Just one month ago in a cold room in Zhengzhou, China, we met a very scared little boy for the first time whom everyone had described as extremely shy. Well, one month later that same little boy is far from scared and anything but shy. We have had the privilege of watching him blossom during this past month. The transformation in him has been such a joy to watch. During his first few days with us, we saw almost no expression on his little face. However, now he lights up any room with his smile and those black eyes of his seem to dance.
We have experienced many firsts with Miles during this month. He spent his first Christmas at home with his own forever family. I am so thankful that God orchestrated everything in His perfect timing and allowed us to all be home together for Christmas. We also awoke on Christmas morning to the first white Christmas that I can remember in 38 years. It was absolutely beautiful, but Miles much preferred gazing at it from the safety of our living room window. Since then, we have experienced our second snow of the season, about 6-7 inches, which is very unusual in Mississippi. He enjoyed the snow more this time and even walked around in it some and rode on the sled behind our 4-wheeler. He is feeling much more comfortable. He is also learning to play more when we are at home. At first, he would just walk around the house most of the day. Now, he is playing with toys and with his big sister and big brother. Many of our days have been spent with various appointments. Miles got his first haircut as a Blackburn just the other day. We had our first official doctor's appointment last week and had blood drawn which I always dread. I am happy to report that he did much better than I expected and for that I am thankful since we are facing his palate surgery in the near future. We saw our ENT doctor today for a routine hearing check and consult for a referral to the surgeon who will hopefully be doing Miles' surgery. Miles also started Day School for the first time on Tuesday, January 4. He is doing very well at Day School and is enjoying this new routine. I am sure we have overloaded him with activity during this first month, but he is handling it all extremely well. We are so incredibly blessed!