Landing

I had intended to do a day by day blog of our trip in Addis, but now that we have been home for four days, I realize that is just not going to happen. In summary, Ariel and I had a truly amazing time in Addis. I was trying to prepare myself that I wouldn't neccesarily love the girls right away, but I did. Ariel and I fetl close to the girls right away, and they called us Mommy and Daddy and our guest house (a little rental house for adoptive parents) was filled with laughter all the time. We also really enjoyed being in Africa - Addis is a very big sprawling, chaotic city, but everyone we met was lovely. Almost everyone fussed over the girls - and what new parent doesn't love that?
Our flight home was brutal - I don't want to see a plane for a long, long time. The girls did as good as can be expected, considering the 31 hour fly time. Extra special thanks goes out to my MHC friend Margaret who saved us from an 8 hour layover at Dulles by giving us showers at her apartment and taking us around to Reston, VA and Washington D.C..
Now we are home and the going has been a bit rough. Ariel is back at work, and I am on leave for another six weeks. Shukuri is doing wonderfully, but Hamda is having a bit of hard time. We are finding that she is really more like a two year old than a five year old, and is very needy. I am doing my very best to be very patient and firm, but it is especially tough with the language barrier. Today we spent three hours at the Dr.'s and the lab and I am feeling especially overwhelmed.
I am really looking forward to getting to see our friends again and getting life settled down into a routine. Considering all that is going on, all of the Biggerstaffs are doing well, but it taking a lot of adjustment for us.