Rockin' Babies - Romania

Monday, July 4, 2011

2011-07-09T16:44:00.004-04:00

Happy birthday America! This day started out not so great for me... I had to visit an optometrist at the adult hospital. YUCK! Found out my itchy swollen eye was indeed pink eye :-( 3 different prescriptions...no work at the baby hospital...and no contacts for a week... WAH!!!

I just look a little tired here.. but when compared to my other eye below.. yikes!!

oops.. more Saturday pics AND Sunday, July 3, 2011

2011-07-09T16:31:00.002-04:00

Emily typing furiously... trying to get those last few words in before her battery died!

Emily and Jane indulging me as I tried to get a good shot of the gas station so folks at home could see where we were chatting from...

the yummy looking cherry tree that was hanging over the fence..

A photo of the sign out front in case I needed to show it to a taxi driver to get us back there!

Ahh, I have always loved this flower sign... never knew how much it would mean to me this trip! LOL

Now, finally Sunday and back at the internet gas station.. Seriously the setting was great, the people were friendly, and I could buy Diet Coke.. how much better does it get?

Saturday, July 2, 2011

2011-07-09T16:18:00.005-04:00

We decided to stay in Barlad for our 2nd weekend to rest up for our last week at the hospital. We walked to the cafe on the bottom floor of Galmondo to use their wifi... Jane and Emily are so happy... then

the wifi is "broken"...grrrrrr!! Is this a city wide problem with internet access?!?!?

Oh well, we decided to make the most of it and eat upstairs at the yummy Restaurant Galmondo...

Emily ordered a veggie pizza... it was literally covered with veggies: green beans, corn, carrots, peas LOL but she said it was yummy.

I had a tasty Bulgarian salad.

And Jane had the Dracula pizza.. lots of meat :-)

Then we decided to try out the internet place the other gals had told us about...

SUCCESS!! Internet in a gas station.. who woulda thunk it?! :-)

Emily is so happy to have a connection to home again! We all quickly forgot each other and became absorbed in our virtual lives.

The patio area was beautiful... so not only did we have internet but we also had a tranquil setting..

photos from Friday July 1, 2011

2011-07-09T14:50:00.014-04:00

Our last day at the hospital with the 2 week volunteers..

Emily and Alina

Alina loves to talk to these bugs..

Ionut.. sweet boy!

Sweet Paula.. these are my last pictures of her. She left on Monday, July 4th for foster care and I wasn't able to go to the hospital that day because I had pink eye. :-(

Ion and Maiastra with the bubbles.. Paula doing one of her crib tricks in the background.

Valle.. whose name is really spelled Vali

Maiastra loves her bubbles!!

Alina wasn't too sure about the bubbles...

Lorry, Jennea, Jane, and Emily watching the kiddos play with the bubbles.

Emily blowing bubbles for Vali and Maiastra (hi Lorry!)

Maiastra

Maiastra and Ion with the bubbles

more bubbles.. Maiastra is the bubble queen!

Cristiana (another Romanian high school volunteer) and Ion

Dan, our fearless leader and Ionut

Maiastra and more bubbles

Lorry, Vali, and big Ana-Maria

Jane and baby Ana-Maria

Baby Ana-Maria *loves* playing with baby wipes.. specifically sniffing them

Marius playing his favorite game of throw a toy into a crib...

Vali climbing

Ionut enjoying the bouncy chair...

Alina and Marius

Krista's turn blowing bubbles for Maiastra

Marius loved to pop the bubbles between his hands

Ionut

Elena

Emily and big Ana- Maria

Raul

Raul and Coca playing... he loves it when Coca kisses his tummy!

He digs his fingers into her hair! LOL

Cristiana and Emily playing with baby Ana-Maria

Ana-Maria loves to roll over...

the girls are trying to work on getting her to stay in crawling position!

hanging out...

Maiastra in her modeling attire ;-)

Ana-Maria

Elena

Alina loves this crib... not sure why but she is always asking to be put into it!

Alina singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star!

Krista and Vali doing a recording session with the microphone.

Alina modeling the sun hat.

Yummy cakes from the pastry shop above the Berlin supermarket.

Random pictures from the balcony during break time...

inadvertently caught Jane in this pic :-) (hi Jane!)

Emily was smart and napped while the babies did.. during our lunch break!

flowers on the balcony

the buildings near the hospital.. and a gorgeous sky!

birds playing near their nest

a delicious Viennese chicken dish for our last meal with the 2 weekers..

Kerry, Dan, and Krista

Jane and Jennea

me and Emily

photos Thursday June 30, 2011

2011-07-03T08:57:00.010-04:00

Raul enjoying his bath...

Emily and Ana-Maria playing with the bunny ears

Ana apparently bit her tongue during the night.. she spent most of the day with it sticking out!

Elena

Emily finally got the bow in Ana-Maria's hair! Only to have her rip it out again seconds later.

Carmen -- Carmen isn't allowed out of her stroller at the moment even though she can walk. She has been having several seizures and even with someone working with her one-on-one they feel like she is safer in her stroller. Kerry played with her lots though while she was talking with her "girls" - Cleo and Nadia. :-)

Valle, not appreciating taking a break from walking practice!

Then madness struck! Kids, kids everywhere!! :-) I was so happy for Coca though!! I had told her about seeing Ana-Maria at the placement center Wednesday afternoon and she asked a million questions. Coca was Ana's one-on-one aide at Tutova for quite some time. She hadn't seen her since Ana left Tutova almost 2 years ago. It was a blessing for Coca to be reunited with her!

Coca and Ana.. Coca cracks me up.. she is one of the most welcoming Romanians I have met. She is so open and bubbly every time you see her. But when I ask if I can take her picture with Ana....

She gives me this smile (below).. crazy woman! I love her so much! If anyone would like to make a donation to Global Volunteers you can specify that it be used toward paying Coca's salary!!

Marius

The kids were so excited to be back at the hospital that they were running every where and go through everything.. so the pictures are not the best but I think you will understand :-)

Marius

Alina and Emily

Ion

Ion immediately found someone who would give him food! I think he is eating a grape.. or maybe a green olive! ;-)

Maiastra and Ion

Maiastra

Ion and Maiastra digging through a toy box

Ion found the sunglasses :-)

Ionut

Dinner at the G restaurant ;-)

Lorry bought us all Romanian flags to put in our cars at home. :-)

from left to right: Jennea, Dan, Krista, and Kerry

from far to near: Jane, Emily, and Lorry

the sweet card Lorry gave us..

finally I can see the name of the restaurant.. I swear it sounds nothing like that when they pronounce it! I must have a hard time with Romanian "g" words...

Lorry doesn't look too thrilled about the purple ice cream :-)

It was delicious though!

Presentation of meals is very important in Romania -- they do a lovely job!

My Romanian donuts, a traditional dessert... I got a couple of bites and then Emily traded me her ice cream for the rest :-)

photos from Wednesday June 29, 2011

2011-07-03T08:07:00.010-04:00

Krista, Lorry, me

Lorry, Emily, Gabi, me... Carmen in the corner :-)

Mihaela helping Paula get her shoes on. Paula can wander around the floor

but she must have on shoes!

Playing bubbles with Ana-Maria.. she caught one on her finger :)

Ana-Maria and Emily

Paula in her favorite crib of the moment with her favorite toy of the moment (look familiar Evan? LOL My Dec 2008 - Jan 2009 team searched high and low for this toy.. finally finding it at the Carrefour in Iasi.)

Mihi playing with Gabi and the fabulous cat piano.

Mihaela and one of the aides playing with the modeling clay Krista bought.

Catarina putting some of her clay creations away so they can dry.

Lorry drawing a picture of a castle during some down time before our lunch break.

We left for our lunch as always... going down to the bottom floor to the small room off the cafeteria. We had been eating for a few minutes when Mihaela's phone rang. It was Coca explaining that the twins would be leaving shortly. :-( No one had mentioned a thing about them leaving all morning :-( Some of us rushed upstairs to say goodbye.. but Emily felt that it would be better for her not to come up.

pictures of me with Gabi and Mihi.. Gabi was allowed to take her favorite ball.

Mihi did not want to sit still for a picture.. Coca scooped her up and I got some quiet time alone with Gabi to pray a little prayer for her future and tell her I love her!

Coca got to accompany the girls downstairs. We followed behind and Mihaela blew us kisses.

Pictures from afar of Coca and the twins.. not sure why I didn't realize we would be able to see them outside as well.. apparently it was taking some time to load the car so Coca walked the girls over so Emily could say goodbye.

I was so happy Emily had a chance to say goodbye.. so was Mihi!!

a few last games of "Sus"

and it was time to load the van.. la revedere Mihaela and Gabriela.. we wish you all the happiness in the world.. in a loving home where your differences are appreciated!! pa pa our loves!

After our goodbyes we went to the child placement center.. they allowed us to take photos of the courtyard...

After our visit it was back to the hospital and the quiet time of only having a handful of kiddos.. we didn't realize how fortunate we were LOL

Sweet Ana-Maria

Valle getting lots of attention :)

Krista helping to feed Maria Cleopatra

Kerry and Elena feeding Nadia

Elena playing with the hard ball.

Krista and Ana-Maria in a precious outfit Krista brought.

Paula

photos from Tuesday June 28

2011-07-03T07:33:00.008-04:00

Emily and her mini me Mihaela

Jane and Gabriela

Kerry and Catarina (who also went to the placement center with Mihi and Gabi)

Jennea and Ana-Maria (I think.. the lighting in this wifi place makes it hard for me to see the screen!! LOL)

Valle.. sleeping the day away

A normal day at he hospital :-)

Coca getting Raul ready for his yummy lunch/snack

Raul

Elena

Carmen

Maria Cleopatra

The chair that is holding the crib railing in place..

No idea what everyone is doing here LOL

the wall outside the restaurant.. I would have never found this place on my own!

