Approaching The Finish Line...and Beyond!: 09/05/14

#29. There's No Place Like Home

Our last day in Asia got off to a very early start. With a 6 AM flight from Singapore to Tokyo, we arrived at the airport just shy of 4 AM. With the impending cross over the international date line, it was going to be one of the longest days of our lives. After we got everything checked in, we headed to the gate area.

Apparently, ellen is the show to watch at 5 AM in an airport

Luke thinks she's high-larious!

Same with Clare...she peed her pants!

For the first time in a long time, we were surrounded by a majority of Americans. They seemed to be just as interested in our babies as the Asians we encountered in the previous month. One woman even shoved her teenage daughter towards us in the boarding line to get a closer view of Luke and Clare. Months ago, when we told people this crazy idea of surrogacy in Thailand, most people were most concerned with flying 20+ hours with two newborns in tow. This now seemed like such an insignificant detail given everything we had been through to take these flights. Flying with five week old babies was the last thing we were worried about on the return trip. Maybe that's why the twins were amazing on both the 7-hour flight to Tokyo and the final 11-hour flight to Chicago.

Papa and Clare enjoying sweet slumber

Luke's favorite in-flight activity

In fact, Luke and Clare were so good that a flight attendant handed me their wings on the way off the plane.

After everything we've been through, they earned these for sure

While it was the longest day, we survived and made it to Chicago. Aunt Amy was waiting for us at the airport with vehicle fully equipped with car seats

All strapped in

and drove us the final miles back to the townhouse where we were greeted by one excited dog. Nothing could top the amazing feeling of being 'home, sweet home'.

First townhouse family photo

Trig has been great with the twins right from the start.

And she digs the boppy pillow

At first she wasn't quite sure what to think

Keeping watch from a distance

but now approaches them when they are fussy and even gives a lick now and then.

Lovin' on Clare

We look forward to introducing everyone to the twins in the upcoming weeks.

Our two stars rockin' their rock n' plays

HOME...

SWEET...

HOME!!!

Thank you all so much for all of your positive thoughts, notes, and support in the past few weeks. We appreciate you all so much. I plan to continue posting to this blog as the twins grow and reach new milestones. Please feel free to follow our family as we now travel 'beyond the finish line'.

#28. Safe and Sound in Singapore

Our flight out of Bangkok was to Singapore on Scoot Airlines. We 'scooted' away without much trouble. The twins did very well for their first flight,

Safety first for Luke's flight debut

and we arrived in a couple of hours without a fuss. We felt extremely fortunate to be met at the airport by Chris' friend who lives in Singapore. Mark had previously stopped by our place in Bangkok on a work trip a few weeks earlier right after the twins were born. We were thankful for being picked up at midnight at the airport and a transport to our hotel. This was an amazing bonus for us given the challenging week we had faced.

Our flights back to Chicago were booked to leave early Sunday morning, so we ended up with a day to unwind in Singapore. If you've been reading this blog, you probably know that unwind doesn't mean hanging out in our hotel room for this family. We did sleep in late, but we packed everybody up and headed out to see some landscape. Since we only had a few hours, we decided to jump on public transport

These carrier bassinets have a lot of mileage

and headed to the Singapore Flyer, a 540 ft tall Ferris Wheel, for fantastic views of the city.

Had to lay on the ground to get this shot!

The ride took about 30 minutes or so.

All aboard!!

View across the Singapore River on the way up

One of the more interesting buildings...its actually 3 different
hotel buildings with a 'surfboard' like observation deck on top

Another view where you can see the 'three' separate buildings

Looking out at the Gardens By the Bay towards the ocean

Nothing like a feed 500 feet above ground

A look across Marina Bay and the Singapore skyline

Clare's not impressed...

...neither is Luke

After our trip around the Flyer, we took a quick 'feed break'

This was a Popeye's/Coffee Shop combo...we weren't actually at Popeye's in Singapore

Luke loves to power nap

and then made our way back towards our hotel area. Aside from Singapore's amazing skyline, it is a beautiful city with a lot of green space amongst the cityscape.

Typical walking view in Singapore

We walked through a really nice park in central Singapore, called Istana Park.

Welcome to the jungle

Me and what I learned is called the 'Festival Arch'

Next, we walked a few blocks of the famous Singapore shopping street, called Orchard Road.

Mall after mall after mall after mall

We aren't the shopping types, so we found a little open-air bar to relax and have a drink.

That didn't take long!

Luke's first bar

We finished our day in Singapore having dinner with Chris' friend and his wife. It was a nice day to collect ourselves before what would be a long day of flying back home to Chicago.

#27. Escape from Bangkok

It's hard to believe it's already been more than a week since we left Thailand. The days leading up to our departure were, at times, absolutely miserable. We wouldn't want to relive them. Each day was filled with twists and turns and we never knew how much closer we would end up to leaving Thailand. The one thing that remained constant was that we would wake up and still be in Bangkok.

The theme for us, and others in the same situation, was all about 'getting out'. This was the goal and we worked hard each day towards doing just that. We were told (since there was no indication from Thai authority what the hell was going on) that 'getting out' could be soon or it could take several months. We were not willing to settle for the latter, so we got down to business. Some of our daily tasks were calling/visiting the US Embassy and lawyers as well as meeting up with other stranded families to discuss ideas and plans. Luke and Clare took advantage and had some great play dates!

Aussie/American play date while dads talk business

Clare and Sophia...separated at birth??

Nappin' by the pool

Oh...I forgot the most important and consuming daily task...trying to care of two 4-week old babies that very much deserved better than still being in Thailand.

Get us the hell outta here!

Our daily work was especially frustrating since it really wasn't clear to us what was necessary to leave the country. It was all about finding a way to satisfy Thai Military and Immigration without knowing specifically what might suffice. We were not the only unsuccessful people trying to leave Thailand. Some tried to leave the country accompanied by the surrogate mother. Others tried land border crossings into Cambodia. Many were working with 'connected' Thai lawyers hoping to find a way to exit. We investigated any and all options that were 'floating around'.

In the end, for us, it was through the help of the US Embassy that we left Thailand on Friday, August 22. We essentially (and frustratingly) left Thailand the same way we attempted the previous week. We took the same paperwork with one additional letter from the Embassy verifying we vowed to parent the twins until they turn 18 (they could have said 118). The only difference was that a US Embassy agent accompanied us through the Immigration process. We will probably never know what happened to allow us to leave in this way (or what agreement was made). We also don't care. We got out. This time, all four of our passports were stamped

Best passport stamp ever!

and we were one step closer to being home. It was HUGE relief despite the exhaustion that built getting to this point. We took a moment to have a seat, relax, and enjoy people (who may or may not have known our predicament) walk by smiling at us (one even took a photo) and fawn over our children. It had been awhile since that felt good. Of course, our first five minutes past immigration did not happen without a little controversy. Unbeknownst to us, we sat on a back-to-back bench with unattended bags left behind on the other side. So, as we enjoyed our triumphant moment, we were surrounded by an entourage of airport security. We could have cared less....we got out!

Papa's first smile in a long time...Clare approves

Tears of joy from Luke

'Please tell me things won't be so crazy in Chicago'

Amen, sister

#26. The Camera was Still Rolling

Just like when the band played on as the Titanic began to sink, my camera continued to catch shots of the twins growing and being the wonderful newborns they are. The days after our attempt to exit were stressful, but hanging out with our babies helped keep us going.