Looking forward to Christmas!

Christmas is just about here! We have so much to celebrate! Luke is beyond excited thinking about his first Christmas here with us as a family and truly his first Christmas ever! This little boy has amazed us all over the last few months. He is growing, maturing and blossoming into quite an amazing child! We have known Luke was special since the minute we first met him, but he is truly surpassed any hopes and dreams we have had for him already..... that says a lot as we had high hopes and dreams for him and he has only been here 11 months! So now we have NEW higher hopes and  even bigger dreams.  Luke has been a blessing to us as a family.  One thing I have noticed when we tell people we have adopted is we normally hear one comment that is standard and that is "how lucky Luke is to have us". Well several things about that statement are not quite true. ONE: it was not and never will be luck that placed Luke in our lives. This is something I am 100 % sure about. Our Almighty Loving God knew Luke  was our son and watched over him and kept him safe until we could be joined together as a family 11 months ago.  TWO:  we are the lucky ones, we are the ones that have been blessed beyond blessings fathomable! We are the ones who have been given a whole new outlook on life and a whole new love for each other as a family. We are the ones that have been showered with Gods blessing and his gift of a son to Tom and I and a loving brother to Aaron, Tommy and Paige.  As I have watched the relationships of our children develop over the last 11 months it has truly been an amazing miracle to watch. These children who didn't know each other and in the worlds eyes were total strangers completely love each other and have a bond so strong that it is incredible to witness. This is only possible through Gods love! Luke is one of the 4 apples of my eye! When I look at my 4 gorgeous children I see several things, first is that they are all beautiful children inside and out, second is that they all are Gods children and love the Lord with all their hearts, third is that they all love each other through the good times and the not so good times that comes with being brothers and sisters, third is that only Aaron and Luke have gotten moms height  :P 

Luke spent the day after church repeating over and over again what Pastor had preached about today. He kept telling everyone he saw that they needed to "Open their hearts and minds so that Gods love could be in their hearts and that they could want to Super Size Gods love" Luke prayed with me before bed and prayed for his family.. this child that 11 months ago was an orphan prayed for his family tonight prayed with all of his heart for each of his family members....As I watched Luke pray today and watched his prayers take on more and more meaning it is truly evident that Gods hand is all over that boy. This child that had no language, no education, no family and no hope of living much past the "aging out" age of 14 in China (the age when children in China are no longer able to be adopted) is such an amazing child that has touched the hearts of so many already in his short time he has been here and I know that God has BIG plans for Luke!

We are ready for Christmas!

      Me and My little (well he is just about 5 foot now so not really little) man!

 3/4 of the gang with Santa (Aaron was finishing out his semester at college so gets excused from crushing Santa's lap ;)

       Luke and his Sister, Paige. They are best pals and play together for hours every day!

Tommy, Paige and Luke 3 of my 4 amigos!  Love those little faces so much!

 

Aaron,  The 4th Amigo (he has been working hard at college and doing amazing there!!!)

     

Luke's progress in ASL

Trying to document Luke's progress in ASL. For those of you that are "Sign Language Impaired" and do not understand what he is saying.. what can I say.. Umm Take a sign language class ;p
You go Luke! Sign away boy sign away!!!! 10 months in this country and look at you go! :)
I guess I will be nice and at least tell you that this is Luke describing his day in school in the spring at mainstream school and then now at Delaware school for the Deaf. He is signing so well now! 

Almost 10 months and life is GOOD!!!

