Finally...Posting from Home!!

We made it!! We're home! And how nice to be here. We arrived at our house on Saturday, September 4th, at about 8:45 p.m. After being awake for nearly 36 hours with only dozing on the planes and a 3-hour nap during our layover, we were so happy to get home to our nice, comfy beds. The bumpy landing in LA, combined with being very tired, challenged our tummies to maintain!! It's nice to be back on the ground.

We've been home for about a week now, and I think we are starting to get ourselves figured out a little bit. Geof is working part days so he can be home more. He will ease back into full-time soon. It's so nice to have him around while we are trying to get used to a new normal. Our new normal includes using google translate to communicate important ideas and instructions. But when Geof is around he's our translator! Our goal right now is to help Yamile learn English, and we accomplish that in many different ways. We say as much as we can in both English and Spanish. She watches a show that teaches language, and we read bilingual books to her. Of course, total immersion helps! And there are lots of little girls that want to come over and play with her, so we are trying to include playdates as often as we can. Yesterday, Emma came over for a rousing game of Uno, and today Kate is here for some of the same.

Considering all the huge, life-altering changes Yamile has just been through, and is still going through, she has been a real trooper. It's not easy to change ALL that is familiar to you and still have a huge smile on your face, but somehow she is managing to do that most of the time. She is an amazing girl, and we love her!!

Thank you so much to all of you who have read our blog and cared about our story. Your prayers, posts, and encouragements have been a huge blessing. We look forward with eagerness to this new chapter in our lives. Our love to you all....Geof, Lenna, Annalisa, Rebecca, and Yamile!