The 'we are home!' Update

I bet you all thought we fell off the face of the earth, eh?! Not quite. It HAS been a LONG time since I posted and I am really sorry about that.

So last time I left you, we got Joye forever on Tuesday night. We went up to a meeting room and waited for our Social Worker to translate. She came in and gave me some last minute paperwork and Joye's pre-flight report. About 30 mins. later SW said "it's time to go." I will never forget those words. We all got up and headed into the hallway where the elevator was. We told FM that Joye will always remember her and that we will always take good care of her. SW asked who was to hold Joye and Chad pointed to me. FM handed her off and began to cry. Chad asked if he could hug her and then embraced her. Chad, me (holding Joye) and FM all stood in a big hug and FM just sobbed. It was the saddest thing to experience. Finally SW opened up the elevator and told us to get in. I told FM I loved her and she asked for pictures and to keep in touch. We ended the meeting in tears and she did a deep bow and waved goodbye to Joye and then the elevator doors closed.

Joye never made a peep, but knew full well what was going on. We got up to room and she looked at me and then instantly fell asleep. She slept for about 1.5 hours and woke up confused. She then cried hard for about 20 minutes and then we started to play. The rest of the night went really well. I got out that 'mattress' quilt I bought and Joye really loved that. We played for a while and then she started to get sleepy and we curled up on the floor. While we were playing she crawled into my lap and said "omma." I couldn't believe my ears, I thought it was a fluke at first, but she said it very clear. She slept through the night, not a peep.

Wednesday morning she woke up really quiet. Looking around and acting confused. About 20 mins. later she was all smiles.

She slept about 3/4 the way through the flight to San Francisco. She was SO good. We didn't end up getting the bulkhead seats that I requested and paid for, but it ended up working out ok. The Flight Attendants were very understanding that being in the center of the middle row wasn't going to work. :)

We landed in SF and then everything went crazy. Of the entire week, landing back in the US was THE WORST part of the trip. I know that sounds weird and strange, but that's totally how I feel. We arrived late and ended up missing our flight to Denver while still in the air to SF. I knew there were at least 3 other flights to Denver and that we were ok. Well, then immigr@tion. There were us and three other couples that had children who were immigrating to the US. We all stood in line waiting to go thorough the paperwork. We were like 4th in line. We waited and waited and waited and waited. The line wasn't moving. Then the guy we traveled with asked when we could get our stuff processed, and the immigr@tion guy was SO SO stinkin' poopy. He proceeded to fingerprint THE ENTIRE line. Since we all had babies we didn't need to be fingerprinted. Yeah, do you sense the frustration? We stood in line for TWO hours. TWO HOURS. It didn't need to take that long. We all just got off an eleven hour flight with babies, and NO breakfast on the plane because Economy had a power outage and they couldn't serve the food. He was in absolutely NO hurry and had a major power-play attitude. He could have processed us quickly and let us through. He didn't do that - intentionally. So meanwhile - back at the ranch - all of us missed our connecting flights. One couple had to stay the night in SF because the flights were all gone. Luckily we got on a THE LAST flight out of SF, in order to make our third and final connection.

I went up to the desk at our gate and asked the United guy to print our boarding passes, and explained the situation to him. He said "we will call you by your last name when we are ready for you." Well, an hour went by and the flight was boarding. I explained the situation to him again and he instantly jumped on me and said that the flight was booked because I didn't check in. WHAT?! Luckily, he realized that he needed to probe a little more and that the mix up was his fault. He rearranged a few things and we boarded the flight to Denver. Joye slept and was an angel.

Then we made our third and final connection and were finally home at our local airport at 10:45 p.m. We made the hour-long ride home and Joye did great. She was quiet and somber, but really good. We took a bath and got her ready for bed and snuggled in at about 3:30 a.m.

Three hours in she began to really grieve. She's totally asleep, but cries. It's a sad cry and absolutely breaks my heart. So she cried on and off until about 5:00 a.m. and then we had breakfast. Her sleeping schedule is really all over right now. Which is to be expected. Last night we snuggled in earlier and then she was still restless and sad. I think she had gas, because her cry was different and she acted like she couldn't get comfortable. During the day she is happy, laughing, and a literal bundle of joy. Her name fits her. She still says "omma" to me and totally knows where to come for comfort, food or just snuggles. She goes to Chad easily and loves him being around. She LOVES the boys. They help to keep her entertained and are SO happy she's home.

We can feel all the prayers that all of you are lovingly sending up for us. The trip home (except for immigr@tion) was perfect. She was SO good on all the planes. Her transition went WAY better than expected and that I thank our Heavenly Father for. HIS hand is visible all over this experience. I am SO thankful.

She is so social, happy and an all-around pleasure to have around. Sometimes I have to pinch myself when I am feeding her a bottle and watching her sleep. She is truly a miracle and I am so happy to be a part of her life.

I'll do just post of pictures, coming soon.