We'll be home for Christmas--we hope!

Surprise, surprise, we are trapped in Chicago while the East Coast digs out from a snowstorm! By now Louis is certain that we live in hotels and enjoy spending our days on airplanes and waiting in line at airports. We were upset when our last two-hour flight home was canceled tonight, but when we finally, finally, finally got to a hotel room, Louis was thrilled and he ran and ran and ran around the room, so happy to be free of the confines of an airplane seat or Mama or Baba's arms trying to keep him under control in the airport.

Fortunately our very good friends Cherie and Scott live in Chicago, and even after their 25-plus-hour day made sure we got to a hotel safely. Just navigating the airport was insane. I had to leave John and Louis and our bags at one point, and when we came back they weren't there. It was scary--though they were just around the corner, trying to keep warm. Chicago has snow, but not much, and I thought Louis might be interested (we don't think he has ever seen snow before), but he just wanted to run and play and talk on the phone, one of his favorite things to do.

Louis was beautifully behaved on the flights--as well-behaved as a 2-year-old boy can be on a 13-hour flight immediately after a 3-hour flight. I hadn't anticipated how difficult the waits at the airport would be for him, but they were some of the hardest parts. We did a lot of walking on the plane and Louis found that Baba's shoulder is more comfortable for long naps than Mama's, so Baba didn't get much rest. We had the worst turbulence I've had on a flight, and it was a little scary. I think we were almost relieved when we landed in Chicago and found that our final flight had been canceled. The fact that United didn't bother to communicate that to us during the 13 hours we were with them on the flight from Beijing has me pretty annoyed, but not quite as annoyed as the fact that I haven't even been able to speak with a United representative about when they can fly us out. Meanwhile, John would like to drive, so we are thinking of renting a car. It would probably be 12-13 hours with a child who has never been in a car seat, but we don't know what to do. We really want to be home and Louis has a doctor's appointment on Tuesday that we really can't miss.

In good news, Louis is a U.S. citizen! I was surprised how relieved and happy I was when we finally hit American soil. Louis was asleep, having slept through both our landings today. I told John that should be enough to persuade an atheist that there is a God. If you had heard him scream on the flight last week, you'd understand.

Speaking of God, we noticed that although there are "Merry Christmas" signs everywhere in China, the Chicago airport very clearly says, "Seasons Greetings." But Ave Maria is playing in the hotel lobby right now, so I can't make any sweeping statements.

No photos today. I'll post some tomorrow or the next day or some other day. I did take a couple of Louis on the plane so that we'll remember him as a well-behaved little traveler, which he really was. He complained much less than his Mama and Baba!

Can't wait to see you all, hopefully sooner rather than later!