Emma's First Day

We survived!  Our first day of preschool at home went really well, and Emma and I both enjoyed ourselves.  Here's a little peek at Emma's very first day of school.  (If you want the short version, just scroll down through the pictures.  They pretty much tell the story.)

I had to take the classic first day of school picture on the front steps.  (Okay, so my child wasn't actually going anywhere - or even wearing shoes for that matter - but I think it's still a special memory.)

We started off with singing.  (Emma kept insisting that singing is not part of school.  Thanks, expert preschooler.)  After that we read a camping story together (Henry and Mudge and the Starry Night).  

There's a place in the story where Henry's mom builds a campfire, so Em and I used sticks collected from the yard to make our own campfire.  Emma even pulled out her play food and cooked some plastic sausage in one of our campfire cookers.  Emma was more excited about cooking than making letters with the sticks, but she did a little bit of that too.  Here she is making an "I".

I wanted to set aside a few minutes for Emma to read/look at books on her own.  She's not the best at staying focused when she's reading on her own (as in, not good at reading for more than 3.7 seconds).  I thought we could start with five minutes of quiet reading and go from there.  

We went in the tent and each read our own books.  The timer rang after five minutes, and Emma didn't want to stop reading.  She looked at books (especially the Henry and Mudge book) for more than twenty minutes.  I was totally surprised and thrilled.  If a love of reading is the only thing Emma takes away from our school time together, I will be completely satisfied.

When Em was done with her books, we read a poem about fireflies together.  Emma used a pointer to find the title and several letters in the poem.  (She loves her "hand thing" as she calls it.)  We also turned the lights off, closed the windows, and clicked flashlights on and off as we read about fireflies clicking their lights on and off again.

For math practice, Emma counted out frogs onto pond mats.  Numbers have been more difficult for her to master than letters.  We're focusing on 1-5 this month; she's got 1, 2, and 3, but she's not quite there with 4 and 5.  (If you have some fun ideas for practicing numbers, please send them my way!)

By the time we finished math, Emma was ready for a snack break.  She counted out the ingredients to make friendship trail mix.  Here she is with chocolate on her face and all the super healthy yummy ingredients in the background.

We finished up with "The Hungry Bear Game".  I think this was Emma favorite part of the day.  We set out a checkered tablecloth with several camping-related items on it (mug, cooler, flashlight, etc.).  Emma closed her eyes and pretended to sleep in the tent.  While she was sleeping, a hungry bear (a.k.a. Mommy) dragged off one of the items.  When Emma woke up, it was her job to figure out which item had been stolen.  Then it was Em's turn to be the bear.  I think she would have played this game all day long.

For the science portion of our camping unit, we're talking about ponds.  Today we took a mini field trip to a nearby pond.  Emma used her binoculars to look for wildlife.  We actually saw turtles, a frog, and a killdeer.  Check out my little biologist.

After visiting the pond, we headed to a friend's house.  My friend asked Emma what she'd learned during school.  Emma's response was, "We played a game, and a bear stole stuff."  

Okay, so clearly my OCD lesson plans haven't turned my child into a genius overnight.  But it was fun.  And I got to spend lots of time with my sweet girl.  Total success in my book.  

Home Sweet Homeschool

No, we haven't made the big decision about where Emma will go to school.  The whole homeschool/private school/public school debate is alive and well in our house (and getting more intense as Em's first day of kindergarten approaches at what feels like the speed of light).  I was homeschooled until college and had a very positive experience overall (with a few bumps along the way).  Jeremy went to public school and had a very positive experience overall (with a few bumps along the way).  So we definitely approach the "Where should Em go to school" question from two totally different perspectives.


All that aside, we have decided not to send Emma to preschool for now.  Being the OCD former teacher that I am, I'm getting W-A-Y too excited about doing preschool at home with her.  Our first day of "school" is tomorrow, and I think Emma is just about as stoked as I am.  We're doing a camping theme for the month of September.  Here's a little bit of what I have planned.  (Remember, I warned you about the whole OCD thing. :)


-Songs - We're going to learn a few camping songs that I found on the internet.  (You can't have preschool without singing, right?)  I We might break a few windows, but we'll have fun anyway. :)


-Storytime - I checked out some great books about camping (fiction and NF) from the library.  I'm going to have them out to read with Em and for her to read/look through on her own.


