Growing up!

Ellie knew three things about Taiwan before arriving here:

1.) It's HOT

2.) There are bugs

3.) She will go to school in Taiwan!!

And so we were greeted by HOT weather and bugs immediately upon arriving and now number three is coming true......

This little girl:

is going to school!! And she is SOO excited! I'm quite excited too as it seems she gets bored at home, always looking for something new and exciting and ALWAYS wanting more friends to play with. We knew Ellie would be ready for school this year and our move has provided the perfect circumstances to do so. Not only is school cheap (relatively speaking), Ellie will also learn Chinese! She is excited to learn Chinese and has already expressed that one day she would like to speak Chinese as well as her dad. All the while, her dad is hoping she will one day surpass him in his abilities. For now, to optimize Chinese learning while attempting to keep our little girl safe and healthy, we have decided she will go to school for full days on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The nice thing is the kids take naps after lunch in the afternoon which will hopefully keep Ellie sane! We really don't know how full days will go for her, but the nice thing is they are very flexible and willing to work with us whatever our needs! Praise God! :) So should we decide it's too much (most likely just because I will miss her so) then we can always change those days to half days.

One of the blessings of this particular transition for us is we have grandparents with us! Last week Steve and Merrilee arrived and have been with us, helping us and the kids feel more adjusted to this new place (and doing lots of translation for us!).

Steve left yesterday, but Merrilee will stay with us through the end of next week! :) This is perfect timing for me as I say goodbye to a wonderful summer filled with family and welcome a new stage in life in so many ways. We are excited for the change and Ellie can't stop talking about going to school! Siri will also benefit, I think as I will now have all this time and energy to devote to her, right? She doesn't know it yet, but she's excited too!