I fell in love with Lydia the instant I picked her up and held her in my arms. I kept whispering, “I love you” in her ear and she would make this noise and squeeze my finger really tightly as if letting me know that she
understood. As I held her fragile and precious body I began to sing songs over her and she would let her head fall to one side and look back up at me. When she looked at me I could see the longing in her eyes. The longing to be held. Her deep craving for touch and for life. It is a miracle that she is even alive. You see Lydia is 3 years old. Yes. I know judging by the size of her tiny little hands and feet you would think she was maybe 6 months old, but then you see the character in her face and her full set of teeth. You see Lydia suffers from malnutrition and was only taken in to the orphanage about 2 months ago. I don’t know her story, but I do know it is a story of struggle and that she is a survivor.
She has a huge bald spot on the back left side of her head from laying in the same position for a long time, which implies that she was not held very often, if at all, prior to her arrival at the orphanage. Lydia now eats from a bottle a mixture of milk with nutrients and protein in it to help provide her with the essentials she needs to become stronger. It is heartbreaking to see her in this condition, but I am hopeful and believe that she will recover with the tender and loving care that the orphanage provides. They have already seen a little bit of an improvement since she arrived.
Here are some pictures of Lydia and I.
Here are some other pictures from the orphanage.
Jose my mischievous friend with such an adorable grin.
Alex and Jose climbing the tree at the orphanage. I love these 2 boys.
Both are full of life and desperately seeking attention.
Yeah. She knows that she is adorable.
Anna. She is definitely a girl with some tude. One minute she wants to sit right next to
you and the next well watch out. You don’t want to get on her bad side.
How precious is this. Josh is going to be such a great Father one day.
I love this boy, Alex. He is an artist and has such a zest for life.
