The boys were not sure what to think when we cut down a tree and dragged it into our living room today. Gideon was rocking and sucking his thumb, a sure sign of anxiety, and Micah was hitting himself in the head, which is his number-one high-anxiety signal. But we had Christmas music playing, and the other kids were dancing and laughing, and mommy and daddy kept telling them that this was fun, so eventually the boys decided that this strange new thing was okay after all.
Blessing loved the lights and excitement:
Gideon was still not sure what was going on,
but he decided to help hang ornaments:
Micah helped us unpack
our boxes of Christmas decorations:
and the big kids got right to work decorating the tree,
each digging through the boxes for their favorite ornaments:
After awhile Gideon decided that this was a really fun game. Now I just have to convince him that from now until Christmas, the rules change and he is no longer allowed to touch all those shiny ornaments. Sweet boy tries so hard to be good, but it is going to be tough for him to remember to look and not touch!
Who needs presents under the tree
when you have treasures like these?
Last year at this time we were so disappointed that we would not have the boys home in time for Christmas. It was, to be honest, pretty tough trying to make it fun and sweet and memorable for the other kids, all the while having our hearts aching for the sons who were missing from each moment. Everything we did, from cutting the tree to making gingerbread houses, from our nightly Advent routine to the night before Christmas, felt a tad melancholy without these two dear boys. Even though we had never met them, there was a huge hole in all of our hearts, waiting to be filled by them. And this year here they are! Sniffing the tree, dropping ornaments and breaking them, getting glitter in their hair, splashing in the tree water, and generally wreaking havoc . . . they are HERE! And we are all rejoicing!
2 comments:
And I'm rejoicing right along with you! LOVE your new blog photo! You're doing such a great job of loving and mothering these precious children. Thank you so much for sharing your memories-in-the-making with all of us! Your love and faithfulness to our Savior exudes from every word. God bless you and your dear family. Hugs to you all from Plano, TX.
Your family is beautiful. Just a suggestion - a small "touch" tree might help Gideon. Having a small tree with non-breakable ornaments that my kids could take on and off as they wanted was a life saver around here when my children were small.
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