Journey to Luke

Monday, May 9, 2011

Mothers day

Mothers day was an amazing day for me. I had all 4 of my babies home with me, (Aaron is now home from college until fall). It was nice to have everyone together. I have to say that Luke was more excited about Mothers day then I was hahah. He kept telling me that he had a surprise for me (for a few days) and he couldnt tell me but that it was for his "special mother". He would get so excited when he would talk about Mothers day that it made me well up with tears. It is so strange for me to think that this little boy, who for 10 years has had no mother to hug and hold him, tell him everything will be ok and just be there for him, is excited to celebrate this day with me (his new mommy of just 3 and half months). When we first met Luke he didnt really want me near him or to touch him.. OHHHH what a difference a few months makes! This might sound like I am bragging and I guess in a way I am, but I dont really mean it as bragging... just that this is NOT what I expected in this short time, Luke and I are inseperable and he is such a Momma's Boy! The radiating smile I get every morning when he wakes and comes in my room to see me and give me such a HUGE hug is delightful. The amazing joy I feel everytime Luke jumps on my hips wrapping both his legs around me and puts his head on my shoulder and just hums to himself with joy is undescribable for me! (mind you he is 80 lbs now.. 64 lbs when we met him).... I love the way he looks into my eyes when he comes up for a hug or wants a kiss or wants me to just wrap my arms around him or have him sit on my lap. Luke is the biggest cuddle bug ever! Which for this momma is a dream come true, as I am too! My 18 year old has never been a huge cuddle bug, my 9 year old is semi a cuddle bug even though he used to be a big one (he is getting to be a BIG Boy now hahah) and my 4 year old daughter is still my snuggle princess, but it is amazing to have Luke so attached and to see how he looks at his momma, I am SO PROUD that the Lord our God picked me to be his Mom that I cant imagine what I have done to deserve this honor!

When I think of all the years that my little man never had a momma to make amazing cards and drawings for (trust me they are amazing) it breaks my heart, I wonder if he even wonders who gave birth to him...... I sure do. I wonder what they were thinking when they laid this precious little boy on the steps outside the orphanage at 8 months old hoping someone would find him and take him in. I wonder if they ever think of this little boy that they gave up ( in my mind I believe she does). I wonder if they realized he would still be in that orphanage 10 years later after that day they laid him on the steps..............

I personally am grateful to our BIG BIG GOD for making the BIG decision to have Luke be my son and to have Luke have Tom be his father, have Aaron, Tommy and Paige be his brothers and sister! Only God could have placed Luke in our family and have known that he was the perfect fit for my crazy gang! Only God would know that a 10 year old Deaf child that had no language oe education for the first 10 years of his life would need a very specific family in order to thrive and do well! Thank you Lord for watching over my precious son for 10 years and delivering him to me this Jan 17, 2011 and making him officially my son!

I am so happy to say Lukes first time to celebrate the love of a Mother was a huge success! I was given my amazing card and letter from Luke and it was with such Love and Joy that he presented them to me! My Tommy wrote me a card that had me crying like a baby, my Paigey gave me some beautfiul seeds that she planted in a pot she made and decorated with Love, Aaron went out and bought me flowers all on his own (that has never happend and this momma was very happy about that!). The kids Aunt Kimmy and Aunt Jenn drove up from Florida and spent the day with us (Lukes first time meeting his Aunts!) and my mom and dad came to spend time with us as well. It was a gorgeous day and I loved being with my family. The winds have blown my family members all over the USA recently and spending time together as a family has become a rare and cherished event, our whole family wasnt together but I am grateful for those of us that could gather! Thank you Lord for bringing us together on this day. Thank you for an amazing Mothers day! To my Luke, I am Proud to be your momma and promise to Love you endlessly, Welcome to the family Luke Xinhai Worrell!!!!!!!

Luke meets his Aunt Kimmy for the 1st time!

Luke and his bestest pal, Chase (who knew he would love this 135 lb King German Shepard!)

Aunt Jenn (holding Lexi), Aaron, Aunt Kimmy, Tommy, Me, Luke, Paige, Tom, Poppy, Nanny

Paige and her 3D sidewalk chalk glasses (way cool!.. but not cool when Luke wore them to ride his bike :/ )

My beautiful princess, Paige

My beautiful Mothers Day booklet from Luke!

My Mothers Day card (the cover)

The inside of my card (made me cry and I look darn good in his drawing!)

Tommy and Luke (goofballs!)

They were playing in the sprinklers and it was Lukes first time and he LOVED it!

It turned into an all out sprinkler war hahah!

Luke telling you how much "FUN" the sprinkler war was!

My beautiful children!!!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Lukes 1st Easter!

I am getting ready to leave for a few days and have a ton to do, but feel these pictures say just about everything! Luke loved his first Holiday! It was a busy one and we had a full house as two of Aarons friends from College came home with him for the weekend but it all went well. Luke loved dying eggs and loved finding them in the morning. In our house we hide the baskets too. He wasnt sure why he needed to find the "empty" basket until Aaron found his and then we all had to dodge and weave out of this way as he raced through the house like a mad man. He had a struggle finding his basket but with a few tiny hints from Tommy he eventually found it in the washing machine! It was a great day and Luke surely loved it! It was nice to spend time together with our family!

