A Year of Gratitude #71

 

A Year of Gratitude #71: Unexpected Visitors

 

Gus with his Great Aunt Sharon and cousin Olivia

Last night we got a call from Sharon, (Gus's birth mom's aunt) letting us know that she and Olivia were driving to Tampa from Michigan, and would be passing through Atlanta. She wanted to know if we were interested in meeting up in the morning for breakfast. To our delight, when we offered our home for them to stay the night with us, they accepted!!

Around 1:40 this morning, they arrived! It was so great to see them! We had not seen them since August. We got them settled into the guest suite in the basement and told them we'd see them in the morning!

With springing forward and losing an hour, Gus was up early and we all felt "off." Around 9ish, Sharon came up and was heading to the car to get some meds for Olivia. She got her first peek at Gus and was so excited to see him. He was excited to see her too. They played for a bit and then we went downstairs to see Olivia and play down there for a bit.

 

Gus and Sharon playing

We had a WONDERFUL visit with them and then headed out to IHOP for breakfast. Our breakfast was great and Gus spent a little bit of time on his Great Aunt Sharon's lap looking at her phone. It was such a wonderful way to spend a Sunday morning! 

Here are some of my favorite pictures from their visit:

 

Mr. Wiggle-butt

 

Watching Gus

 

:-)

 

So cute

We headed to the cars and said our goodbyes. We told them that they're more than welcome to stay with us on their way back from FL... we'll see. It was so sweet to see them with Gus and made my heart swell to see how much joy Gus brings everyone.

 

Walking to the cars with Great Aunt Sharon and Daddy

 

:-(  Saying goodbye to Olivia

 

I adore this picture!! Gus saying goodbye to his Great Aunt Sharon

When we drove home, I said to Steve, "We have such a WONDERFUL adoption." It makes me so happy to know that with our open adoption, Gus's biological extended family gets to see him and know him (and us). I feel like we really expanded our family and it feels like we've known them for years. 

I know adoption isn't easy and open adoption can be so hard- but it's days like today, that make me so very proud to be apart of something so very special. I'm so grateful to know that Gus will grow up knowing his roots and will have connections to the people that matter most in life... our family.