Tuesday, November 11, 2008

N's Success!

In case you haven't heard it before, my N, he is an active one. Always has been, probably always will be. Think Ty Pennington or Richard Simmons as a 7 y.o. As I've mentioned before, N struggles with sitting still and keeping his hands to himself.

1st grade has been a struggle in this area for him.

Well, yesterday, there was a great thing in his Monday Folder. It was a happy stamp and his best conduct grade of the year!!!! Yippee! This is a major accomplishment for my boy. I'm very proud of him. I know how hard this is for him!

We discussed some of these issues with N's pediatrician last week and I love how she put it, "When we're born, we don't all get to line up in heaven and decide what our "problem" will be. We don't get to choose cancer, heart disease, or dyslexia. We're all given something. Some are discovered at a young age and some show up later in life, but we all have something we have to deal with."

And not only did he have success in his conduct, he was moved up a level in his "take home" reader. And this new level, it has a table of contents and a GLOSSARY. Harvard, here we come!!!

Or not. Because what really matters the most to Lance and I is that our children are happy, good citizens, and loving God. Everything else is just gravy.

One of the things I read on an adoption blog yesterday spoke about how the children you've adopted may not be interested in the same things you are. They come to the family with different biology and different interests and talents. And it's up to the adoptive parents to either embrace those differences and broaden their own horizons OR try to manipulate their child into their own image. I hope Lance and I always remember to embrace the differences. We've already learned more about trains,origami, volcanoes, and earthquakes than I ever thought possible.

And interestingly enough, N does have my great love for architecture and design. He loves going to tour model homes and his latest book from the library? How to build a house. It has step by step instructions for everything from the foundation to electricity, cabinets, etc. Quite a selection for a 1st grader, huh?

N, I'm proud of you and I can't wait to see how God will form and shape your life. And for now, I'm just having fun watching you take it all in!

Love,
Momma

7 comments:

Ladybug Fanatic/Monkey Tales said...

I like how your pediatrician put it. Well said!

Bri said...

Regardless of where it comes from, it is really cool to see kids form their own interests. My niece is 8 and so into archeology it's crazy! My youngest sister would always build crazy things - like trains out of boxes and stuff. It is really cool to see people interested in stuff I might consider weird.

Hubby and I always talk about how awesome it would be if our child were artistic (since neither of us are at all). He desperately wants his children to be interested in sports - but even before we talked about adoption we talked about how we need to let our children live out their own dreams, desires and interests and not try to live through them.

Emily said...

Yeah for N!

Jenn said...

You know its hard for me to sit still sometimes too. When you have all this energy its hard to contain it. You know, maybe that energy will come in handy someday. Skydiver, mountain climber....heaven help your mom.

Anonymous said...

Way to go Nicholas! I love your zest for life. I can't wait for you to tell me about building houses. I loved sharing the volcano book with you. I wish it were possible to share energy with others---I could use some today. Jen, you are a great mom!

Hendrick Family said...

Hey Jen,

I was trying to find your email address on here, but couldn't. Will you email me? hendrickcrew@gmail.com

Since this has nothing to do with this post, feel free to delete this after you get my email address!:)

Heather

Becky said...

Fantastic for N!!!
It's so wonderful to see them do well in school......and so sad when they don't!
We've had some challenges come up lately that I'll have to fill you in on.
Proud of his accomplishments!!!