Buddies

Love this picture of Thomas and Annie hanging out together. Just two little buddies and one hedgehog relaxing and enjoying each other's company.

Sometimes you could think that Thomas wasn't able to engage much with the people around him, but this picture clearly captures his interest in Annie. He knows she is right there, and his attention is completely directed towards her. Annie's sweet nature is a tonic for all of us, and it seems Thomas is not immune to her charms. The warmth of her smile is the best type of medicine!

Novel use for a hedgehog.

We love this cute picture of Annie with her hedgehog. The toy is perfect for supporting her head in a comfy position. Annie does have a neck brace which she also uses, but she seems to prefer the hedgehog. He is super soft, so we guess he is just more comfortable than the neck brace. Jesse and Thomas like the feel of this hedgehog too. He is called WeiWei - Chinese for hedgehog - and was a gift from one of our sponsors. So thank you very much! It just goes to show - you can never be sure how we will use your gift at Butterfly Home. Thank goodness it's not a prickly hedgehog!

 

Happy Birthday Jesse

It's Jesse's birthday, and so it's time for another party. Of course, there has to be a beautiful cake, lots of singing, and lots of excitement. Jesse uses his fingertips to check out his cake.

It's Jesse's day, and doesn't he look the star of the show. He's sitting up very straight and tall while everyone sings Happy Birthday and wishes him well. He is such a precious child - it is our great hope that a family will recognize his beautiful soul and adopt him. Imagine...Jesse could be celebrating his next birthday as somebody's son. Wouldn't that be amazing!

And now - let the cake eating begin!!! If you love cream and sugar, these cakes are pretty wonderful. And they have fruit on top, so they are even a little bit healthy! Well.... perhaps if you only ate the fruit. But hey, birthdays are not the time to start a health kick.

Happy Birthday Jesse. May your life be full of blessings.

Baby, it's cold outside.

Remember that balmy autumn weather we were enjoying so much? Yeah - so do we! I think a look at these pictures will show that "balmy" is no longer the word to describe our weather conditions.

Isn't Swallow cute? Just peeping out from under her hat, with her fingers all snug in her jacket sleeves.

Annie's smile will warm up the day, no matter what the weather is like.

Thomas was awake when he first came outside, but he soon drifted off, tucked up under a cosy quilt.

And Angel looks like a little cupcake in her pink hat, coat, and quilt!

Thank you to all the wonderful people who have made and sent us our cosy quilts. You can see that they are well used and in much loved. In fact we have many local visitors exclaim over these lovely quilts. They are always very moved that people would spend so much time stitching beautiful things for sick and orphaned children. So these quilts not only keep the children warm, but also show our neighbours how loved and precious each of these children are. A hand made quilt says that this child is worthy of time, worthy of effort, and worthy of love. You would be amazed at how far that message can travel!

  

Little Miss Sunshine

Anyone who has visited Butterfly Home will agree that Annie is our resident ray of sunshine. This little girl laughs at just about anything. She hardly ever cries - if you do ever hear her crying, you know something is really upsetting her. Most of the time, her face wears a beautiful broad grin.

Annie's joy comes from interacting with the people around her. Her communication is limited by her cerebral palsy, but she makes great eye contact, and babbles away to you as you talk to her. She loves to be touched and you can see her eyes light up as some-one sits down to play with her. Annie can't move herself to get closer to people, so she relies on people taking the time to come to her.
 In our world, people like Annie often get overlooked - you have to slow down and take an extra moment to reach out to them. But what a delight it is to take that extra moment for Annie. Just one flash of her super smile, and little day-to-day worries fly out the window. Those moments make a difference - to Annie's heart and to ours. Annie is learning that she is loved without reservation, and we are learning to look beyond a little girl's label and see her for the treasure she is. Children like Annie enrich our world, and we are full of gratitude that she is here.

 When Annie arrived, she didn't smile so much. Her body was wracked with spasms and she was constantly in pain. It's not an exaggeration to say that her feet used to touch the back of her head.A child's body isn't made to be in that position, but Annie's muscles were so taut that her poor little body was pulled back like a bow. Its unimaginable how much that must have hurt.

Today, Annie still has cerebral palsy, causing muscle rigidity and very reduced motor control, but her terrible spams are mostly controlled. It is so wonderful to see her coming out of the fog of pain, and watch her her sparkling personality blossoming. She's valued for who she is and she is responding with her whole heart. It's a hard truth that not all children can be healed, but we know it is our calling to love every child, and cherish every life. Children like Annie remind us daily what a joyful calling that is!

Big Sister Hannah

Hannah is one of the older kids in the Home. She was two years old when she arrived, and had only recently been abandoned. As you can imagine, she was shattered. It's taken some time for her to gradually feel safe and show her personality. Now we are seeing a bright little girl who has a naturally caring heart. It's the sweetest thing to watch her loving her Butterfly brothers and sisters. She enjoys her role as the big sister of the Home, and is very tender with the younger ones. 
Here she is giving Annie some fun in the pusher. Annie is definitely enjoying herself, and Hannah is pretty happy too.

 And if you have traveled here, you will have seen these wonderful brooms. Hannah loves to be a big girl and help out - take a look at the pile of leaves she has carefully gathered. What a great kid!