new heights

We have some privileged kids for sure! It's a treat to even be able to climb Mt. Tunari, Cochabamba's highest peak, something most Bolivians haven't done, so it was a joy to see these pictures from the Alseth family from their recent hike/fishing trip.

Enjoy!

With Tia Kathy (who yes IS over 16 years old!!)



Taking a break



6 1/2 year old L has a catch!

Checking out a high altitude lake

The team!

little mother

{I didn't get around to posting this back in September, so here it is now while I wait to get my laptop back from a tech friend in Texas.}


Five year old S reminds me so much of myself...

I was also 5 when my sister Sarah was born and she was the delight of my days!

(Although I do recall going to the neighbor's house on multiple occasions to just hold THEIR baby. Guess I've always been a multiple sort of baby person, ~grin~)

I would never have suggested that S. carry a newborn around...

...but she acts like she's done it forever and does it like a pro, carrying her in the way she figured out that keeps the baby in the best position and sleeping happily


sorting through the baby's new wardrobe
(S has very specific ideas on what she likes and what is "feo" - ugly)

That is, when I share with her. ;-)


At church! (S. was so offended when people would say "Oh look, she has a baby doll" and would reply "It's not a DOLL, it's a BABY!")


When I showed S. through my file of "new baby pictures", I knew she loved it but was unprepared for her unabashed love and joy to see "her baby" so cute. She started showering Fabiana (who she was wearing) with kisses and telling her what a wonderful, beautiful—even handsome!—baby she is. But when I got to this picture I got a BIG lecture…

She stared at me incredulously and said “The baby is going to fall! You should NEVER put her on something like that!”

I tried explaining that she was asleep and not moving, that I was right there close by, that I only had here there a minute, etc., etc., but she was buying none of it. She wagged her little finger at me and said to never do something like that again. She was trying her hardest to understand how I could do something sooo irresponsible. Oops. (I only took a few of this "pose" anyway because I wasn't getting the right effect.)

Fun, fun!

Cry of the Orphan

Over 140 million orphans and waiting children under the age of 18 have lost one or both parents

Over 13 million double orphans under the age of 18 have lost both parents

Sub-Saharan Africa has 48.3 million orphans

Asia has the largest total number of orphans with 73.7 million orphans

Latin America and the Caribbean has 10.7 million orphans

Orphans are more vulnerable and at risk of becoming victims of violence, exploitation, trafficking, discrimination, or other abuses.

More than 500,000 children are in United States foster care.

Over 120,000 children in foster care are waiting to be adopted.

Only around 50,000 children, or 18% of those waiting in foster care, are adopted every year.

On average, children in foster care wait over 2 years to be adopted.

(From http://www.cryoftheorphan.org/)

Don't let the numbers obscure the fact that we are speaking of children. YOU can't save them all but YOU can save one.

Don't lose sight of the fact that each child is special in his or her own unique way, with God's fingerprints all over their special design and personality.

Each child needs so much guidance and time and grace and training and LOVE to grow properly and WELL.

A family is the only right place for this to happen. Tragically, for millions of children a family is not even a possibility.

May our hearts be moved and our eyes be opened and our tongues be loosed on behalf of the children who have no one to call "mommy" or "daddy" today, tomorrow, and forever.

In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

Ephesians 1:5-6

Ah-hem

Time for a couple of announcements, folks!

I hope that many of you in the US realize that it is National Adoption Awareness Month!

Did you know that while more than 30% of Americans say they have "thought about" adoption, only 2% have actually adopted? As someone who has experienced firsthand the pain of children around the world who have no family to call their own, no one to tuck them in at night, and experience continual injustice and heartbreak due to overburdened legal systems.....please hear me, it's not the thought that counts, it's what you do about it!

Please plan how to make a difference in the life of a hurting, needy, abused child TODAY.

It doesn't matter to me where you choose to invest your time, prayers, and resources, so long as you do it, but allow me to make a suggestion.... =)

(Okay so I'm sure you know where this is going, although I have been honored to present the ministries of others here on my blog on occasion. However, the responsibility of providing for the round-the-clock care and growth of our children does rest on my shoulders. Of course I recognize that it all comes from God but for some reason I feel like when coffers get low, I'm the one everyone looks to. Since I was 22!!)

