Boys Wrap Up

I never did wrap things up after the boys left.  I was sad and then distracted by coming back to the States for fundraising and vacation.  After a week with me the boys went to stay with their mom for the weekend before returning to the children's home.  Their mom was able to get some time off work, and they were really excited to be able to spend some time with her.  We printed off all our pictures from the week, wrote her a card, and saved her some of Ramiro's cookies.  Now, I'm in the States for a few weeks of fundraising so I've had to rely on other staff to visit the children's home to check on them.  From what I hear they're doing well.  They finally got haircuts, and Ramiro is getting ready for school to start again in a few weeks.  I can't wait to see them when I get back to Monterrey!

Pool Time

The boys LOVE to swim.  Ramiro learned how to float and swim a little by himself this week.  Angel loves jumping in and going under water.  We swam for a few hours every day and it was a highlight of the week.  Plus David swam with them every night, and they love hanging out with David.  Here are a few pictures from yesterday.  

My Chef

One of my favorite memories as a kid was sitting at the counter and "helping" my mom bake cookies.  Today I wanted to make cookies for several people who'd helped out with the boys, which I was planning to do while Angel napped and Ramiro had "quiet" time with a movie.  Well, Ramiro had a really tough morning and lost movie and pool privileges for the rest of the day.  Since I needed to keep him busy, I had him help me make the cookies, which turned out to be one of the most fun things we've done yet!  He had never seen cookies made before, and he helped me with every part of the process.  He helped me crack eggs, stir, measure, set the timer, and count how many cookies there were.  Then we made thank you cards and delivered cookies around campus.  He was so proud of his hard work!

Toilet Water

Yesterday while I was brushing my teeth, Angel went behind me and started playing in the toilet bowl.  Horrified, I scooped him up to wash his hands.  Before we made it to the sink he jammed one hand into my mouth and the other was spread across my face.  Awesome.  I had toilet water hands in my mouth and on my face.  I didn't really want to share this story because I felt like a bad caregiver, like people would judge me.  Like I'd somehow failed them because Angel had some fun in the toilet bowl.  But it's a funny lead-in for the harder issues behind this week with the boys, so there it is.

The week isn't all fun and games with them.  It's a very complicated foster care situation, and it's all in Spanish.  They have a mom who is in their lives, and they are going to be able to spend the upcoming weekend with her.  And for most of their year, they live in a children's home with 42 other kids.  These little boys are caring some heavy emotional baggage to say the least.  Their mom is also carrying emotional baggage, she lives with the daily reality that her kids are being cared for in an institution by other people and she sees them when she can which isn't often.

I want a relationship with their mom.  I want to know her, know her story, and work with her to help her boys.  But I'm scared of her and of the situation.  I'm scared of being judged or having my intentions misunderstood.  I'm scared that I'm not enough for these boys or that I'll let them down and, in turn, let her down.  I'm scared that she'll feel inferior after I had her boys for a week of special fun.  I'm scared that she'll disapprove of something I did.  Like Angel playing in the toilet bowl.

What I'm learning in all this is that God is sovereign and has a huge plan for these boys lives, he is El Elyon.  This day was part of God's plan for their lives.  And he is a God who sees and knows every situation, he is El Roy.  God sees and knows every part of these boys lives and their mom's life.  He has plans for all of them and every single day of these boys lives is a part of that plan.  Pray with me as I enter into this big story!

Day 3

Today was a great day with the boys.  After they both had bad nights of sleep I was expecting a rough day, but it turned out to be quite fun.  We played outside early in the morning, and then headed to McDonald's with some other staff families to play on the play-place and have lunch.  When we got home the boys had naps/rest time, then we hit the pool for a few hours with David.  

I re-thought the night time plan and had much better success!  After dinner we played with the train set, had showers, and then I put Angel to bed with a bottle of warm milk instead of cold milk, which did the trick.   Ramiro could watch 20 minutes of a movie while I did that, the deal being that if he went to bed with a good attitude he could finish the movie when he wakes up in the morning.  After the 20 minutes was up Ramiro started whining.  I reminded him of his choices and told him to think about them for a minute while I got his milk.  And what do you know, he had a great attitude and after 2 books he went to sleep!  Both boys are asleep in 30 minutes with no screaming, I'm loving it.  

And I'll leave you with a photo collage of Angel's many special outfits today.  Trash can hat, cereal bowl hat, and then a grocery bag shirt.  He's a funny little guy!