some pics of our days

 Dad and son working on some puzzles together

 Luke's very first time in the pool. He did really well and loved it!

 Dad helping with his shirt, he is a happy happy boy

 Luke playing a computer game, he loves the computer.

 Saying hello on one of our many many car rides

 Daleea's lilttle girl Isabella, so sweet and so shy. She is coming home to her momma in February

 Some of the many sad faces in the toddler room of the orphanage, all waiting for a momma and daddy

 There are many children in need of parents and so wanting to be held and loved, it is more then one can put into words

This boy is 13, soon will be 14 but has a family waiting for him and the orphanage already knows that he has a family and was thrilled to share the news, he is actually lukes roomate.  Handsome young man

I will post more later we have to go eat!

What's new with us!

I know I havent blogged since we got Luke but we have been running around like crazy. Yesterday was a day full of running around and paperwork when we got Luke. It was a long day and we crashed early. God has blessed us with a good boy that is very eager to learn, funny as heck and seems to enjoy being with us alot! 

I am not going to lie today was a rough day, not because Luke was tough or anything like that. We went to the orphanage today and it was harder then I thought. I tried to explain we were going to visit and he could say goodbye, but I do not think he understood that. As soon as we pulled in he said NO, then I said we will visit and then me, him and daddy would leave. I thought he got it because he then jumped out and started walking. We went in to the orphanage and it went down hill right away. He refused to talk to Tom or I or make eye contact at all so we couldnt communicate with him once the eye contact was gone.  They took us to the toddler rooms first and that was tough, a lot of babies in one place. There were many babies and they seemed to get upset by the visit (at least some of them did) and I dont blame them there were 3 families all visiting at the same time plus staff leading us around.  We did see Daleea's little girl and she was easy for me to spot as she looks just like her pictures, a precious little angel who is waiting so patiently for her momma to come soon!!!! We then went to Lukes floor next and saw the floormates he was with. Luke did not handle being on his own floor well and started to cry and get very upset.The staff kept saying "he is sad he is leaving' but it didnt seem like that kind of crying. He was devestated to be back and seemed to think we were leaving him.  When they took us to see his bedroom he get really upset and I asked them to please take us back to the office so we could start to leave.They tried to have the kids say goodbye to him but he was so upset at this point he didnt want to see or talk to anyone.  We went down to the office and he still would not talk to Tom or I but seemed a little better. One of the directors of the orphanage seemed upset that Luke was crying and that I was too (what mom wouldnt cry seeing her son go through that pain). She wrote him something on paper and he stopped crying after a lilttle bit. We stayed for a total of about 2 hours and that was way too long.  I was afraid our relationship with Luke would go backward for he was so upset with us, but the second we got in the van he was fist bumping us and saying I love you. He was great as soon as we pulled away and started laughing and joking with us. I do beleive he thought we were leaving him there. It was a very hard day for us all.

We got a break when another family staying in a different hotel came by and asked us to go the Science museum down the street. What a great idea!! Luke loved it and it was just what we all needed. A chance to laugh and walk and learn. Luke sure has an amazing laugh and he has laughed a ton since we left the orpahange today.  Oh and we taught him how to play War with cards and Tommy you better watch out he kicked our butts the first time ever playing haha.

Aaron seems excited as heck about Luke and Luke and Aaron have many things in Common. Aaron loves Anime and  Manga and it is very popular here and Luke also likes the same stuff and same cards and characters as Aaron. I think I can pick up some real cool stuff for Aaron tomorrow when we go shopping!

One of Luke's favorite things to do is Skype. He loves to talk to everyone on the "small box" and his day is made when he can talk with Tommy, Paige and Aaron.  He has also met his pop-pop, Granma, Nanny, Poppy, Mom-mom and Aunt Amy so far by Skype. He loves looking at the pictures we sent and talking about his family and he is obssessed with our dog, Chase!!! He is a joy and seems to listen pretty well, if there is something he doesnt want to do , he will normally listen to and follow along with whatever Tom is doing. He is definitely a "Daddys boy".  Tom so much as goes to the bathroom and Luke is waiting at the door for him, he doesnt like when Tom leaves the room for anything, he loves being with daddy!  Him and I get along amazing but it is obvious he has never had a manly influence in his life (the orphanage workers are all woman) and he is loving having a daddy to show him what to do!!!!

We went out to dinner tonight with Julie and Eric and their son Max (oh he is just the cutest ever such a sweetie pie he is 17 months old and a precious little boy!!) we had a great dinner out which we really needed! Luke is exhausted after such an emotional day and we are too so I am going to head to bed.  Tomorrow is a day of sightseeing and shopping and then we start to get ready to fly to Guangzhou on Friday ( we fly out at about 6:15 pm) to head to Guangzhou for another week. I am off to sleep as I can barely keep my eyes open, today wore me to my core, it was hard enough to see the orphanage and all of the many many many children there ( it is actually such a heart breaking experiance no matter how you look at it ) and then you add Luke's being so distraught and watching his pain and suffering and seeing him cry and look so devestated was way too much for this momma to bear. I am glad he bounced back so quick but he is definitely leary now of us taking him places. When we went to dinner he got upset and wouldnt go up the steps as I think he is just afraid of where we might go and leave him. Once he saw we were sitting in a room eating dinner he was great. Tonight Tom pulled up a computer game for him to play and the 2 of them just sat at the computer laughing their butts off, it was so good for me to see and hear. He is truly very very very happy to be with us.

off to bed so I can function for sightseeing tomorrow.