-Poems - I love poetry.  When I taught first grade, the kids had so much fun (and learned lots of reading skills) studying poetry.  This week Emma and I are going to read a poem about fireflies.  I have this plastic hand pointer that she is completely in love with, so she can try using it to follow along with the words as we read aloud.  We're also going to use the poem to practice some other reading skills (identifying letters, rhyming words, etc.).


-Reading Readiness - We're doing a lot with uppercase and lowercase letters this month.  Tomorrow Emma gets to "make" letters out of campfire sticks.  (Twice this week I've been cutting something out and she has stolen the scraps to make letters so I think she's going to love this activity.)


-Math - This month we're working on counting from 1 to 20 (why is 13 so tricky?!?) and identifying the numerals 1-5.  I got some fun frog counters from the library so we're going to try those tomorrow.  We're also going to talk about shapes and sorting/classifying later this month.


-Snacks - Emma loves to bake and cook.  I'm looking forward to making some yummy things with her and practicing math skills at the same time.  Tomorrow we're making trail mix.  Emma has to count ten of each ingredient into her cup (Froot Loops, M&M's, mini marshmallows, raisins, peanuts, and chocolate chips).  Super healthy, I know!


-Crafts!  This week we're making a backpack out of paper grocery bags, fabric, and paint.  Next week is a raccoon puppet. 


I decorated the living room after Em went to bed tonight so she'll be surprised when she wakes up in the morning.  I think she's going to love her reading tent.  (Of course, her OCD mama might not be able to leave it set up in the living room for the entire month of September. :)

Our library has these amazing activity bins that can be checked out and renewed just like books.  I borrowed two: "Camping by the Seashore" and "At the Pond".  Em loves them both.  (Trying to hide them until the first day of school was a total no-go.  I'm going to need to scope out some good hiding spots before I start Christmas shopping.)  Both bins are full of great stuff - puzzles, books, videos, games, and learning activities.  


Em's favorite thing so far is a magnetic fishing activity.  She made up her own game using the plastic camping cups from the camping bin.  (She's matching the colored fish with the colored cups.)

Okay, so there are all my best-laid plans.  We'll see how well things go when I have a real three-year-old student tomorrow.  I'd love to hear from any of you who have done homeschool-ish things for preschool.  For all my OCD planning, I still feel like I have no idea what I'm doing! :)


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I can't end this post without wishing a happy birthday to this beautiful girl.

It's almost impossible to believe that this chunky, curly-haired cutie weighed four pounds and looked like this a year ago...

Happy birthday, sweet Raya!  I'm so glad I get to be a part of your life!

Emma-isms

One of my favorite things about watching Emma grow up is hearing the crazy things that come out of her mouth.  Listening to her perspective on the world makes me wish I could see things through the eyes of a three-year-old for a day.  The way she processes life just cracks me up sometimes.


Emma started talking when she was about a year old.  Some of our close friends had a baby just before Em's first birthday, and Emma was completely enthralled from the first day she met Hailey (who has since grown up to become her best friend/worst enemy all rolled into one).  


From eleven to eighteen months, Em's vocabulary quickly multiplied from "baby" to much more erudite words like "Cheerios", "Elmo", "zebra", and her first phrase "be back!"  Then the fun really started.  Emma finally had enough words to begin expressing her thoughts, feelings, and opinions.  Watch out, world (and Mommy and Daddy)!


Here are a few of my favorite Emma-ims...


Emma: Eighteen...nineteen...tenteen...
Mommy: There's no tenteen; it's twenty!
Emma: TwentyTEEN!


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One morning I sat down to breakfast with Emma and she asked for a chocolate banana.  I had no idea what she was talking about, but she repeated herself again and again.  "Mommy, I have a chocolate nana?"  The first thing that came to my mind was that someone had given Em a banana dipped in chocolate as a treat.  (A certain friend *cough, cough* came to mind as she loves giving Emma everything her heart desires, no matter the number of calories involved.)


Finally Emma offered to show me this mysterious chocolate nana.  She took my hand and led me to the kitchen.  Up on the counter were three bananas I had pulled out of the freezer to use for banana bread.  Sure enough, they were all dark brown - just like chocolate.  "Right there, Mommy," Emma said, "a chocolate nana!"


