The Cutest Family EVER!

My fellow missionary and good friend, Sam has started a program for the families here on the center.  She is taking them on outings so they can actually hang out with their siblings.  A lot of the boys in her dorm have younger siblings...sisters and/or brothers who live in other dorms on the center...and so each week she takes one of the adorable families out for an afternoon.  A few weeks ago I finally found the time to join her.  We took out maybe one of the cutest, best behaved, and smartest families on the center!  Here they are!  On the left is Lito, the oldest.  Next is Jose the youngest...he lived in the Baby House when I arrived.  Next is Mimi and then Serena.

 As you can see it was a fun afternoon filled with ice cream!

 

There was also a lot of fun on the playground!  And Lito even took Jose by the hand upon our return to the center and walked him back to his dorm.  So cute!

One Month.

One month from today I will be enjoying the beach of North Carolina with longtime family friends.  One month from today I will have said my goodbyes to Mozambique, at least for now, and be starting a new adventure of life in the States.  One month from today I cannot even begin to dream of what my thoughts and emotions will be like.  One month from today it will be time for my faith to kick in again and remind me that God has a plan for me and taking this step to move back to the States is a part of that plan.  But before this month is over, I have many more hugs to experience, many more laughs to soak in, and many more lives to touch.
About a month ago I made the decision to come back to the States the end of June.  I struggled for months to make the choice.  There was a part of me that wanted to return to Mozambique for a short time with the heart of raising up our local nurses to really take the charge.  But, I finally came to the conclusion (or God finally got through my thick head) that my rationalization would never bring me the peace I was seeking to make a decision.  My brain wanted to say to fill a need.  It wanted to stay to be with the babies I love.  It wanted to stay to see the Mozambicans raised up to take on leadership.  But, once I took a step back and was honest with myself, I knew my heart was moving on.  I am at peace with this decision.  I am certainly nervous about going home, but I am excited to see what's next and what He has for me in the near and distant future.
Since the moment I felt peace to return to the States, God has nudged and slowly opened my hear to the idea of saying goodbye to all those I love here in Moz.  I know it is going to be difficult.  And I know it is going to hurt.  But the truth is God has amazing things in store for me...as He does each of his precious children.  I have NO idea what they are, but I'm excited to continue on the journey.  I have cried many times since telling my directors that June 27th will be the end of my time here.  Each thing I do has become precious.  I may not get a special hug from Mimi again just because she saw me this afternoon.  I may not get to sit in church next to Inacio and watch the light bulb go off as he understands what is being preached on.  I may not get to count to nine with Adilson again to watch him scream TEN in extreme excitement.  I may not be greeted on the playground by 10 knee level hugs as one of our Baby House rooms takes a walk across the playground.  I may not get to hold sick Manuel at 2am, soothe his spirit, and help his breathing with a nebulizer treatment.  I may not get to cheer little Amelia and Maria on as they take their first steps.  It's the daily things, everyday life, that I will miss and I vow to cherish over the next month.
A month ago I wrote the e-mail to my directors to tell them my time in coming to a close.  Before that I sat with my best friend here on base to tell her that we will have to learn to be long distance friends soon.  Tonight I sat with a team of our Baby House tias to tell them I'm leaving in a month.  Friday I had a long talk with one of the youth I've grown close to explaining why I am moving on.  Last week, I sat with our medical team and explained to them that one more nurse is leaving them while their clinic is closed and their whole life is changing.  These conversations will continue over the next month.  There is no blanket e-mail I can write to tell everyone I know that I'll be leaving in a month.  There is no simple way to explain to people that they may never see me again.  It is hard, and it hurts.
Some days I want to just leave and skip the goodbye stage.  Some days I want to sit all day with a gorgeous baby in my arms and never let them go.  Some days I do my best to stay on task and get my work done, so I don't have to think about the dwindling number of days.  Some days frustrations make me happy my days are numbered.  Some days I struggle to decide whether to spend my time with my missionary friends or my precious babies...both of whom I will miss greatly.  And, some days I hear the clock ticketing in my brain counting down the time I have left with those I love here in Mozambique.
Please be praying for me...that God would be closer than ever and direct my every step over the next month.  I still have more work than I can imagine staring me in the face and all I want to do most days is sit in the sand and play with the babies I love!  I believe there is a balance between the two and in God's presence will I find it.
One month...30 days...720 hours...43200 minutes. 
It will fly by, yet I vow to cherish the precious moments with God's help.

