Random Thoughts

Random Thought #1:

It's so fun to celebrate Christmas again!  Here are snapshots of the kids by our Christmas tree (which smells AMAZING!).

I have to include this one too.  We have a photo of Lena at about age 3 kissing this dog ornament.  She remembered that, and decided to do it again.  There are lots of fun memories hanging on this tree!

It is just so much fun to get the Christmas photos and letters, to share gifts with friends and family, to see snow and play in snow again!  So fun!

Random Thought #2:

For some reason, I have been remembering things lately.

Remembering how Ryan used to be petrified of animals of all kinds.  Why was that?  Who would have guessed going to Camp Forest Springs would solve the problem forever.  I guess the Camp Forest Springs animal farm full of baby animals was the best place of all to lose all fear of animals.

Remembering when Todd was a baby and Lena was in Kindegarten in White Bear Lake.  I decided I wanted to walk, so I took the double stroller to the Mall of America to do laps.  Ryan was in the back of the stroller in the seat, and Todd was in the baby carrier in the front.  But, Ryan would NOT keep his hands off of Todd who was facing him, so I had to switch them and put Ryan in the front.

So, as I was walking around the Mall of America - trying desperately to get some exercise - Ryan was in the front of the double stroller swinging his body sideways as FAR as he COULD, again and again and again to entertain himself -- all the way around the Mall of America.  He was a big 3 year old.  His swinging with such force made it nearly impossible to push that double stroller!  What a little stinker!  He put an end to my walking single handed-ly.  Kids!

Random Thought #3:

A few weeks ago, I overheard a conversation between Todd and Ryan.

Todd: (He had the game Headbanz out, and he was holding a card with a photo on it.)  "OK, guess what this is.  Here's a clue.  It has an 'e' at the end of the word."

Ryan: "I have no idea what this is."

Todd:  "It has black eyes."

Ryan:  "I have no idea."

Todd:  "It has big stripes."

Ryan:  "I have no idea."

Todd:  "Guess!  I gave you 3 clues!"

Ryan:  "I have no idea.  It could be anything with an 'e' on the end of the word, black eyes and stripes!"

Todd:  "OK, it's a bee."

Oh, we laughed our heads off!!

Random Thought #4:

If we were in Paris still, we would have had a Christmas cookie bake with our friends last week.  I miss doing that!

Random Thought #5:

French in haunting me here in the USA.  Who knew that there was so much French here!  It is on tons and tons of labels.  Did you know that?  I certainly didn't, until I learned French.  If you buy a kitchen tool, almost certainly the label will be in French too.  Hair products, household items, some food (although you are more likely to find Spanish on food stuffs)...it is everywhere.

Just last week, I was in the bathroom at one of Ryan's basketball games, and this is what I saw.

Now look closely and what do you see?
 

I was standing there, drying my hands thinking, "NO!!!!  That horrible verb 'arriver' (to arrive) is haunting me in my home country!  It should not be doing that to me here!"

I learned an enormous amount of French vocabulary while overseas and really enjoyed that.  But, the struggle of 'how to say things' was with me all the time.  I would say things in French the way I say them in English, and that just doesn't work.  French people don't think the way we think.  So, quite often they didn't understand me very well when I spoke, even though I was using French words when I was speaking.

This hand dryer is a good illustration.  In English, it says 'disconnect from power supply before servicing."  Simple, right!

In French, it says, "Unplug the arrival of electricity before all maintenance."

See!  I would never ever think to put it that way!  UGH!!!!!

And, this is why I am so, so, so, sooooooo very happy to be doing life in English all the time again.

But, why can't the French just leave me alone?  I want to forget how hard you are, French.  Go away!

Random Thought # 6:

Today was supposed to be the last day of school before the Christmas break, but we got a wonderful winter storm which caused a snow day today!  Yeah!  It is so nice to be home, looking out at the white outside, and enjoying an unexpected day with the kids.

Random Thought #7:

This past Wednesday, Mark's Mom had open heart surgery to replace a valve that has been malfunctioning most of her life.  We are so very thankful that the surgery was a success and that she is on her road to recovery.  We anticipate that once she gets through the recovery (not an easy process), she is going to have a whole new lease on life!  Praise the Lord!  What a great Christmas gift for Kathy!

Well, I think that's enough for today.  I am off to do fun things with the kids.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Pictures Tell the Whole Story

We moved when our daughter was entering 7th grade and our sons were entering 5th and 1st grade. 

