Well, we made it!! Yay! Wednesday we had to wake the boys up early (12 am) for our 3 am flight from Almaty to Frankfurt. Thankfully that leg of our journey went relatively well. The boys were tired enough that they fell asleep about an hour into the flight and ended up sleeping for about five hours straight. We were so happy to make it to Frankfurt even though neither Dave nor I got more than an hour of sleep on that flight. We had a four hour layover in Frankfurt and we got through that by letting the boys play with internet kiosks, payphones and vending machines. All of these required money of course but they needed euros to work and all we gave them were tengi so they had fun trying to figure out why that didn't make the machines work ;) After that came the last leg of our journey and the part that we were dreading the most. A nine hour flight from Frankfurt to D.C. with almost no hope of anyone falling asleep. We also didn't get to sit together and that made things a little more challenging. So we took it in shifts to sit with Alex because he was the one that was harder to keep happy. Ethan was fine to sit and watch t.v. or play with the gameboy we bought for the trip. Thankfully we had a great guy sitting next to Alex that really helped us entertain him and keep him from having any fits! What a Godsend. Finally, for the last two hours of the flight when we were really running out of ways to keep Alex calm he fell asleep! We think that maybe he was afraid that if he fell asleep that he might miss going to America and that was why he fought so hard to stay awake for the whole flight. Well, finally we made it to Dulles and by that point our boys were so exhausted and cranky that they just kept saying "Niet America" which means "no America." But we are all home now and they are officially American citizens! Yay!
It was so great to walk out of those doors and to see my mom and all the whole Sircus family standing there waiting to greet us. Ethan and Alex were so excited to see their grandma aka Mimi and to meet Aunt Janine & Uncle Ben and Joe, Shane and Mackenzie. We had a little mini welcome home at our new house and then Dave and I enjoyed the sweet bliss of a four hour nap whilst my mom and Janine watched our boys. It's amazing what a difference having help makes. And I'm happy to report that the boys are happier than we've ever seen them and we are all finally getting a chance to really enjoy each other and to bond as a family. Being home in America has made a huge difference in all of our moods and now we just have to worry about unpacking and getting settled in.
Thank you everyone for all of your prayers and support and for keeping us uplifted and encouraged with your comments and emails. We couldn't have done this alone and God has blessed us with amazing family, friends and even some new friends that we met during this process. We will continue to post updates about the boys progress but probably not as frequently but any of you who want to continue to follow our journey are invited to stay in touch. This is only the beginning our our lifelong journey with these boys but thankfully we can now close this first chapter. We are home at last!
9 comments:
Welcome home and gratulations! So glad to hear you made it home well and safe.
That is so great to hear! How awesome that God provided a nice man to help you entertain Alex! Keeping kids busy while traveling is always a huge challenge! Especially when they have never done it before. I have a feeling it will be awhile before you can get them on another plane! I look forward to getting in touch with you and meeting the boys! Welcome home!!!!
Love Julie
So glad you are back! You guys are in our prayers every day. So happy that now you can face just the normal trials of parenting, rather than trying to do it in another country!
We are so happy for you guys!! Welcome home :-)
Welcome home! I am sorry that Chris, Cooper, and I are in Texas and will not see you guys for a while. We plan on coming back to Maryland in late August/ Early September hopefully I can see you guys then!
Miss you and will continue to pray for you all the time!
Congratulations on making it home safely! The next couple of months will probably be challenging as the little guys get adjusted to life as Americans. It gets easier with time and practice at least that has been our experience. Please let us know if we can do anything to help.
The Wyszynski's
We are so happy that you finally made it home. If you ever have a layover in Frankfurt again, call us - we'll keep your boys busy!
Much love and best wishes from Germany
Isabel & Thomas
Welcome home!!! Hopefully we will be able to see you guys again soon and meet the boys.
Hi - it's now May 2012 and KZ has reopened w/Hague under a sort of 'beta' period. .I ver much enjoyed reading every post, following your jouney on your blog. I happened to stumble on your precious and well-detailed journey (painting a picture of what it may be like) while searching Google for the US State Dept. KZ Adoptions! Not sure how your blog came up. God works in mysterious ways. :)
My DH and I adopted our DS at birth, domestically, in 2010. We are in the research mode again for a possible 2nd and KZ is a maybe. I am most curious, if you do not mind sharing via email privately (and please feel free to delete this post - it's my only method of contact for you), how the boys have been doing...if they were able to securely attach to you both, if other dx's have followed (for either boys) aside from RAD, and how is the little guy's RAD?
I ask because although we have no current dx's or concerns with our DS, I have recently - due to all the new research and reading - become 'trauma informed'.
It is a tough, therapeutic road this kids with trauma must follow in order to heal, not to mention the toll it takes of parents. I do question how long my head could overrule my heart in their inabilities and not hear the words with meaning of - I Love you too Mom and Dad....for whoever knows how long.
These .are our greatest concerns as PAPs (including the safety of our DS), and I've always found it best to learn from someone who has truly been there....been where our hearts may want land us, but to be aware, realistic, and make an informed decision of whether to travel this long road with KZ or International...for that matter.
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