Christmas memories

Merry Christmas, son.

I have been asked several times how Christmas was for Stephen and our family. He seemed to really enjoy the fact that lots of people came to visit and brought him a present. It may take us a while to help him understand that all visitors do not come bearing gifts for the prince.

Here are some moments we managed to capture

Helping mommy put stamps on the envelopes. If your stamp was crooked on your Christmas card..now you know why. After he was done each time he would say "dood job!"

First, my cousin Wendy and her family came to visit and celebrate Christmas the weekend before. Before we moved away, we would all go to my aunt's house and get this brood together to celebrate before we all went our separate ways for Christmas day. There are now eight cousins and it makes for an interesting noise factor. The cousins all have a wonderful time together and can get quite silly as you can see. All three of my cousin's children were just taken with Stephen and coddled him the whole weekend. I told you.. I see rottenness in his future.

My sister and my nephew, Ethan were also here. They remained with us through Christmas day (along with Grammy and Papaw) and made our celebrations complete. Melissa was particularly thrilled when Stephen called her by name "Too Too".

Stephen, Anna Claire and Mung Mung (Chaya). He has grown to love our dog more than anyone and follows her throughout the house calling her name. She is quite tolerant, bless her.

Officially one of the crew. After a long day of visiting..everyone unwinds with a game of Mario Cart..Fortunately, we had already watched the Nativity Story before they crashed.

The Lucas family

The first time I saw this photo I suddenly understood why we have so much laundry at our house. Who knew there were so many of us?

More fun with Nuna and Katie.

The best thing about a big sister is that she can drive you around with her new set of wheels. Austyn has been begging for a scooter for three years. I did not cave, I was overruled (by Dick Van Dyke, of course)

One of Stephen's favorite presents: his Thomas the Tank engine train set. He does love some cars and trains. This was a huge hit and at any given moment throughout the day one can hear the sound of little battery operated trains running around and around the track. Jon says he knows what Stephen will buy with his gift cards this year: Batteries. :-)

All in all, he enjoyed Christmas and all of the excitement. I would love to be able to ask him what he was really thinking or feeling inside..or maybe not. I kept wondering if he had an idea what all the fuss was about since they do celebrate Christmas in Korea and at AMSA (from what they said). I believe he was a bit overwhelmed from all of the people and activity. He handled it well, but then took a five hour nap the day everyone left. Who wouldn't have?

One of my Christmas gifts was a tri-pod. Go figure. This shot of our family is a true reflection of the moment..Wilson with his peppermint stick and Ethan taking his hands down from the bunny ears he was making on Jon's head, and the girls were ill because they never ate anything but candy after breakfast *sigh* Merry Christmas, right?

Stephen had a hard time telling his Grammy and papaw bye-bye. He was very sad and appeared to be a bit confused. I think he really enjoyed having them around and was genuinely sad to see them leave. Once they were in the car and he waved them goodbye, he seemed to relax a little. I am sure he will be glad when everything is not a learning process or a struggle to understand what is happening.

If you were not here..we missed you. Please know that we look forward to celebrating with our loved ones who live away and just bringing Christmas cheer into the new year.

Introducing Maia Faith

A while back I posted a note about a little baby in Vietnam whose forever family had just found her. Well, they have been patiently waiting for all of the necessary paperwork to travel to Vietnam and be approved. This can be very painful, as any adoptive family can attest. Someone in Vietnam wanted to bless them on Christmas day (Proverbs 25:25) by sending brand new photos. The next best thing to seeing your new daughter is seeing a new photo that was just taken the day before!

Is she a doll or what? Congratulations, Jeff and Dana (Jordan, Tyler and Casey). We promise to pray for her safety and for her comfort until her mom and dad can wrap her snug in their embrace. I know you are standing on your head (I feel your angst). Take comfort in the fact that the father to the fatherless is whispering to her as she sleeps and calming her each day.

I don't know, but I have a hunch, that she knows she is loved and will soon be on a brand new journey to her forever family.

When the waiting becomes long:

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord, Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart: Wait, I say, on the Lord. Psalm 27:13-14

Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting. He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

Psalm 126:5-6

His promises to her:

I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you. John 14:18

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

She will one day weep no more. How gracious He will be when she cries for help! As soon as He hears, He will answer (comfort) her. Isaiah 30:19

He sets the lonely in families. Psalm 68:6

He sings over her with joy! Zephaniah 3:17

Any kind of waiting can seem long. Many of you are waiting for a child through adoption and I want you to know you have not been forgotten. Some of you are waiting on other things that are important to you. It may be dealing with marriage, children, a job or even just a promise that you carry in your heart.

I pray peace and rest for you today. Wait for him. He is good and He can be trusted.

He will keep in perfect peace, him whose mind is stayed on thee. Isaiah 26:3

God bless you Maia, Sarah Mei, Micah, Benjamin and Seth!!

