THE END

It has been a lot harder returning to a normal life than I ever imagined. A lot of unforeseen things have gone wrong. It is hard on our kids too but they are adjusting as well as they can. One of the first things I wanted to do when I got home was get rid of STUFF. I realized how much I can live without. The only possessions I missed when we were gone was the computer, books and the kids toys. I guess I missed having my own home too but not really the stuff inside it, except for maybe the beds, the bathtub and the fridge and those sorts of things. The amount of unnecessary stuff in our house was overwhelming, almost suffocating. I think we will have to have a lot of yard sales in the next few months. Another thing that was overwhelming was the amount of work that still needed to be done on our house, but that's a story in itself and not something I want to get into.
The best part about coming home was how happy the kids were about it. As soon as we pulled into the driveway, even before he went into the house, Liam ran to his best friend's house to tell him he was home. Ila and Mei squealed with delight every time they came across another of their prized toys; their stuffed animals, their princess dress-up shoes and necklaces, their fuzzy purses. I also enjoyed sleeping in my own bed again.
We have spent the majority of our time back just being with friends and family. So many people had babies. During Liam's easter break, we will visit some more. We are friends with a family that speaks Spanish and it has been fun being able to understand a lot of what they are saying. It is a good indication of how much we have learned of the language because when we hung out with them before we never had any idea what they were saying. We have no really big regrets about our trip and we are glad that we did it, for our kids' sake and our own. It was quite the experience!