Journey to Forever: Can anyone make this plane move faster??? PHOTOS

Not for the faint of heart:

What do two very tired parents of three children look like at their 5:30 AM airport shuttle?

Backtracking just a little (okay...a lot), our flights home were fairly uneventful. Adam did very well and slept for a better portion of the flights, much to the surprise of the passengers sitting next to us. The first flight from Guangzhou was a little touchy...literally! My seat was separated from the rest of the family by several rows. And, let's just say that the gentleman I sat next to would've liked a row of his own. Despite me trying to sit in the aisle to give each of us our space, we grew very close throughout the five hour flight to Tokyo...VERY close! When our meals were served, I unsuccessfully attempted to juggle Adam, Adam's bottle, and my tray all at the same time. Needless to say, I spilled quite a bit of my rice all over my neighbor. "No worries," he told me. "Between your rice and my chicken, there should be a complete meal when I stand up!" Everyone turned in for a snooze after breakfast and I sat there praying... Dear God, please give us a strong tail wind!

Leg 1 of our journey home-- Guangzhou to Tokyo

We landed in Tokyo with about thirty minutes to clear the security checkpoint and sprint across the airport to our plane. THAT was a sight! The staff at Narita took very good care of all of the adoptive families and ushered us through the line quickly and stationed themselves along the way with signs pointing toward our gate. Nothing like a little aerobic exercise with 30 pounds of baby and diaper bag!

Maddie did manage to snap this photo during our Narita sprint.

The flight from Tokyo to Detroit was definitely a long one...thirteen hours to be exact. Everyone was a little on edge...everyone fed off of each others' anxiety. Several of the flight attendants were arguing with each other, the passengers were arguing with flight attendants, and we just sat there surrounded by it all! By the time food was served, I was getting a little anxious myself. You can imagine my anguish when I asked for beef tips with mashed potatoes and got curried chicken with rice! I literally burst into tears. I had lived off of chicken, rice, and spicy noodles for 17 days and did not want to see, smell or taste them again for a very, VERY long time!

It was fascinating to watch the sunset on September 11th at 40,000 feet...only to be followed by the sunrise on September 11th four hours later, somewhere over the beautiful state of Alaska. (I was still somewhere in the state of exhaustion.) Adam and I stood in the back of the plane watching the snow-capped mountains and crystal blue lakes pass below us. Oh, how I wished we were on the ground experiencing it for ourselves!

Sunrise on the second September 11th.

Breakfast was served shortly after we returned to our seats. You guessed it...our choice of spicy noodles or scrambled eggs and hashbrowns. Well, the flight attendant made it to my seat and before he could ask, I told him what I would be having for breakfast. NO spicy noodles! When he attempted to hand me the noodles, I again told him... NO noodles. Without tears this time, I told him that I would be eating scrambled eggs. Thank heavens we had bonded earlier over our love of China and he produced my eggs and hashbrowns!

I don't think I have ever been happier to be on American soil. In fact, I was so happy that if I'd had time to leave the confines of the airport terminal in Detroit, I would've eaten some of that good ol' American dirt! The airport in Detroit truly surprised us. We'd heard horror stories about customs and immigration lines. In reality, it was a very pleasant experience! We had passed through in no time at all, re-checked our luggage and on our way across concourse A in the tram. As the tram approached, my first thought was Shanghai subway. When the doors opened, however, there were wide open spaces! And, boy.... did we each find our own space!

With over 80 gates, the Northwest Tram was a welcomed sight!

As much as I like the airport, I had one place on my mind... HOME! We were in the final leg of our journey. At this point, I think I could've summoned the strength of Superman and flown our plane home myself.