Charlie (Gabriel), An Update from OHIO

I just loved this story sooo much: The other day Charlie crept up on Karen to surprise her and after he did, in a surprised voice Karen said "Oh my, where did you come from?!!" And he said, "From Amanda!". Out of the mouth of babes. Here is a letter from Charlie's dad about him. Charlie was Starfish's 14 adoption 10 months ago.

Things are going very well here and dear Charlie is flourishing. His mouth has healed wonderfully and we were so impressed with the folks at Akron's Children'sHospital. As you well know, what a difference a few kind hearted nurses and doctors can make. Charlie's speech is coming along and he's become fast friends with his speech therapist, shown in one of the pictures. New words are coming along slowly but we're making progress. And as you remember he's a boy with a lot to say. He and Esme are taking Ju-Jitsu class which is great fun to watch. The respectful instructor spends much of his time saying "Charlie Sir, please stand at your spot...Charlie Sir, please stand sill...Charlie Sir, please get off of your sister." You get the idea. Well into summer now and the big kids are heading off to Camp in Michigan and Charlie, Esme, Karen and I are heading up to a family place in Canada to see my cousins and Charlie's second cousin Madina who was adopted from Kazakhstan. Fishing, plunking about in the canoes and swimming in cold northern waters. We're looking forward to it.
We hope you're doing well. Remind us of the dates you'll be in the States.We'd love to try to catch up with you somewhere along your travels. We talk of you, the Nannies and all the babies quite often, and you're all in our thoughts.
All our Love,
Steve, Karen, Henry, Lucy, Esme and Charlie

Life, Love and Laughter,
Amanda