a weekend does the body good

Today was a really good day for relaxing. You know how some days you're better at letting it all go than others? This afternoon I was finally able to get rid of some of the stress I've been feeling all week long. I spent the morning at a very long mass at FWAL, but it was great to see the kids there. I always miss them so much, but it's so hard to get over there during the week. I could easily live here without working and have completely packed days just visiting with all the kids and chatting with employees. After mass I got some work done on the computer that I haven't had the chance to do all week with the office being under construction. Then after lunch we brought some of the kids from abandoned down into the courtyard to play.

Bridget and Samuel

Peggy and Marco playing drums on the cheetah

with Marvens

trying to get Lubin to smile for the camera

Marvens is the newest baby in sal pwason and has been doing so much better over the last two weeks. He was admitted to the hospital with severe anemia and malnutrition. When I first met him in abandoned he was very timid and quiet and would just lay on my shoulder whenever I picked him up. The only time I saw him show emotion other than sadness was when he was eating. This was long before I knew he was malnourished but he would hold on with all his strength to his cups of milk and wouldn't let me give him a break for some air. He would always cry when he finished his meal. Now, he eats like a normal kid... excited at first, then he gets full and food seems like it would be better used as a toy by spreading it all over the table and his hands/arms/face/shirt/diaper/floor. You can see from the picture that his hair is filling in, maybe for the first time. Now he loves to play and grabs my hands and stands up to practice walking. He has the most adorable smile and laugh and loves to be thrown in the air. He was by far the most adventurous this morning, braving the grass to go check out the animal statues and pond in the courtyard. The abandoned room can be such a sad place, it's so nice to have a child doing so much better by being there.

This evening I watched the first Twilight movie with my roommate because she had never seen any of them!! I set her expectations low, so she liked it. I'm going to have to figure out how to download the newest one once she catches up on the other two. Also in keeping with our American-ness, we're having a Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday! Yes it's 95 degrees here and we don't have many of the ingredients, but we're throwing a dinner anyways! All of us American volunteers are getting together to have the dinner for the rest of the volunteers/employees who live on campus. Even if we don't get stuffing, it's got to be more delicious than the can of soup I usually have for dinner.