Casa de Sion

Gosh I can't believe I haven't written since we got home. Life has been so busy tho. We have spent alot of time seeing the adult children here and the grandbabies. My 2 year old grandbaby Karleigh stays with us during the week while her parents work and she is fun. Plus the children who live with us have school work to do since they are missing school in Guate. Plus we have so many doctor and dentist appts. to make and keep as well as hair cuts, etc. Then there is ordering of supplies to take back with us. Where we live is pretty dang isolated and we are 3 to 3.5 hours from Guate city where we can do any real shopping. So I have been ordering everything I can think of we may need for the next 6 months. Then there is Christmas for our 18 children and 6 grandchildren.
Anyway now to the orphanages. Our new house in San Lucas for the city orphanage has hit a snafu as we try and settle on a contract with the owner that we can both live with. No small job when he writes no English and we read little legal Spanish. The kids there need to get registered for school and it has created problems. On the 28th, a group from Guate City threw a big Christmas Party. Dinner for the city kids and the lake kids. We brought the lake kids into the city for the party and everyone had a great time with pinatas and face painting and comedians.
The next day was sad tho. We lost our precious Bryan and little brother Angle. Their parents petitioned the courts to have them moved to an orphanage that was just down the road from where the parents live. It has a good special ed program, just like ours does. There was nothing we could do. We tried as the boys have been doing so well with us. They just sobbed when they had to go and poor Bryan, who can't hear or speak, was horrified as was Angle who is only 3 and had just gotten settled in and secure with us. Life is so hard for some of these little ones.
Pedro spoke with Jackie and Stphanaie's mom [ did I mention the court turned down our appeal of their case ] about the girls continuing to live with us and go to private school and we will pay their travel to visit her on the week-ends. She wants to think about it. Her fear is the courts will not like it and take the girls from her. We have two new 14 year old grils at the lake. They were sent there by their moms who can't feed or school them so that is what we will do.
We have a wonderful group in Washington state who is collecting new shoes for all the kids that we will take back with us. Anyone who would like to send things for us to carry back with us, please send them to our home address by Jan. 4. Just contact me by email at 20.vicki@gmail.com
We still need Christmas at the Lake orp, if anyone would like to contribute. Also needed are single sheets and blankets. The kids love peanut butter and we never seem to have enough.
Vicki
Director of http://www.safehomesforchildren.org