So, as Casa de Amor Children's Homes provides a temporary family and healing, happy home environment until each child receives a forever family of his/her own, here are some current needs...

$50 to repair a bad part of the roof at the Baby Home so that all the important papers in the office are not wet when the rainy season arrives in full force

$100 will cover baby B's specialized hearing test, needed ASAP

$700 will cover a car payment for the Alseth family as they purchase a desperately needed small SUV from another missionary family

approximately $4000 is needed by year's end to be able to provide a for Casa de Amor II (January 1, 2010 through year's end): $4000 minimum needed ASAP for better rate

a donation of any amount such as $10 or 20 will go towards Christmas presents (one of our former baby's new Bolivian parents are offering to buy presents for 10 of our children, so that leaves 32 others)

And then continual, ongoing needs...

$25 will provide one month of speech therapy for a child (might seem frivolous, but have you ever experienced the aggression of a toddler who has not a single word in their vocabulary to be able to communicate instead of bite/scratch/hit/throw a temper tantrum? Or the autistic-like behaviors that come as a result? Y-e-a-h, not pleasant...)

$40 will feed a Casa de Amor child for one month
$400 will cover all water and electricity bills for all three houses

And then of course there is child sponsorship! (Consider it for a Christmas gift!) There are still a few children without a sponsor, including the newest twins.

It's easy to give by credit card via paypal (www.casadeamor.org/supporting.html) or sending a check to GOAL, PO Box 3201, McKinney, TX, 75070. If you'd like to specify towards one of these needs, please do so!


Well that was a long winded first announcement, oops.

Second announcement!

This Sunday, we're heading to Nashville for the "Orphan Sunday" event, yeah!! Check out details here and see if a church in your area is participating or hosting a live feed of the concert:

http://www.orphansunday.org/

Orphan Sunday from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

CCCCC

So. I wanted to make cookies.

Normally that would be a piece of cake easy.

But try having cookie store owning parents who have like 48 tasty varieties to sample on a daily basis and yeah...

No pressure.

So I went to the library.

Got a Martha Stewart cookie cookbook.

And combined ideas to come up with....

Cakey Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ta-dah!

Or: CCCCC for short.

And yes, they were yum! Although I have to say they definitely fly off the plate slower than the pre-cookie-store-owning-days. But at least poor Emma, deprived of homemade cookies, was very happy. She's been requesting these for months now. =)

PS - Try this sinful little recipe for a ridiculously yummy (and easy) twist!

enjoying life

Somebody special just a had a birthday!! Hard to believe, our A is now three!



She arrived a tiny, quiet, peaceful newborn in November 2006. Aww....

Even after so many knocks in the road both health-wise and in the family department (two failed adoptions - in fact the only two we've had to this point), she is still a delightful little person who brightens the day of everyone she comes in contact with!

Thought you might enjoy the Alseths account of making A's day special. (In an effort to use their limited resources wisely, all the kids at CDA III are having more personal, small "family birthdays", which is still really special to the child!)

We took her out to see a dinosaur movie and go to an arcade. The movies were buy one get one free that night so we took JG with her to celebrate. They both had the best time ever experiencing everything. A couldn’t get enough of the rides at the arcade and they both enjoyed eating their candy popcorn.

They were so entertained by the movie, which was a surprise to us because they don’t usually pay attention to things that long when we’ve put movies on the television at the house. They were the cutest! Their laughter was louder than the movie sound system and every time something funny would happen; A would look over at me and repeat everything that she just saw, and then laugh all over again. I couldn’t understand half of what she said but, her sound effects were the greatest. I was laughing at her more than the movie!

Even the people around us thought our kids were the highlight of the show. Fun, fun, fun!

See for yourself:

Happy Birthday, A, and many, many more!!!

{pictures courtesy of the Alseth Family}

what I see

My view...

...from my room in Bolivia

mountains, people walking, airplanes, clothes drying, snow on mountains, children swinging and sliding, dust storms, visitors arriving, highest peak in Cochabamba, K bus passing by, diapers hanging to dry, breathtaking bougainvillea vines

My view...