November 30th will be Luke's 10 months at home day!!! I cant believe it was 10 months ago that we first brought home this skinny little boy that had no language and no education. He has grown SO much and is maturing daily and is truly the GIFT of a life time! We had a few rough spots over the summer but since Luke started school in September he has matured and grown into an amazing young boy! ( I wont say young man as he is 11 and is still mommas little boy ;) 

Luke has become the biggest social butterfly. Truly I believe the image of the butterfly fits perfect for Luke has he has emerged as a gorgeous human being over the last 10 months and I don't just mean his looks (although he is one handsome boy!) Luke is a very confident, funny, social, goofy boy! He loves people and loves to socialize! Luke's language is literally flying through the roof!!!!!!!!!! My husband and I literally are blown away every day when having conversations with Luke. It doesn't even seem real to be having the conversations we can have. Luke and I can talk about ANYTHING!!!! and we DO talk about anything and everything. He is a great conversationalist and loves to chat which makes momma happy as I LOVE TO CHAT!!!!  Luke is one of the most caring people I have ever met. His heart is huge. He loves to help and give and just DO for others! God has amazing plans for this boy and they are starting to unfold for sure! Luke helps Usher at church now sometimes and LOVES doing this! He is trying hard to help in anyway he can. I do believe he is going to be involved in Mission work at some point as his heart is so generous and caring and open to helping others.

Luke has just melded right into our family. Luke and Aaron have gotten along since day one! Luke looks up to his big brother and loves when Aaron comes home from college for visits. He is crushed when Aaron goes back to school, but handles his coming and going quite well.  Luke is happy to just sit in Aaron's room and watch him do his homework if he can. He truly looks up to Aaron and cherishes every moment he can grab with him.

Luke and Paige are just the cutest brother and sister ever. They truly do love each other and play so well together. They spend hours playing together every day and Paige totally has Luke wrapped around her little finger.  I love watching them play and communicate together. Wayyy too cute! I am so glad that they get along as they do and that they cherish spending time together.

Luke and Tommy were best buddies when Luke first came home, then about 4 months later they entered into a battle over everything (including the air they breath). Life became a constant battle for attention and position in the family between the two of them, this lasted for a few months....They are now friends and brothers as of this point. For the most part they get along amazing and then once in awhile they have those brother moments and argue a little. But now when they disagree it is short lived and always ends with hugs and forgiveness and life goes on. It is nice to see how supportive Tommy is of Luke and how he tries so hard to help him and be there for him. They have come a long way in a short time, I am super proud of them both.

Luke has many amazing  qualities about him but one of the qualities that blows my mind is his self motivation. I truly wish I was as self motivated as Luke is. He is so determined to do well at things that he gives 110% always. I am blown away with how well Luke does in school. For a child that didn't go to school or have the experience of school until this year I would think school would be so overwhelming that it would shut you down. YET...Luke LIVES to go to school and learn. He cannot wait to get there everyday and is beyond excited when he comes home to share what he has learned everyday.  Luke also does a TON of extra supplemental work with me (his own wish to do so!) Luke is doing so well in school that I am amazed. He loves his school, his classmates, teachers and all staff there! He is extremely happy there. Sending him to DSD was the best decision we could ever have made as his parents for his education!

10 months of joy, struggles, amazement, learning, adventures, patience, laughter, tears, and TONS of LOVE!!!!!

                                         They truly are pals and love each other immensely!

                           The love they have for each other is genuine! Brothers forever!

                                                           My beautiful babies!!!!!


You wouldn't have convinced me years ago that you can take a "total stranger" and bring them into your life and they would become a most valued, cherished and loved member of the family! Of course God knew this all along, but I had no clue until recently! Thank you Lord for opening my eyes!!!!Thank you Lord for allowing our family the gift of adoption! Thank you for allowing us to see the world and life itself through Luke's eyes! Thank you Lord for watching over my baby all those years in China and protecting his heart, mind and soul from all the craziness that happened to him so that his heart wouldn't be hardened and he would be as loving and caring as he is now!!!!                                         

                                                      Thank you for Our Luke!!!

