Saturday morning...

Good morning from J0-berg! I have been up early because Lisa needed a ride to work so I made breakfast and watched some Glee reruns. It is fun having a Saturday morning "off", checking email and writing some letters. Just a nice, relaxed Saturday morning.

This week has been a good one. I had a house meeting with the Aunties at Baby House 2 that went well, I've been driving more (and stalling less) and had the chance to see "The Tourist" with my roommies on Wednesday. Wednesday is the cheap day at our local theatre and you can see a movie for less than $5.00 dollars! It's funny how driving really has made this feel more like home. I've named my car Stanley...he's older, reliable and a bit finicky and Stanley seems to fit him well. Thank you for continuing to pray that I will be safe while on the roads. This week I will be driving babies for the first time. Pray for extra protection and wisdom as I bring little ones to their medical appointments and such.

Here are some fun pictures from this past week:

This little one is so alert and smart that he has a killer time trying to fall asleep. Be praying for this one, there is a chance that baby "S" will be reunited with family this next week. Pray that the Lord's way will be had!

This little princess is our happiest small baby at BH2. So very happy and content all day long!

Jackson however is not super happy unless he is being held. Here he is tied on Auntie Francinah's back, just hanging out while she does some chores. He's a smart cookie who knows he wants cuddles and how to get them...

These are the two biggest babies here at BH2. They love to follow the Aunties around all day long! In this pic they are at the back gate watching Auntie Bebe hang the laundry. They are busy little bees but so very cute and talkative.

Here are the sweet feeties of one of my little dudes sticking out of the sling I am wearing him in. He is the little one who moved to BH2 the same time that I did and he is still trying to find his way as a "big babie". He is most happiest when he is being held and cuddled so sticking him in the sling works wonderfully for him!

My little princess all cuddled close while she sleeps...

One morning this week it was really chilly. All the small babies were in hats and this little guy's hat ended up over his eyes. So cute and created a perfect blog-ready pic...

Thank you for those of you who have been praying for Jackson's hands. He is off the antibiotics now and they are almost completely healed up. Jackson says thanks...

One morning I showed up to find this little dude sleeping in the swing because he was waking up everyone else... he's trouble but oh so sweet. His puppy somehow ended up on the ground. He loves that thing and it goes everywhere with him...

I think I get to go to church in the morning which is pretty exciting. I pray that you all have a wonderful weekend. I am thanking Jesus for you and your faithful love and support! Hugs...

a week in pictures

I have had a wonderfully full last week or so. I have been loving living with the 3 lovely ladies and I have been enjoying spending time with the babies and aunties at Baby House 2... lot's of learning and babies and fun. I decided to highlight a few of the adventures in pictures below:

One of the fun things about this week is that I had the chance to see my "small babies" almost every day because I've been starting most days at Baby House 1 before heading to Baby House 2. They are growing so big and are so cute. Here are two of my boys holding hands:

This is me and one of the little men that arrived last week. He is our tiniest little guy at BH2 and he is uber cute, sleeps and eats like a champ:

I have been loving getting to know all of the new babies at BH2, here are feet of one of my littles as we are playing outside:

On Wednesday of this week Lindsay, Lisa and I took 8 of our babies to Big Shoes where we meet with our pediatrician, Janet. It was a handful of fun, Lindsay and I had a baby each in a moby wrap, 2 in arms and 4 in car seats. It was a riot but it was a successful trip all in all. Here is me and my little in the moby wrap:

Here are Lindsay and Lisa entertaining two of our little men while we wait for our turn:

One of our new babies came with us to Big Shoes and Janet didn't like what she was seeing in him. He is 4 weeks old and had some warning signs of Sepsis. Lisa and I ended up taking him to the hospital on Janet's referral and he was admitted for Sepsis straight away. I had the chance to see him on Thursday and he was already looking better. Please be praying for baby "S" and that he is returned to our care healthy and soon! Here are the 2 of us waiting in the emergency room to be seen by a doctor:

Beth, Clair, Lisa and I finally got to make it to Moyo this week! It is one of Beth and Clair's favoirite places in Jo-berg. It had the BEST atmosphere, we lounged on couches, had our faces painted, listened to awesome live music and enjoyed delicious food. Here is a pic of us sitting on our couch before we ordered complete with painted faces:

BUT the very BEST part of my week was spending time with my Jackson. Here are some pictures of you to feast your eyes on! This is our very picture together. It's blurry, my hair is wreck but I love it because it was such a great night:

