Our 5 hour flight from Bogota to Atlanta was very uneventful. Amelia did great despite only sleeping for about 40 minutes at the airport and another 30 on the plane. She was very content. Isaac was so excited to be going home and was a great traveller also. One thing she did do was decide to start feeding herself puffs while we were on the plane. We have been working on this so it was exciting to see.
Once we arrived in Customs coming in to the US we were directed to go to a line for immigration packets. The officer was very friendly and took our big packet that we were told not to open from the US embassy and opened it. Everything was in order and it took 15 or 20 minutes. He gave us the stamp of admittance on her visa and said "welcome to the USA cutie!". Priceless. We could not take pics with him though as security is very high in this area. Bummer.
The flight from Atlanta to Mpls was about 2 hours and was fairly uneventful except for the full diaper blow out involving a complete outfit change. :-) When we touched down in Mpls we all did a little happy dance in our seat and Isaac was grinning from ear to ear!! I was so relieved that Amelia did so well and that our day of travel was almost complete.
We gathered our things and our stomachs were full of butterflies as we knew in a few short minutes Amelia would make her debut with all of our friends and family. We walked down the terminal and off the elevator to find my parents, Jeff's parents, Jeff's sister and 2 kids, our friends the Fischers, Fergusons and my coworker Esme waiting for us with open arms. We were taking pictures and video of them and they were of us. Once we saw everyone the tears started to flow. They were holding 2 welcome home signs. It was simply amazing. The tears flowed again as we all hugged and said hello. Amelia was a bit overwhelmed and also burst in to tears. :-) Lots of new faces and not a lot of sleep! There were so many smiles, so many tears, so much joy. The tears did not stop for awhile. It felt so good to be with everyone. There were many people who wished they could be there in that moment also but were there in spirit. We are excited to be together with everyone and introduce our little bundle to you all.
So I have to say how amazing everyone has been to us. We want to thank everyone for all their prayers for us on this journey. It has been a long journey but we have enjoyed every step of the way. We were very worried about being gone for so long and who would take care of our dog. We had an amazing house sitter Ellie for 4 weeks who spoiled the dog and took amazing care of our house. Our neighbor boy Will took care of ALL THAT SNOW while we were gone. Buddy spent another 2 week vacation with some of our very good friends Fergusons who have loved him as their own since he was a young puppy. Then it was another 2 week vacation for him at Grandma and Grandpa's house spending many long hours playing outside and exploring. HE WAS EXTREMELY SPOILED THE ENTIRE TIME!!!
We arrived home to a clean house and a fridge full of food thanks to my mom. Jeff's parents had balloons and a card on the counter. My parents had made a canvas print of our picture when we met Amelia and brought more balloons. Jeff's dad came and made sure the crib was set for Amelia to sleep in. Our dog was extremely happy to see all of us!! My friend Tammy took photos and video of our homecoming for us and organized a calendar for meals so we don't have to worry about cooking for a bit. A-mazing friends from church I have set up to deliver meals. We have an invitation to our amazing friends Michael and Megan's home on Saturday to have dinner with them and also to meet our friends Carol and Steve who live in Michigan. Both Megan and Carol have children adopted from the same casa as Amelia. Megan had us over before we left to help us prepare for our journey. Carol wrote an amazing blog while they were in the country that has been a TREMENDOUS resource for us. We also want to thank Angie, Patsy and Mary for all of their suggestions, encouraging words, and input in helping us on this journey. They helped us get connected with Freddy and we are forever grateful for that! You ALL have been such a huge BLESSING to us and we are so thankful!!
We also want to say thank you to all of our amazing friends and family who have been praying for us during this entire journey. We so appreciate your prayers, encouraging words, emails and love that you have shown us. The best part of the journey is just beginning!! We are so excited to share our little girl with you all.
It was an amazing homecoming and we are so thankful and so blessed!! I hope to post more pictures as I get them from people!! :-)
Here we go!!
Sleeping is a great way to travel!
Flying over Cuba
Flying over the Bahamas
The only picture I could take in Customs
Flight from Atlanta to Mpls..this was her favorite thing to play with! Notice the outfit change! ;-)
Sleeping again!! YAY!
Hello Minnesota!!
Esme, I don't see you waiting for us on the tarmac as you said you would be??
Look at all these people!!
I hope to post more pics of our homecoming when I get them from a friend. I will also update as to how we are all adjusting!! :-)
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23
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