Update - the shortened version.

I was informed today that I have kept many hanging without updating my blog upon our return. I have had the best of intentions, but as we are trying to get our bearings on this new life of ours, time alone to type my thoughts has been of the essence.

Here's the skinny.... it has been SO much better than we expected! Yay! Hooray! Three cheers for AWESOME!

I am not going to lie. Our time with her in Addis this last trip was pure hell. I sugar coated it in my posts, yes I did. I did not want to lure people into the complete panic mode that Husband and I were feeling every second of every minute of every grueling 15 days. You know it is bad when one starts to wonder just how much jail time we would actually serve if we were just to return her to the orphanage and jump ship, never looking back, and that if we got a sentence of under 10 years .... it might just be worth it. Of course we would not have, and truthfully these thoughts only ran through my head (dared not ask what Husband was thinking), but when you even think of doing something like abandoning a scared little child, then you know you have hit rock bottom.

But then somewhere in the span of the 12 hour delay in Dubai (after a flight that seriously should have had made an emergency landing to boot us and our hysterical kid off - details to come in a future post), something clicked within Y's head. I think she figured out that these pink people were the real deal, so why fight it? Or maybe it was our karma shinning down on us. I mean - anyone that knows our story knows that we have had to endure a lot of a lot to get our family, and we try to do good unto others, so maybe this was our payback? A child who has embraced our love and the gift of letting us embrace hers? Nice thought, anyhow.

And there it is. From that day forward, it has been 1 step back and 300 steps forward.

She was the golden child for the remaining 22 hours of travel. Thank God, because those 22 hours involved a plethora of goodies such as a stomach virus, rude flight attendants, a terrorist treat, and the desperate search for Tums (again, future post).

We have now been home for 2.5 weeks and this little firecracker has just hit the ground running with our family. She has firmly attached to me, coming along nicely still with Husband, and is becoming more tolerant and loving of her brother as the days pass. She really just seems HAPPY to be here with us. Each morning I wake to her leaning over my face with a big smile and an expression like Oh my gosh! That lady I am now calling mommy is still here! She really and truly is!  She averages only one mini tantrum a day - lasting no longer than 3 minutes. She sleeps like a dream, naps, and eats about all that is edible. Yes, she can be a bossy grump, but makes up for it in her cleaning skills, which she would take doing over any toy! Starting two days ago, she let me start leaving her with Husband for a short grocery run. That right there is worth more to me these days than a $1,000 bucks. She even participated in a Little Gym class! Granted, she looked through the glass every minute to check I was still there (which is a good thing - establishing trust), but despite not knowing English fully, she is a keen observer and did all that was asked from her teacher while participating with her group for a full hour!

The resiliency that this little one has to pull from to adapt this well to her new environment is outstanding, really. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and it probably will. Maybe. Little hurts from her past make themselves known here and there, so we will watch and wait and step in to help with the healing when needed. There also must be some grief in there somewhere of her losses and I do hope that she lets that out eventually.

In truth, this little one feels the perfect fit for our family and we think we might have won the jackpot.

I have many topics swimming through my head that I intend to include in future posts. These include:

1. Ethiopia. Addis to Dubai. Our experience. The hard-core truth.
2. Food and what that means to a child who has never had enough.
3. Dubai to San Fransisco. Mom's flight from hell.
4. Bonding - it's a two way street.
5. How to parent a 3 year old survivor.
6. Poop. And a smell that can peal the paint from walls. And what this means.
7. A little girl and her brother.
8. Stuff and what our daughter has already taught us about it.
9. Ethiopian food - who knew?
10. Attachment parenting and the path we choose to take... and that has made all the difference.