THE COLORS OF SINTRA

One of our first weekends here we hopped on a train and headed to Sintra to explore the castles. At the time Tae and Elea were constantly drawing castles, so it was fun to get some new inspiration.  We had such a fun day hiking up to the castle and discovering all the details.  My mama heart was feeling a bit anxious as there were some straight down drops and the kids were climbing up and down. All in all, a great day and a wonderful chance to get out of town and explore new things. 

 

FOUND FAREWELL

It's now been 7 months since we left China for a quick trip to Thailand in an attempt to avoid COVID.  We've moved to Lisbon and started our lives over again in a beautiful and charming country. In all that time I was just trying to survive and stay positive, but now with the new normals and routines what we went through is hitting me.  I'm mourning the loss of time with our community in Shekou, my group of girlfriends, and my amazing colleagues.  I find myself getting sad at missed memories and lack of closure. This weekend when I was organizing my computer files I found this gem, a goodbye video from my colleagues at SIS. God sure has perfect timing. 

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL--UNITED LISBON

 The first day of school is in the books.  Elea is in K3 and Tae is in Kindergarten.  They are in a multi-aged classroom, which helped make the first day back in a school building after 6 months a bit easier for both of them.  Their teachers are fantastic, we've really lucked out with so many wonderful teachers in their first years of school.  I'm excited to see how much they learn and how confident they feel in June! 

Elea loves: Picking her own outfits, coloring with crayons (castles, girls with high shoes, and shapes), Moana, and dancing 

Elea doesn't love: brushing her hair and staying in bed the whole night

Tae loves: drawing animals, learning about animals, creating animals with LEGO, numbers 

Tae doesn't love: not knowing how to "write something", 

It's my first year as principal and it's been a constant game of learning.  I figure if I can lead a start-up school in the middle of a pandemic than next year has to be easier, right?  In all honesty, I feel so thankful for this opportunity and that my kids get to go to such a great school.  Not many parents get to give their kids hugs throughout the day.