Tommy and Luke in their new outfits!

My beautiful gang!

The egg hunt underway!

Paige loved looking in the eggs to see what was in there

Aaron was the first to find his basket (no shock there!)

Tommy was the second one!

Paige came in 3rd!

Luke had to do some hard work to find his basket

But he hit paydirt and was LOVING IT!!!!

I love how his smile lights up his whole face!

Tommy showing off some of the goodies in the basket (his money is already in the bank for his "1st car fund!"

My beautiful babies

My little bubble girl!

Showing off some more of his goodies!

Luke and his mom-mom

Oh NO WAY! He couldnt get over all the goodies!

My cutie pie little niece, Katelyn!!! She is too cute!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

2 and a half months at home and all is well!!! Beyond well actually!!!

So much has been happening that I dont know where to start! Luke is growing and growing! 11lbs and 1 inch since we came home 2 and half months ago! Crazy!!!! He went from a 10 slim with the waist cinched all the way to a 10, to a 12 slim with the waist cinched to a 12 now.. all in 2 and half months since we got home!!! The boy is an eating machine! We have decided he needs his own refigerator haha! I finally found something the other day he doesnt like to eat and it was cooked broccoli! First time he said "do I have to eat it because I would not like to eat it". I laughed as he has eaten everything since he has moved here! The one thing he turns his nose up at now is Chinese food! He doesnt want to eat it and doesnt want to see it! He is truly an American boy!

Luke lost a tooth the other night and we explained all about the tooth fairy coming and taking his tooth and bringing him money! Of course if you know Luke this was followed by 100's of questions.. "How is the fairy getting in" "What does a fairy wear?" "How does the fairy see at night?" and so on.... Much too Lukes surprise the tooth was gone in the morning and money was there!! He is now asking every girl he sees if they are the fairy and if they have wings....He is also praying to God for more loose teeth so he can get more money!

Luke is one of the most amazing and resilant people I have ever met in my life! He is the happiest child ever! Luke has become quite the "Momma's Boy!" He loves being hugged and smooched and holding hands and I have realized he is in love with being loved! He tells me a ton of times a day how much he loves me. The boy is truly a gem! Luke and his brothers get along amazing and him and Paige are inseperable at most times. Of course we have some of the "Paige touched me, he breathed on me, he touched my toy, blah blah blah" that all siblings have but I must admit it is so minimal it is sorta crazy! Luke and Paige spend HOURS everyday riding their bikes up and down our sidewalk. I truly dont know how they find it enjoyable as the other saturday they spent 7 hours riding their bikes back and forth down the sidewalk. But all the hard work is paying off as Today Luke officially rode his bike like a "Big Boy" and had NO training wheels! He had 2 for 1 month and then 1 training wheel for 1 month and now today NONE! He rode like a champ! I LOVED seeing the pride in his face when he took off without the one training wheel.. He looked so full of joy and pride and self accomplishment that his joy is beyond contagious. We all swore we heard the Rocky theme as he was riding!!!

Luke and Tommy have become such good pals that it is more then this mom could have ever dreamed, hoped for or prayed for to be honest! They are so caring of each other and so thoughtful to each other. Their love for each other is truly inspiring to me as a mother. The other day the two of them gave me a hard time at bed time and were being punks (which is not the norm for the two of them as they go to bed at night like angels normally). So I told them they would be punished the next day to their bedroom. I felt mean as the next day was 75 degrees and it was the first day it had been nice in awhile but I kept to my word and they were punished in their room. Well much to my surprise the two of them had a ball! To quote Tommy "Mom being punished with Luke was the best!" Hmmm I might have to re-think my punishment strategy a little more ha. But I did capture the two of them on video and will try and post it later. I heard Luke screaming ( he is pretty loud in general but he was screaming) and ran upstairs as I thought "oh no the other shoe has finally dropped and they are fighting" I cracked open the door to see the two of them playing ball, listening to Christian Heavy Metal music and dancing around the room like two complete goof balls! I truly beemed with joy to see the two of them getting along so well! I love my boys!!! OHH and Tommy taught Luke that if he puts the music on and cranks up the bass that if Lukes lays his hands on the speakers he can feel the music and Luke is LOVING it!! He is now a music mad man hahah. Tommy is ever so the Deaf culture boy and thinking about how to include Luke in everything!!!

Luke had his first horse ride and LOVED it!

Luke's sister Paige.. One of his best pals (his bike riding partner)

Luke and Tommy being ducks haah

The bike blessing at church and one of the members blessed the boys by letting them on!

Luke doesnt think he is cool or anything hahah

Picked out his first ever Easter basket.. he went for the JUMBO one haHAH(10 years to make up for!)

