Sorry I haven't blogged in forever! I have been very very sick! It started when we first got back and I ate some American food but then it somehow moved right on into something more serious. I am feeling much better today but I don't want to over do it and be back laying on the couch moaning and clutching my stomach. I was hoping to get my test results back yesterday but my doc hasn't called yet. We think it must be a parasite or something like that. The doc at Urgent care thinks I got it in Thailand and it finally activated itself. Goody....just what I always wanted.
Nok is doing great. She has adjusted very quickly and seems thrilled to be here most days. A few days ago I had gotten some pictures back and gave her some. I nearly cried because I missed Thailand so much but Nok never shed a tear. She did laugh at the way she looked in some of the photos. Most of the time she was giving me her most fierce face and even letting me know she couldn't stand me but I took the pic anyway. Now I know she regrets acting that way. When I pull out the camera now she smiles and she's even learning to pose like Cody does!
We don't make a big deal out of halloween but Cody does like to dress up a little and trick or treat in safe places. This year Cody was a Tiger and Nok was a cat. It was very interesting trying to paint whiskers on Nok's face w/ eyeliner while she continuously wiped it away. I finally convinced her to be still and not wipe it and leave the cat ears on. She thought we were so silly until we got to the shopping center and all the other kids were dressed up too. Then she thought it was fun to hold out her little bag for candy. The first place we hit the lady insisted Nok say "trick or treat" before she would give her candy. Nok just smiled and held out her bag. After the gal insisted a few times I finally laughed and told her Nok doesn't speak English. Talk about wanting to melt into the floor! The poor gal was so embarrassed she gave Nok extra lol! The girls feasted on candy and played some games and I learned something new about my kids. Cody is determined and has the desire to make it work for her, Nok is determined and demands it works for her! She wouldn't play the games at first and I asked several times. You could tell she thought it childish at first. Then she saw how the game was actually played and that it was in fact challenging and then she nearly squirmed and begged to play. Right away she nearly got it right. She had the right idea but it took a few minutes to get it and then I thought for a moment she was actually going to throw up her hands and shout that she did it. But then of course, she remembered herself and just grinned. I cheered for both of my girls and they won some play dough. I had Cody show Nok right away to not put the play dough in her mouth but to shape it instead. Oh my goodness! She loved it! Looks like play dough will be on Nok's Christmas list.
The Pumpkin Patch was a whole new story. This kid loves the maze!!!! When we first went in she was a bit nervous but then when she realized we were all looking for each other she began running! I could hear her racing through the maze laughing under her breath and snickering when she tricked Cody and headed another direction. Since I was so sick I wasn't able to play long, so I ended up sitting w/ Tommy on a bench and just listening to the girls laughing and running through the maze. Then Nok roasted a marshmallow for the first time. Roasted is the key word here. She just kept lighting it on fire and snickering until I finally took it and pulled it off the stick. She ate it and thought it over, raced through the maze and came back to watch Dad make smores. She loves smores! Finally, Cody showed her where the haunted house was. They were both too scared to go in the big one but the little one was light w/ windows so they went in and Nok just laughed and laughed. We stood outside the door watching her while she prodded and poked at the heads and innards and pointed and giggled at the skeletons. Then we bought little pumpkins for them and I am sure to find them in about 2 months stashed in a drawer somewhere.
We carved pumpkins a few days ago and the girls cleaned the insides out for me. Nok thought it was gross but of course she paused and smiled for the camera. She did think pumpkin carving was strange but neat when I finished. We made a Sun a Moon and a Star. We talked about God's creation and how wonderful it is that He allows us these neat things called pumpkins, and that halloween was originally All Saints Day. Now All Saints Day is November 1st.
We are schooling about 45 minutes to an hour a day. I start loosing Nok's attention about 40 minutes into the lesson so yesterday I tried throwing in a snack in the middle of the lesson. Didn't work. There is just too much going on at home for her to pay attention and she wants soooo badly to be at school. You can tell she loves school. The first day we took Cody in to school after we got back home, Nok headed right to a classroom and seemed perfectly at ease. The Kindergarten teacher is a child magnet and Nok is nuts about her. When we left Cody there and headed for the door Nok was suddenly depressed. I am calling the district again today to see if they can fit her in a couple days a week now instead of starting in the new semester. I think Nok will be much happier and learn a lot more that way. Besides, I am not a teacher and I've never claimed to be. I think it will be smoother on us all and allow Nok some time away from the house. Everyone needs a day off now and then.
Being sick has allowed me plenty of time to think. Mostly about my stomach ache but every now and then I think about how different things are now, but again how they haven't changed at all. We have added a new family member and we couldn't be happier. I know we'll face tough times, everyone does at some point. Even w/ biological children, parents can feel overwhelmed, but we took an even bigger challenge when we took a teen w/ a developmental delay. I know we will eventually see defiance again, maybe a lot of grieving and home sickness, hard times and easy times. But right now I can be happy and say this is the best thing we ever did. I am living in the moment.
Every night at bed time I kiss Cody and then turn to Nok and kiss the air around her face and say Good night ladies. Last night Nok forgot herself and kissed back at me. She quickly realized she had goofed and hadn't meant to do that so she covered her face w/ her blanket and giggled while Dad and I just cracked up laughing. We'll try it again tonight and see how much of an accident it was!
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