We were so thankful that the day had finally arrived to bring Holly home. We were up at 5:30 a.m. getting the girls dressed and ready for the journey home. After breakfast we caught the shuttle to the airport. We were not expecting another big airport adventure! Our flight was scheduled to depart at 9:20 a.m. When we went to check our luggage we were told that our flight had been delayed and we would not be leaving until 2:20 p.m. The next 7 hours was spent waiting at our gate and entertaining the girls. There were many people waiting for this flight including a group of young people from our hometown who had come to Guatemala on a mission trip. We enjoyed visiting with several of these young people. One of the girls from this group spent a lot of time coloring and playing with Hannah. Holly enjoyed her morning nap during the long wait. The airline kept a steady supply of sandwiches, bottled water, sodas and coffee available for all of us. Finally it was time to board the plane for Dallas. Both girls were really good on the flight. Holly slept most of the way to Dallas. After arriving in Dallas we waited in the immigration line. When it was our turn the officer took Holly’s sealed envelope and instructed us to follow him to a different waiting area. The immigration officer in this area informed all of us that were waiting to be patient because his computer had been down awhile and he was going to have to process all paperwork by hand. Finally it was our turn. After the officer had reviewed all the paperwork inside the sealed envelope he stamped Holly’s passport. She officially became a US citizen at 7:02 p.m. today. We quickly went and claimed our luggage and rechecked it. We arrived at the gate for our connecting flight home with only 10 minutes to spare only to discover that all flights to Springfield had been canceled because of weather. We would not be able to get a flight home until 5:00 p.m. the following day. They offered us an option of flying to Tulsa and then we would be responsible for finding a way to get home from there. We decided to take the Tulsa flight and take a rental car the rest of the way. While waiting for the Tulsa flight we tried to reserve a rental car in advance. But there were none available. We arrived in Tulsa at 11:45 p.m. only to discover that none of our checked luggage had been sent on this flight. We spent another night in a hotel room but without our luggage. I was very thankful that I had brought plenty of milk and diapers in our carry on luggage. The next morning we were still unable to get a rental car so our two oldest sons collected our van from the Springfield airport and drove it to Tulsa to pick us up. Holly greeted her big brothers with one of her charming little grins. She did pretty good riding in her car seat for the first time. Holly and Hannah both love cartoons and watched them on the DVD player in the van during the road trip home. When we got to Springfield we were able to pick up our luggage at the airport. It was so good to be back home even if it was a day later than what we had planned! Holly is a sweet baby and such a blessing to us. We give thanks to the Lord for this precious gift we have been entrusted with! We can’t wait for the rest of our family and friends to meet her!
From Our Home With Love
Ann, Tracy, Hannah & Holly
