A Splendid Reunion

About two weeks ago we were finally able to come together and celebrate the long awaited reunion of Xiao Dua and WaWa. Or, more commonly known as Asher and Sophie. The two of them were able to enjoy and experience each other's company for the first time in over a year.

We packed up part (two stayed home) of our crew and headed out to Cape Canaveral and the condo where Sophie and her family were staying. Excitement and anticipation were overwhelming all of us as we made our way up the steps, through the door.. and finally to Sophie. I'll never forget the way Sophie greeted Asher;

"Xiao Du! I'm Sophie, but you already know my name!"

They eagerly exchanged the gifts they had picked out for each other and happily showed them off to everyone. Asher had been collecting all of his menu's and coloring pages from our Disney cruise that previous week, in order to save for Sophie. He also got the autographs of several famous Disney characters in his autograph book and gave that to her as well. Sophie handed Asher a Spiderman toy (which is currently making a home in his bed), Spiderman pj's (he wore that night) and Frog windchimes from Sophie's Mimi.

It was so precious to watch the two of them reconnect. The first signs of shyness quickly dissipated as hugs and kisses were soon exchanged.

The hungry bellies of six young children quickly sent us to a nearby McDonalds, where we ended up spending the majority of the day. (We had fully prepared for a day at the beach.. but the stormy skies had other ideas!) But it didn't matter where we were.. the kids were all happy, especially those two.

I've never seen Asher so happy before and already in the short time he has been home, he has seen so much. Hunting camps, visits to Disney World and a Disney Cruise, jet ski rides and karate promotions. Nope, nothing could compare to the joy on his face when he was with Sophie.

The kids all got along great. Between the two families we have five Chinese children with Sophie,
Esther, Emma and Maddie all within a few months of each other. The four girls got along great.. and I think Maddie even had a little thing for Ian. =) He seems to have that affect on all the girls..

It was a wonderful day and we are so glad that it was just the beginning of many more reunions to come. Fortunately, Sophie doesn't live too far away and although nothing is for sure yet.. a visit for a certain someone's 6th birthday would sure be super fun!

Esther, Maddie and Sophie

The kiddo's:
Back: Ian, Esther, Sophie and Asher
Front: Maddie and Emma

Maddie sure loved Ian =)

The night we got home was tough for Asher. I did have to go in and comfort him because he had just lost it. I didn't really expect him to get upset because he is not one to show off his emotions, but it didn't surprise me either. Last time he said goodbye he didn't know if he would ever see Sophie again, but at least this time he knows he WILL see her again. The next day he showed everyone in church the photo's from their special day. Asher still talks about Sophie and their reunion every day.



As soon as we came home from our trip, Asher ran outside to the backyard and hung up the windchimes he had received from Sophie's grandmother. Thank you so much Mimi! =)





****I took a ton of pictures and video and put it all together in a movie.. however my iMovie program is unexpectedly quitting on me each time I try to open it. Once I figure that out, I'll have the video up.. but I wanted to get the pictures up for all of you to see!