Surprise E-mail

Christmas in October...

Guess what came in our e-mail today? 

A precious picture of our son when he was four years old.  The picture was taken by a French family who adopted one of those sweet little guys in the picture.  Their son and my son were buddies. 

Do you see my happy little guy surrounded by friends and toys?  That's my son.  I am the proud Mama of that adorable little four year old boy. 

I can't help but want to laugh and cry and grieve over this picture.  A year after it was taken, Aaron left this room, these children, those toys.  He left every single thing that he ever knew and was transferred to a place of no return.   Oh how I wish that I was the Mama sitting on that floor.  I wish I had adopted him from this place.  I wish we had spent our time playing on this floor, surrounded by these children. 

Do you understand a little of why I can't just walk away from advocating for Tori and Brady and Heath and all the others who are lost in the institutions?  Do you realize the shock these children face when they move from the orphanages into the institutions just because they are disabled?   Do you see? 

That is all I am going to say.