Day 8

Day 8 started with us celebrating Christmas at our house this morning. The boys got up at about 7:30 which I was grateful for.  Normally our kids would want to all go first, but this year they told us that they had decided that they would like him to go first.  After he finished opening the gifts he gave us both one. He gave us the biggest most sincere hug we have gotten so far. I will say that if felt so good to have him hug me like that.  This afternoon I asked him what his favorite gift was and he replied "yes". I did not think he understood so I asked him again. Again he responded with "yes". I then asked again with the same response, so this time I used different words. Guess what, same result. I then got the computer out and translated it. He got a silly grin on his face and said yes. We are seeing more and more of his personality come out everyday. I feel that he has gained a lot of trust in us in just the 8 days that we have had him. I often find myself thinking, what would I do if I were sent to another country for 4 weeks with people I have never met before who speak a language that I do not know. Would I be able to be as courageous and bold as he is?
We spent the rest of the day playing with all the new gifts. We then made our yearly trip to "The Farm" (Linda's family). There he got to meet all of her family and play with the cousins. There are 9 kids  ages 2 to 12 there so there is a lot to do. Once again today he had no problems fitting right in with the kids. Not only does he fit in with the kids but he also does well with other adults as well.  I love seeing him come up with things to do. You can see the expression on his face go from a puzzled look to all of the sudden a light going off and his face beaming.
Tomorrow brings the last of our 4 day Christmas blitz leaving just one remaining. One of our readers posted a comment mentioning that we do not slow down much. This time of year is difficult for us to slow down with all the different directions that we have to go. I think that this is showing him our true holiday time travels ( and I am totally thankful he doesn't get car sick).   If we would have hosted during the summer I would like to think that things would be slower but I am not so sure about that. I am sure it would probably just be a different kind if busy.
If have you enjoyed following our blog and think that this would be something that you would like to pursue feel free to let me know if you have any questions. I believe the photo listing for summer hosting comes out in February 1st. 
Merry Christmas all,  my eyes will forever see Christmas in a new light and my life will forever be changed!