Wowza!

The last week has been very trying on all of us. Bill was out of town for two days while the rest of us struggled with the flu. Yes, the flu. Even after having seasonal flu shots AND H1N1 shots, both kids got the flu. So did Mom. And now, so does Dad. He was delayed a bit on getting it, merely because he was out of town, but rest-assured, when he came back we shared our germs full on.

Thankfully, the kids no longer have lingering fevers. Sam appears to have avoided any heart arrhythmias. Carolina has stopped crying at the drop of a hat. So have I. We only have congestion, coughs and some sore throats now. But, honestly, we're feeling better.

I still wouldn't invite anyone to enter my home right now though. Bill has had the worst of it today, while my symptoms climaxed yesterday and Sam's were the day before that.

In other news, I can't remember if I have shared this or not, but my blog seems to be the right forum for it. Sam is reading. All out reading. I cannot believe it.

When we went to the pedi's office earlier this week, I was writing words and sentences on the paper covering the exam table. Sam demands this of me every time we go now (which seems way too often for my liking). He was reading things like, "The cat is black." and "The dog is green." He read a few new words like, "grass" and "moon" that day too. He's learned that two letters together make the "e" sound or "oo" sound. Tonight he read "noon" and "apple" for the first time. We can't seem to get it on video, as he starts acting out every time the camera is turned on.

His pedi was amazed, to say the least. He said he taught all three of his children to read and the earliest he could get them to even begin was three and a half, but mostly age four.

I was really encouraged by this, but at the same time, I can see that I need to step up my teaching him. He obviously desires to learn more, as he begs me every day to help him learn to read more words. I can't keep up! He read the sentence, "He is wet." all by himself to Bill. The more he reads, the more he wants to read. It is amazing. And it makes me happy that he is book-smart too - because I may have to deal with less struggles as he grows up and I have to say no to certain contact sports.

I am starting to think about schools for him for next year. He has two more years before kindergarten starts. Two. More. Years. Holy moly. I really want to enroll him in the Montessori school Mountain Pathways, but it's just too expensive. Pray with us as we make this important decision. Oh, and for all of you die-hard home schoolers...this is not my calling. It's just not.

Carolina is fully potty trained now. Night time and nap time. I cannot believe it. She is a prodigy in so many ways. She is more empathetic than any other child - nay, PERSON - I have ever met. If I cough she runs up to me and rubs my arms and asks, "you okay?" If Sam cries, she rushes to take him his sippy cup and rub his back or play with his hair while asking, "okay, Gege (哥哥) ?" Even if she's in the throws of screaming herself, if she hears her Daddy cough, she'll stop to ask if he's okay. She is the single most loving creature I have ever known. We are blessed more every day for knowing her and having her in our lives.

In other news...we are still unable to upload photos. It's a hardware problem, not a software one. Eventually we'll get to it, but for now there are hundreds of photos sitting on our CF cards waiting to be uploaded. Maybe one day Gateway will fix the BRAND NEW laptop my parents bought for me (that I got to use for three weeks) and send it back to us.

Until that day...my words will have to suffice.