He's a Happy Boy

I have to start by apologizing to those who’ve been wondering about us.  After a few friends jokingly asked if Dave ever made beyond Frankfurt, I realized that I have neglected my blog and left some of you wondering – and maybe worrying :/

Dave and Trey arrived home on Thursday night just slightly behind schedule.  The kids and I were able to meet them at the airport for a sweet and simple reunion.  They were both understandably beyond exhausted.  Dave had not slept a wink in over 38 hours, and they arrived at 1:00 a.m. Ethiopia time.  We spent a few quiet hours at home on Thursday night with take-out pizza, while the kids played with blocks on the living room floor.  That was enough.

For the past 5 days, we have been busy having a ridiculously good time.  Trey has been absolutely delightful.  He’s been sweet and loving, and seems to be bonding equally well with everyone.  His whole world has changed completely and he seems to be taking everything in stride and enjoying all of the newness.  We’ve been on walks through the woods and wagon rides around the neighborhood.  We went to Toby’s flag football game and we’ve played baseball in the backyard.  All of the forgotten toys are new again, and we’ve become reacquainted with our old friends from Sesame Street.

There have been a few sticky spots.  For example, Trey is definitely disturbed by the presence of a dog wandering around the house.  In Ethiopia, dogs are not house pets and children are taught to be wary.  Luckily, Gracie, our Shetland Sheepdog, has been amazingly well behaved.  She clearly senses Trey’s fear and will hide around the corner out of his view.  We should seriously grill that dog a steak.  We also shed a few tears at bath time for the first few days.  However, today we threw in a few rubber frogs and snakes, and he could have splashed around all day.  We also went for our first doctors appointment today, which required a little blood work.  That’s all I have to say about that.

For the most part though, things have been incredibly good.  He doesn’t seem to be the same shy, scared little boy that we met last fall.  He’s a happy boy.  He’s very affectionate.  He likes to be carried around by his sister and loves to roll around on the floor with his brother.  He’s only been home a few short days, and already, we can’t imagine what it would be like without him.  God has been so good to us.