Beautiful Delays

This sweet little nugget...oh my goodness. I fall in love with him all over everyday, and that is not just a "feel good" statement. Sometimes I have faint memories of kids with special needs when I was a kid...and I can realize that God was preparing my heart all along to be this ones mommy.

Shawn is the baby. He is my 3rd child, my 3rd son. And because of Down syndrome, he is delayed in many areas. It took him longer to crawl and walk. He had to have his heart repaired when he was 2. He is 3 1/2 and still has speech delay.....but oh my WORDS! Shawnie is communicating so much. Two of his latest word discoveries are:

• "mon" = c'mon
• "turn" = my turn

Last week Shawn crawled in bed with me. He loves to lay his head on the pillow and cover himself up with the sheet. Not sure why, but to him this is a riot. He snuggled with me for a few minutes then rolled over, looked in my eyes and with a bright and anticipating smile, he said "MON!". In fact, he said it in rapid fire style about 5 times. Oh my heart.....Shawnie was asking me to come play. Specifically he wanted to watch Barney, aka "Marney".

Last night I was lying on my stomach. The boys like to take turns sitting on my back and then falling off. I know....it sounds like a thrilling theme park ride to me too. Anyhoo...Shawn plopped down on my back and proclaimed "TURN!". Seriously....he is getting it and it is so precious.

And finally, he is beginning to learn some letters of the Alphabet. In one of our books, he can point out the A for Asher. The N for nana. The M for Mommy. The D for Daddy. He is not quite getting the S yet. But be also knows O and U. Shawn absolutely loves to learn. His eyes light up when we count and when we sing. He is soaking in everything he possibly can.

Shawn is even deeply beginning to engage in playtime with other kids. A couple of times recently we've had many kids in our house. Even though they have all been bigger and and older than Shawn....he wants to be right smack dab in the middle of the chaos. Chasing and running is such a joyful experience for this boy. And it's delightful to watch.

**I'll update soon about my 3rd trip to Zimbabwe. I am still raising money and am far from my goal. Please help me return if you can, to serve Fatima and her orphans.