Happy Spring from the Echols kids--furry and non furry

Happy Spring to all of you from the Echols kids (our three non furry kids and our one furry kid)

Almost Springtime.....

We are so excited to see some signs of spring in the past few days. Flowers are starting to bloom, the tree frogs are singing at night, the days are now longer, and the weather is growing warmer!! We enjoyed a day at at the park recently and had a ball! Just a few more days spring.......we are ready to welcome you back!

Learning Mandarin

The kids and I started Mandarin (Chinese) language classes in January. It has been wonderful to see Emma be eager about re-learning her native language. Over the past two years she has forgotten so much. In an effort to teach her English and prepare her for kindergarten this year it has been difficult to maintain her Mandarin language. When a friend told us about this school offered on Sunday afternoons we were super excited. The boys showed an interest too so we signed them up for class as well. So far we have learned how to count to 20, colors, numbers, family names, fruits, I want..., I am...., I am....years old, and several songs. We have also learned four Chinese songs. The kids practice speaking but also writing. It is beautiful to see them write. Each character looks like a piece of art. The kids have learned to write 1-10, people, big, small, and mouth. The students range in age from 4-12. Some are adopted and some are not. There are two teachers for the class. One lady is from Taiwan and the other is from China. Both are precious and have such a love for children and teaching. It has been a wonderful experience. I look forward to us all learning more.

Kids say the funniest things.....

I love writing down the hysterical things my children say. Kids are so funny!
Here are a few from recent weeks.....

Last week i took my kids to the park to enjoy a gorgeous afternoon. Soon after we got there Wilson and I started playing on the swings. Wilson was pushing me and his friend came running over. He asked Wilson, "What are you doing?" Wilson replied, "I'm pushing my old, heavy Mommy on the swing". ha!! There's a confidence booster for you. :)

At a restaurant last Thursday night there was a young family sitting close by our table. The baby got a little fussy and started crying. Wilson looked at me and said, "Mommy, we need to go." I asked him, "Why? What's wrong?" He looked at me with a serious look on his face and said, "Because I am allergic to those kind of babies." "What kind of babies to you mean?" I asked. He said, "Those crying babies."

The kids went for a two day stay at Meme and Bop's lake house this past weekend. They were ecstatic to say the least. When they got there Wilson decided to make a list, a list of the top ten things he wanted to do at Meme and Bop's house that weekend. He was so proud of it. After he finished he read it to each of us and started planning when and how he get all the things on teh list completed. A few hours later it started raining and Bop suggested that the kids have a movie time. Wilson looked at Bop and quickly said , "NO BOP! IT's not on my list!"

Wilson came home after a fun filled weekend at his Meme and Bop's house. When I tucked him into bed that night he was feeling a little under the weather. A few days earlier Samuel had a stomach virus so we assumed he had a touch of the virus also. I gave him some medicine and tucked him into bed for the night. Just as he was about to fall asleep he looked at me and said, "Mommy, I can't eat ANY more junk!" "Junk?" I asked. He said, "Yes, mommy, junk! I ate so much junk this weekend at that's why I'm sick". ha! Hysterical!! That's the fun of a weekend at Meme and Bop's house, right?

Things I love......

One thing I love about the school my children attend is the way the school supports our community and other wonderful organizations. One way the students were able to raise money for breast cancer awareness recently was by wearing hats. Each student donated $1 and were able to wear their favorite hat to school that day. Here are a few pictures of some special hats........and even more special kids!

Winter Wonderland

 
 
 
 

Snow in GA isn't very common! We have been thrilled to have snow three days this winter. It has been a lot of fun each time! The kids love making snowmen, throwing snowballs and sledding.......even sledding on a cookie sheet.