He is completely and absolutely adorable!
A determined fighter inside a painfully thin little body.
He probably weighs around 30 pounds (and is 8 years old).
Has eyebrows a woman would love to have. Zero tweezing required!
Is the very first thumb sucker in the Salem family.
Has tons of little scratches on his body and I have no idea where they came from since he lives in a crib all day long.
Only eats pureed food.
Only drinks from a spoon.
He is very much still a baby.
Is so sweet and endearing.
Loves to sit on a little child’s chair.
Is unable to walk unassisted and struggles to sit too.
Has very, very low muscle tone.
His legs are so skinny that they cannot hold his weight very well.
Is either very noisy.
Or extremely quiet.
Shows no aggressive behavior toward people (which is pretty amazing considering the way the other kids in his orphanage are).
Makes the same kinds of sounds as Hailee does.
Is as cuddly as Harper is.
Has many self-soothing behaviors.
Starts laughing as soon as he notices my hand coming to tickle him.
His new name is a Celtic one–just like his three brothers at home.
Tires very quickly.
Has zero strength.
Has beautiful, thick hair.
His gorgeous brown eyes engage with mine. He observes.
Is an overcomer!
Loves, loves, loves to be held tightly–which is a total miracle considering he has had very little human touch for more than years. Only God…!
When the caretaker brought him to me yesterday, he was crying. As soon as I held him close, he snuggled in and immediately stopped crying. How this boy has been longing for affection for so many years! God has answered my prayer and attachment is not going to be an issue.
He is going to fit into the family just perfectly.
He knows! He knows that I love him. Madly!
Tomorrow will be my last visit with Kael.
My heart is totally aching at the thought of leaving him where he is–it is beyond awful! Though I wish I could scoop him up and run out of there with him in my arms tomorrow, I cannot. The second part of this adoption process still has to be completed.
I am choosing to rest in the assurance that my God will continue to shelter our newest little cuddle bug under the shadow of His wings until we can return to take him home forever–until that glorious day when this captive WILL BE SET FREE!
No words can express how much we love him…and how thankful we are that this little heart has finally, finally found a home. Saying goodbye is so terribly difficult!
So deeply in love and longing for the day when I will never have to say goodbye to Kael again.