Here he is basking in the sun after a diaper change:

Here are his precious little feet:

Jackson cuddling up with his bear in his cot. He likes to have cozy things up near his face when he is sleepy and he adores his dummy:

One of the weird things here about Jo-berg is their "we don't care if your kids are in car seats" lack of a law. However it is helpful when you have an unexpected pick up. Jackson came and spent the night with us on Sunday night because he had an appointment for an infection on his hands. Please be praying for his hands to heal up all the way. Here we are in the car together:

I have been "wearing" Jackson every chance I get! Here we are in his room posing for a pic:

Thank you so much for all of your continued prayers, love and support. One of the best part of getting to name Jackson is getting to honor a family that lost a Jackson of their own. Please take the time read about their story at http://knitsofgrief.blogspot.com/. I am so grateful that our God is able to do more than we could ever ask or imagine. He redeems, He restores and He heals. I am thanking Jesus for each of you today... Miss you and love you!

7 babies in less than 7 days...

Hello from sunny Jo-berg! We have had sunny and warm days all this weeklong! I adore the thunder and lightening storms that we have been getting this summer but it is nice to have a few days for all of us to dry off. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and words of encouragement about all of the new things that have entered my life these New Year. I just completed my second manual driving lesson and both Beth and Clair say that I am doing very well. I am going to attempt my first hilly area tomorrow—woo hoo! All in all it has been not as scary as I built it up to be in my mind’s eye, although I do have a bit of stage fright and have a problem stalling out when I feel like I have an “audience”. Much laughter and jumpy starts made it more funny than scary but I would continue to ask for your prayers for safety on the road in general as I will be commuting downtown to Baby House 2 most days during the week.

This week has been a busy and wonderful one! As of this afternoon we have welcomed 7 babies into our homes in less than 7 days! Four of the babies are living at Baby House 2 and officially “mine”. One of the little men who arrived I had the privilege and honor of naming. I chose the name Jackson which means “God has been gracious” and He certainly has. Jackson is healthy, beautiful and extra special in my eyes. He has lots of dark curly hair and is just big enough to be squishy in your arms when you hold him. He is still rather puffy from his delivery so I call him my little boxer. When I first arrived I was able to name a baby that ended up being in our care for only a few days and even though I love, miss and pray for Timothy all of the time I feel connected to Jackson in such a indescribable way (I literally just spent two minutes trying to think of the right word and I can’t find the perfect one so indescribable will just have to do). I just want to be with him all the time and I miss him when I can’t see him or hold him. He is less than a week old and I feel like he is mine. I have woken up the last few nights reaching for him at least once. So completely strange and wonderful and completing all at the same exact time. Please be praying for my little man, he has two little medical issues we are working on sorting out; please pray for no scarring or infection to take place on or in his little body.

One of the blessed little men that came through our doors this week ended up spending the night with me here at my new place because of how late we got out of the hospital checking him out. He is a little spunky fellow weighing just over 4.5lbs that makes hysterical and entertaining faces while being extremely adorable. It was a throwback to all of my night nannying nights and babies and even though I was tired the next day, I loved having him here with me. One of the little girls we welcomed this week was found in a trashcan on someone’s property. The little princess was brought to a local hospital where we picked her up a few days later. She is impossibly cute and is so healthy and pink with just the perfect amount of loosely curled hair. She is our newest little princess at Baby House 2 that means we’ve added 4 newborns less than 10 days old to our BH2 family!

On Monday morning I had the joy of being apart of my very first adoption hand over! I was able to be in the room when a lovely couple from Sweden met their firstborn 9-month-old son for the very first time! I basically just sat in the corner holding back tears while Clair introduced the family to one another, going through the baby’s schedule, likes, dislikes and basic history. After 10 minutes are so we left them to get acquainted and we went home. It was very strange arriving with a baby but leaving without one; knowing that this is what we pray for our babies but missing them all the same. And because this big man was from Baby House 2 I didn’t even really know him well! I can’t even begin to what it is going to be like handing over one of the babies that feel like my own—bittersweet and beautiful—but I am so excited to do it.