For our youngest, there wasn't a ton of worry about his making friends.  First graders are still pretty accepting of whomever. 

However, for our 7th grade girl?  Well, we knew it was anyone's guess how that would go!

For our 5th grade boy?  We prayed sports would help him connect quickly.

So, how has it turned out?  These pictures tell the story best.

Lena among 7th grade girls who have already become great friends!  It is almost as if she has always been among them.  A total miracle!

Ryan chatting with some of his friends.  More are on their way.  Check out this next photo.

These boys have a great time together.  And notice, Todd, is right in there entertaining the lot of them.

We are just so thankful for the grace of God which has allowed our kids to find great friends - and fast!  God is good!

So proud of you, Todd!

I've been wanting to include the "all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth" photo of Todd for a little while now.  This seems like a good time to do it because in today's post, I want to write about how proud we are of Todd.

This fella has done amazing things.

Let me explain.

When we moved to France, Todd went to all day preschool in the French public school at the age of 4.  We had no choice as to which class he was put into or how long his day would be, he just joined the class where other kids his age would go for all day preschool.  As it turned out, he was young for his class.  Those full days of school in a foreign language really tired him out!

Our second year in France, Todd was in Kindegarten.  This was the year he really swallowed French.  (I just don't know a better word for it.  Swallowed is the best.  One day he just became fluent in French.)

Our third year in France, Todd was a 1st grader.  By the time we left France, he was reading AT GRADE LEVEL, along with his French classmates.  He had zero American accent.  He was getting all satisfactory marks doing school completely in FRENCH.

Then we moved to America.

In America, Todd would be the youngest person in his grade if we had put him in 2nd grade this year.  That, combined with the fact that he could not read in English, made it an easy choice to have him repeat 1st grade, but this time in ENGLISH.  To add to that, in Indiana the cut off for school is the 1st of August.  Todd was born on the 19th of August, so in Indiana he would be a 1st grader.  We said, that works perfectly for Todd!  Put him in 1st grade.

So, Todd began school this year on August 15th and a 1st grader for the second time.  He didn't know how to read anything in English except for three words:  "no", "I" and "zoo". 

Why he knew "zoo" is beyond me, but he did.

I looked at the list of sight words his new 1st grade teacher sent home and I began to worry.  There were about 60 words on the list and I knew Todd could only read two of them.  (Zoo was not on the sight word list.)

Since we were so consumed with figuring out our own lives, we didn't do much beyond send Todd to school and figure the staff there could work everything out.

It didn't take long before we woke up.

We finally remembered, Todd can only read in French when school began.  In fact, Todd has only ever done school in French.  Perhaps he needs a little help.

I started tutoring Todd after school each day.  We did his homework together.  We did phonics flashcards together.  Over and over, we practiced those tricky vowels which are EXACTLY OPPOSITE from French.  (In French an "i" is an "e" and an "e" is an "i".  This is VERY confusing to re-learn!)

I have to be honest and say there were days when I thought he would never read a book in English!  It just seemed like his brain had been too programmed in French.

We reasoned, "if he manages to get to 80% of where his classmates are by the end of this school year, we'll be pleased.  He'll catch up finally in 2nd grade."

But, no.  Todd didn't need a full year to reach 80% of his classmates level in reading.  He has caught up in just over 3 months of school!!!!  Who would have guessed this squirly, so-happy-to-do-anything-to-make-another-human-being-laugh goofball would learn to read in English in just 3 months?!?!?  He did it!

It is just pure joy to hear him reading in English.  It is just pure joy to see him read by himself, understand, and then laugh at the funny things Morris the Moose does.  It is such a joy to hear Todd comment on signs on the highway or in the stores - signs he never payed any attention to before but now he is reading on his own.

"Todd, you have done well.  You have joined the world of readers!!!  We are so very proud of you!!!"

And, a big thank you to Todd's teacher who is obviously doing several things right.  We celebrate this victory with you in our minds as well.

Ah.... one more hurdle passed and one more prayer answered.  Praise the Lord!

How Could We Say "NO"?

The dreaded happened.

Something terrible sneaked up on us as parents.

Our youngest, Todd, has been quietly saving his money.  His weekly allowances started to really add up.

However, in the midst of our chaotic life with each of us adjusting to life in this country, state and town, we didn't bother to ask the obvious question...

