
about two years ago the mister and i were on the other side of the earth meeting our youngest boy. so much of him was a mystery, and the canyons of everything i didn't know stood wide between us as he first walked into that room. but we bounced a beach ball to his high-octane delight, and we (he) dug through my bag and unearthed all sorts of treasures, and we got to know each other just the smallest bit of a little.

[please forgive the photo quality. it turns out that when i'm sleep deprived and emotionally saturated, i can't be bothered with things like shutter speed.]



he's grown up a ton in the past two years. in the early days i just wasn't sure how we'd swing this. he was into everything, and when i'd remove him from pounding on the computer keyboard, he wriggle out of my hands and run right back to resume his typing. he'd laugh and point his finger at me and scold me in his super cute almost-five-year-old voice, and although the whole thing was in amharic, i'm pretty sure i could work out a translation: silly mom-lady. you seem to think i'm going to listen to you.
(they did tell us he ran the care center and had all the nannies wrapped around his finger. we just didn't know to believe them.)


our boy is tenacious and funny. exceptionally bright. resilient and unsinkable and engaging and charming. he could very well make history, this child, and we're grappling with how to give him things like honesty and humbleness in a world that values rock stars.
we know each other now. and he trusts us and stays close and we're praying big, miracle-sized things for his life.