End of School!

Put a fork in it....we're done.  We ended our school year with a bang!

When school started this year, we had no idea what the year would bring.  Anna had only been home two weeks when school began.  She was still adjusting to us, and we had not even had our first visit to the ENT or audiologist. 

We had no idea that this would be the year that Amelia would crawl out of her shell and transform herself into a young lady to be reckoned with.  She has had an incredible year!

We had no idea that Anna's journey would take us to mountains, to valleys, to Italy, to the world's leading engineers and surgeons, and to the very throne of the Father.  Miraculous is not too big a word for the year Anna has had.

We had no idea that Lucy Juniper would be....well....okay, we knew all about that one!  She is the one kid in the whole menagerie who is predictable.  And funny.  And full of a zillion questions.  And LOUD.   The Lucy we love now is the same Lucy who let off ear-splitting shrieks in the cabs of Taiwan, not because she was afraid, but because she thought it was funny.

Amelia ended the year on the "A" Honor Roll, earning top grades in reading, language arts, and math.  She won her classroom award for scholarship in technology, and she even surprised us all by winning her classroom spelling bee and moving on to compete at the second-grade spelling bee, earning a spot as one of the top ten spellers in the whole second grade.  Way to go, Amelia!  The award that most spoke to my heart, though, was that she was awarded her classroom's character award for "Most Kind."   So, so proud!  Add to that two beautiful year-end ballet performances and we are proud to say Amelia had a GREAT year.

 

 

Anna also ended her year showing incredible progress.  She won the "most improved" award for her class, in recognition of the leaps and bounds she has made this year.  She began school with virtually no language, and she is now able to recognize and sign all her letters, count to 10, identify her colors, identify numerous objects, animals, foods, and other things by name, write her first name, and sign in short phrases to express complete ideas. She did all this while missing six weeks of school and having brain surgery.  Have I mentioned that she has not even hit her "one year" mark of being in our family, being exposed to English, being exposed to sign language, or being exposed to holding pencil?  She also won a music award and a citizenship award.  The one that made me laugh the hardest, though, was the "Best Actress" award.  Her teacher said, "I know someday Anna will win an Academy Award, and I just want it to be known that I recognized her talent early."  Hahaha. 

 

 

Anna is beginning to recognize some speech sounds, and she is even turning her head to her name on a more consistent basis.  She can say several words and has added many new sounds that she is making with her voice.  We even had a back-gate neighbor comment that he used to hear the children playing outside, and one child's voice always sounded like baby-babble, but now he hears a marked difference in the sounds she makes.  What an encouraging comment!  I think Anna is going to be a pace-setter, and while I don't at all believe Anna is weak or foolish, I do believe she is going to be one of those things of the world that confound the wise.  Where the world says "it will never happen," God says "let me show off."

Lucy's little school did not have awards, but they did have a hot-dog party, complete with jumpy houses and sword balloons.   Lucy enjoyed the party, but she is not the least bit sad to leave school behind for the summer.  This girl plans to have a summer full of bicycle riding (the girl is a maniac on her new bike with training wheels), cartoon watching, and playing outside.

We will enjoy our summer respite, and when it's time for school to start again, we will be ready for another great year.