While I Was Away

A lot has actually happened in the 3 months I stopped keeping up with my blog!!!

The biggest news is that baby Mondlane #2 is on the way!!!  He/She is due around Christmas!!  We'll be heading to the States in early November and I'll deliver the baby there as well as have the surgery i wrote about back in January to remove a tumor that was found on one of my ovaries.  We will be in the Atlanta-area for about 3 months.

Melina is doing great!  She is 11 months old already.  Back in May she was hospitalized because of a severe ear infection.  The infection started to spread to the area between her cranium and scalp.  The doctor had to make an incision behind her ear and drain all of the infection.  She has recovered beautifully from the whole ordeal....except for the scar on her forehead from where the bandage was put on too tight after her surgery.  I'm using coco butter on the scar.  Any other tips?

We've had visitors from both Athens Link and the UGA Wesley Foundation.  Both teams were a blessing to Roberto and I as well as the Masana family.  It's always so nice to have friends from my other "home" visit!

Masana is going great!  We celebrated Children's Day on June 1 by taking about 40 boys to the local water park.  We've taken 3 boys back to their families, continued visiting the families of about 12 street boys that have returned home in the past year and a half on a monthly basis, and helped a few of those families work through issues they were encountering with their sons.  Our day center is still going Monday-Friday though the numbers are a bit lower these days because of the cold temperatures (low 60's).  All the boys will be back soon though...just got to get out from under there blankets a little earlier :-)

We've had to deal with sickness in our Masana family as one of the boys who lives at Masana was hospitalized on and off for a good 6 weeks due to some digestive problems.  He was unable to keep any food down and lost around 30 lbs.  He finally had the surgery that he needed and is now on the road to recovery!  During all of this, we were so blessed by the kindness of family, friends, and strangers who gave towards medical bills.  

So there you have the highlights of the last few months.  Will try not to be away for so long again!