"He has the sweetest smile in the world...."

We received an update on little Derek (had I officially mentioned that will be his name??!!). This was our "Preparatory Update"....as in PREPARING TO COME HOME UPDATE!!!!

The update had some fun info about his daily schedule...like the "laying in the sun/massage" time from 9:00-11:40 a.m.! When we visited Hannah's Hope in January, we were there during this "sun" time, and it was such a JOY to see all the babies outside. In some orphanages, babies don't get outside much, if at all. But at Hannah's Hope, they are outside every day!!

The update also had the word that I was sooooooo waiting to hear: "SMILE"!!!!
In the ((few)) pictures that we have of Derek, we have yet to see him smile. He looks so sad in most of them. But listen to this description....straight from Ethiopia:

"Personality -- Dereje is content baby most of the time and has the sweetest smile in the world. He is an intellectual little guy; he takes it all in first before he warms up to you. He loves being outdoors and looking at anything that moves."

Music to my ears.
I guess he is waiting for us to see his smile for the first time IN PERSON.

He has also gained a little weight. He is up to a whopping 18 pounds at 15 months old (by the way, he is 15 months old TODAY!). That still puts him super low on the growth curve, but is great progress from when he came in to Hannah's Hope at 14 pounds!!

We are still waiting to get confirmation on our travel dates. If our appointment at the US Embassy in Ethiopia is confirmed, we are hoping to book flights for September 2nd.

Our family wants to thank you ALL for the kind words, BUT MOST OF ALL for all of your prayers!
Please continue to pray for our family as we prepare to BRING DEREK HOME!!!!