Emily with Mona :-)

Emily's yummy dessert

my delicious cream brulee.. the ice cream was different but the cream brulee was to die for!

Dan's "grandmother's cake"..

i have no idea what the name for this was in Romanian but that is how he explained what it meant to us

Lack of Internet... Different Kinda Week

2011-07-02T09:01:00.002-04:00

The end of this week has been hellish.. on Wednesday right after lunch Gabriela and Mihaela were taken away from the hospital and sent to a placement center. It was heart breaking to have to watch Emily experience this. Emily had come to love Mihaela and Mihaela had definitely come to love Emily. Every time we would walk into the hospital Mihaela would come running and throw herself into Emily’s arms. If someone else happened to get to Mihaela first then as soon as she saw Emily she would lunge toward her with open arms. Even as I sit here typing this I am crying… how can you be strong for someone else when you are so sad yourself? Logically I know that Mihaela is a healthy normal child who needs to be in a loving family environment… emotionally I just want to be the one who is loving her… I am truly at a loss for words on explaining the feelings that go with our experiences.

Wednesday afternoon we were able to visit a placement center for handicapped children. The concept of the center reminds me a lot of TSD (TN School for the Deaf, where I worked from 1992 – 1997). There are several “homes” located on a campus with a playground in the middle. Sadly there are only 2 employees for each home at any given time and numerous children. The atmosphere is one of a home though.. with a living area and several small bedrooms. The first home we went into had so many of our former Tutova kiddos! In the living room there were 2 ladies holding 2 infants (young enough to still be completely swaddled) and 4 older children.. including Miastra and Ion! I was able to hold Miastra and she continued on our tour with us. We walked to the back bedroom and there we found a colorful room filled with cribs and 1 toddler bed (I believe)… there were 2 children I did not know in this room (1 an adorable 8 or 9 year old boy with Down Syndrome who was a doll and gracious host as he showed us the other bedrooms! LOL) and little Alina and Marius! We then saw the 2 remaining bedrooms (1 a room for older children that we truly just peeked into) and the other filled sleeping children in 6 or 7 cribs/toddler beds.. this was Sami’s bedroom. So we saw 18 children plus however many were in the bedroom we only peeked into.. with only 2 workers L So while the facility is very nice and ideally much better than a hospital or clinic setting there need to be more staff! We said goodbye to the children and visited one other home that had only 2 children present.. an older girl and Ana-Maria from Tutova! The older girl became agitated until the social worker explained to her that we were not there to take her we were just visiting. After this short visit we went back outside to wait for the taxi and Mihaela spoke with the social worker who gave us the tour.

Visiting the center and seeing some of the children from my past was a balm for Emily’s (and my) soul. Knowing the environment the children are going into when they leave the hospital to begin the wait for foster parents helps ease the fear of the unknown for us. Then Wednesday evening the 2^nd blow of the day hit… no internet access at the hotel.

Thursday morning at the hospital was sad and lazy. Baby Ana-Maria is getting a cold and doesn’t want to do a whole lot. Paula is Paula, Cleo is Cleo, Nadia is Nadia, Elena is Elena, Carmen is Carmen and baby Valle is a wild man who wants to walk everywhere! Kerry and I went downstairs to help Coca as she changed Raul’s bandages. I had to just keep up a running prayer for this sweet boy who has such an ordeal every moment of his life and dear sweet Coca, who has the patience of a saint and can endure Raul’s cries as she changes his bandages every day. Kerry commented that it reminded her of what a burn unit must be like… it is beyond unimaginable. We muddled through the morning with the silence ringing in our ears.. missing Mihi’s crazy gymnastic stunts and Gabi’s brilliant smile. Then suddenly we were inundated with children.. they brought over 6 kids from the placement center! Alina, Big Ana-Maria, Ion, Ionut, Miastra, and Marius! Let the chaos begin! We practically double our baby numbers in minutes! Except these weren’t “babies” these are big, rambunctious kids who had lots of energy and a very small area in which to burn that energy. The kids literally went wild throwing toys out of toy buckets, digging through drawers and cupboards, running in and out of the rooms. Finally it was time for the kiddos to eat lunch. Mistake number one – bottles were brought out for the babies that usually eat bottles. Ion, Marius, and Miastra immediately began to scream for bottles as well. They tried to take bottles from the kids and volunteers who had the bottles. Miastra apparently was circling Nadia’s crib waiting for a chance to swipe her bottle! So we are trying to bottle feed the kiddos who have bottles and corral the other kids until their food arrives… utter chaos! Finally the soup arrived for the older kids.. thankfully the bottles were finished so we could feed the older kids. Ion is the only one who could feed himself. Just FYI - it is rather difficult to feed soup with pieces of bread to a wiggling 3 year old. I have never been so ready for a lunch break in all my life. Then I saw sweet Coca’s face and realized that she would virtually be alone with these wild things until we returned – and you could see in their eyes that going down for a nap was the farthest thing in their minds! We did get the children situated in cribs or in the playroom and went down for lunch. That may have been the quietest lunch ever in the history of man! We were all feeling rather overwhelmed! Thankfully the afternoon went much smoother… but of course I had already started thinking about how Emily, Jane, and I are going to handle 13 wild ones on our own next week!

Thursday night was our last dinner out before 3 of our team mates continue on their journeys. We invited Lorry (correct spelling of our dear high school volunteer) to dinner with us at the G restaurant. I still cannot begin to pronounce the name of it! After a lovely dinner Dan was kind enough to come back to the hotel with us and work on their internet. Emily was able to go online long enough to send out a couple of emails before the entire network collapsed. Dan worked until after 10:30pm but had no luck. I am assuming that since we are in Romania and working on Romanian time that we will not have internet again until we arrive in Amsterdam. Not having an international cell phone, it is quite hard not to have any way to communicate with our friends and family at home. Krista was so sweet and let Emily borrow her cell phone to text Collin, her boyfriend, just so he would know what was happening.

Friday arrived with exhaustion.. both physical and emotional. Being in a foreign land is a wonderful experience but it is also taxing on the body and the mind. Not being able to speak the language, not being able to jump in a car and go where you want to go, spending time surrounded by people you don’t really know.. it is an adventure but there comes a time when you just want to become a turtle and draw back into your shell. That is the plan for this weekend.. Jane just isn’t feeling well enough to make the trip to Transylvania so we are staying in Barlad… I do look forward to just relaxing at the hotel and exploring the city. However, we have one more day of duty at the hospital before that happens!

The kids were fairly calm Friday morning. There were some potential foster parents visiting the hospital. They tried to interact with Paula but she wasn’t really in an interactive mood! They played with baby Ana-Maria for a while also. Baby Ana-Maria is officially sick.. she has a horribly snotty nose and a cough. Valle is feeling much better and had his IV removed. Ion was calmer today and enjoyed riding in the bottom of the stroller (while another child rode in the top) up and down the hallway. (The weather has been bad all week.. I don’t think I have mentioned that on the blog.. It started raining last Friday and hasn’t gotten pretty since. The temperatures have remained in the 60s all week.. which means – yep, no outdoor playtime. So even though I bought a canopy/tent in Iasi we haven’t been able to set it up and use it… hopefully by Monday we can!) Emily and I went downstairs for her first visit with Raul. He looked so much better.. his color was good and he just seemed happy and peaceful. After lunch everyone except for Emily, Jane, and I walked to the internet hotspot – a gas station halfway between the hospital and the hotel. So glad we didn’t walk with them.. there were no computers at the gas station only free wireless! Luckily Jennea had her ipad so they were able to send off an email or 2. The afternoon was WILD but at least it didn’t allow anyone to get overly emotional about leaving. Busy is good in that respect!

Friday night we had dinner at the hotel – the yummy chicken, potato, and onions in a sour cream and cheese sauce casserole – and said our farewells. Emily and I are truly going to miss the friends we have made during these short 2 weeks. We wish them all well on their journeys through life.

Our new friend Krista gave Emily her copy of Steel Magnolias. After spending some quiet time saying goodbye to Kerry we rearranged our room so we could watch it together on my laptop. Emily fell asleep halfway through the movie so I imagine we will be watching it again tonight.

It is finally Saturday morning… I slept in until 8:30, which was heaven! Emily is still sleeping and it is now 11:45! J I have been able to read for a while today and write this recap of the week. Jane is moving to the 2^nd floor of the hotel with us after noon today. Then we are going to have lunch together and start a journey in search of an internet connection! Even with the sadness expressed in this entry do not be sad for us. We are having the adventure of a lifetime and are embracing the journey for all the ups and the downs!

Please pray for us.. we are encountering challenge after challenge and while they are small challenges when you are out of your comfort zone they become large! It is comforting to know others are praying for us. I would also ask that you pray specifically for Raul who is awaiting permission to travel to the States for treatment… for Coca, his aide, that she be given the strength necessary to continue to care for Raul on a daily basis… for Gabriela and Mihaela who are out of our realm of care.. Thank you friends! We miss you and love each of you!

Monday June 27, 2011

2011-06-28T14:12:00.015-04:00

Emily complained that I'm not writing as much about this trip as I have on my past trips (notice *she* isn't keeping her blog up to date either)but after the hour or so it takes to upload all the pictures to the blog I am too tired to actually write a commentary...

Monday morning... whew... Jane and Jennea were not feeling well after our weekend away and both decided to stay at the hotel and rest up. So our team fell immediately to 4 people (Emily, Kerry, Krista, and me) luckily though we have Lori, our wonderful Romanian high school volunteer who showed up again today even though we were told she was only volunteering for 1 week! YIPEE!! Lori, we love you!

We brought in all the items we picked out at Carrefour in Iasi. We were all excited about the fun stuff we got and hoped the kids would be too. Since I didn't take many pictures on Friday I decided to start out right away taking pictures as soon as we walked in the door. Sami left to go back to the Placement Center but in his place we got a new girl, Elena.

Paula started out the day in her crib (well actually it was Gabi's crib but it is the one Paula prefers when we are in this room).

