Welcome to the USA!

I had a couple of requests to update the blog for a while after we're home, so here is an update.

On our last night in Poland, we were stopped by a police officer for jaywalking. While we were crossing the street in the wrong place, I was thinking of the story I'd heard from another adoptive family about getting stopped for jaywalking, and then when we reached the other side, a friendly police officer was waiting for us. An ironic twist.

He started talking and gesturing and I kept asking if he knew English. He gave up very quickly. Lesson: when in Poland, only cross the street in approved areas :). Oh, and not speaking the language is helpful a few times.

The kids were awake before five the next morning, though I talked them into sleeping for another hour. We finished packing, cleaned a little, then hit one last recommended place to grab a bit to eat, a little doughnut shop.

Then our incountry coordinator was there to pick us up at 9:30. We went over her invoice for her services. Then we were on our way to the airport. On the way there, her car started acting crazy. Bryan diagnosed an alternator problem. We hit every red light on the way to the airport as more and more warning signals showed up on her dashboard. Bryan and I didn't say anything, but we were both tense. Would we make it in time?

We did. Then we got in the wrong line at the airport (the one that didn't move), so we were afraid we would miss our flight. Finally, some guy yelled, "Hey, who's going to Chicago?" We jumped ahead in line, grateful to have made our flight. By the time we got to our gate, we had to wait about 20 minutes.

Once we got on the plane, I leaned over to Bryan and said (for the third time), "We made it." The kids didn't sleep at all on the plane, and other than using the facilities every hour, they did a great job. 

We landed, went through customs, collected our luggage, and took our precious folder with all the kids' info to the agent. (The envelopes were sealed and we were warned by four people NOT to open the envelopes. If you open them, you can't leave the airport and must go back to the other country. Which would be really annoying.) Once he processed the paperwork, the kids became US citizens. They will retain dual citizenship. And the US embassy lady suggested that, if we travel back to Poland before the kids turn 18, they should travel on Polish passports.

Then we waited for the grandmas to pick us up. On the way home, both kids fell asleep. And Roxy would sleep for 13 straight hours.

When we got home, David woke up, walked around for a bit, before falling back asleep.

Bryan and I tried to keep ourselves awake until 8:30 (3:30 am Polish time). I slept 4 hours. And David was up by 3 am. He was hungry, of course.

It was really fun to give the kids a tour of their house and the land. It's really different from what they're used to...not a McDonald's in sight! It melted my heart to see and hear the sound of children - our children - at our house.

Our house is a total disaster. I am trying to figure out where to put all their toys and how to organize their clothes. I'll also clean the floors...when I find them. 

They've been playing outside. Swinging from the rope in the hayloft, using our reel lawnmower, spraying each other with water (Roxy is on her 5th outfit already today), running through the grass, and playing with toys. 

We were told that there could be a honeymoon period of good behavior, followed by some crazy things. But they seem to be doing fine for now. We've had a few visitors. They are very shy at first (this is good!), especially with adults. 

We're trying to take it slow, but it appears that things are going to go reasonably well.