Today I spent 6 hours or so at the cardiac clinic at Jo-berg General with a little man who has some breathing issues. Baby “L” is actually the first baby I ever took to the hospital when he was just two months old or so and I was in country for less than a month. It was funny to think back on the past few months and how thankful I am to feel more comfortable in caring for these little ones at the hospital. I know I have worlds to learn and experience but it was nice to feel like I sort of knew what I was doing this time around. It was just a good reminder about how God is faithful to use all of our experiences and trials to prepare us for the road ahead. Not a tear, trial or lesson goes unused or forgotten. He was faithful then and will be faithful again...and I'm so glad!!! The good news is that he was cleared from having any cardiac issues but the bad news is that we still don’t have a cause to his respiratory troubles. Please be praying for healing for baby “L” and that we would have wisdom as we seek out a diagnosis and treatment for him.

Training has been going well thus far. We are still in the process of sorting out how and when official authority will be handed over to Lindsay and myself. Beth let me admit 2 of the babies when they arrived, a process that includes taking measurements, weighing the baby and filling out a basic questionnaire about the baby which gets faxed to our adoption agency. I also had the chance to meet with Francinah, the wonderful woman who is housemother to BH2 and who will be working as my “assistant”. I use the word assistant loosely considering Francinah has been with DOH for years and she is has and will be teaching me so much as I transition into this role. Please be praying for her and I as we seek to come together as a team to help shepherd and lead the Aunties and babies at BH2.

Between the adoption, the hospital and having to be driven around from place to place I’ve only had the chance to spend a few hours at Baby House 2 this week and I am hungering for the day I can spend as much time there as I can. Please be praying that I will get comfortable with driving super soon so I can be on my own there day in and day out.

I would also ask for prayer for my roommates Beth, Clair and Lisa who are battling with illness: sinus infection, ear infection and a nasty cold respectively. Please pray that they are up and running soon and that the Lord would help protect me from any illness.

Unfortunately my camera died on me two weeks ago so I don’t have any pictures to post today but I will borrow some from my roommates this weekend and post them soon. Please pray that I would find a reasonable and cheap replacement for my broken one so that I can capture all of the amazing memories and babies in store for me.

I appreciate your love and support!!! I will be sure to kiss Jackson for each of you…. XOXOXOXO…. Auntie Nicole

New News for a New Year

Hi friends! I can hardly believe that February is almost here! I pray that 2011 has begun well for each of you and your loved ones. I wanted to update you on some new things that February is going to be bringing me here at Door of Hope.

A few weeks ago I was approached by Kate Allen (DOH’s Director) to pray about and consider stepping into a new leadership role here at DOH beginning in February. Spurred on my the financial crisis that we found ourselves in at the end of last year, the Leadership Team began to pray about restructuring DOH to better prepare for growth and provide excellent care for our babies. That new structure is going to set up our three baby homes to be self sufficient with Staff, Aunties and Volunteers allowing each home to have individual care from the Leadership Team. At the head of each home will be a “Baby House Manager” who will oversee the home handling the babies from Admission to Adoption, overseeing and scheduling Staff and Volunteers, managing maintenance and supplies in the house as well as setting the flow and schedule of each day. The Baby House Manager will be on call 24/7 and responsible for the overall wellbeing of the children in the home handling day-to-day issues as they arise. Kate has asked me to be one of the Baby House Managers and even though I feel slightly under qualified and will require a ton of training, I have agreed!

Starting the second week of February I will be acting as the Baby House Manager for Baby House 1 in Berea. BH1 is our original Baby House and is the home that has the “hole in the wall” where babies can be dropped off at any time day or night! I will spend the next few months loving on the babies and Aunties at BH1 full time. Starting in March I will be responsible for setting the schedule and running the home as I see fit. As of right now we have 7 babies at BH1 but we were running below capacity because the house was missing a “house mom”. Two of our long time and trusted Aunties: Francinah and Lucy have moved in this past weekend to be house moms so I am guessing we will fill up to our 12 baby capacity in no time. Auntie Francinah will also be working as Baby House Assistant Manager, helping me to manage and care the home.

The plan as of right now is to begin training in March with Beth, the woman who has been acting as our Baby Care Manager to learn how to care for the babies from admission to adoption. As Baby House Manager I will get to process all of the new babies that come to home, oversee them as the grow and then be able to hand them over to their forever families. It is going to be more of a challenge and a joy then I can even wrap my mind and heart around! I know that I have TONS to learn and that I will only be able to be successful serving in the strength of our Jesus!

