One year ago today, we got "the call" about Sintayehu (or "Sin-tuh-yay-hoo", as our case-worker mistakenly pronounced his name!) We'd had the feeling for several days that we were going to hear news of our child very soon, but no matter how prepared you think you are, that moment still catches you off guard and takes your breath away. There really is no possible way to prepare for the crazy, overwhelming emotions that you experience.
This was the first picture that we saw:
Right away, I just knew that he was MY child. I hadn't felt that immediately with Yikealo, and the feeling caught me by surprise. We saw more photos, filled with haunted, sad eyes, thin, weak looking limbs, and exhaustion....and yet I knew that THIS was my son. The immediate, all-consuming love that God can create for a child that you've never met is an astounding, beautiful thing.
Today, my beautiful little guy looks like this:
He is such a happy, smiley, crazy, full-of-life little boy that it is nearly impossible for me to reconcile those first photos with the child that I see in front of me on a daily basis. He's been talking a lot lately about how he was "sad in Pope-ia because Mommy not come." We praise God for the healing and the miraculous change that He has brought to Sintayehu's countenance over the last year, and we are so thankful for our beautiful second son!
The difference is amazing. What a sweet little boy!
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