Baby Play Time!

I love play time with the babies, but I have to admit that sometimes we have to get pretty creative to keep the babies from getting too restless and to keep ourselves occupied. Some of the things we do during play time are:

-sing any song we can think of
-listen to cds when we can't think of songs to sing
-do exercises with the babies
-tell stories
-ask and answer questions
-take pictures
-practice the alphabet, numbers, and anything else we can think of
-talk to the babies about their families and how much they are loved
-read books
-anything we think will keep the babies awake so they sleep during nap time

We are always open to new things to do during play time.... any suggestions?!

I will not be posting many baby pictures due to privacy, but thought I'd share just a little taste of play time!

Prayer Requests:

-Please continue to pray for paperwork to come in quickly for the babies. It has been much slower than it was last summer, which means families are having to wait longer to finally bring their babies home.

-Please continue to pray for our little one in the hospital. She is still there and the doctors have not figured out what is wrong with her :-(

-Please pray for Kelsey, one of the other volunteers, as she switches to night shift- smooth transitions, calm nights, and sleep during the day

A few of my favorite things....

-Homemade chicken noodle soup (thank you, Shr Baba)
-Banana milk shakes (thank you, Shr Mama)
-Bath day
-Bike rides (even if I was about to die after one time around the lake....)
-Happy babies
-Cuddling with babies
-Babies peaking out at you from their cribs after they just wake up, smiling up at you
-Watching the older kids with the babies
-Our fruit and chocolate drawer

Back in the swing of things....

I have been here four days now and feel like I am starting to get back into the swing of things. It has been a lot easier than last year. Since I know the schedule, I've been able to jump right in to learn the babies names. Still struggling to figure out which bottle belongs to which baby, but I'll figure it out eventually! Last year, all the bottles had the English names on them (for the babies who had English names), but this year, some still have their Chinese names, and I definitely don't have those down yet! Oh well, I'll get them down eventually!

Thursday was our day off and we were able to go to the Cultural Center. (I worked one day and I got a day off- not bad!) It was a great time to get to know the other volunteers and I love the Cultural Center. If you're ever in Taiwan, I highly recommend you go there!

Yesterday was "Family Movie Night." They have been watching the "Love Comes Softly" series. It was so fun and I wonder why we didn't have movie nights last summer!

I have been reminded:
-why I was planning to learn Chinese before coming here.... I hate not being able to talk to the older kids at supper. I guess that will be a goal for the coming school year.
-how much I love devotions each night- hearing the kids praise God in song!
-how different and unique each baby is, special in their own way!

Today:
-is English church service
-another baby's family is coming to pick him up. I can't wait for them to see him!

Blessings:
-Ended up in Elite seating (business class) on my long flight and got 8+ hours of sleep! Not sure how that happened, but so thankful for that!
-One of the babies got out of the hospital and is now back at the Home
-Two families have left to take their babies home with them!
-Papers arrived for one of our little ones

Prayer requests:
-One of our sweet little ones who is in the hospital
-Paperwork to come in quickly so the babies can go home to be with their forever families
-Families traveling in the coming weeks
-Strength, energy, and health for all at THOGL

HERE!!!!

I arrived in Taiwan late last night! Safe flight, found my way through LAX with only asking 3 people for directions, and all my luggage arrived with me :-) God is good!

TOMORROW!!!!!

Tomorrow's the big day! A long day of traveling, but it will be worth it when I land in Taiwan! :-)

Looking forward to seeing everyone there and especially can't wait to see the looks on the adoptive parents' faces when they finally see their babies for the first time!!! It's the best part!

Prayer requests:
-Safe travel, finding my way through the airports (especially LAX), and all luggage to make it to Taiwan
-Strength, energy, and willingness to do anything that needs done; eyes that see the needs of others while I'm there
-Paperwork and courtdates to go quickly and smoothly so that the babies can go home with their forever families quickly.

Father's Day!

Last year, I got to spend Father's Day with:

Mira Joy

The cutest, sweetest niece ever!



Though I miss her like crazy, I'm so happy that she is spending this Father's Day with her daddy:

Matt is such a great dad! I've loved watching him love his daughter... protective, but fun!

And I love that this year I get to spend Father's Day with:

My Dad

God has truly blessed me with a wonderful dad! I couldn't have asked for better! Wise, humble, kind, patient, and a little goofy too :-)

Happy Father's Day to Dad, Matt, and Nate!

Brother, Nate, and my first nephew, Auggie



Summer is here!

Teacher check-out was today, so it is now officially SUMMER for me :-)

I get to spend the next two weeks with these cuties:

Then, it's on to six weeks here:

To reunite with and meet the other volunteers, including:

Kelsey!



Learn from:

 Ted and Bev

Showhwa

And love on:

The beautiful babies at THOGL!