We welcomed sweet baby "Rosebud!" We are so happy to be able to care for her! She likes to sleep sometimes, but she has a squeaky yet loud and insistent cry when she's had enough "down time" and wants to be picked up again! She loves her bottle and is such a good eater - she has grown quickly even in just a few weeks.
Baby C is three months old now - it's hard to believe that it's been that long since she arrived here, only a few hours old. She is definitely becoming a big girl and is no longer the youngest baby in the house. She smiles and coos and loves to interact with her nannies. She also loves lying outside on a blanket under the tree and watching the leaves blow in the breeze. She doesn't really like tummy time, and hates having her hair combed, but she's getting better at that. Most days she does pretty well adjusting to her new nap schedule, although sometimes she'd rather be playing!
She has the sweetest smile!
Baby J is four and a half months old, but he weighs 9 kg - almost as much as our 11 month old! He is a sturdy boy! He's smiling a lot these days and doing much better at tummy time - he can hold his head up for a lot longer. He is starting to propped sit as well and we think it's his fat that is holding him up! He enjoys spending time outdoors sitting under the avocado tree, and swinging in the swing. He LOVES looking at his handsome self in the mirror!
Baby M is five months old now! He's growing and changing a lot. He likes to smile and he has the craziest eyebrows, no matter how much we try to tame them. He likes being held and he DOESN'T like naptime or being put down very much. This month he decided he doesn't like warm milk anymore and would rather take his bottles barely heated. He's a bit of a charmer and has made various people at church fall in love with him.
Baby L is almost a year old! He is crawling everywhere and causing mischief - he keeps us busy! He loves to give sloppy kisses and laughs a lot. This month he is learning to feed himself finger foods, although the floor is getting fed pretty well too as he likes to throw whatever doesn't make it into his mouth! It's hard to chew when you only have two bottom teeth!
Hope the floor thinks those Cheerios are yummy!
He's a big fan of porridge too. "Can I have some more...gruel...please?"
Happy smile!
The 2T's are getting bigger as well! Here they are learning to feed themselves pap and sauce.
Tadi turned ONE this month! And after the birthday-cake-hyper-baby-fiasco that happened (thanks to Auntie Abbie) her mom declared she was NEVER ALLOWED TO HAVE CAKE EVER AGAIN.
Happy birthday, sweet girl!
We love you SO MUCH! (Just remember that when we won't let you have cake at Big T's party next month!)
So, besides growing babies, what else is happening around here? Well, summer has arrived (after the first and last day of spring, which were, incidentally, the same day). I spent most of a day packing and unpacking clothes so everyone has something seasonally appropriate to wear...soooo thankful for our intern Melanie (now at home) who helped me organize everything! We may not have much storage space - there is so much stuff! - but it certainly streamlined the process greatly!
It's so fun to have fresh new summer clothes to dress them in every Sunday!
Baby L and I. He's very...ACTIVE in church.
We are thankful for all the extra hands to help us out!
We went over to my sweet friend and coworker's new house for a pool party! We were thinking it would just be a few of us girls, her, and her boys. But she suddenly had visitors, and her visitors had visitors, and I think her visitors' visitors had visitors (that they may have met on the street and invited along). So they left their many children (7? 8? 9? We never did get an accurate head count...) with Gertrude, who can't swim, and Sarah, who thankfully can, while they left to buy drinks. When I showed up on my bike, an insane amount of children, very few of whom may actually have been able to swim, were running around in their underpants/swim suits, shouting, splashing, and thankfully not drowning while using my slightly questionable thrift store flotation devices. (Those were intended for a slightly lower adult/child ratio in the pool). Sarah brought noodles, too, so somehow everyone managed to stay afloat in the very frigid water - the nights haven't warmed up all the way, and the pool was still pretty cold. So *I* did not swim, and I'm very glad I didn't have to jump in to save anyone.
Thankfully after an hour or so of crazytown, everyone cleared out and we moved on to Pancake Night!
The boys were veeeerrryy excited to help and made all kinds of "shapes." "Look, it's a helicopter!" "Oh really, buddy, is that what it is?"
Here's our giant mountain of pancakes, which we kept warm in the oven...
And here is the aftermath!
At Living Hope, we had a special service and baptized seven believers this month! (Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures!) It was such a blessing to hear everyone's testimonies. People came from all different cultures and backgrounds and Christ has woven a beautiful story of redemption in each one's life.
The next Sunday we welcomed a number of new members. I'm so glad we are a part of the same family, not on Christ's body but also at Living Hope where we get to be part of each other's lives.
Watching God at work in this way reminds me of the beautiful truths about unity in Ephesians 2.
"For he himself is our peace..."
"...you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God..."
"Christ himself being the cornerstone..."
"In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit."
We may not have divisions between Jews and Gentiles, but South Africa has generations of built up racial tension. It paints a backdrop that shows God's grace. I love how in Christ, we all were once far off, but now we are near to Him. And, we have each other. What more could we ask for?
(Sorry for the poor quality! Blogger won't let me upload anything bigger...)
Chakutumaini sina
(My hope is built on nothing less)
Ila damu yake Yesu
(Than Jesus' blood and righteousness)
Sina wema wa kutosha
(I dare not trust the sweetest frame)
Dhambi zangu kuziosha
(But wholly lean on Jesus' name)
Kwake Yesu nasimama
(On Christ the solid rock I stand)
Ndiye mwamba ni salama
(All other ground is sinking sand)
Ndiye mwamba ni salama
Ndiye mwamba ni salama.
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