School is ALMOST out!!

Here on our side of the planet, local kids don't get out of school until the middle of July. Thankfully, Hannah and Hudson start their summer break in 2 weeks, June 11. However, last weekend, their school had their end-of-the-year program. As a parent, I couldn't have been prouder of my two kids.

Hudson's class recited several poems and Hudson recited 2 with just he and two other kids. He recited Scripture in English and the local language, as well as sang a song in the local language. He has worked so hard this year and done a great job in school.

This pic was taken before the program started.....obviously!

Ah....the classic "mouth wide open sinigng" picture....I have had so many of these taken in my lifetime. Hannah's class had been studying the Byzantine Empire, so she and a friend wrote a play based on the time in history. Their teacher helped them edit it, and the whole class performed it at the program. Hannah was Queen Theadora. She did a great job! Hannah's class also recited Scripture in English and the local language.
At the end of the night, the principal gave awards. The first award was for those students who had maintained a 99% or higher on their Scripture memory all year. Only 6 students from 3-12th grade accomplished this. Can you guess who was one of them??

After this award the principal gave an award to 4 students who had exemplified their Faith in attitudes and actions throughout the school year, again a 3-12th grade award. Hannah was one of the 4. We are so proud of her. She too has worked hard this year in all areas.

Thank you for allowing me to brag on my kids. I am so thankful for them and proud of how well they have done this year, in spite of the adjustments and changes that have occured in their lives this year. We are truly blessed!!

Birthday - Part 2

I am way behind on my blogging.....so hopefully many blogs will be coming soon. Hudson's birthday has come and gone....9 years old. It is hard to believe my baby is 9. It seems like yesterday I was going to Olive Garden to eat dinner with my good friends the night before Hudson's arrival. I think it was a last meal of sorts. The next day Hudson came into the world and our family has never been the same since...in a good way!! We are so thankful for him. He makes us laugh and is constantly encouraging with his sweet spirit and positive outlook on life.

The day of Hudson's birthday we started off with pancakes and a phone call from cousins and family. It was a good morning. That night we invited our friends over for pizza and cupcakes. As you can see Hudson is outnumbered in the girl/boy relationship. But, he doesn't seem to mind.

On Friday night, we invited all the boys in his class to a sleepover. Nothing like 10 boys in your house to make it smell fresh and inviting......ah the stinky feet smell. We took them all to the arcade to play games then on to Pizza Hut for some pizza. When we got home, Rob, Hannah, and I went to our room and left them to their playing. It was a war zone from the living room to Hudson's room....literally. It was the light sabers vs. the toy guns. They attacked back and forth for about an hour. This is one of my favorite. This boy was on the light sabre team, but we didn't have enough so he grabbed the plastic bat and the OU helmet and played all night. We ate cake, opened presents, put on a movie, then went to sleep. Ok, so it wasn't that smooth, but by 1am everyone was sleeping. One of the best parts was the present opening. Hudson received some seaweed, bread, and red wine as birthday presents. Nothing like cultural experiences.

This is the "morning after" pic. I couldn't resist...the picture of exhaustion!! Good thing you can't see me in the pic!
Hudson was duly celebrated and is already looking forward to next year's birthday.

Hudsonisms

from Rob

Oh the things that come out of my son’s mouth. The other night we were sitting down watching the season finale of The Amazing Race. (Thanks uncle Tom, the slingbox is working great!) This season, one of final three teams remaining in the finale was a deaf young man and his mother. They were one of our favorite teams and it was really neat to watch them compete all season long. (Except they were not our favorite team…. our favorites won!) This team came in third. At the end of the show there were of course tears and the obligatory re-caps of how the race had changed their lives forever… how even though they didn’t win they wouldn’t have changed a thing… and how much closer they feel to their team partner… blah blah blah. Well, as they interviewed this young deaf man he (very rightly) said how proud he was to prove that deaf people could do anything that a hearing person could do. Watching and listening intently my wonderful innocent son, completely unaware of just how un-politically correct he was, blurts out, "Yeah they really can do anything…. except hear." Gotta love that kid.

Confessions

There are days that the culture differences really rub you (me) the wrong way. I am by nature a very kind and sweet person....at least that's what I am told. I don't know if the "honeymoon" phase is over, or if I am not able to play the "I don't understand what you are saying" card anymore, because in the last 2 weeks there have been a few times that I have had to count to 10 and take deep breaths.