When we started getting out the toys she wanted to see what we were doing. Here Emily is showing Paula a special vibrating hippo we found just for her. She wasn't very impressed! LOL

Meet Valle (the boy we thought was a girl who came on Friday)! His hand is covered with a sock due to his IV. He has already had cleft lip/palate surgery. He lives at the Child Placement Center (which is what I was calling the Home for Disabled People I am pretty sure).

Krista holding Gabi. Gabi is holding one of the smelly (parfum minge) balls I found at the first gas station we stopped at during our trip to Iasi! LOL

Gabi and the strawberry ball

Mihaela with a pair of the sunglasses we brought back... eating a snack. LOL

Mihi feeding Emily the snack (tastes like Styrofoam in my opinion but Mihi loved them!)

Mihi being a sweet girl and taking care of Gabi.

Ana-Maria's dad came by for a visit. It is just him at home so he doesn't feel he can take care of her. He asked for his picture to be made with her and he wants a copy. We are going to try to get a print for him. He was there for bottle time and he tried to feed Ana but she is a little difficulty to feed so he gave her to Emily! LOL

Valle spotted Gabi with the ball and took off crawling to get it!

Mihi pouting because she wasn't getting her way (above)..

but we called her on it (below) LOL

Success!! Valle got one of the balls!

Isn't he a cutie!

Mihi ate these snacks like she was starving :-( She ended up eating the entire bag.

Gabi with her new favorite ball. Emily has a ball like this at home and thought that Gabi would like one. Boy was she right! It is filled with glitter and Gabi loves it. We keep having to protect it from the big kids!

Mihi pouting again... LOL

Gabi and Paula.. parallel play LOL

Kerry has been great about hanging out with Maria-Cleopatra (above) and Nadia (below).

They both love her and her crazy stories!

We have another new kiddo. Her name is Elena. She is such a sweetie! At this point in the morning we weren't sure if she was allowed out of her crib but she is!

Mihi back to her sweet self. She was reading the book then Emily told her to read it to Gabi. (We are really trying to reinforce the whole "sister" thing.)

How precious is this?!? I love these girls!!

Lori helping Valle ride the motorcycle that Krista found in Carrefour.

Gabi trying to decide which she likes best, the glitter ball or the Romanian speaking Fisher Price "cd player"... of course the ball won out!

Mihi playing one of her favorite games "sus"

Out of all these new toys Mihi spent forever reading the directions to the cd player!!

Mihi just doesn't get the concept of the motorcycle yet. She won't push herself along. Instead she kind of walks and carries the bike between her legs. LOL

An older girl, Catalina, helping Mihi try on some of the items we bought. Funny thing is we bought all of these warm weather items and now it is in the mid-60s and rainy. So the fabulous canopy/tent we bought for the playground isn't going to go up this week!

Paula loves the cd player.. that was surprising to me!

Elena trying out big Andreea's old chair. :-)

Mihi eating another snack and reading the tag off a toy Piglet Krista found at the gas station.

Catalina and Mihi

Elena -- what a smile!!

Mihi and Emily

Okay most of you know that I am going to miss seeing Bon Jovi in Romania by 1 day!!! Ughh!! Still trying not to think about it.. but we have seen 2 commercials about it already and that is just on the TV in the dining room!! (We haven't even turned on the TV in our hotel room yet.) Anyway while we were in Carrefour (which is the closest thing they have to a Walmart or Target in this part of Romania) I saw these 2 shirts and knew I had to buy them for the twins! One is a VIP press backstage pass.. and the other has a drum set on it.. LOL So in honor of Bon Jovi...

Mihi giving Gabi kisses

Gabi in her VIP access shirt

Mihi with her "rock on" concert face!

Gabi loves my ThirtyOne bag!

Gabi playing with the TV that we brought over for Jane Patton. Jane shipped it to us in TN to bring to Cristi but he went home before we got here. All the kids love it though Jane!!

Mihi and the TV :-) (and the garbage in her hand LOL she loves tags off of clothing or toys)

Gabi styling in her sunglasses... apparently she likes the red ones better than the blue

Goofing off at lunchtime -- This advertisement is on the first floor of the hospital. Emily keeps insisting the girl looks just like Krista! LOL She does!

Em taking self portraits.

Gabi (above) and Mihi (below) still sleeping when we came back from our lunch break.

Raul watching Jane's TV! LOL

We finally broke out the bubbles that traveled with us from TN.

Coca loved them as much as the kids. LOL

Paula doesn't care for the bubbles.. she went into the room across the hall and moved this yellow chair over to this special spot and sat down for a break! :-)

Mihi and Emily

Catalina dancing. (Catalina is here at the hospital without a parent and spent the day hanging out with us. She loves Mihi and plays really well with her.)

Elena slept the entire afternoon.. the change of venue was apparently tiring! :-)

Parenting and nurturing therapy (or care) with supported organization Global Volunteers -- the signs on the doors of the rooms we use.

Just so you know.. this blog took 1 hour and 37 minutes to upload pics and write.. that is why I am behind!! Because now it is bedtime or I will be tired all day tomorrow!! LOL Thanks everyone for reading and praying for us all! Please pray for all the older children who are at the hospital without their parents as well. They seem to be handling it well but it hurts my heart to see them lingering in the hallway watching us from afar! I think Emily and I are going to take in our UNO cards tomorrow and try to teach them how to play. I'll let you know how it goes!

Raul in walker

2011-06-28T10:26:00.002-04:00

Caroline asked me to video Raul in his walker.. well, on Thursday he came into the newborn babies' room in his walker so I thought it would be a good idea to video.. then 2 seconds later Dan came in to say it was time to leave. Sorry Caroline, this isn't the best footage LOL Short and sweet.. but he hasn't been in his walker any other times I have been down :-( Our team shrank from 9 to 6 on Friday.. then Monday 2 team members stayed behind at the hotel because they weren't feeling 100% -- which made us a team of 4. I have had trouble getting down to spend time with Raul but I did go today (Tuesday) and took a few pictures. I hope to post those later tonight!

Weekend Trip to Painted Monasteries and Iasi

2011-06-26T14:20:00.002-04:00

We had a fabulous trip to visit the Painted Monasteries and visit the city of Iasi (pronounced Yash) this weekend. We hadn't been out of Barlad for very long when a horrific rain storm hit, thunder, lightning, hail, the works! It did cool everything off though so we are very happy! We explored the monasteries in the rain on Saturday. Then today we walked around Iasi and shopped at Carrefour for baby stuff! We got back into town early enough to do some laundry, have dinner, and just relax in our rooms.. now Emily and I have refilled our well (thanks Kerry for this wonderful imagery) and are ready to tackle the hospital again on Monday!

Thank you friends who are reading the blog and praying for everyone here! It means so very much!

Friday, June 24, 2011

2011-06-26T14:05:00.003-04:00

Friday was just one of those days... it had been between 95-100 degrees for the past few days, everyone was tired, and everyone was grumpy! Emily and Jane had not gotten a chance to see the newborn babies on Thursday so I offered to take them in so they could hold the babies. We went into the room and I gave Isabella to Emily. Almost immediately a nurse and aide came in and took the baby away from her and put her back in the crib. They were trying to tell us something that none of us understood.. all we understood was they were being very ugly. I tried to explain to them that the nurse yesterday had given us permission to hold the babies because there was no parent there with the babies... they didn't understand me so while Emily and Jane went upstairs I went to find Mihaela. She was in a meeting with the manager of the hospital. I explained to her what had happened, she translated for the hospital manager who immediate picked up her phone and called the floor. The nurse said that she was explaining to us "no photos" but that is soooo not what Jane and I got from her gesturing. The hospital manager and Mihaela proceeded to march down the stairs to take me back to the room. I insisted I did not want to go back in that I would just go upstairs where everything was flowing well.. I did stand there while the manager explained again that we were there to work with the babies so they didn't have to be alone and I apologized to the nurse and aide then went upstairs. Krista was the brave volunteer who went back downstairs to hold the babies. I'll go back when a different nurse is on duty!

Upstairs everyone was hot and tired as well.. good thing today was a short day!

Gabriela and Jane

Jennea, Sami, Ana-Maria, Emily

Ana-Maria and Emily

Mihaela and Krista playing airplane

Mihaela watching Emily play with Ana-Maria...

and deciding she needed to join in :-)

There was a new baby this morning. A beautiful dark blonde/light brown haired baby, chubby, ponytail on top.. we all thought it was a girl but it was a boy!! LOL Valle (sp?) He was not real happy to be there :-( Then the nurse came in and asked for someone to hold him while she put in his IV.. yikes! Jane volunteered and stayed with him until we left the hospital. I'll get some pictures of him on Monday!

Short video of Mina-Tonya

2011-06-26T13:58:00.002-04:00

I tried to get a video of Mina-Tonya dancing.. but she was looking at a magazine and her sister "sunshine" tried to steal my camera.. then someone yelled for Mina and she walked away LOL

Mihaela Dancing..

2011-06-26T13:33:00.005-04:00

Sorry for having the camera turned the wrong way, I was having a blonde moment LOL..

But I figure you can tilt your head and get the picture ;-)

Krista (dressed in black scrubs)is the person you can see in the background.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

2011-06-26T10:54:00.012-04:00

Thursday was an emotional day at the hospital. Not only was it the last day for Bob,Katie, and Brad (they were volunteering for 1 week) but it was also the day that Sebastian and Alex went to a foster home AND Georgi & Denisa went home with their mom... or so we were told... It turned out to be a topsy turvy day but let's start at the beginning...

That morning when we arrived at the hospital someone brought in a People magazine and the kids enjoyed "reading" it.

Mihaela reading People.

Krista taking a final picture with Denisa (who is one of the most loving, sweet, shy girls EVER! Keep this one especially in your prayers!!)

