First grade--week 10

Numbers and math:

She worked on sentences with her spelling words:

"I saw bats in a cave"

"The season is falls" :)

"I added numbers 1, 2, 3"

"I am wishing I could be a ballerina"....she said she didn't finish the last word :)

She didn't do as well this week on her spelling test---she got 8/10. But in all honesty, we hadn't gotten a spelling list in the beginning of the week and so we totally forgot until Thursday. Then I had to get a list. So for only having one day to practice, I think she did pretty good :)

Here is a picture of Hannah and her principal, Mrs. Platt. She loves Mrs. Platt!

She also had a dental check this week and passed with flying colors!

What November means to us

November is National Diabetes Month. It also happens to be National Adoption Awareness Month. Two very different things but have a common denominator in our family.

My husband was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes when he was only 4 years old. I had grown up in a family where diabetes was common. My grandparents had it and my uncle also had it. I didn’t know much about the disease but I knew you had to give yourself shots and you couldn’t eat sugar. As a child, it was perceived as a nightmare—no sugar and shots every day?

Little did I know the true nightmare of diabetes.

I’ve been married to my husband for 17 years. In those 17 years, I have seen diabetes destroy his body. He has had heart bypass surgery, a kidney transplant, a partial amputation of his foot and countless hospitalizations. He has very limited eyesight, struggles with daily severe nerve pain in his feet and hands, struggles with chest pain and has difficulty swallowing and keeping food down because of the nerve damage to his stomach and esophagus. He tests his blood sugar at least 4 times a day and gives himself at least 4 shots of insulin a day.

Diabetes is a disease that truly takes over the whole body in a way that so few understand. It’s a daily nightmare and a cure needs to be found.

But ironically diabetes also had a part in bringing our daughter to us.

About a year after my husband had a kidney transplant, we wanted to start a family. What was thought to be a relatively easy process, ended up being an 8-year battle filled with many infertility tests and treatments before turning to adoption.

After mounds of paperwork, visits from social workers, tests, thousands of dollars and more waiting, a birth mother chose us to be the parents of a beautiful, precious baby girl. When we asked why she had chosen us, she said one of the reasons was because we had gone through so much with my husband’s health and she wanted us to have some happiness in our life.

Our daughter has brought us more joy than we could ever imagine. While my husband continues to struggle daily with diabetes, the one thing that can never take that smile off his face is his daughter.

Two very different things---diabetes and adoption---brought together in a way that only God could explain and He gave us a month to celebrate awareness of both and in a month we also celebrate Thanksgiving. What a blessing.

First grade--week 9

Working with numbers:

I love their creative ways with using games to learn numbers :)

Working with sight words and spelling words:

She did awesome on her spelling test!

Writing stories and sentences:

Stay in your place in line

Hannah was sure to point out she had drawn a heart :)

I like dressing up. I like spending time with my family (awwww)

Please pass the ketchup. Do not mess up my room

Hannah's October Activity Packet and some of the pages she did:

Hannah's October Math Journal and some of the pages she did:

She didn't do all the pages but she made sure to draw a picture on the back of her packet :)

This week was also Halloween. They got into their costumes and did a parade for the high and middle school. Her teachers also dressed up as the "vowels". It was very cute:

It is tradition for first grade to have a "Q" and "U" wedding. They let the girls dress up in formals and the boys dress up in their sports gear. It is so cute! Here are some pictures from Facebook:

First grade--week 8

This week was a big week as Hannah was student of the week!

She also got a coupon for a Subway kid's meal. Very proud of her!

It was also Red Ribbon Week, focusing on staying off drugs. They had dress-up days. One day was tourist day, one was red day, another was sports day and another was mismatch day. On tourist day, they took a picture of all the kids that dressed up. I let Hannah take my camera to be a tourist. She is on the very left of this picture:

The picture also made the local paper :)

Here she is writing with some friends on Red Day:

Worked with math and numbers:

This is Hannah "helping" me take pictures....roll my eyes:

She also wrote some stories:

I love to go to Hawaii a lot. Hannah. I like to see the people dance. (She does love Hawaii!)

I am going to a hotel! Hannah. (She was going with her cousins and grandma to a hotel that weekend and was very excited!)

I see a tree with ice cream in the tree in winter

And then she drew these.....warmed my heart!!:

I love my dad so much

I love my mom so much

No spelling test this week as it was a short week with no school on Friday