Sunday, August 31, 2008

Our Kids Are Rock Stars

Where to begin? The bad thing about waiting so long in between posts means that there is just that much more to post.

Samuel and I went to his open house on Friday. He will indeed be in Kindergarten this year. Troy and I are pleased with this decision. After discovering just how demanding the first grade curriculum is in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system - including a lot of reading which Samuel is no where near ready for - we feel like this is the best scenario for him. We don't want him to be perpetually behind from day one, and since he has a tendency to give up on stuff without really trying, we worried that he would simply hate school and never really give it a try. He is already facing a big challenge with the language barrier. His teacher, Ms. Counselman, is excellent though and he seems to like her already. After Thursday's assessments, she pulled a bilingual boy named José into her class so Samuel will have an instant amigo. He is very excited about this, and though he hasn't met José yet he was talking about him at dinner tonight. I also met his ESL teacher and found out that she will be meeting with him 3-4 times a week which is encouraging for us.

As for English at home, Samuel has started saying "sorry" in context. He also uses the phrases "Come on amigos, let's go!" and "Oh my gosh!" Of course the twins mimic him.

Yesterday was my birthday! Yay!!!! I love my birthday. It is my favorite day of the year. Having children made the day ten times sweeter though. The boys were really excited all day. The night before during bedtime prayers, Samuel said he was thankful for my birthday (I swear I had nothing to do with this!) The boys gave me a shirt and a skirt that will both be great for work. Troy asked them what they wanted to get me and Samuel told him a blue dress like the one I am wearing in our wedding picture because I look happy - how sweet is that! My husband, who is the greatest husband in the world, made the day equally sweet because he put together a party and bought us tickets to see Iron & Wine in Asheville in November (he has even started pre-arranging childcare).

Then today we finally took the plunge and went to church. We knew today was a special service directed towards families, including the sermon. Also, with people from church bringing us meals, we knew the boys would recognize some faces. They were so good, sat still, and were pretty much quiet the whole time. I thought ahead and took the twins' blankets which I think helped keep them quiet. They of course loved the music. Troy sat with Samuel so he could translate the sermon. The theme of the service was God's Word being a lamp unto our feet. Troy was explaining to Samuel that the Bible is God's direction for our lives and Samuel says to Troy (in Spanish), "But only for me, not for Luis Angel and Daniel." Hilarious! He wants so badly for anything to just be his - even the Word! After the service they were basically rock stars since the whole congregation has been following our story on-line. Luis (our introvert) needed some cuddle time once he started to feel overwhelmed, but there were several people able to speak Spanish to them so I think they felt pretty comfortable. We skipped Suday School (one new thing at a time). However, as a part of today's "Family Sunday" theme, we had our summer picnic after church. This was a great way to further introduce the boys to members of our church family and other children in the church. It was super hot and humid, but they were real troopers. I can't believe how great they were today!

Also, one thing we have started doing is using positive reinforcement. Troy and I are so exhausted from yelling, refereeing, and policing that we thought it was time to take a new approach. So we hung some poster board up in their room and when they follow the rules and listen, they get stickers. So far, so good. We are on the learning curve right now, but there have been fewer time-outs and less yelling so I think we are getting there.

Final thoughts: This weekend has been HUGE for me. When we moved here three years ago, I did so very reluctantly, kicking and screaming. I was convinced that I would always hate Charlotte and forever mourn moving from Norfolk. While I do miss my family and friends from Norfolk everyday, I was reminded this weekend of just how far we have come. Maybe it took going to Colombia for over a month to make me finally call Charlotte home, but I am so thankful for the friends we have made here. I am also beyond thankful for the church family that God has led us to be a part of, we have felt incredibly loved by our congregation since we started attending Providence earlier this year.

3 comments:

Lauren said...

YOU ARE AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!

Unknown said...

I second that YOU ARE AMAZING...Love you Mom

Jennifer Peronnet said...

We miss you in Norfolk, but are glad you have "family " in Charlotte . It's crazy how different children respond to discipline..Max always does better with rewards - stickers on a chart. We still haven't figured out Haven!

Love ya! Jenifer