PhotoStream functionality vis-a-vis Projects

i am hoping someone can clarify something for me please.

i believe i have been confused about PhotoStream functionality and up until not too long ago /had/ thought that PhotoStream was simply a way to get your images to SHOW on various devices after having taken a photo on your iPhone. the way i envisioned this happening is that you simply turned on PhotoStream on your laptop and/or desktop and you were able to SEE your images that you took on your iPhone.

i understood this to be true to the extent that the ACTUAL IMAGE files were not actually put into your database until you /manually/ or otherwise imported them - at which point - they would show up in "regular" PROJECTS".

what i mean to say is that the images showing up in PhotoStream projects were actually just kind of mirror images that existed elsewhere on my iPhone (before they were physically imported to my Aperture Database) - or - they were just kind of "mirror" images of ACTUALY IMAGES that had previously been imported into my Aperture Database and that these resided in "regular" Projects. what i mean is that the images that showed up in PhotoStream monthly dated projects were simply showing me images that had been in this PhotoStream and was simply another way to find an image as opposed to it actually being an image that was imported into my database.

however, what i am coming to realize is that these images are actual images and may in fact be the only case this image file is in my database and they are NO DIFFERENT from the other images that currently exist organized in PROJECTS in my database.

basically, i am wanting to verify that if i want the old "regular Project" organzation of my files back that i need to SORT these images out of PhotoStream and put them into a "regular Project" and not leave them in the PhotoStream project.

does that question make sense and if not can someone ask me a question so i can clarify it? i really need to do a final sort on my database so all is organized.

thanks