The Thanksgiving Season is upon us and we have a lot to be Thankful for

We are fast approaching 10 months of Luke being home and life has drastically changed in the last 2 months. Luke has become a new boy. Luke has always been pretty happy and funny, but just within the start of school has Luke finally showed some improvement in his maturity level. I do believe his severe immaturity ( ie: he is 11 but acts anywhere from 2-5 years old most of the time) has been our biggest struggle. Especially when you look at Luke now, he has grown almost 5 inches and gained about 25 pounds since the day we met him, he is now a very tall boy for his age and when you see this tall mature looking boy behaving like he is 2 it is very hard to handle. So it has been very nice to watch Luke mature within the last few months.  Luke's language is changing so rapidly again and my husband and I truly have been marveling at some of the amazing conversations we have had with Luke. It is hard for me to wrap my brain around the idea that this poor child had no way to show anyone or tell anyone just how smart he truly is when he lived in China. Today we were discussing all the parts of the body and how they function (blood vessels, the heart, lungs, kidneys etc ) and Luke and I truly had the most fascinating conversation. I cant believe in a time span of less then 10 months he went from a boy that had no way to discuss anything to a child that can talk about the functioning of the human body with me. 

I am watching Luke and Tommy start to become good friends again. When Luke first came home him and Tommy were best pals.. and then 4 months later the fighting began. Then they stopped SO much fighting and became brothers and now they are becoming brothers and friends.. Very neat to watch the transformation..... Luke and Paige are SO stinking cute together it isnt even funny. Poor Luke as Paige has him wrapped around her little finger and whatever she asks of him he does. Including playing barbies, playing dolls, being Paige's horse and having her sit on his back and ride all over the house... He is so patient with her and they love playing together. Paige does her share of playing cars and dragons to her defense so it is good they both play so well together.

We are getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving soon and WOW do we have a lot to be Thankful for! I am so greatful to the Lord for letting me be a momma and have such great children. Are there days when I feel overwhelmed? Sure there are.. but most of the time I just feel so truly blessed! The adoption journey isnt always the easiest but it is SO worth it! I always have people tell me how lucky Luke is that we brought him hom, to be honest it is me that is lucky. I am lucky and so honored and blessed to have been chosen by the Lord to be his mom and that we are his family. Luke has made us all see the world and our lives in a different way!


Luke got his first school picture yesterday and you would have thought he won the lottery when he ran in the door with that bad boy!!! He has been waiting since he got home to get his deserved spot on the "school picture hall of fame" and now he has it!! :)  and WOW he smiled nicely. Smiling hasnt been the easiest for Luke when taking pictures. He naturally has a great smile but when you ask him to smile it gets really awkward. So he smiled amazing for his photo!!! I am going to add some pictures for you all to see!

Wow so much to be Thankful for!

                                  Luke as Paige's horsey on the trampoline....

                             I think both of their faces say it all! Too cute!

                                                                   Pals

                                                                  Brothers forever!

                 Tommy and Daddy after their playoff Football game! We won of course!

      Tommy and Paige, they truly are an amazing brother and sister to each other

                                         Luke's looking proud with his very first school picture ever!!!

                       Luke took his place on the "school picture wall of fame!"

                                                              My handsome boy!!!

                                                                                 Yup!

Luke's First Halloween

Halloween is here and Luke was excited about the prospect of getting candy. He really gets almost none here and was given candy NON-STOP in his orphanage. It is crazy when he tells me how they used candy for just about everything. Especially when he was bad.... well heck I would behave badly a ton more if you gave me candy every time I was bad.. They used it to "shut him up" whenever he got vocal. The day we got Luke he came to us with 2 pockets stuff to the gills with candy and ate it non-stop until those suckers were gone.. So he was pretty excited to know he was going to get some candy.  We went and picked pumpkins the other day and he LOVED it! We carved our pumpkins and I thought he would think it was the strangest thing ever but really he thought it was cool! Halloween was a great success. Luke was not sure what all the hub bub was about but we set out with his Brother, Tommy, Sister, Paige, Cousin, Katelyn. Luke's Nanny, Poppy, Mom-mom, Aunt Amy, Grandma and Pop-pop were all here! We had a great night and it was incredible to be wit so much family.  I am going to post some pictures so you can see how much fun we had!

                           Luke making is "One Eyed Pumpkin" He really did a great job!

