First the kids.
Alexis: Alex is truly learning to read now. She does great with her sight words at school, but when we sit down to read books, she can sound out a lot of words and is building her confidence. I don’t know how to get her past words that can’t be sounded out in the way she’s used to, but I’m sure we’ll learn together. Not that I’m trying to pressure her to read or anything, but she’s pretty ready for some of the basics and enjoys staying up a few minutes after bedtime to look at her books. I think she’s getting excited about actually being able to read some of them.
She’s continues to do well at school and gets really excited about activities that she does there. It makes me really happy that she wants to do well and enjoys school. She’s been really into building cool towers with blocks lately, and she ALWAYS wants to do crafts! Always. It’s hard to believe that she’s going to be five in May. She continues to bust out with some Spanish sometimes, and she went to her first Sunday school all in Spanish at church last Sunday. She did a good job until the very end, when I think it got a little overwhelming for her.
Micah: Micah is trying to get potty-trained. He has good days and bad days. He totally gets the concept, but I’m not sure he truly WANTS to be potty-trained yet. However, we’ve had a few days with only a few diapers. He refuses to poop in the potty right now, though, so we’ll have to see about that. He loves getting stickers when he uses the potty, though, so that’s been a good incentive.
My son also somehow got a crayon and scribbled all over the wall around his bed. I’m not sure how this happened, but I was NOT a happy mother. He got the message, though, when he wasn’t allowed to play with crayons for a few days, so here’s to hoping he doesn’t do it again. He still really struggles with the colors red, blue and green. He can match them with each other, but he can’t identify them with regularity. Part of me still thinks he might be color blind, but he might also just have a mental block, especially if he can group the colors together. However, that’s not the end of the world by any means.
They both had their first experience with ice skating the other day. Alex had fun but got tired really quickly, I think more so than normal because the skates were way too big. Micah was having fun walking on the floor, but as soon as he hit the ice, he freaked out. I think he needs a few more years on him…
Jason: Jason is really embracing his job. He was on a spiritual retreat in NC a few weeks ago, and he came back with a true vision for the office, which is great. I think he’s really stepping into his job now and not feeling like he’s just learning everything but that he can truly lead now. And he’s doing that. For example, yesterday he got a call about two women in another area of the country who had their motorcycle stolen while they were on the road. A scary situation, but that’s part of what he’s there for: to make sure people are okay and figure out next steps. He’s been doing a lot of interviewing for various positions in the country, and I think he’s generally enjoying his job, even when it’s stressful.
Jess: Okay, so we have a made two mornings a week right now, which is the greatest thing ever. Today is only the second time she’s been here, but it’s a huge help around the house. I’m still working a few hours every week, and I’ve volunteered to help at Highlands, where Alex goes to school, to see if I can be of any help. I’ve done some curriculum and resource research for their middle school so far, so we’ll see how that goes and if I can be of help in any other ways. I still need Spanish lessons; it’s been harder than I anticipated to get someone to come for two hours a week at two separate times, but we’ll continue to work on that.
Bolivia is Bolivia. It’s been really nice the past few weeks. The rains have mostly stopped, so it’s been warm and sunny most of the time. However, we still run into the fun life issues that make things more complicated than they need to be. For example, we need gas for our stove because it ran out. We have an extra tank but couldn’t get it to work (there was a part missing in our connection), so I tried to catch the truck that drives around and rings a bell advertising gas, but I couldn’t get there in time. Then I went about asking our doorman where we could get gas, but he didn’t know. I asked a cop, and he didn’t know. I asked the guard at the bank, and he didn’t know. Finally a friend let me know where I could get it, but I spent a lot of time the other morning trying to figure this out. However, I now know where I can get gas without trying to make it to the truck in time!
Jason was actually supposed to go out of town for a night this week and got up early and went into the city. However, there were blockades due to rises in bus fares (I think), so they ended up having to turn back around and not go. That’s La Paz for you.
We’re still waiting to see what’s going to be done about the water damage in the apartment, but we’ll keep you posted on that.
Always an adventure!
