Our Christmas in photos....

Playing Santa at the Christmas party we held at the institution. They took turns playing Santa for each other too. I've never seen a Santa suit have so many wearers, or so many excited faces to be able to play that part. 

Christmas Eve dinner with our volunteer friends

The boys show off their tricks.

Our little Christmas Team

Time to hang up the stockings

Santa presents

The 2 favourite presents - a sled and a laser pen he asked Santa to bring as a toy for his cat

Christmas Day present delivery to the babies. They let Cristi come too because it was Christmas.

The shoebox was almost as big as her!

Christmas Dinner - Chinese as requested by Cristi who wanted to eat with chopsticks on Christmas Day.

Boxing Day deliveries to our little family from school. The 3 eldest came to help us carry the packages across the field to their little home.

Happy faces!

Ionut was just so excited by his shoebox - best smile ever!!

Family picture. They were so excited to show me their tree! It was decorated with packs of shoebox sweets!!

A trip to the mountains to get out of town and......

......find some snow!! YAY!!

Snowy hay stack

Time for sledding - oh yes I know there is hardly any snow here but it was so slushy we went zooming straight into the bramble bushes at the bottom of this hill!

Time to try out Dani's snowboard - he did not bad to be honest!

Mini Snowman

Team work saw a bigger snowman being built

Time to leave.....how many can you squeeze in a car to get us up the snowy hill to our cars?!! The boys were delighted to be sat in the back - Ce tare!!

A Christmas message from us to you!

I'm sorry I know it is a little dark, blame it on the Christmas tree lighting!

Some shots of the last week

Cheeky Elf

Lucia singing in the Old people's Home

Looking for the perfect tree....

.....and decorating it.

First Snow - Happiness!!

 

 

Of course by morning it had almost all melted. The only place it remained was the roof - an ideal vantage point for snowball throwing!

Gingerbread cookie yumminess! The house smelled great that night!

Dec 13th - Lucia

A white gown wrapped in golden tinsel
Atop our heads a wreath of gold
A candle burning brightly surrounded by the songs we would sing

Three languages.
Four countries.
Intertwined by the love of a forgotten people.

Lucia - a crown of flickering flames
The sound of jingle bells, harmonies and laughter
Bringing a sliver of light to their day.

Children laughing
Sing with us
They have learned the songs in a language not their own
Their faces beam with warmth for us
They love this day. This moment
Lusse lelle

Next stop:
Christmas boxes handed out by our children to the old
Hidden away - the smell overwhelming
Left alone - the emotion is building
Sing louder
Burn brighter
Show them 5 minutes of love.

Journey onward:
An orphanage looming
Tiny faces grin at our outfits
Laugh and sing with us
Cheer and wave at us
Leave them - again.

Tired.
A whole day singing
Tired.
A mix of emotions
Still we sing
 Small moments of happiness

"Somebody cares
Somebody sees us
Somebody sings to us
I am not alone at Christmas

But..... I am".


Don't forget those who we sang for. They have very few who care for them, visit them, love them. Young. Old. Both have been left. I can not show you their faces but know that I carry them with me. You can see our faces. Our Lucia train. Our little flicker of light to them. As Lucia was for Sweden. Remember what this day is for. Bringing light to those in darkness. Spread a little light this Christmas. If you can.

Branch Cutting

Yesterday I wrote that I looked forward to today and it was just what I needed. A tidy house started to be decorated, Christmas cards made, relaxing fun time with my boy and a trip to the forest with our friends to select a branch for our kitchen. Last year we started this tradition to help Court feel a little less homesick. Unfortunately we can't go Christmas tree cutting like those Coloradan's so a Romanian forest branch has to do!! It was a sunny cold day and we took a little trek through the local forest to find the perfect branch to bring home. Then home for hot chocolate, pepperkaka and decorating. Here are a few moments from the day. I hope you managed to find a few moments to relax and enjoy this lovely Sunday too.

Searching for the perfect branch

Björk Family Branch

Our little branch

"Hmm I think we chose well!"

Friends

The finished ensemble

December so far....

Oh my is it really the 10th December already? In fact it is in 10 minutes the 11th. How does time go so quickly? The clock ticks and turns and winds time away from us so ferociously I don't have time to do all those Christmas crafts I had planned for Cristi. December madness has indeed struck our little Romanian/Swedish/American/British community. Running round on tired legs we prepare packages and parties for our projects and children of varying ages. Our own little Santa's workshop.

Christmas crafts and present making by the children at the special needs school. Holding babies. Christmas lights. Depot work. Christmas boxes. Fika. Christmas music. Singing practice for Lucia. Holding some more. Hide and seek in the dark. Advent calendars. Baking. More music. More singing. More loving. Laughing. Fika. Babies. Boys. Joy. Laughter. Tiredness. Full days. Waiting for tomorrow. A free day. Pancakes. Decorating. Card making and branch cutting. A new tradition with my friends. My family. I love December. I love Sundays. I can't wait for tomorrow.

Here are a couple of Cristi's favourite moments from the past 10 days.