Luke got a new bear and these are his sleep partners (they work wonders for him at night)

Me and my Luke being goofy, he is teaching me how to perfect the pouty lip heheh

Luke has seen this same picture of every one of his siblings when they were young and he wanted one of himself as he "missed it when he was little (his words)". So here is Lukes goofy hair in the tub photo!!!

OK I think I rattled on about just about everything so I will end for now! Will post (hopefully) that video in a bit!
Hoping this will work.. this is when the boys were "punished" Enjoy as I sure did!~

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Luke's story 133.MOV

Luke wanted to sign a story for me! He made up the beginning part about his sister Paige flying to China, the rest he said is a "true" story. For those of you that dont know sign language basically his story starts out this his sister Paige flys to China and gives out gifts to everyone. At the sametime he says I fly to America and gives out gifts to everyone and his dog too! Then we drive for a long time until we arrive home! I live at home with mommy,daddy, Aaron Tommy, Paige and Me! (at that point I had asked him if he was done his story and he tells me no!) All done with China, no more China. I am staying in America, staying in America staying! I love my family. Babies are awesome. Soon I will get a new bike (he just got one so I am thinking he meant recently) new bike new it is green! Nothing more I am all done.. I love you , kisses kisses!
Amazing progress with 2 and a half months language that he can now make up and tell his own story! The boy is truly impressive

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Luke story as told by Luke!

Amazing progress with 2 and a half months language that he can now make up and tell his own story! The boy is truly impressive!

Luke has been home 2 months now!

Luke has been home for 2 months and it has been pretty darn smooth sailing! We have had a few blips in our everyday lives and there has been a little testing of mom and dads authority but honest when I say little it has been little. Normally if I say "You are upsetting mommy" he will say "I am done" and do whatever is being asked of him. Really he has adapted better then my wildest dreams. Luke wakes up Happy and goes to bed Happy. He is truly a joy! I thought by now the "other shoe" would have dropped as our social worker warned me it would when she was out a month ago as she said "this isnt normal". Well maybe she just doesnt know my family and know that we dont do anything normal hahah!

Dont get me wrong Luke has been through quite an ordeal in his life and he has started to share some stories of his life in the orphanage and they make me cry everytime he does... as they are scary stories and I am sure the worse has not even been close to being shared with me. Luke was very neglected and very abused over there and how his heart is as pure and innocent and open and willing to love as he does is sometimes beyond me. I doubt the orphanage ever thought he would be able to share the stories he has as they told us he was "mentally retarted" when we arrived in China in the orphanage. So I am sure with him being 10 and having no language they assumed their secrets were safe.... they couldnt be more wrong. I am guessing that a Deaf child with no language and no way to tell anyone what is going on is the perfect person to abuse and neglect as who can he tell anyway right?. I pray for the many children that are still there that they are treated better then my son was. I pray for their well being and that their forever families will find them soon!

As I write this Luke is outside (his new FAVORITE place to be!) and riding his new bike (our best investment ever so paid itself off the first day we bought it!) and within a few minutes he will be jumping on the trampoline with his brother, sister and some friends. Luke has become a social bug! He has been very social with adults since the day we met him but not so much with kids his own age. Now he has friends he plays with almost daily at home and they are all trying to learn some sign language too!!!!!! When Luke first came home he would not seperate from mom or dad (not that I can blame him as he hasnt had parents for 10 years but had a million kids to play with) he would follow us around and I trampled him over a few time when I went to one spot and turned around fast and didnt realize he was still on my tail. It was cute in the beginning but started to wear me out after a while but fortunately for me he then realized that playing with your brothers and sister surely trumps any boring thing that mom and dad are doing! Now the minute he comes home he is outside on his bike or his scooter. His brother and sister get home before him and wait with baited breath for Luke to arrive home!

I must admit Lukes arrival home from school everyday is my favorite part of the day! His van pulls down the street and I can see Lukes face plastered ( I do mean plastered) to the window with his hands waving double I Love You signs as hard as he can wave them and his smile couldnt get any bigger without his face cracking open! The van turns around up the street and pulls up alongside my house and when they open the door he is giggling and laughing and waving I love you like a mad man! The boy is truly excited to see his momma! The second he gets unbuckled he gets to the door of the van and catapults out and rockets into moms arms wrapping his legs around my waist (mind you he has gained 10 pounds in the 2 and half months since we met Luke) and he stays there for a few good minutes just laughing and hugging me like nuts! It is truly an amazing feeling the bond we all have with Luke. I would have thought it wouldnt be possible to feel so bonded to him. I truly expected us to slowly "learn" to love Luke, it 100% did not happen that way! It was love at first sight and a bond that didnt take very long to establish deep roots! Praise God for prayers being answered!

I will add some new photos and a few videos if I can. The videos might be seperate since I am not sure how to add them! Update you all again soon!

Tommy and Luke have become the closest of pals! (Tommy crawls into Lukes bed when Luke is scared in the night and hugs him until he falls alseep then crawls back in his bed) What a good brother!