"Todd,  what are planning to do with all that money you have saved?"

One day, Todd just announced that he was going to buy a hamster.

The horror struck deep in my heart.

What?!?  You want what?

He made it clear.  All these months he has been carefully saving his money for one thing:  a hamster.

Not only that, he's been waiting patiently for the new PetSmart store to open in Marion.

Not only that, he had big plans to buy his new hamsters -- strike that -- his TWO new hamsters during the grand opening event at the PetSmart store in town.

How could we say NO?  (And, believe me, we wanted to!)

So, October 26th, during the grand opening event for the new PetSmart store in Marion, Indiana, we went to the new store with Todd.

Todd carried the $80 he had saved.

He picked out just the hamsters he wanted.

He picked out just the cage that he wanted.

He selected just the right food.

It was all his to do, because it was HIS money.

Before we knew it, we were walking out of the store with two new little critters to add to our home.

Can you believe it?!?

So, once again, I am eating my words.  I do distinctly remember saying I would NEVER in my life have a hamster in my home!

Oh well.... maybe some of my other "I will never" statements will actually remain true!  I can hope, right?

The Simple Stuff of Life

There are things you just don't get to do while living in the urban sprawl of a place like Paris.

This is one of those things.

What a gorgeous sight to see our tree turning colors, and then drop it's leaves -- right before our eyes and right before our house!

Raking!  I can't say we've missed it (thankfully we only have one reasonable sized tree in our yard).  But, really,  it is wonderful to jump in a pile of leaves again!  Everyone got in on the fun.

Here's another thing you just don't get to do living in an apartment in Paris:

DIG in dirt!!!

Ryan has been asking for a while to dig.  We need to start over with the landscaping around our patio, so we just let him 'have at it'.

Before long, we had all the kids in the neighborhood digging too!

They loved it.  They came back several times, and in a few days most of the stuff we needed to dig out was gone!  Yeah!

And, here's another thing you just don't do as a 7 year old in Paris.
 

Our neighbors got another toy - a kid-sized Razor scooter.  Check out Todd's moves!

After I took these photos, I told him he was NOT allowed to ride in the street anymore!  Only sidewalks for this boy and the scooter.

It is just a joy to revisit those simple things in life once again.  Raking, digging, riding in wide open spaces.

Ahhh....  Isn't Fall fun!?!

(Oh...and by the way.  We found out that we live in a neighborhood where scads of people come to trick-or-treat.  There were cars (and golf carts) bumper to bumper inching through our neighborhood for hours last night.  Eye-yi-yi!!!  We had WELL over 100 kids at the door.  Who would have guessed!)

Family Photo Fun

Has it turned cold where you live?  It certainly has here.

With fewer and fewer warm days, we decided to head outdoors to take a family photo that we can send out at Christmas time. 

I will not share the good family photo (because that would defeat the purpose), but I will share one of the others. 

We made a bargain with the kids.  This was all the kids' idea.  We agreed that once we had a nice family photo, we would allow them to take some goofy photos. 

Here's my favorite.  I hope it makes you laugh as much as it made us laugh!

Little & Not so Little Champions

We've gotten our lives back!

Lena's volleyball season ended this past Tuesday.   I have no idea what the final record was for our 7th grade Lady Eagles team, but I know they won a bunch of games and lost a bunch of games.  In the end, they learned a lot of volleyball skills and had a fabulous time playing together.  It was well worth all the time Lena poured into it. 

Way to go Lena!

Ryan's team finished 1st place in his age group!!!!  Way to go Grey Team sponsored by CIE (Central Indiana Ethanol).  Here's Ryan playing ball and holding his trophy.

Way to go, Ryan!!!

And, Todd was not to be left out.  His team managed to beat the tough blue team to take the Runner-Up position in his age group.  Way to go Green Team sponsored by Glessner Farms.

Here are some shots of Todd 'in action'.

Warming up to bat next...

About to make a big hit.

Watching Ryan at bat (taken after his game had finished).

With his medallion for 'runner up'.

They have a custom at this ball field.  If there's a pop fly that goes out of the ball park, you can go get the ball and take it to the concession stand where you turn it in and get a free piece of bubble gum in return.  On this particular night, Todd turned in 4 foul balls to get 4 pieces of free bubble gum.  He was one happy camper!

All-in-all, it was a great run with Fall sports for this crew.  Lena is pumped to play volleyball again next year.  Ryan and Todd cannot wait to play baseball again in the Spring.  I have to say I cannot wait too! 

