Thankful Thursday

Has it already been a whole week?  School has started and with all that is required to get two kids to and retrieve from school, it feels like time has flown by. 

Chantal is here!  It has been really delightful having her here.  She has really opened up and her personality is funny, tender and caring.  We really love having her in the home.  It has been a bit of an adjustment because high school kids have more they need for school and actually get homework.  We have had to help her with somethings as she is still translating much of what is going on at school.  We are running more errands and outings to stores for this and that then we were used to but it is also nice to have an extra set of capable hands around the house that volunteer to help with the dishes or dinner.  Did I say how really nice it is to have her?  Well it is.  She is smart, inquisitive and really sweet with the kids.  Corilynn loves to sit with her on her bed and look at all her pretty girl things and Ruby only has to whimper for a second before she comes to her rescue. We have played "Apples to Apples" the game 3 or 4 times already since she has been here because she really likes the game - it teaches her new words and of course cultural things like "what is 'redneck'?".  We made her pancakes her first morning here and she talks about having them again all the time. She is starting soccer tonight after school and so I am actually finding that I am missing her being gone longer during the day than previous when it was just the school day.  We are thankful to have her around.  I promise to put of up pictures soon - it has just been that crazy.

Lyman is in school too and loves it.  We can tell he really loves it despite his short answers of "nothing" or "I don't know" when we ask him what he learned at school or what he did at school that day.  I cant believe how big he is to get on the bus by himself, ride it, get to his classroom, get back out to the bus at the end of school, get home and remember his backpack the whole way!  It sounds like a simple task but I swear we forgot his backpack a hundred million times along the route to and from preschool and I took him, and walked him into the classroom myself!  My favorite moments of the day are when I get a hug good bye from him when he gets on the bus and when he runs off it to hug me when he gets back.  Yesterday I even got a treat of him giving me the sign language sign for "I love you" when his bus drove by the house on its way to the school.  It just doesn't get better than that!  I am grateful today for that.

Just a few other thankful things: I am thankful for the delicious German chocolate that Chantal brought us from home.  I am thankful that her mother is sending us more.  :)  I am thankful that Ruby has not tried to bite me yet with her 5 teeth.  I am thankful that Corilynn loves being home with me.