Good times....

I feel like I just CANNOT keep up with blogging as things keep happening! It just seems nonstop right now, and I'm sure it's the same for all of you reading this. Just so you know...you cannot escape the pre-Christmas craziness- even if you're in Shell, Ecuador. :-) It seems like there is an event or party to go to every other day.... Not to count the preparation for Christmas with 58 kids! I am so excited about the Christmas Party we'll have on Christmas Day! Can you imagine the excitement of all of these little ones?!?

I just wanted to share a little bit of what's been going on lately...

These are a couple of pics of Cintia that I took the other day. I just think she looks ADORABLE with her pigtails and red and white stripes! I also think this picture captures her mischieviousness perfectly. :-)
Here we are having dinner at O Sole Mio....the BEST Italian food you'll ever have in your life. Seriously. The guy is really Italian, and there are no words for his pizza..... Dinner was Patti Sue's treat for all of us for our little Christmas celebration together! I wish I had pictures of the cheesecake she made for dessert....Wow.

This one is for our parental and family units....

Oh, man.... I wish you all could have been here for chapel yesterday morning. The teachers gave each of the older kids a part to play in acting out the birth of Christ. It was quite humorous. When the pre-schoolers saw the animal masks, they burst into "Old MacDonald," since that's what they were used for this summer. :-) This picture was snagged at the end, and it was pointless to try to get everyone to look at once. Notice that Maribel is the shining star (with her hands up in the air.)

My favorite part of the picture is Pablo. It happened to capture him doing one of his favorite things...grabbing people by the faces for surprise kisses. It's never a choice, trust me. :-)

Sweet boy... He loves to participate in chapel, and when everyone else repeats the prayers....he always joins in!

This is baby Esteven. He's been in the hospital for several days, because he had a feeding tube put in late last week. Dwight wanted to go see him, so I tagged along and took some pics. I've been meaning to blog about him for a while. This little baby has serious health issues, and he isn't stable enough to travel to Quito for more conclusive tests. BUT...he has shown improvement with his breathing, and he is growing and changing every day! Please keep him in your prayers.

This was the first time I got to see him use his new gear. It works so much better than having to do it through the nose!!

Dwight loves his little feet. He'll definitely need corrective procedures in the future, but considering all of his other needs....that hasn't been addressed yet.

Check out his cool 'do. :-)

We got two new kids last week, Mikaela and Antony. The police brought them after a neighbor reported that the mother had left. Apparently she leaves for several days at a time; and the little girl, who is maybe 3 or 4, takes care of her little brother, who seems to be almost 2. Can you imagine what it was like for them to be left alone?!? Unfortunately, the mother will probably be able to get them back. Hopefully, she will change her ways after having her children taken for a short time. We're not sure how it will pan out at this point, but the police are working on it.

They are absolutely beautiful!

Look at those cheeks.... Adorable.