Happy birthday, Jonathan! We had a great time celebrating another birthday. All four kids helped decorate the cake. Benjamin did the T for Tennessee, Regan wrote the words, and Katherine and Lauren took turns putting the icing on the side. December is always a busy month for us in so many ways. This year, Lauren is old enough to notice and she asked if if was her birthday when we woke up the next morning :)
Look at that crew :)
Another surprise! A box of presents after Christmas! So fun!
This was one of Benjamin's gifts. He had fun playing the game. He was so funny though about buying the horses...he was quite the choosy buyer. He knew exactly which ones he wanted to buy and left all the others for me to buy :)
They were all posing for a picture in their new pj's.
Then, of coarse, they really wanted a silly picture.
I can't believe how quickly this one is growing up! She gets more beautiful every day!
So, I promised Benjamin that after Christmas I would let him get his hair cut. A haircut always includes a wash and head massage. I have another picture that I didn't put on here, but it really makes me laugh. The younger two girls were standing right next to one lady getting her hair washed just watching. And then you have the crazy Mom (aka me) taking a picture of the whole scene. It makes me laugh because I would not dare take someones picture in a hair salon in the States. They might get mad and break my camera :)
Here is my very happy boy with his new haircut.
The other thing we did was go volunteer a day at a local orphanage. Well, it's more of a foster home. They go to the surrounding orphanages and take on new kids until they can get them adopted out. They have room for 12 beds but are planning to double in size this next year. We had so much fun loving on these kids. Each one was so sweet!
This little girl was a cutie. She has already had one surgery and is scheduled for one more before she is good to go.
Regan got to hold this little guy for awhile.
This cute guy will be going to his new family next month in America.
This little guy had to be one of my favorites. He is a little miracle in itself. The picture below is when he came to the Home at 6 months of age and 6 months later when he turned one. It's amazing what some love and attention can do.
I definitely think we will be visiting more regularly to volunteer. I took Regan during the morning hours and Jonathan took Benjamin during the evening hours. Everyone left feeling so glad that we were able to volunteer our time. I can't wait to meet the new little ones they are bringing in. Over the next few days, they will be bringing in 3 more kids to the Home.
