Happy 1st Birthday, Joseph!!

I can't believe that our little Joseph is one year old!!

This precious little one was brought to our door at just one day old, our last baby to come to Haven of Hope in Ngong before we moved to Nakuru just one week later.

Sweet Joseph is a happy little guy....especially if he is with his favorite auntie, Auntie Maggie! And she loves him just as much as he loves her. Joseph stands and walks while holding onto things, but has not yet taken steps on his own. He really doesn't seem interested in walking. He is much more interested in EATING.

The little man wasn't too keen on everyone singing "Happy Birthday" to him. Maybe a bit overwhelming?

His favorite song is "Little Joseph Play On Your Harp." As soon as anyone starts singing it, he starts dancing, or what might look to an onlooker as a weird wiggle and body jerk. He is so funny! It is a joy to have Joseph in our home. 

We love you, little guy!  I can't wait to see the family that God is going to bless you with. You will be such a great joy to them.

Letters to Julia - Julia + Miah = BEST Friends

Dear Julia,

Yesterday you said goodbye to your best friend, Miah. You two have had such a great time together.

You play together. You get into mischief together. You go exploring together. You have so much fun together!

I know you will miss him, little girl. And he will miss you, too. I am so thankful that you two have had this time together for almost two years.

 I hope you will always remember your very first best friend, Miah. And I pray that you always make such great choices in friends. Maybe one day we can go visit Miah in Italy!

Love, Mama

Italian in the Baby House! :-)

Our beautiful Jeremiah is at his new (temporary - 8 month) home with his Mommy and Daddy tonight. It has been a wonderful week, watching them bond and play. It is simply wonderful to see the connection this little family has already made. They are so very natural, like they have been together forever.

Here is a little video of Federico and Veronica with Jeremiah & Julia, performing one of the Italian songs they have taught the babies and aunties. You can hear the aunties singing, too. :-) I am not sure if the video portrays it or not, but hopefully you can see how comfortable they all are, how easily Miah's family blended into the baby house.

It was truly a wonderful week and we will miss Miah - AND his mommy and daddy very much!

Welcome Baby Kennedy

Once again, God never ceases to amaze me in His divide timing. As Jeremiah leaves, Kennedy comes. Each time one of our little ones goes to their forever family, God brings another baby into our within a day or two.

Yesterday was Kennedy's first day at Haven of Hope, and tomorrow Jeremiah leaves with his forever family. Kennedy has quite a story. Once things are a little more stable in his situation and his case has been officially filed, I will share more about him. Meanwhile, we are enjoying the never-ending smiles beaming from the face of this little boy! He is a seven month old, super-smiley little guy!

His name is Kennedy, also the name of our groundskeeper/everything-doer. Our big Kennedy loves all of our babies, but has obviously already taken a special interest in this one.

Here is how you can pray for little Kennedy:
- that he continues to adjust well to this environment (he has a history of many changing environments)
- that he would learn to eat well, as he has only been nursed and is having trouble making the change
- for his mother who is mentally unwell and unstable

for Jeremiah

May blessings fall all over you.....

"Blessings" by Betsy Walker

Miah's Mama and Papa!!!

THIS is what it's all about. Our first boy has his family.

This was one of the most special days I have ever experienced. This amazing little boy came into my home on August 14, 2009, one of our very first three babies at Haven of Hope. Since then, he has grown into a bright, handsome, happy young boy. We have been looking forward to this day for so long, the day when Jeremiah would meet his forever family. Today, was that day.

These parents are perfect for Jeremiah. His strong personality and hesitance towards strangers was no hinderance for this new family. Jeremiah has been so excited about getting his mommy and daddy! He tells everyone, "My daddy is coming." And the aunties said the past few days he has been running around yelling "Italy!" Today, he warmed up quickly, more quickly than any of us who know him would have expected. He was frightened at first (big surprise, huh?!), needing his space, but after a few minutes he softened and I was able to place him on his mother's lap. What a moment!

Since he seemed to be connecting to them so quickly and was becoming very comfortable around them, even within the first hour, we decided to all go to lunch together. When we came back to the baby house, this family got to truly experience being a family. Priceless!!

These parents are meant to be parents. They are so natural with him. They need to be his parents as much as he has needed them. It is such a blessing to see them together.

And for those of you who have been praying for Jeremiah, isn't this exactly what our amazing God would give him??? Our football player now has a daddy to play ball with!

And for Jeremiah's new family in Italy who are reading the blog, here are more pictures from the special family's first day as a family of three.....

Needed: New Nappies!

Or, cloth diapers for you Americans. :-)

We use the awesome Flip diaper system, from Cotton Babies. This is the perfect diapering system for our home. We have babies of all ages and sizes. The Flip diapers snap to fit sizes from newborn to big toddler. Our little Noah was wearing them at 6lbs and our four year old Lizzy, who has CP, wears them as well. They are awesome.  (You have probably already seen these old pictures, but they are too precious not to share again.) :-)

Imagine a house full of babies in diapers. Our babies go through an average of six diapers a day. That is a LOT of diapering! Now, image all those cloth diapers being hand washed and hung on the line every day...365 days a year. We last bought Flip diapers over a year and a half ago. They have held up very well, but considering the volume we go through and the fact that we must hand wash and hang on the line - in the direct sunlight at our high elevation right on the equator - our poor nappies are beginning to show their wear. Plus, God keeps bringing us more tiny newborn babies! Our stretched out Flips still work great for Lizzy and the older babies, but they just aren't quite right for our new little ones.

the elastic legs are a little stretched out

Now, we are in need of some new sets of Flip diapers. One set of a diapers costs $200. That is 2-3 days worth of diapers for one child and will last for two years. Please consider helping us out with this. If you are willing to donate towards new diapers, please let us know. Or if you know someone who may be interested in helping us in this way, please forward this to them.

Letters to Julia - a fun day with my girl

Dear Julia,

We didn't have power all day yesterday so I didn't write a letter to you on Sunday. But I must say that I wouldn't have traded electricity for the wonderful time we had! We had such a fun day playing together!

You are getting so big and becoming a little lady. We have so much fun together and have so many funny conversations. Some of my favorite things that we did yesterday were dressing and changing watoto Lucy and Akinyi's clothes and diapers (again and again and again), playing with your new bears sorting cups, and walking outside. I also loved watching you build with your blocks under the tree while I read my book and we waited for the boys to come home.

It was such a lovely day, and I know we will many more fun days together! I am so proud of you.

I love you, baby girl!
~Mama

I love this picture because you look like such a big girl. I miss my baby girl, but I love the big girl that you are growing into. 

Blessings in the midst of the wrestling

I know that yesterday's post (below) was quite long, but if you read it, here are some evidences of gifts I see as I pause in the wrestling and look around me....

135. Poofy hair and puppy hugs.

136. Moments with Miah.

137. Babies and bottles.

138. Puppy training, puppy playing.

138. Aunties racing and chasing boys.

139. Kenya babies, truly Kenyan.

140. The view outside my kitchen window.

141. The return of Little Girl’s friend, the worm.