Hudson has a family!

I fell asleep last night, phone in hand, with full intentions to wait up for the moment pictures were posted of Hudson (aka Apu) meeting his parents. Our household has been a flurry of back to school madness and today was our first day! It was Hannah’s first day of kindergarten and Eli’s first day of second day. So emotions were already high! Thanks to the kindness of my beloved Obie Nugget (who must always take his longest jaunt outside during middle of the night hours), I did wake up a little after midnight and saw that sweet boy in the arms of his mama and baba. I gave Eli the same bleary eyed wake-up call a few hours later. He held the phone as close as he could, studying his worlds colliding-our friends, Meghan and Chuck, holding Apu-now Hudson- in the same room we met Eli a little over a year ago.

As we got ready for the first day of school, Eli chattered about his wish to play baseball with Hudson, eat sushi together, and show him his room (the essentials in life). We walked our friend Kayleigh out to the bus and my phone lit up with a Facetime attempt. When the line connected, it was pure magic. Eli and Hudson stared at each other waving and I could hear Hudson repeating Eli’s Chinese name Dang Qien, Dang Qien, Dang Qien! Over and over. Eli waved saying, “Apu Apu!!!! Wo Ai Ni! (I love you)”

It.was.amazing. 

There are so many mornings that I wake up and read about something horrible that has happened in this world. These stories stick with me-so much so that I often feel compelled to later torture Adam with them after we’ve endured our own hard enough days out in this world.

Today was the complete and polar opposite. For all the times you wonder, HOW could this happen?! today’s events are no less momentous. All of the details that fell into place for today to come true are truly a miracle:

Even though Hudson is 5, his file was only created three months before we brought Eli home. Without a file, we’d have had no way to find the little boy Eli missed so much.

Even that missing is incredible. Eli didn’t only grieve the loss of Apu in HIS life but he wanted him to experience what he had….a family. Each and every day, we are still working to catch up on things that weren’t taught/weren’t learned from Eli’s years of waiting. The connection and consistency that Eli expresses when he talks about Apu has given me hope that those seeds are there…we just need to keep watering them with love.

When Becky (here’s her blog)-another adoptive mama I’m so thankful to have as a mentor-helped me find Apu’s file, I dreamed of a day I could tell Eli that someone adopted his friend. When Meghan told me that she and Chuck were taking the plunge, we dreamed bigger. Eli and Hudson could be together again-to laugh, to play, and to grow up-each with their own families and soft places to fall during hard times.

The details that make any adoption a reality-especially at a relatively fast pace-are also no small feat.

I believe that where there is great love there are miracles. Today is one of those miracle days and I’m so thankful and so honored that I get to live it.