We're back in the USA!

It feels so great to be back! Let me just say that we totally felt your prayers on our long plane ride back to Portland! Mika slept a good 2 hours on the flight to Tokyo, and then on the 9 hour flight to Portland she slept 45 minutes. But she was totally content and had no meltdowns on the plane! This was huge! We were so afraid of her losing it and disturbing all the other passengers with her loud cry. So, thank you for your prayers...God heard and went way beyond our expectations!

Mom and Dad picked us up at the airport, and drove us to Robin and Dave's house (my sister and brother-in-law). Robin and Dave are incredible - we are still blown away that they took our 3 kids for the 2 weeks we were gone! I'm thinking they're going to get some serious jewels in their crown for this one! And, of course, we are all staying with them for the 5 days we have here in Portland- that's right, 10 people under one roof!

It was so fun seeing Mika meet Annie, Noah and Kiana for the first time! She loved them and they loved her back! Normally, Mika is pretty shy around new people, so were were concerned about how she would respond to the kids. But again, God moved beyond our fears, and has woven our family of 6 together (it still sounds weird saying that!). We were thrilled to see Mika put her arms up to Kiana to hold her - this means our eldest daughter will continue to be our family's babysitter!!!

Our biggest challenge and thing to pray for is Mika's sleep - or lack thereof. As I mentioned earlier, we had to hold her or put her in our bed to sleep in China because she cried so loud and so hard. Last night, she continued to cry and I finally got her out of her crib at 11:45 pm and tried to get her to sleep downstairs. She is an extremely fitful sleeper - I think she has sleep apnea. SO, I ended up holding her on the couch from 11:45 to 7:00 am - no sleep for me, but she at least got some rest. I was thankful to get her on this time zone the first night, even if it meant me not getting sleep. Rich was gracious and took over for me at 7:00 so I could catch some sleep.

This afternoon is the turning point when Mika will need to begin the process of learning how to fall asleep on her own in her crib. The girl can cry long and hard! Will you pray that she will be able to learn this skill and actually get some sleep? And would you pray that Rich and I would adjust to the new time zone quickly? I guess we'll be adjusting to a new time zone in Indy in 4 days...oh well!

Tonight we head over to Mom and Dad's for a late Christmas dinner -can anyone say prime rib??!!! I love the fact that our entire family will be together!

Again, we are so thankful for your prayers - it's extremely humbling and encouraging to know how much you care! Thank you!