In which Daniel starts to settle in...

Daniel had a rough night last night. I don't think either of us slept very much. At one point Marshall had to come retrieve me from the bathroom. I had brought a pillow, snuggie and book into the bathtub and was determined to stay in there until either Daniel came out or the morning, whichever came first. After Marshall made me get in bed I cant' say I slept very well. I think I woke up five times to check on Daniel. He stayed put under that shelving unit until morning.
After a big internal debate I decided to go to bible study with Emily and not stare obsessively at Daniel for the entire morning. While I was getting ready Tom (Daniel's foster father) called to offer to come out and get Daniel settled. He figured a familiar voice and face would ease his transfer better. We agreed on a time and off I went to bible study. I usually reserve my prayer requests for what I deem important stuff, but I actually asked that everyone pray that Daniel's transition to our home be eased and that he settle in. I kinda felt like a dork when everyone was asking for prayers for people with cancer and job losses, but prayer works. I needed all the help I could get with Daniel.
Once Tom and his wife Barbara got here, everything went swimmingly! All he did was stick his head down where Daniel could see him and talk to him for a few moments, then he stuck his arm under there and Daniel scooted right out. Meanwhile I had tried for a half hour earlier to get him out of there and it was like pulling teeth. We spent an hour walking around the house with Daniel as he sniffed and poked and explored and chatted. T&B liked the house, which really put me at ease. I would have been devastated if they'd decided that this house was all wrong for him. At one point Daniel and Molly met and happily, the fur did not fly. Molly kind of jumped away a little and then spent the rest of the time trying to smell Daniel's rear end. Daniel wasn't thrilled, but he was very tolerant of the entire thing.
While he was investigating my room he found the full length mirror and nearly jumped out of his fur. Apparently he'd never seen himself before. His tail got HUGE! He looked like a squirrel. It was pretty funny. After we pried him away from the mirror he investigated the rest of the house and found it to his liking. After dropping off two of his old beds from his old house (how sweet is that?) T&B went home with many well wishes and thanks. Daniel spent the rest of the day investigating, chatting and finding new places to hide. Emily and I played the "Find Daniel's New Hiding Place" game a few times and every time he was somewhere else. Marshall played with him while he was under our bed, Emily crawled under the guest bed and played with him for a bit and I managed to coax him onto our bed for some tummy rubbing time. I even managed to get him to eat! I really hope this means that Daniel is coming to relax and enjoy his new home. I know it'll take him a few more weeks to really settle in, but this is a really good sign.

More news tomorrow!
-S