Another baby step and some catching up

I found out today that our Article 5 was picked up from the U.S. Consulate in Guang*zhou. So our wait for TA can finally begin. Our agency said to expect TA in about 4 weeks. We hope to travel 1-2 weeks after we get our TA. So if all holds true, we will likely leave the first or second week of July (hopefully the first.) We will finally send off for our travel visas this week. With everything else going on, I've just been slacking on this because I know it can be done quickly. But we'll finally send everything off, including Caleb's original (and oh so precious) Ch*inese passport.

Caleb and I have been super busy finishing up our kindergarten curriculum for this year. We started waaaay late (end of Sept) because of vacations and ordering materials. Patrick and I are both so proud of him. He actually finished up his math curriculum last week. And to celebrate, I took him to the sporting goods store to finally buy him a batting helmet, some baseball pants, and some throw down bases for the front yard. He was in heaven!!!! Oh my. His joy just melted my heart to no end. We will finish up phonics/reading this week. And although I never officially enrolled him with the school district because he's only 5, we will celebrate his graduation big time with a trip to see the Big Mouse. In actuality, we had planned one last hoorah at the Magic Kingdom as a family of three. But it just happens to coincide with finishing up K, so that it's an even bigger reason to celebrate.

I know we mommas like to brag on our kiddos. And this bloggin' momma is no different. I am just so proud of how far Caleb has come this year. He receives speech and language therapy through the school system because he came to us delayed in those areas. He has made great strides with his speech and is now only working on age- appropriate sounds. He's still behind a bit with his language but continues to get better. I share all this because I knew this would make being a first time homeschooling momma difficult. Although he knew all his letters and sounds before we started last September, he initially struggled with blending his letters in to words and didn't quite get it. We kept pushing through, he finally got it and is now reading beyond his age! He's always done well with learning new math concepts and has been doing 1st and 2nd work already. We are so so proud of how hard he's worked and just how far he's come. It's hard to believe that he has still spent more of his precious life in an orphanage than with his forever family.

One of the things I have learned about Caleb during my first year of teaching him (which, by the way, I never planned on doing LOL) is that one of his love languages is words of affirmation. Whenever we praise him for doing something well, it just strikes right to the deep of his heart. Our words are so powerful to him and speak so much more than we realize. I have also learned that he leans toward perfectionism, which is something we will have to work on. But I'm thankful for all the precious moments we have had together this year. I've been researching and ordering our curriculum for next year (1st grade, woo hoo!) and am just so excited to be teaching him again. Please pray that Madeline also realizes how important it is for us to continue homeschooling. LOL. I know she might have a mind of her own. ;)