February 27th marks the 7 year anniversary of bringing Antonio home from Guatemala. It has been such a beautiful journey over the years. Antonio has blessed our family in ways too numerous to count. His sweet spirit and jolly sense of humor always seem to lighten the air and bring joy to our hearts at all times. He was almost two years old back in 2006 when he joined our family forever. It seems impossible that in just a few short months we will celebrate his tenth birthday. Double digits are just around the corner. Time sure flies when you are having fun. The first few years following Antonio’s homecoming were so very sweet. He soaked in every experience and grew physically, emotionally and academically. He loved his new siblings right from the get-go and they just adored having a new little brother. They loved playing with him and teaching him new things. I remember the doctor being astounded at his one year follow-up from us bringing him home. He had grown 10 ½ inches that year. The doctor told me the norm for a child to grow in that time frame is about 2 or 3 inches and Antonio grew 10! Antonio was certainly thriving and we were thrilled. 2008 brought much growth to our entire family as we moved to Chicago. As you know, change, at any time and in any situation, often brings about growth for those that embrace the new situation. Moving to Chicago has brought our family even closer as an unit. Life has been good for the Block Family. Antonio was just four years old when we moved. He is 9 now and is in the 3rd grade at Calvary Christian School. He is such a social bug! Everyone seems to know who he is, whether they are in kindergarten or the 8th grade! He knows how to be a good friend and tries his best to always make good choices in his behavior. He is very inquisitive. I thought kids usually moved out of the question stage by age 5 or so, but Antonio seems to have gotten stuck. I often need to tell him that is a “daddy question” because his questions have gotten very specific on how things work. He loves old cars, boats, and trains. Antonio is a Lego Maniac (thanks to his big brothers, of course)! He has a Lego City that has news breaking all the time: Sometimes a crook has robbed the bank or animals escaped from the zoo and the city needs to be evacuated. His city is complete with taxi cars, ice cream trucks, houses, stores, pizza shops and of course lots and lots of people. He spends much time playing with his city and is very creative and dramatic with his stories.