After meeting Ben and getting to spend some early bonding time with him on our first day together, he chose to come back to the hotel with us that first night, and so started our journey together as family.

The Ben that was shy and nervous around us completely blossomed as soon as we left the orphanage. He was happy and animated, and eagerly played with Legos, crayons and other treasures we had brought. We found ways to communicate, and we were quickly impressed with how smart he was. He ate well (and even taught us how to eat Ethiopian food properly!), happily chose some new pajamas, and fell asleep with a new blanket and slept all night without any fuss at all.

Despite my fears, he woke up happy that next morning. He seemed fully aware of where he was and who we were and the fact that we were family. He trusted me enough to get into the bath tub for his first bath, and ran and played while we walked to breakfast.

We kept waiting for him to melt down or throw tantrums or be challenging in some way, but he never did. He seriously must have been the easiest adoption ever in the history of six year-old adoptions. After adopting Des (who was also six when we adopted her and had quite a long and challenging adjustment) we were prepared for things to be difficult for a while.

Ben did wonderful on the trip home, and just seemed to slip right into his place in our family. His very first morning in our home he woke up a bit overwhelmed and sat in my lap and cried just a little, but after about 20 minutes he took off with the rest of the kids. After that, he was just a happy kid. He ate well, slept well, adored his siblings, was affectionate with everyone and picked up English at a rapid rate. I assumed it was a honeymoon period and kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, but almost two years later, he is better than ever. Since the beginning he has spoken openly with us about his feelings and about his memories (good and bad) from Ethiopia.

I think that his easy adjustment was a combination of a wonderful start in life with loving parents, only a short time in an orphanage setting, getting to say good-bye and get his grandmother's approval on being adopted, and just having a wonderful, resilient, happy personality.

We've been completely amazed by his loving spirit and the incredible child that he is.

Ben's story goes to show that while it is wise to prepare for the challenges involved in adopting older children, sometimes there aren't big issues or difficulties. Sometimes these kids happily and easily settle into a new family and a new home, amazing everyone around them.