You asked for something you wanted! A food item! In a public place! A banana at Target for the win!! You asked for the one particular food I absolutely cannot stand, but Momma bought you five just for you. Life in our house is pretty simple: crack-cocaine = no; bananas = yes.
Your favorite thing to do right now is an ABC floor puzzle. You think and ponder and sing and try over and over again. Good job, honey. You can do this!
Your favorite thing to do right now is an ABC floor puzzle. You think and ponder and sing and try over and over again. Good job, honey. You can do this!
Your English is coming so fast I don't want to loose track of some of the fun things you are saying in your own special way:
Family = flam-ly
Tomorrow morning = t'morGnig
Dinosaur = dinoSNORE
Helicopter = help-a-cop-er
Bedroom = room-boom
Shower = showNer
Silent Night = psy-EEn-tah (I have no idea why, but you say & sing it this way consistently)
The Lord provided an incredible resource for us this week...a teacher IN the school district who 'just happens' to teach ESL AND is a fluent speaker of Albanian. What?!?! When your school called to report the finding, I squealed and blurted out "well, our family believes in miracles". I do hope your school team sees God's hand over you. It has been my prayer from the beginning that anyone who comes in contact with our little story would see God being glorified. Miracles tend to do that.
You had your initial testing at the school in preparation for your start in a few weeks. Our new Albanian-speaking friend was there to help us out. She was absolutely floored by your English (and apparently how thick your northern Albanian accent is. Little did I know!) You also demolished the initial developmental testing they started with; they quickly had to move up to some more advanced screening. For a girl who has never been exposed to any academics, you are absorbing it pretty darn fast!
I am excited for you over the next few days. You have LOVED all things Christmas over the last month--lights, trees, music, shows, etc. You even loved making and wrapping gifts, but I'm not quite sure you understand the gift RECEIVING. Our budget is small this year so the number and size of gifts should be overwhelming for you, but I do hope your heart understands that the beauty of receiving. This isn't usually something that kiddos need to be taught. MINE is an inborn cry, but you've needed to bury that inclination a long time ago in the orphanage. Nothing was ever truly yours. But now...these gifts are for YOU to keep as long as you want them, simply because you are loved. <3
I am excited for you over the next few days. You have LOVED all things Christmas over the last month--lights, trees, music, shows, etc. You even loved making and wrapping gifts, but I'm not quite sure you understand the gift RECEIVING. Our budget is small this year so the number and size of gifts should be overwhelming for you, but I do hope your heart understands that the beauty of receiving. This isn't usually something that kiddos need to be taught. MINE is an inborn cry, but you've needed to bury that inclination a long time ago in the orphanage. Nothing was ever truly yours. But now...these gifts are for YOU to keep as long as you want them, simply because you are loved. <3
Isaac:
You finished out your school year strong. We got to join you for your all school Christmas sing-a-long and when you spontaneously started using ASL to 'sing' Feliz Navidad with your friends, your teachers (and I!) nearly fell out of our seats!
You've taken your roll at the annoying little brother on with solid commitment. Half of it is so truly well played, I can't really fault you for it: Pounding on the locked bathroom door while your sister is showering and then running, frankly, is funny. Crawling to her side of the car after she has gotten out and locking the door from the inside then getting out on your side--kinda genius. Following her around the house and copying her every move is an oldie but a goodie. Mimicking her Mediterranean hand gestures is down right hysterical....I mean, erm, not kind or respectful, so please stop bugging your sister (at least wait until she is not looking! *wink*)
Sadly, you finished this 9th Week of Family with a case of pneumonia--your first in two years. Poor guy. It hit you fast but you are handling it well. You let me thump on your chest, just like I did when you were a baby, but this time to the sound track of The Greatest Showman--we'll take any win we can.
You finished out your school year strong. We got to join you for your all school Christmas sing-a-long and when you spontaneously started using ASL to 'sing' Feliz Navidad with your friends, your teachers (and I!) nearly fell out of our seats!
You've taken your roll at the annoying little brother on with solid commitment. Half of it is so truly well played, I can't really fault you for it: Pounding on the locked bathroom door while your sister is showering and then running, frankly, is funny. Crawling to her side of the car after she has gotten out and locking the door from the inside then getting out on your side--kinda genius. Following her around the house and copying her every move is an oldie but a goodie. Mimicking her Mediterranean hand gestures is down right hysterical....I mean, erm, not kind or respectful, so please stop bugging your sister (at least wait until she is not looking! *wink*)
Sadly, you finished this 9th Week of Family with a case of pneumonia--your first in two years. Poor guy. It hit you fast but you are handling it well. You let me thump on your chest, just like I did when you were a baby, but this time to the sound track of The Greatest Showman--we'll take any win we can.
Me:
Gift giving is a bit different when on unpaid maternity leave, so you've been making phone calls instead. Like actual phone dialing, voice answering, talking to a real live person for a notable about of time-phone calls. How refreshing! Real conversations with old friends and people you've eager to get to know. This fed your heart and reinforced what Christmas is really about.
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