The Moment

My heart was aching because Steve wasn't there yet!  He was on his way.  The security guard, who got a kick out of the two women sitting on the ground, staring at the glass doors, found a soft spot in his heart.  When the plane arrived, he came and told us.  Then, he told me they were back there and I could come back.  I so badly wanted those first moments on tape for Steve.  Man, I wanted Steve!  So, I told him thanks, but I would wait.  Though he had a soft spot, cameras weren't allowed back in customs, of this little private hanger in which we were the ONLY ones there at 2 am.  LOL

But then, I started pacing/hopping--weirdness.  It was late, and I wanted back there.  We had seen the way the crew was sliding the automatic doors back manually.  So, I did.  I totally looked like a law-breaker, opening the Do Not Open door!!  After about 15 seconds of waiting for Steve, I called out, "I changed my mind!"  They smiled, and motioned me back, and I left my camera with Mendy (the other mom.)

Just around the corner, Mike was holding Joshua and his little girl, Tia, and they were standing at a customs desk.  I immediately grabbed Joshua up, who was exhausted and in shock.  I just kept saying, "Thank-you GOD."  Over and over.  It was all I could say as I held him tightly to my chest and the tears rolled down my face.  I think I had the employees crying.

I pulled out his sippy cup of pedialyte and he sucked it back in 10 seconds.  I felt bad because I only had one sippy.  I had left the rest of the pedialyte at the hotel.   I did have a blanket for him though.  Mike had warned us that he had messed up his pants and lost them a while ago.  God bless him.  He hadn't had a bath since who knows when, and he was exhausted.  I'm not quite sure that he completely remembered me until I pulled out that familiar sippy cup.  It was the same that I had taken to Haiti back in October. 

A few minutes later, Daddy came back, and we just held each other.  I changed his diaper, we hugged Mike and thanked him from the bottom of our hearts.  He didn't have to escort Joshua to Florida.  He could have left him with the assurity that Joshua would come home soon.

From there, we load up the newly rented minivan, arrive at the hotel, and I scrub him down in the wee hours of the night/morning.  He left a mound of dirt in the tub!  Then, we cuddled off to sleep. 

A few things to mention:
--Joshua came home with a VISA.  Not humanitarian parole, as originally expected.  We were far enough along in the process, with the adoption decree complete and such, that the Haitian government approved his exit, provided a document for his "Haitian Passport" and the U.S. expedited his visa.  This is something we are very grateful for.  We know that the parole had it's own set of difficulties.

--The prayers sent up on our behalf were monumental.  The church NEVER stopped praying.  They were praying that Sunday I had to leave an emotional basket case.  They were sending out email updates with each piece of news they received from us.  It was amazing!  People were facebooking/networking/going CRAZY on our behalf.  It became so much bigger than us, and I still stand in amazement.  The whirlwind that led to this moment happened because of the prayers of the saints.  God saw fit to move in this way as people stormed the throne on our behalf.  Amazing.

--My sweet parents!  They did come to announce their plans to leave my mom with us for a couple of weeks and she totally took over the welfare of my eldest two children while this was happening.  For a fleeting moment, I felt like I was deserting them, but I assure you, I would go to the moon and back for the two of them as well.  They were in the best hands, spoiled rotten, and each time we talked to them, they were so excited to have us come home with their baby!

We didn't plan to leave Florida without our friend's little boy, though.  We had done all of this together.  We wanted to go home together.  So, we dozed off with the hopes of good news for their family in a few short hours.