so apparently the mexican circuses advertise by bringing the circus right to you

we had lots of visitors today!

in the morning a pickup truck drove by, pulling a cage with a horse, zebra, and pony. right after that was a tiny little car pulling a cage with a monkey! they both turned right down our street and we brought all the kids out to see them...pretty crazy. the staff was like oh yeah, no big deal, they do this whenever there's a circus in town. well then!

then the sisters' dad came! they were so happy to see him...it was awesome. he brought flan for all of them, which they loved, strangely enough. hahahaha

a group from nevada came this afternoon, too, which was a lot of fun. they came in and i was sitting on the floor and they didn't really know what to do with themselves...so i showed them around, and we took the kids for a walk, and they got to see most of the kids. it's funny, i kind of forgot that these kids aren't the norm for a lot of people. everyone in the group was nice, but some of the kids just had no idea what to do. after awhile they realized that the kids wouldn't break if they touched them, but at first it was slightly awkward.

then teddy's entire family came...4 kids, the parents, and a grandma. i have never seen him so happy, and let me tell you, teddy is a happy kid. he was just in heaven. he kept calling his brothers hermanitos (little brother!) and wanted his dad to watch him do everything...jump on the tramp, read a book, see his room...everything. he introduced them to every single person at gabriel house.
becky and i were playing with the boys after dinner, and she swatted at a fly that was on his forehead. he started crying, even though she didn't swat him that hard, and then he just wouldn't stop. we knew it was something else, and she asked him if he missed his parents, and then he started crying even harder. it was so, so, sad. he wasn't happy, joyful, exuberant teddy anymore, he was just like any other 8 year old who wanted his mom. ayyy.
he went to be with his brother. i hope that cheered him up. it just broke my heart to see him cry like that.

i've been working with some of the kids on behavior. we have some hair grabbers, hitters, and other types who i think just don't really know how to interact. it's been cool to see some improvements in behavior. it's only been a few days, but consistency and good examples are always effective. yvonne loves to grab hair, and i've been trying to teach her how to stroke hair and i say con amor (with love) to avoid the ferociousness that she can have. it's so cute to watch her now, because she loves to stroke hair and she's so happy now that people don't pull away from her.

after dinner i looked over at eymi and she was a very strange color and had this worried look on her face. i walked closer and saw that her chest strap was digging into her throat and i really don't think she could breathe. it was so scary but she seemed fine once i picked her up and made sure she could breathe....i'm so thankful something made me look over at her. gahh.

another favorite verse that i think about in context of the kids and the staff i work with:
⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
1 cor 13:4-7