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Several of our friends have recently had babies, and Emma is very interested in the whole process of growing a baby in one's belly.  For a while this spring, Em had a baby named Mary growing in her tummy who was definitely coming out on Thursday. :)  


A few months ago, we were on an outing to Target (love that store!).  While we were in the car, we were talking about a friend who had recently had a baby girl named Julie.  Emma discussed the fact that Julie had been in our friend's belly but was now out.  At that point I teasingly said something like, "Did you have baby Julie in your belly?"


Emma was horrified and immediately responded with something like, "No, Mom!  I didn't eat Baby Julie!"


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I love this crazy girl and her wild perspective on life!  I'm so thankful for all the ways she makes me smile!

Hugs, Smiles, and S'mores

Jeremy and I are both blessed to have incredible parents.  Our parents are delicious-salsa-making, granddaughter-spoiling, gas-line-fixing (yes, I have a stove again!), Half-Dome-hiking, prolific-peach-canning, Trader-Joe-shopping, long-term-tool-lending, large-bush-digging amazing.  Unfortunately, they live far away.  (In my parents' case, R-E-A-L-L-Y far away.)

We often find ourselves wishing that our parents lived closer.  (What is it about becoming a parent that makes you really appreciate your own parents...and free babysitting?)  And we have tried, on more than one occasion, to convince our parents to buy a house right down the street.  No luck.

So, while we wait for our parents to see the light and realize they have always wanted to live in the middle of a cornfield our beautiful state, we are really grateful for friends who treat us like family.

Friends who pick us up when we're down (or just don't want to walk anymore).

Friends who never run out of hugs.

Friends who make us smile.

Friends who know how to have fun.

Friends who feed us really yummy food.

And then, just like family, make us clean up after ourselves. :)

I can't tell you how thankful we are for the many amazing people - near and far - we can call our friends.  We love you guys!

"A Friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of Nature."- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Such a Jonah Week

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the movie Anne of Green Gables.  As in, I've probably watched it 100 times and might be able to quote the whole thing from memory (kind of like most guys can with Dumb and Dumber, just a lot more sweet & romantic instead of crass & vulgar ;).  There's a scene in the movie where Anne says to her mom, "It's been such a Jonah day".  She meant it had been a miserable, everythingisgoingwrong, howdidIendupinthebellyofawhale? sort of day.  That's been my week.


Here's a little peek into my life the past few days...


FRIDAY - I spent the day doing things like peeling my boneless child (Knuffle Bunny, anyone?) off the sidewalk in front of the bank as I tried get my errands done, pushing a very noisy and creaky shopping cart with a giant plastic car attached to the front in pursuit of the child that just had to ride in the giant plastic car/cart, trying to maneuver my giant car/cart through the self-check line at the grocery store while my child bangs on the "Kroger Job Application Center" computer and a line suddenly materializes behind me that is longer than the line outside the women's restroom at a Taylor Swift concert.  So. not. fun.


SATURDAY - My college roommate asked me to watch her two boys (5 and 2) for the day while she and her husband caught a flight to a conference in Texas.  I had them from 3 to 10ish while her in-laws attended a wedding.  Just before my roommate and her husband took off for the airport, she mentioned that she smelled gas near our dryer.  We ended up having to evacuate (which meant waking my child up from her nap after 45 minutes - bad idea).  My poor roommate had to say goodbye to her boys for four days as they played with a very grouchy Emma in the backyard of a house that was possibly in danger of spontaneous combustion.  (Okay, so maybe it wasn't quite that dramatic.)  Anyway, the gas guy came and found three leaks in our basement, which meant that he had to turn off our gas (all our gas) until we can get the leaks fixed.  So...no dryer.  No stove.  No oven.  The ingredients I endured pushing the monster car/cart to purchase...suddenly worthless (unless someone knows how to make pizza and alfredo on a grill).


