Who remembers Freddy?

Freddy is my favorite.  The longest and most special boyfriend I ever had :-)

He's the lovely stuffed animal I got at build-a-bear many years ago, a super adorable green froggy.  But, tragically, I left him in Richmond!  I blame it on ''waking up'' at 4am to catch my plane... so he's been staying with my neice & nephew for a few days while I beg my mom to ship him out back home to me!

But in the mean time.....

I thought this was a wonderful time to beg T that I needed a new build-a-bear for a pregnancy gift!  It was something I'd been begging him for two years, so it was well overdue!  We came home from the mall with the cutest little addition: WoodyDog

And I do completely plan on putting this outfit on the baby... those pictures will be priceless!

19 weeks and counting

I'm 19 weeks along in my pregnancy :-) (So sorry for the people we didn't get to tell, and you're finding out via the internet --not such a fun way to find out!)  This is the first ultrasound pic, it's just perfect!  This was taken at 11 weeks 5 days.  It's just the perfect little profile picture everyone hopes to get!

Then these next two were taken at 18 weeks in Richmond.  I was so lucky and so blessed!  We were staying with the Coleman's and they were just incredible hosts.  So incredible that I got a free ultrasound!  Yay :-)  We were really (really!) hoping to find out the gender, but alas, the baby's little legs were crossed!  Can you make out the little legs?

                                                                                                                                                   

And this last one is the spine!  It looks so weird, like a bug :-)                                                

I'm due just a few days after my birthday :-)  The fun part is that I've got a friend here in Cheltenham due just a few days after her birthday, too, in April; and another friend in Richmond due a week before me!  Gotta love getting married and having babies :-) I do!!  God is brilliantly awesome :-)

did anyone catch the play on words in the title? just me? yeah.

Our trip back to VA

26 that's how many days I got to spend back home!  T and I went back out to Richmond for an amazingly long, great trip :-)  We bought a car, a lovely old (very, very old) Buick that T named Bocephus :-)  And we got to spend tons of time with my family and friends.  I think we managed to hit most of my favorite restaurants, we went swimming at the river and some neighborhood pools, and just massively enjoyed that last few weeks of summer in Richmond.

I didn't take too many pictures, a bit too busy soaking it all in to get the camera out.  Which naturally, I regret now, but oh well.

I've got some funny pics of little A who dressed up as a monkey in his halloween costume.  It was too cute, he's so reserved and quiet that when we first tried to get the costume on him he wouldn't have any of it -screamed bloody murder.  So we managed to get his big sister into the costume -hilarious seeing that she's 6 years old and the costume is meant for a toddler.  And after that he was fine with it, he wandered around playing like it was normal jeans & a t-shirt :-)

Mozambique

all the older posts are from Mozambique :-)

What’s bringing me home

I’m going to update this a few times I think, don’t think these are the only things I miss lol.

*well obviously what I miss most about home is my family and friends, but there are lots and lots of little things I reaaaaally miss about Richmond and the States in general:

*Kitchen 64 & having Graham serve me just like old times :o)

*Mojo’s Cheese fries w/ ranch and Jessica!!!!

*choice. you have so many choices in America.  200 types of cereal, all readily available at all times, as with everything else in grocery stores.  *You can even ask grocery stores to stock items for you personally!* 200 restaurants to visit in any given 20mile radius.  Choices choices choices!

*my beautiful VW Passat!!!!! Taylor, I’ve longed for you so, so desperately  :-) I can’t wait to drive you again!!

*my 2nd neice/nephew! due November 5th!!!

*the colemans, katie, scott, connor, brayden, cason and declan –>those little cuties better remember me and remember well! lol

*something in my heart is really calling me to Richmond’s children, maybe God has something in store for me

*beautifully paved roads (yep, even downtown’s Richmond’s roads)

*rules for the order and chaos that can happen in community living

Dia das Criancas

  wrote this a couple days ago:

This day is huge –or so I’ve heard.  Every time it’s spoken of (in hushed tones of course, and with s-p-e-l-l-e-d words) it’s portrayed to be an equivalent to Christmas.  And let me tell ya… Christmas was a huge day. Great day, lots of fun. New Years was –by far!– the most fun day yet, but Christmas was really close too.  So… Children’s Day… wooosh, it’s gonna be something else :-)  Well anyway, today Laura and I started prep for the gifts the boys will get.  Together we went through all the big huge wooden boxes in the middle room of the dorm and pulled out all the toys we have stored.  I should say that Iris runs completely on donations.  It’s amazing. From missionaries to children to staff, all salaries and needs are met by donations :-) Ahhmazing!  Well, we started organizing all the toys. All the many, many toys.  Any child’s heaven, in fact. I  love organizing, so I was in my zone, lol.  We had little grocery bags filled for each type of toy: bouncy balls, slinkys, action figures, army men, match box cars (which will forever remind me of Josh & Jason), arts and crafts, pencils, notebooks, and on and on and on.  It was really awesome, knowing we are able to give 30 boys a bag full of toys twice a year (Christmas & Children’s Day) and still even more throughout the year all thanks to visitors’ donations.  So in the next couple days I’ll decorate bags for the boys and then Laura and I will organize what goes into each one.  They’ll also get shoes and a whole outfit :-)  It’s gonna be really cute. 

I’ve posted up some pics of Christmas, one of the whole dorm and one with my uncle playing with their new toys. When I was looking back through my pictures for Christmas, I realized the Christmas card I sent home was of me, Laura and room 1. This is the room Naftal was in, he’s front and centre in that picture. With the best smile ever, he’s so beautiful. So strong and stoic, but he could have the greatest smile when he wanted to. I take great comfort in knowing I’ll see him again. Amazing comfort.. but I just wanted to let you guys know that –if you got a Christmas card, you also got a great picture of Naftal :-) 
(or if you just got your Christmas card, in May… like Jessica’s lol)

the best memory ever

story time:
I had only been here about seven-ish weeks, Laura had been gone for only a week or two and I had my first new boy to greet.  I didn’t know exactly how to welcome him, not sure what the tias had or didn’t have to give him and such.  So I say hello to him and give him a hug then try to fit him for a shirt and pants, which was a bit challenging b/c he was really big and built.  Well, about a week goes by, he’s starting to get his feel for the centre and understanding the ins & outs, of which I’m sure the boys’ explained to him.  He’s come to the afternoon program, gone to church and maybe school –can’t remember if it was out by then? 

One day, as I’m walking up to the dorm under the heat of that blazing afternoon sun, this little boy comes running up to me.  As he’s speeding away from the dorm he looks up at me and smiles, grabs my hand and turns around to walk with me to the dorm.  I about melted to the ground in a puddle.  Up until that point the boys had held my hand often, but it was only because I was a new person not because I was me.  Well this time, it was because I was me.  It was Naftal.  I loved that day.  I wrote it down in my heart the moment it happened.  I knew then how special it was and I know now how even more special it’s become.


it was the first great memory I made at the centre