1. Today, for example, my friend Pam and I were eating lunch at a "western" restaurant by our house. It was gross and expensive. She ordered "pizza", and I ordered beef and salad...NOT GOOD. However, the company was well worth it and was the reason for being there so no worries. The time came for the bill and we both handed the waitress a 100 and were going to split the change. (not American dollars) The waitress took my 100 but looked at Pam's and said, "sorry, I can't take this." Why? The corner was ripped.....barely. I explained to the waitress that she could take the 100. She disagreed. We had no other money and our cute little visa cards don't work here (except at the bank) so they were of no use either. She quickly went and told her manager. The manager again told me that my friend's 100 would not be accepted. I told her that was all we had, that the money was real not fake, and a small tear would not be a problem. She agreed the money was real, but had a tear and asked me to walk myself to a bank, use my cute visa and get more cash. I told her no. She asked me to call a friend and ask them to bring me money. I said no and again told her she could take the money if she wanted to, and since my friend and I had no other money that was her only choice. She took the money and quickly brought the change. After she left I asked if I was rude, but my friend said I was polite and smiled the whole time. :) Good.



2. Then, there was last week, when my kids were playing outside and some older ladies were also playing mahjong outside. My kids were riding their scooter down the hill. (see this post) They were having a great time laughing and playing, then the noise stopped. I went out onto the balcony to check on them and they were all just sitting. Upon investigation I discovered....one of the older ladies had been yelling at them that they were bothering their mahjong game. When they proceeded again to go down the hill, she got up and threw her water bottle...full of water...at Hudson's head. (it missed...he dodged it) Hannah, being my sweet daughter, picked it up and handed it back to her. However, the kids got the message and were afraid to slide down the hill anymore. Upon hearing this, mom wasn't happy. However I decided to wait a few moments before telling the older ladies it was not OK to throw a bottle at my son's head. Not too long after that, Rob came home and I relayed the situation. He very kindly told the ladies that it wasn't ok to throw things at children and that the children could play outside, just like they could play mahjong outside. Come to find out, it was only one lady who was having a bad day, the others had no problem with the kids. In fact, the other ladies agreed with Rob. Phew...

3. Ordering burgers at McDonalds....made to order. There is difficulty here getting some people to "think outside the box". Anything out of the ordinary is a stretch. So, when you go to McDonalds and one person wants mustard only, another wants ketchup (catsup...however you like to spell it) only, and the other two want it plain and dry....what do you do? Now that we are much more daring and persuasive with our lanuguage (and dare I say persistent) we can usually get our desires across. But every now and then, you get a new worker who doesn't know us and our weird requests.....and it is like starting from scratch! So, if you are ever tired, frustrated, or hungry.....just order like it is and don't ask for anything special.

Birthday #1 - Rob

The first birthday I ever spent with Rob was his 20th birthday. I remember my roommate Keli and I made him a Barney cake! And he still wanted to date me after that.....Phew! This is actually the 3rd year in a row we have been here for Rob's birthday. Obviously this year and last year we lived here, but the year before we were here trying to set up teaching trips for the EHC teachers that year. I think I got Rob a muffin from a small bakery for his birthday that year.

There are so many things I love about my husband. I can't even begin to express my love for him in a simple blog. However, one of the things I am loving more and more is our history together. We have been married for 13 years (almost) but have known each other for 15. I am truly blessed to have him not only in my life, but to have him right by my side. When I think about my sweet grandmother and grandfather who spent more than 60 years together I realize we have a long way to go, and are just "teenagers" in this relationship. I am so excited to see what the next 15 years will bring.

As far as Birthday 2009.....it was fun. The kids decided they really wanted Daddy to have a "suprise" party. Easier said than done. They had lots of great ideas and we had several "meetings" about how to pull it off. But one of the downfalls of being together for so long, Rob can read me like a book. So, while I am sure it wasn't a total suprise, he didn't know the details. Friday afternoons are pretty relaxed here. The kids get out of school at noon, so we had some friends meet us at Pizza Hut for birthday lunch. Rob was celebrated and even got a package of cheese from his teacher....who thinks we eat a lot of cheese. P)

So, once again.....HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROB!!!

FYI....May is birthday month here....so more birthday posts to come.....can you guess who is next?