They have arrived!

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 We had so much anxiety and excitement for the boys to arrive! I could hardly sleep. Would we be able to communicate? Would they be too much? Would they get along with my boys? Both Hunter and Hudson knew their names and were regularly asking when would Nazar and Yuri arrive. Friday, December 17 finally came. We were asked to be at the airport by 9 am. The boys' flight from Istanbul arrived on time (9:55 am) but they did not get through customs until after 1 pm! Needless to say, we all were getting a little restless and my boys had been patient long enough. Thankfully there were enough other families waiting for their kids as well and they helped! Some wanted to hold Holden and some played with Hudson. It definitely helped out a ton! 

When they walked through customs, there were smiles everywhere. But my boys were also a little leery. I was wearing my mask so they could not fully see my face. But we had our welcome sign and had their pictures on it. We were all happy to meet and get on the road.

Thankfully, the chaperone explained to them that we had a 2.5 hour drive. So we got in the car and off to Iowa we went. 

Saturday, Dec 18 was the first full day with us. We spent the day at my sister's house. The kids (all of mine and my sister's) got along great! They played on the trampoline outside, played basketball (with their new basketballs) in the shop and did a lot of running! Both Yurii and Nazar can walk on their hands A LONG TIME! And all the kids were really impressed by this! By 6:30 last night we were all exhausted and even Yurii fell asleep in the chair. As soon as we got home, we got ready for bed and off to dreamland we went. Nazar and Yurii have adjusted well thus far. 

The day has not been without a few hiccups. The boys clean up after themselves tremendously well (probably a side effect of living in the orphanage). They are NOT fans of daily bathing (oh well - it helps that they see Hunter and Hudson bathe daily). They do NOT like milk. They have pretty flexible and will try mostly anything. They LOVE chips and want those even for breakfast. They did NOT want to shower and dress nicely for church today (that has probably been the biggest battle so far). But so far everything has been very nice and we have been so blessed to have them here!

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