It Went Really Well!

First day down...it went really well.  As expected, Z was a bit of the wrench in the works at some transition points, but I hope that will work itself out as he gets used to the schedule and expectations.  If anything, the girls were disappointed we didn't do more.  All in good time.

Here are my cuties on their first day of school...totally homeschooling it in their bare feet.

Back to School

Today is our first day of school, but I wrote this post last week and scheduled it to post today, so don't think I'm so on-top-of-everything that I can pull off the first day of school and a blog post on the same day.  Just keepin' it real.

There are two really big changes to school at our house this year.  First, we're trying out a for-real schedule.  As in, each subject has its own starting and stopping time like a brick-and-mortar school.  Of course, I'm going to be flexible, knowing that keeping a schedule with a 2-year-old involved is a farce.  But we have to have some kind of structure or school will take all day and nobody will be happy (especially the teacher).  So we're going to try this and see how it goes.  Please pray.

Secondly, and much more tragic, we are doing away with quiet time.  I know I'm going to go through all the stages of grief over this one.  Since A was tiny, I've had at least some point in my day when everybody was either asleep or playing quietly in their room for a fixed amount of time so that mommy could regroup and stay sane.  All my friends know that our day revolves around quiet time.  Can't do play dates during quiet time, gotta be done before or start after.  Quiet time has been sacred around here.  

But again, I don't want to be doing school at supper or after, and Z is not going to play happy for all of the sit-down, reading types of subjects we have this year.  I have to use his nap time to get some of them done or it will be pulling teeth.  Please pray.

If everything goes (relatively) smoothly today, I might have energy to post back-to-school pics for your enjoyment.  If you don't hear from me again for another month, though, well...at least you'll know why.

Our Family Road Trip - Part 3

We only spent three nights in Florida and then it was time to head home.  We made much better progress getting out of Florida than we had coming in and decided to press on to Mobile before stopping.  This time, we stopped at the Alabama welcome center and made sure to crank up the "Sweet Home Alabama" as we pulled away.

We psyched ourselves up for finishing the drive the next day instead of splitting into two days.  We knew it would be a slog, but we would sleep in our own beds at the end of it.  I called the hotel in Lake Charles where we had made reservations and they were happy to cancel our room, but we "would still have to pay since it is less than 24 hours in advance of the stay. "  That was a new one for us.  All the other hotels had let us cancel as long as we called before 3pm the day of our stay.  We decided to go ahead and use it since we would be paying for it.  

That was a really good decision.  I got online (hooray for travel with a smartphone!) and found a promising park in Lake Charles where we could spend the afternoon.  It was epic!  Just look at that playscape!  

And a splash pad to make everything bearable.  We all changed in the restroom, went and got soaking wet, then explored the playground.  After we dried out, we went back and ran in the fountains before going to play again.  It was really good to have a fun experience on the road instead of just at our destination.  

The next morning, we finished our trek home.  We had to stop at the Texas welcome center and get the best photo yet.  Those last few hours were soooo long, even if we were on home turf.  

Overall, the trip went so much better than I expected.  It wasn't until we were coming back into Texas that the girls finally said, "I'm bored."  By that point, we were willing to let them zone out to movies for the remainder of the trip.  It went so well that J and I even started planning our next road trip.  This time, I get to pick the destination and it won't be a beach.  And if I can help it at all, it won't be in August.  

The end!

Our Family Road Trip - Part 2

On day 3 of our trip, we arrived at our destination mid-afternoon, dropped our luggage at the condo and went to meet "the Germans" as we affectionately refer to H's big family.  They were very welcoming and lavished us with gifts and a Texas-sized bbq cook-out at their condo.  

After a good night's sleep, we hit the beach early the next day.  I was so proud of our girls!  They did lightyears better with the ocean than they did last year.  Instead of panicking and climbing us like trees, they were begging for us to go out with them and bob in the waves.  Bobbing in the waves, by the way, is very difficult to photograph with any clarity.

