Day 4

Upon arriving at the orphanage on Friday morning I ran into this little guy and about 25 of his side kicks. Now I know this isn't a great picture but it was the best I could do. He was on the move. Just the night before while journaling I commented on how ironic it was that I hadn't felt drawn to any of the other children. I was just surprised because I thought I would fall in love with every child I saw/met. Well........this little guy could have walked right out the gate with me and never looked back. I was smitten!! Something about his mischievous eyes and sly grin. Oh man, was he cute!

And then this little miss cut into the photo shoot. She had so much personality! She would come just close enough for me to tickle her belly and then run away laughing. We played this little game for a while - until someone else wanted my attention. I absolutely LOVE this age group. They were probably all just shy of 2 years old. So much energy, curiosity and just plain cuteness.

Here she is again trying to engage me in a game. Again, she could have joined the little guy above in walking out the gate. Problem is we would be outgrowing our house by now. Oh well, it is all hypothetical. Unless one of you reading this thinks they could walk out the gate with you?! How about it?

This handsome young man was sitting observing all the little munchkins running around. He had the most gentle spirit. A lot of the kids his age would clamor for attention and a chance at the camera. I wouldn't say he was passive - just respectful! I would estimate his age somewhere around 10 years old. People, these children are beautiful!! Both inside and out. I didn't get a chance to find out his name but I can guarantee he would jump at the chance to have a family.

This is another little boy who confiscated my camera and decided to have his very own photo shoot. Wow!! He was a little more "in your face" but at least he was confident!

Just ignore this picture. I tried to get it landscaped but it posted before turning. And silly me couldn't figure out how to delete the picture. These are the glitches you have when you aren't completely blogger savvy. But if you have the unique ability to detach your head and turn it sideways, this is the same young man pictured above.

These are flowers at the guest house. I enjoyed the gardens and flowers so much after our long winter.

Today was the day that Mark was arriving and I could hardly wait for him to meet Eden, experience the city, experience the people and just fall in love with Eden's country. Plus, I had four days worth of talking to do. Poor man - he thinks getting home from work at the end of the day nets him an earful - he was in for a mass download of information. I had a new driver on this day (which I will talk about next post) and we arrived at the airport just before Mark's flight was scheduled to arrive. Upon finally getting inside past multiple checkpoints and showing of our passports we realized Mark's flight had arrived early. It all worked out perfectly - he had just obtained his visa and made it through customs when we saw him. I don't know the last time I was so excited to see my man!!

It was fun driving through the city with him for the first time. Things that were becoming normal to me (men peeing along the road, no traffic lights, people walking in the streets, etc) were a surprise to him. We did a lot of laughing on the way to the guesthouse. And you guessed it - they had a feast for us to eat upon our arrival!! We could hardly wait for Saturday morning to dawn - this was the day we would finally get to spend time together with Eden!!!