I am most definitely starting to think I am a curse considering the other day at Cunas we got ANOTHER new baby while I was at shift... she is 2 months old except she is a premie so she is teensie!! Once again she was just left at the hospital :( 3 of the kids in Milagros (I realized I have been spelling it wrong this whole time) have strep throat so that is really sad and basically my immune system is going full throttle... haha Brayan was having such a rough time the other day so I rested his head up on my lap and I noticed his fever was really high and by the time I lifted him off, my shirt was all wet from his sweat... I felt so bad!!! He is normally always smiling and lately he just cries all the time. It has been making my day lately though because when I get there for shift Cristian from Casa Esperanza will just yell "mi amigo!!!!" and then he always pats right next to him for me to come sit. He is paralyzed from the waste down, has cerebral palsy and is so much fun to hang out with. Monday at HML Fabiolla named her baby doll after me so that pretty much made my whole life :) hahah It always feels so weird leaving at the end of shifts because there you are doing everything their mom would be doing all day long and then at 6 when it is time to go home you just have to leave them there. I had the hardest time the other day because I had been playing with this tank named Edu all shift long at Cunas and then he was upset about something so I was holding him then all a sudden it was 6 and I had to just lay him in his crib and leave or else the bus would leave me. It just really isn´t fair to them but I guess we just have to make the most of the time we do have with them! So here is how a typical shift goes at Milagros... get there at 7 and feed them breakfast, at about 8 get all the kids out of their wheelchairs and hang out on the mat and do therapies for an hour, 9 to 10 is bath time (exciting) hahah then I do the girls hair and get all of them dressed, 10 we have snack and then until 12 we do an activity (mostly has to do with soccer:)) So there ya have it!! I bought the girls new hair ties the other day because all of theirs had been falling apart and you would have thought it was Christmas. Laurita just kept saying "WOWWW" and wanted to just keep looking at them. Ahh I love her, these kids are the sweetest! All of you will also be pleased to hear that we do in fact have wipes in Cuenca which is a huge blessing! hahah Also, we have been playing cards at night and you will all also be pleased to hear that I am the reigning scum champ! hahah Oh, another cool thing that happened I can´t remember if I already wrote about... but I taught our bus driver Carlos´s son (Carlos Jr) a secret handshake (background information: all the girls are in love with Carlos because he has hair like Uncle Jessie on Full House) and Carlos Jr always has me do it every time I get out of the bus and then the other day as I was getting out Carlos turns around and goes "my turn"! That also made my whole life. hahah just kidding but life in Cuenca is amazing and beautiful!! It´s been such a great experience for me so far and I am loving every second. I am also happy I got to skype my poppy tonight:) A few times every day I feel horrible for not always appreciating the little things and my family and friends growing up and realize how important it is for me to remember all of these reality checks I have been having. I also know that my mom Anne has been along on this adventure with me this entire time and that´s such a blessing.  I love you all a lot and can´t wait to give you all big hugs when I get back!! Nicole
PS thanks to Aunt Lisa I just filled up the whole journal she gave me, and the picture in it meant a lot:)