Two years of triplets

Today marks two years to the day that everything changed at the Baby Home with the arrival of...

TRIPLETS!!!

We never ever thought to be blessed with newborn abandoned triplets.

I can't believe how tiny they were back then...

And so, in honor of the day, I'm reposting "Triplet Top Ten" from last year, below!

As the triplets near two milestones (their first birthday and returning to their mother), we are running around with preparations here at Casa de Amor.

Today, which just so happens to be the two year anniversary of their much-heralded arrival, I assembled all of the pictures of or with the triplets. Can you guess how many there are?

641!!!!!
And that's even before their first birthday next week, which by all appearances will be the social event of the year for Casa de Amor.

Even with so many pictures, here are ten that immediately came to mind as my favs from this absolutely unique experience:

March 11, 2010, my first picture with all three, newly at "home"
It TOTALLY hadn't sunk in yet...not even during that same night, taking the first night shift. Alone!

St. Patrick's Day 2010
Photography, dresses, design all by volunteer Elena Boisvert

Easter 2010
Flower crowns from volunteer Savannah, dresses borrowed from baby Fabiana

April 2010, first park outing!
with three proud {slightly sleep deprived} mommas

May 2010, Baby Burritos
(All I've gotta say is: Praise the Lord for Miracle Blankets!!! My night shifts didn't begin till I'd located all three.)

May 2010, barely able to juggle all three at once
Picture by Melissa Dickey, professional photographer visiting from Texas


July 2010, Happy US Independence Day!
And we thought they were getting so big and chubby in July, ha!

September 2010


September 2010
Right in the thick of the "chewing on the shirt" phase. Obviously!

September 2010


November 2010, Live Nativity Scene!
Never seen more adorable wisemen babies!!

That's 11, you say? Aw, who's counting.

And a few runners-up...

(There are 641 pictures, after all!!)

FEEDING TIME!!!
Gotta say that when all three pipe up, it's dangerous for the ear drums!

{Both from volunteer Savannah when the babies were three months old}

Christmas 2010
Definitely goofy!

The biggest blessing we've had in raising these babies: the V family, successful business owners in Bolivia. Their daughter, on the right, is the triplet's madrina (godmother).

So till the birthday bash pictures, that's it!!

Casa de Amor Christmas - the multiples!!

We were blessed during our "Casa de Amor Christmas" to have 3 sets of multiples visit the Baby Home. The pictures made deserved a blog post of their own!

We were thrilled to see the triplet girls again, in their first visit back since going to their new home on Easter Sunday!

Alison & Nicole trying out the new "jumper" toys

Madrina (godmother) Nataly with her namesake...Nataly!

The twin boys who also lived with us 1 1/2 years before returning to their mother also came for a visit:

Luis and...Luis!

They haven't changed one bit, apart from growing much taller!!

And then Casa de Amor's current twins were also in attendance...

...the very lively, very different, K & A!

It's no easy task to get a picture of both, NOT in motion, looking up at the same time! :)

The triplets with Tia Silvia, the triplet's mother, and me (even harder to get a good picture of the three, now 1 year and 10 months old and bundles of energy!):

All seven of the multiples - together!

...even if not cooperating :)

(of all the pictures made, yep, these really are the best...)

Enjoying the cake snack (the triplet girls with their mom, the twin girls with their "house parents")...

A couple of the trips + the twins

Feliza has become such a good mom to her babies! Hard to believe after such a rough beginning, but she's truly fallen in love with all three.

learned.

On July 19 I celebrated seven years living and serving in Bolivia! Since early last year I even have my permanent residency visa, which is WONDERFUL! This means I never have to apply for a visa again as long as I’m not out of the country for extended periods of time.

Right now is one of my ever-rarer trips back to the US. I have a week more visiting my family and this weekend we'll attend my cousin’s wedding in Texas!

As I add more and more time in between trips, it becomes a little like visiting a foreign country! The United States changes, my family changes (changing houses right now), and I change. The main reason I feel different since my last trip is all that I’ve been privileged to experience and learn in 2010 and 2011.

I’ve learned how to…

…Drive stick shift

…Care for triplets! (In a phrase, it’s exhausting, rewarding, and definitely felt like a once-in-a-lifetime blessing!)

…Lead a worship team at church

…Be part of a leadership team at church of university students and young professionals

…Make a real Bolivian “torta” (birthday cake)!

…Administer first aid (second aid?!) for many and various urgencies and emergencies

…Stitch minor wounds

…Give shots (to humans…before I’d only given them to goats)

…Choose medicines for various complaints and illnesses

…Coach soccer :)

…Get out ID cards for Bolivians

…Deal with macho police on a daily basis

…Speak and understand many, many legal and medical terms I had no idea of before 2010

…Speak “street slang” (literally dozens of new phrases and words in my vocabulary…some usable, others—well, NOT!)

