One Year Ago Today...

One year ago today GABRIELLA CAME HOME AND JOINED OUR FAMILY FOREVER IN THE UNITED STATES! The moment she landed on US soil in Atlanta, Georgia she became a US Citizen. One year ago today was the best day of my life.

Saying "Goodbye for now" to our wonderful "family" in Guatemala was bittersweet. My mother and I had taken five visit trips to see Gabriella in Guatemala over the previous thirteen months during the adoption process; each time we left to come home we had to leave Gabriella behind and it literally made our heart ache each time. This time she was finally able to come home with us and we would never have to leave without her again.: These photos were taken at the airport in Guatemala while we were waiting to board the plane to the US. Gabriella was finally on route to begin her new life with her Forever Family!:

This photo was taken during our layover waiting to take off from Atlanta, GA to our final destination in Boston, MA. At the point when this photo was taken, Gabriella was already a US citizen! We had already cleared Immigration and handed over the infamous Immigration "Do Not Dare Open This Package" package! (We had two of these packages.) Gabriella had slept the whole way from Guatemala to Atlanta. She was very silly prior to taking off from Atlanta and was having fun with the lady in the seat behind us. She was temporarily sitting in the aisle and was greeting EVERYBODY as they boarded the plane!

With a full belly, Gabriella slept the whole way from Atlanta to Boston.

We had a long walk from the plane to the Baggage Claim area at Logan Airport in Boston. We were so anxious to get there because we had lots of loved ones waiting to meet Gabriella. Despite the fact that it was almost midnight, lots of family met us at the airport to finally meet the little princess who they had been waiting for what seemed like forever to meet!

It was so emotional and everybody was very excited. Gabriella was very shy at first. It had been a long, tiring day and she had just landed in a new country with lots of new people, new sights, new sounds, and new scents.

While everybody was meeting Gabriella, she peed through her diaper all over me! I couldn't have been happier to be peed on!:

What an amazing day it was. This was the end of one long journey and the beginning of another amazing journey. I love you to the moon and back, forever, baby girl!