Bug Wars!

This same Saturday we spent at the market...we came home to find this lovely bug on our front porch...

It was HUGE...a hand-sized praying mantis is pretty dang large!

Anyway, at the market I had bought a gift for someone back home (I won't share who because it's a surprise).  This gift was a metal praying mantis...handmade and pretty amazing if you ask me.  Anyway, of course it became a game.  We ended up with several youth and a few kids on our porch having "bug wars". 
It was great entertainment for a Saturday afternoon...take a look!

 For a few minutes we weren't sure who would win the "bug wars"...

 ...but after a fierce battle...

 The live praying mantis won fare and square!

New Shoes!

So, a few weeks ago we spent a fun Saturday at one of the craft markets in the city.  I can go with the plan of not buying anything but EVERY single time I fall in love with one item or 20 and end up coming home with some fantastic Moz made masterpiece!
This post is just to give you a sneak peak of the amazing NEW SHOES I got and will be sporting upon my return to the USofA!

I've never had shoes that tied on my ankles...but I am in love with these!  Beach week here I come...

My Day...

Hospital days are ALWAYS unpredictable.  Whenever a child has a consult at the hospital if I'm honest, I do everything in my power to send someone else.  I firmly dislike sitting for hours with a fidgety child in my lap never knowing if we'll get any information out of the consult that may or may not happen in the next 6 hours.  I'm a "doer", I LOVE to check things off a to do list.  And sitting for hours not knowing what the outcome will be is my idea of torture.
Point being, yesterday was a hospital day.  Our little peanut Inacio had a follow up appointment at the hospital.  We went last Friday as well...so I have already spent one day waiting to be told, "He should still be in the hospital nursery.  If he had been born here (the central hospital in the city...he wasn't he was born at another hospital), he would be with us until he weighed 2.5kg."  Right, thanks for that.  He's not.  He was discharged and now I'm doing my best to care for him.  Anyway, after I told her all we were doing for him here at the center, she was very satisfied and said we were doing great and she'd see him again in a week...that was yesterday.
I was happy and thankful to report that he has gained 300grams in one week!  That is a little more than half a pound for all you wondering.  This means our little peanut now weighs about 4 pounds (the size of me when I was born)!  Praise God!  I was also doing my best to think of all of our waiting time as bonding time between me and the little guy!
Well, let me set the scene for you.  At these amazing hospital consults, every patient to be seen that day has the same appointment time.  There is no 9am, 9:15, 9:30...nope.  There is 7am or 7:30am depending on their whim...but everyone for the day has the same time.  Yesterday that time was 7:30.  So I picked up the little stinker and we were in the car on our way by 6:30.  I was sipping coffee, eating cheerios, and avoiding MASSIVE pot holes the whole way to the hospital.  We arrived late because of crazy traffic (because parts of the roads washed away in our latest rain storm) but at least we made it safe and sound.  I scooped up my little bundle of joy and we headed inside.
From this point on we were on constant display.  Every move I made was watched and scrutinized by all the other mothers.  I don't blame them...they have to be thinking why does that white girl have a Mozambican baby, is it her's, why does she live here??  The same thing always happens if you have to wait long enough.  Someone eventually gets the guts to ask all the questions everyone else is thinking.  I answered all to their satisfaction...but in the mean time my happy sleeping little babe was getting fussy.
Fussy is probably an understatement...he was SCREAMING.  Now his little 4 pound lungs can't make a ton of noise, but they can make more than you would think!  I would just get him all settled down again and then he would crinkle up his little face and start screaming again.  Poor little guy.  I fed him (even though I knew he shouldn't be hungry).  I checked his nappy.  I even washed off my finger and let him suck it for 30 minutes or so.  Then, I discover the real issue is he has a fever.  He was burning up by this point.  I pull my handy thermometer out of my purse...HIGH temp for a little guy like him.
At this point the doctor finally walks in...it's already around 11:30...I've already made it 3 1/2 hours with a fitting baby.  So they call us into order to sit in order to see the doctor.  The nurse at these consults usually takes pity of me now because she knows me.  So I was first in line.  I walked him, explained the morning, and told her his temperature.  Within minutes he had taken tylenol and we were on our way to the pediatric emergency room for tests.
I was impressed.  Not excited for the little guy, or excited to now have to navigate and wait in the emergency room...but impressed they had reacted quickly and done exactly what we would do in the States.  Praise God, my little guy was the star of the emergency room!  They LOVED him.  He was weighed, bloods drawn, and results in the doctor's hand in less than 30 minutes.  This is a major miracle...sometimes this part takes HOURS!  The doctor and I had a long discussion, and she went back and forth between admitting him and letting him return to the center.  Eventually after looking at his blood work and overall health she decided to send him back with me.
We'll see how he goes over the weekend.  I'm bringing in some urine this morning for testing as well...possibly a urine infection caused his fever yesterday.  But, he has been fever free since yesterday!  Keep our little peanut in your prayers and our medical team as well...we did welcome back Sheri (another nurse who has been away for 2 months visiting family and friends) last night!!!!  It feels like our family is back together again...for a short while at least!