…Go to a beautiful Christian wedding in the maximum security prison

…Enter the three main jails plus juvenile detention facility in Cochabamba

…Get someone out of a holding cell…or jail

…Navigate far reaching corners of the huge valley that is Cochabamba as I take street friends to their families

What other country and job would allow me to learn all of THIS in 1 ½ year’s time?!

I LOVE learning, what about YOU?

Birthday Baptism

Although it's common in Bolivia, it was a first for Casa de Amor to have a Catholic baptism. Even though we have explained to the triplet's mother what the Bible says in regard to infant baptism, this was the wish of the babies' padrinos (godparents).

So on the morning of their first birthday, February 16, the three babies turned into three little white-robed princesses..... :)

First baby transformed, Nataly!

Setting up our three little dolls. (We all had to giggle when one toppled over backwards as soon as the hands were removed. At least she didn't cry!)

Is there anything cuter?!


In the ceremony, arranged especially for the triplets



The man on the right filmed all the festivities of the day


Triplets Nicole Nataly (with the mother), Alison Nataly (with godmother), and Nataly Claudia (with godfather)

The poor priest could barely keep all their names straight! They are rather confusing I guess, especially if you haven't had practice and can't tell the three apart.

A little review on the names...

Nicole is named after Jennifer's younger sister Heather Nicole
Alison is named after Savannah's younger sister
All the "Nataly" is for their godmother who has provided so much since their birth
Claudia is for Nataly's younger sister


The three were a weeee bit stir crazy by this point, besides that we had just passed bottle time...'nuf said!



Out for salteñas afterwards (a lovely Bolivian morning snack) while tanking up the triplets

Alison enjoying some special lovin' from a man who calls himself their adopted grandfather

The newlywed godparents, each with a triplet

We so rarely go out with all three, and just the three, it was a really lovely morning! So blessed to have been a part. :)

Pictures coming soon...

Of the triplet's big day!!!

We love our triplets!

Happy happy HAPPY birthday to our very happy triplets!

Sharing some of our every day joy with our beautiful threesome:

What I love...

Living in Bolivia

Holding a sleeping baby

Doing first aid on the street

Adventure

Getting calls from the US

Reconciliation

Reading the news

Seeing God’s hand at work

Twins

Triplets

A car FULL of street kids

Snowy mountain tops

Homemade bread

A good book

Saying “yes” to a new baby

Meeting volunteers & visitors from all over the world

Going under bridges

Learning new things

Playing piano or guitar at Cochabamba International Church

Sleeping in

Visiting street friends in jail

Cold treats in hot weather

Wool blankets in cold weather

The dedication & LOVE of our Casa de Amor staff


And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
I Corinthians 13:13

Happy Valentine’s Day from all of us here at Casa de Amor, the “Homes of Love”!

Triplet Top Ten

As the triplets near two milestones (their first birthday and returning to their mother), we are running around with preparations here at Casa de Amor.

Today, which just so happens to be the 11 month anniversary of their much-heralded arrival, I assembled all of the pictures of or with the triplets. Can you guess how many there are?

641!!!!!

And that's even before their first birthday next week, which by all appearances will be the social event of the year for Casa de Amor.

Even with so many pictures, here are ten that immediately came to mind as my favs from this absolutely unique experience:

March 11, 2010, my first picture with all three, newly at "home"
It TOTALLY hadn't sunk in yet...not even during that same night, taking the first night shift. Alone!

St. Patrick's Day 2010
Photography, dresses, design all by volunteer Elena Boisvert



Easter 2010
Flower crowns from volunteer Savannah, dresses borrowed from baby Fabiana



April 2010, first park outing!
with three proud {slightly sleep deprived} mommas


May 2010, Baby Burritos
(All I've gotta say is: Praise the Lord for Miracle Blankets!!! My night shifts didn't begin till I'd located all three.)


May 2010, barely able to juggle all three at once
Picture by Melissa Dickey, professional photographer visiting from Texas




July 2010, Happy US Independence Day!
And we thought they were getting so big and chubby in July, ha!



September 2010



September 2010
Right in the thick of the "chewing on the shirt" phase. Obviously!



September 2010


November 2010, Live Nativity Scene!
Never seen more adorable wisemen babies!!

That's 11, you say? Aw, who's counting.

And a few runners-up...

(There are 641 pictures, after all!!)

FEEDING TIME!!!
Gotta say that when all three pipe up, it's dangerous for the ear drums!

{Both from volunteer Savannah when the babies were three months old}

Christmas 2010
Definitely goofy!

The biggest blessing we've had in raising these babies: the V family, successful business owners in Bolivia. Their daughter, on the right, is the triplet's madrina (godmother).

So till the birthday bash pictures, that's it!!