Ecuador Day 69

So...this week has been absolutely crazy. I have meant to write about Flor and I's arrival home, but haven't had the time yet. Here is some of what we have been up to this week, just to give you an idea: doctor's visits, meeting with the school, phone calls, getting everything unpacked and put away, more phone calls, planning and having Jace's birthday, phone calls, more planning to go to Idaho this weekend for more partying, pictures, TB test, buying a new (new to us) car (more to come on that later... yes it is a big enough deal it deserves its own post!), shopping, did I mention phone calls? And this is without me being at work all week. Yikes for when I go back! I am looking forward to it, though.

So far, Flor has seen the pediatrician and we have met with the school to get her going there. We will have a big team meeting with multiple professionals from our local school, the school we think she will attend, and the district either Tuesday or Wednesday to see what will be the best fit for her. The special ed teacher at our school here has reviewed her records and said that she is very impressed with the services Flor was receiving in Ecuador. I was too. I tell ya, FHC is such a great orphanage.

We also took Flor to the Pediatrician and left with referrals for an infectious disease specialist, a pediatric ophthalmologist, a metabolic geneticist (to check on her fructasoria), and a community health place for children with special needs. I missed a call from the therapist from there today. I am not sure even what they do, but apparently they have a waiting list, so they must be pretty amazing. We also need to get Flor into a pediatric dentist, but that is going to have to wait for a little while. So, yes, the busyness will continue. But honestly, it feels so great to be doing things again and feeling a little more in control of my own life. It was so frustrating to my list-crazed, have-to-be-doing-something-all-the-time self to not be doing anything in Ecuador and to feel like I could do nothing to help ourselves there. So- bring on the lists! Oh, how I love lists.

That's not what we were talking about though, was it? How about a re-cap of our last "Ecuador Day", Saturday February 25.

Flor and I got up and packed our last minute items and then headed to the airport at about 8:30. Our flight was at 11:10, but I wanted to have plenty of time as I knew there would be an extra step in the process due to Flor's leaving with an immigrant visa. We had no problems checking in and getting our bags checked, but when we got to the customs area, the security officer was a little perturbed that I was leaving the country with Flor alone and that Devin wasn't there, since all the adoption documents say both of our names. I pointed out to her that the judge's decree stated that she would be traveling with just her mother and I also told her that I had Devin's Power of Attorney (complete with misspelled names and all) if she wanted to see it. She checked with her supervisor on what the judge had written on the decree and they let me through, luckily. Whew. One crisis averted.

I got lucky in that airport in that my ticket was drawn for both a luggage search and for a body search for explosives. Wahoo. We went first to the outside area where the planes were as the people down there were searching my checked bags, along with four other people who were unlucky enough to get drawn too. What it is with me, I have no idea, but this happened to me the last time I was leaving Ecuador too. Oh, so fun. I had Flor in a stroller and was also carrying a backpack as well as our two pictures that we bought in Ecuador (covered and taped together). The security lady leading us took us to a door and then nonchalantly said, "Oh and we will be walking down this flight of stairs here." No offer to help, nothing. I was just picturing myself struggling to either A) hold on to all belongings while somehow managing to get Flor down the stairs in the stroller or B) taking her out of the stroller and having one more item to hold on to while helping her walk down the stairs when a nice lady going with us to be searched volunteered to help me by carrying the front of the stroller down the stairs. Thank you,  kind lady.

After that search was complete (No, they didn't find anything for those of you who must know) we went back upstairs to find that I had been drawn for the second search as well. This entailed going behind a curtain and having an officer rub some paper type thing over my hands, arms, and legs. Odd. I asked him if was searching for drugs (this is how oblivious I am) and he very sternly said "No. Explosives." Right. Me and the poor 90 year old man behind me (who was very confused and kept saying "What are we DOING here??? What is going ON??") were definitely the most likely candidates to have explosives on us. Just for the record, I passed that test too. Look at me go!

We finally got through with the searches and were able to board our flight. This is where the fun ends. The flight was HORRENDOUS. Can I say that again? HORRENDOUS. Flor was on her very. worst. behavior. ever. It was tough. I had her next to the window and she immediately started wailing as soon as we took off. And her wail is loud. When she decides she wants to cry, she cannot be soothed. We have learned that the best thing to do is to let it run its course because trying to calm her down in whatever way usually just aggravates her. Well, being seat belted in really made her mad, so she kept slinking down in her seat so that the seatbelt was then nearly choking her around her neck. I kept unbuckling her, sitting her back up, and rebuckling her. Finally, she slid all the way through and landed on the ground in a ball. She wailed there for quite a while more, but I figured that was better as the sound wasn't carrying as far. The best part was that the man next to me just sat there and stared at me the whole time. No pressure to perform a miracle and make her stop, right? The flight attendants also kept coming by and telling me it would really help her if she drank some apple juice, despite my telling them over and over that she can't have apple juice. The poor man next to me finally volunteered to move seats to "give us more room" for which I was very grateful, for nothing else than to have him not stare at me anymore.

