a new addition was being put on to the kitchen while i was still here, and one of the two rooms was finished by the time i left. now the second room is finished, which means the old baby room is now empty. this equals a play room, no wheelchairs allowed! i brought pily in with a couple of other kids...she was standing in front of me, so i asked her to smile as i took a picture. she immediately drops to all fours, sticks her leg up in the air, and looks at me expectantly, waiting for the picture to be taken. i was laughing so hard i could barely take the picture!

we spent at least 2 hours on the trampoline today...so good for these kids and their abundant energy.

tonio is has such a beautiful heart and loves, loves, loves to hold babies.

we played outside all afternoon...it was beautiful! we've been having lots of fun. i brought most of the kids from the big house outside this afternoon since i kind of felt like i was neglecting them....the talkers and walkers tend to dominate my attention. eek.
it makes me really sad, though, for some of these kids who need a consistency that just isn't here right now. there are so many good things happening, there really are. school, for one, and a teacher who cares about her students is nothing short of a miracle in this country, where kids with disabilities don't get to go to school. but some of the kids, especially josue, really need someone to be here all the time. people have made significant progress with josue to the point where he's been able to control his behavior and responds well to adults. every time his mom takes him home for the weekend, though, it's like we take 3 steps back. he comes back and is a nightmare. he seeks attention in the worst ways, doesn't listen to anyone, is so up and down with his emotions at the drop of a hat, and is just miserable. it's so hard for him and it comes out in such an ugly way. it breaks my heart to think about what happens when he's home and what a struggle that would be for anyone to jump between lives, let alone an 8 year old with major disabilities who is basically non verbal but doesn't get that no one understands him.
i just want to fix it. i know i can't and i know there are more effective things i can do...but he needs help. pray for him.

always a good sign - empty wheelchairs and a happy marcos. i hosted the social event of the year - floor time with hilary - up at the big house this morning. hehe. my spanish is coming back quickly but not instantly, and humor is hardest for me to translate. you'll have to deal with it coming out in the blog, you english speakers :)

then i brought kiddos down to my apartment to spoil their dinner and make a mess. i had to get a picture of alex with his face COVERED in chocolate. from hot chocolate, mind you. love this kid.

skyping with adele/my parents! they loved that.

who knew how happy someone could be with lemonade in a coffee mug.

saddest part of the day...i went to rocio's to see her and the baby. i turn the corner by her house and it's destroyed. all that's left are four walls. broken windows, piles of wood in the front yard, and absolutely nothing inside. the wrough iron fence was even gone. i was really, really scared for a minute, but then i asked her neighbor if he knew where she was. he said something about an earthquake and them living 'over there.' super helpful, so that was great. i talked to her dad though and she and i are going to try to get together tomorrow. i seriously don't know what i did before a cell phone. neither of us have one and it is a paaaaain.
some good came out of it when i stopped at my favorite tamale stand on the way home...tuinki wasn't there but i did have a strawberry tamale for the first time. very interesting. i'll stick to my green chicken and corn i think.

i don't know how i did this for a year. i'm pooped. can't even keep my eyes open.

well...i'm back! it's kind of surreal. actually a lot. everything has changed, but at the same time nothing has changed, if that makes sense. saw krista last night (yay!) and made it to church in ensenada this morning. it was so awesome walking in and seeing everyone...friends, parents of friends, people that are like family...josue, cande's son, was there for the first time since this summer, and his son is 5 months old! when josue's hair was long, these two were identical.

a bunch of people went to cande's house for lunch. i guess you could call it a fish fry, since he fried fish, as you can see. he also sang a song about lifting his hands as he splashed oil on the fin which made it slowly go up to a 90 degree angle...
so good to see them!

walking up to gabriel house was weird...i was like sick to my stomach! it was probably just the anticipation, although i guess it could have been the fish hahaha. i came around the corner and teddy, marcos, josue, ruben, and pily started yelling my name, which is just about the best homecoming ever. the rest of the night was chaos as usual. new rooms are finished, there's a new boy, lots of new staff, new ideas, new progress that some of the kids have made...you get the idea.

