i got out of the city and took a trip north, which i have to tell you was fabulous, wonderful and gorgeous.  however, as a result i am very behind on my blog!

i took a video on saturday afternoon, thinking i'd just put it up quickly for you to enjoy while i get my trip photos in shape. and by in shape, i mean i have to go thru hundreds. 

however, with the internet here moving at glacial speed, it took a day and a half for the video to upload. i am not kidding.  

but, the good news is that it did load, so here it is and really i hope you enjoy.

it was just a normal crazy saturday here, with lots of kids around.  it was a nice bright day, so i also filmed a bit of the jungle over our back wall.  

this is mostly the birth home play yard walking past my basement apartment with just a bit of the baby home and the lovely miss editha, who lives there and is 9 years old making an appearance at the end. i tend to not take too many videos in the nursery.  when i watch them back it is pretty much not as sweet as i saw it.  there is usually someone crying in the background, someone just spit up and someone is coughing or sneezing out something gross.  i wish i was kidding!

i'll close with some adorableness that i shot for you while they were all sleeping.

thanks everyone for being in touch!  

xoxo      jo

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OKQ3VEREVPo&feature=em-upload_owner

okay, and you know i have to add this halloween cuteness of miss mackinac.

love her!!

not so fun these days at the little children's home.

all 6 of our little ones in the nursery are ill with fever and really bad coughs. 

4 went to the doctor yesterday, all have chest infections. the other two are sick today, as well.

adding medication dosing and breathing treatments every two hours for 6 little ones is a challenge to the staff.  the staff of one and then me when i am here to help.  

add the vomiting and diarrhea that goes with it, and we are all pretty weary.  they all just want and need to be held.  we've had extra hands come over when they can, but you just can't do enough for the little babes.

little ezra was struggling to breathe last night, it scared me to see and hear him.  i've never seen a baby that sick.  but he was on antibiotics and getting breathing treatments - going to the hospital is a whole additional trauma here,  so we just kept a close eye on him and today he is still sick, but breathing much better.

all are in good hands and all are on the mend, but please say your prayers that we all get thru this quickly!  and that it doesn't go thru the toddlers and big kids upstairs.

***I CHANGED A SETTING HERE SO THAT ANYONE CAN LEAVE A COMMENT.  PLEASE DO SO, but if you don't sign in, please tell me who you are.  thanks!!

also, just for you, dee kuster, i think i got rid of the dumb robot verification step.

i'll throw a few random pics for you all -  here we go in no particular order!!

xoxo     jo

they are adding a story to the house where i live.  they had the supplies delivered and just mixed it in the street.

a street in manila that we randomly turned down, trying to get downtown to take some kids to the doctor.

one of the kids going to see the doctor.   turns out we had some scabies.  sigh.

my lunch.  a fish from the ocean who's name i could not retain.  and okra, who's taste i could not enjoy.

 two packages from the states that arrived on the same day.

this was a place in the mall where we were having some photos printed for the children's lifebooks. these are beautiful scrap books that document the time the kids spend here, which they take with them when they are adopted.  anyway, i took this for you because of the religious statue on the wall, but do check out the crazy photo below. oh, philippines!

this is the office in the baby home.  i just love that there are two keys next to the phone. the real keys were lost long ago and we unlock the office by sticking a fork in the doorjam and jimmying the knob.

isabell and jeri at a bazaar booth where we were promoting the birth home and the baby home.

the very first baby i held this day, did this to me.  niiiiice.

this denotes that yes, we are in the rainy season.

adorable baby ezra.

my adorable granddaughter mackinac, whose mommy sends me pictures and videos every single day.

i know i'm partial, but she is beautiful, right?!

bye for now, and don't forget to leave a word.  :o)

oh man, i took a whole bunch of pictures at the legazpi market down in makati one sunday and i just don't know what to do about posting them.  i'm usually better about editing, but i hate to eliminate any because i think they are all interesting and unique! decided i should just throw them all up here and let you go thru them. 

i'll put a little map first, so you can see where the market is and where i live.  it is a short walk from the union church of manila where we go to church.  it's a long way to travel for church, but this market is one of the reasons it's nice getting down in to the city once a week.  

i've had lunch a couple of times, gotten fruit, buy bread here every sunday, bought a present for mackinac this trip.

so, remember you can select any photo and it will open up full size if you want to zoom in and snoop.

if you see something you want, you have a personal shopper in manila, so just make a list!

this is funny because it says 33 minutes. on sunday morning, it takes us nearly an hour.  on a weekday morning 2 1/2 hours.  or if it's raining or just because, maybe 3 or maybe 6 hours. wish i was kidding.

the market is the red dot, i live straight west of it on the blue dot in taytay.

 this is coffee.

 these are beautiful, hand-knit children's clothes.

these bags are made using bicycle tires

hand woven rugs.

i pretty much love everything at this booth.

 going to have to check this out, those rolls in the front are cocoa. and do read the sign.

want. this is what you need to remember at the market. there is pretty much no need, but there is a good deal of want!

harboring a secret crush on this man, don't you think he's adorable?

also could buy out this vendor. all of these items are made from water buffalo horns.  some are wood with inlaid horn.  just really beautiful work.

would empty my wallet at this booth if beth lived in a subtropical climate!!   beautiful healthy plants. stevia too!

had to include the raw meat on a giant hook photo. note the man in the left foreground who is waving a little stick with straw on it to keep away the flies.  uhhhh.

fresh, beautiful and a stunning variety of seafood.

 i just love the business card holder here.

this fellow, please do zoom in and check him out, must be 70 years old. takes plastic sunglasses and decorates them up with wire and other zany stuff.  love his smile!!

please check out the list of chores on the 'my responsibility chart'.  charming and hilarious.

taste of home?

 something for everyone?

love this.

no need for a doctor, just drink this.  relieves both arthritis and flatulence.

 again, water buffalo, but this time it is milk.  definitely going to get some, word is that it's fabulous.

 this fellow, not sure what he is doing, but i did want to point out his socks.

remember your math, P130 is about $2.98.       

shorts.

here is where i buy bread, from this french baker.  this beautiful young lady hand slices it.  and when you come back in in 10 minutes, or maybe an hour and 10 minutes, they remember which loaf is yours and just hand it over.

 hmmm, one more shot of mr adorable, because i love the colors here.

this day, i finally got the chocolate milkshake that i had been lusting after for weeks. as a super bonus, this young fellow was dishing out ice-cream samples for a very demanding man.  every time he asked for a sample, he had to wait because my new friend gave me one too.

typical. i had a hard time getting candid pics, because if they caught your eye, this was the result.  however, i would be proud too, because his product is beautiful, wouldn't you say?

 no, dee kuster, i have not tried the fried pigeon.

 if you keep reading, you do eventually get to something that sounds familiar!

you see the beautiful stuffed fish in the bottom left.  it was just taken off the grill and was immediately purchased and wrapped in a leaf.  banana leaf, i'm guessing.   you see in the very top of the photo, there is a table where a woman's full time job was cutting the leaves for cooking, displaying and packaging.

this is the beautiful and wonderful ate helen.  you've heard me talk about her because every weekday she makes a yummy filipino traditional lunch for us at the birth home.  many of our midwives earn extra money by knitting scarves which are sold at the market. this day, ate helen was staffing the booth.  and modeling the merchandise!

well, hope you get an idea of how i spend my sunday afternoons.

xoxo jo