There are so many good things to look forward to in life, aren't there!

Loving the Harvest

It has been a long, long, long time since I watched a harvest take place.

Mark, Lena, Ryan and Todd have all been city dwellers their entire lives, and so this has been their first real look at this big event.

The funny thing is, I think I'm the only one excited about it!   Maybe it is because I grew up in a small town surrounded by fields.

There is something so very amazing about watching the crops grow, appear to die in the field, get harvested, yield truckloads and truckloads of seed, and then leave behind wide open plowed fields which make the world seem so big again.

My kids are going to tell stories one day.  It will start something like this, "Do you know what my Mom - the goon - did the first year that we lived in Indiana?" 

Yes.  I deserve it.

I have been a goon.

I am the one who parked the van between a soybean field and a corn field in July and forced my kids to get out and take a close look at the two kinds of plants when they were just producing their respective fruits.

(They just had to know where the corn and the beans were growing so they could watch them get bigger and bigger!)

And, I am the one who stopped the van several times to take photos of the fields at all stages of growth.

And I am the one who stopped the van several times to take photos of the harvest in process.

And I am the one who stopped the van to pick up some of the spilled corn and soybeans, just so that everyone could see and touch the corn kernels and soybeans that came out of those fields.

It has been a blast!  (Although, I am not sure anyone else in my family would agree with that statement.)

Here's a photo of the incredible Indiana sky over a soybean field. 

A closer look at those rows of soybeans.

See the millions of bean pods hanging on those plants?  Who would have guessed these sprigs of brown would produce a huge harvest of soybeans?!?

But, they do.  Here is a Ziplock snack bag with some soybeans in it.

Then, there's the corn.  How could anyone look at corn in this state and wonder if the farmers got it wrong.  Surely there isn't anything good that comes from this brown mess!?!

But, here they are harvesting the corn. (I love, love, love the big machines! It is so fun to watch them work.)

Here is one of many trucks we saw on the side of the road 'filled to the gills' with corn.  And, we were under the impression that the drought killed all the corn.  I guess that's not the case.  (Although, we have heard the grade of the corn is not as high because of the drought.)

Those brown stalks grew this.  Corn kernels.  It's truly remarkable to think about how many ways these kernels will be used in our world.

I cannot end this blog without another photo of the incredible Indiana sky.

 
One thing we've learned:  when the fields are plowed, the big black icky spiders exit the fields and travel all over the place.  With only our neighbors across the street and their yard separating us from the nearest field, we've had our fair share of them at our door step.  Ick!   We are definitely living closer to nature now.

The harvest is 99% done now, but I am already excited for the next planting, growing and harvesting seasons.  I seriously doubt that I will ever get tired of it!

Painting, painting, painting!

We love our house.  Love, love, love it.  Still, one reality of living in this house is the need to fix several things.

Let's just say that one of the previous owners really didn't know how to paint.  There are evidences of that all over this house but it was especially obvious in the downstairs bedrooms.

(I'll just put a quick photo in to illustrate my point.  This is a photo from the hallway by our living room.  You can see how they repaired walls - shinny paint on flat paint.  I am thankful that the color is the same, at least.  But, these errors just have to be fixed eventually!)

Well, all evidences of errors are finally GONE in two more rooms!  I finally painted our room and Lena's room this week.

As I painted, I wondered....

'why would you paint over plugs?'
'why would you Spackle a hole but not sand or prime the Spackle before painting?' 

'why would you choose hospital white paint for walls--do you really hate color that much?'
'why would you paint most of the wall, but not the 2 inches above the baseboard on one side of the room?'
'why would you paint wall color on the baseboards on the other side of the room?'

... and so on and so on.

I guess I should be thankful.  Their errors made repainting a must.  Now I have the color on the wall that I want.  Correction:  now I have the color I want on the ceilings, the walls, and the baseboards.  Phew!  That was a big job! 

Here are some before and after photos.

This is our room before.

This is our room now.

This was Lena's room with the previous renter's stuff in it.

This is another view taken when Lena's room when it was empty.

This is Lena's room now.

So much better!  One day I'll put curtains up and add more decorative stuff, but for now I am so very happy to have correctly painted rooms in nice, cheery colors.

What do they say?  It's the little things in life that make all the difference.  I guess this fits that category for me.  Ahh...