Anne Turns 9 and Adoption Update

Teeny tiny adoption update. We have been DTC (Dossier to China) for just over four months. Hasn't it just flown by? We were told to anticipate a 6-9 month wait, which means we are halfway (or closer) to seeing the face of our little girl. While we are eager to see her picture, we are grateful for this time of waiting as each of our other children get a little older.

Speaking of getting older.....

Anne is NINE years old!

I really can't believe it. My first born baby girl is nine.

Anne is a mother hen to her sisters!

Anne is growing into such a wonderful young lady. She takes her responsibility as the eldest sister very seriously. I'm continually amazed by her maturity for her age. Anne is a great helper to me at home. She has recently expanded her list of chores and is tackling larger household duties such as vacuuming with a thoroughness that delights me! Anne is always willing to pitch in to read to Caroline or take her outside and watch over her while I'm making dinner.

All photos credit to Stacy Parmarter Photography!

Some things Anne loves:
- Reading: pretty much anything she can get her hands on she will read. Currently she is enjoying historical fiction, and the daily comics
- Computer games: she enjoys a math game called Rainbow Rock
-iPhone/iMovie: Anne likes playing electronic games as well as using iMovie to create short videos or movie trailers
-Horses: ever since she could talk she loved horses. That love continues to this day.
-Music: Anne is hoping to take piano lessons again next year (we stopped this past year). Eventually she would like to play the violin

-Jesus: Anne has always been interested in Spiritual matters. She has impressed me with her ability to pray in her room when she is experiencing a bad attitude or has said/done things she shouldn't have.
-Almost all food: she is my least-picky eater!
-Board Games/Card games
-Playing outside
-Taking care of her chickens (usually)
-Cats: currently we have a "wild cat" outside named Oscar

Things Anne is not fond of:
-cooked carrots
-stink bugs
-I can't think of anything else. :)

Anne is a delight to parent. As challenging as she was during her toddler years she is more than making up for it now. While she occasionally gives me an attitude or argues with Maggie, she is really a joy. Anne is a wonderful student and I enjoy having her in my "class". While she is usually mature for her age she can also be very silly. Poop jokes and mention of any bodily function can cause uproarious laughter.

Happy ninth birthday, Anne-girl! We're so glad you are ours. Even if you do use Microsoft Paint to edit photos of your parents.

Paul Revere's Ride and the end of Second Grade and Kindergarten

May 20th we said goodbye to Second grade and Kindergarten, at least for a couple of years.

Anne and Abbey will both move up to third grade in the fall. It seems hard to believe that we have finished our third year of home schooling and look forward eagerly to the start of the fourth year.

Maggie will be doing what I lovingly call Pre-First. I know this grade doesn't actually exist in our country anymore, but if you are my age you will remember many children leaving Kindergarten and heading to pre-first instead of first grade. We have chosen to do this for Maggie for numerous reasons. I'd love to share my thought process with you all. First, Maggie turned five a week after school started last fall. She has a late summer birthday and was technically *by one day* premature (born at 36 weeks and 6 days). So she is young for her grade and quite small as well. Second, while we saw tremendous growth throughout the year, it was a hard battle. Maggie has learned to read, but she continues to sound out nearly every word, every time. She really really has to work hard to accomplish what comes easily to others. We want her to love learning and love school. I can guarantee she will not enjoy school if we push her to first grade next year. Third, I want to take this in between year to try some different techniques with Maggie - especially more music. I really believe that if we give her another year to grow and mature it will be extremely beneficial for her in the long run.

Here's a short video from the end of the school year of Maggie reciting "Trees" by Joyce Kilmer. Isn't she so adorable?

A few months ago I was introduced to the Eric Metaxas Show. I listen to his podcasts at night while I'm painting. On April 18 he gave the challenge to memorize Paul Revere's Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Although I was familiar with the poem it was not one I had memorized myself. At that point we had five weeks left of school. I decided it would be just the thing to push the girls through the end of the year.

Here is Anne's recitation.