...Guess I'll Go Eat Worms...

"Nobody likes me...Everybody hates me...Guess I'll go eat worms...Long, thin, slimy ones...Short, fat, juicy ones...Guess I'll go eat worms!"
Does that bring back any memories?  I can remember my brother singing that song in boy scouts...now the girl scouts on the other hand would never be caught dead singing about worms...friends and flowers maybe!
Anyway...the point of this post is to tell you about de-worming, not eating worms.  The babes under my care (and in theory our whole center) are de-wormed every 3 months.  This is because our water source is not completely clean and they are constantly playing in the sand and then licking their fingers.  Because this is Mozambique, of course the medication they receive only comes in 100mg pills when they actually need to each take 500mg.  So it is a big production to get 50 kids under the age of 5 to take 5 pills each.  I say that, but it is not at all like what you are imagining!  In America it would take holding kids down, forcing them to open their mouths, and candy and stickers to cheer them up afterward.  Here it takes more effort to keep them from eating each others than it takes to get them to put the pills in their mouths.
This time I decided to lie up all the kids by room, bring them inside, and make them sit down.  Then started the game.  I explained that they each needed to take 5 and only 5 pills.  They could not share and they had to finish one before they could have another.  I placed one pill on each child's tongue.  They raced to see who could eat theirs first.  Then I made them raise their hands to show me they were done.  After all their hands were up in the air, then they had to open their mouths and show me there were no more pills to be seen.  Then it was on to pill number 2.  We continued on like this through 5 pills for each child...after child 50 I was exhausted.  But at least they will have no long, thin, slimy worms running through them!
Here's a few pictures of the cute little stinkers!

Kangaroo Care!

Kangaroo Care...that's right!  I know, I know...I'm taking care of human babies.  But, in the midst of our clinic closing, me moving house again, and another of our Western nurses heading home for several months...I'm trying my hardest to make this work!  Kangaroos carry their young in a pouch, close to their body.  This keeps them warm, gives them time to develop, and provides them with the emotional attachment to their mother's that they need.  It has been proven over and over again that human babies need the same thing, especially those that leave their mother's body prematurely and are born at a low birth weight.
Little Inacio was premature and is very under weight, vulnerable, and having trouble regulating his body temperature and respiration rate.  All of these things make him the perfect candidate to try out what is called Kangaroo Mother Care or Skin-to-Skin care.  Check it out here if you want to learn more!  I've done it with him twice and am in the process of teaching our tias (the Mozambican women who care for our children and live in their dorms with them) how and why this type of care works and encouraging them to try it out themselves!  Inacio loves it and even after an hour has a better temperature and more regulated respiration rate.  It is amazing really!

All you do is place the little guy in only a diaper inside your clothing onto your skin.  You tie him on, tight enough that your breathing stimulates him to breath.  And being skin-to-skin allows the baby to regulate his body temperature off of yours.  This also enhances emotional attachment.  Usually breast feeding would be used as well.  Obviously this is not possible for us, but we do have a special premature baby formula that he is receiving.
Look at cute little Inacio!  Join me in prayer that our tias will continue to fall in love with this little guy and want to do everything in their power to help him grow and develop...tomorrow one of them has volunteered to try out Kangaroo Care for the first time!

(Aleya this post is all for you, my friend!)

An Adorable Peanut!