We went back to the condo for lunch and J took the girls to meet up with the Germans at their part of the beach while Z and I took a little snooze.  Then we all lounged around the pool at their condo, which was also a huge hit with my kids (surprisingly enough).  The outlet mall was calling to the international crowd, so we tagged along and let the girls shop for a souvenir there.  Three guesses what they got.  More stuffed animals.

The next day we decided to catch the free trolley to the tip of the island and see what shops we could check out while we waited for the houseful of German teenagers to get moving.  This was a good idea, in theory.  We mailed some postcards, ate some ice cream, walked the pier, then caught the trolley again only to get off a little earlier than we should have.  Friends, do not vacation in Florida in August if you are hoping to escape Texas heat.  The wait for the next trolley included dripping sweat, a little sunburn, two kids in ant beds, some warm tap water, and a whole lot of whining.  When we (finally!) got on the next trolley, J decided that would be a good time to take pictures.  The smiles below are totally fake.

But we ended up at a little shop near our condo where we bought more postcards and.....one more stuffed animal.  At least this time it was a fish, something sort of related to our location.  

We spent that evening having dinner with the Germans and trying to squeeze in meaningful conversation between kid distractions at a restaurant.  I do wish we had been able to spend more time with H's sweet family.  That is our take-away for the proverbial "next time"....spend less time getting wherever we are going and more time being there.  

To be continued...

Our First Road Trip - Part 1

Our little family got home about a week ago from our first BIG road trip...almost 2500 miles round trip.  That's a lot of miles for kids who are used to walking to Grandma's house.  Our exchange daughter, H, told us her family was planning a huge trip to the U.S. and we started scheming about meeting them.  We didn't know when we would have another chance to meet her parents and siblings.  They were headed to Florida, so off we went for another beach trip.

Since there are lots of fun pics to share (and I know that's what you really want to see), I'm breaking up my report into installments.  You'll have to keep coming back to finish the trip with us.

I spent lots of time and energy prepping, hoping that I could stave off the car crazies for 30+ hours in the car.  Our most valuable weapon in this fight was none other than my 17-yr-old niece, R, who earned her room and board by playing countless games of tic-tac-toe, passing snacks to the back seat, retrieving thrown toys, breaking up arguments, officiating trips to the bathroom, bunking on a sleeper sofa, and listening to songs from the Cars soundtrack more times than we want to admit.  If you are planning a long road trip, I highly recommend you pack yourself a responsible teenager.  

I packed picnic foods and we planned to eat on the road, taking in the sites along the way.  Our first stop at the Trinity River Island Recreation Area made my homeschool heart proud.  We went in to the visitor's center, explored the exhibits, learned about the animals that call the marshy area home, then schlepped our stuff to a picnic table for lunch.  Before Jeremy even got to the sidewalk, I was yelling to him, "Go back!  Go back!  The mosquitos are the size of wasps!"  Don't picnic by a swampy river in Texas.  We had our picnic closer to the building where we were only occasionally assaulted by a daredevil dragonfly, but we all agreed that picnics for lunch were a bad idea because of the crazy heat.  

Our next stop was just down the road at the Louisiana welcome center.  Then another stop at the Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete which boasts a live tiger on site.  He was there alright, sleeping away in the heat like any animal in their right mind should have been doing.  After all those stops, we slogged on for a few hours, skipping the Mississippi welcome center.  We made it to our hotel in Gulfport and tucked everyone in.

We were excited about waking up in Gulfport and going just down the road to Biloxi and touring their lighthouse.  Unfortunately, we failed to see on their website that tours were only offered from 9-9:30am every day due to the heat.  No, it's probably not a good idea to be inside a large metal can when it hits 100 degrees.  So we only got to see it from the outside.  Bummer, but still really beautiful. 

Then we got our first glimpse at the girls' attitudes about the ocean.  They were actually excited and eager to get in the water!  I could not have predicted such a totally opposite reaction from last year's beach fright fest.

