Monday, December 30, 2013

Sugar Cookies and a Special Christmas Eve dinner..

Have you ever had one of those days where nothing seems to be going as planned? 

Christmas Eve was one of those days. Nothing went as we had "planned" it, but if you look at the smiles on our boys' faces, you would never know. So, instead of telling you all the things that went wrong, I'll let these pictures show you all the things that turned out perfectly. 

We made Sugar Cookies. Well...we made the dough. The boys made the cookies. 





...and we had a very special Christmas Eve dinner. We decided to have it in the boys' TV room this year instead of just in the cafeteria. Having it in their room made it so much more sentimental and family-like. We had Christmas music playing in the background and we even had punch to drink. It was pretty great. 














Christmas Eve may not have turned out how I planned, but it was pretty great anyways. 

Monday, December 16, 2013

Meet & Greet Mondays. {Angelo}

Happiest of Mondays to you!

Mondays are the days that I get to introduce you to one of our boys! With all of the Holiday festivities going on around here, plus our One week Vacation get-a-way, I am afraid I have been horrible at introducing you to our boys. I promise to try to do better!

With that being said, today we get to meet Angelo.


Angelo has been living with us here at the mountain since November of 2012. He actually arrived here the day Isanon and I were boarding the plane in Sacramento heading here. His birthday is on the 22nd, he will be 15 years old. 

Angelo's background is not a pretty one, it is one that truly breaks my heart. His mother was 16 when she had Angelo and never really wanted him. She began physically abusing Angelo at a very young age. He remembers a time when he was about 3 years old that his mom threw him off the bed and he broke his collarbone and fractured his wrist and leg. His mother always told him how much she hated him and that he ruined her life. She would tell him that he had no value and that she wished he never would have been born. 


He went from relative to relative but it never worked out for him to stay anywhere. Either they would say they couldn't afford him, or couldn't handle him. He doesn't ever receive visits from anyone, but has went to visit his aunt a few times. 


Right now, Angelo is spending the holidays with his Aunt. Please pray with Isanon and I for Angelo. We pray that this time with his aunt is enjoyable for all. We pray for his protection, and for healing in his life. He carries the wounds of things that have been spoken about him, and we are praying that he would know and understand his worth. Know that he is loved by us and beyond measure by his Heavenly Father. 



Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Decorating Stockings.


Have I told you guys how much I love Christmas lately?! 
I can not begin to describe to you how much I am loving sharing this Holiday 
and making it special and meaningful for our boys. 
I love getting to explain the meaning and introduce them to things they've never done. 

This past weekend, we decorated Stockings. 
I don't think a single one of them have ever decorated one before, 
so it was tons of fun! 



We spread out all the supplies on the tables and just let them dig in! 



It was so fun to watch them get creative with their stocking. 
They were so focused. 







We all had such a fun time and they did such a great job on their stockings. 
Later today we get to hang them up by the tree in their TV room. 

It may be 100 degrees outside, 
but it sure is beginning to look a lot like Christmas! 

Sunday, December 8, 2013

A thankful Heart.

 Saturdays here at 'The Mountain' often seem to drag on. 
Since there is no school the next day, lights out is not until 11pm. 
Unless we have some type of outing or activity planned, 
Saturdays can be quite uneventful and down right boring. 

But not yesterday. 
Yesterday was a good Saturday. 
Yesterday went by fast. 
Yesterday was eventful, 
Yesterday was fun. 


Yesterday was our annual "Festa de Padrinhos"
It is an event that happens every year, and it is much anticipated by our boys. 
Every year various people from the community pledge to "sponsor" one of our boys. 
They are given their name, a picture and a list of items to buy for the boy. 
The items usually consist of....
1. A pair of tenis shoes. 
2. A pair of sandals.
3. A pair of pants.
4. A few shirts.
5. Underwear/Socks
6. A Belt
Above and beyond these specific things asked for is completely up to the "Padrinho"
 - person sponsoring the child. 


Our boys played their instruments for everyone, and it was a very emotional moment. 
They did such a good job and have only been learning for such a short time. 
It was truly touching and beautiful. 


Then the boys met their "Padrinho" and were presented with their gifts. 





After everyone received their gifts, we shared a HUGE breakfast together, 
and the boys eagerly opened their presents! 
Some of them insisted on getting on the stage to open their presents by the tree! 


This party is truly a special time for our boys. 
A time where they are able to be blessed by complete strangers. 
A time where they are shown a glimpse of God's love for them. 

I got the chance to talk to a few of the "Padrinhos" and thank them. 
I truly thank them from the bottom of my heart for giving to our boys, 
for blessing our boys, for showing God's love to our boys. 

Yes, Saturday was a good Saturday. 

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Hello, December.

December is here. 

It is 100 degrees outside (more like 90), but December has arrived. 

Sunday was spent putting up Christmas trees and decorations. We put up a total of 7 trees on Sunday. I absolutely love the Christmas season and being able to share it with our boys makes it even better. 

Here are some photos of our boys putting the tree up in their TV Room. 



















Happy Christmas Season, from our family to yours. :)