Flor cried for probably a good 2 hours before calming down. Yes, two HOURS. Poor people on the flight with us. I figure it is because her ears were hurting her so much due to the pressure. She refused her sippy cup, chucking it as far as she could every time I offered it to her, so there was really very little I could do from there. I tried sitting her on my lap to comfort her, but she didn't want that either. Oh, well. It's all done and over now. (Sidenote: That is one thing that is hard about this process. Flor's capability to understand is not such that she can be reasoned with, bribed, scolded, etc. like we can with Hallie. If it had been Hallie in Flor's place, I am sure we could have come up with something to encourage her to stop before two hours was up. But Flor, no. She is more like a baby in this way, but one who refuses to be soothed at times (likely given that she was not properly soothed as an infant and into the first few, formative years. Sad, I know.))

Alright, back to the business. After Flor calmed down enough, she ate lunch and then I laid her across the two seats that were now hers and tried to get her to go to sleep. I am sure I have mentioned before that the only way Flor can get to sleep is if she is rocking herself (a self-soothing mechanism that I am sure she came up with long ago). I laid her in the position she normally goes to sleep in, but she still didn't fall asleep. Oh well, at least she was calmed down and was able to rest some.

We arrived in Miami and went through customs and then had to have another special step before going to our next flight. We had to wait in a little room for quite some time while an officer of some sort looked through the big old sealed packet that Flor and I had been given in Guayaquil. We were then given back just her passport and told that we were able to go. Yahoo! Once we landed on US soil, Flor officially became a US citizen, which is so wonderful. She also retains her Ecuadorian citizenship, for those who wonder.

Our next flight was SO much better. Flor only cried the last 15 minutes or so, but that's because she was beyond tired and again wouldn't fall asleep. We had some very nice people around us who were talking to her, giving her magazines to look at, and pointing out the window to help distract her. That was nice versus feeling like everyone was just staring to pass on the message that I needed to quiet my child down.

We only had a short layover in Dallas and then boarded our next flight for good old Salt Lake City. It was during that flight that I started to feel a lot of overwhelming emotions. Mostly gratitude that we were finally here. Gratitude that this little girl that we have worked for and wanted for five years was finally home. That the whole journey was one big miracle and that we have so much to be grateful for. The journey was never easy and will not be easy still, but over all, I felt a sense of gratitude for the way it had all been crafted. It's a messy story, one with lots of ups and some downs, high points and low points, ugly times, and beautiful times, but mostly it is really a reminder to me that God is a God of miracles and that His plan and timing are amazing. I think this whole trip has caused me to learn more about myself than I have in a really long time, if ever. I thought I knew what to expect- and I did a fairly good job preparing myself for the reality of this situation with Flor. But, what has been most surprising to me are the things that I have learned about myself. I feel like my imperfections have been staring me in the face a lot during this journey. But, there is also good there. I am learning. This time has stretched me and pushed me. I have been through a lot of trying things in my life and this ranks right up there as one of the ones where I have learned the most about who I am and more importantly, who I need to be. I know that there is more of that to come here in the "real world" too.

Anyway, needless to say, I spent a lot of that flight thinking and reflecting on where we have been and where we are going and there were many tears shed. The last 10 minutes or so, I was so antsy just to get on the ground and to see my family again! Flor slept that whole flight, by the way, which is so great because she desperately needed it. We got in about 11:40 pm and Devin and Hallie were there at the airport to greet us. My cousin Sarah was kind enough to come sit with Jace so he could keep sleeping at home. Seeing Hallie and Dev was so, so great. Hallie ran right up to Flor and gave her a big hug. She was so excited to see her. I was sort of an afterthought, but I was okay with that. I was happy to see her excitement at seeing her sister. I won't go into details about my greeting with Devin because it will just gross you out since all it involved was a lot of hugging and kissing (Okay, are you sufficiently grossed out?) Oh, and he brought me flowers and a Flor a balloon that said "Welcome Home!" I love that man. Seeing Jace the next day was also great, though he did reject me the first little while. He was just confused, poor boy. Now he won't let me out of his sight and is super clingy. He remembered that I am his mama and he wants to be with me all the time, just like I want to be with him all the time.

The one bummer deal about getting home is that American Airlines lost one of my bags. It arrived the next evening at our house, though, so all is well. I was a bit panicked until it arrived, though, as I had stashed all of Flor's medical records, etc. in there. Note to others: Don't be dumb like me; instead always put all important records in carry-on luggage. Thank you.

Alright, that's enough of a way too long post. Here are some pictures.

Flor not sleeping on the first flight, but finally not screaming either. I was glad to take it!

loves between sisters

More loves. Don't worry, Flor's not mad. Okay, she was mad when I woke her up after we landed. She might just be getting over it here.

Anyone look like they have had a long day of traveling? Me Me Me!

Just cute. Their reunion was priceless.

And I just have to throw this in. Devin of course knows of my unhealthy love of Diet Coke, so he brought me one at the airport (It is NOT the same in Ecuador). My first reaction was, "When did they change the bottle?!" It is weird looking, yes? So fat and stuff. Apparently they haven't changed the bottle and my perceptions are just off. (I was gone for a while you know.) Other things that are weird? Driving, my huge house (okay it's not really huge, but it seems that way now), and hearing English all the time. Weird. All weird.