Bringing Home The Boys: Sweet and Sour: The Past 60 Hours

The much anticipated Gotcha day was on Monday and we were so anxious to become a family of 5. We had no idea which boy would arrive first and were excited to see Caffrey was already waiting for us. The pictures are on our camera and so we will have to post the actual reunion another time. He was scared and cried most of the time we were there. Cavin arrived about 20 minutes later and began making friends with the american children and didn't shed a tear. Once all the initial paperwork was signed we were able to go back to the hotel to begin bonding. The rest of the night went really well and the boys enjoyed playing with the few toys we brought with us. Gibson did great keeping them entertained.

Day 2 with our boys was busy with a trip to sign and receive official adoption certificates for both boys. This 2 hour adventure was followed by a trip to get Caffrey's passport photo and paperwork started. When we returned last night we were exhausted but extremely excited to hear the boys asking for us to hold them and calling us mama and baba already!

Day 3(today) has been filled with challenges. We had to wake the boys at 6:30 to be able to take the bullet train to get Cavin's passport started and to visit his orphanage. The boys did well on the trip to the city but on the way back the early wake up and the fact that they both missed their nap made for a restless ride. Once back at the hotel it was too late to put them down for a nap and so we did our best to keep them busy by visiting the pool. Neither were huge fans, but they tolerated the water and even started splashing toward the end. Since both boys were tired we didn't want to venture too far from the hotel for supper so we ate at the hotel's italian restaurant. This was asking too much from our sleepy crew. Many tears and tantrums later we did finish our pizza and got back to the room for a very early bedtime also filled with tears.

We are so thankful that our only trip tomorrow is here in the city to visit Caffrey's orphanage. We should not miss naps and should get much needed rest. Living out of a hotel in a foreign city with children who do not speak your language isn't ideal but we know this part of the journey will soon be over. Please pray for needed sleep. Overall we are so thankful that both boys seem to be bonding to us well. Gibson too has been phenomenal and does all he can to make sure the boys are happy!

Here are a few pictures we've taken with our phone. Both boys have great personalities and their smiles just melt our hearts!