Coming Home

I am a little late on this post, but better late than never!

A year ago on April 15th was the day that we FINALLY got to come home!!

Let me start from the beginning. . .

We were planning on coming home on that Friday, the 11th, I think-it was going to be perfect. We would get back to Ft. Wayne around 5 and we would have a 'Welcome Home' party for Deacon at Mom and Dad Reinhard's, then we would go to the Loving Shepherd Auction on Saturday. . . .

But as often times goes, that was not God's plan.

All we needed was a simple phone call saying that Florida recieved the 'ok' from Indiana that we could leave the state. Lynn and I were torn as to what to do! We had tickets to go home, and were due to return our rental car, so we had to go to the airport anyway-so we decided we would pack things up and go to the airport and hope for the phone call. We waited, and we waited. . .

and the phone call never came. After tears of being let down, we refocused and reminded ourselves that things could be MUCH worse (ie. Leslie changing her mind. . . ). So we did what anyone would do in our situation-we made the best of it and enjoyed the beach for 3 more days! We rented a new car and headed back to the Holiday Isle Yacht Club. I called Harry, and told him we could not go home yet, and of course he said, 'It ain't no problem!' So we moved across the pool to another condo. Because we were there for so long, we had plenty of time to enjoy ourselves. I know what you are thinking, 'But you had a newborn!' That is true, but Deacon slept ALL the time-really! I think we visited every mall within an hour of us and we would just walk around and enjoy being outdoors. We also walked to and toured 'The Bonnet House'. That was very interesting to see! We ate out for dinner and had seafood, Italian, Thai, (and Italian again because their lasagna was FABULOUS!), and I think Italian at another place. . .

we were getting really familar with this part of Ft.Lauderdale!

Lynn, you must know just how much your going with us meant, to all of us. That was one of the funnest and longest sleepovers I have ever experienced, (and probably will ever). We had so much fun talking, eating, laying by the pool (her in the sun, me in the shade!)-Lynn even grilled for us one night!

Not to mention, feeding and holding Deacon which allowed me to sleep! We will never forget all those memories! I was truly thankful to be going home, and yet, I would miss our time together. We got the call on Monday afternoon, so we were right on the phone with the airline, and they got us a flight for the next morning, leaving around 6 a.m. and flying to Houston, Cleveland, and finally Ft.Wayne. Deacon was able to be in 2 other states, other than Florida, before actually making it home. We took pictures on the beach Monday night and worked on getting ALL of our stuff together-actually most of it was Deacon and mine:)

Tuesday morning came, and I was feeling bittersweet. We were off on our adventure home! We had to get one of those 'Smart Carts' for all of our stuff, and even still, it was overwhelming!

It was overwhelming for Michael and I when we came into Ft.Lauderdale, and now we actually had the baby that most of this gear was for!

Deacon laying on the folding tray on the plane!

I am a very analytical person and HAVE TO figure out why things happen. . . so, Probable Reason #1 that we were delayed from leaving Florida our regular schedualed time: Deacon and I were seated and waiting for take off and the stewardess was walking down the aisle checking on all the passengers, and she stopped at Deacon and I and said, "So you adopted him?" And I replied with joy in my heart, "Yes we did!" And she replied that her daughter was pregnant and going to give the baby up for adoption. I could tell by her tone and countenance, that this not only extremely difficult for her (of course) but that perhaps, until now, did she not completly support her daughter in this very difficult decision. Who knows? God, of course! But after that, I thought, "Ok Lord, that was our purpose of leaving later than WE had planned."

Deacon in HOUSTON!




Lynn, Deacon, and I before boarding our plane in Cleveland

Lynn held Deacon most of the flight from Cleveland to Ft. Wayne. We had all formed an even more special bond and I was going to miss seeing her everyday, and (I think) she was going to miss us and especially her special time with 'little Deacon'.

We were greeted at the airport by Michael, Brad, and my mom and dad, and John and Pam. It was an exciting reunion. That was the longest time that Brad and Lynn had ever been apart and the longest time Michael and I have been apart! We went back to John and Pam's to visit and share stories of our adventure , and of course for dinner!

Finally, everybody else had left and it was just us, 'The new Michael Reinhard Family' there, and it was time to go home! This was exciting and yet scary, because now it was finally Michael and I on our own. Could we actually do this!? Well, we did and Deacon is still with us, even after a year-so I suppose we must be doing something right! Praise God for our miracle-our CHOSEN ONE!