Katie and her brother Brad had become especially close to the family of 3.. Mina-Tonya, Emilian, and "Sunshine" Deon-Georiganna. Emily, Brad, and Kerry went to the high school to meet some of Mihaela's students and work with them on conversational English. They were coming to the hospital after lunch to work with the kids there. Katie decided not to go to the hospital because she really wanted to see the family of 3 one last time and say her good-byes. It was a good thing she made that choice because even though they weren't supposed to leave until Friday.. we found out that they were leaving before lunch.

Paula (above) and Mihi (below) dancing to Don't Stop Believing...

Gabi enjoying some floor time.

Alex playing with one of the kids' favorite toys..

an old broken tape player! They love it though..

Sami practicing walking with Jane. Bob in the background with his ninja headband ;-)

Ana-Maria playing with this week's favorite toy.. a baby wipe!

Jennae and Sebastian sharing a bed with Lori and Mihaela for snack time.

Sabi hanging out with his friend Jennea. :-)

In the mornings when we arrive at the hospital we help feed the younger kids a "breakfast" milk bottle (they eat at 6am also.. so maybe this is just a snack). Then wait for the doctor to finish medical exams on all the kids before we can take them outside. The pictures above are all from this morning playtime.

Then finally we get outside!! Mihaela got to go outside today for the first time (even though she still has her IV).

Look at that happy baby!!

We had a great time playing outside.. being 3 volunteers short it was hard to take pictures but I definitely wanted to get a few of Mihi since it was her first day out AND since Emily was missing Mihi's first day out since she was at the high school.

We took out some large blankets and were sitting in the shade enjoying bananas and yogurt for snack when suddenly several people came over to the blanket. They asked which kids were Sebastian and Alex.. then they proceeded to explain they were their new foster parents. They were both so nice!! They said hello to the boys and started talking to them. It was great to see. Then something happened and apparently one of the other adults said Georgi's name and I don't know what else but Georgi freaked out and tried to run inside calling for his mama. It was heartbreaking. We finally decided to take all the children upstairs so the foster parents could check in with the doctor and nurses. Alex and Sabi's foster parents had snack cakes for all the children. Here comes the confusing part.. instead of Georgi, Denisa, and their little sibling (the little sibling had been staying with the mom in a hospital room - not with us) going home with the mom - they were all split up and sent to foster homes. Mina-Tonya, Emilian, and Sunshine were also sent to foster homes. It was a sad, stressful event... very emotional.. but as one of the aides said.. no tears, it is "bine".. (bine means good)... the kids are going to be cared for in ways they have never experienced before... the families were so happy to meet the children... while it was sad for us to see them leaving it is a fabulous thing for all of them. Keep these children in your prayers as they begin new lives in their new homes.

After the kids ate lunch Coca came in and gave Ana-Maria a much needed manicure :-)

During the volunteers' lunch break (while the kiddos are napping) I took this picture of the empty playground.. kind of as a reminder to myself of how wonderful it is to see it full of happy playing children.

for my bird loving friends.. this is one of the birds that has made a nest in the corner of the hospital windows... I think it may be a finch.

After our break I went back inside to find the girlies still napping.. Mihaela (above)

Gabi

Ana-Maria

Then came the good news of the day!! The nurses on the first floor had talked with Dan and there are 2 newborn babies who are at the hospital without their parents and they need our help holding them!! YIPPEEEE!! Kerry and I immediately went downstairs to meet the new babies...

Kerry holding Robert... 6 days old!!

I am holding Isabella who is a little over 3 weeks old!

A great way to end the day!! Although when I picked little Robert up after his bottle he did projectile vomit all over me (much to the aide's delight I must add!). LOL It's all good!

After work we went to the travel agency to book our weekend trip to the Painted Monasteries.

travel agency (above)

Dan is pointing out where we are now (closest finger) and where Transylvania is (farthest finger)... Although Emily would love to visit Castle Bran (the castle everyone thinks of as "Dracula's Castle") I think we may pass on that trip this time. :-( It is tiring to travel 5+ hours one way during your only down time of the week. I'll let you know when we make up our minds for sure.

After a quick shower and change at the hotel we walked to dinner at the new Italian restaurant Trattoria Da Vinci. I am so glad Dan was leading us.. otherwise I would have NEVER believed there was a restaurant way back those streets. The restaurant was BEAUTIFUL!! We dined outside on the patio and Dr. Delia from Tutova Clinic joined us for dessert.

My delicious spinach and cheese tortellini

LOL Dan was teasing me about always taking pictures of the food.. so he said, take a picture of mind... and I did! Dan's lasagna (above)

Emily's 4 cheese penne

The crew picking out desserts from the carousel

my dessert: chocolate cake

Emily's dessert: strawberry cheesecake

Team 168 from front to back: Jane, Emily, Terri, Kerry, Dr. Delia, Bob, Brad, Dan, Krista, Katie, Jennea
Walking back to the hotel from the restaurant we passed this center for children with disabilities.. I was unable to ask Dan about it but I will find out more.. the thing I noticed was the sign below which says: Volunteer in My Community! YIPEE!!! Volunteering got a bad name during the Communist regime so I am so happy to see Romanians encouraging one another to volunteer within their own communities!!

We also walked over the first bridge built in Barlad.

Yep, there is a tiny bit of water in there.. I still haven't figured out why the water levels are so low.. but this is a common sight, to see big bridges with only tiny streams of water running underneath...

Wednesday June 22, 2011

2011-06-22T14:25:00.013-04:00

This morning Mihaela brought markers, colored pencils, and drawing paper to the hospital. It was a huge hit!

The older kids "drew"...

Gabi amused herself with light and shadows..

Deon-Georgiana played with toys..

Sebastian and Denisa

Krista took Ana-Maria to her favorite rolling spot...

Mihi chased after Mama Mihaela until she scooped her up and gave her some lipstick. :-)

Mina-Tonya (below) drew this lovely picture of a house and 2 people.

Then it was bottle time.. Gabi did MUCH better drinking her bottle today!

The older kids went outside to play but Paula wasn't interested in going out when they did.. then later she walked down to the doorway that leads to the stairs and acted like she wanted to go out.

Emily let Gabi play with her iPod touch.. she *loved* it!

Gabi's vision is apparently so poor that she likes colors and lights super close to her eyes.

Gabi having a zen moment with the iPod.

Emily and Paula really connected today.. Paula was in a super bad mood and only Emily could make her happy! I was shocked! Paula has improved so much since I was last in Tutova! I am so happy with her progress! Here Emily was giving her kisses up her arm.

See how happy Paula was!

Mihi is jealous, of course.. Paula loved this bouncy game of "sus" (pronounced Seuss, as in Dr. Seuss and it means up)... Watching how happy Paula was reminded me of the johnny jumper from the clinic. Mihaela is going to ask the doctor about getting it out of storage for Paula. But apparently the doctors think it is better for Paula to practice walking instead of jumping.

Mihi drawing while the other kids are outside.

Coca and Raul trying to find a shady spot. I am going to look in Iasi this weekend and see if I can purchase a canopy for the clinic playground so the children have some shade!

Mihi is great at the game of "pretend". She and Emily are pretending to eat berries in the book.

Mihi and Gabi watching a science video on Jennea's iPad.

Gabi with a baby doll we brought over from the States.

Maria-Cleopatra taking a nap.

Paula visiting Nadia, a 16 year old with severe CP.

Bradley has to take turns throwing Mihi up in the air.

Gabi

Paula

So happy to see Gabi take off crawling! We are practicing walking

every day but the crawling is great too!

These are 2 of the rooms that will hopefully become "ours". They are doing renovations at the end of the hall to turn these 2 rooms into a great big playroom for Global Volunteers to use with the children who need to stay at the hospital for a longer amount of time.

I know this is a bad picture but seeing the HUGE open window made me so happy! The windows in the current rooms are small and have so many screens you can barely see out!

Window at the end of the hall.

Gabi only drank a bit of her soup bottle.. but everyone there insists she just doesn't like the soup. I was encouraged by how much milk she drank today.. so hopefully she is feeling better.

After our lunch we hung out near the front of the hospital and Emily bought an ice cream. It came with a shovel! LOL

This is the window to one of our rooms. Notice the birds' nest in the corner. We think they are finches.

As you walk up the stairs at the hospital (we are on the 4th floor and there is no elevator) there are pictures like the one above hanging everywhere. These are all paintings done by children either staying in the hospital or living in Barlad. They are beautiful!

How on earth is Sami sleeping like this?!

After naps.. Mihaela and I took the 3 older kids (Mina-Tonya. Emilian, and Georgi) to the playground. Mihaela picked some berries from a bush and told me to give them to the kids. LOL Talk about a mess!! They are going to be stained purple FOREVER! I didn't really get any pictures of them being messy because it was just me outside and I was too busy trying to keep an eye on all 3 of them.

Emilian (blue shirt), Delia (Dan and Mihaela's daughter), Mina-Tonya, and Georgi

Georgi in the middle of the berry bush

Mina-Tonya picking more berries

Kerry and Sami in deep discussion.

When all the others came outside I decided to go back up and help out up there. Ana-Maria, Paula, Gabriela, and Mihaela had to stay inside along with Nadia and Maria-Cleopatra.

Is this not the sweetest picture ever? You can see the love and compassion on Mihaela's face while she was playing with Ana-Maria.

Mihaela gavae Ana-Maria several kisses but I never caught one on camera!

Gabi

Mihaela

Gabi mesmerized by the light again.

Emily and Paula playing.

Mihaela and Jane had a long session of pretend play... where Mihi pretended to throw her kleenex (which was really a baby wipe she was using on her nose) at Jane and Ana-Maria. Jane would then act disgusted when the dirty thing landed on her and then throw it back at Mihi. We all laughed so hard that we were crying.. Mihi included!!

Hands down the best chocolate in the world!!

Monday Night Dinner and Pictures from Tuesday

2011-06-22T13:18:00.012-04:00

Oh My Gosh.. Dinner Monday night at the hotel was DELICIOUS!!! Some kind of potatoes, mushrooms, onions, cheese, and sour cream mixture... Momma, do you think you could make this for me when I get home??

