Ted

One of the other students that arrived on Miri's flight was a Chinese boy named Ted. I just found a host family for him recently, so the host family did not get to choose his arrival day. They have previous commitments and are not able to take him yet, so Ted is spending his first 10 days at our house. He's a great guy and we are really enjoying him.

Monday we went to Sunset Beach for a picnic dinner. It was a gorgeous evening to be there and there was not a breath of wind. Ted and Miri both got to put their toes in the Pacific Ocean for the first time.

Ted has had a lot of firsts here. He tried mashed potatoes for the first time (very good) and also got his first taste of smores (too sweet). A few nights ago we laid on the deck and watched the meteor shower. It was a clear night--perfect for looking at the starts. Ted was fascinated. He is from Bejing, where you can not see many stars because of the polution, city lights, and skyscrapers. He stayed out on the deck enjoying the stars long after the rest of us went to bed. These are some of the special hosting memories that I love most!

Miri is here!

The big day finally arrived, and Miri has now joined our family! There were three other AYUSA students on her flight, so their host families were waiting at the airport with us. In addition, two of the students that arrived earlier also came--with their host families--to meet and greet the new arrivals. We had quite a crowd at our tiny little airport!

After welcome hugs were completed and bags were claimed, the host families and students all went out to pizza together. It was a very fun arrival day! Miriam is sweet and seems to fit easily into our family. My first impression is that she is very much like us in a lot of ways. I'm really looking foward to getting to know her better.

Off to camp

After all the waiting, the first day of camp finally arrived. Caleb and Elisa were so excited...and yes, Elisa was still nervous. We got them checked in, and I was thrilled to learn that Elisa's counselor is Anita, a friend of mine from years ago. She is a neat lady that will make Elisa feel comfortable. I think it also helped her (and me) feel more comfortable to see that many of the counselors are people we know.

Caleb immediately took off to play while I got Elisa settled into her cabin. She was very excited to get to sleep on the top bunk.
I got hugs and kisses, and Elisa ran off to play with Caleb. No tears or clinging at all. I couldn't decide whether that was good or bad. :-) As I left them, they were sledding down a dirt hill--always a favorite activity at camp--but they did take a break long enough for me to take their picture.

Creativity

This just goes to show....There's more than one way to make a float!

Julianne's Yard Sale

For a long time I was setting things aside in our storage room with the goal of eventually having a yard sale. I had quite a collection of stuff, but the thought of organizing it all was overwhelming, not to mention sure to set off my allergies. So I decided to just forget the yard sale and donate it all to charity. Julianne asked if she could do the yard sale herself and keep the profits. I said, "Go for it!"

She sorted and organized over Spring Break (yes, way back in March), but we had a long string of rainy weekends, and then busy weekends, so she was unable to have the sale. Finally she saw her opportunity and decided to hold it this weekend. I had host family orientation in the morning and my first student arrival in the afternoon, so I wasn't able to be there to help at all, but she pulled it off beautifully! She brought everything downstairs on Friday and was outside Saturday morning before 7:00 setting up. She opted not to price things, but instead to let people make her an offer. I know this probably reduced what she got for items, but it saved her a lot of time and moved a lot more of the stuff.

She had a steady stream of traffic throughout the morning and did a great job of negotiating and handling the money. When it was all said and done, she wound up with a profit of $121.96. She was thrilled and we are proud of her all hard work. What a blessing she is!

Orientation Week

This has been a very busy week. Monday evening I did Host Family Orientation for half of this year's south coast families. Yesterday Julianne and I went to Eugene, had lunch at the Olive Garden, and did some shopping in the afternoon. I was once again blessed by Julianne's great taste in clothes--she does a great job of finding clothes that are cute, classy, and modest, and still manages to find great bargains.

In the evening I did Host Family Orientation for the Eugene area families, and then Julianne and I loaded up on caffeine for the late drive home.

I've been making tons of phone calls trying to find host families for the last couple students. I know those perfect families are out there somewhere!

Saturday morning I will do our final Host Family Orientation here on the south coast, and then go to the airport for this year's first student arrival--a Dutch girl that will be living in Coquille. Through the rest of the month, I will be making a steady stream of airport trips as I greet my new students.

And of course next week will be busy preparing for Miriam's arrival. We can't wait!