my baby! i spent an entire year trying to get a picture with jamie where he's a - looking and the camera and b - smiling. i never came close, and then this is the first picture i take! i walked up to him and he goes 'ama!' - his way of saying mama. love him.

nene helped feed jamie at dinner. obviously it was a group effort with roles to be played by all :)

i'm exhausted and overwhelmed. off to bed for a full day tomorrow!

this is it. ten months of blogging and here we are, at the end! i felt like i needed to post one more time to wrap things up, and to say thank you for being a part of this.

what a year. at times really hard, at times (most of the time) so much fun. i had the best job ever - i got to love on 35 kids who were desperate for constant, unconditional love and attention. as i was pouring into them, they made me feel awesome!

God changed me in ways i never thought possible, and that i'm still realizing. he taught me the importance of time with him every day...reading my bible, writing in a journal, and finding an incredible devotional. he taught me that there are reasons to be thankful in every situation, it's just that once in a while it takes me a little longer to find it. he taught me the importance of trusting him. not just trusting, but along with that, worrying less because he has got it under control. he taught me to calm down with my type-a-high-strung-control-freak personality and be more laid back and content with the way things are. he taught me the beauty of being accepted and immersed in a third world country, and that i have a lot to learn from his people.

the kids taught me a lot, too. alex and tonio taught me how to pray without words. teddy taught me how to laugh. marcos and jose taught me patience and helped me learn what it means to love unconditionally. nene taught me how to communicate in different ways. ruben and pilar taught me to appreciate hugs and kisses, and give them more freely. josue taught me the importance of an uninterrupted conversation. sergio taught me how to have fun. ely, chely, and sonia taught me how much you can say with a smile, and to be thankful. jaime taught me what it's like to love someone.

and you, all of you reading, wherever you are...you taught me to keep going. you taught me that there will always be a safety net of people loving, praying for, and encouraging me. i knew you were there, and for that i am so grateful.

i'll be back. but until then, i leave you with this:

love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. love never fails. - 1 corinthians 13:7

well...i left. it's not like i didn't think i would. but still, it's weird.

hanna and the boys made me the most awesome stuff...a sign that they put on the fence that says we love you hilary, and then a book of cards that 1st grade and preschool made, where each kid has their own page. it's adorable. and then sidney got the fingerprints of every kid and made this thing...there's a picture of it below. it was really sweet. it was so good to be able to say that i'll see them in 2 months...that made such a difference. alex and tonio were crying before i left and that was hard. i hope, but i also know, that they're going to be okay. they need lots of prayers whenever there are big changes in their lives, and this is one of them.

i'll post again later this week to wrap things up :/

on a happier note...i'm at krista's house in san diego! it's red tide tonight, which means there has been a rapid increase in the population of algae in the water, or something like that. what happens is when it's dark out, the waves look fluorescent as they break. literally like there's a light show happening on the ocean floor. it's incredible, and doesn't happen that often! they're packing up - krista and her two sisters - to go on a two week mission trip to haiti tomorrow. it's a bummer they're leaving so soon but i'm really excited for them...and also to hang out on the beach for a few days!

we had lots of fun playing outside today! it was a nice warm day so all the kids hung out outside until lunch time. in the summer, everyone's outside all morning, but it really hasn't been warm enough yet this spring to bring them out. crazy!

here's a cute video of josue and his bike.

they had a little surprise goodbye party today! it was really sweet.

jose helping feed, as usual. he gets so much joy out of helping...i've learned a lot from him.

hanna has been going up to the boys' room at night to read a chapter from charlotte's web to them and pray. it's so awesome, and i'm so happy she's doing it. it's such a sweet, family type thing to do, and i know the boys don't get a lot of that. i went with her today to give the boys their present...i printed out an 8x10 picture of all of us in front of the bus with becky's welcome back sign in the background and put it in this big frame that someone gave me. it adds some nice color to their room! it was great to spend family time with them. hanna and i read to them for a little bit and then we talked about what happened today that we were thankful for, and then everyone prayed...such a sweet way to spend time together. i am so, so, grateful that hanna is here. she loves the kids here so much and they know that. it definitely is making it a little bit easier to leave.

some videos:

jumping!

nene