Side by side..you and me.

Behold..how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity. Psalm 133:1

Over the past thirteen days I have watched a beautiful new relationship unfold. Something I had merely not anticipated in the beginning of this whole process. Rarely do moments in time take my breath away..lately, it has been a daily occurrence. Many of these moments involve these two small boys. These new brothers.

It started out very rocky and unsure for the two of them. Wilson, who was very excited to gain a new brother but was not quite comfortable with this new little boy who loved his dad and competed for his affections. Stephen, who was not quite sure where he fit in this family dynamic and totally unwilling to share his new Appa with anyone..especially another male.

But then, slowly, something started to change. Step by step, moment by moment..a tiny friendship began to blossom. A smile here, a small gesture there..

A few games of monkey see, monkey do..

(Before you comment on the outfit..it was a balmy 80 degrees in NC last week. And, please do not contact DSS..I made them get out from under the car as soon as the photo was taken.)

Just put on a little Korean preschool music...add some Korean drums and you have the makings of an instant bonding moment among men.

"Okay, now that I have a little brother..I think I will explain exactly why mommy and Aunt Too Too use these tiny creamers in their coffee. By the way, DO NOT smash them outside the kitchen. That spells BIG t-r-o-u-b-l-e. Oh, and I can tell you a few other things that spell trouble, too..."

"One more thing, Stephen. Sometimes, in our family we take all of the cushions off the couch and pile them on the floor and get every pillow in the house. Then, we all lay on them and watch a movie together...wanna sleep beside me little buddy?"

With each passing day..a new level of trust, love and admiration develops between the two of them. Wilson is learning to temper his desire to be overly affectionate with his new brother and little Stephen is slowly learning to accept the love and leadership of his big brother. Oh, and both have found out that the easiest way to share a dad is to jump on him at the same time and wrestle him to the ground in one big hug.

Priceless: Stephen insisting on wearing a pair of Wilson's pants to bed last night. You might see that the waistband is rolled four times, and we won't even talk about the way the leg had to be rolled to prevent a nasty fall on the stairs.

What is that saying about the highest form of flattery?

Counting our blessings this Christmas...

We had a mini photo shoot last night. It was a hoot to say the least. So many of you have complained about an update to the blog (you know who you are), that I thought I would just post some photos of what our life has been like.

Sometimes we are happy

Sometimes we chill

Sometimes we are covered in stickers

Sometimes we sit in solitude..just to regroup

Still, we all come together again in moments of bliss

and separate to regroup again and collect our thoughts...

Sometimes we are just happy to be..

.. silly and together.

and..we ALL have our moments that we aren't sure what we are.


Merry Christmas from the Lucas family

There's no place like home...

Well, we made it. After three flights taking us over the top of Mt.Fuji, the Bearing Straight, Colorado Springs, and Wichita...we finally arrived home at 1030pm Thursday night. What a long Thursday! On the cab ride to the airport Stephen began to wave frantically out the window and say "bye bye, bye bye" so innocently. The cab driver (who had not spoken a word) turned and said "bye bye, Korea" in broken English. I felt a knife stab me straight in the gut and realized the impact of what was happening at that very moment. Our son was leaving everything he had ever known.

He did wonderful on all of the flights. I was so relieved. Such a trooper! By the time we transferred in San Francisco he had figured all of the security measures and would clap and say "yay!!" when he got his shoes back off of the conveyor belt. Several times he and I would finish getting through before Jon (laptop, belt, etc) and he would turn and scream "Appa!" as if to say, "Come on, already!"

He did sleep most of the way back to the US and some of the next flight. When he was not sleeping he was happily eating the wonderful airplane cuisine or playing with his new "Korean Air " plane set. Not one whimper until late in the day and he was tired of the seat belt.

Our plane was a little early and so the family came rolling in right as we got outside the airport in J'ville. As tiny as it is..we were hard to miss..the only ones standing outside. Stephen was a bit overwhelmed at all of the excitement and was trying hard to understand what his Omma was saying to him in her best Korenglish. Wilson offered his new brother some candy and that sure seemed to break the ice.

Once we were home, the kids began showing him all over the house and took him to his room. They spent over an hour just playing cars and getting to know one another. At one point my sister must have won his heart (like she does with all of the others) because he offered her a small bus to play with and smiled from ear to ear as if to say "Hey, you are alright. Have an offering of my acceptance".

Finally, at 2:45 am I decided I could no longer be in those same clothes and or stay awake and went in to take a shower. I was followed by one small boy who began to watch my every move. Before I could ask if he wanted to join me..he began to quickly disrobe. Next thing you know there were two naked boys in my shower (Wilson sheepishly admitted that he would sleep better if he was soothed by the shower *wink, wink*) and we began a small circus of sorts. First of all, Stephen had not quite gotten his land legs back and slipped several times from the shower seat. He thought this was hilarious each time I caught him mid-crash. *Sigh* It was a moment we will never forget and just as funny as you are imagining. Please forgive me for not posting photos..huthem. But, I will post the one of what happens when you stay up late with four kids..

