Brother and Sister

We got back to Atlanta on Thursday night and introduced Kate to the rest of the family. We were a bit travel weary but super excited to see Sam and to watch him meet his new sister. It was an awesome moment – one of those moments that you carry with you forever, and that exceeds all the hype I had burdened it with in my mind. Our entourage had been waiting a while in the airport because it took us a long time to get through Immigration, though the Homeland Security folks were congratulatory as they bestowed Kate with U.S. citizenship and welcomed us home. We made our way through customs and finally to the elevator that would take us up to the terminal to meet our parents, my sister, dawn’s aunt and Kate’s little bro. Sam was so sweet to her and was literally dancing with excitement. I think all of us cried when he leaned over and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Kate was nervous and stoic through the whole process, as I expected. She was exhausted from the travel & jet-lag, and had to be overwhelmed by the airport frenzy. It’s hard to know what was going through her mind, but I’m certain she understood that Sam and her new extended family were thrilled to meet her and welcome her into the fold.

We got home that night to our house that had been decorated by friends, and a kitchen that was stocked by other friends. We’ve been really humbled by all the support we’ve received online and at home, and we’re so grateful for the prayers of our friends & family. So many of those prayers are already being answered. Kate is adjusting well to life in her new home, and she and Sam are quickly becoming buddies. It’s not without plenty of tears, bumps & bruises along the way, though. I literally just had to step away from the computer to bring ice for Sam’s arm where Kate bit him. Now five minutes later, after we got her to hug him and they both had a good cry, they’re back to playing & laughing. It’s tough to discipline her when she doesn’t speak English or really even know us yet. But Sam is doing great and we give him little speeches about how she’s still scared and adjusting to her new family. Yesterday Kate gave me her first hug. We told Sam to “show Kate how to give Dad a hug”, and then when it became a fun little hugging game, she joined in. Today she let me pick her up and fly her down the stairs. She still needs Dawn to be close by but I’m excited we’re making progress. Sam has said so many sweet things to her, calling her everything from Kate to Mao-Mao to his old favorite Hui Kate [which sounds like wee cake]. But my favorite quote of the week was his ecstatic declaration of their new roles: “I am a brother and you are a sister!!!”