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.