Catch-up Blog...

It seems like my photo cache for the month of April has been abnormally large; which [logically, cough] would mean lots of blogging material. But -- since for some reason I find it easier to blog while sitting down for a LARGE chunk of time, instead of just a few minutes... they all come at once! ;)

The above photo was taken at the DIF park in town on Good Friday.

Diego turned 5 on the first day of April -- "oh my goodness!"
[His favorite English expression, and my sentiments exactly! lol]

I can't believe he's five years old. It's incredible to me that this family has been here for two years already... and it's beautiful to see how each one is growing in a different way.
Praise God! :)

This Easter I was missing my family a lot. Even before I had given my life to Christ, I enjoyed Easter -- whether it was singing Handel's Messiah with our college choir, or at home watching Mom pour pastel-colored peanut M&M's into the cross-shaped pan for church... ;)

But this year was special, too -- and I pray that these kids also have great memories from all that happened. And more importantly... I pray that they realize that all we have, all we do, all we are is NOTHING without Jesus and His sacrifice of love... and the communion we can now have with our Father.

"And, behold, the temple of the veil was rent in twain from the top to the bottom..." - Matthew 27:51a

Sunday morning [early] we headed to a mountain (sort of a hill, actually... but we called it a "mountain"... lol) for SONrise services; it was beautiful, and I was so thankful we were able to go, sing songs, and praise God!
It was nice because a few sisters from Ixtlan and Guadalajara were able to join us, as well. We all headed back then for an Easter morning breakfast at our house.

I had originally planned on hunting Easter eggs ON Easter [go figure]. However, I got super-sick, and we ended up hunting Easter eggs on... I don't know... Thursday or something. It was still a good time, though... ;)

Here the kids are with their Easter sacks -- no baskets [oops] [but they worked just fine] -- ready to rip open the plastic eggs and get the treasures inside!

Some of the "treasures" were the pills that convert into animal-shaped sponges when you put them in water -- which was a blast! I had forgotten how much I enjoyed watching the pills explode into little critters as a child -- and I thoroughly enjoyed it again as an adult seeing the kids so excited! :)

At left, Nere with her collection of Easter eggs; at right, Aaron "modeling" Candi's earring from her sack of treasures -- she wasn't a fan, so he thought he'd model it for a photo. :)

At left, Candi with her "bling" -- these rings have definitely made the circuit of the orphanage, now... lol. And at right, Diego models another of the girls' gifts -- butterfly clips!

One Saturday morning we had some free time, and I had told Aaron that I wanted to clean out his ears with hydrogen peroxide -- which we did all the time as kids; especially when we went swimming or something. So -- we decided to try it! And the boys -- about peed their pants giggling... seriously! They couldn't stopped laughing because it tickled so much!

Kids with clean ear canals twitching above (bottom to top): Aaron, Ramses, Jose, and Diego.

Frankie and Daniel came over and ended up getting their ears cleaned, too -- I told Daniel that now he could actually hear and obey what David was telling him... :)

Last Sunday morning I took this pic of Poncho -- quite handsome in his new shirt! It's amazing the amount of clothes that we get donated, and I'm thankful when we find something that works.

Please keep Poncho in your prayers -- that He can feel and acknowledge God's love for him and let that show in his actions toward others...

Nereida and Candi on Sunday morning. I did their hair the same, and so - of course - we were required to take pictures!!!

We also have this cool little ant traffic-way that crosses our path to the house... this provides endless entertainment for the kids as they watch these busy little insects cart and cart and CART all kinds of things; the ants also provide a great example of a good work ethic for the kids' chores! :)

Samuel -- our Hungarian friend and brother -- left last Monday to head back to San Diego for a bit, and then on to Hungary. It was a huge blessing having him here, and the kids loved him... a lot! We wish you well, Samuel, and pray that God blesses your journey and your time at home... that His Word does indeed go forth!

He came up to the house for a final night of "luchar-ing" with the kids, and I was able to snap a few photos...

The above photo was taken on top of the kids' bunk bed -- a little shaky with so much pressure applied, but there was very little blood, and nobody died, so we're good. :)

Aaron, Diego, Candi, and Samuel wrestling on the couch cushions.

Jose trying out a yoga position on the cushions -- it's very, very funny to watch the kids imitate yoga and pilates postures!!! :)

Limon (Joel Leman) headed back to Illinois for a couple months -- something important was happening... like... getting married or something?!? lol -- but before he went, we were chatting about all these events/activities that we get to be involved with here.

And it's so true! So many times I forget that our lives with these kids are packed with activities... and memories... and that it's just normal life here. I know that God is working and leading and guiding, and I just pray that as these kids develop, mature, and sense the void their humanity can create between their Creator and them... that they will open their hearts to His Word and His everlasting love.

Thanks for your prayers...