March Visitation

March Visitation

 Cris kissing on his aunt! (above)

Visitation day is always full of so many emotions. Some so happy to see their parents and others let down because their parents don't come to see them. All of the parents came to visitation but Maryuri and Cindy's mom. Cindy seemed to take it pretty well, Maryuri on the other hand was a little angry and upset there her mom didn't show up. 

The Carrascos; Katy, Reina, Doris and Fernando with their mom. 

The Qunintanilla's; Ana and Jose with their dad. These two families are like one big family. (below)

 Jackson and his mom

 Lupe and Adonis with their mom. Their mom is expecting and is suppose to have a little boy next month.

Brayan with his mom and brother. His mom came bearing news that he is now an uncle. His sister just had a baby and is 5 days old. He had mixed emotions about seeing his mom as she has not come to visitation for 4 months. He quickly came to realize that maybe his mom didn't care from him so much.

Employees

Two of our kids now have full jobs. They are working and getting paid. Pamela now lives and works in the other house to help out Mirian with the babies and the other kids. She does a great job helping with homework and helping take care of the other kids.

Also there is a little cafe that a friend of ours Byron opened up about a month ago here in Santa Ana. He asked Brayan to come and work there. He works 4 days a week but is welcome any other days to come out and work too if he would like. He loves his new job! He waits on the customers, cleans, makes the food, and I am sure many other things. He is saving his money to be able to buy something big later on. As for Pamela she spends every cent in the first two days after her pay check. Although she is learning is there is certain things she wants and is picky with what we have here she is learning she has to use to money to buy the things she wants.

I think this is a great opportunity for both of them. I hope they both continue to grow and learn.

I can't believe these kids are growing up too fast.

Happy birthday Reina!

After counting down for the past 6 months or so her birthday is finally here. Reina has been asking on and off for a long time how many more days and etc for her birthday. Now that we got to the month of March she was super excited! She knew it meant her birthday was even closer. Well she turned 12 years old on Sunday and boy oh boy was she ever excited. She was sure to tell everyone it was her birthday. Now we start with the count down again til her next birthday next year!!!

Happy Birthday Reina!!!

Babies

Korbin, Olman, and Josue

All three of these babies were born the same week. Hard to believe!! They are all growing leaps and bounds and making progress. Korbin, Olman and Josue by the time they are one I am sure will all be good buddies and you won't even be able to tell their difference in size.

Still continue to pray for the twins as they are progressing but Josue is still have problems gaining weight. This month they all turn 4 months old! Oh how time flies!!!

Cruz de Chatarra

Any and Nohemy posing for the camera with the statue at the Cruz de Chatarra.

The spring break groups have started. Sunday we headed to the Cruz de Chatarra with all of the casa kids to worship with the group. It was great to actually have worship in english.

Although I don't think some of us were prepared for as windy as it was.

praying hands

Thanks to Angie Husband's preschool class for praying for all of us at CASA!!!! We hung up all of the praying hands to remind us that we are covered in prayer!

Thanks Angie!!!!

happy happy birthday

Happy happy birthday to Josue and Any!

They both turned four this weekend. Any turned four on Friday and Josue on Saturday. Any looks more like a 2 year old and Josue more like a 3 year old. Hard to believe that they really are 4.

Chicken Soup

Ready to be washed and cut.

Reina, Doris and Josue even helped clean the chickens. After we put them in hot water they helped pull the feathers out.

Denis even brought his wife over to help.

We got chickens for the kids to take care of about two years ago. They were little tiny chickens and hadn't even started laying eggs yet. The kids waited and waited for them to start laying eggs. Finally months later they started to lay eggs. We have been eating off of their eggs the past two years. Well over the last couple of months a few of the chickens and the rooster have died. Also they have started only putting about 8 eggs or so a day. We use to get around 30 a day.

The chickens are old and tired of laying eggs. So we decided it was time for a new set of chickens to start the process all over again. So we decided we were going to kill all of the chickens and eat them. Only one small problem, no one wanted to kill them.

Well yesterday morning the staff were discussing who were going to kill the chickens. No one wanted to. Denis said his wife would and he would go to the house and get her. Well in the time he went to get her Dorian caught wind that no one wanted to kill the chickens. He was on his way out the gate to go to town but he said he would quickly kill them all. So all 25 of them were killed with a quick snap of the neck in a matter of 5 minutes.

Reina, Denis, and Josue started gathering all of the chickens to start cleaning them. It took all morning to clean them.

