Six Months Later…

 

Our 13-year-old daughter, Samantha, came home on May 21, 2011… and for a few minutes, we want to look back on our last six months and praise God for the joyful little lady He brought to our family! 

Today we celebrate her!

The entire time we were in St. Petersburg, she kept her English to a minimum.  She depended on the translator to say everything.  Once we were “on our own” in Moscow, I informed her that she was “mom” as long as we were in Russia.  Once we got on the plane, I would resume the role.  She took charge… and we ate pepperoni and cherry pies for dinner!

Later that night, our little girl made sure I had the camera ready to capture the moment she ran from the bathroom to her big, fluffy bed… and jumped… head first, big smile, and unending giggling… into her future life. 

She is incredibly playful.  She kicks Chad out of bed so that she, Ashley and I can have a “sleepover” in my bed.  She runs to the car everyday after school with a big smile and yells something funny at me, like, “Hey chicken, I’m hungry.  Can I eat you?”  She walks into the kitchen and in her little sing-song voice, says “Hi mommy!  What ‘cha burning for dinner?”  When Colorado had its first snow of the season, she grabbed her swimsuit and ran to the empty pool… to swim! 

That is the girl I kiss goodnight each night.   

She’s Becoming My Shadow…

After a month in America, she joined me on the mission trip I had planned for my youth group.  In a week, she learned what it meant to serve those less fortunate, she saw the way American teenagers serve one another and work hard for complete strangers.  She learned that best friends and complete strangers find any excuse to play together.  She learned that her mom talks a lot about God and His love.  In one week, her English doubled and the American girls’ learned Russian… but only enough to pick on the boys.    

In July, we introduced her to camping as a family.  Sadly for her, she still had to stick to our home-schooling lessons.  She got even with me by making the family walk a million miles up a mountain so that she could play in the snow!  
Then, a few weeks later, she came with me on our youth group camping trip.  Again, she found snow to play in and friends to laugh with.  In August, she went with me on another week-long retreat in the mountains that I was teaching at.  By this point, she had camped, ziplined, canoed, fished, and roasted more smores than most people do in a lifetime. 


 

 The greatest part of these trips was watching her mature into the role that was required of her.  On the first trip, it was just about exposure and learning to be grateful for the blessings in our life.  She found her best friends on that trip and still loves them to pieces.  She was innocent and naïve on those early trips, but by our last retreat, she realized that she was the camping expert.  She became the nurturing and encouraging big sister to all the younger campers.  They still call her today, and I can see my daughter easily taking over my role one day.

Mastering the Language…

There are moments when you wish you could just follow your child around without them knowing.  Her first day of school was one of those. 

In August, her first class of the day was English as a Second Language.  My darling little girl was called over the teacher for what I imagine to be a chance for him to evaluate how much work he had cut out for himself. 

To begin, he asked, “Do you understand me?”
“Yes, do you understand me?” she sassed right back at him. 
He pointed to the chair, and asked, “What is this?”
“A chair?” my confused child answered.
“What is this?” he asked her, holding up a book.
“A book.” She stated, thinking he’s a weird teacher.  “Why are you asking me silly things?”
He replied, “To see if you speak English.”
“Of course I speak English, I’m in America.”

He only dealt with her bossiness for the first quarter and kicked her out.  She’s now in Social Studies for first hour!

What’s free time?
The 1^st day of school was so hard for me!  I felt cheated!  Most parents get to have their babies for at least 5 years before they send them off to school.  I had three months.  But, it’s hard to pout since she loved school right from the start!

By the end of the first week, Samantha had decided to try out for the volleyball team.  When teams were decided, she bounced all the way to the car screaming, “YES!” as she pumped her arm in the air.  We drove as fast as we could to dad’s soccer practice, she ran straight at him and jumped into his arms from a few feet away!  She made Varsity!!

During the 2^nd week of school, Samantha jumped in the car and shrieked, “Mom!  Guess what?!  My friends picked me to be the ‘Counselor of Students’!”

I had no idea what she was talking about.  In our nightly conversations, we have talked a lot about the role of the “Camp Counselor” and how they take care of the kids and help when needed, so I knew she understood that word.  But, I didn’t have a clue what she was talking about.  I had her “use her words” and tell more so that I could understand.

“I will make dances.  I will make parties.  I will make posters.”

Oh!  Student Council.  Got it!  Driving her to school before the sun is up is not my favorite thing, but watching the pride she has when she spends an extra Saturday at school preparing for a dance makes it all worth it.  She loves being involved and keeping busy. 

Sleep With Me…
Last summer, I would play my guitar and sing Samantha and Ashley songs at bedtime.  Now, we have a new routine.  I get to give her my goodnight kiss, but every single night, since the very first night, she pulls me into her bed and squeezes the air right out of my lungs.  She curls up in my arms and shares everything on her mind. 

Those first nights, it was mostly just me talking.  Two words at a time.  Short sentences that convey all my thoughts.  I’d say, “Mom happy.  You here.  You home.  You mine.” And always, “I love you.”

Within the first couple nights, she let on that she could speak plenty of English.  It was broken, and we got really good at using many words to describe the same thing, until we both understood.  It was in those bedtime conversations, where minutes turned into hours, that she began to share her past.  She held nothing back.  She shared every memory she could find words for, and if she couldn’t find the words, she would draw it.  We talked until we were both falling asleep. 

As the months go on, our conversations have grown in length and depth.  She holds nothing back, but trusts us with her entire world.  She looks at all of us with pure love and joy.  She picks on her siblings and they give her plenty of reasons to.  She makes fun of her daddy, and he gives it right back.  As for me, she’s my teenage handful of chaotic love.  I think love is God’s most creative gift to us.  In a single heartbeat, I can look at all three of my little trouble makers and have my heart break with pride, laugh at the way they keep me entertained, and cry  because I’m so undeserving of their powerful and unconditional love.

It’s been six month since Samantha’s been home, and I never would have imagined God would bless us in so many unique ways.  His creative story continues to unfold… and we are just beginning.