Home at last!

All is right with the world, and we have our family of five under one roof!  Allison continues to amaze us with her adaptability.  She has settled right in.  When we landed in Richmond, she took off toward her brothers like she has know them her whole life.  She took Aiden's hand and didn't look back.  It was a moment we will never forget.  The boys are so proud of their little sister, and she already idolizes them.

Our first challenge has been helping Allison switch her nights and days because she is used to being 12 hours ahead of our time.  She slept three hours the first night and was up and ready to check out all of her new toys.  When she saw her bedroom she was so excited but didn't understand that its contents belonged to her. She asked if the play jewelry was Grandma's.  It was so cute to watch her come to the realization that it is all hers.  Night two expanded to four hours of sleep and two very drowsy parents.  By last night, night three, she slept eleven hours in her bed, on her own!

We came home to the best weekend with all four grandparents here with us to celebrate Father's Day and Allison's fifth birthday.  The boys helped show Allison how to open her presents, and she caught on very quickly.  The kitties and "puppies" are her main focus right now, but she is quickly getting better around them.  The poor animals were so happy to see us come home and then Allison greeted them with shrieks of terror.  We separated them but only for a short time the first day.  She complained about them and kept her distance on day two, and then she touched them yesterday.  I predict that she will want McGuire to sleep with her in about a week.

We are so grateful for the help our parents provided us during our time away.  Our moms kept everything on track for the boys while we were gone during a very busy part of the school year.  We have been so humbled by the number of people we have heard from during this journey to our girl.  We were met with nothing but encouraging words and support throughout this entire endeavor, and it just shows us how fortunate we are.  We wouldn't trade our families and friends for anything because there are none better!

As we settle into our lives, we do so with a new appreciation of clean tap water, blue skies, and our family.