School

I know everyone has been waiting for an update about how we are doing and how the school year is going. Actually, things could not be going much better. I am constantly amazed at how Katie is adjusting as, well as the other kids. Both Jim and I say that we are blessed. That is not to say that we haven't had any stresses but, the level of frustration is not any higher than what we would expect in everyday life (especially with eight kids.) School has been our biggest obstacle but, that was to be expected. Katie does not love it but, I feel that right now it is the best place for her. Her teacher is nice and so are her classmates and I think if we give it a month or so she will enjoy it a lot more. She did refuse to get dressed one morning but, we got past it and later that night I explained that if she gave me a hard time again in the morning that she would not be able to go to soccer or gymnastics. Yes, she is in soccer and gymnastics and she loves it. If you are wondering how I "explained it", I acted it out. So, for the last few mornings, I have woke to "Morning mommy." Katie can do about 75% of her school work which amazes me. She does not speak much English but, she recognizes her alphabet and she is starting to understand more conversation. She also seems to be a strong Math student so, like the rest of my kids she likes Math and really does not care for English. The only melt downs she has had was over going to school and not being able to start gymnastics on the first day. Lizzy has taken gymnastics for over a year so, I wanted to show Katie what it was. She immediately wanted to go out there and broke into tears when I told her she had to wait until next time. So, so far so good. We will enjoy it while it lasts. Now, everyone wants to know if she is speaking English. Well.......the truth is no, not much but, she can sing the songs in HighSchool Musical and HairSpray. She also likes Annie. So, we are forgetting about language tapes and watching musicals. It is amazing, how quickly she learned the words to those songs. Oh, and the theatrics that go with them. She still does not seem to want anything to do with anyone who speaks Mandarin and I am hoping that I can change her mind about that but, we will let it go for now. From talking to others it seems to be part of the process. She has no problem speaking to me in Mandarin although I am confident that she understands that I do not understand. Although, I am starting to. So, like I said....things could not be going much better. Now that I have my camera back I will try and post some more updates soon.