Elvia was in the kitchen doing the dirty work. She was opening and gutting the chickens. All but three of them got done yesterday. This morning Elvia and Antonio are finishing gutting the last three while Dilcia works on cooking a big pot of chicken soup for the kids for lunch.

We are hoping they will all still want to eat the chickens. The kids knowing that these were the chickens they use to take care aren't doing so well with the fact that we are going to eat them.

We shall we when everyone gets home from school how many of them do eat their chicken soup.

As for now the kids get to rest a couple of days from taking care of chickens. The new ones should be here soon.

Preschool

Yair is unsure of his first day at preschool.

Here is the preschool gang!!!!

Doris, Any, Josue, Cris, Reina, Nicole, Yair and Halle!

Nicole has started doing preschool with several of the kids here now that school has started for the rest of the kids. She has Any, Yair, Cris, Josue and Halle (her daughter), Reina, and Doris. Reina and Doris do different homework but they are just as excited to be in preschool with the rest of the kids. Doris was making no progress in school or Teleton. She no longer doing either of them any more. She is approaching 15 years old. I think she would be the oldest there at the grade school. We decided not to send Reina to school this year because it a lot of work and stress on the staff when it comes to homework and she really doesn't understand what she is going and gets stressed a lot. She never really could do her homework and a lot of times it was the adults spending hours upon hours of doing homework with her. So she is still getting homework from Nicole but things she will be able to do with little to no help.

Jan 2012 Update

January 2012

The kids enjoyed their last full month of being on break from school. Mid-February they return to classes. Which means we are back to early mornings and afternoons doing homework. The staff have survived the three month summer break of having all the kids at home every day. The staff are so ready for the kids to be back in
school and most of the children are ready to go back too. There is a lot of work getting 15 kids ready for a new year here in Honduras. We have to get them registered and get their uniforms and book bags ready. Most of the kids are all beaming with excitement and ready to get to school. There are a few who are a bit nervious. We have two who are going to be in high school this year. It is new for them (and us) and they are quite nervous. I know with out a shadow of a doubt they will do just fine.

While we were in the states Casa took in three new children. Two twins; brothers Olman and Josue. They are two months old. Korbin is only a few days older than they are. They came here itty bitty and weak. They are slowly growing and getting their strength. They still have a long ways to go yet so please remember them in your prayers. We also a little boy named Cris that has came here to live. He is 4 years old and a sweet little ornery kid. Chris had a hard
time adjusting at first but he seems to be doing better now with learning the rules and schedule and adusting.

Korbin turned two months old! He continues to do well, he has out grown his preemie clothes and and is up to 9 lbs now. He is such a gift to us. After many tests and Dr. appointments we are finding out what a real miracle Korbin is to us.

While in the states I had to have a bone marrow test to get further results on my blood issues. For now it seems that I will just have to be on blood thinners and monitor my clotting weekly. There comes a lot of anxiousness as I am on Coumadin for life and getting my INR levels to be theraputic. Although God is bigger than all of this and HE will take care of me.

We made our way back to Honduras the 30th of January. We didn't tell any of the staff or kids we were coming back yet and they were all so surprised to see us.

Please pray that Dorian and I will be used by our Father to bring glory to Him in all we do.

Blessings~

Dorian, Karen and Korbin Guido

Kari Jobe

"Here"

Written By: Kari Jobe

“God, I’m broken. I feel lost and helpless. My heart God, my heart hurts and I don’t understand where you are or what you’re doing. Help Me.”

This song “Here” was written out of a broken place. Have you ever gotten news in your life where you felt shattered? You felt shaken up? A shaking not of your faith in God, but a shaking of everything you thought you knew to be true in your life. It’s hard. It’s scary. It’s unknown. This is a time that the only thing you know to do is fall to your knees and cry out to God for help.

Psalm 46:1-7 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea… the Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge… Be still and know that He is God.”

Let Him be an anchor for your soul. A gravity that pulls you back and pulls you into a place to comfort you. To strengthen you. To sustain you. He is a refuge in the midst of the storm. He cares for you. There will be things in our lives that we walk through that are hard. But His grace will get you through. Just breathe in His presence and keep moving forward. We hold onto the promises of God and we will make it through the hard moments and have a stronger testimony and a deeper faith in our God. Don’t stay shattered but let God’s grace flood your heart and give you peace. You will find Him here.

Write down some moments where you experienced hard moments but you know God’s grace and strength helped you through.

