Blessings from God

This has been a CRAZY week.  Another exhausting week.  But I think some good has come out of it.

Monday was a "hurricane" day so schools were canceled.  We had hoped to get an answer from the middle school on Monday about what grade the girls would be in. But....since the schools were closed, then we knew no phone call.  We did our best to enjoy the day. And honestly each day is getting easier.

Tuesday came and we received a return call from the ELL director from the school district (I believe).  She basically told us the same thing.  "We place students based on their ages." So they should be in 7th and 8th grades.  Bill pleaded our concerns and even went as far to say "You guys will have them all day, you will see. And we do not want to get a phone call every day because they are so lost and overwhelmed being placed in the wrong grade".  She said if the middle school was okay with both being in 7th grade then that was fine. But she did not feel we could put both in 6th grade.

So, seeing as the girls would most likely be in 7th grade, I called our pediatrician's office and asked to get the girls their 7th grade shots.  We were seen the next day.

Wednesday we go to the doctor's office, they get their shots.  They did great!  No fussing or crying.  Then....because I'm tired of waiting for the school to call, we drive to the school. I had all the necessary paperwork to enroll the girls.  When we were waiting for the counselor, we told the girls we were at school. Maggie almost jumped through the roof with excitement.  Hope was excited too.  Unfortunately when she acts up (which was several times during our 30 min at the school) we say "Be good or no school". She immediately changes her tune and behaves.  We met the counselor that we were talking to and she was SUPER nice.  She said "So, are you still wanting to put them in 6th grade?"  We said "Absolutely but we understand the district policies".  She said "I'm going to push for 6th grade but I need to talk to the principal. I will call you this afternoon".  We left excited and hopeful.

At 4:30 she called. She said "The principal agreed.  The girls are enrolled in 6th grade". I was so happy and thanked her for advocating for our girls.  The girls will start this Tuesday.  They have an ELL aid who will help them.  I'm not sure how their schedule will be. I'm a nervous wreck. I have major anxiety about dropping them off and picking them up. I have anxiety about them getting lost during the day going from class to class.  Then I need to remind myself that they are 12 & 13.  They are smart. After a day or two they will get the routine and be fine.  At least that is what I'm praying for.  The school keeps telling me "don't worry. you will be amazed at the changes in the girls in a few short months".

On Friday we met a mom from our church.  I'm not sure how long she has been going, but it has not been too long. She is from China. And speaks Mandarin and English.  She spent about 3 hours with the girls on Friday.  Talking to them about school. Telling them they need to raise their hands, they need to ask to use the bathroom, to close the door & lock it when they are using it. She told Hope not to pull her pants down at school or lift her shirt up (this is something she does all the time when we are in public).  She also tested them some on their ABC's and 123's.  She said they are very smart.  Just from her observation, she could tell Hope is smart and learns quickly.  But Hope is active and does not act like she's 13.  Maggie is more quiet and wants to learn but takes a little longer.

She also asked them a few things.  We asked her to ask Hope why has she been crying at night.  Both girls said they miss the orphanage.  (this is new to us).  Maggie also told her a few things that she is not happy about.  1) she said this is not her home.  Her home is the orphanage. She knows they have parents who abandoned them and the orphanage is their family now.  2) Maggie does not think Hope is her sister.  (We were told that the Chinese people think if you are not blood related, then you are not related.) 3) Maggie was mad that Bill took a bracelet away from her and telling her it was Jadyn's.  Story about this.....She got into Jadyn's craft set.  Made a bracelet. Then destroyed it and wanted to make another one using more supplies.  Bill got upset because she was wasting the supplies.  4) Maggie was showing Bill a photo of one of the babies from the orphanage.  She would tell Bill something. He would say "no".  Well, Maggie was telling Bill that we need to adopt this baby. He's nicer than Ethan.  (that last comment upset us. We know Maggie does not like Ethan because he does yell at her. She babies him and he does not like it. I don't think she realizes he's almost 4).  5) Maggie does not like it that we won't let them eat all the time.  They say they are always hungry.  We explained to our friend that they eat a ton of food and we do have to cut it off. We do not eat or snack all day long.  And they have plenty of food when it is time to eat.  6) They are nervous about school. They are afraid the kids will make fun of them.

We did have our friend tell them that WE chose THEM.  That the orphanage did not ship them off.  We wanted them and we love them.  They smiled and acted like they understood.

A lot of what we were told surprised us. Because 1) They are SO excited about school. They have never shown us fear or anxiety about going.  2) They have never even acted like they miss the orphanage. They laugh, hug, kiss etc all day long.  I'm sure they do miss it. And I'm glad they miss it. If they did not miss it then I would be worried.

Our friend said we can call her ANY time.  And they can come over and play with her kids.  The girls were happy to hear this.  And I think we will be calling her.  After she left, the girls were different. In a good way.  Almost happier.  Not sure if it was because of some of the things we clarified. Or if because they know there is someone here "just like them".

I also made doctor appointments for the girls.  Hope & Maggie are scheduled to go to Shriners Hospital on Tuesday Sept 11th for an orthopedic evaluation.  Hope is scheduled for her EKG on Thursday Sept 13 and then on Tuesday Sept 18th Hope is scheduled to see the Neurologist.  We are praying that we can receive answers on these unexpected medical needs.

I can not believe that tomorrow will be 4 weeks since we met the girls.  I have to keep reminding myself how far they have come.  Language is the biggest hurdle we are facing right now.  Maggie seems to understand what we are saying a lot of the times.  She just can't verbally express herself in English.  Hope understands and is trying to be verbal.  Hope is very eager to learn.

I truly feel God was with us this week.  He made the school situation "easy".  I knew if the school met the girls they would understand our concerns.  And God also sent this wonderful woman here.  We are so thankful for the BIG blessings we received this week.  I feel this is a  God "hug" reminding us that He is with us. He has not forgotten about us. We are doing what HE wants us to do.  We needed this. Because some days have been very hard.  We're so thankful that He sends us these little "hugs".

Here is a photo from today.  Abby was doing Rosetta Stone in Mandarin.  Hope was doing Rosetta Stone in English.  :-)