Día del Niño

We want to wish your kids a happy "Día del Niño" (Children's Day). In honor of our first time celebrating this holiday, we would like to share pictures from the 30 most joyful, kid-filled days of our sabbatical year so far. These days have included kids from Hogar de Amor y Protección al Niño (http://hogaramor.com). Hogar Amor is a place that cares for children whose parents can't and/or won't take care of them. The homes are able to provide for the children through hard work and donations from the local community. It is an amazing ministry with great workers, volunteers and children! If you want to join us in praying, we are praying for things to change such that these kids can be adopted into families who will love them while they are children, before they are old enough to work.

This blog post is full of photos that are now part of our family's treasury, but also will become photo books for these four beloved children, with different words than what you get here. 

Our church in Colima, Grupo Amor (http://grupoamor.org) has been the primary support for the Hogar Amor houses. The congregation welcomes the kids into their homes every third weekend and for holidays. This way, the kids get to experience the love of Jesus in a family context. We fell in love with our first visitor instantly.

Hogar Amor kids who are bigger than Samuel go to Instituto Adonai, the school our boys attend. Some of our tuition goes to help them to get an excellent education, too.

 How many boys can fit in our bathroom?

 Playtime

 This time they are awake for the car ride.

 Laughing with Paul

Practicing marching in step "Ya!"

At Christmastime, Colima is abundantly generous with gifts for the children of Hogar Amor.

 We find that bedtime stories and "La Cama de Mickey Mouse" are treasured, too. 

It has been important to us to provide time for siblings to be together when they come to our house for 10 days or a weekend. Hogar Amor keeps most sibling groups together, but these two don't get to see much of each other normally because they are in different houses. 

 This big sister is amazing about allowing Sam to follow her every move. 

 I couldn't choose between this photo

 or this one.

Climbing together

In a heartbeat, Anthony and I would adopt these two children of God and have these 5 kiddos in our family. However, that is sadly impossible. Their biological "parents" have rights galore here in México. 

 Sliding

 Smiling on the top of the world

 My emotions are mixed: these are happy memories, but sad because they are fleeting.

Sharing the chicken

 When you are almost always surrounded by friends, it is nice to be alone on the rooster sometimes

 or just be with an adult. She is an amazing helper.

 Fort-building 101

 Christmas Eve see-sawing,

 swinging,

 and playing into the wee hours of the morning. Don't worry, she fell asleep shortly after this photo.

Christmas morning JOY! We re-enacted the story of the Nativity together. What a treasured moment.

 Christmas morning gifts were

simple things, evenly distributed to all.

 Amazingly, sharing never seems to be a problem, even on Christmas morning.

 Celebrating on Chrismas Day

 Hiking

 Walking, talking and laughing. Can you tell that these two are just a week apart?

 Running

 Swinging

 Visiting the lions

Why have we not posted these (favorite) pictures earlier? We were holding out hope for adoption, but it isn't possible here and now.

 Just the kids went biking, with peals of laughter.

 Boating

 and iguana-watching

 Smirking with soaked shirts

 We voyaged to the volcanoes, but some little stomachs can't take the bumpy, swerving car ride

 or the altitude.

As you can see, the Tongen boys love having visitors from Hogar Amor just as much as Anthony and I do. Miraculously, they are happy to share their mom and dad with other kids. 

 Again, I couldn't choose which picture.

 Kids joyfully running in the ocean

 and splashing in the waves.

 Big sister lovingly entertains her little brother.

 Beyond tired at the beach

 Who has the yummiest popsicle?

 Fútbol Americano

Joyful pea-shellers -- when one of the 5 wants to help in the kitchen, then they all want to. 

One way we cheer ourselves up when it is time to say "goodbye" after another great visit together is with silly pictures. Thankfully, they get to return to Hogar Amor, where people love them with a sacrificial love. 

We ran together, but made the mistake of getting sunscreen in someone's eyes.

Encouraging each other to keep running for 3 more kilometers.

Always being followed by Sam

Their school librarian

Again, cheering ourselves up with pictures before saying "goodbye," wishing she was our daughter.

Sometimes, we visit our little friends at their homes, Casa Cuna and Casa Matriz.

During the course of our visits, this beauty has eagerly learned to swim. 

Running on the beach again

splashing with Grandma Jo

and with Anthony

For 3-10 days at a time, it turns out that 5 kids under the age of 8 is not too many. I'm seeing that my Grandma and Grandpa Smith's life is possible. 

Jardín de Libertad (Garden of Freedom) "For you were called to freedom. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'" Galatians 5:13-14  

Where is the chocolate from your chocobanana?

The adventurer climbs trees.

This kind of trip to the "volcanoes" sat better with their stomachs. 

Who has the yummiest popsicle for Easter?

Here is another brother-sister duo with whom we have fallen in love. 

They put up with our boys smothering them with interest.

See what I mean?

I just can't believe how much he has grown up since November! It causes me to wonder how much my nephews and little US friends have grown while we have been gone.

"Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world" and "He's got the whole world in His hands." I am having to trust child-like words like those, since I can't hold onto all five of these kids as tightly as I would like.

Darla loves on the kids of Hogar Amor so well. We miss her.

Anthony and I take great joy in getting a little girl excited about learning and the fascination of science. I am pretty sure this photo would be a perfect one for promoting the Fulbright García Robles program. Her teacher at school even said she applied herself much more after spending time with us.

Both of these kids have grown up so much lately, too!

Isn't blowing bubbles a good rainy day activity?

The little guy got splashed by a wet branch on our walk.

Again, if we could, we would adopt these two siblings. However, it is just not possible. We only get to care for them for a weekend here and there, then allow the great folks of Hogar Amor to share the love of Jesus with them in that context.

This beach babe loves the beach!

She is glad to be the queen of our castle.

Beach Building Buddies

Anthony is willing to go to great lengths to help kids feel safe in the ocean.

No fear!

The boys have come up with their own traditions of what they do with their Hogar Amor friends, like

towel trains. Some of those things are tricky when lice is concerned, but oh well.

Which way to the beach?

That way!

Joy, joy, joy.

Wow.

Proud

Happy, even with a Sam-tail

He is resting in the sand. Thanks, Melody, for passing on the idea of "embracing the camera." I am appearing in more and more photos these days, thanks to Anthony and also my willingness to post not so flattering photos of myself.

Laughing in the sand while Sam finds tickling-access holes

As you can imagine, we get odd looks and many questions when we are out and about with our little friends.

I love this sweetheart. Should I admit how often we joke about putting him in our suitcase?

Here he is taking a nap another day, while Paul and I read the excellent sequel to A Cricket in Times Square, thanks to my generous friend Linda.

The photo of Riley, Kasey and Gemma was a prop for playtime last week.

Casa Cuna, Feb. 2013
Once again drying my tears, we ask the question: "Is Christ sufficient?" Yes. "Do we believe that these children will be able to grow up in Hogar Amor with Christ being sufficient for them?" Yes. In addition to having faith in the unseen, we have been encouraged to meet awesome adults who spent some or all of their childhood there and have returned to care for these children.

Casa Matriz, Feb. 2013.

Please join us, along with our congregation here, in praying for these great kids, the hard workers of Hogar Amor, and the country of México. Feliz Día Del Niño!!!