"I'm thankful for Five!"

The birthday girl!!

On Thanksgiving we always write in a little journal and tell what we are thankful for.  Even the youngest children participate by having their quotes written down. This year Joanna told Abigail to write that she is thankful for five. (by which she meant that she is thankjful that she would soon have a birthday)  Her birthday, celebrated today, is actually tomorrow.  She has been looking forward to turning five for a while now.  This being her first birthday with us, we decided to do up a big themed party with friends and family.  Her only wishes were for Cheetos and chocolate cake.  What an easy girl!!

So, today we celebrated our baby girl turning five with a Minnie Mouse birthday.  When she was asked at church this morning how old she was she replied that she was four, but that after lunch she would be five.  (that is when her party was so in her mind that was the turning point!)  She loved every minute of her birthday party.  She enjoyed the people who came to see her.  She loved having her cousins and friends play party games with her.  She delighted in the fun of musical chairs-minnie mouse style!  And she couldn't have been happier as she ate her cake and cheetos.   She was a champ at opening presents and holding them up for all to see, and made me proud when she used delightful manners to thank her guests personally after each gift that she opened.  All of that was followed up by some time on the trampoline since the weather allowed for outside play time!

Playing games with friends

As Joanna played games with friends and ate cake and had a great time, we praised God for the work he is already doing in her life.   I thanked him for giving her life and health.  I praised him that she knows the love of a father on earth and prayed that one day she would accept the love of her Father in heaven.  I marveled at the crowd of people who gathered around her to celebrate with her-the ones who prayed for her before they ever knew her; the ones who loved her before they ever saw her; the ones who accept her for who she is and who will continue to walk alongside her as she grows.  I thanked God for five short months with her and wondered how things would be five more years from now.  I welled up at the joy of being called "momma" by this little tiny girl that we call Joanna.

Chocolate cake with chocolate ice cream makes for a happy girl

Today was a really fun day of celebrating a really fun little girl.  It was even more fun celebrating with this little girl because she is OUR little girl.  Joanna, we love you to pieces.  You bless our lives-all 7 of us!  Happy birthday sweet girl!!!

Thanksgiving and Five Month Update!

Bundled up to head out for a Turkey Trot

Happy Thanksgiving!  This seemed like a good time for a blog update since we are celebrating Joanna and Naomi's first Thanksgiving and tomorrow will make 5 months since they arrived at home. 

This week I have been so thankful for God's perfect timing in bring the girls home when he did.  As much as I wanted them here last year for the holidays, I can now see how His timing was perfect.  Today we enjoyed a family Thanksgiving at Papa and Nana's house-we shared a tremendous amount of food, followed by crafts and games, and capped off with a Christmas movie in our pajamas with cousins.  It was a wonderful day of time spent together, just the way a Thanksgiving should be.  

The Turkey Trotters

As I watched the kids today I realized that this day was enjoyable because of God's timing.  The past five months have allowed for language mastery that was needed in order to explain what Thanksgiving is.  The past five months have allowed for trust to build so that family traditions held some appeal for the girls.  The past five months have allowed relationships to form so that the girls are comfortable with their cousins, aunts, uncles, and great grandparents.  

Last year I grieved on Thanksgiving because my heart was divided between two countries.  This year on Thanksgiving God is showing me that His plan was perfect.  As I tucked children into bed tonight I was blessed to hear Naomi praying with Joanna and thanking God for the many ways he has blessed her.  It was a gift to hear her thankful heart-and an even greater gift to see that she credits God with her blessings. 

Our thanksgiving preparations included Joanna making a special project in her co-op class for her mom and dad.  Since her mom is her teacher she insisted that it was for dad.  She even made a card to put on the front.  You can't see it here, but it is just a white piece of paper with "Joanna" written on the front in yellow crayon.  As she handed it to Ryan and told him it was for him she also said, "here is a card.  It says I love you dad."    Needless to say her project is on display in his home office.

Another favorite Joanna story came this week as well.  We were debating last Friday night what we would have for dinner.  I had a meal in mind but after a crazy afternoon it seemed that it might turn into a "Dad's night to cook" sort of evening.  Joanna, hearing us debating, made a  sweet offer.  "Can I make it dinner for you momma?"  How do you say no to that sweetness?  She started with a pot of water on the stove.  Then she found an apron.  

She decided she was making spaghetti. I was curious to see what she would do next.  She opened the fridge and looked inside.  Then she turned to me and said, "Mom, there's no spaghetti in here!"   I think she still needs some more instruction in the kitchen!

It was 65 degrees outside but the hat with ear flaps was "necessary."

Naomi and James made a dynamic bagging duo!

Leaf raking also proved to be a fun adventure this week.  We tried to take as many photos and videos as we could when we went to Haiti.  It was good for the girls to see different things that would be new for them here.  

Did you say broom or bag mom?

Fun new way to get the bags open

Had I known how valuable those video clips would have been, I would have taken many more.  It is much easier for the girls to wrap their minds around and event or an idea that is new to them if they can see how it looks.  They were very excited to go out and rake leaves because they had seen a video from two years ago of the kids making piles, jumping in the leaves,and throwing them around the yard.  

