My Little Kosi {Tuesday, March 31}

Kosi (Co-see) is a three-year-old boy here at Agathos. He is Flo’s little boy and everyone loves to play with him. He’s got big cheeks and big brown eyes and is one of those extroverted children that already has such a personality to him. He likes to swing, ride in the wheelbarrow, and repeat everything you say. I tried to teach him “I’m really cute” which usually comes out “I’m coot!” The other day he threw a temper tantrum when he didn’t want to finish his second jelly sandwich (I don’t blame him). It was so cute I videotaped it. I know, terrible parenting prep, but I had to.

This afternoon we did a lot of manual labor help around the Agathos cottages. Last week the Wheaton College (Illinois) football team came over their spring break and built a new playground for the kids and a fence that goes around the entire Agathos property. They must have worked non-stop all week. Today our boys helped tear down the old barbed wire fence and posts while the girls cleaned all of the rocks out of the playground and filled in holes under the fence. I discovered how terribly out of shape I am. Later this week the boys will be painting the main entrance gate while the girls paint a bathroom and organize some storage rooms.
This week we are eating all of our meals (except breakfast) with the kids here. It gives me a greater understanding of day-in-day-out life here at Agathos. I feel bad for the kids because most of the older girls will tell me how much they dislike most of the food. Their diet is basically all carbs and beans. For example, tonight we had two full peeled potatoes, potato salad, sweet potatoes, fried chicken breast, spicy refried beans, and canned peaches. And you have to eat it all or else you are disrespectful. Have you seen those ESPN eating competitions on tv? I feel like I’m on it when I eat here. You have to eat pretty fast or you literally get stuck mid-meal because you realize how full you are. Dinner time is definitely my most-dreaded part of the day.