Kellin Turns FOUR!

Today we celebrate Kellin's fourth birthday! Of course, we have no way of knowing if this is really Kellin's "birth" day because he was abandoned with no identifying information. But since he was abandoned as a very young baby, it is likely that today is very close to his actual birthday, if not exactly right. But really, does it matter? Whether or not today is Kellin's "real" birthday, it is the day that will be celebrated from now on, the day we will honor his existence.

Today we celebrate this goofy boy who loves music, water, hugs, and being outside. Today we celebrate how far Kellin has come in the past seven months as part of our family. Today Kellin heard the "Happy Birthday" song sung to him for probably the first time ever (I say probably because it is possible that his first birthday was celebrated since he was at Bethel at that time), and definitely for the first time by his very own family.

Will Kellin's birth family think about him today? I'd like to think so. I'd like to think that no matter how "socially expected" it is in China to abandon a baby with a disability, the birth family still feels grief and thinks of the child that is forever missing from their family. There is no way to identify Kellin's birth family or to tell them that he is now safe and loved, forever, but I wish somehow that we could share with them all about this amazing little guy and tell them how happy we are to have him as part of our family.

Happy Birthday, Kellin!!