Our Family's 2:37 Minutes of Fame!

Last October, Karen Meyer, a deaf reporter who does stories about people with disabilities for ABC7 Chicago, came to our home, accompanied by her assistant and a cameraman. She was doing a story about the China Waiting Child adoption program. She interviewed Al and me, as well as Jessica Augsburger, the Waiting Child program coordinator at Sunny Ridge. A lot of footage was taken of our children.The following report aired on a Sunday morning in December...


It was a fun experience for all of us. We enjoyed seeing how a human interest story was put together. And Karen was warm and encouraging throughout the interview process. I nearly had a nervous breakdown trying to get the house cleaned up - let's just say that our home looked very "child-centered", shall we?

With Karen Meyer after the interview

Last Day of Preschool. Ever.

Yesterday was David's last day of preschool. And the last day I will ever have a preschooler. It was a tough day for this Mama...

But it was a good day for David, to end a good year of school. At the end of last year, he was released from the Early Childhood program at our school, because his speech had improved so much! Al and I were happy about his progress and, at the same time, sad that he'd be leaving the wonderful EC program. And we wondered what we'd do about school this year.

After checking out different programs and talking with other parents, we chose the Pre-K program at Lord of Life Christian Preschool in LaFox. We know several families who enrolled their children there and were very happy with the program and teachers. They had a Pre-K class that met four afternoons per week, just what he had be doing in EC. (This year, David continued walk-in speech sessions one hour per week and improved so much that he was released from speech altogether in April!)

David had a good year at Lord of Life. He enjoyed his time there, made new friends, learned new things. There were plenty of days when he would have rather stayed at home with me, but it was good to keep him in the classroom environment as he prepares for Kindergarten next year.

As has become my tradition, here are his First Day/Last Day pictures. You can see that he's grown a lot (especially when you compare the two pictures of him signing in on the white board). What you can't see in pictures is how articulate he is, how much he's learned, and how he's really matured.

First Day...

Last Day!

First Day...

Last Day!

First Day...

Last Day!

First Day...

Last Day!

David with his teacher, Mrs. Rickel

David graduates from Speech (with Mrs. Baldridge)!

I'll Be Back...

Yes, the blog has been quiet this past year. Ironic, since our household is generally anything but quiet...

Life here at Casa Cormier has been very busy. It's all good, but a little overwhelming at times.

Hoping to get back into the swing of blogging this summer. We'll see...

See you soon!

{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. (Hosted by Soulemama)

 

Maybe I'm not feeding them enough?

 

Rhode Island

We enjoyed a few days in Rhode Island, too...

Larry's mom, Mimi - what a delightful lady!

Al played piano for Mimi and other residents of North Bay Manor

We love you, Mimi!

It was a gorgeous day to enjoy the Roger Williams Park Zoo!

David had fun getting the attention of this funny looking bird.

Hannah got this great shot of him looking upside down at her!

Rachel was very happy to see the elephant!

Doesn't Mom look great?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tired kids at the end of our visit...

 

 

 

We spent the next day at Sand Hill Cove Beach...

A sand castle assembly line...

Larry and Mom...

The beach is the best place for a small boy to run!

Rachel was a good sport!

"Mom" by Rachel (4th Grade)

Roger Williams Park Zoo, Providence

(I was going through the kids' school work that they took home at the end of the year and found this poem in Rachel's writing notebook...)

Mom

Mom, you are caring
Mom, you are sweet
You make all the food that our family eats
You laugh at my jokes
Even when they're not the best
Compared to other moms
There is really no test
And when I feel sick
Or feeling quite down
You make the world sunny
And lift up my frown
You're helpful at homework
Even when you don't know
What 10x10 is
Or something like so
You are a great mom
But the thing that's above
All the things that I'm saying
Is the way that you love!

(Must read this on those days when I'm feeling I have done nothing right all day...)

Maine

We spent a few days in Maine, visiting with Al's family and enjoying the beauty of the coast...

How many kids can relax on Grammy's hammock?

Spoiling Grammy's dog, Ebby...

Spoiling the Butler's dog...

David with his good buddy, Reese (can't you just feel the energy in these boys?)

Spoiling one of Auntie Laurie's dogs...

Al's sister, Laurie, now owns and operates their dad's business...

One of Laurie's new puppies...

View from Mt. Battie in Camden Hills State Park

 

David took lots of his own pictures with his sisters' hand-me-down pink camera!

Family hike...

Beautiful pine forests...

Introducing David to his dinner...

A true Cormier Family feast!

Mmmmm...

Traditional family card game...

David's learning the game, too!

Abbie considering her next move...

Owl's Head Light

Two things to note...

As you can see in the pictures, the Cormiers are "dog people". And it seems we are following suit. This summer, we are hoping to bring a new furry, four-legged member into our family. Because we need a little more noise and chaos in this house...

I have fallen in love with lupines, a beautiful flower native to northern New England. I learned that we can, indeed, grow them in northern Illinois, and purchased some seeds in Maine to grow in our back yard. 

Coming soon: pictures from Rhode Island and Vermont...