Since I have our newest son, Shawn on the brain, and I haven't shared all the great bits about him yet....I thought I would let you all get to know him!!
I first saw his face when he was part of a camp that was held at his orphanage. An American agency visited, met him, made videos, asked questions, and gave an amazing assessment of who our sweet boy is....
Here are some things that were said about him by the agency rep that met him.....
"Shawn is absolutely precious! I got to meet him when we did our camp there:-)
He is an orphanage favorite! The nannies all talked about him so lovingly.
They would take him home at night, so he has some experience in family type settings:-)
He seemed very responsive during the interviews--he was able to point to all of his body parts and he knew his colors. He was often caught snuggling with one of the nannies during the camp. He performed a cute little tiger dance all by himself for the camp.
I worked so hard to try to find him a family, so I hope so much his family finally will find him!
Do you know about his orphanage? If you don't, you should go to our blog and look at the posts about Bao an. It is truly a very special place. They have a tremendous amount of resources there,including the Sunshine Academy (which you can look up online), which teaches the kids English. Miss Heidi is the American English teacher and she is great with the kids.
They take all sorts of outings, like to the market or the zoo to help the kids experience life! They do a lot of performances at Bao'an, because I guess they have officials visit pretty often. It's really quite an amazing place. Don't hesitate to contact me if I can answer any other questions for you."
This was written also during the camp....
"Let's take Shawn: he has a special need that may never effect him in his life, or it could--it's hard to say. Up until now, he has been a healthy, intelligent, scrumptious little boy! Everyone loves him. ."
And this.....
"Shawn is an orphanage favorite. All of the nannies enjoy taking him home and giving him lots of attention! His special need doesn't affect his daily life and he is adorable and well loved. He is one of the youngest in our group of kids this time. I had no idea he was any different than any other 3 year old! He's quite responsive and knows his body parts and colors and can follow directions. He had a good time with the beach ball!"
And this too......
"Shawn is definitely loved, and the nannies fight over him! He is smart, agile, and has such a sweet personality! The family that gets to call him theirs, will be very blessed!"
So there you have it!! It seems that our dear boy is being very well loved while he is waiting for his family. This is WONDERFUL, as it gives me such peace of mind. However--it also is one of my greatest fears.
He will be missing these loving nannies terribly. They have been his "Mama" for almost 5 years. He loves them. He know nothing outside of his orphanage. He doesn't realize that having a family is better than living in an institution. He WILL come to realize this, but in the beginning it will be so rough for him, I'm sure.
Our 5 and 7 year olds are coming with us to China, and I have prepared them, as excited as THEY are to meet Shawn....he might not feel the same way in the beginning.
If you are a praying person---please pray for his little heart--as we are preparing to meet him. Pray that God holds his little hand as he meets us, and that he is as prepared as he can be!
I truly cannot wait to have this blessing of a boy home....even the challenges, I welcome them--he is so worth it!
And at the end of this week, we will be officially waiting for our travel approval! Anticipating travel hopefully in about 5ish weeks!! Holy Cow--we are in the homestretch!!!
Amy xoxoox
Thanks!!!!!!