We stopped briefly in Alabama to buy postcards and souvenirs.  We overpaid for stuffed animals that had nothing to do with the part of the world we were in.

We made it to Florida and were so excited to be finally "be" in the right state!  Everyone knew we were stopping in Tallahassee and would have to finish the trip the next day, but we were still so happy to be in Florida.  

Florida takes their highway beauty very seriously.  Huge pine and oak trees line the interstate, lush green grass, blue skies, nary a billboard, building, or residence to be seen.  For miles and miles and miles.  It was a perpetual treadmill of trees.  Then bam! Town. And more trees.  J decided he didn't drive all the way to Florida to stare at trees, so he found an alternate route that traced the coast in hopes of getting a glimpse of the ocean as we drove.  Not so.  Even the coastal route was a tree treadmill, just dotted with more rural towns and sketchier gas stations.  

It was somewhere along this rural route that we stopped to eat at Emily's roadside diner.  I'm pretty sure our waitress' name was Flo.  The kids all thought it was a hoot with the Hollywood decor and folding tables.  It will always be remembered as the place where C picked Elvis' nose.

To be continued...

Whole Hearts

Sorry I didn't post any updates while our sweet Bolivian friends were with us.  It was an intense two weeks, to say the least.  Between doctor's appointments, cultural/language barriers and the everyday business of being a mom....it was intense.

I was told I had the hardest part of the hosting job, the pre-surgery days.  I didn't realize how true that was until the surgery was over and I was making visits in the hospital.  Baby B's mama was so stressed out and afraid that I had a hard time figuring out how to meet her needs and help her feel at home.  I didn't realize how much the anxiety was weighing her down.

She shared that for the last year, she had tried over and over again to do what her baby needed; seeing different doctors, trying medicine, protecting her vulnerable baby from everyday threats, selling possessions to come up with the high fees for tests and appointments.  Waiting to learn if her baby had been selected by Samaritan's Purse for the life-saving trip to the USA.  Rejoicing when the good news came.  Then making her first trip ever out of her hometown to the U.S., baby in tow, no other family.
So yeah, I guess I would be a little distant and distracted too, if thrust into a home of strangers who don't speak my language and don't know what I've been through.

Baby B's heart had a hole between the two chambers, so she was pumping non-oxygenated blood back into her body.  The surgery patched that hole and the recovery was remarkable.  My girls and I were happy to talk about how she had a whole heart now instead of a hole in her heart.

And I was blessed to also talk with her mama some about the hole we all have in our hearts...the hole only God can fill.  I'm still praying that God will give make her heart whole and that she can go home to spread the healing love of God that makes all of our hearts whole.

Since photos speak louder than words, here's a little recap...

Baby B and her family in Bolivia

Sportin' a big 'ol Texas-sized bow

Prayer before surgery

Holding mama up after she handed over her baby

The first night after surgery

Moved out of ICU within 36 hours

Released from the hospital after 4 days!

And I'm happy to say that little Baby B has a great prognosis for a happy, healthy life.  It's amazing to see the difference as she gains strength almost instantaneously.  And it was equally amazing to see the difference in her mama, burden lifted and fears wiped away.  It's a new lease on life for them both.

We are blessed to be part of your physical healing, Baby B.  May God continue the good work He has begun in you, bringing wholeness and health to your soul so that you may proclaim His love to the nations.  Abrazos y besos de Tia Sarita!

Kickin' Off the Summer

We've been busy finishing up school for the year with all that means.  Our last day was Thursday and we did a quick celebration with some cupcakes and an attempt at making sno-cones with a Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine (epic fail!).  Then I quickly shooed the children to play so I could get busy preparing for our next guests.

