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Well...it's 6:30 on a Saturday morning and I can't sleep. I've been tossing and turning for a while now. I can't stop thinking about the kids in the orphanage and it's been a week since I've returned home. I just received an email from Mandy last night. They were supposed to receive 3 newborns this week. Unfortunately, 2 of them have already died. I feel so sad that they left this earth without the opportunity to be loved...every infant deserves at least that. However, I also feel grateful that they have been blessed and will avoid the inevitable heartache and pain that is present in so many of these orphans lives.
The orphanage also received another little girl yesterday. We don't know how old she is, but the guesstimate is around 6 years. She is frightened and totally out of her element. Her dad died, and her alcoholic mom abandoned her. There is also a 2 month old sibling, they're working on getting her too.
Jaquelyn arrived absolutely filthy, and with a horrible case of head lice. So bad that they have started to burrow themselves into her scalp. They immediately applied the lice medicine, but it isn't helping. They had to go get her hair cut, and we're hoping they with more treatments it will go away.
It kills me to hear about these kids and not be there to hug and love them. I am considering going back to the orphanage in December. I NEED to go back. I love every single one of them and all the worldly cares go away when I'm helping them. When I'm there, it's not about me, I don't even care about things as gross as lice!! They have helped show me what's truly important. I'm also so much more aware of how blessed I am, and I'm so grateful for the good in my life. I have so much to be grateful for.
Mandy said Levi is sick. I'm a little worried about him. They don't have good healthcare there, and I hope he can just get better on his own. That's the hard part about being an inexperienced mom, you're not really sure when to let the kids ride out an illness and when they need to see a doctor. I hope he starts feeling better soon.

As for me...I'm finally starting to feel better. I got sick on the last day of my trip, and I've spent most of my week home in bed. From what I've heard, every single person went home sick....so I'm not alone in the sicky department. That might be another reason why I'm struggling to get back into my life again...I haven't been able to get back into my routine. Hopefully next week will be a more productive and normal week.

Update: The new girl Jaquelyn ran away from the orphanage. No one has seen or heard from her since. We are all worried about her, and hope she is okay. We will keep looking for her.