North Carolina: The Whirlwind Tour

Well, a little over 2 months ago we landed on Planet America once again.  My parents greeted us in Washington, D.C. with very ready arms!  We were blessed to spend the night at my aunt's house, though sadly too tired to remember to take any pictures.

A lot of people have asked me how Nadia did traveling from Russia.  I think for a 3 month old she did quite well.  From St. Petersburg to Moscow she hardly cried at all.  From Russia to New York, a 9 hour flight if I remember correctly, she did fine until the last 3 hours.  Then she cried off and on, especially at landing when I couldn't do as much to help her.  She slept all of the hour flight from New York to DC, which was nice.

The car however is another story all together.

Here are a few shots from our time in NC, though I must confess that jetlag has greatly affected my memory, and I don't remember everything we did!

Grandpa got to meet Nadia and started getting to know her.  Naturally, it was love at first sight!

Isaiah and Grandpa have always been good buddies.  They seem to understand each other pretty well.  For instance, they both enjoyed sitting on the front porch watching the cars go by.  As a car went out of sight, Isaiah would very loudly yell, "Thank you!"

My grandmother now has 2 great grandchildren.  We enjoyed lunch with her at the nursing facility where she lives.  

I would appreciate your prayers for my grandma.  Since our time in NC she has dramatically and quickly declined in health.  She spent about 2 weeks in the hospital and has returned to her nursing home under hospice care.  Please pray for her to know the Lord!

Our time in NC included a little jaunt into SC.  Thomas was able to hang out with our friend, Nathan a little bit, and the kids and I got to relax with the prettier people in Nathan's family, well two of them at least, I can't forget about Maria who was working hard with my parents in Atlanta!

And what's a trip to NC without a little shave with Grandpa?  Oh, and here's a funny story:  In occupational therapy Isaiah's therapist will use shaving cream to get him to draw things and use his hands more.  He saw the shaving cream and said, "Grandpa!" right away.  He remembers!

Nadia also got to meet my grandpa!

And my cousin Robin was determined to love on her newest cousin despite the pain in her shoulder from a recent surgery.  Yep, she's dedicated.

I particularly enjoyed introducing Nadia to my home church.  She got to meet all kinds of special people the Sunday that we were there.  Being back at Beacon is always a treat, but this Sunday was extra special, since I could "show off" my little girl!

Nadia started rewarding all of us with smiles on a much more regular basis, which made everyone's day!