~Kari Jobe

Fearless

Katy

Out of all of our kids Katy knows no fear! She can climb the highest tree, get on top of the biggest dog (that she doesn't even know), jump all around from one thing to another and on and on goes the list, you get the idea. Well earlier this week she was outside rollerblading and she grabbed on to the back of one of the bikes the Antonio was riding and starting yelling faster, faster. Well before long she fell and skinned/burned her arm on the bike tire. We saw her skin has been rubbed off but didn't think much of it, with 24 kids we can't go running to the hospital for everything.

Well last night at shower time she couldn't get her shirt off because her shirt was stuck to her skin. Dilma cleaned it up and put iodine on it and dressed it. We talked and decided this afternoon I would take her to the Dr. to see if I could get some cream or something to put on it. Well this morning when Terri was changing the dressing it was stuck to her skin once again and had to pull it off. Then she started bleeding and bleeding and bleeding. Terri had to hold pressure on it to get it to stop bleeding.

Terri and I decided that we needed to get her to the Dr. sooner than later. So I dropped the kids off at school and then we to the local hospital her to have her checked out. They told me they would need to keep her overnight and hopefully would be able to come home Saturday morning.

First of all in the hospital we can not have phones. So I could not call anyone to tell them they were going to keep Katy. Katy was a little worried and was having a hard time understanding she was going to spend the night in the hospital. She started to get a little teary eyed. After getting her all checked in I told her I needed to go get her some things and check on Korbin and I would be back later with some stuff to give to her.

When I returned to the hospital I found her with three puzzles she was putting together and some toys on her bed. She was loving it!!! I had packed a bag for her with snacks, slippers, unos cards, coloring sheets and personal items. She told me she thought she could stay there for a week! She is keeping the nurses on their toes as she quickly disappears from her bed and wonders the hall to the playroom to find more toys. Also I think she has made friends with all of the nurses/cleaning ladies and told them all sort of stories!

This evening one of our staff is staying the night with her. Let's hope she gets better soon and she gets to come back home tomorrow.

Back to school they go......

Brayan and Pamela

They both have orientation all week. This year they are at the high school/ middle school. It is a big change for both of them. They are a little nervous about all the new surroundings this year but they will do just fine. Monday they start their first day of class.

Adonis (2nd grade)

He is super excited to be in school this year. He came to live here at Casa last March, but because of behavior problems we decided we would wait til this year to but him into school. So he is super excited to be in school after waiting all last year. Also today is Adonis's birthday! He turned 9 years old!!!

13 kids in 1st thru 6th grade. There was a lot of excitement for all of them today as they headed back to school today.

Lupe (1st grade)

Preschool ~ Josue, Any

Homeschool ~ Reina

Kinder ~ Cris

1st grade ~ Lupe and Maryuri

2nd grade ~ Adonis and Nohemy

3rd grade ~ Sisi and Katy

4th grade ~ Ana, Jose, Daniela, Fernando, Cindy and Rosy

5th grade ~ Jackson

6th grade ~ Antonio

7th grade ~ Bryan and Pamela

It is always good to get them back to school after a long summer break but there is always a lot of responsibility that comes with them back in school. Early morning and long afternoons of homework. Lots of school meetings! Here is hoping that 2012 is one of the best school years yet. Hoping that they will not miss too many days of school as they have in the years past.

PJ's

Bryan

Every year the kids usually get a new pair of pj's from grandma Joyce (Joyce Foreman). The kids love love love their new pj's!!! They usually have their pair from the year before worn out by the time the new pj's come around they are in need of the new pj's. Especially the boys who are a little bit harder on their pj's and seem to wear holes in their knees of their pj's, I know that seems hard to believe.

Thank you thank you thank you grandma Joyce for the new pj's. The kids love them!!!!!

Jackson

Doris

Ana

Reina

Cindy was so excited about getting her picture taken with her new pj's that she put them on before she even took her shower. She wanted to make sure I got a picture of her in them for Grandma Joyce.

Fernando

Nohemy

Maryuri nd Katy came to the apartment this evening making sure that I took a picture of them to send to grandma Joyce.

adjustments

Josue

Olman

Our house parent, Mirian has lots of adjusting to do. Although she is doing wonderful with the 5 new kids that she has taken into her house. I thought with her taking all of these new kids she would be super stressed and ready to run far away maybe when I got back from the states. Although she is getting help from others and seems to be doing really well with the change. Continue to keep her and the new kids in your prayers as they all continue to adjust.

