Feliz Cumpleaños - to Jean Carlos and to the United States!

The last couple of days have been pretty jam-packed! July Fourth was Jean's 12th birthday - and he had a great time making his birthday cake with Grandma. We went to a cookout at a neighbor's house for lunch, where Jean enjoyed not only his beloved hot dogs and hamburgers, but tried a few new things as well, including tortilla chips and salsa made from TOMATOES - to which he said "¡Me gusta! And yet he still insists that he doesn't like tomatoes :-) So funny.

He LOVED blowing out his candles and getting gifts - a Simon game and another game from Uncle Chris, a Star Wars puzzle, shirt, and Lego kit from Grandma and Grandpa, and a Colombian soccer jersey, coloring book and gel pens from us. Plus later in the evening when we saw Cami, a sweet girl being hosted by our new friends the Rogers, she gave him a basketball shirt, and an Adidas ball cap. She knows how much he likes sports from their time together at the preparatory camp in Colombia.

In the evening we attended a Kidsave Fireworks party in the Women's Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. It was perfectly situated to see the fireworks on the National Mall. The low-hanging clouds obscured the view somewhat, but it was still spectacular. The kids had a great time, enjoying the gourmet hot dog and hamburger stations, cupcakes, cotton candy, caramel corn and s'mores.

One of the great things about these events is getting to see the past participants of Kidsave's Summer Miracles program. It's plain to see that these are great kids who are thriving and blossoming and happy now that they are in families. In just two or three years they've learned to speak almost pefect English - it's amazing.

While the kids watched the movie Up in the theater, the adults enjoyed getting to hear the stories of a past Kidsave adoptive mom who adopted three kids from Kazakhstan around ten years ago. Two of her now-grown and very successful kids were there. It was very moving to hear their stories of what things had been like in the orphanage before their adoptions and how much better their lives are, and how much love and appreciation they have for their mom - they had tears in their eyes as they described how she had truly saved them from a horrible future after growing up with no family and no potential for an education or a means to support themselves as adults. One of the kids is now a highly decorated military sergeant - so inspiring to hear her love for our country and desire to give back in gratitude for all she has received here in the U.S. It was also truly amazing to see the outpouring of support for Kidsave during the live and silent auctions - so many generous people stepping up to give these great kids the families they deserve.

Speaking of which, if you've been thinking about giving, now is a good time because a very generous donor is matching every donation that Kidsave gets up to $75,000! Not only can you feel great about helping to support Kidsave's life-saving work, but you can feel doubly good as your gift is doubled!

If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation with a 100% match, click here.

Yesterday was a little more laid back, but did include a pro-bono eye checkup from Lenscrafters courtesy of their Gift of Sight program. The doctor determined that Jean could use a mild prescription, but recommended not bothering with glass right now, not just because he can manage just fine without them, but because it's entirely possible that as he continues to grow, things will improve. The doctor did diagnose a pretty severe eye allergy though, and prescribed some prescription drops to give Jean some relief. He said it wasn't visible to the naked eye, and that it could only be seen with his digital eye microscope, so I'm really grateful again to Lenscrafters for this great program.

Kudos also to Michelle Wissman who generously and gladly came to the appointment to translate. She is a sweetheart and Jean is always excited to see her. We finished up the day with Grandma and Grandpa treating us to dinner at Outback (where he discovered that he actually does like ketchup - again, made from TOMATOES), and a visit to the pool.