the Vegas update...

Greetings, friends. I greet you from Las Vegas, the city that should not have been, and some would argue should not be today. Nevertheless, here it is, in the middle of the desert, and here I am, within it's city limits.

In order to recap the last few days:

Tuesday - KCMO
4:00 PM Phone call: "We have a little girl, born yesterday...."

Wednesday
2 PM On a Southwest flight to Vegas.

Upon landing, I take leave of all senses and rent a Mustang convertable. It proves to be exhilaratingly fast and entirely too small for a car seat. Nevertheless, I drive it a while.

4 PM In a hospital.

We meet our little girl and declare her to be the best thing since boneless ice cream.

9 PM Racing 40 minutes across the desert to our hotel room.

Our room is, in a word, horrid. We sleep there anyway, to exhausted to fight with managment.

Thursday

5 AM We awake refreshed and immediately check out.

The Mustang's horsepower is useful on the morning blast back into Vegas. Kelsey chat's quietly on the cell phone in the passenger seat while I cross gobs of real estate in itsy-bitsy chunks of time. Lemme just say "the mustang, she runs...."

8 AM We feed our little girl 4 oz of formula.

She is tiny, but won't be for long at this rate.

Noon Realizing that a carseat won't fit, I take the Mustang back to Avis and plead ignorance.

Apparently, I am quite convincing, because they agree to swap it out with something bigger. Upon hearing our adoption story, they up the ante and - for no extra charge - hand me the keys to a Caddilac STS. It feels as fast as the Mustang, 'cept it's like driving your living room.

9 PM We leave the hospital to check into our new room.

It's an extended stay place that looks as if it could be cleaned out with a hose and cause no damage, but nevertheless is clean and much closer to town. Not sure if this last bit is good or bad.

Too tired for any more details, but thanks so much for following the adventure. Tomorrow, we meet the social worker, write a fat check* and get signatures for title, license, and all that fun. Then we wait out the Nevada and Missouri government's attempts at making nice with one another. Experts say it takes about a week. A week in Vegas with a newborn. Thank heavens there's so much to do here....

*Major thank yous to all of you who have helped us redeem this little life with your prayers and financial help. What has happened in the last forty eight hours is amazing.