I'm very excited that we have the opportunity to host a mama and baby from Bolivia through Samaritan's Purse Children's Heart Project.  Baby B arrives tonight with her mom and a translator.  They will be with us for about two weeks while she has heart surgery to repair a birth defect.  We are blessed to share the hosting with another family who will house Baby B during the post-surgery recovery weeks.

It's always a big task to prepare for guests, but I really enjoy sharing my home.  This time we'll get a crash course in Bolivian culture and pediatric cardiology.  I hope to have time to give you updates and share God-stories as we witness them.  Such an exciting way to kick off our summer!

Ode to the Morning Nap

In the last week, my almost-two-year-old son has dropped his morning nap (without adding any additional afternoon or nighttime sleep, mind you) and learned to open doorknobs.  That effectively turns any semblance of normalcy around here on its head, thank you very much.  And so I bid farewell to our friend, the morning nap, with a heartfelt tribute....

Oh, Morning Nap, how I need you desperately and loathe you in the same breath!  That blessed hour of near-peace that always gets in the way of any possible outing.  I mourn your loss with a sigh of relief.  If only you had magically transplanted yourself next door to Afternoon Nap.  Instead you ran off for greener pastures and left me with a whiny leech completely incapable of entertaining himself for two minutes.  But I'm not bitter.  We're moving on, whole mornings available for wandering.  This is better. Right?  Oh, Mourning Nap!

Jesus' Fear-Fighting

I was reading in Matthew 10 this week when I was struck anew by the second half of the chapter.  Starting in verse 16, Jesus is preparing his disciples for the unpleasant reception they will receive when they go out in His name.  They were going to be hated, flogged, persecuted, handed over to the government, betrayed by family--some seriously scary stuff.

He prepared them, armed with knowledge.  Then He comforted them with truth.  The hairs on their head were numbered.  His eye is on the sparrow, so you know He is watching you and great is your reward when you are persecuted for the sake of our Lord.  They would truly find their lives when they were willing to lose them.  And He was backing them up...with all the power and authority that came with that.

I can just imagine the disciples' eyes getting wider and wider as Jesus laid all the scary reality out for them.  Sort of like A's eyes got wider and wider as I talked about fire escape plans.  I imagine a few of them lost some sleep to fear of the possibilities, just like she has.  I imagine they all had to repeat the truth to themselves more than a few times.

Thanks, God, for sharing this with me.  Just a little reassurance that it's okay to prepare my kids for reality, scary as it may be.  And thanks for reminding me that you give us truth as the best weapon against fear.

100 Day

We recently celebrated 100 Day at our little homeschool.  I could not be more relieved to have reached this milestone.  We had done "number of the day" activities for every number leading up to this big culmination of the marvelous phenomenon that is 100!  If I ever have to do "number of the day" again, I think I'll move to Mars.

Making necklaces with 100 cheerios

Showing off our hats with 10 groups of 10

How far is 100 steps?  Can you see them waaayy down there?

Did I Tell You the One About...

So I finally got about a bazillion photos off my camera and realized I had failed to tell you about C's fourth birthday party...

She had a hard time deciding on a theme.  See if you can guess it from the photos.

If you didn't get it from that last one, then I may as well just tell you.  It was a "purple party with baby animals and a side of Toothless from How To Train Your Dragon."   Very memorable, to say the least.

And she got her first bicycle, complete with a basketful of ponies.  It was a good day to be the sweetest four-year-old I know.

Second Generation Fear-Fighters

Okay, so just a few more thoughts on fear because we have had a big dose of it around here this week.

I know it is my responsibility as a parent to prepare my kiddos for the real world where scary things sometimes happen.  I have procrastinated in a bad way on some basic safety stuff because I don't want to introduce the very kinds of fear that I sometimes struggle with.  Can't I keep it all sunshine and roses for them?

I finally bit the bullet and covered fire safety during school last week.  We got cartoonish books from the library, I downloaded fun activity pages from the internet, we went to the fire station for a tour and cheesy photo ops, we made a race out of practicing our escape plan from the house.

