I stood up at the front of a church on Sunday afternoon, with Theo & Toby’s families side by side.. our Joy waving from the front row. Theo’s dad spoke of these boys, the meanings behind their names, & they were baptized together. I caught @biblewilliams eye & we dared each other to hold it together across a couple of heads, eyes speaking volumes... & both miserably failing. How could we not - knowing how far they’ve all come, how much has changed.. & maybe even more so, how much has stayed the same. Joy still sings at the top of her lungs & Toby still bounces his little leg as he scrolls through a million photos on my phone. Theo tells me story after story from his memories of our China life & the three of them play as they always have, like siblings or old-time friends. It’s more than I could have expected, hoped, or dreamed. They’ve all been home now for almost two years & it’s the story with the magic that never fades. They are still the gift I will never get over. They are pure hope, right before my eyes. From 2015 - 2021, these three have had each other. From separate corners across China to one little home in Beijing to here.. a little suburb south of Nashville, TN. I scroll through the photos & I hug them all tighter, because they are getting so big & they’re all growing up, but the thing is they’re doing it together. So much has changed & so much will, but these three will have each other: their memories, their stories, & their family, bound to each other by heart in that little house around the world, so many years ago. And I look at them & smile & still can’t believe it’s true... & I guess Olaf was right, because my heart’s right there too.. . ...”yes, some things never change. Like how I'm holding on tight to you.” Your Tang Mei loves you forever. (ps swipe for fam photos from 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, & 2015)🫀🖤🫀