Medina Life | Amy Medina

Another peek into the lives of our crazy kids at their amazing school.

Book Week

You can’t tell parents, “Take pictures of your kids reading in unusual places,” and not expect Gil to go all out.

Yes, we really do have a glow-in-the-dark bathroom….and they are reading in it.

Book Character Day: We’ve got Despereaux, King Peter, and Angelina Ballerina. We tried hard for Josiah to be Reepicheep, so that they would all be mice, but he wouldn’t hear of it.

Masai Day in First Grade

Kindergarten’s Trip to the Farm

Learning to milk a cow

Poetry Recital in Third Grade

Medieval Day in Third Grade

Football!

Gil coached after-school primary football this term, and Grace and Josiah both participated. He organized an intramural tournament at the culmination, and Grace’s team ended up defeating Josiah’s team. Oh, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat!

GOAL!!!

Celebrating their victory!

Service Emphasis Week

SEW is one of the best things about HOPAC! This is Grace’s class (and some Big Kids) off to visit a local orphanage.

Sporting their SEW Week shirts

Enchanted? This incredible school still has staff openings for the next school year!

Six

By Amy Medina

On February 13, 2015

In Other

Milestones are important in adoption.

Last February, when Lily turned five, that meant she had lived with us for the same amount of time that she had lived in the orphanage.

So last week, when Lily turned six, that meant the scales have tipped in our direction. She’s now spent the majority of her years as a Medina. That’s a good feeling.

As amazing as her orphanage was, she still was without a family for two and a half years. We still feel the effects of that, and she is still struggling to overcome some of that learned behavior. But we see progress, and it’s always worth it.

Lily doesn’t do big crowds very well, so we celebrated with just one friend and her family. She also doesn’t do well with all eyes on her, as you can see below.

She’s a beautiful little girl, and she’s ours.

Tropical Christmas Season….in Pictures

By Amy Medina

On December 26, 2014

In Other

Just in case there’s any question as to what we are dealing with down here under the equator, here is the proof:

Please don’t be jealous of us. I’m not.

But here’s our Christmas season, sweat and all.

We don’t do Santa, but Josiah took it upon himself to put this together. Yes, there’s a pillow under his shirt and yes, that’s a sock hanging from his mouth.

This is what happens when you buy a box of Christmas lights, and the writing on the box is all in Portuguese. It’s not actually a string at all, but more like an octopus of lights. Eventually, we sort of just draped it on the tree.

HOPAC’s Annual Christmas Fair

This is Apollo, the incredibly talented and radiant deaf man who made our Christmas cards from banana leaves.

HOPAC’s annual Christmas production. The kindergarteners always steal the show.

First graders were Jamaican. You had to be there to get it.

HOPAC alumni visiting us….always such a joy to our hearts!

As a Christmas present this year, we took our workers and their families to the water park. Even though it’s just a few miles away and about $4 a person to enter, they had never been. It was such a joy to see the absolute delirious excitement on the kids’ faces!

This is Clara…my current househelper’s baby. Clara comes to work sometimes with her mama. I LOVE HER and I just might be compelled to steal her.

Annual gingerbread house making. Not from kits!

Aaaand…when you don’t have snowballs, you use water balloons.

Christmas morning. I miss my Daddy.

Meeting their new cousin for the first time.

“Love is what I got from you guys. Family is what I got when I came to you.”

Christmas afternoon and evening with wonderful friends. (Lily is giving the dog a piece of her mind.)

Not family, but still wonderful. We are so blessed.

God with us….How glorious is that? What a wonderful thing to celebrate!

9 (Almost), 7, and 5

By Amy Medina

On December 22, 2014

In Other

Zawadi and family joined us for this photoshoot, so I thought I’d add a couple of them in here for those of you who have followed her story.

Game face. And no, it’s never quiet around here.

Those Kids: Term 1 at HOPAC

By Amy Medina

On December 22, 2014

In Other

Lily and friends during Pamoja Week (kind of like Spirit Week)

Grace joined the swim team….this is at her first Gala!

Kindergarteners are always excellent at walking in line

Grace in her Term 1 assembly

(This is one of my favorite parts of HOPAC….each class takes a turn each term to put on an assembly. By the time they get to fifth grade, none of the kids have stage fright and all are completely comfortable performing!)