Waiting for Christmas

We have received some lovely photos from AOH (Acres of Hope) and I'll try to post a couple of them today. One of them shows Teddy behind a blue wall and is my favorite picture. The day we met them in Liberia was the same day they were told that they have parents. Since meeting with him, Teddy smiles more happily when his picture is taken. Maybe it is sinking in that he really has a mom and dad. Patty, AOH director, told him when we met that we would be back for him after more paperwork.
When we met with Blessing, she had a physical at the same time. We had very little time with her. She is expected to need surgery on her crossed eyes and we will need to look into her motor control challenges. Though she is not talking yet and will be two years old December 27th, being in an orphanage, it is hard to tell how she will progress until we get her home. It doesn't seem likely that she will be able to walk without braces or physical therapy since her ankles are extremely weak and turn in.
Good news for Blessing is that she has gained 1 pound since we were in Liberia less than a month ago.
We wanted to adopt a special needs child, and will be thrilled when they come home. We inquired about an older child who is deaf, but God had Teddy in mind. Teddy has no physical differences, but his mother is in heaven and he needs a home.
We have been told that the children at AOH are shown their photo albums from time to time and read them like books. We brought a photo album for both of our African angels and imagine that they have probably received the albums. We put a photo of both of them in each album as well as photos of our son, daughter, son-in-law, 4 grandchildren, us, and Romeo who is our cat. Teddy and Blessing are in separate orphanages, but at least they can see each others photos. Perhaps they have met, but we don't know.
At home, we have their photos on our walls. Susan, our adult daughter, put pictures of Teddy and Blessing on the walls of our rooms and hallways. It saves us time to not have to keep walking to the one spot the pictures used to be in. So we admire the pictures throughout our days while we pray for them to be home on or before Christmas.
Lily