Homecoming

 
(okay...little behind...)

From the fullness of God's grace, we have received one blessing after another...
 
This is how I felt when we got off the airplane.  I can't put into words how I felt being home.  My cup overflowth.  To see God's plan come together, to have all my children together, to have family and friends there to support us, and to KNOW that God is sovereign is overwhelming.  I had done a great job holding it together on the way home, but after seeing everyone and feeling God's pressence and grace, I just couldn't hold back the tears.

We saw our girls first.  It was so good to see them.  I had missed them terribly, and I was so eager for them to meet their brother.

They both did so well and were so sweet.  They were thrilled that he could identify them and say their names.  It was very special for us to have a few moments alone before we introduced G to everyone. 

Daddy getting some love.

Now, it was time to introduce G to everyone...

We had a wonderful group of family and friends welcome us home.  Friends we've had for years, and friends that we have met through the wonderful adoption world.  We felt blessed.

Not only did we have a wonderful support group, but so did our girls.  All of the children were so eager to check G out.  They were just as excited as the adults were.  A kept wanting me to let G down so she could take him to go see her friends.  Now, my back was killing me, and I was beyond tired, but there was no way I was going to come this far and lose G in the airport.  Now, probably not realistic, but when you've only slept 5ish hours in the last 48ish and entertained a 3 year old at the same time, you don't think clearly.

After visiting for a bit, it was time to go home...YEAH!! 

Once we walked through our door, I felt like I could finally....EXHALE.  G could get down and run around, and he did.  It was Christmas time at our house.  We had made an alphabet book for him featuring everyday items around our house.  It paid off, because he recognized so much of it.  He ran into his room and just loved it!  The girls spent the next hour saying..."G look at this.  G look at this.  G look at this"  over and over and over.  They wanted to show him EVERY toy in the house.  I had to remind them that he is going to be here FORVER and that they needed to slow down.

They would pretend to be asleep and then yell and jump up.  They played this game several times.  Then, it was time for "real" bedtime.  I'm amazed he lasted till 8:00 pm. We didn't know how it was all going to play out, but it went great.  I'm sure little man was beyond exhausted.  I slept with him, and he did great.  He woke up once during the night to use the potty and then went right back to sleep.

He woke up happy around 7 am, and it was Christmas time all over again.

Welcome Home G!!

One Less Orphan...One More Bonner

 
I joyfully announce that after 4 court appointments, we are officially the parents of  the most precious 3 year old boy.  On 3 separate occassions,  folks have described him as having a "big personality".  (Is that code for running crazy?  That's the type of code language we use in Sunday School class :) )  Well...he's probably about to turn our quiet, calm 2 girl household upside down. 
 
And, I say Praise God!!!
   
We don't have a travel date yet, and probably won't for several weeks.  We are HOPING to travel mid-July to bring him home.  We appreciate your continued prayers as several more things have to fall into place before we can travel.

Something to ponder...
This time last year adoption wasn't on our radar screen.  We thought our family was complete.  If the Holy Spirit is nudging you, I say JUMP.  It might just be the blessing of your life!!!

The Room is Ready...

The bed is made, clothes are hung, books are on the shelf, toys are ready to be played with...all we need is little man :)

First, we had to disassemble the guest room.

We had turned the guest room closet into a workspace for me just a couple of years ago.  Now it was time to turn in back into a regular closet.  I've got little blue shirts to hang :)

 

 

BB helping...well, maybe supervising daddy with the patchwork.

closet transformation continues...

Little man's going to need a bookshelf.  SB starts making one just for him.  By the way, he LOVED doing this, and it turned out FABULOUS!

 

Hmmm...what to do with this room?  I get out all of the girls' nursery stuff hoping that something might work. 

 

 

The painting begins.  BB helping out.  Closet painting is just perfect for a 4 year old.

Finished!!!

 

I searched for the perfect quilt.  Since I don't know what little man's personality is, I didn't want to get him something specific like sports, trucks, etc.  Also, I wanted to last for more than a couple of years.  This quilt is just perfect!  I love the colors!  It is so happy and bright.  AND, it happened to perfectly match with the girls' nursery decor.  With AB we didn't find out her gender, so we went with a neutral nursery - African animals, and then when BB came along, we used the same.  How perfect is that?  All of my kiddos will have had the African animals.

I love that he will have a queen bed.  It will be perfect for co-sleeping.  The glider will be perfect for some reading and quality bonding.  Both of the girls had this glider in their room too.

In an effort to save money, I painted the pictures on top of the bookshelf.  For the other pictures by the bed, I just cut out some of the animals from the extra curtain and just appliqued them onto some fabric and put it in some frames I had.

SB's bookshelf rocks!!  It is just perfect, and it is solid - just in case it gets climbed on :)

Closet is back to normal.  I think that was one of the hardest parts.

Grandma B (aka Gobbie) painted the African animal picture for AB's nursery.  I love that little man will have it in his room.  The green bins are for donations for little man's orphanage.

 

Hopefully, next Friday little man will legally be our son, and we can focus on filling up those bins to take to the children waiting....waiting for a room...waiting for someone to long for them...