And the perfect Romanian cucumber and tomato salad... yummy!

Yep, here is begins.. first picture of the day Gabi and her dreaded bottle!!

Emily feeding baby Ionella right before CPS came and took her away. I didn't even get to hold this precious baby!!!!

Sami the drummer boy... this is a drum we brought over from home..

Emily and Mihaela

Again, Emily and Mihi.. best buds ;-)

Gabriela with her special ball

Gabi again

Mihaela is so active and she can't go outside due to her fever and IV...

Emily is getting a workout every day with this angel!

Sami

Sami playing ball with Kerry (above and below)

Gabi was fascinated with the lights from Krista's camera.

When everyone else went outside Em and I stayed inside with the twins and Paula... Oh my gosh.. it was hilarious! We laughed so much... Mihi loves Emily and Gabi and Paula tolerate me.

:-)

The picture below is when Gabi heard Don't Stop Believing.. the Glee version.. I videoed the girls dancing.. it is precious!! However, lovely Blogger moved it to the bottom of the blog... so go watch it when you get to the bottom.. AND be sure to watch the whole thing... hilarious!!

Gabi with her other special ball we brought over from the States. Paula playing in the background..

Paula looking back to see if I realize she is making a break for it...

Emily has 2 cameras with her.. she gave her old one to Mihi to take pictures.. she loves it.. wears it on her arm like a purse!

Eating some banana for snack...

Mihi crawling through the tunnel

Lunch time! Coca is feeding Gabi and Mihi from the same bowl because

Gabi refused her bottle yet again.

As you can see the older kids are eating a soup with pieces of bread soaked in it.. it is actually the same soup we are having downstairs in the lunchroom and is quite tasty. Here Krista feeds Alex.

Loriana -- I asked her what her name was today LOL

(the Romanian high school volunteer) is feeding Sami.

Jane is feeding Sebastain (whose nickname is Sabi)

This is Gabi's face when confronted with food :-(

Mihaela just does not feel well! :-(

This is in the afternoon.. after we have had lunch and the kiddos have had naps.. Sami is giggling so much over this crazy butterfly!

Emily dressed for dinner at the Alona.

Dinner at the Alona

I had a traditional Romanian dish, Emily had mushroom spaghetti ;-)

Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs have moved inside off the lawn.

The Alona is filled with porcelain dolls! Spooky!!

The back entrance to the Alona.. it is one of 5 restaurants we will eat in this trip.

Around Barlad

The Hotel Occident.. with Lidl (formerly Plus) in the foreground

Video of the twins and Don't Stop Believing

Tuesday June 21, 2011

2011-06-21T15:02:00.002-04:00

This is going to just be a word blog since I am ready for bed! Then I will upload pics tomorrow...

Breakfast - Once again they ran out of milk so no cereal for me! :-( Breakfast is included in the price of the room now at Occident Hotel. There are 4 breakfast options... 1. cold breakfast (salami, cheese, roll, jam, butter) 2. Omelette (ham and cheese omelette, roll) 3. eggs (fried eggs, ham, roll) or 4. cereal (cereal, milk, fruit).. but they rarely have milk!!!! Wahhh... Oh well, I havebeen having the #2 breakfast meal.. good protein :-)

After breakfast Jennea (juh-nay-uh) read the journal and Krista gave a beautiful message of the day regarding a hummingbird and an elephant (note to self -- must remember to google this story!!) Emily, Katie, Krista, and I walked over to the Plus store (which is a small grocery right next door) which has now changed to a Lidl store. I bought bananas and yogurt in hopes of getting Gabi to eat today! Then it was time to hit the taxis...

Our taxi driver brought us safely to the hospital although he treated the roadways as his own personal obstacle course!!

We arrived in time to help with the breakfast bottles. Gabi refused to eat for me and also refused when Dan tried. The nurses said she ate her bottle at 6am... hmm?! Emily fed baby Ionella her bottle. Shortly after the feeding time an extremely well dressed lady came onto the floor and looked into the rooms. Moments later a nurse swept in and took baby Ionella. Dan discovered that she was being taken to a placement center and then being sent on to a state hospital (?). Apparently the abandonment story was quite publicized by the media and the government and CPS are trying to make sure all their bases are covered. (Dan explained a little more about this at dinner. The mother is originally from the county of Vaslui (where we are now) but had been living in Brasov. The father is in Brasov. Apparently they are taking Ionella (and the mother) back to Brasov to a hospital there... I dunno.. so confusing!!!) The main point is she is no longer at the hospital and we miss her already! Continue to pray for this baby's future!

Before everyone went outside Dan sent me into the empty playroom with yogurt to feed Gabriela. She ate about 1/5 of the container but grimaced with each bite. Krista and I both agree that she looks like eating hurts her in some way. She will open her mouth for a bite and then begin to cry as soon as the food is inside her mouth :-(

Gabi and Mihi are both running fevers. Gabi maybe has a sore throat. Mihi is *very* congested. Mihaela has an IV.. Gabi doesn't yet... However, neither girl was allowed to go outside today. So Emily and I stayed inside with them. We put on the Glee cd that someone left behind and danced and sang. It was fabulous! As soon as "Don't Stop Believing" started playing Gabi started bopping around in her chair. We had to coax Mihi into dancing but she finally got into the dancing spirit.

Paula stayed inside with us as well and played along at times.

Around noon Coca came in for a visit. She read a book with Mihaela. Mihi did a great job of parroting Coca saying the numbers from 1 - 10. Then Coca told Mihi to show Gabriela the book and she did. It was precious! Mihi also gave Gabi "poops" (kisses) on the cheek several times today when prompted.

The others came back inside from a hot playtime and we all started getting ready for the kiddos' lunch. The babies had soup bottles much like at Tutova.. but it is so different from Tutova at the same time. The routine seems more flexible (sometimes this is a good thing, sometimes not so good). Gabi refused her soup for me. Coca was feeding Ana and watching me. I then tried putting Gabi in her crib because this is how they eat so often that maybe she just didn't want to be held while she ate.. nope, still pitched a kicking and screaming fit. When Coca finished with Ana-Maria she came over and told Gabi to eat.. LOL I told her she had the magic touch.. Gabi took her soup bottle and drank! But only a few sips :-( The nurse brought in real soup in bowls with bread for the older kids including Mihaela. Mihi was out with a nurse so Coca started feeding the soup broth to Gabi.. she tolerated it much better.. and ate several spoonfuls.

We also learned today that Alex and Sebastian will be going to a foster home this week. Mina-Tonya, Emilian, and Deon-Geogiana (who are all siblings) will also be going to foster homes this week. AND Denisa and her brother George will be going back home with their mother. Apparently they are at the hospital because the younger sibling is sick.. they were not taken by CPS from the family. The mom and younger sibling are on the same floor of the hospital and the 2 older kids just come hang out with the Tutova gang.

I have also neglected to mention that we have a Romanian high school student who is volunteering with the babies this week also. I believe her name is Floriana or something similar to that.. she is quite shy and doesn't think her English is very good BUT she was able to tell us today that she wants to be a surgeon when she finishes college! She is great with the kids too!

Noapte buna friends.. will post more pictures tomorrow!

Monday afternoon (June 20, 2011)

2011-06-21T15:01:00.001-04:00

The hospital provides our soup for lunch..then Dan (Global Volunteers) provides the rest of the meal since it would be asking too much of the hospital to pay for lunch for all of us as well. So today was dumpling soup, breaded chicken, and french fries. Dan is trying to accommodate the 3 teenagers on the team! LOL

After lunch we walked to the Public Garden... wow, what a beautiful place to be inside the city!

a famous Romanian musician (trying to finish the blog before breakfast LOL I'll look up his name later!)

part of the team.. Emily, Jane, Jennea, Krista, Dan, Bradley, Kerry

Dan was kind enough to take a picture so I could be in the photo

2 things about this picture.. I cannot find Coke Light (diet coke) ANYWHERE in Romania :-(

Has anyone in the States heard about it being the 125 anniversary of Coke? LOL It is a huge deal here.. that is what this bottle says 125 years.. and McDonald's was giving away free glasses with the Coke symbol if you ordered a meal. Crazy I have to come half way around the world to learn that Coke is 125 years old!

The Summer Garden restaurant in the middle of the park

Entrance to the Public Garden

Emily and Ionella

Ionella

Uh-oh Mihaela has a new Mama -- Emily.. Mihi just latched on to Em as soon as we got back to the hospital.. she loves her and reaches for her saying "mama"

Sadly though Mihaela was running a fever :-( She wasn't that spunky little girl from this morning.

Paula had fun with the piano and then wanted in her crib to dance and play. Paula is happiest in her crib - so most of the pictures you will see of her will be in the crib (actually any crib LOL).

Sick Mihi (Mihi is a nickname for Mihaela.. pronounced Mee-Hi) :-(

Sami

Mina-Tonya

Deona-Georgiana (sp?)

Sebastian.. some of the kids were still napping when we returned.

Sami loves making music.. and throwing things.. LOL

Kerry feeding Ana-Maria her stickla (stickla=bottle in Romanian)

Jane feeding Ionella her bottle. Jane says this might be the first time she ever fed a baby a bottle... so of course I *had* to take her picture doing it!

Gabi playing with her ball and the light.

Ana-Maria found a new toy, cellophane!

Everyone enjoying the couch in the "playroom". Apparently the floor in this room was redone to make it a happier place for the kids.

Ionella riding the donkey.. it really is a cool toy!! LOL

Everyone upstairs was covered so I had Dan show me to Raul's room. What a cutie! I was afraid to pick him up :-( He has Epidermolysis Bullosa which is a skin condition that can be quite dangerous. My friend (and former volunteer) Caroline is in the process of getting Raul a visa to come to the States for care! Read more on her blog www.tutovababies.blogspot.com

First day at the hospital... (Monday morning)

2011-06-20T14:25:00.013-04:00

After a yummy breakfast, Kerry read her journal writing and Dan gave us the message of the day. Then we jumped in 3 taxis and headed to the hospital. It was about a 5-10 minute taxi ride.

