Dairy-Free Post...

...as opposed to one with cheesy jokes. Or milk cows. J

Anyway! Glimpses from the past few days…

A 4-year-old running into the kitchen with a funny stride, as if he was trying to keep a basketball between his legs, yelling desperately, “There’s no paper! There’s no toilet paper in the bathroom!!!”

A 6 year old girl (chewing very loudly with an open mouth about 6 inches from my ear) leans even closer to tell me something. In a comically creepy whisper – slowly and dramatically, she says, “I know you, Tia" as if she had just read my entire journal. “YOU have PAINTED toenails!!!” (Since I always wear tennis shoes at work, this knowledge is apparently top-secret, but she was in the know! Savannah had brought her to our language school Christmas party, where I wore sandals. Quite the little spy!) J

I spent an hour or so alone with ALL 12 kids today (while trying to clean up from dinner, make certain kids finish their food, get the rest’s teeth brushed, in pajamas, and some to bed… whew!) Apparently I could’ve used some extra not-getting-into-trouble hands. The 9-year-old girl summed it up pretty well in a carefully-recorded note of wrong-doings to show to the other Tia later: “A. pulled his pants down in front of E. and E. did it back to him… M. won’t eat his food… L. doesn’t want to go to her room, and A. doesn’t want to go to her bed.” J

Haha. I really love these kids. I’m hugging, tickling, holding, wrestling, or snuggling at least 1 of them almost constantly for all 12 hours straight. I need them perhaps more than they need me. It’s great. J