Abbey was also able to memorize the full poem. She was a little nervous while I was recording. When I wasn't recording she was doing a great job of adding inflection to the words, but she was more concerned about getting the words right to focus on her inflection. Also, Abbey just turned seven on April 18. The fact that she was able to memorize this (with a couple minor mistakes) was astounding to me.

We are giving three cheers for summer vacation!
Hip, hip, hooray!  
     Hip, hip, hooray!  
          Hip, hip, hooray!

Looking Back

I have a terrible memory. Seriously, ask my kids. They are constantly reminding me of things I said I would do, but forgot. And if I'm half asleep when talking to you, psshhh, forget it. I probably won't recall ever having a conversation with you.

My poor memory skills are probably why I love blogging so much. If it is written down then it must have actually happened (even if I can't remember it clearly). I also love to journal out those raw emotions. I am often embarrassed by what I write when emotional, but it is so healing in the moment to get them out in a safe place, and later to look back on them.

Monday mornings I give my two oldest girls a spelling pre-test. It is good for them to see growth in short-term way. It's hard for adults to see how they are growing in the moment, how much more challenging must it be for our 6 and 7 year old children? For the past two or three weeks Abbey (age 6) has gotten all of her spelling words right on the pre-test. Whenever this happens I "reward" them by not having them take the test on Friday. This Monday morning, however, Abbey missed one word. To say the girl was upset would be an understatement. Mind you, these are words that she has not studied, and she does not have access to the list ahead of time that she could peek at it. She was distraught over this one little word she missed (I told you she is a perfectionist).

To encourage her little heart I reminded her of how hard even the simplest words were for her in the beginning of the year. She grabbed her language arts binder (that is such a pain for me to put together, but man, today I was glad I did), and flipped to the very beginning. And she laughed. And laughed. And laughed. Oh, what joy that brought to my heart. She looked back to the beginning of the school year. The word was "are", she spelled it "R" on her pre-test, week 1 of the school year. And she laughed! It was very real to her, and showed her just how far she has come this year. I could have cried.

Yes, I'm teaching spelling, but I like to think it is so much more than that. I'm teaching these girls the value of looking back on life. We don't stay back there, we move forward. Yet there is value in looking back. To take a peek at what life was like less than a year ago is important.

Just the other night my dear husband and I were looking back. He had gone through times of self-doubt, of not knowing where he was going, what he wanted to do, where he wanted to go in life. And he prayed and prayed and prayed for direction, never feeling like he was going anywhere or being led. As we talked through the decisions he made he realized just how much the Lord was leading him, guiding him, and setting him on a path. It didn't feel like it at the time, yet when he took a moment to look back, he realized how all these little pieces that didn't seem like much (quitting one job to take a pizza delivery job) all fit together and created this beautiful picture.

Sometimes looking back can be painful. I think of our foster son and daughter on a regular basis. I know I have learned a lot from that experience. However, it is still painful in many ways to look back on that time. I'm sure that someday (maybe not on this side of Heaven) I will see how those months fit into my mosaic to create something whole and beautiful. Certainly I am changed because of that experience.

Isaiah 61:3 (New Living Translation) To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory.

Portions of this verse pop into my head from time to time, but I'm not sure that I ever noticed those last three words. The beauty for ashes, the joy instead of mourning, the praise instead of despair, it's for HIS OWN GLORY. Not for us. Not for me. For Him. Wow. 

I'm just letting that sink in.

I will leave you with this: Gungor "Beautiful Things". Hands down one of my favorite songs. 

I encourage you to take a few minutes today, sit, and think. The weather here has been beautiful. Grab a cup of tea or coffee, watch the kids play in the yard, and look back and realize the beautiful things He has done for HIS OWN GLORY in your life.

A Day with Anne

Today I have a "Guest Blogger". This article was originally written for our church newsletter. The intent here is to give you a glimpse into our everyday, beautiful, messy life. From Anne's perspective. When written, back in September, Anne had just started first grade, and was 6 (almost 7) years old. **All photos are from the two weeks surrounding the date her article was written.**

A Day With Anne Hess

Friday, September 5, 2014

6:40 am – Wake up and come downstairs. Put on my rainboots and go outside with Daddy to feed our six chickens and check for eggs. Only one so far!