Emily as we got out of the taxis.

It is suggested that we wear street clothes to the hospital and change after we arrive. Emily is looking lovely and official after she changed into her scrubs. However, I think we have both decided that it is awfully hot to be wearing scrubs in an un-airconditioned hospital.. tomorrow will be shorts and a scrub top for me!!

Emily and Gabriela with one of the balls we bought for her. I first met Gabriela in Dec 2008 at the Tutova Clinic... she was a chubby, lovable baby! Now she is a tall skinny girl but still so lovable!!

Paula... Paula was also at Tutova Clinic when I first arrived in December 2008.. but I must say she has changed in so many positive ways it is AMAZING!

This beautiful girl is Ionella, 10 months old. She just came to the hospital on Friday. Here is her story. A lady called the police and said she found this beautiful baby in the road with a note saying the mother could no longer take care of her. :-( Turns out that wasn't the truth.. the lady was Ionella's mother!! She just doesn't feel she can care for her any longer. If I am not mistaken the doctor said the mother was 17 and has 3 children.

Ionella is BEAUTIFUL! She did not enjoy being held much today. She would point to the crib frequently wanting us to put her in and leave her alone. She is going to have to adjust to being around people and being held and loved.

Katie and baby Ana Maria. Ana-Maria is 18 months old.

Another picture of Emily and Gabriela.

Marius. Marius was at the Tutova Clinic in December 2008 during my first trip to Romania. He became Emily's "favorite" as she learned more about him through my blog. We were super excited to see him today!

Mihaela. Mihaela is Gabriela's twin sister -- so of course I met her for the first time in Dec. 2008 also. Mihaela is a normal active beautiful girl. She does have a cold and that is the reason for the IV on her wrist :-(

This is a new boy named Sebastian. He and his brother Alexandru were taken by CPS and brought to the hospital last week.

Maria-Cleopatra is a beautiful girl who is hydrocephalic. She also came to Tutova Clinic in Dec. 2008. She recently had a shunt placed.

Mihaela, Jane (volunteer from Australia), Gabriela, and Emily

One of the playrooms where the older children gather. (Volunteers Kerry, Bob, and Brad are in this picture but only Brad can really be seen. :-) )

Maria-Cleopatra

Emily and Mihaela dancing

Having a music lesson: Emily, Mihaela, Gabi, Jane, and volunteer Jennea (from MN)

This precious boy came to the hospital on Friday also.. he and his sisters were taken by CPS. His name is Emilian and he is 4 or 5 years old.

This is Mina, Emilian's sister. She is 4 or 5 years old. Not sure which is the older of the 2.

Mihaela with a drum set we brought from the States.

Gabriela with a ball we brought from the States.

Marius and Jennea having a great time throwing the ball over and into the crib. He was laughing so hard.. check out his cute dimple!

Sweet baby Ionella

After all the morning medical exams were completed we were able to bring some of the children outside. Nine volunteers, ten kiddos, and 2 strollers down 4 flights of stairs.. it was rather comical!

Alexandru and Sebastian - brothers and sweethearts!! They are so loving and shy!

Alexandru or just Alex

Emily and Ana-Maria

This lovely lady is Deona-Georgiana. She got stuck with the names Sunshine and Strawberry Shortcake today because none of us could remember her name! She is the baby sister to Mina and Emilian. Mina and Emilian had a great time pushing her in a stroller outside.

This little guy was cracking me up. Whenever he wouldn't get his way he would run over behind the bushes and pout. His name is either Gabriel or George LOL I am not sure which but will find out for sure tomorrow.. and he has a sister named Denisa. They were also taken by CPS in the past week.

This is beautiful Denisa... I did not get a good enough photo for you to see how beautiful she is.. but she is lovely! Bright eyes and huge smiles! She is also shy and likes to be close to volunteers.

Deona and Emilian on the swings

Brad and Kerry playing on the merry go round

Alex loves this toy!

Mina loved my camera.. she made all these silly faces and then wanted to see the pictures!

Emily and Ana-Maria playing in the grass.

Krista (from California) with Ionella visiting with Emily and Ana-Maria

Jane and Denisia (sp?)

Emily stole my camera for this one! At least Ana-Maria looks good!

After playtime we took the kids back upstairs for lunch. As soon as we came back inside Dan told us that it was time for Marius to head back to the Placement Center -- here several of the Tutova kids went. :-( We were sad to see him go but so happy that we were able to see him in the first place!!

Coca, an aide from Tutova, came to visit! Coca is one of the sweetest, happiest ladies I have ever met! I wish I knew more Romanian so I could communicate with her more! She loves sweet Ana-Maria and comes to check on her when she has a break from working with Raul.

Mihaela got curious about my camera while waiting for her lunch...

Gabi is worrying me... she ate less than half her bottle at lunch and none of her afternoon bottle. She is *so* skinny! :-( I am going to start sneaking something/anything in to get her to eat!! Okay not really or not without permission from Dan! But I think I will go to the store and get either yogurt or baby food in the morning.. the nurses think too much yogurt will give the babies diarrhea but they ate it EVERY DAY at Tutova and were fine!

Dan's wife, Mihaela (who is also a Country Manager/Team Leader for Global Volunteers) cane to visit before lunch and had a singing session with some of the older kids. Their daughter Delia assisted her.

Shortly after the last song was sung it was time for everyone to take a nap and for volunteers to have lunch. I do have more pictures from the afternoon but it is 10:30 in Romania and I must go to bed or be worthless tomorrow! If I happen to wake up early and blogger is cooperating I will post more pictures then! Noapte buna! Goodnight!

Arrival in Romania June 18 & 19, 2011

2011-06-20T14:00:00.007-04:00

We arrived at the airport in Bucharest on Saturday afternoon... I am almost certain they have added on a new terminal - it was very modern! However, I try not to take a lot of pictures in foreign airports so you will just have to come to Romania to see it for yourself! We said a quick hello to 4 other team members and Dan then went outside to hop on a small van. It seated 6 in the back and 2 in the front so they had a trailer attached for our luggage. A couple of hours into the trip we stopped for dinner.. you guessed it MCDONALD'S... there is no Micky D's in Barlad so this is our last McMeal until we return.

I told you Ronald was everywhere!!

Emily spent most of the 4 1/2 hour drive listening to her iPod and

watching videos she and Chloe made before we left.

This cracked me up! A guy driving his horse drawn wagon through a gas station! Sadly the poles were in my way..

There was a phenomenal sunset but my pictures just didn't do it justice!

Our home away from home for the next 3 weeks.

The elevator is so itty bitty that Emily and I and all of our luggage wouldn't fit in at the same time! So I rode up with 3 of the bags (only to the 2nd floor) and then Emily came up after me. This (and the day we leave) will be the only time we take the elevator.

our room

view from balcony

We can see the house of the gypsy king from our window.

apartments

After a good night's rest (if you overlook the wedding party and barking dogs) we had team meetings on Sunday. Took a short (hot) walk around Barlad. Ate lunch out.

Romanians eat soup as the first course for lunch each day. Here is the soup menu from the restaurant we went to Sunday.

light fixture in the hotel that I love :-)

Patience Gertrude.. the babies are coming...

From TYS to AMS

2011-06-20T10:55:00.010-04:00

I know you are waiting on baby pictures but I have to do this in chronological order! Sorry! LOL Dinner at Ruby Tuesday in McGhee Tyson Airport. We arrived expecting a 7:05pm flight and the plane was delayed with an expected 7:55pm departure.

I look exhausted already and we haven't even started our trip yet!

Emily taking advantage of the Power Spot at McGhee Tyson and texting her friends.

On the small regional plane to Atlanta...

Sending the last few text messages before she loses service for 3+ weeks!

The plane to Amsterdam.. 3 seats on the left, 3 seats in the middle, and 3 seats on the right. We were in the middle section in row 27 of 44.

The boy who lived on our floor of the CitizenM hotel. :-)

Wheel of Energy outside the airport.. it is a giant hamster wheel but for people.

Notice Emily's outfit change.. we packed for summer and it was only about 60 degrees in Amsterdam. We found an awesome store inside the airport called Wonder Woman where she bought this Lady Gaga shirt and leggings.

Notice the glorious storm clouds...

Emily outside Anne Frank's House and museum... it took us forever to find it and then it started pouring the rain on us but we were successful! An extremely moving experience to be in the rooms of the Secret Annex in which Anne wrote her diary.

Another picture of Emily with a canal in the background.. feeling somewhat more relaxed since we actually found our destination!

Love the feel of this city street in Amsterdam.

Gorgeous architecture...

And of course, they have a McDonald's!

My first thoughts upon seeing Central Station (the building in the background).. "Praise God we found our way back!!" LOL

A poster that reminded Em of her boyfriend...

Waiting to catch the train back to the airport and our hotel.

Scenery from the train ride back...

Relieved to be on the escalator at the airport... a somewhat familiar place!

Inside our room at the CitizenM hotel.. it is walking distance from the airport.. .and has the most awesome bed on earth! Sooooo comfy!!

Emily standing on the bed modeling her authentic Amsterdam clothing. :-)

Dinner.. because neither of us could stand thinking about going to a restaurant!

My first Coke light (Diet Coke) in Amsterdam...

Taking advantage of the wifi...

Emily with Martin, the friend that lives in our hotel room..

Writing postcards home...

Ronald is EVERYWHERE... even inside the airport!

Our breakfast/lunch before taking the flight to Bucharest.

The trash can :-)

waiting to go through security at Schiphol..

take off...

Travel to Amsterdam

2011-06-18T00:52:00.003-04:00

Note to future self: pack outlet adapter in carry-on bag so computer doesn't die during layover.. duh!

