If you’ve followed our blog for some time, you know that in addition to Antonio’s adoption last month, we celebrated another adoption over a year ago. Kevincito came to us at three years old and lived at Love & Hope Children’s Home for about seven years. He was eventually adopted by a beautiful family in Ohio, the Boyles.
Since moving to Ohio with his forever family, Kevin has experienced tremendous progress physically and emotionally. Here is an update from his mom, Christine:
Kevin is using both hands to bring his sippy-cup to his mouth, almost independently. He has even begun to bring bites of food to his mouth like Nutrigrain bars and goldfish crackers! He is learning to chew. He loves to eat almost anything and his appetite is HUGE! He uses his surgically placed feeding tube for only 7 ounces of water overnight – otherwise, he takes everything by mouth. Kevin is now almost 40 pounds (he came home as an 18 pounder) and he has grown 5-6 inches taller. He is getting contact lenses, because he has a lot of sensory issues, he will not keep glasses on and we found out that he has a significant visual impairment.
Kevin is full of energy! No naps for him! He is full of crazy, silly, joy! He giggles all the time and loves to play.
Last month, Kevin and his mom, Christine, came to visit El Salvador for the first time since the adoption. We’ve seen pictures and videos of Kevin via Facebook over the last year and were following his progress. But nothing compares to seeing the change in person.
Everyone was ecstatic to see Kevincito again, to see how healthy and strong and content he looked. There were many, many exclamations of, “¡Juela!” (Wow!) and “¡Es increible!” (It’s incredible!). Probably most excited was Tia Larixa, one of Kevin’s prior caregivers. She ran out to meet Kevin, and it was clear that he was happy to see her as well.
After visiting Love & Hope, Kevin also was able to see his grandfather and his family, and Tia Mila, who also cared for Kevin in our home. The pictures explain it all:
Unfortunately, Kevin and Christine had to leave early due to I.G. bleeding. We are grateful that Kevin is in an environment where he receives the attention and medical care he needs
God works in amazing ways. Here’s one of the best parts of this story: Antonio would often say that Kevin was his best friend. Kevin’s caregiver was also partly responsible for Antonio and they spent a lot of time together. Though separated for just over a year, Antonio and Kevin now live just 5 minutes away from each other in Ohio! Kevin even got to greet Antonio at the airport to welcome him.
We are rejoicing along with Kevin, Antonio and their families. Adoption is beautiful, and even more so when we consider that God adopted us as his children!