Not Goodbye, But See You Later

Oh my gosh, this day that I have been dreading has come so so quickly.... I never imagined it would actually get here. It is my last day with the kids until I am able to come back, and I will be back, I just don't know when... Whenever I can I suppose! I am having such a hard time now I don't even want to think about that I'm going to do when 12 o'clock rolls around. Please be praying and thinking of me as I tell these children not "goodbye", but "See you later"

Here are some last pictures of Guatemala March-April

Play Time

Despite being sick (again... I guess that's what happens when you work with 70 kids every day!) I had another great day. The team is great and the kids are improving by leaps and bounds every day. For example today, Kaylee allowed me to sit down on the ground with her with her first on my lap, then on the floor beside me playing with toys and then I got up and walked out of the room to see how she did and she just looked at me (slightly concerned) but then kept playing and didn't pitch a fit. That is a first ever. She also crawled so much today, it was wonderful. (Check out the video below!)

We also had a baby massage and therapy session in the canary room. Most of the babies LOVED it. Just being rubbed and touched and loved was all they wanted. For once we had the whole room quite!

The big kids had the opportunity to sing songs and play games with some puppets who were brought with the team, they had such a good time with them. They are also looking forward to the new playground that is being installed in one of the courtyards. They have looked out at it every day this week longing to go out, but tomorrow it will finally be finished and they will get to play on it!

The new babies in the canary room are doing well and seem to be adjusting and progressing better and better each day.

Here is a peek inside our day today!

This is our new little 5lbs baby Mirian

Baby massage/physical therapy time

Marta is a Bunny and is having so much fun being out of the Canary room!

"Heal my heart and make it clean 
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me

Break my heart from what breaks yours
Everything I am for your kingdoms cause
As I go from nothing to 
Eternity"

- Hillsong

Change, Change, Then Some More Change

Wow, Today has been crazy! It was the first day with this new team and it started out quite like any other. I would out that there had been a little girl dropped off on Sunday and she was having a very hard time adjusting and is not drinking or eating, I am praying she starts to drink soon, she is very dehydrated. In the morning we began to bring the babies from the Canaries to the doctor who came on this team to get checked up on but while we were doing that two new babies came to be admitted which threw everything off (in a good way though!) There first was Mirian, who was 2 months old and weighed 5lbs 3oz... Yes, you read that right. She was 5 lbs at birth and just hasn't gained anything. Her mother is 46 and she has 10 other siblings at home, crazy. Poor little one, but now she is in good hands and I hope will start to progress soon. The second came in a couple minutes later. Her name is Keyci (Kaycee) and is also 2 months old, but she weighs 7lbs and was 8lbs at birth. Both very very sweet little ones though. So, when the two girls came in, that set the whole canary room off balance and we needed to move a couple babies up to the bigger kids to make room so, Lesvia and Jamilett were the chosen ones! They were very happy to get out of the canary room! Then just for fun the also moved up Marta and Sucena. This of course triggered a move in every room, so, Samuel and Cindy got moved from the bunnies to the chicks, Sergio got moved from the chicks to the ducks, Vilma got moved to the squirrels, and (I believe) Abelardo got moved to the ducks as well... But I will have to double check on that one. Phew, I think I got all of them. But in all, it was a crazy day of new babies and moving babies. I have had such a good time though with the kids and the team today, I am really looking forward to tomorrow.

I didn't take pictures today because my camera was dead... but I will make up for it tomorrow... and for today, a sweet picture of Kaylee sleeping will have to do.

Another Day, Another Place, Another Time

This weekend is sadly my last in Guatemala... So, to spend it having as much fun as we possibly could, Olivia, her step-dad, her brother and I all headed back down to Panajachel!
Saturday morning they picked me up at the center, I said some hard good byes to the kids (even though I will see them again Tuesday) Then packed up my stuff and headed down the road. Here are some pictures from the car on the way there -

Here are some pictures of the hotel -

And this is Blackie- the hotel pup

When we got there we hung around the hotel and did some exploring before heading to bed.
The next morning started bright and early (yeah right... at about 9 30...) and Olivia, Francis, and I went down to the beach for a boat ride ad tour, what a nice way to see the town and lake! (we later realized that it was the 100 year anniversary since the Titanic went down... Hmm...)

^^Note the crashed boat on shore

After the boat ride we went up to an apartments/hotel that Olivia's great uncle owns. What a beautiful view of the lake it has, It is surrounded with trees nestled into a mountain. There is also an ancient Mayan sculpture of a snake that was found on the property and is thought to be 1000 years old. It apparently is there to protect the mountain.
here are some pictures of the hotel/apartments and of the snake rock sculpture.

When we returned from the her great uncles we had some AMAZING lunch consisting of Caldo de Rez (basically a beef vegetable soup), homemade tortillas, and awesome papaya juice!
We then did some sun baithing until it was time to go to the circus! yes, you heard err read me right, we went to the circus. We got there at 4 30 when it was suppose to start, but then were told that it a suspended till 6 30 due to lack of audience, so we left and walked around panajachel a bit, braided hair, watched the sunset and ate some choco-bananas to pass the time. When the circus finally got underway there were amazing trapeze artists, wonderful jugglers and some down right funny clowns. It was all in Spanish but I enjoyed it thoroughly anyways! I also managed to get a few pictures before being reprimanded for taking pictures!

^Yup, Those are smurfs...

Also, here is how we spent the 2 hours between 4 30 and 6 30