Reunited...

It has been 3 days since we were reunited with Leo. It feels like a few weeks have gone by! We are still in the Philippines and it seems we've managed to squeeze a month's worth of stuff into just the last 3 days. I will do my best not to be overly verbose and summarize the events...

The day we picked up Leo...Sept 7, 2009. Could hardly sleep the night before and Maile woke up at 3:00 am and started counting the minutes to our 10:00 appointment to meet Leo (didn't help). We were so excited! It was raining. When we finally saw Leo, it was very emotional. Leo's foster mother, foster brother (6 years old), his best friend from school, social worker, two other social workers, and a friend of Leo's foster mother were there to greet us. We met in an upstairs office. Leo was very shy, so was Maile. He opened a couple gifts we brought for him (an ID bracelet, and a framed drawing Maile made of her with Leo infront of our house). Leo's foster mother cried several times as she talked about Leo. I cried. Talked with the social workers about how Leo has been, his school, etc. They said lots of girls at Leo's school cried when they found out he was leaving. Seeing Leo say goodbye to his foster family and best friend was hard. Overall, Leo handled it all well. Despite the goodbyes, he was clearly happy to be going with us. He is excited to see our new dog, Koa.

We went back to Marvin's parents house in Las Pinas...hung out, ate lunch, went swimming, went to the mall (Leo forgot to pack all of his underwear!) where the kids played video games and we ate dinner.

The next day...went to the mall(Marv drove...so proud!) and Leo, Marv and Maile bought new shoes, went to visit my parents in Cavite for a couple days. Raining hard! Leo met my parents and "my side" of the family (Leo loved playing with my 7 month old niece, Mayumi), we did some shopping and ate out, had a breakfast party, hung out, walked in the rain to the Mini-Stop convenience store for ice cream...yummy:o) The kids love looking at all the stray dogs.

Today we have two meetings...going back to the Parenting Foundation office (where we picked up Leo) to meet with the director and psychologist, then will be going to the Intercountry Adoption Board office to meet with the board where they will hand over all of Leo's travel documents.


So far, everything has been better than expected! God is so good! I think Leo was a little overwhelmed at my parent's place having to meet so many people so early on but he did good. We've managed to have some quality 'down time' together as a family where we'll sit around the bedroom and hang out. Leo is most comfortable around Maile...they seem to have picked up right where they left off. He is so good with her. I thank God when I look at them together...what beautiful children I have! Have not heard Leo call Marv or I, "Mom" or "Dad" yet...that will come. Mostly, Leo is just as I remembered...sweet, sensitive, still loves the video games, affectionate...but his appetite is so much better than I remember! Hallelujah!

Want to say a special thank you to our wonderful friends, Dojo and the Aguilar family for handling our flight arrangements and for driving us (and picking us up) from the airport. Also, a heartfelt thanks to Kristen and John Winder for taking care of our dog, Koa, while we are out of town. Our hearts are so full from the love, support, and prayers we've received during our journey...

We are enjoying are stay here. A little muggy and rainy, yes...but not overly hot. Thank the Lord! But....I can't wait to bring our Leo home!