Ma vie de femme au foyer

French classes rock! So far so good...I'm studying some things that I already knew so maybe that's why. Still I think that a mental block has been lifted up. When I was studying French in college, I was always trying to get it perfect, word by word, but learning a new language doesn't work that way. It just doesn't work that way... I didn't know this - of course- because at that time I was still in Mexico, not in the US. After moving to Ohio, tough, I realized translating word by word was useless. I don't know how it worked out, but eventually my brain began - little by little- thinking in English.

So now when I speak English, I could talk on and on and on without even translating into Spanish any single word. Speaking English is just normal. Natural. And there are things that don't make sense, and do not translate, but that's the way it is. This has been so far my approach to French, and it's working wonders. 

Playing with Sister at her school :)

Je suis femme au foyer and it makes me cry sometimes! Ha ha ha! My children drive me crazy almost every day, but it is really something to see them mature and grow. Enzo is talking more and more, and Libby is turning into someone really wonderful and delightful to be with. This happens more often than not, because my children are not perfect. But she is very kind, and always looks after her brother. Enzo... not so much. LOL!

Preparing the zebra costume

I think Libby was awful at some point. I have to go back and read my own words, but if I remember correctly I used to talk about her tantrums and how she would throw things or herself to the floor. Enzo is doing the same. The new thing is that now both of them hit each other. Libby is defending herself and Enzo is getting stronger, so she cannot bully him anymore as she used to. So it's hard because on one hand I want him to stand up against her because she is a bully, but then she plays victim. And Enzo is a boy, and no matter what, I want to teach him, you never hit a woman. Even if she does things that would grant her a slap on the face, you control yourself... walk away, yell, hit the pillow, but you do not touch her.

Good friends

Apart from that, sometimes when he cries a night, she goes to his room and from the outside tells him she would protect him, and care for him. And she gives him Camille. Sometimes she sneaks him into her bedroom so that he stops crying altogether and let her sleep. They love each other. They fight like crazy, but they always make the peace, and forgive each other from the heart. And they really move on. Enzo is struggling so much lately with his anger, and self-control. This, too, shall pass. But it is difficult to be every day with a boy who constantly tries to hit me with his head, or throws stuff when he gets upset -which happens almost every 10 minutes- or just throws himself to the floor. I don't know what happened... he was so sweet. Ha ha ha!!

Her first love :)

In other news, Enzo is now worshiping idols according to Libby, which makes him a pagan. I don't know how they talk amongst each other so naturally about this, but naively I want to think that it is because of all the seeds I'm planting. Not only me, but Daddy and BSF. So you can hear Libby talking on a regular basis about Moses and the golden calf, and how the earth swallowed them up, which in the movie we watched happens after the calf, but it wasn't like that... Anyhow, you hear her singing some hymns they sing at BSF, and both of them are pretty obedient at BSF - we should go every day, LOL!!

We talk about stuff, real life stuff. Libby asks many questions lately about different religions, as much as she can grasp, I guess. It might be because she hears me talking sometimes with Emerson or because I explain stuff to her. Like for example, the elephant she calls "The elephant swinging on the swing" is not an elephant swinging on the swing, but it is Ganesh - a Hindu god (There is an ornament on the wall at school where Ganesh is swinging on a branch).

My zebra

And the lady at the school tells her, "It is Lord Ganesh!!" because she gets upset when Libby says it's an elephant. When we leave the building Libby begins talking about Lord Ganesh, and we talk about how it might be their Lord, but not ours, so we do not call him Lord. Then I explain more stuff like what Hindus believe, and so now she knows that Sugirda auntie is Hindu, and Faiza auntie is Muslim. And I don't really know how she processes these things in her brain, but it must be funny to think the way she thinks.

We've been spending lots of time with Faiza auntie, so Libby told me the other day she is now a Muslim as I was putting her to sleep...

- Oh, you are?
- Yeah...
- What about Jesus?
- I love Jesus.
- Of course... That's a good Muslim answer. So you are not a sinner...
- Yes, and Jesus died for me, and for Enzo. Then he rose again.
- Does Jesus have a dad?
- Yes. God is His Daddy.
- And you say you are a Muslim...
- Yes.
- O-K-A-Y...


Muslim-Libby FAIL!!

Doctor Libby

Then I proceeded to tell her how much I loved her no matter what she would choose to believe in as she grew up, but then she gave me a face like, "I know, and I'm tired of hearing it", so I stopped. She is not very corny or cuddly, just like her dad.

Emerson came back from China. I think God answered every single prayer of mine. He gave me lots of tolerance, and patience. There were situations that I handled much better. I think perspective and prayer can change a lot of things. Walk by the Spirit, it says, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh... And the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control... That happened a lot. Maybe Emerson should go to China more often, ha ha ha!!

So handsome!

There have been many stories that I'm forgetting I'm sure, but I've been so busy doing life, which is great... I don't feel like documenting every single thing that is happening in our lives lately. It is so personal, tough, that I wouldn't even write about. I just write about it in my personal diary. I have like three or four, and they are kind of a mess... I have information here and there about things here and there. We are having fun. Like, Libby had this eye infection. Then Emerson forgot to put the antibiotic for one time and the infection came back. Then I got the infection. Then he left to China, and I had one of those awful allergy attacks that I was having a horrible, horrible runny nose for days and couldn't breathe. Then I was chewing gum at my class, and suddenly I was chewing my own filing, and I have to go to the dentist tomorrow... But really, we are having fun.

AWFUL...

Just awful...

We went to a wedding, we see cows every day, Libby was a zebra at school, and she also had Sports Day. In between those things I miss home. This doesn't feel like home, and I don't think it will ever feel like it. If it does then it will be time to go back. Ten months and counting, Emerson said.  I like the food, tough. And it is home because we are all here. And the people are making it feel like home, but at the same time I get frustrated with many things. But that's the way it is. We discovered a nice place to eat pizzas, and the children had fun playing in the open area.

Wedding

Libby likes school, but I don't think she loves it anymore. Enzo is going thru a rough patch, and as much as I want to send him to school next school year, I don't think I will. The principal asked me the other day why I hadn't signed him up this year and told me she wants me to sign him up for next school year. "Sure, you want more money...", I thought.

Sports Day

But he is not going... Nope, not yet :))