On the 2nd Day of Christmas...

...My turtledove came "home"!!!! We are so excited and rejoicing to be bonding as a family (however sadly without Dad for at least a month or two yet).




Got the call from my attorney this morning that the committal order was ready to pick up around 10 a.m. Every day for the last like two weeks I've kept the house really clean "just in case" it was that day she came home. Today of course, the house was a mess so I figured that was a good sign:) Even though I've been preparing for this day for like a month, hearing my attorney say "Can you be here in 30 minutes?" made my head spin as I tried to gather the things I needed and pick up toys really fast KNOWING that Evolet was coming home today!

So we got the committal order and took it straight to the orphanage. I brought a change of clothes for Evolet since the clothes she was wearing belong to the orphanage. We chatted with all the kids for a while and made plans to go back to visit on Sunday. Evolet was all smiles!!! Here's a photo of her on the car ride home:

So we got home, had some lunch, put Josie down for a nap. Then Evolet and I watched VeggieTales while I spent 2 hours undoing her braids and I STILL only got half of them done. I want to just leave her hair natural for a little bit...play with it and see what it does.

So when Josie got up, they jumped on the trampoline. Evolet let out the most precious giggle. The trampoline is definately a big hit!!! She also can't wait to go swimming. She's been asking when we are going to fly in an airplane. She and Josie had their first, second, and third fight of sisterhood and parenting has taken on a completely new dimension for me...the peacemaker. I totally have expected this and have prepared by asking lots of questions to parents of mutliples. Game on!

This is going to sound silly because I know there's still SOOOO much adjusting to do, but honestly today felt like a pretty normal day. Evolet just jumped into our "normal" routine of life here pretty well. She was helping me with dishes, calling me "mommy", cuddling with me while we watched TV. She tries to keep Josie out of trouble (good luck:) It's like she really really belongs with us. Praising God for his all-knowing ways. I know there are struggles ahead, but right now I'm enjoying the perfection of it all.

She was excited to skype with Darren. When our internet connection got so bad that it disconnected, she said, "Hey. Put Daddy's face back up!" I know they'll have alot of catching up to do, but Praise God for skype. At least she has a visible live connection with him this way.

Once I finished on her hair (a total of 4 hours and she fell asleep while I was finishing it) she took a bath and went to bed. I hope she doesn't freak out in the morning and she remembers where she is! Maybe she'll also remember that I promised her ice cream tomorrow.:)

We appreciate your prayers on our behalf in our saga of beginning the foster process with Evolet. Please continue in prayer for the 3 year old we are still hoping to adopt. And pray as there is still much paperwork, court date, embassy...more hoops to jump through before returning home. I do feel like the process may be a bit more bearable now, though. Happy 2nd Day of Christmas:)