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!