Halle Grace's Homecoming

I'll blog later with the details, but we're home and having a great time! Halle went right to sleep last night in her own bed, with a huge smile on her face. She slept until 8:30! Now she's playing guns and swords with the boys, while wearing a tutu dress, a big flower in her hair, and zebra sunglasses. She's in heaven, and so are we!
Enjoy the pictures, and MANY thanks to Amy and Dad for the great shots. Thanks for all the support and warm welcomes last night. It means more to us than you know! God bless!

Home Stretch!

Good news! Julie and Halle are in the air and headed to DFW. Their flight was scheduled to arrive at 6:25 pm, but it looks like it will be delayed. They sat on the runway in London for an hour and a half before taking off. I would expect them to arrive around 8:00 in Terminal D.

If you are planning to greet them, go to the lower level in Terminal D at gate D23. I’m told there is an Au Bon Pain wagon at that location just to give you a landmark. This is where all International arrivals leave the customs/immigration hall. I’ll send out another note if the time changes.

Also, I’m looking for two volunteers. I’d love to have someone take photographs and I would also love it if somebody could bring a video camera to video the occasion.

Thanks,
Scott

Quick Note from London

If I had known we wouldn't get out of here today, we would have headed to town for tea and crumpets with the queen! Poor Halle Grace has basically been waiting in airports for 2 days straight...and in for another day of it tomorrow. We'll be getting to the airport super early so we'll be first on the list for tomorrow. It's a nice airport, so that helps. The food is good too. Although, not cheap!

Our hotel last night was not as nice as the one we're in tonight, but our waitress at dinner spoke Russian (thank you Lord!), so it was worth it!

Gotta run - Halle is VERY sad at the moment and is wondering why we are back at a hotel and not seeing her "Papa" in America. I've been drawing pictures to try to explain it all to her, but I'm afraid she's not quite getting it. Then again, niether am I!

We're hanging in there! We are praying and believing that the Lord will get us HOME tomorrow. I can hardly stand waiting another day to see the boys. Love and BIG hugs to you, Grant and Garrett!
xoxoxoxoxo

Frustrating

I’ve got some very frustrating news – Julie and Halle will not be making it to DFW today. It’s a long story, but it looks like the same time tomorrow.

Change of Plans

Sorry, but we’ve had a change of plans. We’ve decided that it is too risky to go to New York. As standby travelers, I’m afraid they may get stuck there with all the flight cancellations we have been making.

So, they are staying the night in London and taking the London Gatwick flight AA 79 to DFW (non-stop) that arrives here tomorrow evening (Thursday) at 6:25.

And They're Off

Scott Posting

I've been on the phone all morning with Julie. Since Halle is still a Ukraine citizen, she has to have a special visa to transit through London or she must have a confirmed ticket beyond London to connect on the flight to New York. And since they are traveling as non-revs, they do not have confirmed tickets beyond London.

It took a lot of work (and thankfully, the flight to London was delayed), but they just boarded the flight and should be in London in about 2.5 hours. It was very stressful, but we figured out a way to let them onboard.

If all goes as planned, they will connect in London to AA's flight 141 to New York, arriving at 10:50pm. They are going to stay the night with Julie's mother at a hotel.

There is some more stress coming as you may have heard about a little issue that AA is having with the S80 aircraft. If all goes as planned, they will head to DFW on Thursday morning, hopefully on flight 731 from LaGuardia to DFW arriving at 2:10pm. However, they may have to get up very early if issues surrounding the S80 inspections make us worried that it will be difficult to get here.

Bottom line - if you are meeting them at the airport, stay tuned. It could be anytime on Thursday, but we are targeting 2:10pm.

How are orphans different from typical American children?

I thought you'd never ask! Here are some of my observations. I know many of you have more...

- they order salads at McDonalds because it's the only thing they remotely recognize

- they use breakable glasses and bowls with expert care (orphanages don't have plastic cups - no sippy cups either!)

- they brush their teeth in the morning and at night without being asked

- in the morning, they neatly fold their PJs and place them under their pillow

- they drink hot tea every morning, and sometimes in the afternoon as well. Halle loves the stuff!

- they can get dressed (including zippers up the back of their dresses AND tying their shoes) completely independently

- with an orphan, an escalator ride is a fun-filled thrill ride

- if you've bought an orphan ONE thing, they will continially ask for more of that thing, as well as for other things. Wait...sorry - I forgot the title of this post for a second.

- They will wear their shoes on all hard floors in the house. They have been told it will make them sick if their feet touch the cold floor (even with socks on). You will need to get them slippers so they won't wake you up clapping their shoes on the floor when they have to get up to go potty.

- they will eat raw onions and garlic, but they will not eat spaghetti (at least mine won't - she'd rather just have the tomatoes plain, thank you.)

- They will want to wear the same outfit all week long

- they might be more prone to motion-sickness. Every adoptive parent needs Dramomine and a plastic bag handy.

- You will never see a child more proud of her parents than an orphan

- orphans don't have baby books, mine doesn't have a single baby picture

- orphans are great over-comers. They have endured and survived things no child deserves.

- many don't know when their birthday is because they are often celebrated seasonally with all the "summer" (or other season) birthdays together. Some aren't even sure how old they are.