Last night was another night of almost falling asleep on my feet, so I had to push the Sunday blog update until Monday morning!
It seems redundant to say yesterday was another full day, but, of course, it was! We had to wake all three kids for church, but Michel woke up and got ready to go willingly. Mike and I definitely have not yet gotten used to "girl time" getting ready in the morning, though. We are used to throwing clothes on our rough and tumble boys and hopping in the car. We have to allow a little more time now to get out the door!
Michel seemed a little nervous when I told her that there would be a couple hundred people at church. She has a deep faith in God and loves the confirmation classes she has been attending at her Catholic church in Colombia, so she was excited to see our church. However, she seemed apprehensive about confronting such a large crowd. She took my hand as we entered the building (only fifteen minutes late!) and stayed close by my side, but when it was time for the kids to go to their classes after the family worship time, she willingly followed Andrew to class. (We gave her the option of staying with us for the sermon, attending the middle school group with kids her age, or going to class with Andrew.) Almost all of the other Kidsave kids visiting the Midwest this year are staying with families who attend our church, so she was excited to see the friends with whom she had traveled. They seem to have formed a very deep bond during the preparation time before coming to the United States.
After church, Michel reported that she had a lot of fun, although she didn't understand most of the teaching in class because of the language barrier. She liked the pretzel snack, and she was comfortable playing with the other kids after church until it was time to leave.
Mike let Michel pick what she wanted for lunch after church, and she chose pizza. We went to Pizza Ranch, Mike's favorite local pizza buffet. It's funny - Michel seems very comfortable with many aspects of our modern society - navigating smartphones and computers with ease - so I sometimes forget that there are still a lot of new experiences here for her. I explained the "all you can eat" buffet concept before we arrived, and I remembered to tell her to get a new plate each time she went back for more food. (This is difficult for all kids to remember!) But apparently I fell short in my preparatory education when I handed her a glass for her beverage without any further instruction. While I supervised the boys with their drinks, I didn't see her head to the salad bar and start filling the glass with food. Oops!
Michel has said more than once that her favorite food is pizza, but yesterday, dessert pizza reigned supreme over any other pizza choice. (Another area I probably should have prepared her better...eating regular food before dessert. A hard concept when a restaurant places all of the choices before you!) I talked her into eating two pieces of pizza and one slice of cheese bread to offset the chocolate pudding (which she didn't really like), the dessert pizza, the ice cream, and the large glass of Sprite. Her face lit up when she saw ham and pineapple on pizza, and I was surprised to learn that Colombians also refer to this as "Hawaiian pizza".
Michel was curious about the kiddie-oriented vending machines in front of the restaurant. I explained how they worked. She apparently found a coin on the floor and promptly slipped it in the gumball machine before I thought to see whether it was a quarter. When nothing came out, I figured she must have put in a penny, but it was too small to pull it back out. She seemed mildly disappointed when no gumball rolled out of the slot. My apologies to the next person who tried to use the jammed gumball machine!
After lunch, we went for a drive, and Michel listened attentively as we described various places. She volunteered comparisons to Colombia on things such as nursing homes. She was very talkative in the car, telling stories on the way home about the other kids in her foster home and some about her own birth family.
When we got home, Michel helped untangle a mess of a parachute for our kids' model rocket. We took the rocket to the park, and Michel was in charge of launching it. She said that she had never seen a real model rocket, but she had seen them in movies. (She recounted a tale about a scene in a movie where someone launches a model rocket, and it comes down and slices a woman in half. YIKES! I assured her that this should be a safer activity.) She was excited to watch it launch and track its projection through the air. Unfortunately, it landed in the brushy grove of trees adjacent to the park. Mike and Matthew tracked it as well as they could, but ultimately couldn't find it. Michel didn't seem interested in looking for it, because by then she had discovered the one game on my cell phone and was immersed in playing "Can You Escape?"
Michel seems to be somewhat sensitive to the heat and often comments on it. She stays hydrated and tolerates it, but I can't really blame her for complaining when it's 90 degrees and humid. She said that Colombia doesn't usually get this hot. I assumed that Colombia would be hot year-round, since it straddles the equator, but the current temperature in Bogota is 59 degrees. I was surprised when she said, "I actually prefer the weather in Iowa." She appreciates that Iowa is consistently hot, as opposed to Bogota, where she says that it is very rainy one day, then hot the next, then rainy again, which, in her words, "causes many illnesses." I'm not sure if she means ailments like asthma, or public health issues, or maladies caused by the frequently changing weather (something I hadn't heard of before moving to the Midwest). I probably should have asked for clarification!
During our park excursion, Michel asked if we could get in the hot tub again. She has definitely taken to the water! She could probably play in the hot tub all day if we would let her. Andrew joined a friend to go bowling, so Michel and Matthew had lots of one-on-one time with Mike. They splashed and laughed almost nonstop. It's great to see her develop a relationship with each of our kids.
We are learning a lot, not only about Michel and Colombia, but also about life with a girl. I ran to Costco while Mike was outside with the kids, and when I came home, I found Mike and Michel, sprawled on the floor and painting our dog's nails...er, claws. It was so sweet to see the two of them enjoying this time together, but Mike apparently has never had rules about nail polish and didn't know that you aren't supposed to use it on white carpet. Thank goodness for parenting in the age of Google, when I can look up a variety of ways to remove nail polish!
Dinner ended up later than we had planned, but Michel enjoyed baked cod and corn on the cob. She initially said she only wanted one ear, but when she realized the boys were having seconds (and thirds, and fourths...), she asked for more corn. The boys asked for blueberries when the spotted the large package from Costco, and Michel tried her first blueberry. She loved it, and proceeded to have several servings! I couldn't keep the kids refilled fast enough on blueberries! It became a game for Michel and Matthew - Matthew would finish his cup and ask for more, and he'd prod Michel to finish hers while I refilled his cup. Then he would race to eat all of his berries while I brought Michel more, and so it continued. Note to self: Next time, rinse all of the blueberries and bring them to the table so everyone can help themselves!
Too many late nights in a row finally caught up with us last night, and our boys fell apart in all the ways kids fall apart when overtired. Michel not only held together well, but she tolerated the mild insanity from the boys better than Mike and I do! I think the fatigue was getting to her by bedtime, but instead of manifesting in whining and disobedience and tears (like it does in our boys), it was hysterical laughter. I think that's preferable! Eventually everyone settled down, brushed teeth, and read stories. She said she wasn't ready to sleep after reading. With permission, she came downstairs with me to let the dog out and snuggle for a few minutes, then headed to her room to listen to music until she could sleep. She definitely loves music of any kind, and it didn't take long for her to fall asleep.
Today will be our first foray into swimming lessons. She says she has never learned how to swim, but she is very comfortable going under the water and splashing around in our hot tub. The boys will have a lesson first, while she and I hang out poolside. She will have her lesson next, while I interpret for the swimming teacher. I'm hoping that goes as smoothly and seamlessly as it sounds!
Thanks again for following our adventures!
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