This was taken by my sister at around 10:am this morning..notice Jon had gone upstairs by then to get some sleep..LOL

Needless to say, we were all starving and followed Jon's craving for a greasy cheeseburger (poor kid). We had had enough Kimchee for the next few meals. Stephen was not too sure at first, but eventually decided to join in the fun. Boy, talk about early over stimulation. Ooops!

Did I mention that I have the cutest kids in the world? Sheesh! I could take a bite out of them. Notice Stephen making the peace sign next to his face. In Korea (and Asia) this is almost customary of a candid photo. There are several like this from our trip. I have yet to find out what it means exactly..

Hmmm.....did they wash their hands?

Warming up to the family and getting very sleepy as the afternoon progresses...

The girls just wish I would leave and let them be his mother..I see rottenness in his future.

Speaking of being noble..Austyn laid still for over thirty minutes while he blew rasberries on her tummy. As if that was not funny enough..he then invited (insisted) everyone in the room to blow on her belly, too. She was loving his affections.

Did I mention that I did not see one dog in Korea? This might explain why he was not too fond of Chaya at first. He wanted to be near her, but then he would put a death grip around my neck. Here we are saying "Ohhh, love the puppy. She is a sweet girl." I wanted to communicate that she does not always look so bad or smell so bad..but the groomer has been quite busy. Don't quite think he cared..

Here, Landon is just trying to breathe without offending her brother (always the diplomat). He was all smiles.

Okay Stephen, Lesson one at the Lucas house: Real men play video games. I am not sure he knew quite what to think of all of the boys piled on the bed staring at the TV, but it did slow him down a bit. Well, may be more than a bit....

It might take more than a day to adjust to his new life hours. Amen to that..we are all feeling the woes of international travel.

Well, maybe it is just plain exhausting being a new brother and getting one..

Well, thats the end of his first day at home as a member of the Lucas family. It is so strange..to me its like he has always been here. I am sure for him it feels much different, but for now, we could not love him more or be any more thankful for our complete family and look forward to each new day of learning about each other.

Our Hearts are Full

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life for which God has promised....James: 1:12

Today our son joined our family forever. It is the mark of our lifelong connection to a country and to our son's first family in Korea. We will never forget those that loved him first and cared for him. We will be truly grateful for the rest of his life.

Stephen Jae Ho with his care nurses and those he has called "omma" for last 18 months.

Deep in thought: Here he is looking over the photo album of our family and pointing to his two nuna's (older sisters) and his hyung (older brother). Then he decided the back of it needed an entire pack of Power Ranger stickers.

The expression on this tiny face needs no explanation.

Shortly after this photo was taken, our brave little guy took his rolling backpack full of items and climb into a cab to embark on a whole new journey.

He did well for the first thirty minutes. Something about going inside the hotel scared him and he cried a little at first and then a bit more. He went back and forth from Jon and I. It was truly heartbreaking. We settled in for what we thought would be a long evening.

He reached for me and I sat down with him and patted him for a while and he fell fast asleep. I was in heaven and kissed his head and prayed over him as he slept. I thanked God for his little life and for the privilege of being his mom. We are truly blessed and you will know exactly what I mean instantly when you meet him. He is the answer to a prayer and the fulfillment of a promise. My heart is full...

Coat and all..

As soon as he woke up he began to eat some french fries and ketchup (what?) and I knew he was truly a Lucas. From that moment on he was happy as a clam...he let me feed him each bite.

He is taken with his "appa" as I knew he would be. Jon left the room for a moment (mistake) and he started whaling , "appa, appa". I reminded him that appa would be right back and that his appa will NEVER leave him. Poor baby..it has been a long week for him.

Yum, Yum..bread with ketchup!

Once he was full he climbed right up on the bed beside Jon and they began the most amazing interaction I have ever witnessed. Jon would read the book and Stephen would repeat the word back in almost perfect English. Did someone say he had a speech delay?

He was eating a banana (did I mention he has been chowing?) and said "ba-NAN-na" and grinned from ear to ear.

As I type the two boys are lying side by side just smiling at one another watching the TV. Stephen is sooo sleepy, but just won't give it up this time. What can I say? I have nothing better to do but hold him and play cars until we catch a plane tomorrow.

Thanks so much for the emails and comments..they mean the world to us and we can not wait for you to meet the newest Lucas.

Austyn, Landon and Wilson..we miss you soo much and cannot wait to see you tomorrow night.

Please continue to pray for our family and for our little guys transition into his new life.