Looking Back...

WE MADE IT... One month to the day, and we our back home in Montana. Friday was a very long day for various reasons. Looking back, I have very different emotions, most of which are positive. I won't kid you, Tracey and I are pretty exhausted. Living out of suitcase's for a month is not an easy task. However, it is all worth it. To get off the plane and come down the escalators and see the smiling faces of Ruben's sisters at midnight made it all worth while.
The first thing we did is go through a drive through and eat a late american dinner. Our day on Friday started by getting up at 4:45 am in Bogota to be picked up at the adoption house at 6:00am and off to the airport with Andres. We made it through ticketing, and 2-3 more screenings and we lifted off at 9:30 am. The first flight was suppose to be the easiest, but 4 out of 5 hours was spent with Ruben screaming, restless and wanting to get down and run on the plane. One hour he slept in Tracey's arms. We landed in Atlanta and to hear people speaking in english was incredible. We were told that we needed 3 hours for immigration and customs. However, we made it through in less than an hour and had plenty of time to eat lunch at 4pm and catch the connecting flight to Salt Lake at 7pm eastern time. This flight went good. There were about 4 other babies and toddlers on board. All of us were in the back of the plane. Coincidence? I think not. A family behind us were returning from Alabama with a 7 day old baby girl they just adopted. Ruben did great, he flirted with the girls and ladies on board. We landed in SLC with one hour to hop into a different terminal and catch our last flight home at 10:00pm. No time to eat dinner. We got on board a small plane. As soon as we took off, a slight change in odor presented. At first, we thought it was the guy behind us that drank pretty heavily before boarding, but it didn't take long to realize that all the cherrios we gave Ruben decided to leave him. We, and the rest of the plane waited it out and we landed at 11:45.
I didn't blog yesterday, mainly because we were just exhausted and just spent time visiting with family and letting Ruben get to know his new surroundings.
I think my brother said it best, "to think what a life Ruben would have had in Colombia, versus the new life and family and opportunity he will have now, is amazing". It makes you wish you could help others, and hopefully there will be other families doing the same. Tracey and I have been asked a lot in the past, and maybe even in the future," why don't you adopt kids from America". I hope some of those people can see the pictures and conditions that Ruben left behind, and realize that it doesn't matter what color your skin is, or what money you come from. We are all human and start out with nothing. We are very fortunate to live in America, where opportunites and rights are easier for us to obtain, because of the surroundings around us. Tracey and I have not been any happier in our lives, then now. To see Ruben's big eyes light up today at his sister's cheerleading during a basketball game was incredible. It's like he was in a trance staring at all the lights, kids, and balls. You could just tell that he is going to be very happy in his new life.
As you can tell from the various posts. I took a lot of pictures. I added a few of various places and events. I will add a few more tomorrow.