July 8, 2008 (Tuesday)

The Lord’s Hand in my Life:
A simple compliment.

I went to take a shower this morning – the warm water was still turned off. It was off last night as well. So I decided that I would wait to take a shower until I got home from the orphanage. I figured it would be working by then. Nope – I was wrong. The warm water was still not working so I had to hack it and take an ice cold shower. It took my breath away every time I sprayed myself with the removable nasal. I’m pretty sure it was the most miserable shower I’ve ever taken. It was great.

At the orphanage it was Alex’s 10th birthday! Us girls blew up a bunch of balloons and got him a stuffed horse animal. He loved it! When we walked into the room they had him dressed in a really fancy outfit – he looked like he was wearing a tux without the jacket, and he had his hair done all fancy. He looked pretty spiffy! Then later in the morning they had a birthday party for him. He got a little upset when some of his friends in attendance tried blowing out his birthday candles – even though they were just trying to help, but regardless he was a very happy boy. He also got new shoes for his birthday. He was stoked about them!

Dave dropped by the orphanage for a few minutes with Mario. He came and said hi to Alex and the rest of our kids. Right after he left Elisa and Whitney S. paid me a compliment. They said that I was very good at dealing with people in a business like manner, and that they liked how I was able to be professional, but friendly at the same time. They said I will do very well in my career in the future. I appreciated their compliment. I owe it all to my dad. I’ve watched him over the years interact with many people in a business like manner. He is very good at speaking with people and gaining their trust and respect…

Andrei was throwing tantrums a ton today. The workers eventually ended up putting him in his crib. I need to figure out how to get him to stop, but I know he is frustrated because he can’t communicate what he wants to because he is deaf. It worries me thought because if he doesn’t learn to communicate soon he is going to have major behavioral problems when he is older…

Urika was a huge pain today. I was so frustrated with her. She is the worker that all the girls dislike. She makes all of us feel so cranky when we are around her. Feeding the kids with her in the room was horrible – I left feeling sick to my stomach. She completely gagged Christina and forced food down her throat - all I could hear was her choking, then Ana Maria had a seizure while Urika was feeding her, and then Urika made me feed Constantine with a spoon. He doesn’t know how to eat like that, and until she came he has ALWAYS been fed with a bottle. She insisted I feed Constantine with a spoon because she said “he was a big boy.” Yes he is six years old, but he only has the capabilities of a six month old. It ended up taking him about 45 minutes for him to eat a little cup of food. Each spoonful I put in his mouth he spit out of his mouth between 5 to 10 times. Then he gagged a lot on it even though I tried to be as gentle as I could. I was stressed out though because I knew if he didn’t eat it with me she would make him choke it down. Then I felt bad because he was miserable eating it, and I was miserable feeding him it! Lets say I left very agitated! I refuse to feed him again if she doesn’t put it in a bottle.

Mindy went with me to the apartments today in place of Elyse. One of Elyse’s kids was at the hospital, and she wanted to get a picture with them. Mindy and I had a fun time chatting. We both chatted about how anxious we are becoming since time to arrive home is drawing nearer and nearer. It’s weird that in a few days we will only be here for four more weeks. The time has absolutely flown by. It’s even more weird to think that things have still been happening at home while I’ve been gone. I was looking at my Facebook today at some of my friend’s pictures, and I kept thinking things are going to be different when I get home. I know whenever I leave a place I return thinking things are the same as they always are – which is not going to be the case.

We had dinner with Dave this evening at Little Texas. It was so nice and relaxing to sit, eat and enjoy one another’s company. We were all excited because he was paying – so we were allowed to pretty much get anything we wanted to eat. Some of the girls went all out haha…but we had a good time. We all made small talk with him, and he talked about some of his adventures with traveling. He went on his mission to Greece – which is ironic because it’s my dream place to visit. I asked him all kinds of questions about it. He told me all the spots to see, and he confirmed that Greece was an amazing and beautiful place to visit. Greece is my next target…I hope I don’t get the travel bug.