July Update

Time for a photo update!

At the beginning of the month, we welcomed sweet baby Tumishang (Tumi) into our houseparents' family! We now have Big T, Little T, and....hmm. Little T can't turn into Middle T, not now, that'd be too confusing. I guess he can be Tiny T for now, although I don't think he will be tiny for long! He's a chunky little newborn! His big brother and sister were excited, although to be honest, they were probably more excited about the helium balloons that accompanied his arrival. He is keeping his mama busy!

Not long after, we welcomed two pink bundles into the baby home. We were SOOOOOOO excited to have baby girls again for the first time in what feels like forever! "SweetP" is 7 weeks old and "Daisy" is 6 weeks. (I decided to go with the flower theme for the girls' aliases - I wanted to remain alliterative, but naming a baby "Scabiosa" or "Scented Geranium" is frowned upon, even if it isn't their real name. There just aren't very many good flower names that start with S!)

They are just too sweet for words.

Even Babybear is getting in on the snuggles.

Lockie and Birdie are growing! Lockie is a chubby, giggly little sausage, and Birdie has a double chin and a concerned expression. Neither of them are big fans of napping and would rather be held.

Babybear is growing and his language skills are going through the 2-2.5 year old explosion. He has very definite likes and dislikes and is not afraid to tell you. We're working on convincing him he can't live on bread, fresh chips, and snacks. (We're not really winning. At least he likes fruit?!) "I dooooooonnnnn waaaaaaannnn" (I don't want) is very frequently heard around MBH! But so are "Okay!" "I paint!" "Want hug!" "Thankyouyou'rewelcome!" He says thank you more than anyone I've ever known...and he'll say it over and over again until you tell him "you're welcome!"

I made a sensory bin with rainbow rice. The kids LOVE it. It keeps them busy for a good hour and a half.

He just loves arts and crafts! He has an entire gallery wall and he loves to sit and stare at it and tell you all about it.

SO proud.

And such a mess... 

We also do a lot of science experiments! The kids enjoy them so much. They can't say "science experiment" to save their lives, though...it comes out so many different ways. Some weeks we do "sighin' spurrents"...some weeks we do "sciensperience."

Coronavirus is still alive and kicking. I'm working hard at trusting God, but I am so very tired of lockdown and it's hard to believe that someday we will have normal lives again. Please pray for us for endurance and joy and perseverance. The restrictions here are much stricter (and, seemingly, more mandatory, although not very well enforced) than most of the US. It's very hard not to cheat and break them, but as Christians, we do try to obey the government, even when things are confusing and don't seem to make sense sometimes. Why is it ok to fit 14-16 people in a taxi, but we're supposed to stay 2 meters away from everyone else? Why can I sit at a restaurant with someone, but I can't have people over to my house? Why can't we sing at church even while wearing masks? Why does the government keep telling people to wash their hands but doesn't fix the utilities promptly? Why is wearing a mask mandatory, but wearing it over your chin is considered generally acceptable? I don't have the answers to any of these questions...and I just need to trust that God knows, and even if I don't always agree with the government, I can rest assured that He is governing perfectly and nothing is outside of His control. Meanwhile, we try to abide by the regulations as best we can, and find creative ways to socialize, like grocery shopping together, something that sounded like a joke four months ago, but actually ended up being pretty fun.

I also was able to go on a nice hike the other day - the parks are open again, although technically, only for exercise. 

I'm also grateful to be able to go to church again (with chairs carefully placed 2 meters apart, which is apparently designed to help me kick my "whisper to my neighbor in church" habit). Yes, it is THIS cold inside the building. I don't know why I even bother to dress up. I just need a fashionable blanket.

Anyway, I hope you are all doing well, and that wherever you are, your lives are beginning to go back to normal and you are enjoying a bit more freedom! Please do keep us in your prayers - and I love to hear from you!