Confused ... a bit ... but doing well.

When Jacob woke up on Tuesday morning, about 6 hours after arriving home in the middle of the night, he had a very interesting conversation with Josh ...


Josh (showing Jacob an Old Navy t-shirt), "Jacob, this is the American Flag."

Jacob, "Yes. I am going to America."

Josh, "Jacob, this is America. You are in America."

Jacob, "I am going to America to see my family."

Josh, "Jacob, we are your family. I am your brother."

Jacob, "I talked to Carissa and Lindsey on the computer. I am going to America to meet them."

Josh, "Jacob, you met Carissa and Lindsey last night, at the airport. You are in America ... "


Tired? Confused? Overwhelmed? A combination of all three?

For 9 months the children have said, "I am going to America, to meet my family." But, they have really had no mental image of what that meant. Now that they are here, it's got to be more overwhelming than they could ever have imagined ... they cannot even verbalize what thoughts have floated through their minds the past 9 months. What is America? What is family? Where are they? Who are we?

Despite the occasional confusion ... the last 2 days have gone well.

Yesterday, they spent all day outside, riding bikes and playing on our backyard fort/swingset (of course, they were all bundled up with warm coats, hats, and gloves, while our other children thought it was spring already). Jacob got a fun surprise, as he was "arrested" on his first day in America, when a friend of ours playfully handcuffed him and put him in the back of his squad car. The kids also got to meet a lot of our friends, as many of them stopped by for quick "Welcome Home" greetings.

Today, they started their homeschooling routine (which Jim had started with them the past 2 weeks ... yea Papa!). Then, Rachel, Sarah, and Hosanna went with me to the community college where Carissa was doing a final presentation for a class. (She had made a video presentation of the adoption, and thought that live props would be nice.) The students thought it was GREAT that the girls had come, on only their 2nd day in America. This afternoon, we took the kids over to church, to meet our Children's Pastor and tour Kid's Place. They were quite excited about all that our children's ministry has to offer.

And, tomorrow ... they get to start their homeschool enrichment classes. Jim and I are both back at work full-time (at the school), so they will be jumping right into their classes. They have lots of new friends that are thrilled that they have finally arrived, so I am sure that a very warm welcome is awaiting them in each of their classes.

Off to bed ... Mama and Papa will have a busy morning, getting all 7 younger kids out the door for school (3 older kids go to the community college, and 1 older "kid" actually teaches at our school). So, tomorrow begins some new morning routines ... the kids only have 1 shower to share ...