Home, Sweet Home

We have an amazing peace at finally being home. God has been so good to us. His hand of protection has held us up and covered us through this entire, amazing journey. We look forward to seeing what He still has in store for us as we become a family of four.

We left our hotel at about 9:00pm to travel to the airport. You can't imagine how relieved I was when we arrived and saw that it was well lit. I couldn't get over the last time we were there in the pitch black darkness and the storm, locked out. Unorganized chaos would be the best description for the airport. No one seemed to know where they should be. Finally, Marty asked a lady who worked there, and she directed us to the other side of the airport to get in the "line" there.

Once we checked in, we had about 2 hours to wait. It was an endurance test. We were all so pooped. Finally, we boarded and headed to Seoul, South Korea. We went through immigration and then found something for the boys to eat. Marty had Dunkin' Donuts and Isaac had french fries. Our flight from Seoul was delayed about 45 minutes once we were on board. (What's 45 minutes, when you are already going to be trapped for 13 and a half hours.)

On this flight, we had seats in the middle section of the plane. We shared the set of four with a really sweet man from Atlanta. He had been in Malaysia helping set up a Christian school, I think, for street kids. Isaac spent a lot of time watching the tv on the back of the seat in front of him. He ate pretty well and slept about 6 hours. The flight was very smooth, and I have to hand it to Korean Air, they really have it together. One of our favorite features on the plane was the Skymap you could access on the tv. It showed a map of where our plane was enroute. There was also a screen giving other information about speed, flight time, and anticipated time of arrival at your next destination.

We ran into one more glitch in Atlanta. Because Isaac will not be an official US citizen until we refinalize his adoption in the US, he had to be processed at immigration. We missed our connecting flight to Charlotte. It was about more than we could take. It seemed we were so close we could almost touch Anna Claire, but we couldn't.

After finishing up in immigration, we went to the rebooking counter to get another flight to Charlotte. The attendant there was so sweet. Delta must take the kindest people they have and let them work that counter. She booked us on a flight to Charlotte at 2:44. Our other flight was at 12:35. So, we only lost about 2 hours. The flight was packed. God was so good to get us seats on it. We didn't all get to sit together, but I believe I would have been willing to just hold on to the wing as long as they would get me home soon.

The flight attendants were hysterical. I have never been on a flight like it. Before we took off, one of the male stewards was walking up and down the aisle wearing "Bubba teeth". (If you are ot from the South, you may not know what these are.) Anyway, he pretended to steal some peoples' seats, etc. Meanwhile, the head steward kept making jokes over the intercom. It was just what we needed.

Our greeting in the airport couldn't have been sweeter. I think we dragged Isaac as fast as he could go to get to baggage claim. I'm not sure his feet even touched the ground. It was so good to see our family. Isaac's sister, Aunt Cindy, and all his grandparents were there. They brought him a big stuffed car and his favorite candy, Skittles. We could have held Anna Claire forever. Speaking of Anna Claire, she and Isaac connected at once. They were holding hands, hugging, and running around. You would never know it was the first time they had ever met. While Marty and our dads waited for our luggage, Isaac lost his mind a little. I think it was all just overwhelming. Plus, according to his body's clock, he was supposed to be fast asleep.

Once we had all of our luggage, we headed to the car. Isaac let Aunt Cindy carry him there, and she was on Cloud Nine. We were concerned about how he would feel about being confined in a car seat. He climbed right in though, and let me buckle him in. He loves to ride, and he just chattered away. about 20 minutes from home, he fell asleep.

Once we arrived at the house, he was ready to go again. There was a wonderful welcome home sign with balloons. It was so precious to us. Sharon and Inga also brought supper. (I was so glad there were no noodles or rice involved.) Isaac toured the yard with Anna Claire. Karen, Aiden, and Zach Brown came over to meet him. Then, we went inside. He loved his room and began playing with a few of the toys there before the tour continued. He was thrilled to see the pool. He was familiar with that from the hotel. He and Anna Claire also played on the swing set.

We ate our dinner with Grandma and Pop before they left for the hotel. Then, Anna Claire helped Isaac ride his new bike from Tammy Palmer. It was precious. He also rode his motorized scooter (think Barbie Jeep, but motorcycle). I guess he felt like he was right back on the streets of Hanoi. Of course, there was no horn blowing or 3 zillion people. Our neighbors the Emery's walked by and met him. All I could think of was how elated I was to be home.

Then, it was time for baths. Isaac jumped right in and began to play. He still loves a bath. Afterwards, it was bedtime. Marty walked him around the house to show him where all our beds are. He wasn't thrilled about being in his own little room. We left his door open and decided to see how things would go. He stayed in his bed, but didn't go to sleep. All of a sudden, I heard him. He was quite upset, because our cat Molly had crawled into his bed and under the covers. ( I don't like that myself.) He was shook up for a while after that. Marty came in and slept on the futon in his room. Then, he went to sleep. We assume we will have to do that for a while until he is more comfortable sleeping on his own.

We all slept through the night peacefully. Did I mention how good it is to be home? I woke up this morning at about 5:30. After reading my Bible a little, I decided I wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep. I got up and went downstairs to watch Charles Stanly. His message was on fear. Boy, do I wish I'd heard it before we left. Anna Claire was up at about 6:30. We snuggled some before the boys got up. Everybody was so well rested. We have had breakfast and the kids (boy does that plural sound weird to me) are playing as hard as they can go.

Later, our families are coming over to cook out and spend more time with us.

We cannot say enough how much we appreciate you all keeping up with us during our journey. We pray God has blessed you as much as He has us. Your comments and prayers were used by God to keep us going and make us not feel so far from home. Please continue to pray for us as we all figure out our place in The Ingram Four. We are looking forward to things being "normal".

Enjoy, these pictures of the new siblings. We'll post more as the days go by. We love you all. God bless.