Will the real Joshua please stand?

Continued from yesterdays post...
When we arrived at the hotel, Simon and Hank were playing with cars on the floor we opened the door and they ran over and without skipping a beat the said "Hi Joshua, you are home now!, do you want to play cars with us?"  I reminded them that this was all strange and new for him and we needed to take it easy and let him get used to things for a while. (little did I know what lie ahead... or is it lay ahead?...Dad? anyway…) Nana and Papa were there and greeted him with respect and love. He was still totally overwhelmed and stressed. (I think I still have nail marks where he was grabbing me so tight) And then we asked where the girls were so they could meet him too.  They were in the pool swimming with uncle P.K. so we all headed down.  They ran over and greeted their baby brother and asked to hold him. Again with the reminding that this is all new and scary for Joshy.  Russ walked them through what it would feel like if they were taken from our home by strange people they had never met before and even if they were expecting it, they would still not be ready to jump in and play with their new siblings right away.  They understood, but were not more than 2 1/2 inches from some part of his body for the next several hours.  We went up and got changed and realized it was way past lunch and we were all ready to eat. I wondered if Joshua would be able to eat while on this emotional rollercoaster, but we needed to eat & had no food in the room yet so we ventured over to the food court at the mall next door.  We all ordered from different places and offered a pot luck to Joshua.  THAT BOY ATE LIKE A MAN!  Whether he needed a spike in blood sugar or assurance that we were now the ones to feed him, his entire demeanor changed!  He smiled and laughed a bit and then we walked home. And then the real Joshua showed up!  He came into his own.  he sang songs for us, danced, played cars with the boys, let the girls tickled him, he winked (simultaneously with both eyes) but none the less flirting with all of us in the room, snacked on fishy crackers, backwashed into his very own water bottle, he was Happy to be in this place at this time!!! But secretly I was worried it was temporary (and it still might be) so I am cherishing every second of happiness we get during this transition.  He fell asleep on the bed watching the kids get in their p'j's.  I slipped him into his own pair, placed him in his little bed (the loveseat turned against the wall) and finally, for the first time, we kissed our child goodnight and prayed over his sweet little body!  How could I not be a mess?   

This morning I was up at 3 am, Carmen and Hank by 3:30 and Faith and Dad by 4! We all went down stairs and watched a movie and waited for our baby to wake up.  The anticipation was palpable!  Simon came down at 5:30 and asked "Why do I have to go to sleep and they get to watch a movie?" I explained it was morning, but the sun wasn’t up yet, and that he was welcome to join his siblings on the couch until Joshy woke up.  from 5:30 to 6:45 there was a "runner" every 6-7 minutes to peek and see if Joshua was awake yet.  By 6:45 he was the one peeking over the couch at the girls... but to my dismay he had "that look".  Concerned, worried, confussed.  I held him and reassured him and wondered if food would do the trick again.  He tentatively ate a few scrambled eggs and little pineapple, and then played much more quietly on the floor with daddy while I made the first blog post... and then we needed to get ready for church.  When the Agency staff came to pick us up, he went further into his shell.  He snuggled me through church with that same intense grip... that is until Simon vomited all over the pew! (life would be so boring without kids!) Russ and I spent the rest of the service outside with our sick Simon and worried Joshua. Nana, papa and Uncle P.K. sat with the other kids through the long service like pros! We met up after and Russ, p.k., hank and simon went back to the hotel. Carmen, Faith, Nana and papa wanted to see Joshua’s orphanage so we went with them and the staff to go visit.  Joshua stayed in his shell until we arrived at the Orphanage.   But then he saw familiar sites and he instantly knew where he was.  He was obviously so happy to be back.  As we walked towards the building, he started yelling all of the names of the children who were yelling back at him "Professor, professor!" (his nickname at the orphanage)   It was like this boy was an A list celebrity... and he was flaunting his stuff like you couldn’t believe!  Showing off his Spiderman sandals with beaming pride (most of the children do not have shoes and they were all totally enamored.)  You would have thought he pulled up in a cherry red Ferrari! He chatted with everyone like a smooth politician and loved on all the house nannies.  I just knew that he must be thinking “I had had a great time on my 24 hour vacation and I am so happy with my parting gifts, but I sure am glad to be home now!”  The staff was bringing out lunch, so he went to his old room.  I asked what he was doing (as all the older children were giggling because they knew what he was doing and that he did not live there anymore.) The staff said it is a rule that you never eat in the nice "outing clothes", so he was just following protocol. He came out in his new tattered duds, he sat in his usual spot and was handed a plate of beans and rice and boiled potato with theother children. 
Now, I had seen this boy eat like a sumo wrestler, and I knew he had not had a big breakfast, I knew he was hungry and I knew he was comfortable now that he was back on his home turf, it was time to get his grub on! But he sat there and looked around the room with the potato in his hand not taking one bite of anything.  After a few minutes, the agency staff asked him if he was o.k. he shook his head no.  She said “do you want to leave and go home with mama?”  He shook his head yes.  She said " go wash your hands then."  He bolted out of his seat washed his hands in the basin and was back dressed in his "outing clothes" in 2.2 seconds! His arms were reaching for me to pick him up and she said "He is ready to go now, let us leave." He fell asleep in my arms on the way home... not from lack of sleep, i dont think, but more likely from the sheer exhaustion of this rollercoaster!  back at the hotel, the rest of the day was filled with happy giggles, hide and seek, more food, more tickles, more love.  The real Joshua was back, safe at home with his family! I just had the honor of tucking in all 5 of my children for the second night in a row!  I am humbled at the gifts our Father chooses to give me! It was a good day!  (Simon felt MUCH better by the afternoon and has kept everything down Ahhhhh Africa!)