Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Wordless Wednesday: Looking Forward to 2015


Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Dr Nelson and Dr Mark

Children love to play at being grown-ups.  The activities that they imitate in their play-sessions give a real insight into their experience of life.  Many children enjoy pretending to cook, or shop, or fix the car...


Gan Lu caught Nelson and Mark having a sweet little 'check-up'.  Dr Nelson knew just what to do with the stethoscope.


Then it was Mark's turn to be the doctor, and he didn't seem quite so sure what to do.  Nelson had to help out...


Dr Mark lost interest in using the stethoscope and had a think about alternative treatments for his patient.


Uh-oh, it looks like he thinks surgery is necessary!


Good playing, boys - what a fun check-up.


Monday, December 29, 2014

The Best of 2014

2014 is almost over and it has been our usual special mixture of amazing/busy/fun/tough!  It’s not easy to narrow down the blog posts, so we’ve cheated just a little, and we hope you’ll enjoy this little look back at the year.  Click the links to read the posts that you missed (or want to enjoy again!).

2014 was full of…

‘Hello’s and ‘Goodbye’s

So many arrivals and departures, sometimes even 'two by two'.  Do you remember when Eli, Charlotte AND Judah arrived


Matching!

Hearing that a child has been matched with their forever family is one of our favorite things, and we've been able to enjoy playing 'the asterisk game' more than 20 times this year!
Matching Madness , when seven kids got matched in seven days, was so awesome.  And Lucy/Hannah's big news...?  Happy tears!


Happiness

There is plenty of happiness around here, even in the midst of medical struggles and painful loss.  There is a whole lot of Happy crammed into this video, and this one, featuring some fun glimpses of more than 30 New Day graduates.

Friendship

Some beautiful friendships blossom here...do you remember reading about Adam and Annabel? Enjoying the adorable pictures of Hope and Iris?  


Kindness

We get to see a whole lot of amazing kindness and generosity too.  There is the very touching story of a a very special gift for Talia, and another thoughtful person sent some special sand that has been very well-used in therapy sessions.  Our volunteers are so generous with their time, like when Denise gave up six weeks to be here, being just what Iris needed.


Fun Field Trips

New Day is a wonderful place, but sometimes it's good to good to take the kids out to experience the big wide world.  Do you remember 'Swagman' (a.k.a. Seth)'s Field Trip to the wildlife park?  How about the time we picked (and ate) strawberries?


Delicious Food

Also on the subject of eating, plenty of food has been enjoyed in 2014!  Austyn tried his first lollipop, cake was eaten in therapy sessions, and there was a wonderful chocolate picnic. Yum.

 

Amazing People

This year on the blog we've shone a spotlight on some incredible heroines (and heroes) - the hospital nannies and our foster families.


Answered Questions

As well as telling you all about nannies and foster families, hopefully we've now also told you everything you ever wanted to know about adoption from New Day and our children's names!  Please let us know if you have any topics that you would like us to address on the blog in 2015.


The New Day Song

A blog year would not be complete without a beautiful guest blog post by former long-term volunteer and blog writer, Carrie.  From The New Day Song:

"Each time I come back to this place, the faces of the children are new – but the song is the same. It's a song of hope and redemption and restoration.  A song that says while the past may be full of bitterness, brokenness, and tragedy, today is a New Day and it is worth singing about.  A song that says though the world might see these children as beyond hope, worthless, even discarded, they have value and unimaginable worth."

Here's to more hope and redemption and restoration in 2015.  We look forward to telling you all about it!
Sunday, December 28, 2014

NDNorth: A Christmas Miracle

When Rina first arrived into our care she was a very sad little girl....


...and so you can hardly imagine what an encouragement it was to arrive at the orphanage and see THIS:


Rina literally smiles on demand now. "Smile, Rina" is all we have to say and she lights up. 


She knows she is loved! All we have to do to get her to smile is to make eye contact, say her name, touch her or kiss her. 


From the broken little one who stared so sorrowfully at the camera, to a precious little girl who knows that she is precious, we have witnessed an incredible transformation. 


It's a Christmas miracle, performed beautifully by our loving nannies. They chose her - saw the broken pieces in her heart and determined to do what they could to help heal her heart. They loved her, intentionally and tenderly. Rina is becoming a new child, and we cannot wait to watch our little flower blossom.
Saturday, December 27, 2014

NDSouth: Knitted with Love Care Packages


We always get excited when a new Care Package arrives!


And this one was no different!  We opened it not knowing what was inside......


And to our surprise ~ It was the cutest baby hats ever!


I don't know who had more fun...the children or the Ayis?


And o.h m.y g.o.o.d.n.e.s.s these tiny sandals!


We had to at least try one hat on Thad...and you HAVE to admit, he makes it work!

Thank you to our wonderful supporters, and those knitters out there for Care Packages like these!
Friday, December 26, 2014

The Looks On Their Faces

On the day of our Christmas party, the gifts were piled high beneath the trees in the playroom and the preschool.  Where did they all come from?


Shhh, don't tell the kids but the nice guy in the red suit didn't really bring them from the North Pole in a sled pulled by reindeer.  They arrived in packages and boxes, mailed from across the world by generous folk who wanted to put a smile on some little faces this Christmas.


As the children received their gifts, admired the gift-wrap and tore them open, their expressions were a beautiful sight.  So much joy and gladness, and there are A LOT of photographs.


We will post as many pictures as we can over the coming days of the kids opening and enjoying their gifts, but here are just a few to give you a glimpse...


It looks like Austyn was rather impressed with this gift, doesn't it?!


Millie quickly figured out a fun game with some of her new toys.


Look out for some big scrapbooks of photos on our website and Facebook page soon.

To all who sent gifts for the children, a very big THANK YOU from us and them. You helped to make their Christmas special!
Thursday, December 25, 2014

NDSouth: A Very Merry Christmas


Merry Christmas Everyone!  

Today was a wonderful day filled with love, family & friends.  Blessings & reminders of the true meaning of Christmas were everywhere.  We are so excited to share with you our Christmas!  

It all started like this......



 Yes Polly!  Christmas is finally here!


Bing Bing wasn't sure what to make of all the fuss, with this being her 1st Christmas after all.


But soon there came a knock at the door, and all the children were so excited when they saw WHO it was!


 It was Santa and his helpers!  Who happen to look a lot like our Staff here....hmmm interesting!


Well Chloe was sure excited to see all the new toys!


Noelle wasn't quite so sure about this Santa, she snuggled with Anna in her Ayi's arms


Naomi loved opening her presents!  Doesn't she look so pretty in her new pink dress?



Noelle decides that this 'familiar' face is okay.


Hayden was so excited for all the gifts, new toys!


 The children received a new kitchen to play with!


Noelle's favorite toy is this new walker!


Lulu, Naomi and Hayden loved the kitchen and were very busy checking out all the bells and whistles!


I agree Polly, this was a very 'Jingly' Christmas indeed.


Noelle paused just long enough to show off her beautiful Christmas Dress!


Lulu looks festive in her Christmas Dress!  Is that coffee you're serving Lulu?


Naomi, you are a great piano player!


Anna's Ayi showing her how this new toy works!


 Look at her go!


Don't be mislead by Evelyn's expression, she was in awe taking it all in!


They were playing with their new kitchen right up until bedtime!  We are so thankful for the generosity of our sponsors that allows us to buy these awesome gifts!


Doesn't Hayden look cool in his Christmas clothes.


Chloe loves the new piano that transforms from a sitting position into a standing one, perfect for our kids.

Thank you everyone for the generosity that makes this day so fun for the children.