feeling complete

What an awesome day! I'm so blessed to have Alina back in my house! Thank you to all of you that offered support in any way. I couldn't have done it without all of you. :)

We waited for what seemed like FOREVER at the airport. They landed early...but you never know how long it will take them to come through customs. It was after 5pm before we saw her face coming down the ramp from "incoming international flights". I barely recognized her with her long hair down and not in braids. She HAS grown. She saw Steve first and went straight to him and gave him a HUGE hug. I was so close to crying....but I held it together. She was very quiet at the airport and for the ride to dinner. But it didn't take long (before we got our food at Fudruckers) for her to open up! :) It felt like we didn't miss a beat from where we left off last year!

She brought back her same suitcase that we sent her home with last year. It was SO heavy! We got home to realize 90% of it was GIFTS!!! Just like last year...she brought little for herself (a few pair of underwear, pjs, one shirt and 3 dresses). Not even a toothbrush. She even brought a gift for our dog! It melted my heart and made me sad all at the same time as she kept handing me stuff out of her suitcase. She brought a game (kinda like Bingo) for the boys and we played a short game before we took baths and went to bed. She was asleep by 10pm and I'm curious to see how long she sleeps in the morning.

My family feels complete again! :D