New Kids

Today we got two new kids. Jose is 7 and Anita is 8. They are a brother/sister pair. They have been living at an all boys orphanage for the past 2 1/2 years. So poor Anita has been the only girl amongst 80 boys in the home. She has been sharing a room with one of the Tias this entire time. It will be good to get her around some girls for once! Not to mention ...their father is the "stepdad" to Katty, Monica, Doris, and Fernando. So at least they are now all together as a "family." Please be praying for these new kiddos as they attempt to adjust to a new place, new rules, new kiddos, and just a new life. 

Happy Birthday Nadia!

Today is one of our worker's (Nadia) birthdays. In order to celebrate we ordered cake and sang to her. It seems like all of our workers have birthdays in the first couple months of the year so we have been eating cake a lot lately...but hey we aren't complaining! :) 

Audiobook

I was recently told about a site that allows you to download one FREE audiobook a month. For those of you who like listening to a good book from time to time you will be as excited about this news as I was! :) I went to the site and tried it and guess what...it worked! The new audiobook is now on my ipod for my listening pleasure. 

I wanted to share the site with you so that you could take advantage of it too. 

http://christianaudio.com/free_download.php

5 brothers

I'm back again begging for prayers on the behalf of these boys. You met them long ago when I first came to Casa. They were the first 5 children ever to enter Casa de Esperanza and they were quickly dubbed "the 5 brothers." You watched them grow and change in the pictures on my blog. Then this past May you read my anguish as the courts ordered the boys be given back to their mother and father who had just gotten out of jail after serving 2 years for murder. 

Most recently the 5 brothers, their mom, and their older brother have been living with Jen for the past couple of months while their dad was in a rehab center for his drug addiction. Their dad is getting out this Saturday and intends to move back in with the boys and his wife. Jen is currently looking for a place to rent for them as well as a job for the dad. Our hope is to keep them close enough that we can keep an eye on the family and help out when need be. Not to mention that the boys are currently enrolled in a bilingual school and LOVE it. We want them to be able to continue in their studies there. So I come to you today begging that you pray over these little ones. Pray that the 2 months in rehab have helped the dad change. Pray that we are able to find a place for them that is close by and decently priced. Pray that we have the wisdom to make the best decisions on behalf of the boys. Pray that these little ones make it through yet another transitional period in life. I can't imagine what it must feel like to know that your future is never stable. They constantly live in a state of fear that the current situation will shift and they will be forced to once again adapt to the changes that are forced upon them. 

Skating

As a kid I loved to rollerblade. Katie, Shea, and I used to go all around town on our skates....it was the "cool" thing to do. The kids here at Casa have a pair of skates that they share.  As I watched them take turns skating back and forth in front of the house I was flooded with memories of my "skating days." :) 

They will often share the skates by each taking one skate. I've yet to decide if it is because they are being nice or because they have more control with only one skate. :)  

Monica is hilarious to watch using the skates. The girl often struggles to walk without falling...put her on wheels and it is even worse! Rosita decided to "help her skate" the other day. She thought she could hold her up and teach her how to skate. 

Katty is almost equally terrible on the skates. She can barely stand up straight without falling on her butt. Yet she spends hours falling down, getting up again, falling down, getting back up again.... You get the picture. If she makes it even a few inches without falling her face lights up as if she'd made it a mile. She is a persistent little thing. Much braver than I ever was at that age! 

Pamela

When Pamela was younger she was hit by a car and although they attempted to "fix" her foot back then they didn't do it right. So close to a month ago she went in to have plastic surgery done again. They attempted to reconstruct her heel so that she is able to walk and run without any pain. Since the surgery she has been on crutches and unable to put any pressure on it. She has been back to the doctor almost weekly since the surgery. She hasn't been healing as quickly as they would have liked but she is definitely coming along. I ask that you pray for this little one. Pray that the surgery worked and that she will be able to frolic around like a normal kid. 

when did they get so big

                                      Taken this August

I've been here two years now and over the past few years I've watched the kiddos change and grow in more ways than I can count. Yet today as I was looking back through old pictures I saw children I hardly recognize anymore! How did my babies get so big?!? 

                                           Taken January and March of 2007