Re-entry

Wow….a lot has happened in the last week. First, let me again thank all of you for your encouragement, support, love, and prayers. We never could have gotten through this phase of the adventure without each and every one of our family and friends!

We left for the airport on Friday morning, and arrived with plenty of time to spare. Igor, our driver, delivered us to the checkin area at the airport and wished us well. We met another couple heading back with their newly adopted son, and had a nice chat while we waited. Our luggage came in just under the weight limit, and we thought we were off for a great day. Then we went to passport control.

We stood in line there for quite a while, and when we stepped up to the counter, we handed over the package of adoption documents that our facilitator gave us. Well, apparently, the passport control guy didn’t think that was good enough. We did not have an original of the court judgement, and he really thought we needed that.

We were pulled out of line and passed to a supervisor. We had about an hour before our flight, but we were a little concerned. Mark tried to call Sasha, but we only had 2 grivna left on our pay-as-you-go phone…it was just enough to send a text message, so Mark sent a concise “CALL ME” to Sasha.

A couple of minutes later, our phone rang, and Mark explained the situation to him. We got him on the phone with the supervisor, who had passed our little problem on to HIS supervisor and was awaiting a decision. After several very tense minutes of heavy prayer, they allowed us through, just in time to hop on our plane.

We had an uneventful 3-hour flight from Kiev to Amsterdam, and boarded the fight to Detroit on time. Shortly after take-off, we discovered that the on-demand video system on the plane was not working properly, and Masha was pretty frustrated when she clicked to get Dora the Explorer and ended up watching Freedom Writers. Not exactly the same. We popped a movie into the laptop, and she watched that until they got the system fixed about 3 1/2 hours later. She watched the Nickelodeon shorts channel while Mark and I both watched Breach, and we were all happy.

We landed on US soil right on time, and passed through immigration faster than you could say “Brand New Citizen.” The guys that processed Masha’s immigrant visa were really friendly and welcoming, and Masha got to sign her name as a US Citizen for the first time.

Once we cleared through customs and rechecked our luggage, we found a spot at the food court just below the World Club and hijacked the free WiFi connection for a couple of calls home. We had some french fries and ice cream, and then wandered over to our gate.

During our stops in both Amsterdam and Detroit, Masha discovered the joy of moving sidewalks. Every time she hopped onto one, she had a gleeful grin on her face. She experimented with standing, walking backward, and letting her elephant ride along the handrail. I will never ride another one without remembering that smile and the joy that filled me to watch her.

Anyway, we made the short hop from Detroit to Fort Wayne with no problems, and arrived to see a whole bunch of familiar faces greeting us at the airport! After being awake and on the go for nearly 24 hours, we were pretty bleary, but thrilled to be home.

Since then, we’ve done about 24 loads of laundry, unpacked a million souvenirs, and generally settled back into American life. We’ve gone to Wal-Mart, we have updated the Y membership, dropped clothes off at the cleaners, and applied for Masha’s new library card.

On Tuesday, as we wandered around Wal-Mart for the third time in three days, Masha looked at me with pleading eyes, and said “Home?” We stayed home all day yesterday!

Overall, we are settling in well. Masha is doing great with her English…we haven’t gotten the phrasebook out yet. She is settling in really well, and we couldn’t be happier. We know that it’s still the honeymoon, and it won’t always be perfect, but for now, we’re just enjoying each day as it comes.

As I write this, Masha is lying on the floor wrapped up in a blanket, watching The Incredibles with Shead on her lap. That’s what it’s all about!