The Way Home

The time had come, and we were ready, to start our new life together in Walla Walla. On Monday, Aug. 17, we arrived at the Hong Kong airport at 8:45 a.m. and boarded our 13-hour flight to Seattle at 11:15 a.m. It was an uneventful flight, thank the Lord, with very minimal screaming and unfortunately very minimal sleep. And by very minimal, I mean Andrew did not get any sleep; Abi slept for two hours and Luke slept for five. It was very interesting entertaining an 18-month old for eight hours on an airplane, and when there was turbulence most of the time and we couldn't even walk around! But, we made it. I was just so grateful that Luke chose to not grace the passengers with his beautiful set of lungs.

Luke having some fun before we board the plane for the long flight.

Ummmmm, Luke?

Ready for our long trip to Seattle!

In Seattle, on our way to Immigration and USCIS!

We had a three-hour layover in Seattle, and we needed it. Luke became an official US citizen right there at the immigration and USCIS offices! Everything felt so official, and it truly was. We hopped on the short 50-min plane ride to Walla Walla and were greeted at the airport by several friends and family members. What a joy to see all of them and introduce them to Luke! Even though Luke was tired, he cracked a bit out of his shell and people got to see a hint of the ham that he is. I felt like a bazillion bucks holding that sweet treasure in my arms.

Since we've been home, Luke continues to be all smiles. It doesn't feel like we've only had him for 2.5 weeks. It feels like it's been from the beginning. China was so difficult. I had to dig deeper than I've ever dug before. To meet a child, become his mom, give him love, calm his fears—it was a task I thought I was ready for, but I was not. I wasn't ready because I didn't have Luke. Yet together, he and I made it through. We locked eyes and never looked back. Yes there was the mourning, yes there was the frustrations, yes there was the pain, but never was there the chosen option to disconnect. We stayed connected, and that connection strengthened with each concerted effort to not let go.

Today I feel incredibly close to this little boy. Where he initially did not want my skin touching his, he now does not let me go. He is constantly putting his hands on my skin, even inspecting my hands, eyes, nose, mouth, arms. He pulls me close and lays his head on my chest. He reaches for Baba and calls for him often. He plays with big sister and is even getting used to our dog, Cooper. He smiles and makes us laugh; he imitates us and talks (OK, yells) our ears off. He walks with a new confidence—a confidence that says, "I belong," and looks at us with a twinkle in his eye. Who is this boy? He is our son!

On our way home from the Walla Walla aiport

Luke playing in his room...this is his favorite to so far!

First breakfast at home...all smiles!

Playing outside with Jeijei (big sister). They are so cute together. Luke loves being outside!

Love his little body!

Warming up to Cooper

Luke's first time swinging at our neighborhood park.

He loved it!

Our first walk/run together...

...with many more walks ahead. I love this journey with you, Luke!

Disneyland and Beyond

Our last weekend in China was in Hong Kong and it couldn't have been any better. For starters, little Luke was about as happy as can be. He would wake up smiling, he would joke with us, cuddle with us, and he was finally eating. There was so much that we got to now see in this little guy who has a big soul. It's official: I am crazy in love with this little boy. And the next great part about our weekend in Hong Kong is that we spent our last day at Hong Kong Disneyland!

Originally, we thought our tickets were for a total of eight hours. The shuttle was picking us up at our hotel at 10 a.m., and we thought they were taking us back around 5:30 p.m. We figured this was enough time at Disney, especially considering the ages of our children and the fact that they wouldn't get naps. Oh, and let's not forget that we still had to pack our stuff for the big trip back to the US the next day! But anyway, we also figured we could take a taxi back and skip the shuttle if we happened to need more time. Well, on the way there, the shuttle representative said that they wouldn't be picking us up until 9:45 p.m.! He said if we wanted to leave earlier, we would need to take the train or taxi. Andrew and I both figured we would take a taxi back. But again, we would wait and see.

On our way to Disney!

Luke and Baba being goofy together

These two little critters are always wanting to sit on my lap, or on me in any which way, at the same time! I love it.

When we arrived and walked down the Disneyland entrance walkway, with Disney music playing, and art hung of famous characters like Winnie the Pooh and Minnie Mouse and all the princesses, and the sheer GLEE on Abigail's face, Andrew and I looked at each other and said, "We are in it to win it. Let's stay the whole day!" And yes we did: 10 a.m. to 9:45 p.m. We had packing to do when we got home, kids to bathe and get to bed, but you know what?! Sometimes you throw caution to the wind because when will ever be at Hong Kong Disneyland again?!

We had a ball. They call Disneyland the "happiest place on earth" and it really is, at least it was for us. It was truly the very best part of our time as a family. It was a picture to me of what God did on this trip: He took despair and turned it into joy, sheer joy.

We spent a lot of time in Fantasyland since the princesses are Abi's favorite. Right when we arrived, after looking at Sleeping Beauty's castle from a distance (the castle wasn't open yet), we headed for the Fantasyland. And who did we run into? Belle and Snow White! Abi was so excited she could hardly stand it. True to Abi, however, when it came time to actually meet the princesses, she was incredibly shy on the outside, yet bursting on the inside. I had to fight back the tears, it was such a sweet moment. Abi said to me later, "Will you write Disneyland a letter and tell them thank-you to the princesses and that we miss them? I want them to know we miss them."

Next in line to meet Belle!

Meeting Belle

Meeting Snow White

We also got to meet these wonderful characters!

Poor little Luke was terrified of Pluto!

Abi and I had fun on her first ride: the big teacups from Alice in Wonderland. She loved it and wanted to spin as fast as we could!

We had fun on the Winnie the Pooh, Buzz Lightyear and Mystic Manor rides too.

Climb into the "hunnypot"!

Pooh Bear's adventure

Tomorrowland and Buzz Lightyear! I wasn't sure how Luke would take this one. We were going on a mission with Buzz Lightyear to defeat the evil emperor Zurg! But Luke loved it. He sat up straight with eyes of wonder the entire time!

Adventureland and Tarzan!

The raft-boat that took us to the island.

Mad scientiest Andrew!

Little man missed a few hours of the sights and adventures. :)

Tarzan jungle tour!

Mystic Manor - a place where collections of old come alive all because a cheeky monkey opened the "music box"!

Random photos...

The Evening Parade

And the Fireworks!

This day was just so amazing. We felt like family. We felt like one unit. We no longer felt like odd parts trying to fit together. We suddenly just fit together. Luke knew he was ours, and Abi, Andrew and I knew we were his. We were a different Robinson, a new Robinson. You know you're in love when you sing "A Whole New World" to your newly adopted child. Yep, that's exactly what I did. The last song during the last Fireworks was "A Whole New World" from the Disney movie, "Aladdin." And yes, I looked right into Luke's eyes at the end and sang with the words as they were being sung, "A whole new world...for you and me." Indeed, it is.