We are sooooo happy to be home. Thankfully, Mebira did really well on the flight from London. At first they didn't have 3 seats together and I was a bit nervous knowing that I wouldn't have Arvid to help. Thankfully, they were able to change the seats so that we could sit together and Arvid asked for seats right near the front so that we could hit the immigration line-up first.
We were seated and nearly ready for take-off when an elderly couple came in, the woman was in a wheelchair. The arm rest in the seat in front of us was not able to move up, so the flight attendant asked if we would swap rows with them. Again, some people may view this as coincidence, but I see it as another way God was telling me He would help me through everything. It was like a little gift and assurance from him. The row we got moved to was the first row behind first class...so we had nobody in front of her (she was kicking the seat in front of her so much the first flight), and no tray table to put up and down (it was too hard to get it out of the arm rest for her, and out of sight, out of mind), and she had her own TV but it was too far for her to touch it. There was more leg room for us, and a wall we could put our feet up on. But the best part was that we put her on the floor in front of us for her nap and she slept about 5 hours and we slept a good portion of that, too. Wow! What a blessing for all of us!
The rest of the time she watched Treehouse shows...the Wiggles seemed to be her favourite. She like copying their dance moves. We arrived about 15 minutes late, went through customs and immediately in the immigration line-up. Two people were being helped, and we were first in line. It felt like forever - probably 10-15 minutes before it was our turn, and then he helped us for a good 10 minutes. By the time we left immigration, there were 8 people behind us...they were in for a long wait and I'm so glad Arvid thought of asking to move us to the front.
We got our suitcases, went out the door, and were SOOOO thrilled to have so many friends and family welcome us home. We felt so loved and supported. Thank you so much to those who came out - it was a memory I'll treasure forever. Thanks also for not overwhelming her. Everyone did great at taking turns saying hi, and keeping a bit of distance so that she was not swarmed. I wasn't sure if she would be clinging to me or not, but she was so excited to see Grace and Elizabeth. We looked at pictures every day in Ethiopia of them, and were able to skype with them a few times. Every time we mentioned Canada we mentioned Grace and Elizabeth and she was more than ready to meet them.
After some pictures and greetings she did one of her favourite things...run. She ran in circles and had a whole bunch of kids right with her. It was so cute. Now I have to work on obedience so that she will stop and come when I tell her to!
Omi and Opi brought us a delicious supper (THANKS!), and we showed Mebira around the house. She knew which room was hers right away, and looked for the dolls that were in the picture. She looked in the other rooms and then started playing Barbies. Elizabeth finally has someone to play Barbies with her!
After a bedtime snack of cereal and banana (she LOVES banana) we put the girls to bed. They wanted to sleep together so we thought we'd try it. I'm not sure if I should still be sleeping with her, but we thought it wouldn't hurt....I hope. This way it's one less transition for her...but I really hope it doesn't hurt our attachment. Anyway, Mebira was REALLY hyper and loud and didn't want to settle. She's probably not used to having any dolls or toys in her bed (our girls will play for it a bit before falling asleep) so I had to completely remove everything and firmly tell her it was bedtime. They all fell asleep around 11, and woke up a bit after 7 this morning.
Arvid woke up early and got up by 4:30...I slept until 7:20. We all had some bread (she loves and is used to Nutella on bread), and the girls have been playing Barbies for over an hour. Our house is a disaster, but it is so heartwarming to see them play together.
I will post pictures in a day or two. Thanks for following along with us!
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