                                                       So focused!
                    Luke, Tommy and Paige our Pumpkin carving crew~!

        Luke, The Ninja, Paige, Ariel the Mermaid, Tommy, the Unknown Phantom

 He sure is a handsome looking Ninja and he didnt have to worry once about making that Silly American Smile we always ask of him haha

Our Beautiful Paige Dressed as Ariel, you cannot even see her "walking boot" on her broken foot.. not bad!

                                                  Gotta love Boys!

                              Luke and Paige getting ready to get some candy

                                         Our little band of trick or treaters.

 one of the first Houses Luke went to,.. he really had no idea what was going on but after this first house he GOT IT!!

                                  Baby K on her first Halloween too! She was TOO cute!

Our awesome pumpkins carved by the kids.. Paige's is first .. Jack.. Tommy made the 2nd one.. Grim Reeper, Luke made the 3rd .. The "one eyed pumpkin!" Great job kiddos!

Luke's transition over the last 9 months a photo montage

This was the first picture we ever saw of Luke, he looked so sad my heart broke

 This was the update picture in Aug 2010 when Luke received our care package

 The first moments with Luke on January 17th 2011 in our hotel lobby at our meeting

 The first night in our hotel room in Jinan, we were all nervous but he did great

         Our 2nd day together and he and dad were already inseparable

 Luke as we are packing to head to Guangzhou for the 2nd week of our trip, he was showing his personality very well by then .. can you say goofy!!

 Our last night in Guangzhou before heading to the USA. He was changing so rapidly in front of our eyes

 Our skinny Minny arm wrestling with dad in the hotel room at night. He weighed 60 lbs

 Our first day home just meeting the gang (minus Aaron as he was at College) Jan 30th 2011

                           Luke and Paige they became instant pals and still are

 Luke and Tommy they are buddies but definitely brothers as well (sibling rivalry anyone??)

 Luke joining the crazy Pittsburgh fans(his brother, Aaron, His Dad, his brother Tommy and Luke) for the Superbowl (mom just had emergency appendix surgery so was not in a get in the picture mood hah) Feb 2011

                          Me and My boy in March.. already changing so fast and he is totally my baby boy! (Mommas boy!! yeahhh baby!)!

                                    Another highlight of March learning to ride his bike!

 At a soccer game in April 2011 with his daddy, the 2 of them showing some Tude hahah

                                       May gave birth to the Luke-inator hahah

                        June was Lukes first trip to the beach and HE LOVED it!

 4th of July Tommy and Luke posing with their new( tough, but emotional pose) hahah. Too funny they were practicing modeling poses I couldnt stop laughing!

                        August 2011 Boogie boarding with his sister and pal, Paige

 August 2011  posing with his Nan and Pop and cousins already looking like a completely different child. (Pop, Aaron, Luke, Sage, Paige, Elijah,  Nanny and Tommy)

             September 6th Luke's first day of 5th grade at DSD. Looking so grown up

                 Sept also brought about more FOOTBALL! Luke has become quite a fan!

                                                     They are always goofy! It makes my heart burst with joy that he has someone to be so goofy with after 10 and half years of no one! 

                    The end of September and( 9/22/2011) was Luke's 11th Birthday! He was so excited to see his presents and cant beleive we spent the day celebrating him!! His first celebration of himself ever!

               Luke enjoying more Football at the beginning of October 2011 He is Tommys biggest fan!We love taking pictures of us together! Me and My baby boy!

                  October 16, 2011 Celebrating his Dads Birthday with his Nanny.

The transformation of Luke has been incredible. First of all physically if you didnt watch the change over 9 months we would swear he is not the same boy we met in China. 25 lbs heavier, 4 inches taller.. Language that is blossoming by the day. A personality that is unique and incredible!!!

WE LOVE YOU LUKE!  CANT WAIT TO SEE WHAT THE NEXT 9 MONTHS BRING, THEN 9 YEARS!! FOREVER MY SON!!!!!