Meet our new children – December 2021

In December 2021, Humanity Home brought in three little girls.  Meet Esther, Serfin and Tamara.  Esther and Serfin are sisters, ages 6 and 3.  Tamara is also 3.  I do not like to discuss or show the abject circumstances in which we found these children.  Let me just say that, when we went into both of the previous homes of these children, Judy and I, who have seen a lot, looked at each other and took the Lord’s name in vain.

Tamara has been a challenge, but she has improved tremendously.  When she first arrived, she would frequently cry, for no discernible reason, in the most annoying, loud whine that you can imagine.  Often, this was at bedtime when everybody was tired.  She didn’t initially respond to affection and all the parental tricks that usually engage children.  She did not have any idea how to appropriately seek attention or what to do with it when she got it.  We realized that this child had probably never had anyone show her appropriate love and attention in her life.  A combination of ignoring her whining and constantly offering love and attention has changed her a lot already.  She can now engage in play and games, even rough-housing, and knows how to initiate such things and appropriately seek and respond to attention.  She has improved even more with the start of preschool. Tamara has some physical challenges.  She has a clubfoot and a deformity of one wrist, and a facial droop on her left side.  We had surgery performed on her foot.  Whether or to what extent the clubfoot is corrected remains to be seen.  Services for kids with special needs are sparse around here, to put it kindly, so even getting her thoroughly evaluated is problematic.

Serfin is one of those kids who just makes me say “Oh my God, where did this little sweetie even come from?” I cannot look at this child without bursting into a smile. At bedtime, she likes being tucked in with Esther and she sings “You are my sunshine …” which was about the only English she knew. Her version is “You are my shunsine.” Then she starts a chorus of “Goodnight, Dad.” She loves to find an adult, curl up in their lap, and take a nap. She loves to eat. Wish I could get a video of her dancing to “Ain’t Your Mama.” She reminds me a lot of LJ, and those two have become fast friends.

Esther is a great big sister for Serfin and loves being in the mix with the other kids in the house. She is quite the dancer. After bedtime, I hear her and Serfin in their room chattering and giggling, but I just don’t have the heart to tell them to quiet down. She is a perfect mixture of cuteness and spunk. She is a great addition to our family and I cannot wait to watch her grow.