The last 2 weeks have been a whirlwind of.....normalcy. And that's a good thing. We arrived home to 2 wonderful welcoming parties :). One in Chicago O'Hare with our Chicago family and one here in Morton with our Morton family. I don't have any pictures of our homecoming simply because I was exhausted and not thinking about it. (But I know a few of you did have cameras....hint, hint :) ).
Once we were inside our house and had given Ka Hei the full tour (we had sent him a video tour last spring, but this time we got to do it for real!), located pajamas and gave hugs, prayed and got tucked in, we all crashed. For a few hours. And then our bodies thought it was the middle of the day (literally. It would have been noon in Hong Kong when we got in bed.) and over-exhaustion from jet lag started messing with us. For about a week we worked to get our bodies adjusted to Central time, but I really can't complain. Kids stayed in bed...for hours...while they tried to convince their bodies to go back to sleep, and attitudes stayed pretty positive. We even got started on school-work first thing Monday morning and kids did really well with it!
Before the summer even started, we signed Lucas and Ka Hei up to play on the same soccer team (with Andrew as their coach). We didn't know how much of the season Ka Hei would be able to play, but we wanted to have the option since we knew he liked soccer. Tuesday they had a game :). They both had a lot of fun - and the next Tuesday they were both on offense and their group worked together to score a goal!
Then Thursday the 19th, we celebrated the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. Before we left Hong Kong, Ka Hei’s teachers were kind enough to give us lanterns for the whole family as well as information on the Moon Festival. If you are not familiar with this celebration, think of a holiday similar to Thanksgiving…..minus the turkey…and instead of the pumpkin pie, you have mooncakes! It really is a time to spend with family, being thankful for the good that has come through the year. We definitely have a lot to be thankful for!!! We went around the supper table and each shared something we were thankful for and then enjoyed the traditional mooncakes and tea from another of Ka Hei’s teachers (so sweet of her!). Then we visited Great Grandma Rassi to introduce her to Ka Hei. We came home just after nightfall. Perfect timing for lighting the candles in the lanterns and heading outside to play follow the leader.
Of course, as they were walking around with lit candles in paper lanterns, Ka Hei (who knows what he is doing) is reminding everyone to be careful and go slowly………….and then it happened. A lantern tipped a little too far, a candle went over and woosh! the lantern was quickly engulfed in flames. Everyone gasped in shock as dad ran for the garden hose to douse the fire. As soon as the danger was past, the backyard erupted with laughter as the kids realized that the person who was no longer holding a lantern was…Mom!!! Nothing like a little self-inflicted humbling to bring a family together and create memories.
Most importantly, how is Ka Hei doing? Very well. First, English - He knew a fair amount of English before we got home, and his English comprehension and speaking are growing by leaps and bounds. He is BY FAR most comfortable talking with our family (so if you walk up and ask him a question, don’t be surprised to get a blank stare or a “I don’t know” response). But he understands a lot, for example, a couple days ago he asked me ”what’s that?” (a common question in our house) about a word he had read (he reads English well and had understood the rest of the sentence)…the word was “memorize.” It took a little work, but I was finally able to communicate the meaning well enough for him to clearly understand it. So, yeah, language-wise, he’s doing fantastic!!
Emotionally? Ka Hei’s overall attitude is very joyful. He has gotten irritated with me when I have pushed him a little in his schoolwork (he has the tendency to give up quickly, but when encouraged to keep trying, he does the work very well), but even that irritation is very short lived and he is back to laughing and smiling. He is truly a joy to have. I have wondered though, is he putting on a happy face so we will be happier with him, or is he truly happy to be here, in our family. Yesterday I got my answer.
I asked Ka Hei if he would like to write a letter to anyone in Hong Kong. He excitedly replied that he would. I showed him where the letter-writing supplies were, got him started, and then I went back to making supper. He came into the kitchen a short time later, cards and envelopes in hand, with a huge smile on his face and said, “I want write (different people in Hong Kong) because I want them know, I very happy!”
Praise the Lord!!!!!!!
Dangit...I cry every time!!!!!!
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