Now 3 at Home :)

We're home! I made a mistake on my last post that we were coming home today, but we actually came back yesterday. We landed in Chicago at 10:40 and Minneapolis at 3. We stopped at Cory and Cindy's for a little bit and got back to Eau Claire at about 7. It's SO good to be home and SO good to be in my own bed. I woke up at 3:30 am Seoul time on Tuesday and didn't sleep again until about 10 last night. So now I've have a few rounds of sleep and am starting to feel better. All of our internal clocks are out of whack, but we're getting there.

So, now what you really want to know - how's the baby! She's SUPER awesome! We are really enjoying her. We left the agency Tuesday morning, and she had to leave her foster mother. She fussed a little, but did okay and fell asleep and stayed asleep until we were at our gate. It was hard to see the foster mothers and the separation they were experiencing. We were a part of 6 families that left the agency with their children. There were tears on both sides. Then Dr. Kim prayed for all of us. He's said this prayer probably hundreds or thousands of times and multiple times a week I'm sure. But he still teared up as he prayed. Then he went around and put his hand on each child, and there were tears running down his cheeks. He's really an amazing man with such an awesome heart. I feel so honored that we were able to meet him.

Liv woke up at our gate and was smiling and moving around (ps - the carrier I got is awesome. Liv loves it and will sleep or look around.) Overall, she did amazing on the plane ride home. Thanks so much for praying for us. The Lord was definitely with us. We fed her her bottles, then she's squirm around (we ended up in seats in the middle with people behind and infront of us; so there was nowhere for her to go) and after fussing a little and then would sleep. She took a few 2 hour naps which was great. She got the fussiest when it was her bedtime. She just fights sleep. It took an hour + to get her to sleep. And a random grandmother came and took her for awhile. (not uncommon - the nice man next to me had an 18 month old and held Liv a few times, and the flight attendants walked and held the other babies as well). So Liv finally fell asleep and slept 'til we landed and got off the plane. She probably would've slept longer, but I thought I should change her diaper before we got through customs which was a long line. So she woke up again and just snuggled in her carrier. We got through customs and were now in America! The rest of the way home she'd fall asleep in one place and wake up in another. I was concerned how she'd do in the carseat cause (as far as I know) she'd never been in one before. I'm assuming they don't drive much in Korea, just walk and take the subway. So she fussed getting in, but then did fine once carried her and moved her. She fell asleep on the way to Cory and Cindy's and again on the way home. We woke her up at home so she'd maybe sleep a little longer. So we gave her a bath and got her jammies on. Then we got the meltdown. I think this incredibly long day with so many new and different people just got to her. She went hysterical, just screaming. I felt so bad. We got her calmed down and back to sleep. Then she woke up hysterical 2 hours later, I had just fallen asleep or was almost asleep but now definitely awake again. So she just screamed. But the good thing in it was that she wanted to be held. I tried a bottle and that seemed to start calming her down. After that she slept for 2 - 4 hour stretches... so we did too :). She got up at 9 this morning (she's in her pack-n-play in our room). And we went to get her, and she just smiled and reached up to be picked up. Also, she shipped an overnight package which she hadn't done yet (our term for filling her pants). Then she shipped another package this morning. So things are moving well :). We had breakfast and gave her rice cereal which she ate just fine - again, not sure how she'd do in the high chair but did great. She went back to sleep at 11. So in an effort to obey the "new baby rule" to sleep when they do, we all took a 4 hour nap!

Again, I just can't believe how well she's doing. She knows both Aaron and I and will crawl to us and reaches to be held. She's a little cuddle bear and will snuggle into us. She's very observant and looks around and studies things intently. Her favorite toys so far have been paper and plastic cups - so glad I packed so many others! :). She's just a sweet baby. She smiles easily and seems to adapt pretty well. She's just awesome and so darn cute! It's been such a blessing how smooth things have been so far. Now that we're home we're going to try to lay low to help her adjust.

Thanks so much for praying for us and for your encouragement and sharing in our joy. It's been so good to have her home. It's been apparent that the Lord is helping all of us and giving us strength and connection to each other. We'll continue to keep you posted. We love you!