Alive and well in the great state of Arkansas!

Just wanted to let everyone know that we are home! We made it home about noon on Friday. Our trip was essentially uneventful thank goodness! Olivia did really well on the trip. She slept a good part of the time. She did much better than we thought she would. She even tolerated the car seat on the way home for about 30 minutes. Then she screamed the rest of the way (another hour of so.) Considering she has never been strapped into anything in her life, I think she did pretty well. It was all we could do to drive (sort of) the speed limit. We were so beyond ready to see Jake as you know. Judy and Don took the rest of the afternoon off so they could be home with Jake when we arrived with Olivia. I'm not sure I can even put into words what it was like to see him after being gone so long. Mike was getting Olivia out of the truck and he - being the most wonderful husband in the whole wide world - let me go into to see Jake first. Judy and Don opened the door and there was Jake bundled up in his coat. The most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life. Oh my goodness. He had a huge smile on his face and he said, "Mommy?" Like he just couldn't believe that I was actually there in front of him. He ran into my arms and I picked him up and he hugged me so so tight. I just held him as tears welled up in my eyes and he put his hands on my cheeks and just looked at me in amazement. He really couldn't believe his eyes. I was certain he had grown at least 4 inches. He's enormous compared to Olivia! I didn't remember him being nearly that heavy! He was definitely a sight for incredibly sore eyes. I've never in my life been so thankful to be home. Finally - a family of four - and very much complete.

Jake was also incredibly excited to see his Daddy as you can imagine. They are best buddies. Jake says he's Daddy's hunting buddy, and my sugarbear and baby. He's the sweetest thing! He was thrilled to finally see Olivia, too. He has been the best big brother! He's been even better than I could have imagined. He helps her do everything. He even gets her toilet paper when she uses the potty. It's so cute. I am grateful to say she also likes him, too. That was of course a big worry of ours. Jake has been our only baby for 4 years so we didn't know how he would react to suddenly having to share his parents and we didn't know how she would react to having to share them, too. We have devoted 100% of our time and attention to her the last 2 1/2 weeks, so we weren't sure how she would like having to share that time. They've both done great. She and Jake just play and play and run all over the house. I was so worried that she would be clingy when we got home and never let me put her down, but she's being doing awesome. The only times we really have problems is with sleeping. That's a big big big big issue. I'm not sure what we're going to do. She's sleeping in the bed with us but she flys all around the bed and wakes up crying - often screaming - all through the night. She absolutely positively refuses to lay down without me there with her and she doesn't like it then either. Time. It will all come in time. I have to keep reminding myself of that.

As I speak she is peeking around the Christmas tree trying to see our cat, Crookshanks, as he hides from her. She was absolutely terrified of the cat for the first two days, but he's growing on her. She even meows at him now. It's very cute. A lot of people ask me if she likes her room and oddly enough I think she prefers Jake's room! She loves Hot Wheels of all things! She and Jake have had so much fun playing with cars and riding in his big dump truck. I can't wait until it's warm enough for them to ride in his gator outside or on his motorcycle. It's been in the 30's here since we got home. Very peculiar weather! She also has a baby doll with a blanket that she has started playing with. She lays the blanket out and lays the baby on it. This is what they do with the babies at the orphanage. I'm glad to see her taking such good care of her baby doll. I think that says something about how she feels about the care she received herself as a baby. Perhaps I'm reading too much into that, but maybe not. Who knows.

Jake's 4th birthday is this Thursday! He's having a Lightning McQueen party and he's beyond excited! I can't wait. He will have such a fun time. This is my favorite time of year. Jake's birthday and Christmas. Now if I could only get over this wretched jet lag, I'm sure I could properly enjoy it. No doubt many of Olivia's sleeping issues will get better once we figure out when night and day are again!

That's about all the typing I can manage this morning. I'll do my best to share some of our unsual and amusing Vietnam stories in the coming days. I have to take the lap top up to our dear friend Cori who loaned it to us so he can get our pictures off of it and onto a disk so I can share them as well. A plug for Cori here - if you live near Magnolia - call the Computer Dr. if you have any problems at all. He's a genius when it comes to computers.

Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to adjust as a family. It will be a long bumpy road, but I have no doubt the destination will be worth it. Thanks for all of the prayers while we were gone. They were definitely felt!