It's Great To Be Home

On Monday I sat and listened to the sound of both of my daughters snore....I never realized such a sound could be so soothing. I sat in my big comfy chair in my bedroom and listened to the rhythm of their breathing over the monitor while I watched the trees outside my bedroom window sway in the Bloomington breezes. It was then I realized we are home.

Life has resumed some semblance of what normal will probably be from this point on. Mackenzie is back to school at Montessori in the moring and Cornerstone Christian Academy Pre-K in the afternoon. She insisted on going back on Tuesday. Against my better judgement I let her go. She was so excited about returning on Tuesday that she did not sleep AT ALL on Monday night....which means I didn't either. She had to be going on sheer adrenaline because all teachers at Montessori and Cornerstone assured me she did great and she was back to her usual bubbly, talkative self. She was scheduled for a hair cut after school where she practically fell asleep in the chair. She and Raegan were both due to attend Kinder Muzik at 5 and 5:15 and I gave her the option of going home. She insisted on going to Kinder Muzik so off we went. She did great at Kinder Muzik but needless to say it was a quick supper, bath, and straight to bed where she fell asleep before I could even get through all of the "White Swan Express". She slept like a log the rest of the night and had to be woke up for school the next day.

Raegan is doing great. She still is battling the giardia which is starting to get her down. We are in the process of trying to get a sample to test...that's easier said that done. She absolutely LOVES Mackenzie. When Mackenzie leaves for school we have to battle a little crying and she walks around the house crying, "Kenzie, Kenzie" for a little while. It's kind of cute, but also kind of sad. However, more and more of her personality comes out every day. She is talking more every day and her words get clearer all the time. She loves Mackenzie's Montessori teachers and runs up to them for them to hold her when we pick Mackenzie up. I wish there was a way we could take her straight to Montessori since she's already so comfortable. I could lie about her age.....but I think they'd get wise to me around that potty-trained requirement.

Raegan experienced her first Kinder Muzik class. She wasn't exactly participative during the music portion. However, when it came time to put the instruments back in the basket she was all over that. As a matter of fact, she would take the other students instruments from them to put them back, too. She somewhat of a neat-nick and VERY organized. She and I are going to get along GREAT!

Mackenzie continues to love being a big sister. However, Mackenzie is very focused on her experiences as a new Pre-K'er at Cornerstone Christian Academy every afternoon. She leaves every morning with her book bag on her shoulder (like Gabriella in High School Musical she says) and she is so excited when they put her in the car in the afternoon and the talking begins. She gets excited when she gets to wait in the gym with the "big kids" during pick-up time. She reaches into her bookbag and shows me the things her teacher has sent home. Every day she comes home with a new book from the school library for us to read. She talks about how they pray at school and study the Bible. I can't help but say a little "thank you" to God at that moment that He has blessed us in such a way that our daughters will actually get to pray and study the Bible at school. Last night she taught us a new prayer that she wants to do at supper time. She is such a great prayer...I know God is smiling when she is praying.

Dad has gone back to work. He's still very run down and pretty sick. He's almost gray and reminds me of the last time we came home from China. This is about the time we started testing him for SARS last time. He looks awful....but still comes home with a smile every day. He runs down pretty quickly at night. I can't wait for him to get well again so Raegan can totally experience her Dad. It is so fun to watch him walk in the door and both of his girls go running to him. I know his heart is practically bursting at that moment.

So....this is our life right now.....it don't get much better than this. Then.....reality will set in and I'll have to go back to work. That's OK....it's what helps us pay for schools where they pray, trips to Disneyland, and trips to China to bring home beautiul little China princesses.