Today, on your third birthday.

Can you believe it?  I can't.  X-man is three years old today.

  Happy birthday little man.  Or not so little anymore.  I wonder what you look like now.

People ask me pretty regularly how hard it is to say goodbye when kids leave our home.  My mind immediately goes to X-man, and I answer, "Excruciating."  But not a 'I would never do that ever again' kind of excruciating.  It's more of a 'I can't believe I had the opportunity to love you that much' kind of excruciating.  

X-man, I think about you all the time.  Really.  A lot.  I think about where you may be.  I think about what you may look like.  I think about all the things you've probably learned.  I worry about you.  I worry about you a lot.  I think about whether you ended up with blonde hair, or if it turned out kind of red.  I wonder if you still have that concerned look on your face.  I wonder who is being your Daddy.  I wonder what makes you giggle now.  I want to give you a hug.  I pray for you like crazy.        I miss you.

Maybe we'll see each other again.  If we do I'll give you a third birthday present.  I pray if we see each other again that it's by chance, and that everything is going beautifully living with your Mom.  I pray things turned around and that you all are doing great, and that she is loving you and your brothers to pieces.  

In my mind you'll always be 1 1/2 and you'll giggle when I tickle your knees.  Your legs will always look like little sausages and you'll smell like a mixture of pediasure and baby shampoo (I love it.).  

I hope I see you again.  I hope I recognize you.  I hope all you remember about foster care is our love.

A well. A building. A baby.

  I haven’t posted much about Samaritan Village lately.  I think this is approximately where I left off:

  We are members of the board of directors, and are working with them to get through some kinks in the structure of the organization so that they are in a place where they can send a couple of American’s over to serve. (us?)  Not sure how long this will take – God’s speed.  When we get to that place, we’ll see if it is us he will send, or someone else!  In the meantime, we’re serving in the way that we see God putting in front of us!

 

  We are working on building a second orphanage about two hours away from the current orphanage.  This orphanage came about because a woman came from the area (bringing twins to leave at the orphanage.) and explained that there were lots of children dying in her area because they were being abandoned.  So : orphanage number two.  This orphanage is in Mwanga.  Very exciting.

 

  Anyway…

  Yesterday we got a phone call from the president of the organization to let us know that someone in California made a very large donation to the organization with the intent to dig the well for the second orphanage, and to build the first building there!  Praise God!  So, overnight we went from wondering how God was going to provide for us to build the second orphanage, to having a good portion of it covered!  This came among several other answered prayers regarding the Mwanga orphanage – what a blessing.

Well: Check.

Primary Building: Check.

 

  Other news on the Samaritan Village front:  A new baby was brought to the Arusha orphanage yesterday! 

 

Adorable.

 

  He was found abandoned about 4 kilometers outside of the city.  Amazingly, he was found in generally good health at the hospital before he was taken to the orphanage.  They think he is approximately 11 months old (he’ll be assigned a ‘birthdate’).  He’s not been given a name just yet.

 

  If you could send up a prayer for this little guy, I think he’ll probably have a rough couple of weeks.  Luckily he’s got lots of loving Mamas to take care of him at Samaritan Village!

One Month.

  You fit in wonderfully as a Popp.  We all agree.  Sylvia agrees a little too heartily, which is all of the smothering, slobbery, head-butting, I’m-eighteen-months-old-but-I’m-going-to-try-to-pick-up-my-infant-sister love you’ve been getting lately.  She really loves you.  Which is why she would prefer to give you night-night kisses instead of me.  But I’m not jealous.

 

 

  You’re only one month old, so you don’t really do much yet.

I am really a-ok with that.  Keep that up.  Cause your sister makes up for you.  There’s really not much else better in my world right now than getting to snuggle you against my chest – and the best part is, I’m pretty sure you concur.  You love yourself some Mommy snuggles.

 

 

  You’ve been such an easy baby that I almost feel guilty answering people’s questions when they ask.

  How is she sleeping?   …good.

  How is she napping?   …great!

  Is she fussy?   ….nope

  How is nursing going?  …she’s been a pro since day one!

