She's becoming a true American - - -

Did you ever stop and listen to how much slang we use or how many extra words we say here in the U.S.? On Sunday, Laiya was going to youth group and the director said "ready Freddy?". Laiya gave her a funny look, as if to say "my name is Laiya, not Freddy!" I am notorious for saying things like "you betcha", "oke-e-doke" and "yup". Yesterday she bumped into the wall and said "woopsie". I looked at her and asked "do you know what that means?" and she said "oh, oh".

We are just thrilled with the progress that Laiya is making. She is becoming more social at school and the teachers say she smiles more every day.She also enjoys her new cousin Lidia, who was adopted from Guatemala in November, 2005. We are beginning to see the fun and silly side of her. She was so excited today to fill out a hot lunch form. Such little things make her happy. We could all learn a lot from her!! Yesterday my niece, Betsy, started to tutor her. She will come two days a week to help with homework (we weren't much help with the math the other day - what's the net of a perimeter??) and to work on Laiya's use of the English language.

We are finding that Laiya and I have a lot of things in common. We enjoy crafts and kids and we like a lot of the same foods. Last night we discovered that she loves raspberry yogurt - she just about licked the container out.

Try to listen to yourself today and take note of the words you say that would make no sense to someone just learning the English language. Have a great day!

Laiya making cards

Laiya's teacher, Mrs. McKenzie, and some of the 7th grade girls

Laiya and her cousin Lidia

Laiya and Betsy doing homework