These kids are terrific.

(this 3rd picture of the crawlers outside, we will post after we ask to make sure it is okay)

On Wednesday we arrived at the HOM on the most beautiful day we have had since we have been here. It was about 75 & sunny...and many of the Zambians had jackets on. As you can see in one of the photos (not posted yet, it's the one we are trying to get permission for), the kids from the crawlers' room were all outside playing on the grass. It was great to see them out, b/c usually they are stuck in their room. We had an absolute blast. During the "identification process" we would take them outside one at a time. They would really get still & quiet, losing alot of the personality we see in the crawler's room. They are fascinated by the sounds of cars, freaked out by the cats & not sure what to do with the feel of grass. It was not like that this time. They were playing with toys, riding in the wagon, exploring (really only one of them was doing this - he also took a turn "pulling the wagon" full of kids.), then they ate lunch out there as well. One of the boys has been informally diagnosed as having some form of autism. He really enjoyed his time outside, and Jamie got the chance to feed him his nshima (most of these kids can feed themselves). He has a twin sister & 3 other siblings involved with the HOM. B/c he is less likely to be adopted, they just recently made his sister available for adoption (there is ALOT more to this story). Zeke was a wagon puller & a ball bouncer; Rayna hugs the fussers & reads books (it appears books are not often used, except as teethers); Addie just plays - if a kids is near, they play or she just does her thing, although she is still partial to Patricia. At this time we have gotten past a pretty significant obstacle in our pursuit of Baby Lemmond, but we have made the commitment to covenant with God & this child. So Mandi and the kids spent a lot of time with him.

Thursday we went first to Bill-n-Betty's House (a transit home for 20+ pre-schoolers). You can see the kids eating lunch outside - THE MOST PERFECTLY ordered mealtime you have ever seen (military academies included). Our time there was a mix of dirty feet, laughter, good toys & busted up ones, running, jumping & bottoms (it seems at least half of the boys wear pants that don't fit...so they spend most of the time pulling either their pants or their underwear up). We brought some sidewalk chalk from the $ store back home, and passed that out. It was new to them and they thought it was fun to write on the concrete gulley & rough concrete walls. It wasn't so much fun when many of them began to eat the chalk (lots of blue & pink mouths). We think we'll save the cans of playdoh for the House of Martha (for the kids ages from 6-14).

Zeke found a frog hidden in a huge rock in the middle of the yard, and figured out how to get it to come out of his hole (not quite Arthur & Excalibur, but it is a start)...much to the delights & shrieks of the kids as it hopped across the yard. Apparently the fear of playground injuries is not so great there, as I picked up pieces of glass in the yard. Our kids loved the see-saw, which is nearly extinct on American playgrounds. Addie did not get off much at all, sharing a seat with one of the boys (and I knew he was a boy b/c of the pink sweatshirt he was wearing). Addie did not quite get the handle of the whole "if I get off, the kid on the other side drops like a rock." Rayna pushed kids on the swings, while Jamie pulled kids in the wagon (no handle, just grab the front & pull/steer the wheels). Lots of laughter there... those kids were having so much fun & appeared so happy. I love how our kids are learning about being grateful & content. Oh and if you are interested in having the best meal ever, show up at lunch for the nshima & beef w/ Chinese cabbage - holy cow was it wonderful. Our kids did not want to stop eating. Zeke wanted more and more of the beef, but we did not go for seconds on beef, only on nshima & gravy - it was a good opportunity for them to learn about rationing and only having a small portion of something great.

Then it got cute. As the kids finish eating, they carry up their plates to one of the caregivers (usually licked clean), go wash their hands in a bucket, then go drink their cup of water. Then they walk one by one across the yard, through the curtained door, and into the bathroom, where they strip off their bottoms & park on top of one of 5 little plastic potties or the throne itself. They just hang out there for awhile, and then go get new clothes. Then they curl up 4-5 to a bunk bed...sideways across the bottom bunk (think sardines in a can) for 2 hours of rest. Zeke was the favorite...one of the kids heard us say his name, so we heard shrieks of "Zeeeeck, Zeeeeck" as they chased him through the halls. Good of the Lemmonds to help get them ready for naps.

After Bill-n-Betty's house, we walked back to the House of Moses to play with our little guy. He certainly gets excited to see us when we walk into the crawler room. We took him outside again, played in the wagon, tossed the ball, fed him porridge from a bottle, and just held him. We are very much looking forward to tomorrow when we get to take him back to our guesthouse for the weekend (this begins the fostering period). We bought a few items of clothes, some diapers, and some ground maize to make nshima for him. We have cleaned the family room floor and closed it off with the couches. We will get the pack'n'play out tonight so it will be ready for his nap and bedtime tomorrow. He has been at the House of Moses for 9 months, so this is going to be quite a change from what he knows. We think the fact that our kids are here will be a good thing for him. He is used to having kids around morning, noon, and night so hopefully Zeke, Rayna, and Addie will provide the liveliness that he is used to.

Our kids wanted to reply to a few comments:
Addie says "She misses Mary Gray & Parker, and she is having fun playing with our baby." TO Anna "I miss you & hope you have a great time (said through the 1st homesick tears we've seen) I love you."
Rayna says to Macy & Rebekah "I am having fun at the new house, I can't wait to come back. Today I went to Bill-n-Betty's and there were some toddlers and they were eating chalk, and we saw a humongous frog. We are hoping to get our baby soon."
Zeke says to Sam & Jonathan "So you like my nerf guns? How's the rip stick? I saw a dead snake in the road."