by Beth Curry, host Mom to Jasper
During the first week that he was here, Jasper did not leave my side…he was the essence of the phrase, “he follows me more closely than my own shadow”. He was interested in everything I did, from making spaghetti sauce, to loading the dishwasher, to straightening my hair! Where I was, so was Jasper. Then, I went to my first day back to work since he had arrived, and Christian was on full time daddy duty…for our “four” kids. So, in typical Christian form, he wanted to be productive with the day and he enlisted the kids to help! 
He rolled out the shop vac to clean our “new to us” car. When Jasper saw this contraption, he was sold! He jumped off the bike he was riding and threw his little body into the back of the Jeep, like it was a pit of free candy! He started vacuuming, and did not want Christian or anyone else to do it. He was in pure heaven and was detailing the upholstery like it was gold. He had a constant smile on his face the whole time and Christian was cleaning the interior right along side of him. If that experience hadn’t won Jasper’s heart enough, Christian broke out his beloved scooter to give the weekly neighborhood scooter rides to the kids. Again, Jasper jumped on the scooter, looked at Christian, and grinned with a smile to rival any other happy, healthy child. 
He was hooked on Shu shu (what he calls Christian) and has not looked back. He asks about Shu shu when he is in the shower, he looks for Shu shu when he is taking out the trash, he mimics Shu shu when he is picking up lawn debris, he smiles and cackles at Shu shu when he sings a silly song in the kitchen. He literally jumps at the opportunity to help Shu shu. To “work” with Shu shu. To be with Shu shu. While he is still very much my shadow, he adores his Shu shu.
This sweet boy needs a dad. He craves a father figure who will teach him, pray with him, play with him, and show him how to grow into a man of integrity, devotion, and love. I so hope that he won’t have to call the man who cares for him Shu shu for his life, but that someday he can vacuum and wash a car, ride a scooter, throw a ball, dance in the kitchen, jump into a pool, put training wheels on a bike, and a host of other things with a man he can call, Dad.
Jasper is currently being hosted in Pennsylvania through Madison Adoption Associates. He will be here for one more week, while we all continue to work together to find his forever family. Please email Sarah at sarah@madisonadoption.org for more information on this sweet boy! Significant adoption grants available.