Week 22

Week 22

Toddler K

This little guy has found his way into my heart big time recently. I love this little guy. Toddler K is the oldest here at the baby home. He is three years old and the big brother to all the other kids. He can be trouble but most of the time he is just cute and looking for a little love and attention. Whenever the door to the flat is open he finds his way inside. This past week Monday I had the day off and K walked into the flat. The first thing he saw was my computer. He walked right over to it and started to wave and say hi. This boy has been on skype just a few times! After I explained that there was no one there right now we put on some Disney songs and had a dance party just the two of us. We ended our music session with a little sing along to God is so Good and this boy has the halleluiahs down! I always feel like a celebrity when K is around because he just loves to say my name over and over again when he sees me. Even if he does not see me I can hear him yelling my name from outside sometimes. The way that his faces lights up when you say hi back is priceless. He really is a special kid. We continue to pray that the right home opens up for this little guy. He is one I am going to miss a lot when I leave.

Small Babies

This month I am working in small babies some. I have really enjoyed the days I have had up there already. There is not much entertainment like with the toddlers but sometimes that change is nice. I have also loved getting to hang out with and hold my boy M so much! I am giving him all the love that I can in the next few weeks before I leave.

Baby M’s Verse

All of the babies when they come in have a verse that is picked to be their verse. It is posted above their bed with their name and picture. I love to read the verses each day as I wake the babies up and many of us use it as our prayer for the baby each day. My baby M just had his sign put up above his bed with his verse on it and I could not believe the verse that was picked for him…Ephesians 5:1-2! That was the theme verse at Geneva last year. I first began to apply to come to Door of Hope in March 2012. I never sent in my application then for several different reasons. I am so glad that I was home last year because I would never have met K and the Wallington family and I would not have worked at Geneva again either. I loved my summer at camp last year and sharing it with Andrea was just incredible. I was able to learn so much and be stretched out of my comfort zone. When I came to Door of Hope for this time it felt right. This verse has been one that has played in my head many times every day, especially the dearly loved children part of it. This has now become my prayer for M every day. When I wake him up I get to say dearly loved child, Jesus loves you so much. To spend the summer being reminded that I am a dearly loved child and to get to pray that over the baby that I was able to name is only God. He does have it all worked out because I am his dearly loved child and so are each one of you.

The Kiddos

I thought that I should share some stories or tidbits about these little hooligans that I get to spend all my time with here. J

-       Toddler T is terrified and hates Toddler A with a passion. Toddler A is small in size but loud and not afraid to wrestle for the toy that she wants. She just has to let out her yell one time and Toddler T is on the floor crying. He has been beat up a few times because Toddler A knows that he does not like her and takes advantage of it. It is really funny to watch.

-       Toddler S knows that she is my favorite and it is bad when I am down there right now. She has to be in my arms and on my lap all the time. I don’t mind but the other kids do. Just this week I was sitting at the table writing on their charts after lunch and she just came and put her head down on the cabinet/gate and just looked at me with her big puppy dog eyes and whined just a little bit. You can be sure that I finished those charts quick and scooped her up for some loving.

-       This past Thursday when I was in toddlers it was really cold outside. We had to spend the whole day inside because it was just wet and cold. We got out some books to read and at one point I think I had about 7 kids on my lap reading stories. SO much fun!

-       Since the weather has been colder the footie pajamas have come out. There is nothing better than ending the day with snuggles from kiddos in footie pajamas.

-       When we watch Barney movies the kids love to sing the I love you song at the end of the movie and give each other hugs. It is so sweet to watch. They really do become family to each other.

-       Big Baby N does not like to eat. She just cries and cries when it is cereal or baby food time. Her latest trick though is so clever. She pretends to sleep! You can be feeding her and she is crying and all of the sudden she will stop, throw her head back and close her eyes letting all the food drip from her mouth. She is a stinker that one.

-       A few of the big babies have started to take on the name literally. All of the kids get weighed each Monday and last week Baby boy N tipped the scales at a whopping 25+ pounds at 11 months old. He is a big baby!

This and That

-       Wednesday all three of us left had the day off. We planned a ride back from The Glen to do some grocery shopping and also decided that we would grab lunch there. Lisa ended up at the baby house and we got a ride to The Glen as well as lunch with her. It turned out great. We made it back just before the rain started to get heavy and the hail started to fall. I would also like to note for those of you who know my picky eating tendencies that I had a wrap that had caramelized onions in it and I ate them. Just another one of those times that things in Africa don’t seem to scare me as much!

-       There was an article in the newspaper here about baby M being found and coming to the baby house. My baby is already famous!

-       Mango anything is my favorite right now. I cannot seem to get enough mango.

-       Pray for Toddler S as he is in the hospital right now. We miss his smiling face around here and want him to get back to us as quickly as possible.

I came across this quote the other day when I was getting up to date with some of my blog reading.

I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much. - Mother Teresa

I just love this. Seems to just fit some many areas of my life right now. One of the questions that everyone wants to know is what will you be doing when you get back. I still do not know the answer to this. My plan is to apply for teaching position again for this coming school year and hopefully find a nanny position or something fun like that for the summer. I have to remind myself daily that it is all in God’s hands, that I am his dearly loved child.

Well we are down to just three weeks now. Ready to come home but I will be enjoying the next few weeks of lasts here in South Africa.

Three Weeks,

Emily