It’s really unfair how easy you’ve been.  But I’m not complaining.  I’m soaking you up just as much as I can.

 

Favorites so far?

Snuggling.

Co-Sleeping.  Curling up to sleep next to you all night long is my very favorite         part of the day.

Your noises.  You are constantly grunting and squeaking and snorting.  It’s real cute.

How your sister worries about you when you’re not in the room, and you are the first person she asks for in the morning.

Nursing.  Of course.  Knowing I’m providing for you exactly what you need and want is a wonderful feeling.  And you always stare straight into my eyes while you nurse.  I love it.

Naps.  You are an awesome napper.  You let me lay you down while you sleep, and you do it for hours at a time.  A beautiful beginning to our relationship.

 

I was a little nervous when you came along.  You see, I love your sister a lot.  Could I love two people that much?  Oh. Yes.  I love you more than you will ever know.  You are a wonderful gift to our family, Naomi.  Wonderful.

 

Love you, love you, love you,

                                  Mama

 

First Bath.

  I think I remember Sylvia loving baths.  But maybe this is just selective remembering.

  Naomi is not a fan.  She may end up having a slightly dirtier infanthood than Sylvia did.

 

“Get me out of here!”

 

 

“Oh, this is much better.”

 

 

“Ummm….let’s not do that again.  Ok?”

Why Foster?

Reason #189:

Because they are Worth IT.

 

I got this from this blog.

  If you haven’t noticed, I frequently love things from this blog.

 

I grow increasingly convinced that God values children much, much more than we do.
We value a clean floor more than children. We value free time more than children. We value the good dishes more than children. We value going out to eat or watching grown-up television shows more than we value children.
All the world, including the church, tells us that children are a bother, perhaps even a mistake. If you don’t believe that, introduce a family with many babies into your church and see how long it takes for someone to say, “They know what causes that, don’t they?”
We have let the world convince us that a large family is a curse, when the Bible clearly teaches that many children are a blessing, a sign of God’s great favor.
If I had the choice right now, there would be more children in my family. And I think I might be brave enough to let God decide how many.
I remember that it seemed a little frantic around my house when the children were little. I never got “it all” done, whatever “it all” is. There was not much privacy or money or free time. There was lots of laundry and garbage and stinky stuff. The boys were going to be 2 and 4 forever. It was never going to end.
Don’t get me wrong - I enjoyed my boys. But it was all colored by that worldly, selfish, hurry-up-and-grow-up attitude. And then it was over. I woke up one morning and they were almost as tall as me. The next day, or so it seemed, they didn’t even live with us. Now there is not much garbage or laundry or stinky stuff. And there is much more privacy and money and free time.
I’d trade it all in a heartbeat.
I would do laundry around the clock if it meant I could have one more day with my little boys in my home. I want the piles of blue jeans back. If my family had been larger, perhaps I would have grown in wisdom and learned to treasure the tiny victories and agonies of everyday. Perhaps not, but at least it would have lasted longer.
You think they’ll be little forever. You can’t imagine being able to handle – afford – care for another little life. But you can. And it will be over before you know it, with plenty of years left to use the good dishes.

Amen.

Blessed by Motherhood.

 

 

"It is no small thing to be loved by those so fresh from heaven."

-Tony Woodlief

 

 

 

 

 

Sister love.

  Sylvia loves her new sister.  She is constantly wanting to give her hugs and kisses, and when she see’s her first thing in the morning she yells, “Mimi!!!!”.  She’s actually woken up calling for her a couple times.  It’s very sweet, and I can already tell they will be very close.

  We are working (a lot) on gentleness.  At 18 months, I’m not sure ‘gentleness’ has even made it into her little brain yet.  But it’s pretty common for a little pat to turn into a slap, or a hug to turn into a headbutt.   But, as long as Naomi survives her sister these first few weeks, I think we’ll be ok.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…And a little Daddy love too.

 

Quiet?

Both of the girls are napping at the same time.

 

I can count on one finger (literally) the number of times this happened with Sylvia and X-man.

 

Not sure what to do with myself…but I am definitely experienced enough to know not to take this quiet for granted.

 

A book?  A movie?

                    …….laundry…….