The Moms and our nephew Blaine:
Out for lunch to Carbon de Palo with Isabel, just before I left:
And last, love at first sight:
Ok, so we're home. We've been asked (multiple times- sometimes nicely, sometimes almost threateningly) when we're going to update the blog again. So here it is! I'll try to run down the last 3 weeks, and give you the 10,000 foot view with some details here and there:
The Saturday that everyone came home was "interesting", to say the least. When we left off last, Beck had received the letter from me allowing Ally to leave Colombia with her, blogging about her flight into Detroit, and sending out thanks to our moms, her smoking-hot husband (the sisters-in-law are gonna love that one!), family and friends, Jen from Minnesota, and our "helpers" who have made a huge difference for us.
So my Saturday started off fine: mowed the lawn, cleaned (and re-cleaned) the house, and just tried to make sure everything was ready (read: clean, put away, and halfway looking like Beck would like it) for "The Arrival". I met up with my family in the afternoon, and off we went to Detroit. And then it got interesting.
Around the Portland exit on 96, Dad got a phone call. At this point everything seemed to be going smoothly, so we didn't want any stinking phone calls. Phone calls now were not good, and this one wasn't good. Mom was calling Dad to let him know that Beck was in immigration with Will and Ally, and it looked like they were going to miss their connecting flight from Atlanta (they flew to there from Bogota) to Detroit. Ugh. I had a feeling that the flight itself from BOG to ATL was going to be ugly for Beck with the kids (I nailed that one! But we'll leave the details out). So we (my fam and me) decided to wait it out at the Lansing Mall (or whatever it's called). We tried to get some food so that it would take our minds off the situation, but that didn't work. So we walked around the mall for what seemed like hours, just window shopping. Nope- that didn't work either. Finally we got a call from Mom saying that they were cleared, and they would have to catch the next flight out. So they missed their first flight, but thank goodness there was another one to DTW after that one. They got on that one and arrived a few minutes early into DTW. Hallelujah!
It was only 2 weeks that I was separated from my family, but goodness gracious did it feel like years. What a beautiful sight to see my 3 favorite people walk out of the elevator and smile at me; our new lives on US soil were beginning.
The ride home was uneventful (thank goodness); Beck and I talked and held hands most of the way and caught up while the kids slept. Man, it felt good to have them back.
So now we're settling in nicely, and thank God- Will is an absolutely GREAT sleeper! He's been averaging 11-12 hours every night, along with 2-3 hour naps in the afternoon. Why he was such a stinker in Bogota I don't know, but you can certainly tell he's doing much better now. The boy eats like every meal is his last- and he's got the belly to prove it! He's certainly healthy, and now is even walking for stretches of 15-20 feet.
Ally and Will are getting along wonderfully. He cries every time she leaves to go somewhere, and he follows her around like a puppy. It's too cute, and she loves on him like crazy. She's a GREAT big sister, and he loves to have her around. Ally is now back at school for a few weeks until summer break; she's doing great as Will is.
(A cute vid of Ally teaching bad habits)
As Beck mentioned on her last post, we have so much to be thankful for, and so many people to thank. I wanted to quickly run down a list of those that have really helped us out the last few weeks and months:
The Moms (and Blaine!): What a huge, huge, huge blessing it was to have you guys there. Never could've done it without you. NEVER.
The families: Thanks for the support, to Sawyer and Lands for watching Alex for Ally, for the trips to and from the airports (especially to my Dad and JT- they know O'hare like the back of their hands now), and for skyping so we could stay sane.
Friends: Many of the emails came at perfect times. It's tough to be gone for so long, and your many notes of encouragement made it possible to push through!
Sue Dykema: Without Sue, Beck would not have made it home on that Saturday. She went above and beyond for us those last 2 weeks, and without her direction Beck might still be there. Just kidding, sorta.
Sarah Zuidema: Sarah is our Bethany rep from Holland, and she has been instrumental in bringing Will into our lives. Many thanks Sarah.
Isabel and Carmen: Without you doing what you do in Colombia, many families in West Michigan and throughout the US would be empty. Thanks for your tireless efforts, all in the name of the children, for all these years.
Hotel Paris: Katya, Juanita, Valeria, Guillerma, Herman, etc. Thanks for keeping us fed, our rooms clean, and a great place to stay.
Hotel Las Palmas: Thanks to Juan Carlos Meyer for an enjoyable stay. I would recommend the hotel for anyone with a small family!
Jen (Papineau) from Minnesota: Thanks for keeping Beck's sanity for her. You were awesome to be there with, and we'll be praying for you to get home this weekend (for those of you reading this, Jen is STILL there. She was there a week before us and ran into some issues. Please pray she makes it home soon.).
Hoekstra: They were great with me being gone so long from work. Most employers wouldn't do that. Thanks!
The Donors: We still don't know who you are, but you have no idea the help you've given us. It's made a huge difference for us, so thank you.
Our church: The prayers were certainly felt. In a church the size of ours, it's rare to see a close knit group of people who care so much.
Pastor Daniel Bud: Thanks for the cards, calls, and meals (every Dutch man likes free food!). Your support was incredible. Thanks again.
Pastor Ron Kool: Thanks from Hoekwater Family Dentistry. Ally has 18 cavities from the 5 lb bag of candy you gave her before we left. I have paid for their ALL of their kids to go to college now :). All kidding aside- thanks for all the offers and support you've given. And Ally is happy to be home too- she talks about you all the time and tells us how much she likes to go to church and see you. To get more candy.
Beck- you were a TROOPER down there. I saw strength like I've never seen from you, and I'm blessed to be your husband. Thanks for being a woman of faith and an incredible mom.
And most importantly, God. He's known from the dawn of time that Will would be placed in our arms. How blessed we are to have Him leading us down the path of adoption and parenthood, and to have Him lead us to the two children who are perfect for our family is just unthinkable. I think I mentioned it in Ally's Caringbridge site when we went through her adoption, but once again God gives us exactly what we need when we need it. We thought we had a chance to go back to Colombia this year, but not this quickly. Adoption has been so much more than we ever thought it would be, and now we have TWO beautiful children who are ours. I have to admit, oftentimes I have questioned some of the paths God has put us on. If you would have told me 10 years ago that our family would be what it is today, I would have thought you were crazy. But then, once again, time after time, He reveals His perfect will (no pun intended) for us. So why is it that we think we have to be in control? Every time we try, He reminds us who's in charge. And so we thank Him for humbling us, and for blessing us in so many ways.
So that leads to The Future. What does it hold? Honestly, we don't know yet. At this point, we're just thankful to have everyone home and get back into a routine. Ultimately, it's God's timing, and we don't feel like we're done having kids yet, but it's difficult to say what we're going to do. Well, maybe we do have an idea, but you'll just have to wait a bit longer until we tell you...
From the USA, with love. To all.
Scott, Beck, Ally, and Will
