Home!

Its taken a few days to gather our wits about us, but we are, actually, at home. The flight from Dubai to Houston lasted three and a half years. Including our ground wait at departure it was only 18 hours, but those were long hours! We had visited the Emirates office twice in Addis Ababa to confirm our seating for our flights. They had given us the next to last row, which was no problem since we were together. Imagine our surprise when we boarded to find that we were all in middle seats on different rows! We talked to the flight attendant (and asked if he was going to take care of Bereket on the flight!) He picked a center section and asked other passengers to switch with us. Three were very gracious about it, but one man was not giving up his aisle seat. He may have regretted it when Bereket was standing next to him, looking across the aisle, shouting “Dada.” The boys again did remarkably well, given the circumstances.  

We landed in Houston where both sets of parents met us along with the Seays, who have two children from Bright Hope. We spent the night with Darcie’s family and flew home on the first. Bereket fought sleep on that whole final leg, finally giving in as we started our descent. It was such an encouragement that so many of you came to the airport on New Year’s Day. Bereket actually slept through the greetings, through the drive home, and finally woke up at our house. It was the equivalent of the middle of the night for him, and that was one of our toughest times yet. We had dragged him to so many new places with so little sleep, and he had a pretty good meltdown. We were all able to pull it together, though, for a good day and a good night’s rest.

Bereket had two very pleasant surprises about the Raines’ household. The first was that we have two dogs. His face lights up around them with excitement tinged with a little fear. This morning he worked up the courage to let Phoebe give him a “kiss” on his hand. The second big surprise was the garage. He just can’t get enough of looking at our “Beep beep’s.” We haven’t gone for a ride yet, but he loves climbing into the backseats of our cars.

I’ve wondered in these first couple of days how many times parents say “no” to their children in the first 21 months of life. I think a conservative figure might be 5 “no’s” a day--probably not so many in the first year but really accelerating past that after 12 months. If that’s the case, 21 months would be 3200 “no’s.” We’re fitting those in a couple of days as Bereket’s exploring every cabinet, drawer, and door and picking up every item! I’m so glad we have a playroom which can be a room of “yes’s.”

We’re doing well and getting to know each other better every day.