God Bless America

Maybe a little late, since the 4th of July is over, but I just wanted to say God Bless America!!

Yes, I cried a little when the plane touched down and we were almost home. I'm not sure if the tears were of joy at bringing Owen home, relief that the trip was over, or pain from my back and neck after trying to sleep in a pretzel-position with a 19 month old on top of me. Probably a little of everything. Jim can't handle tears, and kept asking what was wrong. I just didn't even have words.

The flights and airport shuttling, etc., actually could have been a lot worse. Owen didn't really cry all that much. It was just hard to sleep, for all of us, and it seemed to last an eternity. It really is pretty much 24 hours of travel. Plus, we had several clothes changes (for Owen, anyway - I didn't bring a change of pants in my carry-on because I had it stuffed with his things) after a sippy cup juice incident, and a wet-through the diaper incident. He had one completely new outfit, we had a bag of dirty diapers, and my pants reeked of urine....and then the plane pulled out of the Moscow airport. :-) Looooong trip. Luckily, none of the ever-present diarrhea the whole trip - I know for sure we lucked out there.

The kids stayed up late for our arrival, and were SO excited to meet him. Natalie kept hopping on one foot and saying "He's so cute! He's wonderful!" And Liam just kept following him around with big eyes, saying "Oh my gosh! Look at him!" It was very sweet.

The bloom may be off the rose this morning, however, as Owen has asserted himself as a 19 month old toddler who can fling toys and push other kids, and generally act like a linebacker in a miniature body. ha ha I am a little bit jealous of those adoptive mothers who can bring home babies who can't yet walk. Still...he seems like such a typical toddler, albeit one who won't be pushed around, that I can't complain.

There is no doubt about it - our family is full, and complete, and we're happy.