22 Weeks!

Do you realize how quickly 22 weeks can go by? I do. 22 weeks ago today, Sean and I woke up in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia after a night with very little sleep. We walked a short distance from our hotel to Hannah's Hope and met our son, Will Tekalgn Harper for the first time! He was 8 months old and oh so sweet! When Almaz handed him to me, he let me hold him without any hesitation. His little head would lean in toward me when I held him because his neck muscles were not very strong. He had very little trunk strength and he was not able to sit up on his own. He was taking about eight 4 oz. bottles of formula a day and he was not eating any solid foods. He had just a tiny bit of soft curly hair that was just beginning to grow in. There were no teeth in that sweet mouth of his and his little gummy smile was precious! Here is a picture of the first time I held sweet Will........

Fast forward 22 weeks! And I do mean FAST! I can't believe how quickly time has gone by and how MUCH our Will has changed and grown! Here is a picture that I took of him this morning!

No more "gummy" smile! He has six teeth to chew his food! He feeds himself just about any food that we give him and he drinks his Vitamin D milk from a sippy cup. (Except for the bedtime bottle that mommy still gives him so we can have good cuddle time!)

He has a head full of beautiful brown curly hair!
His favorite mode of transportation these days is......WALKING! Yes, he walks more than he crawls now! It is already hard to remember those first days at home when he was sitting in between my legs for support!

Just another cute one that I took this morning that shows those big boy teeth and you can kind of see his curls!

I guess I was just feeling a little sentimental this morning as I watched Will eating his own breakfast. He didn't need me to feed him cereal or baby food with a spoon. He didn't need me to give him a bottle so he could get his milk. I cleaned him up and put him down on the floor and he took off like a shot; walking down the hall to find his brother and sister so he could play with them! I am just so thankful for the joy that Will has brought to our family!

I am so thankful that God called our family to this journey of adoption. We have learned so much about our heavenly Father and how much He loves us! He holds His children in his arms for SUPPORT when we cannot sit up on our own. He FEEDS us with His word so that we can be strengthened and encouraged. He watches us grow in our faith and then encourages us to WALK toward others to serve them and meet their needs.

22 weeks. It is hard to believe how fast it has gone by. It is amazing to see how much Will has grown. It is exciting to find out what the future holds for this little guy and for each of our precious children. Thank you Lord for all of your blessings!

At all times and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.
Ephesians 5:20