There's no place like home

We truly and completely understand now what Dorothy must have been feeling when she said, “There’s no place like home”! There are no words adequate to describe what it felt like to crawl into our own bed for the first time in two months, having gone for the better part of 48 hours with no sleep. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

Well, actually it does get better than that. What’s better than that is the sight of seeing our family waving, crying and cheering as we walked down the airport terminal corridor holding Lily Grace. What a life moment to cherish. Tonya’s dad and brothers were there. Steve’s parents, brother, sister and their families. Balloons, signs, and best of all – the smiles and tears. What a way to come home. Tonya’s mom and sister and her husband, who live in Tulsa, OK will be coming to stay with us later next week for several days. Then will come the reunion with our church family, our friends, our extended families – so many parts of our wonderful family of support.

We're thinking that to better match Dorothy's experience with ours, this would be the famous final scene: Dorothy is sitting up in her bed, with her aunt, uncle and close friends standing all around her, as she tells them all about this wonderful, far away land, and how they were all there with her – really, they were! – when she suddenly stops, smiles, then says, “And I brought back this munchkin – what do you think?!”

For in the end, there is Lily Grace. This beautiful child of God - full of wonder, curiosity and delight - who we are now privileged to call our daughter. This story is her story, but it’s not a story just about her. It’s a story about Lily Grace in the context of family – the family of support she received from the doctors and caregivers at the baby house and our adoption team in Kazakhstan, her new family here, and, ultimately all of you – her larger extended family. We are all now a part of her journey, as she is now a part of ours.

Happy Thanksgiving indeed!

Steve and Tonya