There's No Place Like Home

I know it is very cliche, but also so true!  There IS no place like home.  We were so glad to finally touch down on US soil again.  We traveled over 22 hours.  One flight was 13 hours, and a very LONG 13 hours.  Once off the plane we waited to go through immigration and then customs.  No issues.  As soon as we cleared customs, we walked through the doors and saw four very excited children make a bee line straight towards us.  There was a sort of barrier lining the walkway, but that didn't slow them down.  They flew around the barrier so they could hug us and greet their new little brother.  It was a sweet, sweet moment.

Waiting!

Where are they?

We finally made it out of the airport and on to home.  Luke was so excited with his new siblings (and they were super excited to meet him, too).  He also loved the toys waiting for him and all the new surroundings he had to explore.

HOME!

The first few days were a little rough.  Three of us had some major jet lag.  We had been up almost 48 hours with only about 3-4 hours of sleep.  Once that started to ease, it has been fun playing and adjusting to a toddler in our house again.  There are so many things we assume he has never seen, but he is picking it all up very quickly.

Sidewalk chalk with Er Jie (second sister), Grace

Loving the laundry basket rides

The pool with the family is the best!

Coloring with Da Jie (oldest sister), Faith

My sisters made me look like a pirate.  I like my bandanna and my tricycle!

 Today, we all needed to get out of the house.  We are missing one member of the family.  He is at Boy Scout camp all week.  The rest of us decided to head to the National Zoo.  We were hoping to see the baby panda there.

Luke started making elephant noises today after seeing the new elephant habitat.
It was really cute. 

We did get to see the baby panda and its mama.  

As you see, we are bonding.  This is not a quick, overnight process, but we are making strides towards a good attachment.  It is so fun to watch new learning take place so rapidly.  I cannot even imagine where we will be next week, let alone a year from now.  God definitely knew what he was doing when he placed Luke in our family.  He seems to be a perfect fit!