Snow Good To Be Home!

God answered the children's requests for snow upon arriving home late Friday night. They played in it while waiting near the van in the airport parking lot and their hands got so cold that they told us their hands were "burnt" from the snow. This was their first time to experience snow. They were so excited and had been hoping for snow to play in the next day. When they awoke on Saturday morning was snowing again and it continued throughout the day. We all learned a lesson in patience and perseverance when we trying to get snowpants, boots, hats, mittens, scarves and jackets on five children. After much waiting and bouncing from child to child to get them ready and out the door, we found out that our newest kiddos had no idea how to zip the zipper of a big thick jacket. And just like you might have imagined, it was so cold that after only 20 minutes they all tumbled back inside with frozen noses. Even though they only played outside for 20 minutes, it was still worth all the effort to get them bundled up and sent outside, just to see the sheer joy and hear their excited voices talk about the snow. They couldn't wait to do it again, but alas with sub-zero temps today we decided to wait until another day, so we opted to do crafts instead! A super-big thank you to the many friends who brought coats, hats, mittens, snow pants, boots or gift cards for these items - yesterday these items were priceless!

Our day traveling was a day of character building for the entire family, where everyone earned their merit badge of patience, trust, hope and effort. After making the trip twice before I hadn't remembered it being quite this draining and demanding, but add five children to the equation instead of just one baby and the outcome seems a little more harsh. We left our hotel at 6:30 a.m. and after going through four security checkpoints, changing planes, US customs and immigration, collecting and rechecking our baggage, two flights, and the kids first US restaurant meal, we arrived in Minneapolis with our three new US Citizens waving American flags. We were so thankful to be greeted by our parents. The kids looked forward to meeting them all day, and it seemed to help make their big day of leaving everything that was familiar and comfortable to them a little easier to know that their grandparents were waiting here for them. Grandparents are such a blessing!

We are settling in here at home and it is a wonderful feeling to be back, but there is something about that time away that makes things very different upon returning home, and I have felt this same way with every adoption. We were gone for exactly four weeks. Four weeks can seem like a blink of an eye, but during those four weeks things changed here at home and in the lives of the people we love here and we missed out on those things. Those four weeks are forever gone from our time here. In addition, during our four weeks in Colombia we experienced and saw and felt things that no one here at home experienced. While I could blog about some of it, there are some things I will never be able to put words to. They are experiences too deep for words. And so we return changed people from when we left four weeks ago, to a place that is different from when we left four weeks ago, to friends and family who have also lived full, deep lives in the past four weeks. It is an odd sensation to settle in and begin again in the same place, but feeling so very different after having been away. So, we are all settling in together here, and it feels great to be home.

Nic goes back to work at Tennant tomorrow. I know he is looking forward to it, not because he doesn't enjoy being with the kids and I, but because he genuinely enjoys his job. The kids were shocked when we explained (again) that Nic would be going to work tomorrow and would not be home all day like he was the past four weeks with us in Colombia. One of the little sweeties seemed to take it personally and was very wounded that he would go to work all day and leave her. Another thought that he might not come back ever and asked me several times how I knew for sure he was going to come home. The Johnson's are bringing supper to our family tomorrow, so I know for sure he won't want to miss that! Everyday is an opportunity to build trust and show our love to the kiddos that God has entrusted us with, and each day is an upportunity to show them His love. I'm so thankful we can be home this Christmas to explain to our children the true meaning of Christmas.