It really is amazing how towards the end of the month every "ding" of my email sends us all running for my computer in hopes that it is the long awaited update on Judith and Kerby. This month seemed particularly long since we didn't get it until the 30th, but the wait was worth it !!! Molly from the orphanage wrote specifically about Judith and Kerby this month instead of the updates coordinator. Molly knows the kids the best and so it was fun to hear what she had to say about their bedtime routine. Each month there is a new theme and this month was bedtime. I do have to say that each update brings a little more difficulty in the wait....I feel that much more attached and long that much more to love them in person. I know Gods timing is PERFECT, but the wait is still oh so hard and getting harder. I don't always share all that is written about Judith & Kerby because I think Judith and Kerby have a right to some privacy, but this month I posted everything.....I cry reading it, which may be silly, but I can't help myself. Please continue to pray for Judith and Kerby and all of the precious kids at GLA orphanage in Haiti....Blessings!!!
Sleepy Greetings from God’s Littlest Angels, Ryan and Rori!
As the summer winds down and we face another hurricane season, we feel blessed that Tropical Storm Emily and Hurricane Irene that were headed our way did not hit Haiti as predicted. Please continue to pray that the storms this season will bypass us just like Emily and Irene. Please know that if Haiti does get hit with a bad storm all the children and everyone at GLA will be safe but much prayer would be needed for the families still living in tents and the rise in cholera that tends to happen after heavy rains and flooding. Everything at GLA has been coming along well. We continue to be busy with our daily activities as well as planning a major fundraising effort. Many volunteers have come through our gate this month and they have each done a great job. They spend much of their time loving on your kids and helping to further the building process at Fort Jacques.
It seems that bedtime can go from the most stressful to the most relaxing time of the day in matter of hours or even minutes for some kids. I am going to highlight bedtime for this month’s update, as it is a special time in every child’s day, even here at GLA. Because we are close to the equator it gets dark every evening between 6 and 6:30 depending on the time of year. Lucky for us, here in Haiti, there is not a giant fluctuation in that time so getting the kids into a year round bedtime routine is fairly simple. At both the Baby House and the Toddler House bedtime seems to be marked with a loud burst of energy as all the kids are fed, bathed, and let loose to get that last bit of energy out. Then all seems to suddenly go silent as the babies and kids settle into their beds, say their prayers and are tucked in.
As I have been swamped with school sponsorship organization this month, Molly was gracious enough to help me write part of the updates for the kids at the Toddler House. Who knows the kids better anyhow? So the below info is thanks to her.
After dinner the kids head outside to burn off the last of their energy. It is generally the loudest and most active time of day, mostly because everyone is out of school and the weather is cool with the sun low in the sky so they can run and jump and play without getting too hot. At about 6:30 the nannies head to the entrance of the house and yell, “ENTRE, ENTRE, ENTRE!” - which means “Come in,” in Creole. Several of the kids will chime in and chante (sing) it in sync as they roll their balls, scooters, hula hoops and other toys to their spot in the yard by the garage and divide up, boys heading to the boys’ house and girls to the girls’ house.
Everyone stops outside their bedroom removing their sandals and leaving them outside the door to keep the outdoors out. Then they head in their rooms and sit on the floor receiving their toothbrush and toothpaste as their name is called. Each takes a little different amount of time to brush their teeth and slowly one by one they are finished and undress. They line up and quickly step in and out of the tub; each one gets doused with a pitcher of water, soaps up, and gets doused again to rinse off. Then they make their way back to their room to dry off, lotion up, and get their pajamas on. By 7:15 usually everyone is clean and ready for bed, and usually by 8pm most are sound asleep, but in the mean time each has a little different preference of how to spend their last conscious moments of the day.
Judith is usually the first to bath in the evenings. She takes her shower and then gets her pj’s on so that she can help the littler kids get theirs on as they come out of the tub. She is usually a very good helper in this way. Her job is also to sweep in the evening after the kids are all tucked into their beds, but this one she doesn’t like so much. After all the kids are bathed and pj’d, they have a little bit of time before their nannies tell them its time to get into bed and go to sleep.
Judith usually then will gather with Jeanilia, Marie Laure, Frantzdie, and a few of the other girls and they will take turns praying together and singing worship songs. They are a tight group of girls and this is their normal nightly routine before breaking and heading back to their own beds.
Judith stays up later still, usually the last one to climb into bed and the last to fall asleep, she will often use the quiet time as the littler children are drifting off to do her journal homework English assignment. There is a topic and she is required to right a number of sentences concerning this topic that shows her opinion and experience or knowledge on the subject. She prefers to do it last because it is something that takes her own thought and is also one of her favorite parts of homework.
Kerby, like his sister, is not one to call it quits on the day early. He likes the part of the evening when the little boys are all quiet and in their beds and he and his 6 roomies can just lay in bed and chat. He doesn’t help get the younger boys ready for bed, but he is responsible for toothpaste. Each boy will get their toothbrush out and Kerby will squeeze them each a blob of toothpaste to brush their teeth with. When the tube gets empty he always comes to Molly to exchange it for a full one, often waiting for her at 6am when she unlocks the house and starts to put out their daily supplies. He loves it when he can select a new tube from several different choices.
Kerby usually buddies up with one other boy to say prayers. He and Berthony have gotten in the habit of praying together nightly. They both have their usual prayers. Kerby prayers for his birth family, and his adoptive family, and he prays for all the other kids in the orphanage, and he also makes sure to thank Jesus for the day that he had and the good things that happened.
Kerby likes to sleep with his head covered. He may not want the blanket or sheet on his body but he likes to have it over his head.
Judith is healthy and growing:
Height: 146 cm
Weight: 94 lbs
Kerby is healthy and growing:
Height: 138 cm
Weight: 73 lbs
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