I loved this idea I saw on a blog a bit back. I will take a photo of our whole family once a month (somehow! somewhere!) and then post it with a recap of our month. At the end of the year, I will put a digital scrapbook together for our family. I love the idea of having a year's worth of change documented into a tangible memory. How quickly days pass in the season I find myself in. These sweet days of being in a new country and days at home with precious little people is worth the remembering.
So though it's a bit early, here goes month 1.January 2011
We began this month getting to enjoy the first "big" snow we have experienced here. It was beautiful and we loved enjoying the view of white covering the ground from 9 floors up! Breathtaking. The kids were so excited and wanted their huge curtains open in the mornings to watch it come down. This is the most snow they have experienced. We got them out to play in it quite a bit. They made snow angels, played football and tried to make snowmen. We all watched as the locals worked with routine to clear the snow from roads, sometimes only using brooms made of straw to push massive piles around.
Schooling the kids was fun as usual. We finished Little House in the Big Woods. They all loved it! The boys couldn't believe all the stories Pa tells about hunting and bears, Felicity loved all the talk of cooking and dresses. They called it the "Laura and Mary Book". Job continued to excel in reading. He started practicing more by reading a short reader to the whole family before bed, it was amazing to hear him sound larger, longer words and simply marvel that my boy's growth means a whole new world is open to him of ideas and lives because of his ability to read well. He could read basic things last year but this year is much more cohesive and he can pick anything up and sound it out for himself in a natural manner. I love that.
We began looking for another tutor as ours will be going back to his hometown. We have bonded so closely with him, it will be hard to not see him each day. Your tutor becomes a person you grow with, simply because of how often you see them. The Lord provided another great teacher and we began meeting with her. She really works hard not to speak any english with us which is a huge help! It's more difficult but we are encouraged that it's going to bring a lot of growth in our language. There's many days we're very encouraged at what we can understand with just 5 months of language. Other days it seems like a mess in my brain or I don't want to focus enough to put it together. And of course, it's a slower road to speaking with ease than to comprehending.
I had some sweet, sweet talks with my sister this month. I haven't bragged enough about her on the blog yet. She's like my other half, my 2nd soul mate. We are 15 months apart and our walks with God weave in and around one another tightly. This has made for a sweetness to our friendship. Go HERE to read her latest post. Prepare to be challenged. In so many ways being away from her is my greatest pain in being here and yet my greatest intimacy and support come from her.
We started counting down until our vacation in February. I made a huge calendar with a pocket for each day and the kids open an envelope to find a prayer for my parents. They will get to hug and kiss those parents of mine in a little over a month. Blessed.
A good month.
