“Let it Snow” – “Let it Snow” – “Let it Snow”
After unseasonably warm and beautiful weather, we were hit with a major blizzard continuing from the 10th through the 12th of November.
We had to go to Hong Kong to do some work with the Chinese Consulate regarding our long term visas and when we got back, our car which we left at the airport, had over fourteen inches of snow built up on it. Amazing for our area.
In the picture above and left to right are Ruthie, Gracie, Mary in the front… Rose in the back, Autumn, Abby Joy and Isaac with Mosie behind Autumn and Rose.
The following Slideshow was made from pictures taken over a 48 hour period while the snow was falling and getting deeper and deeper.
If it hasn’t already done so, this Slideshow may take a couple of minutes to download, depending on your server speed, but it is well worth the wait.
Sweet Potato Harvest
The children love to cook their own sweet potatoes over an open fire. I suppose one would call that “roasted” or some thing like that. Anyway, to make them even better, they grow their own. We haven’t actually taken a count but it seems like they harvest them about two or three times a year.
However, we have noticed that one of the motivations for their getting out and harvesting what is ready is more than the desire to have roasted sweet potatoes.
Our small truck farm area is not fenced and since this is a social country, everything belongs to everyone. About the time we notice increased activity with the local villagers coming to our sweet potato patch and gathering potatoes for themselves, the Home of Hope children get out and have a major harvest. Makes sense to us.
“Rachel, Rachel” – “Come here Ye Ye”
It wasn’t long ago that little Rachel (abandoned at our gate at birth) would burst into tears whenever Ye Ye would come around. We often thought it was because she associated spending time with Ye Ye to her trips to Beijing for surgery. Now it is totally opposite. Every time she sees Ye Ye (Nathan) anywhere, she calls to him to come and play or hold her or whatever.
This time Nathan was walking down the hall outside the Nursery and she saw him and (even though it was nap time) she jumped up and started calling out to Ye Ye to come and play. Nathan was on the way to take some pictures so had his camera and grabbed a couple of shots in passing! What a doll!
Of course Aaron (also abandoned at our gate at birth) was also awake and started laughing and begging to have his picture taken as well so he was accommodated! It is such a joy to watch these little “Real People” grow and develop their own individual personalities, habits and traits. Fun and heart warming beyond imagination!
“We need your help!”
Hard times have come on the Home of Hope orphanages primarily due to the economic slowdowns in the countries where our support comes from. At the same time, strong inflation is hitting China and the dollar to RMB exchange rate is depreciating. We are in the process of determining where we can cut back on less critical operational expenses while at the same time the start up of the PingYu facility is taking off this month. We could use your help. You can go to our “Donate Now” page to make a contribution. Anything you can do to help the work here, either large or small, will be greatly appreciated.
Thank You and blessings!
Posted: November 13th, 2009 under Abandoned Babies, Building, Expanding, Our Children, Special Activities, Uncategorized.