Okay so too much time has passed since I was able to write on here due to some technical difficulties with our internet in the house and too little time is left before I have to leave!!! So here is an update post about what has been going on, what we have done, where we have been and a few more favorite things.
I have gotten to work a few more workshops and events which has been awesome and I really love how hands on I get to be. We went to Art Walk in Carthage which is a near by town and we had an area to do a craft and we also did face painting. That was so fun/interesting because it is so great to watch the kids try and sit as patiently as possible while I paint their face to transform them into some creature or super hero or butterfly. Some kids knew exactly what they wanted while some were unsure and their overbearing parents decided what they were going to get. Not a fan of that so much. I haven't facepainted in a while so some of my designs were not as clean cut as the google images I was looking up for reference but that didn't matter one bit to the kids because the second I flipped that mirror around to show them their facial creation they lit up with so much joy and excitement. That was a blast.
We also have been going to Children's Haven every weekend. This is a wonderful place where children can go if their family is dealing with some kind of traumatic experience or crisis for a period of time without having to go into the foster care program. We have been working with littler ones because it's at 9am on a Saturday and any older kids who are there are usually still asleep. We have done coloring and foam sticker creations and water color with kool-aid. One of my favorite memories was when I was spending some one on one time with this little boy who was probably two. The staff said that he had just gotten there a few days ago and they hadn't been able to get him to say anything. Not all two year olds have a working vocabulary or can even repeat what you say so I wasn't too surprised. As soon as he got a marker in his hand he started singing this little tune to himself and started to babble like non other. When he pulled the marker cap off all by himself I said "Wow! You did it!" and his face lit up so much and he said 'WOW!!' My heart melted. Every little thing that boy did made me smile. So precious.
So some new places that I have been are Landrith Park which is where we went for 4th of July, Springfield, MO, Arkansas, and Ha Ha Tonka State Park. They were all so cool but Ha Ha Tonka was probably my favorite. There is an old ruin of a castle there but the coolest part is this natural huge rock bridge. It almost brought me to tears. The amount of layers making up this beautiful wonder was astonishing. I can't even use enough words to tell you how incredible this place is. Just wow. Really made me remember how small I am in this world.
