Incredibly Amazed: An Update

Okay, I know many of you all are dying for details about our trip home and how we have been doing since then. This is the short version :) (A longer version has been started, but due to the time given to toddler care and continuing jet-lag recovery, this is all we can do for now . . . :)

The trip home was long. Very long. For good or for ill, none of us slept very much either on the flights or in the airports – so from Saturday morning in Kazakhstan to Sabbath evening in Indiana (which was Monday morning in Kazakhstan), Alaina and I slept only snatches. The boys slept only a little more, though they did have naps and then slept several hours before we went to the airport. This lack of sleep meant we were all exhausted once we arrived here, but I think it also meant that we have more quickly adjusted to the change in time zones.

The boys did remarkably well on the flights home. Yes, it was difficult, and we don’t look forward to flying any time soon with them, but it could have been a lot worse. We were so thankful to have bulkhead seats for almost the whole trip (only the half hour flight from Chicago to Indy did we not have bulkheads), so we had more legroom and the boys could sit on the floor and play. Many people along the way helped us out, and we received many kind looks and comments. In Frankfurt we met a man in the armed forces who with his wife is in the process of adopting, too, and we had a very interesting conversation with him.

We were greeted at the airport in Indianapolis by both sets of grandparents and two uncles (Noah and Wes). Papa and Nana Judd had brought our Jeep with two baby seats in it, so the new family of four drove home together. It was our first time in the car with Daddy driving, just the four of us.

Pippi gave us an entirely enthusiastic welcome home. She obviously had not forgotten us, much to Alaina’s delight. The boys were not quite sure what to make of her, or her of them, but there were no real problems. The boys seemed to settle in quickly to their new home. Patrick woke up from his nap and was a little sociable, but Calvin kept sleeping for some time, despite being passed between almost all the grandparents and aunts and uncles. Aunts Stephanie, Liz, and Margaret and Uncle Elliot also were delighted to meet their new nephews.

We are incredibly amazed at how well the boys have adjusted to life in our home. We find ourselves wondering if they are really the same boys. Calvin’s fits have largely dissipated. Patrick is warming up more quickly to those who come to visit. Both boys are sleeping better, and Calvin is going to sleep in a few minutes instead of a few dozen or score of minutes. Both boys are devouring their meals, although Calvin continues to eat almost twice as much as his brother.

We are praising God for a good trip home and two fantastic days – and two incredible little boys!

I'll leave you with a couple cute photos of the boys in some hats we brought home for their uncles Noah and Wes. In case you can't tell, this first one is of Calvin --

And then one of both boys :)