Babies

Little did I know Korbin would be the big baby at Casa. While we were in the states twin brothers were taken here at Casa. They are tiny. One is as little as when Korbin was born, around 4lbs. The only thing is they are two months old and so is Korbin but they are still struggling to gain weight. Their birthday is the 25th of November and Korbin's is the 21st of November. Four days apart but they look a couple months apart comparing their size.

Today I had to go over to the other house to talk to one of the staff and I had Korbin with me so we decided to take a picture of all three of them together.

Here is Josue, Korbin and Olman

In awe...

About two years ago we started trying to get pregnany and start our family. Well we quickly found out it was not going to come so easy. I had been told in the past by my Dr. that I might have trouble getting pregnant due to having polycystic syndrome.

Dorian and I both have a love for children. This was truly our hearts desire to have children. We began to pray and pray and ask God to bless my body and give us a child. After a year went by we got very down and out and frustrated. Wondering if this was even ever going to happen. We finally searched out for help with fertility drugs. We tried several options with no avail. Finally we tried a different one where we would take a series of injections.

After two years of trying we finally were expecting in April 2011 . It felt so unreal. After waiting two years which seemed like eternity. I clearly remember the nights we would lay in bed and pray and pray to God for our child. At times I thought he wasn't listening. It became hard on me and I began to those faith. It hurt deep down in places thinking that I would never birth a child. Although once again I have to remember God had things planned and in his perfect timing, not ours.

I am coming to find our baby boy is truly a miracle baby. We had so many odds against us but we had one bigger than all of those odds on our side too....GOD.

I had a near to perfect pregnancy! Just felt great all of the way around. Korbin was to be born around December 31st. Just in time to ring in the new year. Well things turned out a little different. He made his way into the world November 21st, 2011 . We were suppose to fly home the 22nd. We thought 6 weeks before we as due was plenty of time, well we sure were wrong. My Dr. was even shocked to see that Korbin made his way onto the world so soon.

Soon after Korbin was born I developed a blood clot, deep vein thrombosis. We got back to the states to have further testing only to find out I have Factor V Leiden. Women with this disorder usually have many miscarriages and it is very hard to carry the baby to term alive. We were even more humbled how God had his hand in all of this. Well now we came to find out I have a heart shaped uterus. Even more odds against us. Our GOD truly is amazing and so ever faithful. He is bigger than anything!! Nothing with him is impossible. We are so ever grateful for Korbin our miracle baby. I am just reminded when we call on Jesus and believe all things are possible!

Don't stop believing! He will carry you through! Call on Him and give him the desires of your heart and believe that whole heartily, but you must remember it is in His timing not ours.

Hungry

I Am Hunger

read›
Lamentations 2:18-20
Lift up your hands to Him in prayer, pleading for your children, for in
every street they are faint with hunger (v.19).

In a previous article, I wrote about four severely
malnourished siblings that I have been daily feeding.
The children—Joshua, Mirika, Ashaba, Katseme—
look drastically different now that they’ve been receiving
nutritious food on a regular basis. Their stomachs are no
longer bloated and their skin is no longer covered with
sores. And their hair is no longer falling out in patches.
Often, I think back to the unusual way I first met the
children. The oldest, Joshua, was caught stealing food in
my house. When I asked him why he chose to steal rather
than ask me for food, he replied, “Because I am hunger.”
Lamentations 4:9 claims, “Those killed by the sword
are better off than those who die of hunger.” If being
stabbed is a more pleasant way to pass on than starving
to death, it’s no wonder hunger drove Joshua to steal.
Intense hunger depletes a person’s strength (Job
18:12). It causes children to faint (Job 17:5; Lamentations
2:19), and causes the lowly of society to scrounge for
food in desolate places (Job 30:3).

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations (FAO), “The new estimate of the
number of people who [suffered] chronic hunger [in 2011]
is 925 million.” Our God is a God who surely desires
that these hunger statistics improve. Just as He “satisfied
[the Israelites’] hunger” by providing meat and manna in
the wilderness (Psalm 105:40), God longs to open His
hand and “satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing” today (145:16).
Let’s join Him by praying earnestly for the millions of starving people around
the world, and by seeking tangible ways to help “satisfy the hunger” of His
“treasured ones” (17:14).

Love

I'm sorry for passing judgement instead of extending LOVE.

I think we all need to try a little harder at extending our arms wide open with love.