...from my room in Tennessee {actually sister Emma's room}

tall stately trees, picnic table, lawn mowing men, gorgeous fall color, parking lot, falling leaves, moving trucks, people walking little dogs

Love the nature!

So long as I'm not too close to it =)

what to do on a Saturday night...

When you're a Thompson in Tennessee, that is.

Go to the location of your opening soon cookie store...

...to clean up a bit...

...try out the new phone...

Then we go to their first store...



...to put out Mom's new fall cookie cake designs...



...serve cookies to customers who think we're open...




...count the dough from the day...




...read while waiting for the new gingerbread cookies to cool...




...taste test the icing (not really!)...




...scalp a gingerbread man with a pocket knife (totally her idea, I know, a shocker!!)...




...and decorate and put out the first 11 "gingerbread people" of the season!



Happy Saturday!

little big helper

Just like a content little housewife, five year old S is undeniably the happiest when she is washing dishes, sweeping the floor, folding cloth diapers, or feeding a baby a bottle!

Wordless Wednesday

can we say luxury??

Last year I was in Texas in July and quite possibly my FAVORITE purchase of the trip was a diaper bag from Wal-Mart.

So cheap and SO HANDY when you are constantly out with 1-3 babies/toddlers, or {many} more.

Remember this picture from a long ago post? Girl Twin E famously climbing IN TO aforementioned diaper bag at a restaurant while her brother slept peacefully. At least it kept her distracted for exactly 1.7 minutes! Multi-use, indeed.

Now with the volunteers and staff taking the kids out even more than me, they are wanting a diaper bag as well....or maybe not something that screams "I'm a mommy" but is just more practical than your purse, where that milk bottle WILL spill or leak before your day is done, and it WILL wet important papers.

So this week I checked out a few links I had saved, of "mother of multiples" recommended bags. WHOAH NELLY!! It's a whole new world! Unfortunately, stuff you never knew you needed until you heard of it. Now I'm not saying that I even understand what all of this means, much less do I want or need it, but what a dizzying array of features and options...

reversible
ultra lightweight changing pad (no foam)...oh, was SO concerned about the weight of a changing pad!!
machine washable
Crumb Drains (hm...)
magazine pocket
anti-microbial lining ....let me tell ya, you really don't need this in the US, you need it at the ends of the earth where hand-washing has yet to catch on and diseases that have died out here still thrive there
Mommy pockets (for lipstick. oh, of course.)
Pacifier pockets
key fob
Rhinestone studded zipper pulls
Lots and lots and LOTS of pockets!!!
Picture pockets
Light colored lining (explanation: to avoid the “dark hole” affect when you’re digging around for something. Clever!)
Wet/dry bag for messes
Diaper beds with “memory” foam so that there are no uncomfortable “pressure spots” for baby (???)
Stroller straps
Insulated diaper pockets (and diapers need to be insulated why?)
Premium shoulder padding on straps
No slip grip on straps
Stroller clips
And the “zippered pocket that works on the inside of the bag or out”. Huh?


Some bags had 20 or 30 fabric options, with names like "lotus lullaby" and "black bouquet". Lot of fun, but would make me want 5 or 6 to coordinate with outfits. =)

Loved the name "MotherShip" for one big kahuna bag (the striped one here).

And oh yeah, the prices were nuts - upwards of $100, so I was just dreaming!

A couple of the links (but if you have a baby, you've been forewarned!!):

Ju-Ju-Be

Fleurville

taste testing

A few weeks ago when I was at Casa de Amor II, preparations were underway for a double birthday party.

Tia Nahara, "chief baker" at CDA II, icing a big cake

finishing touches!

And there was much loving going on between the kids/tias and our baby F...

Then I was happy to see this sight in the kitchen...

...as the dozen children were told to form a line!

FREE CHOCOLATE SAMPLES!

"Cleaning the bowl", Casa de Amor II style

tid-bits....

Checking in from Tennessee...

Today was my first truly productive day since leaving Bolivia 10 days ago. How did it feel? GREAT! Sometimes I think resting is highly overrated.

