Heading Back

I can't believe I haven't blogged since I got home. I take my rest and relaxation seriously :). It has been wonderful to be home. The man at customs in NY has probably never seen someone so happy to see him! We've spent most of our week either hanging out with family or shopping for things we need for the next leg of our trip. I got a sling so I can haul Miss Oksana around a little easier. It's sure been a long time since I had a sling on! I lived in one when my boys were little. We also got her a few more toys, mostly to keep her entertained on the plane, and an outfit to wear home...white capris and a navy blue shirt that says "All American Sweetheart". It was on clearance from 4th of July and I couldn't pass it up!

It was wonderful to have the opportunity to deliver souveniers, show pictures, and tell stories so we don't have to worry about all of that when we are home and adjusting to being a family of 5. I've spent a lot of time thinking about Oksana. I'd be lying if I didn't say there is still quite a bit of fear involved in all of this, but coming home has definitely been the re-charge we needed to move forward.

Today we spent the day celebrating Evan's 8th birthday! We took him to see Despicable Me which was a fantastic movie! Later, our whole family met up at his restaurant choice for dinner, O'Charley's. We topped the day off with Fritz's ice cream and sent a happy 8 year old to bed tonight. My internet connection isn't great right now so pictures will have to come later.

Our flight leaves at around 9 am tomorrow (Saturday) and we will arive in Kiev at 9:10am Sunday their time, which is about 1 am central time. The nice thing about this trip is that everything will be familiar and we won't have to deal with the culture shock. I have no doubt, however, that we will still have the dreaded jet lag. We look forward to meeting more new families who are arriving when we are to start their adoption journey, and seeing some of the friends that we left behind last week who stayed for their 10 day wait. I'm not exactly sure what this leg of the trip looks like except I know there is lots of paperwork and running around so I will keep you updated as usual!