Flowers

Are these not the most amazing flowers ever??!! Birds of Paradise are about the weirdest and coolest flower, huh? Alberto (Dominican dad) came over with a huge bouquet this morning-I ended up with two vases full of flowers!

Wildlife

Just a little moth that flew into the house the other night...and stuck around for a few days. The problem with these things is that they have bodies-like a real body with arms and legs and they make loud fluttering noises when they fly. I'm glad he's gone.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

These people make my days brighter.

We took a trip to the beach the other night and got to sit and chat and enjoy one of the great parts of the Dominican Republic...the beach.

Heart Day

Happy Day of Love and Friendship! I like that translation better than the simple, Happy Valentine's Day. Anyhow, we had a special day with the kids and we got to see lots of smiles. We started after lunch with the kids handing out chocolates to each other where they had to hug and hand-off the chocolate...it was amazing! So many laughs and giggles as the names were called. All the kids camed dressed in skirts and dresses and some boys even had ties on! Each kid then was given a bag with underwear and socks (thanks Derek and Dan) and some toys or shoes.

I love these days. To see the kids excited about a bag of clothes, running it home, it's special. I mean, these days I get excited about getting a bag of clothes, but I can't say at 4 and 5 years old I would have been too thrilled. These kids are incredible. I will never stop saying that. My love grows more for them each day, with each second I have with them. Sometimes I just sit staring at them, amazed at each one of their lives.

Later on I had friends over for a Valentine's dinner. We had lasagna (American style) and some vegetable made-up thing and garlic bread...it was a really nice night, one that I've needed! We played Apples to Apples (in Spanish) all evening and ate heart cakes that my mom sent!

Gifts!

Thanks mom!!! I got Chai tea and Cheetos and Valentines treats and chocolates and Splenda and Taco Bell sauce and Skittles...today was a GREAT day!!!

Hurts

The office and nursing/mini-hospital continue strong as organizing is done and boxes fall into place.

Sometimes I wonder how much my heart can be broken, when the realities will stop, when I won't hurt because of what these kids come from. One of the kids came in the other day because he was dizzy and tired and light-headed. We talked about the things that he eats. He doesn't eat when he's not at school, if he does it is very little. His head hurts because of this. My heart hurts because of this.

How can I make this better? Am I helping? Am I doing anything here? When will it ever end? Why do they grow up like this when I got to grow up like I did? So I wrap my arms around him, love him, and look forward to seeing him at school each day when I know his tummy will be filled. Then I step back from it all and try to take it all in. It is too much to take in sometimes, when the daily realities sometimes just become normal, when it doesn't shock me as much as it ought to.

I know that we are making a difference, I see it in their smiles, in their lives. Sometimes I'd just rather forget though about poverty, hunger, pain...especially when it is in regards to our kids.

Tea time

One of my favorite drinks here is tea. Tea from leaves. Of course all tea comes from leaves, but it generally comes dried in a nice little pouch that you soak in your water in the cup. Here it is different. You go outside, collect leaves from trees (orange, lime, mango, pine-just kidding!), rinse them off, throw it in a pot with cinnamon and boil them. It is amazing. With lots of sugar, there really isn't anything better. I've learned to make lots of teas, as there is a tea for any ailment. One with passionfruit and lime and cinnamon for colds, one with celery and allspice and cinnamon for bad tummies...I love learning these things. And it's only slightly off-putting to see all the leaves in the pot!