Home, Happy, and Rested!

We are here… rested, and so very, very happy! Sorry I haven’t blogged in a while, but all I want to do is spend time with my beautiful daughter. Shane and I just can’t seem to take our eyes off of her (of course, with a 15 month-old you can’t anyway). We are trying to absorb the fact that she is really here in our arms now. What an incredible feeling! She is just doing great! We are amazed at how well she has adjusted. She sleeps through the night and has a good appetite. She toddles around now on her own... working ever so diligently on her balance. She often topples on to her bottom, but then hops right back up and tries it again with a smile on her face (now that's determination!)She won’t allow anyone else to hold her yet except Shane and I, but that will come in time. We know that this is a positive sign that she is bonding and attaching to us (hang in there grandmas… it will happen!) She will however wave and smile at most everyone she sees. She’s also had a cough and runny nose and little things like that, but all and all she is a happy, happy baby girl. So tiny, beautiful, and perfect! Parenthood is really great! It just fits us like a glove.
We were greeted by so many family and friends at the airport upon our return home. We were truly overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and excitement for our daughter’s arrival. We just can’t thank everyone enough for all of the enthusiasm and support we’ve received. We will never forget the incredible homecoming we received! Thanks Nadra for providing the pics!
We’ve had a couple of obstacles since we arrived home. First, our luggage got lost somewhere between LA and Tulsa, which I think is very funny since we made it through the crazy airports in India with no issues. It was finally delivered two days later. We were very relieved as they contained all of our irreplaceable souvenirs and a lot of Jadyn’s clothes and such. The second issue was our washing machine went out (arrrgghh!) This is always a problem with three suitcases full of dirty clothes (and I do mean dirty). The third was the microwave went out too! Anyway, we’ve got everything worked out and are now almost into somewhat of a routine. I feel like I’m kind of going in circles with the laundry, dishes, etc. Although it’s getting lots better now.

I can’t seem to get back into my normal sleep routine and the issue isn’t having a new baby in the house. She is in a perfectly normal sleep routine… sleeps completely through the night. I on the other hand am getting up about 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. and am craving lunch and dinner type foods. I’ll start with a bowl of cereal and that just doesn’t do it, soon I’m eating some dinner leftovers (I’m ashamed to say… but I even had a chicken leg one night). I’m not really all that hungry at normal dinner time though. Really weird…I guess I’m still on India’s eating schedule.
I think part of the reason I’m up late is that I just keep thinking about all that God has brought us through and especially the last challenge we faced just before leaving. I awoke to a phone call from Anila telling me that there had been a fire in the passport office in Kolkata. I just knew I had to be dreaming; it couldn’t be true. It was true… I felt my last bit of strength begin to crumble. My mind was reeling with possibilities of more delays and what ifs. She and I both started praying, crying out to God, and asking Him to somehow change the situation. I soon realized that He had already taken care of it because no documents were burned! It was a fire in the electrical wiring. This is a great miracle! We still didn’t know exactly when the passport office would open again, but we resolved to travel anyway and just wait longer in Kolkata if necessary. The manager of the passport office soon mailed the passports out to the orphanage director and we received word when we arrived in LA that they were done. I was relieved getting this news because, although I didn’t tell anyone, most of the way between Tulsa and LA I kept having this nagging worry in the back of my mind that we might have to turn around and come home… come home without our daughter. I just couldn’t deal with that thought so I just had to keep pressing forward and trusting that God would work it all for good. Friends… that’s just what He did…God is sooo faithful! He took care of everything… every last little detail. He knows what we have need of before we even ask.

There are so many details left about our trip that I haven’t shared yet. I’m sure you’d much rather hear about my eating habits (heehee). I need some more time to pull my thoughts together so that I can narrow down the important details. Otherwise, this post could go on forever… it kind of did anyway didn’t it? Sorry. I’ll try to post again soon, but at least now you know we are home with clean laundry.