Better late than never...

I realized that I never finished the story of our trip. Our last hurdle was getting the Visa for Hannah. We were told that there was a possibility of getting a rude Serb who didn't like the idea of foreigners adopting 'their' children (even though 'they' don't want them). Were we going to have to jump through more hoops and not have the right paperwork, etc. I was still stressed out.
We went to the American Embassy and fortunately got a friendly Serb. We heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed we didn't have to deal with any issues on that front. The next hurdle was how long it would take to get Hannah's Visa. There were signs everywhere that said "Don't ask for an expedited Visa. We have no control over how long it takes, blah, blah, blah." We had hoped to change our flight and go home early, but we had to wait to see.
At one point during the paperwork, our processor excused himself and left for a few minutes. We didn't think anything of it. Then, instead of the same man, another man returned in his place. He was a young man who was obviously American as he said to us, "So, you're from Layton, huh?" What?! Dumbfounded, we replied, "Yes, and where are you from?" His reply - "Provo". Unbelievable. We ended up talking for a while and learned that his brother was married to my doctor's daughter. Ha ha! After we talked a little bit more, he got up and said, "I'll be back in about 15 minutes with your daughter's Visa". We just sat and stared at each other. And yes, about 15 minutes later we walked back out onto the streets of Belgrade with everything we needed to take our daughter home. Well, except rescheduled flights!
Thank you for returned missionaries who go back to the land of their service to continue to perform miracles for others. I will never doubt the hand of God in this entire adoption process.
So, instead of flying home on November 10th, we flew home on November 4th - 2 days after our trip to the Embassy. Our entire trip was less than 3 weeks, and our whole adoption process took 15 days.

Part II: The Trip Home

I think I've been avoiding writing this part of the journey because it was probably the hardest part of the whole journey. Seriously.
We got up at 4:00am to go to the airport. We flew from Belgrade to Frankfurt in a little over an hour and with almost no problems. Now for the hard part - a 9 hour flight to Chicago. Hopefully the kids would sleep most of the way. Yea, right. It was horrific. Keep in mind that Hannah wouldn't let John touch her, so I had to carry her and take care of her the whole time. She is very big and heavy. She has just been ripped from the only life she has ever known. She is on an airplane for the first time, not understanding why she can't get up and run around everywhere. I am so grateful for patient and kind flight attendants who let us wander around the back area, look out the window and let Hannah sit and lay on the floor. One attendant even came to us and said, "Have you received your ice cream yet?" and then brought the 4 of us bowls of chocolate ice cream. Nobody else got ice cream (in coach, anyway). There were times when Hannah screamed and pulled hair and hit and kicked and scratched and I thought I would not live through it. Please let all these tantrums wear her out to where she will sleep. That would be a 'no'. So 9 hours seemed like 19, and when we arrived in Chicago (Hannah instantly became a US citizen - hurray!) I wanted to weep for joy that we were back in the United States, and weep for sorrow that we still had 5 more hours to go before we got to Salt Lake City. I didn't know if I could do it. Thank goodness that Xander was an angel, but still John could have handled him.
For some reason when we went through security at Chicago they told us that Hannah didn't have a ticket. What was the piece of paper we had? They didn't know, but it wasn't a ticket. Oh my gosh. We had to go all the way back to a ticket counter and figure out the problem. Apparently they had to see her Visa, etc. now that she was in the United States. Okay, with ticket now in hand, we were off to the security line again. Fortunately, the agent told us to bypass everybody when we had her ticket and just come back up to her. It was great for us, but not for the people who were 'cut' in front of. You want to see grown people act like children, go to an airport. Anyway, we got on our flight to go home. It was a little puddle jumper that is 4 seats across. Hannah and I sat together but she was so tired she was delirious. I was able to get her to sleep but I had to hold her. My arms were asleep and absolutely killing me. I tried to move her to her seat and she woke up - screaming bloody murder. She hit me and scratched me and pulled my hair some more and wouldn't settle back down. The other passengers were trying to ignore it (nice try) and when she finally settled down and went back to sleep (me holding her), a man came up to me with his Tablet computer and asked if she might want to watch a movie. I told him she had fallen asleep again but I thanked him for his offer. I was so touched by his small act of service. He said he had kids and knew what it was like. It meant a lot to me and the reason that I mention it is because sometimes we think the little things we do have no significant meaning, but you never know how your kindness might be needed. It also took me over the edge of my sleep-deprived, exhausting journey. I started to cry and I sat there for the rest of the flight with tears streaming down my face. I couldn't wipe them away because I was holding Hannah. When we landed in Salt Lake City, I was still crying and sat there until the last person got off the plane. We made it. Perhaps a little broken, bruised, scratched and tired, but we made it.
My mom came to pick us up from the airport and we drove home. She took quickly to my mom sensing that she was a grandma (how do kids do that?). I wondered how Hannah would do in a car seat (fine) on the ride home and I wondered how she would do in a new bed in a new place. I was gearing up for another wave of tantrums. When we got home she walked (and ran) around checking out her new digs. Then we went upstairs to her room, with her leading the way. She instinctively knew her room and went immediately to her closet and checked out all her clothes and shoes. We let her get comfortable and then I put on her pajamas and put her in her crib. I stayed with her and held her hand until she peacefully fell asleep. She seemed to know that she was finally home.