Home Sweet Home

There's no place like home! We are so happy to be back. We just have this great feeling of relief, not just to be home but that this whole adoption process is behind us. At times we wondered if it would ever work out and we would actually get our little girl. This process has pretty much consumed our lives for the past couple of years and it feels so good to have completed it. It was the hardest, most wonderful thing we have ever done and we don't have a single regret! God has blessed us with the most precious little girl and we know this was His plan all along! Our family has shared quite an adventure and it has pulled us even closer together.

The trip home was, in a word, exhausting. The kids did pretty well but by the time we got to Dallas we were all SO tired. Of course, with the jet lag we were all wide awake sitting in Ginger's living room at 3 AM. Gin & Mike didn't get much sleep that night but it was so good to see them. Ginger had treats for the kids and Valerie took to her so quickly. Every kid should have an Aunt Ginger to spoil them! Valerie threw her biggest fit ever right before we got on the plane in Dallas. She flopped on the floor kicking and screaming and would not be consoled. Everyone at our gate got quiet and was staring. They had to be thinking, "Great, we have to get on the plane with them." I wanted to holler out that we just adopted her from Russia and she's been flying for the past 2 days and had no sleep and she's really a good sweet girl, she's just exhausted and scared....But I just smiled and picked her up and kept trying to calm her down. Much to our relief (and everyone else's) she didn't cry once on the plane. It was so good to have our parents pick us up at the airport. They looked great and were thrilled to see Blaine and meet their new granddaughter!

We have had a couple of family get togethers (with amazing food!), some friends have come by to visit, and we made it to church today. Valerie seems to love meeting new people. She is really outgoing and friendly. She was quite a ham at church today because she knew everyone was watching her. I took her to the nursery and worried it might remind her of the orphanage because it was a room full of little ones but she went right in and had a ball. She loved the slide and checked out all the toys. I stayed there with her the whole time but she didn't have much to do with me. However, if another kid came and sat in my lap she would push them out and climb in! She'd stay there about 30 seconds and then she was off to play again until the next kid came along to sit with me. It was cute and made me feel good about her attachment to me. I was glad she felt secure enough to wander off and play but didn't want to share her Mama with anyone else! I know it takes lots of time for the whole bonding and attachment thing to take place but I think we're doing really well. She makes great eye contact and loves to be snuggled and held.

Valerie is eating well, sleeping well, and seems to just be eating up all the attention she is getting. She loves to be outside and has been busy checking out every drawer, cabinet, light switch, etc. in the house. I am just sick because my camera got broken on the plane ride home. When we got to Atlanta, I told Todd to get out the camera and take a picture of our new little US citizen and the screen was cracked. I'm just thankful it happened on the way home and not the way to Russia. I'll be getting a new one this week because I'm missing pictures of a lot of "firsts" right now. I'll post some more pictures of our new little cutie as soon as I get another camera!