Meet Inacio!  He is the newest member of the Bercario (Nursery).  He showed up on Wednesday just as the health department was closing the doors of our clinic.  He is a perfect example of the lives we take under our wings, show God's love to, and watch flourish!  He is exactly 1 month old and only weighs 1.53kg (3.3 pounds).  He is absolutely adorable as you can see!  He was abandoned in the hospital after he got sick and was put into an incubator.  And since his premature birth, he has not gained much weight at all.  He came to us without a name, so we have joyfully named him Inacio, in honor of our new children's director here on base (the picture below is Director Inacio with his name sake).  The tias in the bercario are now calling him director.  It's quite funny to hear them call a baby that can fit in the palm of my little hand director...makes me laugh every time.
That being said, this little guy is having a bit of trouble regulating his body temperature.  This is a relatively normal problem for premature babies of his size.  Other than that he is VERY healthy.  If we keep him all wrapped up or he's close enough to another person to use their body heat to keep warm, he's just fine.  He's a great eater, and I have complete faith that he will grow very quickly!  He is still very vulnerable to infection and other issues, so we are keeping a very close eye on him.
Join us in prayer that this little guy can put on weight quickly, begin to regulate his own body temperature, remain clear of infections, and soon be happily adopted into a Mozambican family!  For now take a look at how tiny and adorable he is!
Milk time!  He is getting 35mls every 3 hours...our tias are absolutely amazing and so patient with him!

 I told you he is a good eater!  Adorable little guy!

 He is just so lovable!  All wrapped up and cute as a button!

To give you a little perspective this is my hand...and as I tell everyone, I have little hands.  Just imagine your hand over his little body!

 Skinny but strong!

Join me in FAITH that this little guy will grow up big and strong!

We're Getting Bigger and Stronger!

When you work with babies there is always constant change and development.  One day they are learning to smile and the next they are running across the room to you.  I'll share just a few examples from the last few months...

Here at the center, with so many children living together, we have constantly struggled to help our children develop properly.  Usually they are at least a month or so behind "normal" development.  But we have two gorgeous baby girls who are right on schedule.  They are healthy, happy, and now sitting and crawling all around!

This is Silvia...at 6 months old...sitting up like a pro!

 This is Cacilda...she has the same birth date as Silvia...and only a month later at 7 months they are both "crawling" all over the Bercario (or Nursery)!  They will go fetch any toy you want as long as they are in the mood!

 

Jeremias, another baby who lives in the Bercario, is quite the lazy little one.  But, he has finally at 8 months old learned to sit up on his own.  Now whether he chooses to use his new talent is a completely minute by minute decision on his part!

Next comes the twins, Amelia and Maria.  Do you remember when they looked like this June of last year?

Now they are over a year old and making visits to the Baby House daily.  They will soon be moving residence and become permanent members of our Baby House!  Cute little stinkers...they are also taking their first steps on their own!  So fun!

Igor has already made the transition from the Bercario (nursery) to the Baby House.  It took him a few days to cope but now he is absolutely loving the constant attention from older children!  He is the youngest member of the Baby House and the only one who can't walk at the moment.  It's quite funny to see all the other kids try to help him do EVERYTHING!

My parents always said they tried to sit on my head but I still got taller...where did the time go?  I'm thinking the same thing with all these little guys.  They are growing up before my eyes, but they are SO cute along the way!

Tchau Twins

Last month, we said a hopeful yet hard goodbye to two sets of twins who have lived with us since they were small.  All in one day Lena and Enoque, 2 year old twins, and Lucy and Vasco, 5 year old twins, both moved back to live with their families.  Lena and Enoque have a grandmother who is already caring for several of their siblings and her own children.  We took them in as infants because she was not capable of caring for them along with the other children.  But now that they are older and healthy, we faithfully placed them back into her care.  As for Lucy and Vasco, they have a father who loves them very much.  He has always wanted to care for them but as a single father could not work and care for small twins on his own.  Now that they are school-aged he will be caring for them again.  It is sad to see members of our Zimpeto family go, but it is also with a joyful heart that we let them go.  No matter what care we can provide for them here on our center, they will ALWAYS be better off at home in a family setting.  They will learn the responsibilities of a family, their culture, and how to cope in the harsh reality of Mozambique.  These are things, try as we might, we cannot teach them here at the center.  Here are a few pictures of the gorgeous twins we said goodbye to.

Adorable Lena and Enoque!  I absolutely love them and will miss their smiling faces and infectious laughter!

 Lucy and Vasco...always full of energy and ready for fun!  They will be missed by all!

 Here's all 4 of them getting ready to leave.  Lucy and Vasco were very excited to be going to live with Papa.  Lena and Enoque were a bit confused about what was happening I think...but I trust they have adjusted and are loving life with their brothers and sisters!

An Interesting Saturday Morning...