I feel so much better now that I've emailed back and forth with my administrator and accountant about finances, staff, bank accounts, speech therapists, etc., talked with our bank here about an ATM issue, finished November's CDA I & II schedules, worked on October's e-update, and updated the website.

Oh which means you can now see our brand new brochure!!! Go here, scroll down a bit and you'll see the links.

In summary I also....

Supervised all of Emma's schoolwork/guitar practicing since our Mom is currently visiting Denise Holman while she's in Virginia.

In between reading Amos Fortune and math assignments, I got two emails saying that the main pediatric hospital here would gladly accept me as a volunteer for the next two months. Yeah!!! I filled out the application and we shall see what comes of it...

Laughed out loud as I read the new article "Hurry" from a favorite blogger (also in Tennessee!). Have to admit that she brings up an excellent set of questions.

Made Terayaki Chicken Salad sandwiches for my family's dinner tonight along with Organic Cashew Carrot Ginger soup. Don't get all excited about that one: I'm lovin' how lazy you can be in the US and heated it up from a fancy schmancy box of soup. It was all YUMMY.

No idea why this post happens to have so many links. Of course you don't have to go to any of them, they're just there if you're curious. =)

Later Emma and I enjoyed 40 minutes in the workout room at their apartment complex. SO much fun - this is getting to be a daily ritual! I've never had consistent access to workout equipment before. And well, now's a terrific time! Read: all the cookies and gooey bars and cinnamon-sugar pretzels with icing a girl could EVER want, yikes!!

And in Baby Home news...

Yesterday I called to wish our childcare supervisor a happy birthday, but we could barely talk for the kids yelling my name. So the tias started passing the phone around and I had a blast talking to about 8 or 10 2 to 5 year olds! I'm not entirely sure how many because some only smiled instead of talking, and gasp I couldn't tell who was who very well by phone...and an internet call at that.

You never know what a kid will say. Three year old Jh got on the phone and exclaimed "Tia Jheny!! Have you had your baby yet?!??" The tias dying laughing in the background was just as funny. I suppose he thinks that tias who disappear for long amounts of time can only be on maternity leave!! I told a tia afterwards that I would hate to disappoint him and that I could arrange to pick up a new baby on my way back from the airport if they so desired. =)

They also report that "my baby" (that would be 6 week old baby F) had just finished her bottle and is growing and changing and her face is already different again.

Speaking of airports, a new volunteer arrived today in Bolivia! Check the volunteer blog soon for more.

AND we are off to the one here now to pick up Mom, so signing off...


Pictures in this post courtesy of volunteer Savannah!!

and the kids?

My sister Heather wisely pointed out that perhaps my blog readers would be worried for the children. Who will care for them while you’re

gone?! you may ask. So, just to clarify...

Really, I don't mean to lead anyone astray by the blog, but quite simply the details of my office work wouldn't attract many readers!

The never-ending parade of emails, phone calls to make and receive, meetings with staff members or family members or lawyers or visitors, spending hours writing and editing the next Casa de Amor update email or newsletter, transferring money from the US to Bolivia, signing papers and letters, updating financial reports, reviewing volunteer applications, going downtown to sign papers or meet with lawyers......not always a lot of fun photo opportunities!

While I'm overseeing everything going on in our third floor Baby Home office, visiting the other two homes, and running around Cochabamba, a team of dedicated caregivers and volunteers are...

...feeding the crew, preparing the food, making bottles, changing diapers, keeping the kids (and babies) on a schedule, keeping the washers running, hanging the clothes and diapers to dry, loving and hugging on kids, teaching colors and numbers and helping with homework, kissing away little hurts.....and WAY way more.

I always say I live in the Baby Home because otherwise, I wouldn't have a chance to see the babies! Evenings and weekends (or "wearing" a baby while I work) are my best time to catch moments with them and get in touch with how everyone is doing.

So, not to fear! Our 42 children ages 1 month - 13 years are in great hands while I'm away. All I'm worried about is missing them way too much ...and not recognizing them when I'm back!!

One of my favorite CDA staff pictures, from July 2007