There it is. We have been waiting over 3 years to have this picture taken. I was surprised by the emotion as we walked towards our family. It was so great to see everyone and be reunited with Calvin, Emma and Caden. They looked so big despite us only being gone for 5 days.
We were so blessed to be welcomed by our family. Jeb's brother Michael and Kristin and their kids made it to the airport as well. Gideon had the biggest smile and freely spoke to everyone. My mom said we have all been praying for you Gideon. We have been praying you home. He said, "Me too."
We are so blessed that he speaks English so well. I got to be a part of all of his firsts flying home. On the airplane before we took off he turned to me and put his hand on his heart and with a big smile said, "My heart is going boom, boom, boom." He was really nervous. The next two take offs were nothing. I also got to see the big smile and the giggle when a paper towell was dispensed with just a wave of his hand and when we stepped on the escalator and the people mover and in his first elevator. Jumping on the trampoline for the first time was fun to watch. Seeing him fly down the street on a scooter and watching his face as he slid down his first slide. Their have been so many firsts.
After 2 weeks home this is how I would describe Gideon. He is goofy, happy, fun and full of smiles. He is smart, kind and generous. He is a great sleeper! He likes to learn.
Here are some highlights. He has started a bag of snacks to send back to the orphanage. He had a reward of goldfish (which he loves) and he immediately ran over and put it in the bag. Cal and Emma made popcorn for a movie night and Gideon noticed I did not have any. He told Emma she needed to make mom some. She ignored him :) He brought his bowl over to give me some. About 10 min later he inched his way over again and held his bowl out for me. He told me about many things at the orphanage, one thing he said was when his sister would get spankings he would say give me the spanking not her. He added "she would cry but I would not cry." Caden Gideon and I were looking in Cal's room for a shirt when Gideon noticed Cal had only $2 on his desk. Gideon went to his room and grabbed his jar of money (which we had given to him) and set it on Cals desk and said "I give my money to Calvin." He seemed to think Cal didn't have enough. Gideon has come to work with Jeb and I several times all ready. He has cleaned several pool filters. He doesn't want to sit back. He wants to help. We cleaned 20 pools last Tuesday. I told him before we left to not whine or tell us he wanted to go home because we had to work. At the end of the day I praised him for how great he did not complaining or whining and being so helpful. He said, "Well, you told me (not to)." I was thinking, yeah but that wouldn't have mattered to the other kids.
His favorite thing to do at this point is watch tv. Luckily, he allows me to turn it off without much of a fuss. We have not experienced one tantrum or even seen him angry. No stomping or slamming or yelling. He has had moments where he has become quiet. After a minute or so he is back to his smiling self. We asked him why he is so happy all of the time and he said it is because he is not sad. Ok. Sounds good to me. We obviously want to be sure he is in touch with his feelings. We all get angry but he seems to be very much in touch with other's feelings and expresses concern. We will see.
It has only been 2 weeks. We have a long way to go and obviously are in a honeymoon phase but we will take it in and enjoy every moment.
I remember so many times being encouraged by the Lord. So many times we wondered what would come next, what we should do next. I saw the Lord answer prayer over and over again. He spoke to me in bigger ways then He ever has. What a journey to get here. I am so thankful that He made it clear that this was his plan. I might not have made it otherwise. For some reason God chose Gideon to come to America and be in our family. I am so glad I get a front row seat to see why. Gideon is a special boy. I have no doubt God has big plans for him :)
You might be wondering what Cal, Emma and Caden think. Cal has always been a great big brother and he is happy to continue that with Gideon. Emma loves having this "little cutie", she is starting to see how he could get annoying though (like any good little brother should be.) She is quick to throw in that she knows she can be annoying too. She loves being a second mom. Caden loves having someone littler then him around. He is constantly wrestling him and tickling him. He said he was fine losing his computer privledges over the summer, "I'll just play with Gideon."
first road trip
I am free and happy!
God is good :)
