"In a Minute"

There are SO many little stories that I want to share - and SO little time when I can actually contemplate finishing a sentence!  I know that some of you understand the difficulty - 2 kids, 2 dogs, 1 husband.  It can be overwhelming at times just to complete a thought in my head, much less put it down on paper.  But such is life!

I have to say that the two English phrases our son learned first were "In a minute" and "Oh my goodness".  I guess I say that a lot!  lol

One night, as I'm trying to get James dressed and ready for bed after a full day of learning and playing and being silly, I am met with resistance.  He's tired and cranky, I understand that.  He also does not like to be told to brush his teeth. He does a good job, but getting him to start is hard work.  So, I'm explaining how if he wants to play on the ipad in bed before sleeping time comes, he has to brush his teeth, go potty and get his pj's on NOW.  Not "in a minute" which he was saying to me.  I know he understood, but just didn't want to.  You know what he says to me?  "Mama, no English!!!!!"  Okay-dokey!  No more English.

But brush your teeth!

Our friends have been asking how is he communicating, and I have to say, we really don't have many problems being understood.  He might say we don't understand him, as he will launch into stories that are half in English, half sign language and a few Chinese words thrown in.  It is a bit like charades - except I'm not sure what subject we're trying to talk about sometimes.  But he's pretty clear about what he can't do and what he is supposed to do.  When he deliberately messes around, he has that look that most kids do that says - I got away with it.  Well, almost!

I admit that it is frustrating at times to be telling him something - like put on your coat - and have him walk away while you're talking to him.  But then, Joy still claims she doesn't understand what I meant sometimes, so I guess it just goes with the territory. 

In watching how Joy learned English, I think James is at least a year ahead of where Joy was after being home for less than a month.  He has a couple of full complete sentences he can use.  He knows tons of nouns and is starting to hear the pronouns that go with them (THE bowl, YOUR coat).  I'm really pleased bc I know that Joy turned off her brain at times, when she heard a string of words in English that she didn't understand, she just stopped listening. We are now dealing with the consequences of that in school work and just basic listening skills at home.  So I'm happy that James was well prepared and eager to learn English. 

Since I'm writing this on Sunday, I have to mention church.  I know it's hard for kids to sit during church.  I know that our Sunday routine needs to start earlier (meaning, I need to get up earlier).  I know that kids will tell you they need to go to the bathroom, or are hungry, or are sleepy, just to get your focus away from the service.  Sometimes it is easy to smile and lovingly deal with the interruptions and wiggles.  Sometimes - well, it just isn't easy at all. 

This morning was one of those mornings.  Joy wanted to sit next to James.  James wanted to sleep in my lap (which meant laying across Joy).  Joy wanted me to compliment her every move even when it didn't warrant a compliment.  James threw Tim's glasses across 2 pews.  Joy finally settled down to color in her book, but got mad when I put my arm around James (to keep him from climbing over the pew to sit with the older lady in front of us), so in the middle of the prayer we all got to hear, very loudly, "MEE-MAW!", her nickname for me, "What about ME?!".  We finally had a few moments of peace, then Communion started.  James has not wanted to be part of the filing down the aisle and kneeling at the altar rail.  We started down the aisle okay, with the kids fighting over which of my hands they got to hold. But finally, Tim had to carry him.  And then hold his hands, as he wanted to reach for everything he saw.  Then had to carry him back up the aisle as then James thought it would be fun to sit down in the middle of things.

At least most people (the ones who know us, I guess) smiled at us on the way back to our pew.  They were probably thinking, boy, I'm glad that's not me! 

So even with the chaotic Sunday morning, I wouldn't have it any other way now!  James is such a good fit with our family!  He's funny, sweet, precocious, curious, and will learn the boundaries that he needs are to help him grow.  He's learning to be a little tougher and got up pretty well this morning (after the 45 minutes of screaming yesterday morning).  And all around him, we are learning to be a better family for each other and for him too!

They are back from the store - more stories next time!
Thanks for reading -
Margaret