We're home :)

We're home...we're so thankful and so tired! I'll ask Haylee to post a few pictures later. Thank you for praying!

The last few days seem like a blur...we are so glad to be out of the airports. Our friend Yuri drove us to the airport around 2 pm and then we were on our own. We ended up getting through to the check in counters too early but were able to find chairs to wait. While sitting there a Ukrainian woman kept talking to us (while John and JOnah played cards) and finally we called our translator because she seemed so upset that we couldn't understand her....she was saying that Jonah was mathematical (she could tell my his hands she said) and John was also mathematical and good with lanaguages...we laughed and wondered why it was then that we couldn't speak Russina back! We waited there in Kiev a few hours,had a sandwich and a coffee, and finally boarded. We were thankful to have seats together to Munich.

In Munich we walked around the airport a little bit, called our kids (which ate up a lot of our grivnas on our Ukrainian cell phone!, Jonah enjoyed playing a computerized "futbol" game that senses your movement on the floor, and we were loving the free coffee/tea service of Lufthansa near our gate. We tried to rest a little too. Both flights we were given a small meal (sandwich and other things) and they went fine.

We arrived in Amsterdam around 10:30 pm and decided we wouuld camp there at the airport for our overnight layover. It took a while to find a place open to exchange money but other than that, the airport was still hopping through the night...people coming and going, eating, etc...it was crazy. Our luggage came through (we'd thought it would go to Chicago) so we gathered it up and took turns trying to get some rest, but it was not very restful. Jonah finally konked out after not wanting to go to sleep. Morning was here before we knew it and we ate breakfast and headed to checkin. By now, John was not feeling well. I was so glad to leave that airport! We were on a huge plane with 5 seats in the middle and 2 on either side and thankfully we were together again for the long flight. John slept most of the way. Jonah enjoyed watching a couple movies and playing some games, and we all tried to get some rest. They fed us 2 meals and lots of drinks.

We finally arrived in Chicago around 1 pm on Thursday. Customs only took us an hour so then had 7 hours left to lay over. John was able to lay down on a couple seats and sleep, while Jonah and I got lunch and dinner and passed the time. He couldn't sleep until 15 minutes before we boarded he finally fell asleep so he slept on the final flight too!
We finally arrived in Rapid City at 9:10 pm!

Our children were waiting for us with a huge sign they all helped to make, and big smiles! We were so happy, Mommy cried, and we enjoyed long awaited hugs and kisses . Words can't describe how wonderful it is to be home with our family.
Aidan was sleepy, a little unsure of everything and didn't really smile or want to nurse right away as I'd looked forward to (heart breaking..humbling) but I held him tight anyway and I'm happy to say that through the night he remembered that nursing is a great thing, and had big smiles for Mommy and Daddy today! He is crawling alot more now, eating alot more and just so beautiful...Jonah summed it up when he said "its been so long since I've seen his sparkling eyes" All the kids had loving, sparkling, joyful eyes and we're enjoying hearing and seeing about all they did and they enjoyed the little gifts we brought. I am so thankful for how well the children did considering having to be separated from us so long, and that the hardest part is done and we are home in the US. IT is the hardest thing I've had to do and I thanku God that is done and for helping and sustaining us. Our trip has stretched us in many ways and also reminded us how precious our children are. Danielle will return home on Sunday so we have a couple more days with her and about a week to enjoy all being together as a family before JOhn and the big girls head back over. We won't think about that , just yet, but enjoy every moment.