30 hours of traveling and a wonderful reception to our beloved Durango. We are home. It was a long trip filled with crying, fear, exhaustion and finally jubilation. We almost did not make it out of the country on Thursday. The paperwork was delayed and it was truly only a miracle of God that we were able to get the paperwork and get to the airport in time.
The airport in Kinshasa is the craziest place I have ever flown from. It was so fast paced due to us arriving late, we almost left all of our adoption papers in the airport lounge. Thankfully Valerie asked me before we walked out of the lounge. Not only did I drop those, but I dropped my bag with my wallet and all of the cash we had left. This would have been extremely problematic with no credit cards, etc...... Someone was looking out for us.
The ride to the airport was eventful. Josee vomited on Valerie twice. They routed on coming traffic onto our side of the road and there was a horrendous traffic jam. Think New York City with carts being pushed in the middle of the traffic. Traffic was so bad, our driver ran into the back of another car. Luckily, no damage. So, as you can imagine, it was a terrible ride there.
Once we were on the plane we felt comfortable. Almost a let down. We were now saying bye to the place we had just spent 5 weeks praying to leave. Not only were we saying goodbye to the DRC, but to our girl's home. This is bittersweet, feeling like we are saving them, but also ripping them away from all they have known.
The plane rides were uneventful, which is great considering how we started. Each time we landed, we told the girls how many more flights we had before going home. Each time we landed we did something new. Lunch in Newark NJ, was McDonalds. We don't normally eat there, but it is a right of passage. Ben and Jerry ice-cream in Denver. $10 for ice-cream that they really did not eat. Awesome.
Let me quickly back up. Arriving at NJ was interesting as we had to go through immigration. We were hoping all of the paperwork was correct and that there would be no delays. We spent a total of 10 minutes with immigration. Most of it was just waiting in line to talk with the officers. All paperwork done completely with no problems.
Finally around 9:30pm we arrived in Durango to a hall filled with family and friends. This was a wonderful experience. The girls had just woken up, but we not crying when they met everyone. Josee did go to her normal pouty face and Natalie just looked at everyone. We must have spent nearly and hour at the airport when Natalie decided that she wanted to get down and play with her toys on the floor. She played and we talked and then they began to shut off lights. Natalie did decide that she wanted to go to my dad before we left. That was a big moment.
Today has been eventful. We all went to bed around 1am because Kate and Abby were not home yet. They arrive around 11:30 and then the girls became wound up like eating straight sugar. This was a wonderful sight. They were letting the girls pick them up and they were all laughing. Of, course the laughter ended each time the girls saw the cats. Shrieking and wailing every time a cat came near. Poor cats. They just want to love them.
We had one outing to the doctors office. We went for immunizations, but we ended up just getting scripts for blood work. Shots to come later. Of course the ride there was interesting. They rode in booster seats last night with no problems, they are really to little so we put them in car seats. This was twenty minutes of screaming and pulling their arms out as we went to the doctor. Of course they wore themselves out with all of that. So now I write this as Natalie is out for nap number 2 or 3 today.
The girls are doing well. We are figuring this thing out and life is moving forward. As for the girls coexisting with the animals in the house; well, that will come in time. Thank you for the prayers and all of the support. We definitely needed it.
The airport in Kinshasa is the craziest place I have ever flown from. It was so fast paced due to us arriving late, we almost left all of our adoption papers in the airport lounge. Thankfully Valerie asked me before we walked out of the lounge. Not only did I drop those, but I dropped my bag with my wallet and all of the cash we had left. This would have been extremely problematic with no credit cards, etc...... Someone was looking out for us.
The ride to the airport was eventful. Josee vomited on Valerie twice. They routed on coming traffic onto our side of the road and there was a horrendous traffic jam. Think New York City with carts being pushed in the middle of the traffic. Traffic was so bad, our driver ran into the back of another car. Luckily, no damage. So, as you can imagine, it was a terrible ride there.
Once we were on the plane we felt comfortable. Almost a let down. We were now saying bye to the place we had just spent 5 weeks praying to leave. Not only were we saying goodbye to the DRC, but to our girl's home. This is bittersweet, feeling like we are saving them, but also ripping them away from all they have known.
The plane rides were uneventful, which is great considering how we started. Each time we landed, we told the girls how many more flights we had before going home. Each time we landed we did something new. Lunch in Newark NJ, was McDonalds. We don't normally eat there, but it is a right of passage. Ben and Jerry ice-cream in Denver. $10 for ice-cream that they really did not eat. Awesome.
Let me quickly back up. Arriving at NJ was interesting as we had to go through immigration. We were hoping all of the paperwork was correct and that there would be no delays. We spent a total of 10 minutes with immigration. Most of it was just waiting in line to talk with the officers. All paperwork done completely with no problems.
Finally around 9:30pm we arrived in Durango to a hall filled with family and friends. This was a wonderful experience. The girls had just woken up, but we not crying when they met everyone. Josee did go to her normal pouty face and Natalie just looked at everyone. We must have spent nearly and hour at the airport when Natalie decided that she wanted to get down and play with her toys on the floor. She played and we talked and then they began to shut off lights. Natalie did decide that she wanted to go to my dad before we left. That was a big moment.
Today has been eventful. We all went to bed around 1am because Kate and Abby were not home yet. They arrive around 11:30 and then the girls became wound up like eating straight sugar. This was a wonderful sight. They were letting the girls pick them up and they were all laughing. Of, course the laughter ended each time the girls saw the cats. Shrieking and wailing every time a cat came near. Poor cats. They just want to love them.
We had one outing to the doctors office. We went for immunizations, but we ended up just getting scripts for blood work. Shots to come later. Of course the ride there was interesting. They rode in booster seats last night with no problems, they are really to little so we put them in car seats. This was twenty minutes of screaming and pulling their arms out as we went to the doctor. Of course they wore themselves out with all of that. So now I write this as Natalie is out for nap number 2 or 3 today.
The girls are doing well. We are figuring this thing out and life is moving forward. As for the girls coexisting with the animals in the house; well, that will come in time. Thank you for the prayers and all of the support. We definitely needed it.
HALLELUJAH!!! Welcoming you home last night was such an amazing event to be a part of, thanks for letting us share in this time!!! Josee and Natalie are BEAUTIFUL!!! You and Valerie looked amazing, I know you didn't feel amazing. We continue to cover you in prayer as you settle in to your new family life and experience more of God's grace and love. I know that there are more adjustments, figuring things out, acclimating to animals, etc... BUT YOU ARE HOME and again, none of it is beyond Him!!!
ReplyDeleteTO GOD BE THE GLORY!!!
Love you all,
Gracie and gang
What a sweet privilege it was to see you all last night! I am just so very proud of you both - especially your faithful response to God's CRAZY call on your lives. I am eternally grateful for the role models you are for the youth that you lead. You guys rock!
ReplyDeleteMuch love and many hugs to you all!!!
Karen