Lucas (Lowie) and Eli's (Towie) referral photo
First featured in Holt International magazine: Winter Issue, 2009
Names Today: Lucas and Eli
Two years ago this month, our family started a journey with Holt to bring our sons home from the Philippines. Our boys actually joined the Holt family months earlier when they were featured in the Waiting Child section of Holt International magazine.
As we look back at that first picture of two little guys holding on to one another, it is amazing to see our growing sons who have grafted into our family so strongly. The physical changes as well as the emotional growth have been monumental.
Anticipating and preparing for older child adoption was a crash course in examining our parenting skills and views on many fronts — discipline, cultural education, family concerns, and even our ages. We have three biological daughters — Alison, 26, Rachel, 21, and Sydney 18 — so the decision to adopt two older boys was definitely a family decision.
When preparing for adoption, one of the many things an adoptive parent learns is that the story of your adoptive child is theirs to share when they are ready. In the case of our sons, Lucas and Eli, they chose early on to embrace their lives in the Philippines and share almost everything with those who were interested. They also gave us permission to share about our experience with prospective adoptive families.
Eli and Lucas were 8 and 9 years old when we traveled to Manila to bring them home, having spent five years in an orphanage on Mindanao in the Philippines. They spoke a few words of English, but primarily spoke in Visayan and Tagalog. Within six to eight weeks, they had a very practical grasp of English. As English Language Learning (ELL) students, they continue to delve deeper into more complex words and sentence structures. Academic language comes at a slower rate for most ELL students, but Lucas and Eli are gaining in this area as well.
My boys are now in 3rd and 4th grade. They love playing on the school basketball team and also play summer baseball, Lucas as pitcher and Eli in centerfield.
Learning to be a part of a family is an ever-changing process. Suddenly, Lucas was no longer the oldest, and Eli remains the youngest – much to his dismay. They have both learned what it means to have older sisters. Barring the usual sibling issues, all five of our kids have cemented a relationship with one another that is as fun to watch as it is amazing.
From meeting two fragile and scared orphaned brothers on a hot day in Manila to raising two increasingly independent and confident sons, we are so very grateful for the opportunity to love and live life with our family.
We asked the boys: If you could tell people something about adoption what would you say?
Lucas wants people to know that he still remembers the Philippines and the people he knows there. He also wants people to know that he likes living with his family and his new friends…oh, and baseball is great! Eli, who has turned into our philosopher, says: “I just know that I have a family that I never had, and you take care of me. I like my friends and school. I am smart and I am happy. I have a home.”
Lowie and Towie with their family
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