Answers

Well I must say that I feel pretty blessed to report to you all the wonderful ways God is answering my prayers! Due to the nature of our first visit, where Simon seemed to get really agitated, we requested that our future visits be private, meaning just us and Simon. So while I miss getting to see the other families visiting right now, I really feel like we are getting some great things done with Simon.

I don't really want to say we had "goals," but I did have some things that I was really hoping we would get to do. So far, we have gotten to do a lot of them.....I am very happy about this, and really hope that the Lord will grant all these "wishes" in his timing and brilliant ways. So we hoped to get to observe Simon being fed again and perhaps this time get VIDEO. Today I got to not only see this and get my video but I FED HIM MYSELF!!! WOOOO HOOO. We think the video will really help us show to doctors in the states what is going on with his feeding issues and prepare us for the future.

Secondly we had really wanted to get to change his diaper, although part of me was hoping that a caregiver would show us how they changed his diaper. So we began a diaper change and we hadn't got far and his Baba came and helped us out. Whilst changing we were able to snap a few pictures AND take some measurements.

Wrist: just under 4 inches
lower leg: 4 inches around
foot: 5 inches long
Thigh: 4 inches around
his knee was bent and it was 7 inches around. (I should probably try to get this one done another time.)

Then we tried on some pajamas (really this was accomplishing 3 goals at once!!!) He can wear a 3 T pair of footie pajamas...this is almost too short but I hate to tell that you once we took off the layers of clothing, he is even smaller than his pictures from yesterday show.

We also got to see another little boy who has a family coming for him at some point. CHAD was also being cared for by our Baba. His presence was such a blessing as he made our little Simon laugh out loud!! :) We hope this means that Simon will also find his brother Ishmael funny as well. (By the way, we heard the report today that Ishmael is doing wonderful at home. He hasn't even mentioned missing us and has not been asking about us....I keep telling myself this is really good news! HAHA)

I had been praying through how I could be an encouragement to the staff before we came. But then I realized that, if this trip was anything like my trip with Grace, I would probably have more interactions with the Baba's than the workers. I was amazed at what the Lord did. Yesterday when we were allowed to come down to see Simon being fed, I ran into Sam's Baba. So I flagged her down and through gestures and saying "Cami" and "Grace," over and over again, she recognized me! Then I told her I had something for her upstairs. Later she found me and I was able to give her 2 photos of Sam. She LOVED them. She was so, so happy that I was giving them to her to keep! She told me that she had tried to find them on the internet but that she has limited access to the computer and also she doesn't read any English. Today she showed me her Samantha album complete with her newest photos of Sam. Then she asked about another child, and his Baba found us and asked me to bring photos of another child when I come back for Simon. (If we don't send them earlier!)

I had been thinking and praying on how I could make a difference at this orphanage. It really isn't enough to adopt a child because you are leaving so many behind. But I have stopped believing throwing more stuff at them is going to help. I worry that we have become Americans coming in with money and filling requests...I haven't finished the book "toxic Charity" but it has me thinking. I decided that in reality we have to change the culture that is already there.....but how? I decided we must love those that work with our children right where they are at.

I have heard complaints about the Babas not being trained, and I have heard some of them don't do their job. The truth is, many of them don't do their job how I would, but they are doing something. They are LOVING our children. They bring these kids back to life, or at least give them enough touches to help them live a little longer. Long enough to be adopted and swept away from them. When I take Simon next June (keep praying for JUNE) I will be taking him away from a Baba that he has had for THREE YEARS. Today she looked at Sam's Baba's book, and she was overcome with emotion. Since we can't understand her (and our translator was up stairs) we don't know for sure what she was feeling, but we do know after she stared at that book, she had to make an excuse to leave the room. And as I type this, I am beginning to think that she is Chad's Baba on Tuesdays, not Simon's. She is committed to him. She loves him. (This is my experience, I am not trying to say that Babas are perfect, so if you have had a bad experience with one,I am sorry.)

I brought gifts for Babas...if you know a Baba by name please comment on this blog ASAP and I will try to write their name on a scarf (or put a child's Bulgarian name, like Veronika's Baba). But otherwise I will just be handing some of them out. I am also going to ask that if any Baba wants an update on a child that they give me their name and the child's name. Then I will do my best to figure out who that child is. Truth be told, some of them will not be that hard to find, as a lot of us have blogs. But I really believe that if we want to help the kids in this orphanage, we need to keep encouraging those who are there working with them. The Babas are our bridge and our door. If you have ever been to the orphanage you know that the Babas are the ones that love it if you stop them in the hall and ask about the child they are pushing. The Babas are the ones who let you touch that child's check and they are the ones that smile back at your adoring face. Our Babas are the ones that are taking LOTS of time to try to feed our son who can not swallow.

(If someone has that link to the Baba video with Alyssa in it, please share it in the comments below.)

Tomorrow will be another HUGE day. Please pray that we wake up early and on time. We will start our day off by finally getting to meet with the director. I am looking forward to this but I am also a little nervous. Then we will take our children out to get their Visa pictures taken. At some point we should get to talk to the physical therapist at the orphanage. Our afternoon visit will start as usual but will end with us going with Simon to get an echocardiogram. What??? Yes I said it, we will get to observe this test and then talk to the doctor who speaks ENGLISH. What a huge blessing. I wasn't too up front that Simon has a heart condition. We were actually much more worried about his heart than his Cerebral Palsey. But please join me in prayers that our worries will be put to rest tomorrow....so we can focus on his swallowing!!!

Thank you all SOOO MUCH for your prayers. And now for what you all came here for....a few more pictures!!! He was much happier today...look at that smile, another answer to prayer!!!