My all-too-grown-up firstborn wasn't haven't it.  She knew good and well that fire is scary, painful business and she made it known that talking about scary stuff was not fun and games and she didn't want any part of it.  We had an uphill battle (that we're still fighting) to convince her that preparation is a good tool for fighting fear.  Knowledge may be power, but it was not very comforting to her.

By mid-week, I had the opportunity to hand down my fear-fighting tools (see what I did there? fire-fighting, fear-fighting...never mind).  As she cowered in her bed, unable to sleep, I told her about how we use truth to fight fear, putting it on like a shield and sword.  I spoke God's truth over her and gave her the tools I've used so often...talking to God about the fear, being the boss of our thoughts and making them obey the truth, singing true songs, and praying for others to take the focus off ourselves.

I picked up a new tool at the ladies' retreat I went to last weekend.  The speaker told us not to ask "What if...?" but "What would a good God do if....?"  I decided to lay this tool on the table for A.  We went there out loud because I knew her little female mind had already gone to the worst case scenario (though her worst case scenario was much easier to talk about out loud than mine).  What would our good God do if all your stuffed animals burned in a fire?  What would our good God do if our house was ruined?  What would our good God do if we got hurt trying to go out the window?  He would provide above and beyond what we could ask or imagine and let us tell the story.  Maybe that story would help someone else love God.

I don't want to pass on fear to my kids.  I'm praying hard about how to tell them what they need to know without filling their hearts with fear.  But I'm so grateful now for my own fear struggle and the tools of truth I have been given.  I wish they didn't need them, but I'm glad I can pass them down to my daughters especially, for this seems to be a battle uniquely faced by women.  I pray my girls will wield their weapons with growing trust in their power.  Together we are mighty Princess Warriors of Truth and the lies of fear will not hold us! (cue patriotic musical crescendo)

I Don't Care Who You Are...

....that's cute!

Z has entered the Pixar phase.  He is into all things Buzz, McQueen and Nemo.  We've had these costumes in our dress-up box for a long time and he was smitten when he saw them.  He likes to stand on the ottoman with arms above his head and yell "oo 'finity 'nd 'yond!" before diving onto the couch.

You like that toddler-ese?  How is it they communicate so well without using the first letter of any word?  All the better to hypnotize us with cuteness.

Our Week

I was so happy that the fever virus that had been plaguing C decided to give up on Sunday night.  This meant we could give the green light to our friends who had been planning to visit from out of state.  How cool is it that we're still friends with J's college roommate and his family?!  I'm always impressed when friendships survive different seasons of life, different countries, and different milestones.  

We were able to hang out and visit Monday evening, then spent the day downtown eating good tex-mex and visiting the children's museum.  They had to leave on Wednesday, but not before making us some yummy pancakes and waxing philosophical about gender equality as expressed in the manufacture of legos.  Good times.

Yesterday was a blur of trying to catch up on schoolwork missed, laundry unfolded and toys scattered.  Today we got to participate in the egg hunt at a local nursing home where we volunteer.  Tomorrow we dye eggs with the cousins, then Sunday we'll have lunch and an egg hunt after church.  Full days, full hearts.  Tired mama.  Good night!

Thanks, Friends

You guys are so encouraging!  I have received several emails about my last post on battling fear.  Let me just assure you that these fears are not crippling, nor do they consume more than a smidge of my brain activity.  And as usual, just talking about it helps so much.  I knew I wasn't the only one who struggled with living free of fear.  Here are some comments you've shared...

"I share your fears.  They can be consuming.  Praying with you about letting go."

"Memorizing HIS word and repeating it as I feel the fear trying to crawl in, helps me to hold on to HIM and experience HIS peace. "

"Do I trust God to provide if we can't?  Do I trust God to bring beauty from the ashes of the death of a loved one or an unspeakable tragedy?  Yes.  It will be hard to go through, but God has proven He is big and trustworthy.  Should I be cautious, yeah, that's being wise.  Should I fear that someone might shoot my child on the sidewalk?  I'd hate that profoundly, but I have to trust God and let him protect my children or take them home."

