He walked into our lives one month ago today.

That boy who, after a traumatic Adoption Day morning, sat in my lap and looked into my eyes and captured all our hearts with the ear-to-ear smile that since that day, even in sickness, has rarely faded.

That boy we truly cannot believe we get the privilege to call our son.

It has been a whirlwind month since the day we met the boy whose hysterical facial expressions and ornery antics keep us laughing for hours. In some ways, I feel like we were in China yesterday.

In most ways, though (like after one emergency room visit, two days in the hospital, one Urgent Care visit, one doctor’s appointment and one physical therapy evaluation for this sweet boy who has faced strep throat and bronchiolitis and the stomach bug of his brothers and a strange rash that turned his face to sandpaper and then covered his entire body), I feel like it was a lifetime ago.

We can’t even remember now a day that Superhero 4 wasn’t a member of the league.

And we don’t want to.

The last month has been BRUTAL in the physical and logistical and health and new-continent transition departments (hence eight days to write one blog and two weeks completely off the grid — thank you, LORD, for the 11 amazing families who delivered meals to our door for two weeks straight). But it’s been BEAUTIFUL in every emotional way.