadly missed getting to see Rebecca, Jay, Hannah, & Ben. They had big plans at Cinderella's Castle in the morning, so it just didn't work out. :( Although somebody took Analise's stroller, Russell and Lisa managed to track it down at one of the stroller parking locations....it was a pretty stressful moment. Caleb and Analise had fun on the Aladin ride as well as the steamboat ride. It was so wonderful to see the two of them together. Although Caleb is "all boy" and can be a bit rough sometimes, Analise handled it well.

It was truly so wonderful to see everybody after such a long time. We are greatly looking forward to our next reunion when we hope that all of our Guangdong families can get together. We love you all!