Thanks for the pictures and update, Paula! I am really enjoying hearing about your growing family :-) -Bonnie, mommy of Xavier 5 and Asa 2
----- Original Message ----- From: "Paula Bowes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "may99" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, November 07, 2004 10:48 AM Subject: [may99] updates > I apologize if this is a repeat. Jen and Kris wrote that they didn't get the > updates. I will post them here. Just delete please, if you already read > all this stuff. So much to rewrite If I did not cut and paste. Paula > > ............................................ > > Xiao Yu is a courageous young woman. She is going through all these life > changes with grace. English is still minimal but we expect by six months > post-adoption that she will be able to communicate in a basic manner, enough > to start communicating her needs. She goes with Sarah and Zoey wherever > they go... down the street to play at the neighbor's house, bike-riding, > Awana. I am in awe at the way she courageously tries new things and is how > she is willing to meet new people. She's a little shy at first, and it must > be hard to not be able to respond to any of the introductory type questions > people inquire about when they meet here. My co-workers all want me to > bring her to the clinic to meet everyone, but with introductions come many > questions, of which she cannot answer; so I told folks I would wait until > she had some basic English skills and then bring her to work. Xiao Yu goes > to school a couple of hours each day. We are slowly transistioning. She > attends North Pines Middle School (7th grade). While this is not the > neighborhood junior high, it is the school where Central Valley has their > ESL/ELL program. > > We had our annual family portrait done last Sunday. She probably was > wondering why we were all dressing alike in purple clothes, but understood > when the photographer arrived. Getting that photo back and immediately hung > on our wall, replacing last year's family portrait, will be symbolic of her > becoming a permanent member of our family. > > I am taking some days off from clinic and working some 1/2 days, but not > maternity leave. I didn't feel I needed to be away from work all day since > she has school to attend. The Spokane Chinese Association members have been > an incredible support network for us and Xiao Yu. I put her on the phone > with someone everyday, and she talks to them in Chinese, and they either > explain cultural differences of things she is curious about (like... why do > they ruin their noodles with red sauce? AKA spaghetti), and they alllow her > to talk about how things are going and then provide us with feedback. > Everything has been positive so far. School and food are the two biggest > areas where she has concerns. We do not expect her to eat anything we eat. > I have a variety of Chinese food choices available to her. Generally she > eats a little of the Chinese food and a little of what we are eating. She > really is not all that picky. This Saturday Heather Meng (the Chinese > language school teacher from Walt, Sarah and Zoey's class) will take the > girls and Walt to an Asian grocery store and they will shop for food and > then come home and Heather will teach them to cook some basic Chinese > dishes. Heather insisted I have a rice cooker and a six pound bag of Costco > rice, which (proudly) I stated, I already had available. Xiao Yu has a good > appetite, and while she looks thin, she is muscular. > > Every person in this house is learning something new about himself/herself. > Yes, even a thirteen year old will capture your heart. Walt and I have no > difficulty connecting with Xiao Yu emotionally. Eric and Jill relate to her > as if (a) she can speak English, and (b) as if she's been here their whole > life. Zoey and Xiao Yu share a bedroom and Zoey extends amazing kindness > and patience with her. Laughter is an international language of expression > and communication, and so we laught and hug liberally these days. Xiao Yu > bonded with daddy in China, but still had plenty of room in her heart for > me, and was openly accepted me as momma... starting on day two. She is a > remarkable young woman. I think I would have so much stress and heartbreak > if I were in her situation, but she is gracefully moving through her days in > this new world, with a family she had no choice in selecting. I look > forward to the day that she has the verbal skills to share what she was > feeling upon her new arrival to Washington State. > > Our family/house is kind of running on survival mode right now. This > means... the house is more untidy than usual! > > Paula Bowes > > > > --- > You are currently subscribed to may99 as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To unsubscribe send a blank email to %%email.unsub%% --- You are currently subscribed to may99 as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
