We're home...and just as surprised as you!

Thursday night after getting the visa in hand, we called Michigan and confirmed seats we had put on hold with the travel agent "just in case" we could get Ellie's visa and be free to leave the next day (today)! It was a whirlwind from that point on as we hastily packed up our bags, wrote thank you notes to individuals who had been of assistance to us in Albania, and tried to clean the apartment that has been our home for the past month. At one point we lost power, but continued packing by head-lamp light! Fortunately Ellie is a heavy sleeper and was blissfully unaware of our frenzy which we finally quit at midnight to take a quick nap until 2AM.

Mandi picked us up at 3AM to take us to Rinas (the airport) and made a speedy trip thanks to light traffic. Though it was around 3:30 when we arrived at the airport, it was bustling! Our flight for Vienna left at 5.

The blur in brown (foreground) is Nathan pushing Ellie in her stroller to board the flight to Vienna

Ellie was a trooper and fussed only when hungry, wet/dirty, or tired (which was frequently since she seemed to have a knack for falling asleep just a short time before a transition. I couldn't believe this was the same girl who panicked leaving the orphanage to get her passport photos taken just a matter of weeks ago. The crowds at the airport didn't seem to phase her one bit! When we boarded our last flight to Cincinnati, she fell asleep before take-off and slept soundly the entire flight. When meeting the family gathered at the airport to meet us (we filled in Nathan's parents as to our plans), Ellie not only took in the attention with ease, she even gave out several unsolicited smiles! This girl knows how to start things out on the right foot!


Nathan and Ellie somewhere over the Atlantic

We would have posted our travel plans to the blog however due to Nathan's extended family celebrating Christmas together this weekend in Wilmore, we thought it would be fun to surprise them! We'll post photos of our homecoming later (they're all on other folks' cameras), but I wanted to close with a few more comments about today before I forget.


Various milestones in this adoption process have reinforced the reality of what we've been doing, but nothing compared to sitting on the airplane with Ellie in our lap and feeling the plane taxi-ing down the runway. I have to admit it was a little bittersweet. Probably because we wrapped up our time here so quickly and left earlier than originally planned, but also because this phase in the adoption experience is now over. It was a phase we dreamed about and planned for so many months. Now we're beginning a new chapter!

As the plane lifted off, Ellie stared intently out the window as the lights below got smaller and smaller and finally disappeared below the clouds. She had no idea she was leaving her homeland behind and about to assume new citizenship when her feet would touch the ground at Dulles Int'l Airport at 2:08 this afternoon! The image was pretty powerful. Albania has given us a priceless gift! There is no question that she will return. Even during this trip I was already making mental notes about the places we want to bring her back to, some day when she is old enough to understand and appreciate. In the mean time, we marvel at answered prayer and can't believe we're sleeping tonight in our own beds, home at last.