Thursday night my sister Trish took us to the airport for our 7:05pm flight. Of course once we cleared security we discovered our flight was delayed until 7:55pm. We decided to eat dinner at Ruby Tuesday's in the airport. Emily stopped texting long enough to eat but that was about it. For a teenager who is constantly texting it is hard to imagine how she will live the next 3 weeks without her phone! But we all know she can do it!

One of the worst things for me and not having a phone is the inability to tell time! LOL Another note to future self: Don't forget to pack a watch! Since we have left the States, I have been living in a timeless limbo! Believe it or not there are not a lot of clocks in airports! I think they don't want you to realize how close you are to missing your flight!

Finally we boarded our little puddle jumper in Knoxville and made it to Atlanta. Had a little time to kill so we looked around a few shops in the Atlanta airport and then headed back to the gate because boarding was supposed to start at 9:45pm... hmmph, I think the first people boarded at 10:10pm (there was a clock right above the boarding door -- bad move Delta/KLM, people really don't need to know how long they are standing in line!) We were in row 27 out of 44. Sat beside a nice gentleman from Atlanta. The plane had 3 seats on the left, 3 in the middle, and 3 on the right.. amazing that something so big can soar through the air as fast and seemingly effortless as it does.

The flight was great (other than the extremely loud grandmother with her 7 yr grandchildren sitting right behind us -- the boy kept kicking Em's seat but finally all 3 of them fell asleep!!). Emily slept most of the flight, I dozed here and there. They did end up serving us a snack (yummy almonds), dinner (chicken pasta), and breakfast(eggs, hash browns, yogurt, and fruit). Even though our info only said we would be served breakfast. The movie selection was good.. but Em watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (again) and I watched Gnomeo and Juliet (loved it!!).. then we both watched episodes of Glee too..

Arrived in Amsterdam at 1pm local time (which is only 6 hours ahead of East TN).. walked over to the awesome Citizen M hotel where Emily promptly turned on her computer and started chatting and I took a nap :-)

Then began our journey into the Old City of Amsterdam.... that blog will have to wait until tonight since our hotel room looks like a hurricane hit it even though we have only been here less than 24 hours and we need to get moving to catch our flight to Bucharest.

one week and one day until departure

2011-06-08T21:13:00.003-04:00

Emily and I leave for Romania next Thursday evening. I am so excited -- I cannot wait! I wish it were tomorrow! I cannot begin to explain how different life is in Romania. There is a calming in my soul when I am there. I feel closer to God each day. Here I allow myself to get bog down in the world and become part *of* the world (“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:15))... There I know almost no one, have no one who knows me, and I am allowed to be myself in ways that never happens here at home. Here I am judged daily by people around me... there if I am judged it is unspoken. There is a pettiness to life in America that I just don't see in Romania. We have so much in America -- even our poor are rich when compared to other nations! Maybe Romanians are too focused on living life to worry about what other people are doing.

It is a fabulous feeling to know in your heart that you are doing the work of the Father as you sit and hold babies, giving them the love they should be getting at home. There is a peacefulness that comes over your life. Thank you once again everyone who has made a donation to our trip. Please continue to pray for us!

Preparing for Romania Times 2

2011-05-19T21:56:00.002-04:00

Less than a month from now I hope to be arriving in Romania on my third volunteer mission. This time is going to be even better than the times before... why? you ask.. well because finally my daughter Emily will be able to experience the joys of volunteering in Romania with me!

Change is the key word for this Romania trip! The clinic in Tutova has been changed into a senior center per the Romanian government. The babies and children I worked with before have been scattered in various directions.

Emily and I will be volunteering at the Children's Hospital in Barlad, Romania. Those of you who have followed my blog in the past may remember that my experience with the Children's Hospital on my first trip was truly an eyeopening experience. I am so excited to be returning to the hospital with an invitation of the director (not specifically to me of course but to the Global Volunteer community) in hopes of creating a safe loving environment for the children who pass through those halls.

I have been so blessed during my fundraising campaign. So many friends have stepped forward and made donations to myself or to Emily. People's generosity continues to amaze me! As usual my family and close friends have shown nothing but their support for this adventure. Even though Emily and I are the ones making the actual trip and going to work each day in a foreign country.. many people are going to be experiencing it vicariously through us -- and we will hold those babies and play with the toddlers and older children and show them the love you have shown us!

Thanks friends!

30 Days of Thanks - Day 22

2010-11-22T20:14:00.002-05:00

Today I am thankful for my front porch (and not having to work anywhere but my first job!!)! When we got home from school today Emily and I went out on the porch. It was a PERFECT fall day! I read (of course) and Em practiced her trumpet. The puppies ran around in the fallen leaves (without being on a tie or leash!! YEA Bridgette!!). Ahhh, I love fall in East Tennessee.

It was almost a year ago that we had the heavy winds that knocked down a tree on my house, destroying the porch in the process. Today was a good day to be reminded that even out of bad, God can make things good!

Romans 8:28 NIV And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

30 Days of Thanks - Day 21

2010-11-22T20:11:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I was thankful for safe travels. We spent the weekend in Hickory, NC and traveled home last night. The ride home was 100% uneventful which is just the way it should be! I was never so glad to sleep in my own bed when I finally got there around midnight! I woke up this morning with that song from Nick "I Don't Wanna Go to School" running through my head. :-)

30 Days of Thanks -- Day 20

2010-11-20T21:19:00.002-05:00

Today I am thankful for my beautiful daughter Emily! Every day I am thankful for her... it honestly isn't that I am just trying to find something to be thankful for.. I could be thankful for good health, safe travels, Facebook, my Sony eReader, anything but I am so proud of her and love her so much that I have to make her my blessing of the day.

I am not one of those parents who thinks their child is perfect.. I am 100% a realist -- I know what a stinker my kiddo is! When she was little I used to say I never had to worry about someone kidnapping her cause they would bring her right back in 5 -10 minutes!! But I must say Emily has so many traits that I am so happy about... she is extremely caring and empathetic. She is one of the most courageous kids I know. Today she got up in front of a huge auditorium full of hundreds of people and danced a solo competing against kids who have been dancing for YEARS! (Emily has only been dancing about a year!) She was nervous and I could see she wanted to back out seconds before taking the stage but she didn't -- she persevered and even though she didn't place I know she grew from the experience.

Well, the dear child came back into the room and now I can't concentrate!!!

30 Days of Thanks -- Day 19

2010-11-20T10:23:00.002-05:00

Better late than never ;-)

Today(well technically yesterday) I am thankful (again) for friends and family. My friend Nicole and I headed over to Hickory, NC for the girls clogging competition (go Emily and Chloe!!). It was so nice just to be able to catch up. Both of us have way too much going on every day to be able to spend a lot of time together so the 3 hour ride that turned into closer than 4 was a lot of fun! I am looking forward to spending this looonnnngggg clogging weekend with a friend!

I am also thankful for my sister Bridgette. Bridgette has always been an animal lover. So since she moved back to Pigeon Forge when ever I am out of town she has graciously agreed to watch my puppies and stay at my house. (This is wonderful for me AND for Momma since she always got roped into taking care of the dogs ;-) ) Well this weekend Bridgette is taking it a step farther and training the puppies on my new wireless fence. I am so excited!! I hate seeing dogs tied up -- these little guys LOVE to run so now they will be able to run in circles around the house as many times as they want!! Thanks Bridgette!

30 Days of Thanks - Day 18

2010-11-18T21:48:00.002-05:00

Today I am thankful for being able to eat dinner with Emily. Working 3 jobs we are so often rush, rush, rushing to get from point a to point b that we have no choice but to grab something at a fast food place and eat in the car from here to there. Today I only had homebound after school. I was able to go watch Em's dress rehearsal for her clogging competition this weekend and we went to Whaley's Market for dinner before our band meeting. We sat at a table and ate homemade potato soup with a fried baloney sandwich for Em and a hamburger for me and just talked. It was nice to have time together sitting at a table and just talking. Even though she makes my blood pressure rise (quite frequently) I love my daughter more than life itself and would do anything for her!

30 Days of Thanks -- Day 17

2010-11-17T20:47:00.003-05:00

Grrr... how am I supposed to post a blessing when I am mad enough to spit nails?!? Breathe, breathe, focus, focus... lack of respect really pisses me off... in children it is understandable... in adult, nope -- no excuse! Okay, now that that is out of my system -- what am I thankful for today?

***thinking really hard here --- don't want this to be a generic post****

Teaching, I am thankful I am a teacher. I love seeing my students when they figure out how to do something for the first time or when they get so excited because they understand the "why" of something. Today it was great fun listening to them come up with definitions for words like confirm, valid, and ancient. Then working in our math journals so everyone understands (and remembers) what polygons are...and how the associative property of addition works. They are such little sponges who just soak up knowledge!

Today I am thankful I am a teacher.

Thirty Days of Thanks -- Day 16

2010-11-16T20:47:00.002-05:00

Today I am thankful for the funky weather. Rain, wild winds, sunshine, storms -- we had it all today and I loved every minute of it. I have always loved the weather in weird kinda way... definitely not a science, wanna-know-how-it-works-way but more like a WOW, isn't our God amazing way. I love the sun when it is shining. I love the rain when it is falling (even more if I can spend the whole day at home!!). I love thunderstorms -- especially at the beach. Every season is my favorite when we are in it... gee, I honestly have never thought of these things in this way.

Thirty Days of Thanks.. Day 15

2010-11-15T21:06:00.002-05:00

Lots to be thankful for today...

Thankful for my dear friends who read my post yesterday and made comments to me today. I had totally forgotten that I had some automatic update emails being sent out AND I had forgotten that I had my blog linked with my facebook. I knew when I was writing last night that I wasn't writing entirely in private -- by posting it on my blog someone someday might come across it... LOL didn't realize I was forcing it down friends throats! ;-)

2 main things I want to write about tonight though...

