Separated .....again

I’ll be honest I haven’t been loving our family craziness this spring.  This is our last stretch where we will be separated for a while and I’ve been counting down the days since I got on the airplane and hoping Jingleheimer doesn’t make his appearance before they arrive.  We’ve bumped up their travel plans to the 6^th instead of the 8^th.  My doctor sort of made a strange face when I told her when they would be arriving.  While she didn’t outwardly come out and say he might come before then, I’d be happy to have them come a couple days earlier than planned.

I tried to make several meals and breakfast items for Marvin before I left so he could just pull things out of the freezer and having one less thing to do, even though I’m sure he could have managed feeding them by himself.  But it’s a lot when you’re not used to doing it and have other things on your plate.

I’m thankful for dear friends who have already taken the boys for the day, or Calvin to a school thing he had.  That Marvin gets a break a few hours a day when our nanny is at our house.  I’m thankful our boys are comfortable with her and love her like she’s family.

The worst part of this separation is that it falls right during Seth’s birthday and heaven birthday.  I cannot tell you how much my heart isn’t ready for that, and it’s coming next week. 

I’ve had days where I’m already sad, I’ve felt like I could handle those days as long as Marvin was beside me.  This year I feel like the Lord is asking me to trust Him for comfort and it’s hard to release my grip on the earthly and cling to the heavenly.

What is sweet is that the Lord tenderly knew we’d be around friends who have walked these dark days with us.  What a sweet gift in our time apart.

So if you think of it please be keep us close in prayer this week on the 1^st and 3^rd.  We’d be so grateful.

On the Wall

Since we moved into our apartment I’ve wanted to put up the boys baby pictures in our living room.  Originally I wanted to have canvases made, but could not figure out a 5 photo placement that I liked.  So I started looking at frames and finally settled on some IKEA frames that held 3 pictures each and then Marvin suggested the 6^th slot could be of a photo of us.

It feels good to have some pictures up on the wall and while I was at it I finally printed a new family photo with Judah in it.  I wonder how long it will take to get one with Jingleheimer printed and up there.

First Grade {Done}

This little guy has worked so incredibly hard this year.  He really loves to learn, but local school was a big challenge.  Going in, his language skills were weak, he had some basics, but due to our year away he was hurting in his language abilities.  Last week I heard him read the back of a cereal box and was so impressed that he’s reading well in not one but 2 languages.

He’s found some friends in his class.  One of his buddies drew him a note at the end of the year meeting so that he’d remember him this summer.  He’s become quiet the social little guy and has made several friends in our building and is always checking to see who is outside.  It’s no surprise that he won the friendliest student award for his class.

He feels connected to the culture, and really loved school this year.  I know that 2^nd grade will be a lot more challenging, particularly as he gets into Russian literature and must start writing stories, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. 

His end of the year assessments he received the equivalent to As and Bs and doing just as good if not better than his peers.  (I know this because his teacher read every ones scores in front of the whole group of parents and students, giving advice of what they needed to work on.  Such a different system.)

I’m thankful we have a break from school, specifically homework.  This little perfectionist has shed some serious tears over handwriting this year.  Something that is highly stressed.  Uniformity is a big component in the education system here, and you’re shamed if you don’t meet standards.  So you can imagine why I about burst into tears when he proudly walked in and showed me his homework, and how he had written it so beautifully.  He writes better than I do in Russian.

Of course all of this hard work was not possible without the help of this sweet lady.  We love her dearly and are so grateful of how she's helped Calvin through first grade.

We’re so proud of this little guy who finished 1^st grade like a rock star.  I can’t believe I now have a 2^nd grader. Glad we could celebrate at his favorite place, Subway!