February will also bring some other fun and practical new things as well. The Lord has found a used car available for my purchase. The only scary news being that I have to learn how to drive a manual car proficiently on the wrong side of the road! Be praying for me and the brave soul who has to teach me! On February 5^th, Lisa (the international volunteer from Wisconsin) and I are going to be moving offsite. Kate has a flat on the second story of her home where Beth and Clair currently live. Lisa and I are going to be moving in the second bedroom of that flat! We are really excited to have our own living space, to sleep in real beds and be out of earshot from the babies. It will be nice to be able to spend some good time with Beth and Clair, they are fun girls who have years of making Jo-berg their home. Also because of my new role I will need to purchase a cell phone. It’s kind of been fun being un-tethered to a cell phone but I know it is pretty much a necessity to have a phone if I need to be on call!

So… that’s what’s new for me in this New Year thus far. Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and support & emails and letters. I am in desperate need of continued prayers as I begin this new stage of the adventure! Please pray for:

~ Wisdom, favor, courage and discernment as I step in to Leadership at BH1

~ Supernatural ability to drive a manual car (really, I’m nervous)

~ Favor and safety driving, working and navigating in downtown Jo-berg

~ Courage and steadfastness of mind and heart as I begin all these new roles

~ The time to cultivate and nurture community amongst the women I will be living with

~ Continued strength and purpose being so far from those I love

~ Wisdom and provision as I take on an increased rent and living expenses like gas and a cell phone

Thank you for loving me so well! Jesus is loving these babies through me with your faithful support! I will keep you up-to-date as all of our adventures continue to unfold. I’ve included a few new pics!

Much love and gratitude…

~ Nicole

Me and one of our big boys who went up for adoption this month!

A little black booty

Please be praying for baby "M" who is the hospital trying to get over a chest infection

My youngest little man, baby "N"

One of my littles, hands all folded sweet

Baby "N" on his first night with us at 9 days old

Jess, Monique, Me and Lisa at Prince Caspian

Introduced this little dude to this puppy "lovey" to help him self-soothe and now he can't get enough of it. He loves to cozy into it when he sleeps and holds it tight when he is fussy.

4 of my small babies are big, almost too big for their cots and they spend time with their little feet pressed up close to the plastic sides. So very cute!

now for some pics...

Here are the pictures I promised:

Us girls Celebrating Christmas at the Toddler House

Me giving one of our littles with a skin problem his daily oatmeal bath!

One of our boys covering his eyes during his nap time

On Christmas Day, I staged a fun photo shoot for all of our small babies

Here is me and one of my little ladies

I can't get over the little feet sticking out from there swaddles at the end of their cots

Here is Lisa and the baby she named when he came home to us in October

This was us girls at Monte Casino welcoming in the New Year!

I will make it a point to take some more photos this week and get some more up!

Praise Report: I was able to purchase a mobile hotspot thing for my laptop which will give me consistent Internet access! Thank you for your continued prayers. I love and miss you....

Happy Twenty Eleven!!!

Happy New Year! Can you believe that it is 2011?! Somehow being in a new place doing brand new things has made ushering in the New Year seem even more important than ever. I spent time today just journaling about some of the things I am thankful to God for including in my 2010. Too many things to begin listing here but let me just say: I am one loved lady, by the Savior and by those He has brought into my life. I hope that you can spend some time thanking God for your 2010 before the newness of 2011 wears off!

A group of us spent our New Year's Eve at Monte Casino (a local hotspot that is a Casino that is like a mini-New York, New York in Vegas). We went to the Gourmet Garage (a yummy hamburger joint), walked around visiting the shops and eating gelato. We danced the new year in at this Pub with a tiny dance floor and really horrible house music. It was so very fun and I was grateful to usher the new year in with friends.

Let's see... our Christmas celebration here at Door of Hope was full of visitors, helping our biggest little ones open up presents and sharing memories and traditions from each of our homes. I spent the day with my small babies and my evening with Lisa and Jessica watching some random Christmas movie and talking with our families. I did a "Baby's First Christmas" Photo shoot with all my little ones which was a totally funny and cute. I completely missed being at home all the while knowing I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

Since I blogged last we were able to welcome our little superman who was at the hospital back home! He is doing so much better, he has the sparkle in his eye back and not only is he home he came home with a 4-day-old friend! Our new little man is a healthy 6.8 lbs and so beautifully dark I almost melt each time I hold him. We currently have 9 babies in small babies and I feel like we've found a really nice pattern to our days and nights. I am so grateful be in the lives of these little ones, even on my days off I find myself in our room grabbing some extra cuddles because I miss them too much if I don't see them each and every day! We have 3 little guys who are just about growing out of our cots so in the next couple weeks we may have some graduating men on our hands once some of our older babies go home to their forever families. One of my favorite big babies is going to his forever family in just 8 days. We've fallen into the pattern of having our breakfast and dinners together and I will miss juggling his wriggling, happy body while juggling my bowl of yogurt and granola in the mornings. We pray for families for these little people but it is bittersweet to see them go because I will miss being apart of their lives once their gone. Such worthy work even though it pulls on your heartstrings.

