So for the past month I have been thinking about the moment in time when I would actually get to sit down at this computer and write to you all again. For the past month the first line that I wrote in my mind was always this one...
glub...glub...glub..... aah....!
I have gotten to the top of the water line and can breathe again.
Oh yes and there is Robert beside me.
I haven't seen him in awhile.
Normal life is pretty busy but since July I truly haven't been able to sit long enough to write to you. So instead of telling you how busy we have been how about if we tell you a little about what we have done for the past few months.
We all had a great time doing summer reading and were sad to see the summer go. The kids were great and we have enjoyed hugs this summer. On the first day of school I can't tell you how many of our kids in the schools said "I know you! You read to us!" I find that funny since neither Robert or I read very often but who can complain if a kid associates your face with books. Not us!
One of my favorite stories was the day we took a little Burundi child into the school with his family for a school tour. For weeks I had seen him and played with him at summer reading. Our kids played with him often but I had never heard him speak a word of English. On the day of the school tour he walked in the front door trailed by his parents and this little tiny first grader looked down the long hallway to the shelves that lined each wall. And then his little voice filled with awe... said quietly books............ He knows the word book in English. Yay!
Then there were the billions of pieces of paper that we wrote out, notarized and explained to parents, signed and finally delivered to most of the schools in the valley. Each group of papers came with usually three hours of orientation, an hour for a school tour and a half an hour to deliver back packs and put kids on the bus bright and early in the morning. Typically Robert & I have run the first day of school by ourselves but this year we had Jeremiah and Jay to help us out. The day went well. Later in the day when I was visiting a school to make certain all was well Jeremiah came with me and was able to secure a position in the school as a volunteer to grab some good volunteer hours for his scholarship. That was good!
One of the very different things about this year (This happened some last year but a lot this year) was that as we went into the neighborhood to take our cases to schools other people came to us needing their children registered into school. You see it is our goal that all of our cases are ready and set to go by the first day of school. Buses are ready, schools found, backpacks given, smiles and hugs and the first day of school in America is begun on a positive note.
So the first day of school was over and then we began the "please give our kids a school bus"; and "please I need to talk to a school counselor and I don't want to stand in line for the next hour to do it."
I forgot to say that we had also spent the weeks just before school getting documents translated, zipped up and given to BSU for new college students. We also went on BSU tours and to orientations with new students.
Right now the busy work is slowed down and Jeremiah is running Joy through her reading vocab while he waits to get onto Robert's computer to finish his BSU online math quiz. Roya is on her way over to study math. Our kids babysat Deborah, a little Kenyan girl, while her mother was at BSU attending an art history lecture, Sang came before dinner to do math and finally kids are in bed, and I am writing to you. The pace has slowed a bit.
glub...glub...glub..... aah....!
I have gotten to the top of the water line and can breathe again.
Oh yes and there is Robert beside me.
I haven't seen him in awhile.
Normal life is pretty busy but since July I truly haven't been able to sit long enough to write to you. So instead of telling you how busy we have been how about if we tell you a little about what we have done for the past few months.
We all had a great time doing summer reading and were sad to see the summer go. The kids were great and we have enjoyed hugs this summer. On the first day of school I can't tell you how many of our kids in the schools said "I know you! You read to us!" I find that funny since neither Robert or I read very often but who can complain if a kid associates your face with books. Not us!
One of my favorite stories was the day we took a little Burundi child into the school with his family for a school tour. For weeks I had seen him and played with him at summer reading. Our kids played with him often but I had never heard him speak a word of English. On the day of the school tour he walked in the front door trailed by his parents and this little tiny first grader looked down the long hallway to the shelves that lined each wall. And then his little voice filled with awe... said quietly books............ He knows the word book in English. Yay!
Then there were the billions of pieces of paper that we wrote out, notarized and explained to parents, signed and finally delivered to most of the schools in the valley. Each group of papers came with usually three hours of orientation, an hour for a school tour and a half an hour to deliver back packs and put kids on the bus bright and early in the morning. Typically Robert & I have run the first day of school by ourselves but this year we had Jeremiah and Jay to help us out. The day went well. Later in the day when I was visiting a school to make certain all was well Jeremiah came with me and was able to secure a position in the school as a volunteer to grab some good volunteer hours for his scholarship. That was good!
One of the very different things about this year (This happened some last year but a lot this year) was that as we went into the neighborhood to take our cases to schools other people came to us needing their children registered into school. You see it is our goal that all of our cases are ready and set to go by the first day of school. Buses are ready, schools found, backpacks given, smiles and hugs and the first day of school in America is begun on a positive note.
So the first day of school was over and then we began the "please give our kids a school bus"; and "please I need to talk to a school counselor and I don't want to stand in line for the next hour to do it."
I forgot to say that we had also spent the weeks just before school getting documents translated, zipped up and given to BSU for new college students. We also went on BSU tours and to orientations with new students.
Right now the busy work is slowed down and Jeremiah is running Joy through her reading vocab while he waits to get onto Robert's computer to finish his BSU online math quiz. Roya is on her way over to study math. Our kids babysat Deborah, a little Kenyan girl, while her mother was at BSU attending an art history lecture, Sang came before dinner to do math and finally kids are in bed, and I am writing to you. The pace has slowed a bit.
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