Our first egg - Aug, 2014

7:00 am – Read part of a horse book and play with the doll house with Maggie.

7:30 – Mommy wakes up and comes downstairs for coffee. I go upstairs to play with our little horses.

7:50- Breakfast. It's Abbey's day to choose – strawberry poptarts.

8:10 – Go upstairs, get dressed & brush teeth.

8:30 – Watch a movie. Abbey chooses Cinderella.

9:00 – School starts. (I am homeschooled and in first grade.) We do our morning routine – calendar, counting up and down to the date (5^th today), Pledge of Allegiance.

9:05 – Friday is Test day: Spelling test first, I got 8 out of 8!

9:15 – Math Test – I finish quickly so I take Caroline into the living room to play while Abbey finishes her test. I got 17 out of 17! This is the first math test I have ever had.

9:30 – Bible – we read 2 Timothy 3:14-18. I memorized Psalm 1:1-2 for the first two weeks of school. Abbey, Maggie, and I all take turns saying this out loud. Abbey and I work on our handwriting while we listen to Mommy read.

9:40 – History/Geography – locate India on the globe and map. Pray for Hindus. I like to pray for the children who are “untouchables”. We also read about mud huts and different types of houses.

10:00 – Recess outside while Mommy puts Carrie to nap. I play on our neighbor's swingset and chat with our neighbors.

Our neighbors let us play here whenever we want!

 10:15 – Language Arts – practice expression when reading aloud

10:30 – Science – Night Animals. I read our five pages out loud to my sisters. We then answer questions on a worksheet about what we read.

10:40 – Math: Today we are counting by 2s, doing tally marks, greater than/less than, tens and ones columns, and adding. I have two homework pages that I do quickly.

11:00 – RECESS!! Play outside, collect eggs (3!), play “loving family” with my sisters.

Acting out a story with toy animals.

 11:30 – I wake Caroline up and carry her downstairs for lunch (I have a sandwich, clementine, and sweet potato sticks).

{{Sidenote: This is a funny Anne quote during lunch. Anne, “I read in a book that having a pony is a dream for many, but a dream come true for few.” I said to her, “Are you going to be part of the many or the few?” Anne was quick to reply, “The few!” For those of you who don't know, Anne loves horses!}}

I just love being a big sister to this little sweetie!

12:00 – lunch is over. I like to wipe Carrie's face and then play peek-a-boo with her.

12:05 – Take a blanket into our woods for our read aloud time. (Homer Price today)

Our favorite spot to read.

12:40 – Come inside to play. It was too humid to enjoy playing outside. I read a chapter book called “The Worst/Best Christmas Pagaent Ever” to myself.

1:05- Mommy takes Caroline upstairs for nap. I keep reading.

1:25 – Rest time. Mommy reads to the three of us older girls for awhile.

1:50 – Mommy goes out of our room. I read my book quietly.

3:15 – Watch the rest of Cinderella.

4:00 – Rest time is over. I practice piano.

4:15 – Go outside and skip count by 2s. (Jumping every 2 numbers which are written in chalk.)

4:40 – Come inside. A storm is coming. I see my neighbor friend who just got home from school. My mom doesn't let me go outside because of the thunderstorm. I get angry and run to my room and slam the door and cry. I sit in my room awhile. To regain control I brush and braid my hair. But I am still angry. I argued with my mom and made a face at her so I had to be sent to my room.

5:15 – I spy some pretty clothes. I put them on and decide to act like a princess. I dress Abbey and Maggie up too. We all act like princesses. We help mommy crack the eggs for dinner.

5:40- DADDY IS HOME!!!

6:00 – Eat dinner – scrambled eggs, sausage and toast. We eat a lot of eggs these days.

6:40- Finish dinner. I quickly run outside to play with my neighbor. We play at his house all evening. We swing, dig in the dirt, and talk with the grown ups. 