The past two weeks have been peek raking season for us so there has been ample opportunity to rake (and much to Naomi's delights, there have even been "rake for money" days!).   All of the kids working together makes for a quick leaf round up!! Way to go Team Yoho!

Kids illustrating the First Thanksgiving at Giving Thanks day

Our Thanksgiving preparations also included our annual "Giving Thanks" day.  We take an afternoon to give glory to God for the great gifts that we have been given.  We take a few minutes to reflect with friends on the abundant life that we have and we spend some time worshipping together.  As the kids prayed aloud this year it was a great gift to hear our friend Kendall thanking God for Joanna and Naomi in our lives.

 And, because God is  a father who seeks to give good gifts to His children, Naomi and Joanna got to experience a little bit of snow this week.  Naomi was in love instantly and was ready to stay outside in the slushy 1/4 inch of accumulation that we got for hours (but quickly learned the importance of gloves!)   Little things like this make me rejoice even more in my Heavenly Father.  Not only does He prove faithful in the lives of those who have known him and walked with him for many years, but he also shows love and concern for those who are still learning who he is and have yet to fully trust Him.  I am thankful that He is a God who desires to have a relationship with us-all of us-regardless of our age or our birth country.
  Praying that your Thanksgiving has been a great opportunity for you to give thanks to our Heavenly Father.

Progress Report

I don't usually like to single out a child, especially in the area of academic work, but I did feel the need to write a blog post about Naomi today.  She and I have now spent almost 13 weeks together in the classroom.  When she first came to me she could write three letters/numbers. She could not write her name, did not know her letters, and though she could sing the ABC song, the letters were not clearly enunciated so it was hard to tell what she was saying. Oh, and then there was the fact that she spoke almost no English upon entering the country.   I was a little overwhelmed an unsure of  where to start but it became clear we need to start at the very beginning.  (hear Julie Andrews singing in the background here!)

We've plugged away at learning letters, writing letters, counting, writing numbers and more.  (Leap Frog's "Letter Factory" DVD deserves a shout-out here!)  This week, Naomi blew me away.  She tends to surge in her learning.  We will crawl along and just when I think she is not going to get a concept, she'll steamroll right past me and show that she not only has it, but she is ready to move two steps beyond where I was targeting.
Today she took a spelling test using pictures on the white board. This might seem like no big deal, but this child it was huge!  Let me tell you what it took to get here:  she had to learn the letters, and their sounds as well as how to write them; she had to learn how to say a word slowly and break it into sounds to hear each part; she had to learn the vocabulary needed to recognize a picture; she had to learn to trust her teacher and be willing to try a task without assistance; she had to know that her classmates would not laugh at her for making a mistake; she had to learn that trying hard results in a job well done that makes a person feel good.  I was thrilled to see the white board looking like this today!

Shortly after that she sat with me and read a story-a whole story! (Ignore the weird coding in the picture below-it really is a great reading program!)  The she wrote a little story about her friend Brian (who apparently likes to play football!).  I stand in awe of the work God is doing in her life, and in mine. I truly did not think we would at this point in her learning this soon.

Naomi's morning baord

 Years ago I had the privilege of becoming a teacher.  Though I wanted to be a first grade teacher more than anything, God chose to give me a job working as a special educator instead.  Those were tough years for me. I loved my students but I really struggled with not having this dream of being a first grade teacher fully realized.   An opportunity arose for me to work on earning another degree that would be paid for by my school district.  I jumped at the chance to go back to school part-time and was soon accepted into a special program that trained teachers to work with at-risk first graders who were failing in the area of reading.  Though I was still not in my own first grade classroom, it was one step closer to what I wanted to be doing-teaching little people to fall in love with books and reading.  I spent just one year as the reading specialist at my school.  I loved my job and loved helping children achieve in the area of reading.  After only one year, God showed us that he had a new direction for us and I left teaching to become a mom.

Almost perfect math test today too!!

This week it has become clear to me why I never had that first grade classroom. The skill set that I gained while teaching in Special Education and the knowledge I acquired while becoming a reading specialist have been critical to the work that I have been doing in my classroom for the last 13 weeks.  God is showing me that he had been preparing me  for the 2014-2015 school year for the past 15 years.  He knew long ago that an at-risk reader would enter my school and that she would demand a certain skills set from her teacher.  He prepared me then for what I would need now.  What a great gift!  When I think through this, it humbles me, and encourages me.  On the tough days it is a ready reminder that this is where God wants me to be, and on the victorious days I am reminded that He desires to give good gifts to His children, which sometimes come in the form of academic successes.  So, I guess this blog post is not really about Naomi today.  It is really about how God is using Naomi to show me what a great God He is.

Thank you God, for caring for me enough that you would allow me to have a temporary disappointment in life in order to realize bigger dreams later in life.  Thank you for giving me the perfect opportunity to teach my little girl to fall in love with school and with learning, and thank you for giving her great success this week.

Way to go Naomi!  I am so proud of your work and your diligence!

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