A Journey of Faith and Grace

HOME FOREVER!

This is the post I've been waiting over 3 years to write... and it's taken me 3 weeks to write it.. LOL!
We've been home for 3 weeks and I'm just now getting this posted. 

I am going to back up and post the travel pics.. :) 

Here we are in the middle of the night in the Almaty airport.. waiting to board the plane!   They girls did really good. I pushed them around in the stroller LOTS and we walked a LOT, but we made it fine!

Faith and I... We are about to take off for Frankfurt!   We are HEADING home forever!  Yeah!

Phil and Grace!

 The girls did GREAT on the flight.  They slept for about 3-4 hours of the flight and we survived.  Honestly it wasn't NEARLY as bad as we expected.  

Killing some time in Frankfurt Airport!  We had a 4 hour layover, but it was only about 2 hours of wait time.   We walked and rode in the stroller and ate snacks!   They got REALLY fussy towards the end, but we again survived!   Just a tip to fellow travelers... if you see someone with a child in an airport throwing a HUGE tantrum... DON'T be quick to judge.   You never know that child MIGHT be NEWLY adopted and totally overwhelmed with what all is going on!   ;)

Welcome to America Faith and Grace.. The newest American Citizens!  Our plane had just touched down in Chicago!!!  The man across the aisle was nice and offered to take our picture!    We look a little rough, huh?!  ;) 
They slept for 5 hours of this flight... AMAZING, huh?!   Thank you Jesus!   Again, we survived!

The flight from Chicago to OKC was amazingly emotional for me.    :)   Phil and Faith slept.   Grace and I did not!  I was extremely overwhelmed with emotions and anticipation.   Grace... well, she didn't want to sit still long enough to sleep.   :)  
When I think about the flight now.... 3 weeks later, I still get emotional.   The thought of what was about to happen was unexplainable to me.  
For over 3 years... I TRUSTED God.  I KNEW I had heard from him.   I questioned it a zillion times and cried out to him in my despair, but I KNEW that he had spoken to me.     The closer we got to Oklahoma the more nervous and excited and emotional I got.   As we landed Phil is asking me if I'm ok... and just keeps grinning.  I told him to NOT look at me or I would break down and into a million pieces.   I felt like I was only holding it together with a thin thread.   The feelings even now make my stomach churn as I rethink about those moments.    I wish I could explain them better.    I don't feel that I am conveying how it really felt. 
Just know that it was INCREDIBLE for me.   My hands were sweating and my insides rolling.   My girls were all about to meet for the FIRST time EVER!  This was the result of TRUSTING God when it looks bleak... when everything appeared to be falling apart... when inside I was BAWLING and  no one even knew. 
  That has to be one of the best moments of my life... honestly I can only think of 3 other times that EVEN come close to comparing!  June 29, 1996 :)   Feb. 13, 2001  and May 9, 2005!     

As we got off the plane we then races to the nearest bathroom to change the girls clothes and get them ready! ;)   I hurried as fast as I could... but, there are 2 of them and they were SO tired.  
We were FINALLY ready to head that way....     we finally made it to the turn... and I see Bay and Brook...    I will let the video tell the rest of the story:
Click here to watch video of airport celebration! (Click on videos on the left hand side of the screen.. then you'll see it's the first Video!) 

More coming soon.... PLEASE check back!