That Smile....

Look at this gorgeous little boy. These pictures are from the October '08 trip - exactly one year after meeting our precious Asa Mack for the first time. The difference was unbelievable. When I traveled in October of '07, he was extremely ill. He was severely anemic and protein deficient. He could barely keep his eyes open and, for the most part, just slept in my arms. I never saw him smile. Not once. It was heartbreaking and, to be quite honest, I was very scared for him. But the staff in Haiti told me that they had seen this before and they assured me that he would be nursed back to health.

In December of '07, I was already seeing the results of their efforts. He was still low on energy, but the improvement was evident. July of '08 was an answer to so many prayers - Asa seemed to be in perfect health and he amazed me with his physical development and his joy filled spirit. We had so much fun together and were truly able to bond as mother and son... we picked up right back where we'd left off when I returned a few months later.

The particular afternoon that I took these pictures was quite busy. I was helping to photograph some of the children for their monthly updates and it was a little chaotic. Asa was sticking pretty close to my side and I pointed over to the slide to see if he would climb up by himself. He seemed to understand and ran over... looking back every few steps to make sure I was watching. Once he got to the top, he waited to ensure that he had my full attention, then proudly slid down by himself. Now, this is a totally normal thing that my other kiddos have done. It's always so sweet to know that they want to show off for mommy. But to see Asa, the once sick and weak little boy, who could barely make eye contact twelve months before, run - climb - slide - and smile that HUGE smile... and at me. Amazing. Precious. Priceless.