Adventures and packing and toys...oh my!

I don't know if you all have forgotten about Octo-mom, but in case you have, here's a recap:

One mother. Eight babies.

One of the nicer pictures of Octo-mom I could find

That pretty much sums it up, and like other odd ball news stories I'm not sure why the story was so famous except for this single mother was pregnant with 8 babies (she already had twins or triplets that were older I think) and she had and kept all 8, albeit with lots of help from friends and family. And everyone thought she was crazy.

So why am I talking about this?

Because while shopping for a few hours the other day, I think I realized what it would be like to take a walk in her shoes. Or any mother's perhaps.

Dim with her birthday present in Feb.

In preparation for my trip to Cambodia I decided I wanted to get some gifts for my sponsor kids. Dim was my first sponsor child (she just turned 4) and I met her on my first trip to Cambodia. Joseph was sponsored second through money raised from Cupcakes for Cambodia's orders (and his sponsorship is paid up through 2013...yay! Thanks to everyone who ordered and donated!). Then some months ago the company my dad works for who sponsors 5 kids asked if I would be their contact, someone who writes the kids letters and prays for them daily, because they know my heart for Cambodia and the New Hope kids. Of course I gladly accepted, went out that night to get picture frames and proudly displayed them around the house. Bam! Five more kids.

The girls! (but not all of them)

The latest addition to the family came this spring, a girl who is just a few months younger than me, and I think of her as a sister.

Fast forward to this weekend and last night and there I was, wondering around the mall and K-mart with these types of questions flooding my mind:

"What kind of toys does a 10 year old boy play with?"

"What if they don't like this color?"

"Should I get markers or crayons?"

"Would kazoos for all the kids drive the houseparents and care takers crazy?"

"I wonder if this will fit in my suitcase/make it through customs/fit on the van on the ride to the home..."

(everyone can rest easy...no kazoos were purchased)

There I was, 8 kids, different ages, genders, different hobbies and various colors that they had named as their favorite. There I was confused as ever, but determined to force my brain to be logical, think very hard and quit worrying about every single detail and not be like crazy Octo-mom having a breakdown in the middle of the toys isle.

I'm sure I got some interesting looks though when I came to the register with all the hubba bubba bubble gum that was on the candy shelf, jump ropes and 12 bottles of nail polish...

Am I the only one who love this stuff as a kid? 

What I'm really hoping for is to just show these kids how much they are loved, cared for and thought about.

I'm sure I'll be writing a follow up post with lots of pictures of when I get to hand out the presents, and if you find me in the toy isle, an encouraging word is always helpful :)

9 days

9 days, 18 hours, 1 minute and 48 seconds.

I have a countdown on my phone for the exact time my flight departs Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After 22 hours of travel I will land in Phnom Penh Cambodia.

I'm just a little bit excited. Sometimes I feel like a balloon about to pop and anyone who has tried to generate casual conversation with me the past few days has only heard me open up my mouth to gush about the wonders of Cambodia, how much I love the kids, how long I will be there...



I'm doing it again aren't I?

But after 10 long months of waiting I'm finally going back! YIPPEE!

Regardless of how much I may talk about it, I feel like words just can't describe the multitude of feelings that come rushing in when I think about the trip. Excitement, wonder, awe, impatience to get there. I feel a bit nervous too. I'll be meeting many of the kids again, but this time some of them I sponsor, some I pray for every night, some I know from the dozen of pictures on facebook.

I think about the staff and caregivers in the children's homes, what sacrifices they have made, the daily exercises in patience, love and being a parent figure to 20 or 30 children. I'm amazed by the unconditional love they show and have for the orphaned, abandoned, hungry and poor.

I think about the kind of lives these kids might have led, what those precious little eyes have seen that they shouldn't have, what they have felt and experienced that someone that young should not have.

You would never be able to tell that any one of them has ever faced a problem though. Joy bubbles over in their laughter and smiles, huge grins because they love getting their picture taken, they love running up to visitors and singing and dancing for them.

And suddenly your heart is overwhelmed with the self less love they demonstrate to you that I just want to give them everything. I want to demonstrate the love Jesus has for them. I want to give them gifts, give them words of encouragement, communicate just how precious, how unique they are and let their wide eyes see just how big they can dream, just how bright their future is. Brighter than stars, brighter than the sun blazing hot on a Cambodian summer day. Everything they have overcome at their young age, and they still beam a smile. That's hope. New hope. A generation in Cambodia is rising, one that will walk away from the dark night of the past and into the dazzling light of a promising future.

Those words don't even begin to describe the joy the smiling faces of those kids.

Of course, I run into people that don't understand. When I say I'm going to Cambodia they look at me as if I had a third eye. I just smile and try to explain and I accept the fact that some people will never understand. They are family, friends, well meaning people who will unintentionally try to put as much fear in me as possible with questions about the food, water, safety and traveling. Just smile and nod.

I myself can't give any definitive answer as to why Southeast Asia...why not Africa, Nepal, the Fiji islands, Europe where I had always wanted to travel. Why not here in the US? But when a love overtakes your heart, you don't just shrug it off. You learn to love back, love the people and their culture, their ways and habits and think of them as family.

I'm discovering that life is so much more meaningful when you live with an open heart, wherever you are. I am so thankful that so many have opened their heart and trusted me, and I intend to pay that forward to others.