"1John 4:18-- There is no fear in love but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears punishment has not been perfected in love. "

Thanks for letting me think out loud about this.  And thanks for being so encouraging!  I am blessed more than I could ask or imagine with an amazing community of friends and family to work out our faith alongside each other.

Fear

Ever since the shooting in Connecticut, I've had a resurgence of fear interrupting my thoughts.  Anybody else?  Something about the absolute randomness of violent crime wreaks havoc on my mommy brain.  And it seems like there's been an uptick in stories about babies dying, mamas with cancer, tragic teen accidents....?!  More of the kind of stuff you have no control over and can happen to anyone.  I'm not wishing folks would keep their hurts quiet.  I think maybe I'm just more sensitive to it right now.  I don't know.

I thought I had this whole fear thing whipped.  I even told my own dad as much just a couple of months ago.  It's been a big spiritual battle for me for as long as I can remember.  Taking those thoughts captive.  You know, the ones that start with something insignificant and take off like a runaway train for the worst case scenario that has you in tears within seconds.  "God, take those captive and make them obedient to your truth.  You are not a God of fear, but of love, peace and a sound mind.  You love me and I can trust you to be good all the time. "  Years of repeating that prayer every time the fear came and saying it until the fear passed.   I had finally gotten to the point where I didn't have to check my closets and under the beds every time my husband traveled.  Don't laugh...you know you do it too.

What happened in Connecticut was evil, and I think it was a tool of our enemy.  Not only will that town never be the same, but fear snuck into the hearts of millions, and fear confuses us about God and His love for us.

And it's not just tragedy or random violence that I think I fear.  If we got down to the nitty gritty, there's other big stuff I fear.  What if I screw up my kids?  What if I fail to say that thing that would prepare them and they get hurt? What if I'm the one who scars their heart with my words? What if I pass all my fears on to them?  What if I find my identity in my kids and forget who I am?  Am I doing all that God wants me to be doing?  Could I do more/differently to further His kingdom?  Am I letting Him down?

Then Ann Voskamp said it better, "How long will I have Mama and are we supposed to live our lives here or up and move there and how do you best pour out your one wild life and couldn’t we make room for just one more child and what if I’ve missed the boat and what if we bury children, mess them up, get sick on them and the dreams all blow away like papery ash and what if my heart gets shattered and what if that is what makes me whole and how do you make your singular life work best?"

It's always encouraging to know you're not the only one swimming in whatever mess you've made for yourself.  And then she said this, "What if not fearing was the giant secret of really living?"

Whoa.  What if not fearing was the giant secret of really living?  What if the thing that keeps me from the abundant life God promises is fear?  What if this fear battle is way bigger than what's in my closet?  Fear of losing control, fear of not measuring up, fear of failing, fear of disappointing, fear of living like God's promises are true.  What does that even look like...not fearing?!  

I don't have anything else to write on this topic--yet.  I'm trying to think of something profound to say, but I just keep re-reading the possibility of not fearing and it really leaves me quite flabbergasted.  I've got to chew on some truth and let it nourish my soul.  Let it bind up all those fears and set me free.  Please share if you have some go-to truth that shatters your fears and helps you really live.  

P.S. - So much for short posts, huh?

Dropping Like Flies

So that little virus Z has?  I think I got the short-lived part (hopefully), but we're dropping like flies around here.  C was up last night, then ran high fevers this afternoon.  It finally occurred to us that J's "allergy" symptoms sounded similar to the girls' complaints all week....headache, sore throat, and feeling run-down.  He might be the next to fall.