Our neighbors love little Caroline.

7:50 – Time to go home. We get ready for bed.

8:15- Daddy reads to us from “Little Town on the Prairie.” I am very tired. After we all pray I fall right to sleep. 

****Hope you all enjoyed a little window into Anne's world.*****

Annie Turns Five!

I know I've said it before, and you'll hear me say it multiple times over the years, but there is something really special about turning five. We don't do big birthday parties every year for every child. But turning five is a really big deal. It's a whole hand!! Since I have such a big family usually our birthday parties only involve family. But since turning five is so awesome I thought it would be neat for Anne to invite a couple of friends in addition to all her cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles.

When I asked her who she wanted to invite she said "Mema, the cousins [referring to her 11 or so first cousins], Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle Troy." I asked if she wanted to invite any friends and she said, "Oh yes! Heather!" Heather is my dear friend and we were neighbors for 5 of the 6 years we lived on N. Mary Street. Unfortunately Heather couldn't make it but she sent her husband and their three adorable children.

 

 We had such a great time!

 A little about my Anne at age five. Anne has always loved books. She had been really wanting me to teach her how to read. About four months ago I bought some very simple easy-reading books (one sentence/page) that were leveled so she could slowly work up to the fourth level. Before the books arrived in the mail I taught her some common sight words (the, and, I, go...). The books arrived and she picked up the first one and read it straight through. Typically there was a picture that could help figure out a difficult word on the page. In about a month's time she was reading at the 4th level. I didn't force this or focus on it too much. It was something that she wanted to do. She was highly motivated to read.

Since our foster children came two and a half months ago I hadn't taught her too many new things. She loved that she could read and would pick up books and read them to the other children while I was cooking, cleaning or washing dishes. One day it occurred to me that she is reading some really high level stuff. She picked up a chapter book and started reading it - with expression - nearly flawlessly. After looking at the reading levels of the books she is reading and doing an online assessment, it would appear that Anne has taught herself in short time how to read -- on a fourth grade level!! {I realize this may come across as bragging, but I am totally impressed by her drive and determination to read! Now if only she had the same love for numbers....}

This was completely Anne's idea to put on the angel wings.

Her pose of choice. {She's crazy but we love her!}

 So obviously at age five Anne loves to read. She also enjoys watching movies. Ice Age and Winnie the Pooh are some favorites. Anne loves to dance in her ballerina dress up clothes. She loves to sing. The "little girls" wanted to listen to kid's songs in the van today but Anne piped up that "I want to listen to WJTL" (Our local Christian radio station.) Just today she was singing "there may be pain in the night, but joy comes in the morning!" I'm so thankful for the good influence of Christian radio.

One of my favorites!!

 The Anne-girl is a sweetheart. She is learning in a very real way God's grace and mercy. She is the leader of the children in this home. It's a huge job - she now has four younger siblings - all of whom look up to her and respect her and watch to see what she is going to do. Foster care has been very challenging for Anne. The girl is not always nice, in fact, she will often intentionally say or do something to upset Anne and she knows just the right buttons to push to get on her nerves. But, when the girl was sick, Anne was the first one to pray for her to feel better. Anne is also very intuitive. One evening at dinner the girl was singing, "Jesus Loves Me" and Anne leaned over to me and said, "Mommy, I want to whisper something in your ear." I leaned over and she said, "You know, she (foster daughter) doesn't talk about 'Chucky' anymore." {For those of you who don't know, Chucky is an evil doll in a horror movie that comes to life and tries to kill people with a knife. Our foster daughter had seen this movie and often talked about Chucky and his knives when she first came. Any time she saw a knife she asked who we were going to kill what that knife.}

She's an angel, right?

 Anne does a very good job at leading our crew. She is a big helper. Of course, she is just a kid, and is usually the last one to have her shoes on because she is lolly-gagging about. But, she can't be perfect, can she?

I hope you have enjoyed reading all about Anne!

Photo credit: JCPenney Portrait Studio - & my awesome sister Audrey Shenk!