Santa's Little Helper

Andrew has been busy getting ready for Christmas, pretending to be an elf in Santa's workshop, helping Daddy with the tree, looking through the sale paper for Christmas sales, and learning how to stuff stockings. Busy boy!

It's Official!

On December 3, Andrew Hyun officially became a Gibson! It was kind of strange because he has of course felt like ours forever. The fact that we had to go to court to finalize seemed like a formality; however, it was really a moving experience. Drew had his own lawyer who had visited our home and interviewed us, and he spoke on Drew's behalf in court, saying that it was in his best interest to be adopted by the Gibsons. Then the judge said a few kind words about our little family, and announced, "Congratulations! It's a boy!" Then it was done--he was ours and we were his officially and forever.

Thanksgiving Dinner Dancer

Drew was showing off his dancing moves. He worked off his Thanksgiving dinner with style.

Fall Scenes

Attached are some memorable fall moments; it's been a season of firsts for the three of us. As we near Thanksgiving, I think about how grateful I am for this dear son. I was looking at his little round sleeping face tonight and thinking how I love every little bit of him--his soft cheeks, long eyelashes, chubby hands, sweet voice, big smile. What a boy. So much to be grateful for. Every day he learns something new. For example, one of the pictures shows him leaning back with his hands behind his head, which he is doing in imitation of David. Too funny! In another, he is running down the hall playing his absolute favorite game. We call it Pickleberry and it is involves chasing each other around the house screaming in a high pitched voice. Notice the kitty he is holding. Karen sent it to him for Halloween and it is his very best buddy. He had not attached to any sort of stuffed animal before, but is totally hooked on kitty cat. He even says kitty cat, in a cute way of course--it comes out kit-TAY. Is he not the cutest cow the world has ever seen? Thanks to Lori Henderson for that fabulous costume!

Tough Week

It has been a really tough week. On Wednesday, we received the news that a former student of ours, Melanie Mattingly, was killed in an automobile accident that morning. She was only 24 years old. I can honestly say that Melanie was the sweetest and most beautiful girl I ever had in class. I had just emailed her a week before, asking if she would meet us in Lexington for lunch and to meet Drew. The last email I received from her simply stated, “He is adorable.”

Melanie Mattingly made a bigger impact in our lives than she will ever know. When we first met with Adoption Assistance last August, we had the option of adopting from Korea, Taiwan, Russia, or Ethiopia. How do you make that decision? I can remember saying to Christine, “Melanie Mattingly was adopted from Korea.” It helped us make an otherwise difficult decision. We just knew it was the right decision because of her.

People always say, when something like this happens, that we should learn to live our lives as if every day is our last. To me, that never made a lot of sense. What I have learned from this, and what continues to pain me, is that you shouldn’t assume that you will have an infinite amount of time in the future to tell someone what a tremendous impact they have made in your life. Without Melanie, I don’t know if we would have Drew. I swear, I was going to tell her all of this when we met for lunch. But, I’ll never get that opportunity now. I could have easily told her these things, but I didn’t. The regret I feel inside will not go away.

Please pray for the Mattingly family. The poor father has lost both of his daughters to accidents and he lost his wife a couple years ago. It seems unbelievable that one person could or should endure such tragedy in his life. It seems absolutely unreal to me. Please pray for him.

Tomorrow morning, Drew goes in for surgery. He is having ear tubes inserted to drain the fluid buildup that has been causing him horrible ear infections. Today, we tried to make it a special day for him. We took him to the park to feed and play with the ducks, one of his favorite activities. He ran so much that we thought he would collapse. But, he didn’t. We stopped by Baskin Robbins for a treat afterwards. He, as you can see, got very messy.

Halloween

Drew has become interested lately in taking off his clothes. It makes for some interesting situations.

For Halloween, Drew dressed up as a cow. He went to a few houses, but seemed a little confused by the whole process. He was especially confused by the number of people who came to the house, didn't come in, and abruptly turned around and walked away. I think he was hoping that they would come in and play. We were afraid that he might be scared by all of the children dressed in crazy costumes, but luckily he handled that part well.

It is definitely hoodie weather now. For some reason, when I wear mine, Drew looks at me funny and then laughs and laughs. He likes to move my head to the side, and then back. It must be some game like peek-a-boo, but I haven't figured it out yet.

We had our last meeting with the social worker yesterday, and we met with a lawyer who will represent Andrew in the adoption process today. We have one opportunity, and one only, to get the adoption finalized before the end of the year. That day is the first Friday of December. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Max's Birthday Party

Over the weekend, Drew went to his friend Max's birthday party at Build-a-Bear. Drew had a traditional Teddy bear made, and he has really been enjoying it. His foster umma called him "Gom-doe-ry" (cute bear) when he was in foster care. He still responds to that name. Strangely enough, until Saturday, he didn't have one.

However, during the party, he lost patience with the building process, and ran out of the store and out into Fayette Mall. He did this continuously! The only time he would let me hold him is when I was holding Max - I think he was jealous!