Fortunately, Z is perking up and his symptoms are slowing down.  Maybe it's a weird mix of a couple or three things?  I'm baffled.  And quite frankly, sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Having sick little ones though always make me count my blessings.  I have great access to good medicine, good doctors and good information.  I have family and friends who can help if the need arises.  And Netflix just released the third season of My Little Pony, so a screen marathon really couldn't have come at a better time.  (No lie...A did her own personal happy dance when she realized there were new episodes.  It was a little funny and a little scary.)

Praying we all hold steady or improve through the night.

Today

I confess that I cannot achieve the level of blog posts I aspire to.  Every time I want to sit down to write, my brain begs for downtime if no one else is begging for a piece of me.  But I'd still like to blog.  So I'm taking a cue from Missy over It's Almost Naptime and attempting shorter posts.  (I don't know Missy, but I'd like to.  And I'm not even going to pretend that my plate runneth over like hers does right now.)

Today, A went to her one-day enrichment co-op that we like to call "Wednesday school."  She has classes in art, Spanish, P.E., drama, character building, and music.  It's good exposure to classroom behavior and learning from someone other than mom.

While she's away, I try to have some preschool time at the house, though it is so hard to resist plugging them into a screen so I can accomplish something that appears more productive.  We compromised today.  I de-cluttered the living room while they scattered rice in my kitchen.

When A got home, we turned right around for our first return-to-gymnastics class.  The girls really enjoyed gymnastics last spring, but we chose to drop when money got tight.  When we got the wiggle room in the budget again, the girls were eager to go back.  C couldn't stop hopping through the whole class.  She stayed where she was supposed to and got nice comments about good listening, but she was so excited she could not be still.

Z's got a little tummy bug that made last night interesting.  I'm praying it's short-lived and contained to one host.

That's us.  How are you?

Things I Learned from a German Teenager

Today marks one week since we took H to the airport for her return flight to Germany.  It was a very emotional send-off. I was surprised that A was the one shedding crocodile tears instead of C.  I think A understood the finality of the situation more than C.  Even J shed a few tears.  We all got pretty attached to this wonderful girl and will always share a special connection with her family.

In case your family might be interested in hosting an exchange student, I wanted to hit a few of the highlights that we're talking away from this experience (in no particular order):

1. Letting go is really hard.  The goal of parenting is to raise independent adults, so you have to let them fly away.  Right now, I can't imagine literally letting mine fly away to another part of the world.  It was hard enough to watch another mother's child walk through airport security and turn around to wave.
2. Peanut butter is addictive.  I'm proud to say we got her hooked.
3. These days are long, but the years are short.  Teenager schedules can be grueling with all they're involved in.  That makes the time fly even faster.  Before you know it, the games, practices, sleepovers, rehearsals are suddenly over and the calendar reflects the void. 
4. It takes a village.  We bit off a smidge more than we could chew on several occasions and relied on family, neighbors, and friends to bail us out.  Big thanks to all our chauffeurs and babysitters!
5. The world is big, and very close.  We brought another culture into our home and we were more alike than different.
6. Hide-and-seek translates, and builds bridges between cultures and ages.
7. It is possible to raise a respectful, thoughtful teenager.  I'm holding out hope that she wasn't just being nice because she was a guest and that my kids might treat their own mother the same way some day.  Don't burst my bubble.
8. Girls start dancing before they can walk and apparently never stop.  That girl danced around the house, on the stage, in the aisles of WalMart.  Never did find her a tutu, though.
9. Little girls get really attached to big girls.  I underestimated how much they would admire her and cling to her.  
10. God is faithful.  Starting with the way He matched us up with H, to some of our last-minute conversations together, God was all over this experience.  

We had a great experience with H as our first exchange student.  When we do it again, the next student will have a lot to live up to!  We'll definitely do it again, but might wait a few years for the age gap to close some.  If you are at all curious about hosting an exchange student, feel free to hit me up with questions.  I highly recommend every bit of it, except the saying goodbye.  

bis zum nächsten Mal, H!  wir lieben dich!  (And no, I didn't capitalize that correctly.  I hope google translate got the words right.)