Farewell to CDA Babies :(

It is a fact of life that all good things must end, but the beginning of July has driven that fact home for me in a big way. July first we took all of "our" Casa de Amor babies back to Casa Uno and our time caring for these precious children has come to an end. It has been the hardest thing we have done here in Bolivia. However, rather than dwell on the hardness of it all, I want this blog to be a tribute to our year we spent with S. and A., and also to the short five weeks we spent with Daniel.

When S. and A. came to us S. was not doing well at Casa Uno. He was always unhappy and screamed at the Tias when he did not get what he wanted, which was most of the time! He had some serious behavioral issues you might say! His baby sister A., was not thriving either. When she came to us she was bald in patches on the back of her head, underweight, and anemic. Within months of arriving both were doing much better. They just needed a family to care for them. We are so blessed that we could be that family for them for a critical year in their lives.

Bringing home S. and A.!

A. 4 months old

S. 1yr 5mo old and Paula 3 years!

Clara w/ A.

S. with his big buddies

S. and A. "Hermanitos"

Tio Rudi with Leo, S. and A.

Bike riding Bolivian Style!

S. with Paula and Eddie

Best Pals, Eddie and S.

As A. got older we often found her getting into the toilet paper, pantry, and other places that were off limits! Of course, we had to snap a picture before cleaning up after her!

Caught with the tissue roll...fun!

Exploring the pantry!

Adorable A.

All of our Casa de Amor kids could put out the smelly diapers. A lot of mornings we woke to these!

A diaper worthy of a picture...

And the angelic face that goes with it!

Enjoying an early morning bottle!

Emily and her little guy, S.

S. wasn't too old for a little bit of messing things up too!

A. and Paula all dressed up!

Ready for church

The kids gave a "Bolivian smile" for this picture!!

Rudi with S., C., and A.

Playing basketball!

Clara doing dishes with A.!!

A. in her favorite spot!

And then there was Daniel; the ninth CDA baby that we cared for. We cared for him the shortest time, just five weeks. He was such an easy baby and stole all our hearts. He gained a lot of weight while he was with us. At first I was worried that I would lose my reputation as the lady who fattened up the babies, but he came on strong toward the end and started to chub up nicely!!
I gave him a haircut the day before he left. I thought he turned out quite handsome!!

After haircut picture!

 Daniel got a yeast type rash the last weeks he was at our house. Part of his program was ten minutes in the sun with his bottom exposed to the "fresh air"! I would lay him on his back and then he would roll right over!!

Daniel during "sun treatment"

Myles and Daniel

All to soon it was time to take them to their new/old home, Casa 1! It was a bittersweet day for sure.

Bringing the babies into Casa 1

 I started a book for when our babies left us to record their handprints, names, etc. I hope to add pictures to it as well. Below S. is pictured with his "blue hand" after I recorded his handprint in my book!

Recording S. in my special book!

We also took a picture with all five of the CDA kids that we had taken care of and haven't been adopted yet. Of course, we had Tia Techy in the picture with us.

Our Casa 4 Team 

   And for a parting shot Rudi and I took a picture with S. and A. like the one we took on the day we took them home. I was even wearing the same sweater and scarf!
   Wow, is it hard to say goodbye to these babies. We pray for them each day that God will provide forever families for them. It has been a privilege to care for "God's babies" these past almost two years. We know that our lives will never be the same.

Rudi and Me with S. and A.