I am excited for this new year and all the adventures that are sure to lie therein. Please continue to pray for my little ones, that they remain healthy and continue to grow. I am so grateful for all of your prayers, emails and love. Please continue to pray for DOH in general, for continued funding and wisdom as the Board continues to seek the Lord about restructuring and vision going forward. I miss you and pray that our Lord will bless you and keep you until our paths cross again. Much love from Jo-berg!!!

For the life of me I cannot get any pictures uploaded! They will have to wait until next time!

XOXOXOXXOXOXO ~ nicolie

Just a quick update...

Hi dear ones! I hope this finds you well and enjoying this Christmas week! My schedule got a bit switched up so I'm here at the Glen checking emails, facebook and throwing out a quick update. The past two weeks have flown by. I am (thankfully) feeling way more settled into my role as Small Babies Supervisor. The Aunties I am working with during the day are a joy to be with and helping me get to know my role better. It is so funny how much like a parent I feel. Even on my days off I feel the need to go in and check on everyone, hold my littlest babies and get the report from the Aunties. In the evenings I feel like the mom who is home with the babysitters, trying not to get in their way but I can't help but go back once or twice to check on a crier or a sick baby.

Thank you for those of you who prayed for my little baby boy who was sick. He finished his 7th day of antibiotics day before last. He doesn't have any outward signs of an infection but his breathing is still fast and shallow. His oxygen saturation levels are within a normal range but we are still watching him closely. Thankfully the infection has not spread and the other little man on meds for an allergic skin rash outbreak of sorts and wheezy chest is looking and sounding much better. Please continue to pray that everyone remains healthy and that we would have wisdom as we care for these little ones.

Speaking of little ones, we had a new addition this past week! We received an itty-bitty little boy this week at 9 days old. His mother abandoned him at the hospital but we couldn't get him home until his jaundice had cleared up. When he arrived he was just under 4 pounds! He is long and lanky and I think he looks a bit like Michael Jackson so we call him "MJ" sometimes. For his first few days with us he was having trouble maintaining his body temperature and because he was so new I spent time with him in "kangaroo care". Kangaroo care is when you provide skin-to-skin contact for a premature infant by placing them in nothing but a diaper under your clothing, holding them close and mimicking the womb. In his first week with us he gained weight, is eating well and has enough fat on his body to keep warm. It has been fun having a little one who is so new and little.

Lastly, I wanted to update you on the twins I told you about last time I blogged. Sadly, last week they were returned to their family under some uncertain and possibly unsafe conditions. It is funny how attached I became to them in the two weeks that they were in our care. We had less than 24 hours to say goodbye and sneak in all the last cuddles we could, and believe you me, I got a ton in. When I brought them down to put them in our social workers car she asked me to pray over each of them because she was concerned about where they were headed. As I tearfully prayed over them, the Holy Spirit quickly reminded me of Matthew 10:28-31 where we are reminded: "Do not be afraid of those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul...Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside of your Father's care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. " Even though I had no idea where these babies were headed to and for but their Father did and would be with them. Please pray that, if the Lord wills and it is best for them, that they would be returned to our care. Pray that the Lord would preserve their lives and guard their health.

Our Christmas celebration was last night with a White Elephant Gift Exchange Christmas Party last night hosted by the volunteers that have been with us from the World Race. About 20 of us gathered to eat yummy food and do a gift exchange. It was a fun-filled night that finally made it actually feel like Christmas time. I ended up with a new loofah, nail clippers, hair ties and a green crown...very fun and useful! I will be working for the next few days but I promise to wish each of my babies a Happy First Christmas from all of you. I am missing you this season but I feel loved and supported in so many ways. Thank you! XOXXOX

Here are some new pics:

We had a baby doll basket donated to DOH and I borrowed it for a cute photo shoot to come...

Sweet baby feet

Our littlest girl!

Our littlest boy!

Kangaroo Care