La Multi Ani Romania - Dec 1st Romania's national day.

 

 

 

 

Loving the advent calendar Buni!

Dec 6 - Slippers left out for Mos Nicolae/Micolas (depending on where you are from). Cristi's letter read "Mos Micolas, Thank you for my present I would like sweets and gloves. Cristi" He left him a lollipop - a compromise from the big plate of cookies he had wanted to put out.

Shoeboxes and babies update......

Today was the first real day of Winter. The boy's went to school with happy smiles as we walked through a crisp air that covered the leaves and branches with a thick coating of ice crystals. They have remained icy white all day as the temperature remained a constant minus.

The first sprinkle of snow fell as we started to unpack the Blythswood lorry that came literally bearing gifts - 2000 to be exact. A lorry load of your carefully put together shoeboxes which will make many children, teenagers and adults in our projects very happy this year! (I know they are horrible quality but I put up a couple of pics so you can see).

Unloading the boxes - don't worry I was working too! I had the job of noting down all the numbers and adding them up at the end. A little tricky when you have a few different people shouting out sexes, ages and numbers at you.

The driver and I. I'm sure he was happy his journey was done so he could return home to his loved ones.What a lovely man he was! Thank you Jim for driving our boxes here.

Life is busy here just now. I'm sure it is everywhere. My oh my it is just one month till Christmas and believe me we have a lot of work this end to do!

Laz is staying with us just now for 10 days while Court and Jonte are visiting the US family and making their wedding official and changing their - or I should say her - name. We are having lots of fun together and staying very busy. However, of course I am still managing to squeeze in a visit to the hospital everyday.

THE BABIES:
   Last time I wrote, there were 7 babies. At the start of last week the number went to 5. Then at the end of last week 3 more found themselves being placed in foster families (how happy I was!). Just 2 remained a little 3 month old girl and a tiny boy who has just turned 5 months.
   Oh my heart breaks for him. He is skin and bones. His beautiful face looks like that of an old man who has led a sad and lonely life. He is stiff and twisted and his faint cries would bring tears to your eyes as he yawns and extends and is clearly in pain. The first time I saw him was the last day I wrote here. His eyes were vacant. Big brown and empty. No eye contact. Clearly neglected and starved he had no energy to make any movement or noise.
   Now when I walk in the room and speak softly his name his little lonely eyes look for me. I know that he sees me. I know that he knows I love him. I hate that I can only be with him for an hour of the day. He needs love. He needs holding. He needs to feel that someone is there. He needs more regular feeding. He needs to not lie there soaked through, ignored because some feel he will never amount to anything. How can anyone write off a person so soon into their life. It is not fair. He needs someone to fight for him. I hope that I can make a little difference in that struggle. I wish I could do more.
   Today a 3 week old girl came as well. The nurse came in with her "Oh the mother says she doesn't need her" she spoke as she walked into the room. I have come to hate those words. I hear them so often. They make me angry! As the days get colder I know I will hear them more.

Babies

Winter is coming and the nights draw quickly in. It was dark outside when my mum and I arrived at the hospital last night to be with the babies. As we climbed the stairs sad cries came through a locked door.

I have been unable to go to them for a month due to a persistent cold and a crazy work schedule. The last time I had been there 4 babies lay abandoned although 2 (I had been told) would within the next few days go to foster families.  Imagine my surprise to find that now 7 babies lay alone and unattended. The youngest was barely a month old and the eldest not more than 6 months. WHY?

I can't put photos up. I don't think I can even explain properly the sight, the feeling, the desperation of walking into a room where you know the precious children are unwanted and not properly cared for. I think I have said this before but the only person to care for them is the lady who is cleaning the whole 4 floored building and helping the doctor and nurses do rounds and give medications. She barely has time to feed and change them let alone cherish them.

I can see the sadness in my mothers eyes as she looks at one of the babies and says "imagine how it is that no one looks into your eyes and thinks you are the most beautiful thing they have ever seen". But someone does - we're here I replied. But for two hours on one day in a month. How can that be enough. It isn't.

They need so much more. So much more than the few minutes they get to feed through bottles with holes so large that the milk flows into their hungry mouths. So much more than the 3 changes they get a day because there are not enough diapers, creams or wipes for them. So much more than a hospital crib with a bright fluorescent light blinking above. So much more than the pathetic start to this life they have been given.

It is heart breaking and yet here I sit typing it down knowing that today they lay unheld, unloved, unwanted. What a cruel start they have been dealt.

Happy Halloween

A Halloween Feast

The Donut Game - laughs all round!

Round 2 - The Adults!

Strike a pose - the Halloween Gang.

Autumn Days with Buni

We went to the Black Forest to enjoy the afternoon sun and the changing colours of the leaves

Of course we had to have the obligatory toasted marshmallows

A happy boy in his Buni's arms

Out and about with the girls

Family tree

Getting ready for some pumpkin cutting madness

"Mama I do not like how this is smelling!!"

Jack O Lanterns

Mwah Ha Ha!! Or some other kind of evil Halloween laugh!