SUNDAY - We had our church service outside, followed by a picnic and potluck.  Normally this is one of my favorite Sundays.  Unfortunately, I woke up with the beginning of a sinus infection.  I still managed to wrangle Emma, pack our swim stuff, load up the camping chairs, and put baked beans in the crockpot.  (Confession time: I'm the pastor's wife, and I made Bush's baked beans - yes, from a can - for the church potluck.  Total cooking failure.)  Anyways, I'm thinking things are going pretty well as I zoom off to the potluck and pull into the parking lot ten minutes early.  Turns out I zoomed a little too fast.  As I open the back door, I notice that my crockpot full of beans is now horizontal...and no longer full of beans.  There's about an inch of beans left in the crockpot and about four inches of beans spilled across the back seat.  I let my daughter out of her seat (and she proceeds to jump out of the car and announce to everyone within earshot that, "Mommy spilled beans all over the car!") and start scraping.  There are beans e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e.  In the crack between the seats.  Down the hole in the fabric where the seatbelts come out.  On my camera bag.  The more I dig, the deeper the beans sink.  So, now I'm the pastor's wife whose beans from a can are smeared all over her arms.  Thankfully, only about 300 people notice (thanks to Emma's loud exclamations).  Such a lovely start to my day.


MONDAY - I wake up with more than just a hint of a sinus infection, pop in Toy Story 3, and go back to bed until 10:30.


So, there you have it: my Jonah week.  No dryer.  No oven.  Lots of useless groceries.  One van seat that is still caked with baked bean juice.  But it's okay.  


It's okay because my husband's a great griller.  It's okay because I have awesome friends who offer to take my daughter while my head is exploding.  It's okay because Jonah days (or weeks, or months) don't last forever.  Jonah did eventually end up on the beach after all. ;)


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UPDATE (1-29-12): Brigitte has a family working to bring her home.


On a completely different (and much cheerier) note, I have such a cute girl for you to meet today.  This little one actually had a committed family who isn't able to follow through with her adoption for some reason.


Meet Brigitte...

Is she a doll, or what?  A family who was adopting another child from the same orphanage met Brigitte last year.  Here's what they had to say about her...

"This little girl is adorable! She's very talkative, was quick to tell me her name, age, and ask my name and what I was doing there!   She had a little purse she filled with treasures while outside, often leaves, rocks, sticks.  One day they had chalk and we showed her how to write on a leaf, she quickly ran back and showed all her friends.  She sought us out whenever they were outside and would make a beeline to us with a big smile.   She's such a lively, outgoing girl...I was so excited to see 'Brigitte' on RR! She's just a love and holds a piece of our hearts.  Mine, my husband's, and my sister's.  (She came to finish out the trip with me after my husband left.)  I'm sure if she could just tuck one in her jacket it would have been Brigitte."

Brigitte is four years old and is said to be developing typically.  She is HIV+.  Because she is in the same country we hope to adopt from, she is technically not available for adoption until her fifth birthday next June.  However, if you are interested in Brigitte, this would give you time to complete the paperwork necessary to adopt her, and (hopefully!) the special needs list will expand to include HIV before June.

I actually have a friend who has adopted from Brigitte's orphanage, and she said it is one of the better orphanages.  This region also seems to process adoptions quickly and smoothly.  My facilitator (who is wonderful!) has done adoptions from this orphanage.  If you are interested in adopting Brigitte, I would be more than happy to connect you with my friend and/or my facilitator.

Please let me know if you are interested in more information about Brigitte.  Have a great Wednesday!  I hope it's as beautiful where you are as it is here!

So Worth It!

I'd love it if you would take a minute to read my friend Aislinn's post.   Aislinn and her husband, Andrew, met their daughter today, and she describes it as "pure joy".  (Be warned, you might need a Kleenex.  I did.)

Their little girl, Stacie, has been in an orphanage for four years.  During that time no one - not a single person - has come through the doors to visit her.  Can you even imagine how she felt today when her very own mama and papa came through those doors?  

She went from being one child among so many, sleeping in a room with thirteen beds all lined up in a row.

To being the one child chosen, loved, and pursued by her mama and papa.  What a miracle!

Aislinn and Andrew have been through many of the same challenges that we have experienced.  They were submitted the same day we were and went through the roller coaster of a possible government shutdown.  Their journey - like ours - has not been easy.  But look at Stacie's smile.  It makes every disappointment, every roadblock, every ridiculously early trip to the state capital seem so worth it.

Stacie has been alone in an orphanage for four years of her life because she is HIV+.  Sadly, her story is not unique.  I've gotten to know some pretty amazing adoptive mamas recently.  Their children's stories are so much like Stacie's.  

