Our newest "resident"

This week we discovered a new resident on our 110 acres of land. "There's an armadillo in the tree," was the first indication that something new and exciting was going on outside. I went out side to see one of the gardeners at GSF climbing a tree and asking for a stick. The gardener saw it in the tree and knew it wasn't harmful to humans so decided to show it to Titus, Eli and Henry. It drew quite a crowd and as you can see it was a little nervous and probably regretted deciding to live at an orphanage. The picture below is when it got knocked on to the ground and realized it was surrounded by screaming children.




What is it you ask? It is not an armadillo but a pangolin. I am guessing by the looks of it that it is the tree climbing variety.


Thought I would also add pictures of 2 of the brave Gwartney crew who were willing to touch it. A special thank you to Debbie Rohrer and Caralina for the fabulous pictures!

Special Girls

Before we moved to Uganda, I had not interacted much with special needs kids. I didn't think I really had a heart for them and definitely not an understanding. Once our family arrived here, I began to get to know these special kids and now have such a love for them and a passion for their livelihood. They are incredible kids who deal with difficult situations but so often have a smile on their face. I have learned such valuable lessons through them. Mark and I have become convinced that these kids teach a whole lot more to all of us here at GSF than any of us could ever give to them. Thought I would share some of my favorite photos of the 4 special needs girls here at GSF. These girls are some of my favorite people in the world.

GSF Babies

Caralina is our master photographer in our home right now. She absolutely loves taking pictures and loves babies even more! Here are some recent photos she has taken of the babies at GSF. I love looking at the smiles and chubby faces. All of these kids have come to GSF because of difficult situations and it is beautiful to me to see their bright eyes full of hope. Praise God!

A note on the last little guy. . . He arrived at GSF a month ago severely malnourished but is doing very well and growing as you can see from his fabulous smile!

One of these kids doesn't look like the others. . .

I have a picture of my T-man but you have to try to spot him. This is very common place for our little guy who in May this year will have spent 1/3 of his life in Uganda. And when you hear him playing and talking with his friends you would never it was a little boy born in the Mid-South of the US of A.

I love spending one on one time with my kids! Unfortunately, with 90 other kids around this time doesn't happen as often as I would like. Mark and I have to carve this time out. This last weekend I had such an opportunity to take Megan, our middlest, out by myself. She and I had a great time at a resort 20 minutes from our house. This picture is of us next to Lake Victoria.

Clinics and Babies

In January we had a medical team come to visit and hold a clinic at GSF. The team was small so many of us lent a hand. Mark, along with overseeing the event, was called upon to do malaria tests and Caralina worked in the pharmacy, vitals and also just walked around and held babies (her favorite thing to do!). I caught this shot and loved it thought you would too!

SWEET!

Here's a picture of two GSF girls who have been "transplanted" to America. One was adopted a year and a half ago and one just arrived this week. God is so good to allow us to watch His plan in each of the GSF kids' lives.

Long Overdue Christmas Pictures

We have stories and pictures to share but sometimes very little time in which to share it. Mark and I both realized today how quiet we have been in updating everyone over the last two months. So we will start by sharing some fun pictures from Christmas!