You know the drill, right? Every August, we dress our little ones in their favorite new clothes and send them off for another year of reading, writing, and arithmetic. Full of dreams and hopes for the coming year. Anxious to begin learning and making new friends. What we fail to realize each and every year during this time of great anticipation is how quickly the year will be done, leaving us to proclaim "I can't believe how quick this year has gone by!"
Austin received an award for perfect attendance this year, something he's been striving for every year, but hasn't been able to achieve - mostly because he had business in China or became ill from something the carriers brought to him. This year, he finally made it. Not a minute missed. No absences, no checkouts, no nothing. And we couldn't be prouder of him for his responsibility, perseverence, and dedication. Yes, he's a little unusual, wanting to not miss a day, but that's just him. Austin also had a great year in the classroom, though he and I had our battles with Advanced Trigonometry! Austin reminds me alot of myself when I was in school, not wanting to miss anything and wanting to excel in everything. We're very proud of his achievements in the classroom this year. We're also proud of his achievements in his two favorite extracurricular activities - band and golf. His drumline didn't quit practicing with the end of marching season, working for two hours every Tuesday and Thursday right thru spring. If you want to experience an awesome drumline next season, come out to East and hear them perform. They're gonna rock; now, if only I can convince Mrs. Sam to let 'em do some Toby Mac! Austin also completed his 4th year on the golf team and played as the '1' most of the time. He's really improved his game to the point where shooting for par is starting to become a reasonably achievable goal. With a couple more years on the Golf team, he might even parlay this talent into a break for his mommy and daddy when it comes time to pay for college! Go East Golf!
Lily and Lia, on the other hand? Ugh! We missed so many days, we were asked to re-register them several times as new students! They shared everything, from dolls to clothes to germs to mischief, earning the nicknames 'carriers, twin twisters, and thing 1 and thing 2.' But, what a year each had at school. We are so blessed to have them as daughters - thank you Jesus! Knowing Lily and Lia's lifesongs and being a part of who they are and who they are becoming has been one of the greatest blessings ever for us. There's not a day that goes by without Lia Faith looking up at me with those deep, brown eyes and proclaiming "Daddy, you the best daddy in the whole world!" Lily follows up with "You know how much I love you? ... Thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis Muuuuuuch!" It's simply too hard to describe in words how that impacts me each day.As far as school for Lily and Lia, we wanted Lily Grace to gain some structure to her day and begin to learn how to learn, but we hadn't intended on putting Lia Faith in school until next year. But the staff at FCA convinced us she was ready and what a difference it has made for her. Both Lily Grace and Lia Faith have gained confidence and independence and really excelled at learning. They both seem to be able to grasp concepts very, very well. Though they are much alike, they each have their own personality. Lia will be known as the teacher's pet and Lily Grace will be the whiz kid! Their teachers at FCA were wonderful. Both Lily Grace and Lia Faith were tested as gifted by the International Adoption Clinic, prompting the staff at UAB to ask us "who is teaching these girls?"Great job FCA! In addition to their English language skills, both of them know several words in Chinese and just as many in Spanish.
As for Connie and I? We celebrated 25 years of blissful marriage during the school year by leaving the kids with grandparents and heading to New York. And then we helped those same grandparents celebrate '50' in March on the beach in Gulf Shores. I sure hope Connie puts up with me another 25 so we can watch together as Austin, Lily Grace, and Lia Faith grow into God's plans for their own lives. What an awesome story and lifesong that will be.
Thank you Jesus, for the blessings of special children and a wonderful mommy for them!
Love,
Jerry, Connie, Austin, Lily Grace, and Lia Faith
Green, Party of Five
