Of course this adventure was not limited solely to Kathy and me. Our sons Benjamin (age 9) and Andrew (age 6) spent the 2 weeks that we were in China with my brother, his wife, and their 2 year old cousin Joshua. I know that it had to be difficult for them to be away from their home and their parents for such a long time, but they were real troopers. We're very proud of how they handled themselves while we were gone.
After we came back, both boys chose to devote school projects to the subject of our return with their new little sister. Benjamin wrote the essay "My Little Sister Hope" for his fourth grade class. Andrew chose to commemorate the event with a drawing in his kindergarten journal, which depicts Hope, Kathy, and I as we entered the waiting area of the airport.
"How much longer? How much longer?" I asked.
"About five more minutes," replied my grandmother. I was at the Louisville International Airport, waiting for my mom and dad to get back from half way around the world with my adopted Chinese little sister Hope Xian (see-in) Doelling. I felt like exploding with happiness. I saw people get off of about five other planes hoping that my parents would be on one. After a while I saw them far away holding Hope. My grandmother didn't believe me at first, but when they came closer she saw that I was right.
When they got to us, everybody there (which included two aunts, one uncle, one grandmother, and my mom's friend and her daughter) took turns looking at her.
When I first saw Hope my dad was carrying her in a Snuggli, which is like a backpack that you wear on your chest, which holds a baby. I could see her head, her arms, and her feet poking out of the Snuggli. She looked happy, but a little tired because she had been on a plane for 13 hours the day before. She looked like she would be a fun baby to play with.
While my dad was getting their luggage, my cousin Joshua, Hope, and I were playing on the luggage belt. Joshua and I were playing "monkey in the middle" with Hope. She was always the monkey. I was hoping that the belt would start moving, but it never did.
We then wheeled the luggage out to the van. My grandmother carried Hope. My dad strapped Hope in between my brother and me. My brother and I watched Hope, while my dad loaded their luggage into the van. All of a sudden Hope started crying because she wasn't used to being around my brother and me. When my dad opened the door to the van to see what was happening, Hope stopped crying. On the ride home we let Hope hold our fingers, and we talked to her, so she could get used to us.
Now Hope and I are good friends and we play together almost every day.
- by Ben Doelling
- by Andrew Doelling
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