We finally landed on American soil...one year ago today!!

                                                                    Ryland’s First Photo as an American Citizen

I remember this day so well.  Over the past year, we’ve had a lot of anniversaries…first day we met Ry, Court Date, Gotcha Day, etc.  But in my mind, this was the biggest date to me.  On this day 1 year ago, I finally felt relief.  I felt safe.  I felt secure.  I was so excited.  On July 21^st, 2010 we landed in America.  We brought Ryland home…finally.  No more doubt.  No more what ifs.  It was the first day of the rest of our lives.  As I think back and remember all the ups and downs of our journey, this was the greatest high for me.  As soon as the plane’s wheels hit the ground, I started to quietly cry.  Ry was sitting next to me, very excited and Dustin was a few rows in front of us.  I felt like 100 lbs of pressure, worry, doubt was finally lifted from me.  It was surreal.  We did it.  We really did it.  I was so proud of Dustin and I.  So proud of Ry and how well he was doing with everything.  SO EXCITED for our families to meet him.  Our years of dreaming, stressing, worrying, paperwork, and all the other things were over (well, for this chapter anyway) and it was time to just be a normal family…well as normal as The Stone’s can be…

The other side of this story is how many things Ryland has learned and embraced in just a year.  It amazes us and he is such an inspiration.  So, I’ll brag on him, for just a quick minute.  His English is amazing!  He is caught up at school and is so excited to go to first grade!  He is reading.  He can play by himself.  He can shower and get dressed (8 times out of 10 he even picks matching clothes and shoes that complete the look).  He can love unconditionally.  He’ll try any new food and is an excellent eater.  He has compeltely mastered all TVs, gaming consoles, cell phones, computers and iPads in the house.  He can be hilarious and it’s been amazing to see his true personality come out as he’s been able to communicate more and more.  He is open, loving, outgoing and talkative.  He’s inquizitive, smart and ridiculously cute.  He’s learned rules, boundaries and how to push them!

I’m a happy lady today (and a super proud Mama) as I sit here reminicing with a smile on my face.  What a great day!  So proud of you, Ryland!