Happy Fall

Luke's 4th Birthday!

October 1, 2014, we had the wonderful blessing of celebrating Luke's 4th birthday~ first birthday home with us.  He celebrated at playschool with his friends and teachers and then had a dinner of long noodles with his family.  He will be celebrated with extended family and friends on Sunday, October 5th.  Praise God our sweet boy is home this year.  We were preparing to travel this time last year to meet him and bring him home.  We are getting close to our one year celebration. 

               Luke before playschool

      Luke with his teachers and friends

   Pictures with the sisters before getting ready for his birthday dinner

    Enough with the pictures... no more!

   Birthday dinner out~ Perry, Party of Six!

Daddy gave up on the chopsticks, and let Luke feed him

He's a natural with feeding himself rice.. He perfectly placed his fingers when and hasn't had chopsticks in about 9 months. 

       Girls trying dinner with chopsticks

When we started singing to him with the candles lit, he immediately blew them out and said, "eat, eat."  It was pretty sweet to know that we had another first with him tonight, singing and celebrating with him by singing Happy Birthday and having cake. It was evident he didn't know the routine of singing and then eating!

Sundays party celebration with family/friends.

Mimi, Alaina, Rachel, Luke and Granmomma

Happy 11 months!

It's so hard to believe 11 months ago today we were waiting so nervously in a hotel room in Lanzhou, Gansu, China to meet, touch, hold, and to finally see in person the amazing little boy God was leading us to- our determined, funny, indecisive, snugly son. As we approach the one year mark of having Luke,  we've been diligently working towards our 1 yr post placement paperwork.  It's been nostalgic to see how much he has changed, the girls have changed, and our family all together.  As I sat at Alaina's soccer game watching her play this morning.. with her daddy coaching her, the girls, my mom, and Luke and I watching... All of the memories of last year came back to me.. we were only weeks from leaving for a country I never knew would become so special to my heart, to meet our son and to begin life- as a family God started orchestrating back in October of 2010 

(when I began feeling a tugging on my heart from The Lord to adopt-a son, and the very month Luke would be born to a mother who would make a decision that God Sovreignly used to lead us to him).  

Oh how thankful we are that His ways are higher than ours!  In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you. (Psalm 33:21-22 NIV) 

Happy 11months with your "mama" and "baba," Luke O'Neil Perry! We ❤️ You!

Another first with our sweet boy~Luke's 1st day at playschool

Before drop off at playschool...

So far so good- praying he has a good year and continues to make progress developmentally and with speech (and that we can get a little homeschooling in)...

Hooray!!!! He had a good first day!

Luke's 1st spend the night away from home

Luke and the girlies spent the night with Grammy and Poppa so that mommy could take daddy out for his birthday!

Painting with Alaina was first on the agenda. 

8/13-2014 10 months with our son beside us!

Luke's 1st family vacation- WATERSOUND BEACH⚓️

Making a stop in Birmingham for the night... but beachbound!

Heading to breakfast with daddy before more travels.

We just arrived, and he's walking on the beach and getting use to the sand.

Maddie helping him get use to the feel and pull of the waves... so far so good.

Now he's getting it.

Rachel showing him the waves, they were spectacular!

So far this is his favorite part of his first day, steering the golf cart with "ma."

The girls tucked in for the night...