Introducing Micah Shewit........

Jesus may have colored us differently on the outside, but our souls are eternally bound and the same.

It is 6 am in Ethiopia on Thursday (our last day) & I can't wait to personally introduce you to Micah Shewit! He is a Worton! Take McKenzie's energy level & times it by 3; Matthew's curiosity multiplied by 2, Mark's confidence & determination & my love for life & friends: That is Micah Shewit! He is an A-type personality. He is acutally wearing McKenzie out. He is smart..he grabbed my pen & paper to write out his numbers 1-20, his A,B,C's & then spelled one - five. He can't speak much english, but he knows our alphabet & he understands for the most part what we are saying to him. His boundless energy makes him a very quick athlete. He can really play soccer - I didn't know you could do those moves with a ball! And, he's fast. We are all running to keep up with him! (Think of the first words your children learned - his was "wait"! - Lori Shepherd, you are going to love him!) His voice, if I could pick a voice, that had a cute factor of 10, it would be Micah Shewit's. It's gruff and sweet. As Matthew says, "he just has a voice that is so cute, it makes you adore him."

Micah loves to take care of himself...unlike his brother & sister, he loves a shower, to brush his teeth for at least 2 minutes & he loves school! I'm hoping he will rub off on Matthew & McKenzie! :-) He loves to put Shea butter all over his body & some special products Tracy Mihnovich gave me for his hair. He just giggled the first time I rubbed his legs & arms with some good creams. He didn't want me to stop. Then, when I started to work on his hair, he just smiled & kept looking back at me. I hope I'm doing it right - I need Wayne Headley to help me out. (Now there's a guy who has good hair - Mark has already called him for help!) When I finished, Shewit asked me for my camera and went to the bathroom to take pictures of himself. This boy spends more time on his hair than Mark!

Tuesday night, Mark & I tucked the kids into bed. Before Mark prayed with them, he pulled out our Amharic translation book. (Micah looked up like, "am I in trouble"? - we're usually trying to find the words for "wait", "stop" and "share".) As Mark began with, "we are so happy to be your family", "you are special to us", Micah just beamed. Mark continued, "you are going to live with us in America - we will take good care of you." Micah started to giggle & kick his feet in pure excitement! "We are a family" was next, then Marked started by saying his full name then daddy, then my name followed by Matthew & McKenzie's...finally he pointed to Micah and said his full name, "Micah Shewit Worton." Micah's smile filled the room as he repeated his name: Micah SHA-weeet Worton! Micah grabbed the book from Mark & wanted him to keep reading. Each phrase would make him beam and his little body moved in delight. When Mark asked, "are you happy", Micah would happily nod yes and then make him say it again over & over as he nodded, yes, yes, yes! We all just burst out in giggles.

We have now downloaded over 1000 pictures Shewit has taken with my camera. I think he has artistic abilities as well because I would have never thought of some of those angles. And after looking at some shots of me - I need to go on a diet! Micah Shewit is a prankster & jokester - he loves to laugh. He is quite the actor too. He bounced off the wall & fell down to the floor crying. I ran over to see if he was hurt only to be attacked with tickles from him! He loves to play tag with Mark & his laugh is absolutely contagious.

Last night (Wednesday), Danny & Johannas took us to an Ethiopian restaurant w/ band & dancers. Micah Shewit and his best buddy, Levi Chernet (my friend Kathleen's son) busted some moves together, African style! We got video so I'll have to post it once I get home. On our drive home Shewit stood behind Danny (Almaz's brother) who was driving & directed him all the way back to the hotel. (Talk about a back seat driver!) They just laughed & laughed. I really see the favor God has given Micah Shewit at the orphanage. Those who have taken care of him for almost a year, adore him. Probably because he's a survivor despite what life has thrown at him. Please pray for him as well as all those at the orphanage who will be saying goodbye. He will leave a void. Although they know Shewit is off to a better life & no longer behind locked gates, he is a light & joy that they all will miss dearly.

Micah is really excited about the airplane ride home & we are anxious to get him home. I just can't wait for you to meet him! We actually will be in the air as you are reading this. Please pray for our safety/weather. Our flight is at 7:30 pm - through Dubai and arriving at JFK at 7:30 am. We arrive Nashville 5:40 pm Friday night. We're on Emirates airlines which is really nice if you ever fly to Ethiopia! Hint Hint! :-)

It has been an incredible journey to Shewit and this is just the "first leg"! I can't wait to see what God has planned for this little guy. I know it is nothing short of amazing. He was born with purpose. God always knew he would be a Worton even when we thought we were done having kids. I love how God loves us so much that he wants the best for us in every aspect of our lives. All it takes is a little bit of obedience.

Thank you Tracy/Elle Mihnovich for taking care of my blog - it wouldn't have been possible without you!