I know of a three-year-old girl (the same age as my Emma) who learned to laugh when she was sick or hurt because she didn't have a mommy or daddy to cuddle and comfort her.  Her adoptive mom told me that this little girl gets very carsick.  While her family was in her country to adopt her, she would vomit in the car and then laugh and laugh.  How sad that a three-year-old has to protect herself by laughing when she throws up because there hasn't been anyone there to hold her.  

I also know of a little boy who, like Stacie, lived in an orphanage for years without visitors.  When his adoptive parents asked about his name, they learned he was named after the street where he was found abandoned.  

These stories have broken my heart.  

Somehow I used to not know that these things happened.  That children lived in these types of situations - just because there is no one willing to go.  Just because HIV sounds scary.  (If it sounds scary to you, please read this.)  Now I can never forget.  I can never erase these sad pictures from my mind.

The joy on Stacie's face makes me want the same joy for Cole and Rafferty and the many, many other children who are still waiting for their mamas and papas to walk through the doors of their orphanages.  Who are still waiting for someone to hold them when they cry and comfort them when they're sick.

Maybe that someone is you.  

Stacie's story makes my heart hurt for our little ones.  The odds are good that no one is coming to visit them.  No one is celebrating their birthdays.  No one is chasing away the crocodiles at bedtime.  I want to be there with them so badly.  

Please keep praying for the special needs list in our country.  Pray that it will expand soon so that there can be many more faces filled with joy...like this one.

Update on "The List"

If you've been following my blog, you know our adoption is on hold because of a new law passed in the country we hope to adopt from.  This law states that children under the age of five can only be adopted internationally if they are part of a sibling group or have certain special needs (outlined in "The List").  Our country processed adoptions of children under five for everyone who submitted their paperwork in May.  We were submitted June 2, so we just missed the cut-off.  (We are currently approved for two children, ages 0-60 months.)


Unfortunately, the special needs list that was initially released is very limited; it only includes twelve special needs, and most of them are somewhat rare.  Many, many common special needs were not included (things like FAS, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, heart conditions, and HIV).  We have been hearing encouraging reports that indicate there is a big push to expand "The List".  I am stalking my email with my heart in my throat trying to wait patiently for good news.  


Yesterday I got some exciting news from a friend who is also adopting from our country.  Last Friday, the government decided to create a working group to develop a new (and hopefully much expanded) list.  One man who was asked to be part of this group is actually an adoption facilitator who works with many families adopting children who have special needs.  This group will meet for the first time this Wednesday.  Please keep them in your prayers as they make important decisions that will affect a lot of children.  As of right now, I  am not aware of a timeline for the group to release an new list.  Obviously, I'm hoping it will be tomorrow!  (Okay, so maybe that's not completely realistic...)


On a different note, I had a wonderful chat with another adoptive mom this week.  Her name is Megan, and she adopted a precious little girl named Dasha from the same orphanage we will probably be adopting from (you know, tomorrow when they expand the special needs list :).  Megan and her family only live about two hours from us!  She had a very positive experience in country and had many good things to say about this particular orphanage.  The children take music lessons, participate in special holiday programs, and spend lots of time outside. (Sadly, this is not the case in all orphanages.)  


Megan spent about a month visiting her daughter in the orphanage, so she had the opportunity to interact with several of the other children who are still waiting for families.  Hearing her describe these little ones made me so eager to get there!  I am trying hard not to fall in love with a specific child(ren) at this point because there is still so much uncertainty with regard to our process, but it is hard not to give your heart away when you hear another mom share about little ones she wishes she could have brought home.


I mentioned my friend Aislinn in an earlier post.  She and her husband are adopting a precious seven-year-old girl who is HIV-positive.  Their paperwork was submitted the same day as ours, but they are able to travel to get their daughter since she is adoptable under the new law (because of her age).  Aislinn and her husband flew out yesterday evening!  Their appointment with the SDA is tomorrow, and they should meet their daughter by the end of the week.  So exciting!  (And also just a tiny bit heartbreaking because I had so hoped to be traveling with her.)


I know I've said this before, but thank you for sharing in this journey with us.  I'm thankful for every little bit of good news along the way, but I am really looking forward to the day that I can tell you we're on our way to bring our little ones home!