First -- I am thankful for my job at Smith Family Dinner Theater. Most nights when I go into work one show is ending and I am there to set up for the next show. On those nights I get to hear the gospel part of the show... listening to Charlie Bob sing "O Holy Night" and listening to Jim sing "How Great Thou Art" every night helps keep me centered. Fabulous family, fabulous show.. if you ever get a chance to watch it you should just for those 2 songs alone!

Second -- I am thankful for the man at the pizza restaurant who thought Emily and I were sisters. My age has never bothered me... but it is still nice to know that everyone doesn't automatically think I look old enough to be the mother of a 14 year old! LOL Or maybe it is just the fact that my 14 year old looks older than 14!!

Thirty Days of Thanks... Days 1 - 14

2010-11-14T20:45:00.003-05:00

This will be the first time I have used this blog to post something personal and NOT related to the babies in Romania but I am too lazy to create another blog and too mentally exhausted to think of a cutesy title and layout.

My dear friend Tami has been doing a Thanks a Day blog during the month of November and I decided I wanted to join in. Today has been a rough day but even on our roughest days we need to count our blessings... so here I go...

Blessing #1: I am thankful that I was raised by Christian parents and became a Christian at the dear old age of 9. Without God I would be so lost... I cannot even begin to imagine where my life would be without him. I am a firm believer that Jesus died on the cross for you and for me and even though I prove myself unworthy of His love every day He still loves me and walks with me...waiting for me to get back on the right path.

Blessing #2: I am most thankful for my wonderful, fabulous, creative, funny, pookie daughter Emily. She is my greatest gift from God. I am so not worthy to be her mother!

Blessing #3: I am thankful that my family has always been there for me. Even though I know I have disappointed them many, many times they still love me and will always love me.

Blessing #4: I am thankful for my dear friends. I am a HORRIBLE friend... I constantly forget things and am inconsiderate but for some reason my friends are still hanging in there!

Blessing #5: I am so thankful that I was able to go to Romania and rock babies. I met so many wonderful people... it truly allowed me to see the human race in a better light! Even though as I re-read the last entry on my blog (before I started posting tonight) about dear sweet Ema-Elena dying I was terribly sad... I also know I was so blessed to have known her. She made me a better person in the 8 weeks I spent with her. I can only hope and pray that she felt the love I had for her and was comforted by it.

Blessing #6: I am thankful that I was born in America. Way too often I have taken my freedoms and liberties as an American for granted!

Blessing #7: I am thankful for our Armed Forces and Veterans who have protected those freedoms that most Americans (myself definitely included) take for granted.

Blessing #8: I am thankful for my jobs... all 4 of them! Even though I am tired and grouchy and feel like I have no time for myself I am thankful that I have had the opportunity to earn extra money when so many are unable to find work. (For those of you who are wondering what those jobs are -- I am a 1st/2nd grade multi-age teacher, after school I teach a homebound student 2 days a week, I also greet guests at a local dinner theater 3-4 days a week after school, then I also sell Thirty One products.) Nine per cent of the labor force is currently unemployed.

Blessing #9: Even though I have only been blessed with one child of my blood, I am so thankful for the 30+ that are a part of my life from year to year. Being able to teach multi-age and have the same students for 2 years I have grown to love my students more than I could ever explain. I feel as responsible for them as I do for Emily... they truly feel like family.

Blessing #10: I am thankful for the roof over my head.. even though it contains 2 smelly dogs and 2 crazy cats -- or vice versa! Once again too many of us take things for granted... having a warm place to come home to is a luxury even though many of us feel that it is a right! (About 1.6 million people were homeless in emergency shelters or transitional housing at some point during the year between October 1, 2007 and September 30, 2008.)

Blessing #11: I am thankful for the ability to read. My first 3 years of formal education I had teachers that are still touted as being the best in our area -- in Kindergarten my teacher was Mrs. Helen Rawlings, in first grade my teacher was Mrs. Reba Hood, and in second grade my teacher was Mrs. Betty Lewelling. Those teachers (along with my parents) instilled in me a desire to learn... and a desire to read. Reading is my favorite past time. I love having the ability to lose myself in a book! While the literacy rate in America is high too many people are ALITERATE!!! Aliterate as defined by Webster's is "the quality or state of being able to read but uninterested in doing so". As Emily would say, "SAD FACE!"

Blessing #12: I am thankful for my church's new pastor. Pastor Denny Ford is a man of God.. he isn't afraid to let you know that God will be the one leading him, not the people of the church. In the short time he has been at our church he has already taught me so much! I am so happy that Emily is going to have memories of his influence as she makes important decisions about her future.

Blessing #13: I am thankful my daughter is more musically gifted than I am! As I am typing Emily is in her bedroom playing her trumpet.. she has grown so much musically in the past year! I am loving every moment of watching her grow in a new and different way. She is also becoming quite the clogger. I never would have thought she would like clogging... but once she had her first lesson she was hooked! Clogging is a part of Em's family history (the dance originated in Europe but was prevalent here in the Appalachian mountains). My grandfather's family lived in the area known as the Sugarlands which is now located in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, when Papaw Sam was a boy they were forced to move off their land in order for the GSMNP to be established -- that heritage is extremely important to Emily and to me!

Blessing #14: I am so thankful that my friend Tami decided to share her daily thanks and inspired me to do so... even though I started way behind I hope to be able to post daily for the rest of the month.

Not Even Sure Where to Begin

2010-02-23T18:00:00.008-05:00

Received an email from my dear friend and former team mate, Evan, today. (evanbabies.blogspot.com) Sad news... Ema-Elena died at the Children's Hospital in Barlad on Thursday, February 18. She had just celebrated her 2nd birthday on Valentine's Day, February 14. This picture is one taken of her on Saturday, February 13 by another friend, Caroline. (tutovababies.blogspot.com)

May you rest in peace my sweet Ema. Know that you were loved!

one of my favorite photos of Ema from Dec 08

Another favorite from Dec 08.. Ema is sleeping on my chest holding tight to my shirt

Sleeping peacefully in her bed Dec 08/Jan 09

Ema and I playing her favorite game -- Summer 09

Ema in her new sunsuit and hat -- summer 09

Contest to Help Non-Profits

2009-08-23T21:11:00.002-04:00

Think you can't help anyone out at the moment because you are broke... well, all you have to do is go to the link below and vote for Global Volunteers, St. Paul, MN to help!

http://www.ilovechristiecookies.com/contest/form.asp

The Christie Cookie Company is giving away $10,000 to the non-profit that is voted for the most. I entered GV but when I checked back it wasn't listed in the drop down menu -- that is fine just type it in if you cannot find it listed!

Thanks friends!!

36th Day in Romania/ Amsterdam

2009-08-10T19:31:00.012-04:00

Barlad train station

Old factory across the tracks from the Barlad station

Passing another train on the way to Bucharest

scenery out the train window

Stephanie and Amy Stretch went into Bucharest with us
to explore the city before their final week in Barlad

Amy taking a nap

Lila and Eve

Trent and me

The Gara de Nord (Train Station in Bucharest)
from the back window of the speeding taxi

Weirdly enough.. there is a Jaguar/Land Rover dealer in Bucharest, the capital of the poorest country in the EU... go figure!

The flight from Bucharest to Romania was uneventful. I had planned to go to at least the Anne Frank House while in Amsterdam but just wasn't feeling up to any more adventure by the time I actually arrived.

The hotel I stayed in... it truly was walking distance from the airport.
(http://www.citizenm.com go visit their website!! Even it is cool! LOL)

Huge billboard located across the highway outside my window.

my view -- my choice was buildings or airplanes LOL I picked buildings.

The room was only slightly bigger than my bedroom at home but I loved it! Very functional -- very Dutch... as you walk in the toliet is to your left (complete with a sliding semi-opaque door)... to your right is the shower with a clear glass sliding door. Just past the toilet is a mirror with make-up lights then the sink. There is a curtain you can pull for privacy before you arrive at the bedroom area. The bedroom area consists of a small chair (complete with a Molly doll!), 2 mini round bedside tables, bed, mood pad, and flat screen TV. That is the entire room.. I *loved* it!

mood light above toilet LOL

Shower

mood light above shower.. which is a rain shower -- very cool!

bedroom area :-) nice HUGE bed with fabulous pillows and down comforter...
I could have slept here for a week!

Chair and Molly doll (available in the gift shop for 19.95 Euros)

telephone and mood pad which controlled lights, tv, window, everything

Shot of the room from the bed... In my hurry to leave the next morning I forgot to take a picture of the "do not disturb" sign... it didn't say "dnd" it said: "Don't Come in -- There is someone naked in here!" LOL I loved it!

2 types of shampoo depending on what kind of person you are.. morning or night

Dinner from the CanteenM downstairs...

even the food boxes were cute!

The coolest water bottle I have ever seen! The lid is a cup! Why is there nothing this functional in America!??

Part of the lobby downstairs

The hallway

Me in the elevator on my way back to the airport

Covered walkway to the airport

Schiphol is the name of the airport in Amsterdam

just one of the many cool sculptures/decorations in the airport--
It listed cities around the world and how long it took to get there.

And that is the end of this trip to Romania... thanks for reading!
God Bless!

Happy 19th Birthday Stretch!! 8-8-09

2009-08-10T19:14:00.003-04:00

After lunch on Friday we surprised Amy (Stretch) with a birthday party. Supposedly at 1:30 we were going to have a team meeting. Instead we had a party!

Amy's 19th birthday was actually on Saturday, 8-8, but since we would all be going our separate ways on Saturday we had the party a day early. Bogdan #1 carried out the cake as we all same Happy Birthday. Amy was so surprised!

Amy with her roommate Alex looking on

Amy with the outline of Romania I gave her for her birthday. LOL It only cost 1 lei (about 33 cents US) but it was so cool!! :-)

Amy and Trevor

The cake!!

I'm not real fond of most Romanian cakes -- they are too moist.. but this cake from the bakery above Berlin (a market) -- it is delicious!!