3 months!

First apple picking trip

This weekend marks three months since our girls came home.  Hard to believe that is was only 90 days ago that we were collapsing into bed, exhausted, after a whirlwind trip to pick up Naomi and Joanna.  It is amazing to see how far they have some since then.
 Here are a few notable changes.....
1.  Creole is sometimes sung, but no longer spoken by either of the girls-it is all English all the time.  Since singing is such a big part of who they are, the girls are still acquiring enough English songs to fill their queue.  Creole songs still flow off the tongue pretty easily. Naomi even has a hard time coming up with a Creole word some of the time.

Annual "everyone jump in the air at the same time" photo with friends

2.  When Naomi came home she could write three letters and one number but did not know the names of any of them. She could count in English to the number 6. Today she can write every letter of he alphabet, name most of them, recite sounds for nearly all of them, writer her name and the names of almost all of the members of the family, She can write numbers 1-30 without help, can read most numbers and has started simple addition.  She tries hard when given a school task.  Oh, and she colors and cuts beautifully!
3.  Joanna's default facial expression is a wide smile with bright eyes.  (Previously it was a sullen or blank stare).
4.  They have each grown 1-1.5 inches taller.
5.  They like fruits and even a few vegetables.
6.  A plate sometimes comes back to the kitchen with food on it-not because it wasn't liked, just because they are full.
7.  The names of friends here in America have replaced the names of friends in Haiti when we play house or play "family"for the most part.  (Stephanie and Stephania will always be close to our hearts)
8.  We have officially documentation that the girls are full citizens of the USA (along with social security numbers after a painful 3 hour trip to the SS office this week!)
9.  Both girls are in love with ballet and can't wait for their class each week!
10. This is home now....and we are all loving being home together.



Unrelated to the previous list, but still a neat experience.....

Last week as a special treat, we rented a movie that Naomi had enjoyed watching in Haiti. "Three Ninjas" was previously unknown by the native Virginian Yoho children so we decided a rental was in order.  As soon as I told Naomi that we were going to watch it she was giddy with excitement.  She immediately rounded up all the kids and started to tell them about all of her favorite parts.  She reenacted several scenes and was literally jumping up and down as she recounted how much the kids would all LOVE this movie.  It was really neat to see her enthusiasm, but the best was yet to come.  We all settled in with popcorn and  as we watched it was hilarious to see Naomi's response to the film.  Though she had seen it many times before, this time she had quite a base of English language under her belt.  She laughed at parts that she never knew were funny before because she had not understood the words.  It was a real treat to see her discover this movie all over again.  We had a three day rental so, of course, the kids watched it three days in a row and since then they have been reenacting the film as a group......this was such a joy for me.  I know it might seem silly, but seeing all of the kids enjoy the same movie together, and seeing Naomi be the one who had the prior knowledge this time was just a great gift.  The Lord continues to provide for us in the big and in the small things.  I love the way he is making us a family.  I love the way he is helping us to find comfort, forgiveness, courage, joy and contentment in each other.  Looking forward to what the next three months will bring!

First day of homeschool co-op!