Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Random Pictures and Stories

Both Lucas and I love this video. I'm a mom - telling stories about my kids and showing pictures is what I do.



Caleb and Lucas enjoy a banana shake - Lucas especially! Lucas decided to go for the banana shake goatee while Caleb opted for the mustache.
Last weekend we were able to take the boys to a large and well maintained park downtown. This very large mosque sits at the end of the walkway that runs through the park.

Josiah is very excited that his birthday is coming up in a few weeks. He will be four soon and looking at this picture reminds me of how big he is getting.

This is a perfect example of why we need a babysitter while we have language classes. One day Josiah came into the room with his arms and legs covered with pen marks. When asked why he would do that he responded, "I was only giving myself a tattoo".

Ted's friend the barber (Ralph) graciously came over to cut Ted's hair and Lucas'. Lucas did not appreciate the house call.

Lucas has developed a love for tools. He often "helps" Ted as he does things around the apartment. My favorite do-it-yourself job is the frequent attempts to get the bathroom door to actually open!

Saturday, September 22, 2007

The first week of school

Admittedly I was a little nervous as we took our boys to school for the first time. Would it be too much for them to handle - spending a whole day with a class full of people who they do not understand? The first week of school is now behind us and the boys (and their mother) survived.


Josiah started the week excited about going to school. The first day he walked in a little leery of the other kids and his teacher. He was a trooper though and when Ted picked him up the second day his teacher said he was "very delicious" - a common term of endearment here. That's when things started to change for Josiah. The next few days he would again wake up very excited about going to school, but then he would burst into tears when he was dropped off. The funny thing is that when we pick him up after school he says he had a great time at school! The first week he did fall off the swing and came home with a bite wound - maybe next week will be better. We did receive some encouragement from him that his going to school will help him learn the language. The other day he said a sentence in English that was structured the way a sentence would be structured in the national language. Instead of saying "Caleb wears house shoes", he said "Caleb house shoes wears." That's a little bit of progress - wrong language but progress anyway.


Caleb woke up the first day of school NOT wanting to go and very nervous about how the other kids would treat him. I think that had something to do with the fact that our language tutor told us to teach him to say "please don't hit me"! Anyway Caleb went to school the first day much like he gets immunizations. He very bravely walked into class and sat in his chair - then the tears began to roll down his face. This was difficult for me to see because I know that under normal, English speaking circumstances, he would LOVE to go to school and would be too excited to sit still. Anyway, he came home that day and said that "school was boring". He is one of the oldest kids in the class and most of the activities are directed to younger students. When he woke up upset on the third day our hearts dropped - was this what it was going to be like every morning? Well, we soon found out that he was upset because he thought he wasn't going to be able to go to school. THANK YOU! Each day since then he has been excited about going to school and runs to his class each morning. He told me the other day that the kids in his class don't call him Caleb, but something that sounds like "jaji". I said the national word for foreigner and he affirmed that that was what they were calling him.


A Big day in the life of our boys (and us)!

Sunday, September 2, 2007

The Boys


Isn't this picture sweet. I love it. Of course Caleb, the boy who loves to be loved, had me take this picture of him with his brothers. For the most part our boys seem to be adjusting to life in a new country. They definetly have their moments when they miss something from "home". Caleb misses people more than things. Last week I found him sitting on the couch looking a little sad. I asked him if he was alright and he just started to cry, "I miss my grandmas and and grandpa". Today he was a little upset about missing his friends. I'm not too worried about him though. He is a relationship driven person and he spends a lot of time playing outside with his new national friends. I think the conversation I had with Josiah today helps to explain how we feel sometimes. "These are the people I love today - Mommy, Daddy, Caleb and Lucas. I do not love the "national" people. I do not like their words, I like English words." Then as soon as the words leave his lips a car drives by us and he yells "Hello", not using the English word but their word! We all have moments when we miss the ability to communicate freely with people. The older boys will start going to a national school soon and that will help them with the language. Though I am a little nervous about it I know that this is the best way for them to learn the language. The school program will not be academically driven, but will involve a lot of crafts and play. I hope that it is not too strenuous because we will have to do our homeschooling in the afternoons. If you know our boys you know that they LOVE to talk so I think this will be a great help to them feeling more at home here.