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The Bush family hearts LOST.

The wind was blowing at a steady 40 mph around here on Tuesday. It was amazing. I saw a lady carrying a bag of groceries trying to get to her car. She was literally doing a Smooth Criminal lean (start at 00:18) into the wind. It was awesome. Street signs where hitting the ground. Birds were flying backwards. Heck, even ginormous trees were succumbing to the wind. No kidding. Look! It’s kind of like a really tall Michael Jackson!

Here’s a shot of my amazingly hot wife holding Fabian.  Fabian and his mom just came by the Promise House on their way to a new chapter in their lives.  They seem to be doing well.  But, back to my wife. Wow! Look at her! She’s gorgeous! And that’s just the outside. If you think that’s beautiful, you should see the inside. Dang! I’m one lucky guy.

Fabian was born Monday evening at 6:08pm. He weighed in at 8 lbs 2 oz.  He is 22 in long! Both he and mom are doing well. they should be discharged from the hospital today. To see all our grandkids go here.

From day to day sometimes we wonder if we are really doing any good at all. Then, we get a message on facebook from a girl who left our care a few months ago:

Subject: God

“I miss you talking to me about God everyday and saying the bible verses… I never really do anything like that here… I stopped going to church for a while to but now I go every sunday and wednesday!! But yeah… I miss it.”

By the way, I’m a grandpa again! Fabian arrived yesterday evening and weighed in at 8 lbs. Also, he is 22 inches long.

Melissa Faye Green relates this story as she began her journey of orphan rescue in Ethiopia. Thought I’d share it.

A happy little girl caught my eye: she flounced about barefoot in gray sweatpants under a frilly, puffy pink dress and, on top of the dress, a too small boy’s winter coat. I watched her seat herself upon a flat stone with pride of ownership and was reaching around as best she could in her winter parka to smooth the stiff tulle. I saw her cast her soft eyes around to see if anyone was noticing how pretty she was today.

I noticed. I stepped over and stroked her warm little head, her hard dry little braids, and murmured an incomprehensible compliment in English. I startled her, but then she understood: her lips turned down in a pleased, flustered smile.

I didn’t know who took care of this little girl in pink — maybe a grandparent, maybe a not-much-older sister or brother — but I saw that she remembered being mothered. A longtime orphan would not expect anyone to compliment her pretty dress.

Mellisa Faye Green, There is No Me Without You, p. 32.

Picnik is a good name for it because it is really a lot of fun. Here is some fun I had with the Mercado Fresco pic.

One of the girls in our care right now is from Mexico. Like, Mexico Mexico. The real Mexico. Old Mexico.  She didn’t get a visit today (today is family visit day for the girls) so I took her and another girl to Mercado Fresco.  It’s huge! I had no idea anything like this existed in Little Rock!  I mean, I’ve seen the little Mexican stores, but this thing is like Wal-Mart. Just look!

It’s ginormous!

Nothing like shopping for frijoles under the watchful eye of Mary.

Dang! I look good in that sombrero!!

Chicken feet. It’s what’s for dinner.

Apparently, los mexicanos are serious about their peppers. This is about half of the different varieties they had.

I’m a dad now.  And questions about sheltering and protecting and maturity are things with which we now struggle.  Should Sophia play with Barbies (no)?  Can she watch The Simpsons (no)?  Should she be able to listen to Johnny Cash (depends)?

Anyway, the Krusty Sage, over at “Letters from Kamp Krusty” pretty much nailed it. Here’s a sample. Follow the link to read the post in its entirety.

It’s your job to shelter, pops.  And if you think the mindless entertainment/consumption lifestyle is somehow “the real world”, the Krusty Sage is going to get out of his big, awesome, wooden chair and hit you with it.

Interested? Read it here.

Our prayers for you are always spilling over into thanksgivings. We can’t quit thanking God our Father and Jesus our Messiah for you! We keep getting reports on your steady faith in Christ, our Jesus, and the love you continuously extend to all Christians. The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by hope. Colossians 1:3-5