Limes 2013

Today, was our first day back at Limes for the term and boy was it great to be back! The loving squeals and hugs that we were met with as we walked up to the Limes structure were so darn cute and never, ever, ever get old! Upon seeing my sweet baby girl Jada I grabbed her for a hug and our conversation went something like this:

Me- "Oh I just missed you and love you so much!" 

Jada- "you love me dis big?" (holds up fingers about an inch apart) 

Me- "I love you lots bigger than that!"

Jada- "Nooooo, dis big?! (points to her shoe)

Me- "Bigger than that!"

This game went on for several minutes with it finally ending on that I loved her to the moon to which she said with a big smile "miss dat far!" And she instantly had me wrapped right around her tiny little finger all over again. The icing on the cake being when I was getting ready to go she said "Miss give me squeeze to the moon!" Love that baby!

As is usually the case with Limes, it takes a few days for word to get out that we are holding class, so the turnout today was pretty small. It's always kind of nice though because it allows us to get a little more one on one time with those that do show up! It was so fun to see each and every one of them and to hear how their Christmas and break from school was. Oh, and of course gossip with some of the older girls who were quick to ask for details about my "new husband" and who would erupt in giggles at anything I said in reference to Nick! Classic. Definitely looking forward to spending a lot more time with these kids this term!

We had a few new faces out today also which is always super fun! If you are in Grenada and looking for something to do, please come join! We meet 3-5pm Tues/Wed/Thurs we (and the kids) would love to see you!

I brought a new book to Limes today: The Hungry Little Caterpillar... it also has a matching game with what the caterpillar ate... naturally, it was a huge hit! :) 

Ohhh, children of Grenada...

how do you possibly manage to steal my heart more and more every day?!

Saturday was the LIMES beach party to kick off the term, so we met at the Limes field and walked the kids over to Grand Anse Beach. Let me just say... with 20 VOLUNTEERS this was amazingly smooth and easy. Remember back to last term when I wrote about beach day and all the craziness and worry the handful of us volunteers had steering all the kids down a main road in Grenada... well, that was far from the case this time!! There were approximately 30-35 kids and so the kid-adult ratio was amazing and that not only made the walk and time at the beach much less stressful, it made it a million times more fun for the kids and volunteers.  There was no fighting for attention because there were so many doting volunteers to spread love and silliness every child. It was seriously wonderful and made my heart so happy! Laura and Julie are the SOs who are running the Limes show this term and have done such an amazing job so far! To top off a great day at the beach they had also ordered pizza, made brownies, and had juice waiting for the kids after they were done swimming- which was obviously a huge hit. AND as if that wasn't enough each child was also given a back-to-school gift!! They each got notebooks, pencils, a pencil sharpener, and the best of  all... stickers!!!!  Great job on putting together a wonderful day for those kids Laura and Julie, you sure did spoil them silly!!!

The fun continued today as we had our first visit of the term to the Queen Elizabeth Orphanage! This is something I have not participated in as much as I would have liked to in the past, so it was really heartwarming to see the kids again for the first time in forever and it really helped me realize that I need to prioritize my time better to make sure I make it there more regularly this term.  I just love them. We also experienced an abundance of volunteers for this today as well, and actually ended up with more volunteers than kids! How amazing and unheard of is that!? The kids loved it. Everywhere they turned there was a volunteer wanting to play with them and wanting to give them undivided attention.. it was perfect!

Whether at Limes or Queen Elizabeth, these kids touch my heart in ways I never even knew possible. I don't want them to be hungry. I don't want them to suffer from illness and not have proper medication. I don't want them to turn to "thieving" or drugs, or anything bad.  I want them to get plenty of food and grow and develop into healthy teenagers and adults. I want them to get a good education and to enjoy learning. I want to teach them things. I want to play with them until they feel so secure in our relationship that they no longer crave endless attention, support, and love to a degree that is unimaginable (but yet always want to continue to provide it.) I am so thankful for this opportunity to spend time loving on them and getting to know them, and there is no doubt I am right where I need to be. Nick being in medical school here may seemed to come out of left field at first, but now there is no doubt in my mind that as much as Nick needed to be here to work toward his dream of becoming a doctor- I needed to be here too...with these kids. God always has a plan and it's amazing how things work out in ways better than we ever could have imagined :)