Snot, Italo and mail

Hey everyone!
Today was such a funny day- all I can say is- I know I'm definitely taking care of kids! Twice a week I take some of the little ones to the library to read to them (in Spanish, it is not pretty!), and today little Yen decided he wanted to sit on my lap while I read. Well, Yen is potty training- notice I didn't say potty trained, because he had a little accident on my lap in the middle of a Clifford book! For all you Mom's and Dad's, I'm sure you have had similar experiences, but this was my first! I was so shocked I didn't know whether to laugh or cry! Then, later when we were playing with our 6 little ones, Jesus fell asleep on my lap. I was sitting there thinking how sweet and cute he was and how blessed I was to be holding him at that moment. . . then he woke up and rubbed his runny, snotty nose into my shirt!! After he woke up, Abel fell asleep on my lap, but this time, instead of rubbing his nose on me, he coughed on me- and let me just say, he has some congestion that is now all over my shirt! Needless to say, I am in desperate need of a shower and a washing machine! :) The kids were so good today and it reminded me of why I am here. I didn't get to see the older ones much, but it was a good day with the little ones (despite the issues I had!).
Also, it was really exciting because the other kids now want to be taken into the library and be read to. I'm not sure if it is because they want to read or just hang out with us, but either way it is so good. The literacy rate here is pretty low and with each Madre having 8-12 kids all with very different needs, it is hard for them to take the time to read to all of the kids and to encourage the kids to read. One little boy especially asks both Emily and I every day if we will read to him. His name is Italo- he was one of the first kids here. He was born to a single mother who was extremely poor. During the day she was afraid to leave him alone, but couldn't take him with her, so she dug a hole in the floor of her hut (it is a dirt floor) and would leave Italo there for hours. She would cover him with dirt and he had to stay in this shallow grave all day. Italo does not talk- he makes sounds, but he says very few, if any words. He is very sweet and very loving- I think he is also funny. All of the kids give each adult a hug and a kiss on the cheek when they greet you- one day I came down for lunch and there were 3 or 4 kids standing there waiting to greet me. Italo was the last one- as I bent down for him to kiss me; he gave me a hug and then hollered in my ear!!! At first I was startled because of the momentary deafness in one ear, but when I saw Italo grinning and starting to giggle, I couldn't help but laugh!! :) When Italo was 4 years old, his mother came back to the orphanage- Italo had been here about a year, I think. She didn't come back to visit though, she came back to bring her second son- she knew she couldn't care for him and so she brought him here when he was just a couple of months old- His name is Abel- He was the one I mentioned earlier that has congestion! :) He also doesn't speak very much and throws a hitting, kicking, body thrashing fit if he doesn't get his way, but when he is alone, one on one- he is an angel!! He is one of the kiddos that I take to the library- I take him by himself though because when he is with other kids, he wants all the attention. When he is by himself, he is sweet, obedient, and very very very cute!! Today I was reading to him and he was acting out the story as we went. Part of it was talking about a ball, so he pretended to pick the ball up from the book and throw it into the air- He pointed up and said "Mirar Tia, Mirar!" (look, aunt, look) (all the kids call me Tia). It was the cutest thing I have ever seen! He then pretended to catch it and then was so excited, he had the biggest grin- he was so proud of himself! Italo and Abel are available for adoption- every child that is available for adoption desperately needs a family very soon, but I feel an especially strong pull about these two boys because I feel that the sooner they get constant attention and someone to work with them in depth, the sooner they will grow. I would love to hear Italo say "Buenas Tardes Tia" or something and I would love for Abel to act calm and cute all the time instead of just when we are alone. So many prayer requests!!!
Many of you have asked for my mailing address here so you can send me care packages and other mail- while I would LOOOOOOVVVVVEEEEEE to receive mail, it doesn't look like it will be possible. Most people that live here don't have a mailing address- it apparently is really hard to get one- the orphanage doesn't even have one! Also, the other night I was talking to David Miller and he said that when a package arrives here from a different country, the government goes through and assigns a value to each item within the box. They then decide an appropriate tax for each thing (which is outrageously high) and then you have to pay for it. During this process, the package sits in storage for up to two months- and you have to pay for the rent for storage! Crazy!! I am so sad that I won't be able to receive mail, but I love getting emails and I looooovvvvee getting comments, so please keep them coming! Also, you can just tell me what you were going to send me and I can try to find it here! :) :)
Anyway, I am posting pictures of Italo and Abel for you all to see- they are the first two kids I am highlighting- enjoy their cuteness!!
Love you all
janie