Photos, pictures, images abound..

This week our adoption agency sent all families with referrals a CD that contains hundreds of pictures of the children in HOLT's care in Ethiopia. The Pics are from the trip made by HOLTs Board Members in late January when our son was still in Durame. They had so many photos that they couldn't go through every one, pick out the child, and match it with the correct family, so they sent us all the entire CD. It has been so much fun seeing the children and staff in Ethiopia. Some of my HOLT friends have been sharing the "image numbers" of their children so we have been able to see each other's kids, which is great. While many children were in 1 to 5 photos, our son was very popular with the HOLT staff and is in 30 of them. I wish I could share them here. In some he is wearing traditional Ethiopian dress and looks so adorable (in others he is wearing girls jeans with a pink bow and pink and orange striped shirt. LOL). We were able to better see how his sweet head has a "funny" shape from the malnutrition (Vitamin D rickets) and that he has a VERY outty belly button. And of course, now that we have seen him with other people, we see how very small he actually is. We'll easily be able to carry him around like a very young child, which will help with our bonding. This is good because many children who are adopted at an older age need to go through the steps of a baby/toddler with their new parents to build trust and attachment. We are looking forward to feeding him -lots- and watching him grow. I'm not sure what size clothes to take when we travel, but I'm thinking 2T, if that gives you an idea of how small our boy (who will be 4 this summer) really is.

Because of the new information we were given when Lucas moved to Addis, which was very different than what we were given originally, we have requested a video of him interacting with others. We've been told by HOLT staff that his speech development is comparable or even better than his peers, but he is now in Addis where they speak Amharic and his language is Hadiyegna. So our poor boy is already in a situation where no one speaks his language and just as he begins to learn it, we will be bringing him to America and he will have to start all over. They tell us he is active, alert and playful, but still pictures just don't show this. We're looking forward to a video.

From what I understand about Rickets, Lucas' head shape and small stature could be permanent, or could be reversed with proper diet. Time will tell. Whatever the case, we hope being in America will give Lucas a life that is full, happy and healthy. We know that God has given us this little boy for a very important reason, and we are anxious to watch him grow and find out what that purpose is. We are so blessed to be able to do this, especially in the bleak economic atmosphere currently in our country. Please continue to pray for Lucas, his care givers in Ethiopia, a quick court date, for us to pass court the first time, and safe travel. We really appreciate your prayers.