A few weeks ago I actually got to sleep in a Saturday morning...that is a miracle between work, 300 children, and the reality of living on a children's center.  It was 10:45 when I sleepily made breakfast...GLORIOUS!  Next thing I know I'm sitting on my bed sipping on coffee and eating some cereal and my roommate comes in and says...brace yourself..."Do you know how to kill a chicken?" (in Portuguese that is).  I respond with, "I do how, but I've never done it before."  I was referring to almost a year ago when I went on outreach into the community and the pastor we were with killed a chicken for our lunch.  I had watched carefully but wasn't sure I was brave enough to actually do the deed.  At this point I abandon my peaceful breakfast.  I start asking questions.
Who has a chicken?  My roommate's boyfriend who lives here on the center.  Why do they need us to kill it?  Apparently that's a girl's job here in Moz.  Where is it?  It will be at our house in a few minutes.
Want to hear my reaction at this point?  I run to my room.  Throw on some clothes.  And grab my camera.  This will need to be recorded!  Honestly, I think I have lived in Africa too long!
Then, I walk out on our back porch and find a CHICKEN!

And in perfect chicken fashion it proceeded to poo on our porch before it could be made into dinner...silly chicken!  It literally was scared ----less, if you know what I mean??  Hahahaha...I know, I'm hilarious!
(WARNING- This is where you should stop reading if you are going to be VERY upset or disgusted by hearing about how a chicken goes from pooing on my porch to dinner...just stop now!)
Anyway, a very brave boy (pictured here) who lives here on the center actually did the deed with that there knife.  I'm not convinced he had done it before because instead of securing the chicken as he went at it with a knife, he let it go.  We got a FULL demonstration of the saying "running around like a chicken with it's head cut off".  A very accurate saying if I do say so myself.
What came next you're asking yourself??  Well, pictures of the dead chicken of course.

Here's an example...a very dead chicken!

And after that came plucking the chicken.  If you ever need to pluck a bird, it's much easier after you have poured boiling water on it.  This is Clara, my roommate.  I did help her I promise!  I literally reeked of chicken for days...SERIOUSLY!

And here is the end result...basically a chicken that could have been sold in the store but wasn't because instead it showed up alive on my porch on an interesting Saturday morning!

