When I first met the Joy boy

We are together, all 5 of us, together! It has been months and months of dreaming and waiting for this day. And it is here. And it is beyond wonderful. 

On Thanksgiving day I received the call that Adam and his mom, Cindi, would be able to leave the Congo that night. So I was immediately on the phone with the travel agent trying to get them a flight home. It worked out that the only flight out that night landed them in Chicago the next evening for a 9 hr lay over, not leaving for Fort Wayne until Saturday morning. With some help from family members, I worked it out to surprise Adam when they got off the plane in Chicago. I booked a flight to join them on the last leg of the journey. My father-in-law drove me all the way to O'Hare. I can't even begin to explain how I felt on that drive. I knew I was about to meet Joyce. It was like I was in labor, months and months of loving this child, anticipating his arrival, knowing that life as I know it is about to change forever, for the better.  But this, this was different and exciting in its own crazy way. Unique and special- this boy God bore in my heart. I didn't have a physical connection with him until THIS day. This day was the day I would touch my son for the first time, hold him and kiss him. But I also knew the reality that for him- it has been a scary, anxious arrival. He was just ripped from the only people and country he ever knew, a beautiful country that we will forever cherish. It gave us him. I was hurting for him in two very different ways. Anguish and joy co-existing. 

It was so great to see Adam's face as he came off the plan and had no idea I would be standing there. Here are a few photos of that great moment in Chicago O'Hare Airport.