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.