HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEN for real this time!

Our proud birthday boy

Willing to share the spotlight with Jonah.  

 Birthday cupcakes at 10 a.m.!

Bubble gun battles

 Brotherly love

Ben with the smoking gun!

Ben is probably thinking it is an American tradition to celebrate your birthday for over a month!

Over Memorial Day weekend, we had a huge family party for him.  Then at school on 6-6, his 5K class celebrated all summer birthdays so he had party for that.  And last week Sunday, Grandma and Grandpa gave him his present of a John Deere tractor.

But TODAY is actually his real birthday: 6-21-10.

So today we are going to celebrate his birthday one more time.  Next year might be a bit of disappointment....

Cupcakes at 10 am this morning, 2 bubble blowing guns for presents, and eating out for pizza tonight!

We love you so much Benjamin Kostas!  You are a joy to have in our family.  You are funny, sweet, full of spunk, and super smart.  You seem to be a born leader so it will be very exciting to see what you do in life someday.  You will be in charge of something, we are sure!

On this special day, I can't help but think of your birth parents, especially your birth mother.  I don't know what time of day you were born.  I don't know when they were first given your diagnosis of Down syndrome.  I don't know how much time they spent with you in the hospital after being given that diagnosis.  I don't know if your birth day had any amount of happiness in it because because your birth mother knew she would not be able to keep you because you had Down syndrome.  My heart breaks for her today as she may be thinking of the baby boy she never got to be with.  

I also don't know how your birthdays were acknowledged for the past 5 years in the orphanage.  I hope that some sort of celebration happened, but I just don't know.  

All of these things I don't know bring tears to my eyes.  You are a beautiful child and such a blessing to our family.  You were never a mistake.  There is nothing about you that makes you not worthy to be someone's son.   

I hope and pray that in time your country (and many other countries) will start to see that children with Down syndrome are mostly just like any other children:  cute, sweet, naughty :), and full of so much potential!  You might get places in a little different way, but you will get there.  

I am so grateful that we have the privilege to watch you grow and blossom.

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!