Airports

We made it home. It is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good to be home. I keep doing things at home and about every other moment I feel such gratitude to be back home with my family. It is the best feeling ever!

I wanted to write about our experiences coming home. We went early to the airport (about 3 hour early and were able to avoid the big line that soon formed after we checked in. We were worried because we did not have seat assignments and the flight was overbooked and we wanted to sit together. Luckily we were able to get very nice seats in the first row behind first class with a lot of leg room. The Corbetts were also at the airport but 2 of their seats were standby and so Sonya was convinced that they wouldn't make it on the flight. Right before take off however they came walking on board and amazingly had 3 seats in the same row as us. What are the chances? The flight was long and the boys used up all of the battery power in the DVD player and the Gameboy but were good the whole trip. They became restless the last couple of hours but we were happy with the trip. Before we left Kiev we were able to see Oksana and Oleg. I will post a picture of her with straightened hair. She promised to send us the accounting of what the $8000 was spent on in the mail and so we will look forward to receiving that.

When we arrive in NYC it was truly a patriotic experience. We went directly to passport control which was a smooth process. Between that and our Homeland security visit the boys became instant American citizens. As we walked through the airport it was so refreshing and I was so happy to be back on American soil. Although the soil is truly rich and beautiful in Ukraine, I LOVE AMERICA. As we walked past clean shops and on clean floors in the airport I had to smile at how good it felt to be home to my country.

We went to our gate and called and chatted with Dave on G mail as my cell phone was out of batteries. We kept waiting for our plane to board but they kept moving the departure time to later and later. We were becoming nervous because we had to make a connection in Atlanta and were worried and did not want to miss that flight from Atlanta to SLC. The boys slept on this flight and right before we landed a helpful flight attendant looked up the gate we would need to hurry to. She said Good luck because it was clear on the other side of the airport. She said that they would not hold the flight and so we ran. We caught the train and BARELY made it. When we got off the plane I sent Tyler to run ahead as I had a suitcase the boys couldn't run as fast. When we did get to the gate Tyler was talking to a man in a suit and everyone was already on board. I thought it was a Delta employee and that he was begging him to let us on. Instead as we got closer the guy in the suit was my friend Brad Wilcox who I have taught EFY with for several years. He was so happy to meet our new sons and offered some very encouraging words and was his usual cheerful self. We all boarded the plane and were so relieved that we would actually make it to SLC as scheduled.

Dave was dying because he knew the flight was so late and the tight connection. I had enough time as they were driving to the runway to skype him and tell him that we made it.

When we arrived in SLC we were met by Dave who was holding a dozen red roses and Devin, Daniel, Alisa and Scott. They had a banner with balloons and I started crying as the hugging began. We had a wonderful reunion. When we went to locate the luggage we were greeted by Andreas and his beautiful children. They gave treats to the boys which they loved. Then we got to see Wendy and Amy whose comments have kept me alive in Ukraine and been SUCH and encouragement to me. Amy's husband was there and we enjoyed reminiscing our Dnepro experiences. I hope we get a lot more chances to spend time with these amazing friends who I feel so close to. Nanette and Vern Garrett also came to welcome us and I so appreciated seeing each of these dear friends who have been so supportive of us.

Some of the luggage didn't arrive and so we hope to see it soon. Alisa said that Delta stands for "Don't expect luggage to arrive" which is quite clever.

I was disappointed to learn that Ellianna sent out an email to the families who are still adopting and said some inaccurate and not very nice things about me. I would be happy to tell anyone why I chose to work with Cathy Harris instead of Adoptionway if you would like to email me at hinkson@pcu.net. Cathy Harris is a true professional and my experience with her is unbelievably good.

I want to blog the whole being home adjustments which are all really good. I will do that as soon as I want to pause from the enjoying.