Nurses' Day

Thursday was Nurses' Day here in Mozambique.  Wednesday the Health Department (or Ministry of Health as it is called here) came to close our clinic.
Here is what I had to say about the events about an hour after they occurred...
I only have 2 minutes...but am begging each of you to keep our medical team and entire base in your prayers today and the coming weeks.  Today the health department came and shut our clinic.  They did not care what changes we had made after the last inspection or what things looked like today.  They came in with nail, chains, and hammer...locked, nailed, and closed our doors.  We managed to save a few medicines and other supplies but nothing significant.  I will write more tonight when I have my head together and can tell you about what this means for us.
For now I sorting out a new baby boy who is a month old and only weighs 1.5kg (3.3 pounds).  Pray for him.  Pray for Luis, a little boy who had a seizure this morning in the midst of them shutting our clinic.  Ironic...I think sad.  Keep us in your prayers and I'll keep you updated.
Late Wednesday night, I had this to say...
It is now after midnight.  I cannot believe this day is finally almost over.  First, let me say this...I am very sorry if my last e-mail made any of you fearful.  Our clinic being closed has nothing to do with the fact that we as western nurses help there unlicensed.  We believe the main issue is our vast array of medications in our pharmacy that most of Mozambique's main hospitals can't afford to stock.  So we are not in danger.  I'll say that again.  I am in no danger.
Second, thank you for each of your prayers, those who wrote back, and those who are consistently supportive of my ministry/constant battle here in Moz.
Third, we have spent our afternoon attempting to sort out what comes next for our over 250 children here on base.  We were allowed to take minimal supplies out of the clinic before they literally nailed, chained, and locked the door closed (I'll post pictures).  We have been granted permission to attend to our children (Praise the Lord!).  But, we are no longer allowed to have doctors consult our sick children here on base.  We must take all of our sick children to a local clinic to be seen by doctors there.  This is a near impossibility with the number of children and constant medical issues we have.  That being said...we all met together as a team today.  We chose to move all of the supplies we do have to a central location that hopefully will work for now.  Our clinic staff will continue to come to work, and we'll do our best to continue to provide care to our children and workers who are here on base.
That being said, there was no written paperwork presented to us today regarding the closing of our clinic.  Our Mozambican center director was asked to appear at the health department tomorrow.  We are praying he will receive a list of what things need to change in our clinic and information on how we are to function until we can attempt to re-open our clinic.  Last month our clinic was inspected, and we were only given a verbal list of complaints.  We have done our best to be proactive in changing everything they asked about.  We sent in a written plan of action and have followed through on this plan.  But today, they did not care to see the changes/improvements we have made.  They just came to shut our doors.  They did not seem to care that we are not a normal clinic where people come to be treated, leave with their medication, and don't come back until they have another illness.  They didn't care we have children currently on antibiotics who will miss days of treatment if we are not allowed to get the medication out of our pharmacy.  They were closing us and that was that.  We managed to save HIV medication and seizure medications...things the children cannot miss doses of.  But that is about it.
How are we all feeling?  Shocked yet not shocked at all.  This is Mozambique.  Things don't make sense to our western-trained minds.  You cannot rationalize or understand why a clinic that provides FREE medical care to over 250 orphans, over 100 workers, and 100's of community members would be shut down because it contains too many medications.  But yet, this is our reality.  I cried today with one of our workers who lives right behind our center.  Her life was saved by our clinic in 2005, and she will be forever grateful.  She could not understand why her government would close a place that weekly blesses so many.  Please, join us in believing that God is bigger than the health department of Mozambique.  Join us in prayer for the health of our base during this vulnerable time.  Join us in declaring that our God will reign in this place with or without a clinic building!
As for me, I am sad and exhausted.  I cannot really put into words the impact this has on my day to day life.  I can't yet imagine what things will look like or how we will function.  I'm frustrated that after 10 years of solid service, a few small issues can mean our clinic is closed until further notice.  And, honestly I continually thought all day...and I have to tell this clinic staff who just had their work place nailed, chained, and locked shut in front of their eyes that I'm leaving in 7 weeks.  How is that acceptable at all?  I know God will make a way, but I want to cry at the moment even thinking about it.
Thank you for your prayers, love, support, and encouragement!  I am certainly going to need it over the next weeks.
It has now been a few days.  We have a new "treatment room" set up where our children can come when they have fevers, cuts and scrapes, or just a belly ache.  They have quickly figured out where to go to get the love and medical attention they need.  We are still working on sorting out our Mozambican medical staff because they new "treatment room" is MUCH smaller than our locked clinic.  Our directors have met with the health department and our lawyers.  Basically, its a wait and see game now.  In the mean time our heart is to continue to take care of our children and workers the best we can.  And where this whole fiasco will lead only God knows.
Please join us in prayer that the result of such a sad happening will be that we as a team are able to place our eyes back on Jesus as our sole provider and director.  And join us in prayer for the overall health of all under our care during this time of transition!

My Little Helpers!

I'm not sure I can do these little guys justice, but I'll do my best. 
Here's the background you'll need to know to understand.  The Baby House is divided into 4 rooms by age.  Over the time I've been here the age range has gotten much smaller than it used to be...there used to be a range from newborn to 4 (almost 5) years old.  So basically each year the kids moved from one room to the next...in theory growing in maturity as they moved.  Now the age range is from 18 months to 4 years.  It makes a HUGE difference...and there are more children than ever before as well.
All that being said...this post is about two little boys in particular who live in room 1, the oldest room.  They recently have decided to be my little helpers.  When they feel like it, that is.

Meet Adilson!

And meet Lorenco!

So every morning and night that I'm working these little guys ask what they can do to help.  They want to carry all the medications out to be given, carry the used syringes back to our little clinic room to be washed, and their favorite job is to call the little kids I need.  I usually have at least a few children who need special attention, be that creams applied, drops put in their ears, their lungs listened to, or their inhalers given.  So these two little stinkers appear at my door and ask who they should go call for me.  Some days I agree and allow them the EXTREME joy of helping.  It always ends in lots of play time and LOTS of laughter...

They really do their best to get the little kids to listen, but it doesn't always work out too well.  I mean you have to remember they are 4 year old boys.  And, they are attempting to get their 3 1/2 year old house mates to do what they say...some days it causes much more hassle than it was worth.  But other days they all joyfully come running into my little clinic room together...absolutely precious!

Just if I could train them to leave the kiddos who are crying or don't want to come with them instead of trying to drag them along and MAKE them do what they want!  Just imagine the possibilities if you had these little helpers around your house!  I can ship them over if you want!!!