2 year anniversary

Happy Anniversary!

It's been an interesting year. As I have said so many times before - Halle continues to grow and flourish. We are so fortunate. I look back at her referral pictures and see such a sad little girl. I'm happy to report that she is now a very happy girl, especially as we head into the last quarter as a 3 year old. (Whoever said terrible twos are the worst definitely didn't have a three year old at the time ;)

We continue to go to Chinese classes twice a month. We also belong to a play group that meets at least once a month. I'm not sure how much Halle is actually getting out of the class but it is nice that she gets to interact so much with other little girls and boys that are just like her. I think that can only be helpful as she grows older. It has also been very nice for me to make new friends and to be able to share the trials and tribulations of international adoption.

This fall has brought several changes for Halle. The most significant is that her "Cher" went off to college. I think that Halle actually faired a little better than Sami at the beginning. But boy we sure do miss her. We have been able to Skype several times although I'm not really sure Halle grasps the concept. The other big changes for Halle is that she started preschool and is also taking a pre-ballet class. She goes to preschool 2 mornings a week. She is doing fairly well at school. The last few sessions have brought a few tears but she promises me that she isn't going to cry anymore. She will cry for a few minutes when I leave but then is usually happily coloring before I leave the building. The pre-ballet class has been great. She LOVES to dance. I must say that is one of the highlights to my week. There are 6-10 little 3-5 year olds dancing around the room. She really loves it. Halle is also going to our friend's house again this year for one day a week. She gets to spend some time to play with her friends from last year and I get some work done.

As I mentioned earlier Sami is away at college now. She is at Ohio Northern University majoring in nursing. She seems to really love it although the thing she loves most now is soccer, not so much the classes! She has done an amazing job as a freshman on the field. She is the leading scorer for not only her team but for the whole conference! Her regular season is done with only the OAC tournament yet this week. Go Polar Bears.

Jacob is a sophomore in high school this year. He is also excelling in both his school work and on the soccer field. He was also one of the top scorers for his team. One of the exciting things for him at school this year is that he is taking Chinese. While he is struggling through it I think that it is going to be great if he can stick with it. He just changed into a different section where one of his friends who is Chinese is in the class and is helping him. The class is Chinese only with no English spoken. I know that is a successful way to teach in elementary but I'm not convinced it is the same with high school kids. He is also currently taking his driver's training classes so he will soon be able to drive himself to basketball practice when it starts next week!

Paul & I continue to merrily chase the kids around. It was lots of soccer this fall and I'm sure the same will be said for the upcoming basketball season. We celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary last month and feel very fortunate to not only have each other but 3 great kids as well. Life is good.