Watching her "Firsts" in America!

As the two week mark of Laura's arrival in the U.S. nears, we are settling in and returning to life as normal--well, at least as normal as possible when your last name is Pratt :)

We find ourselves smiling when we see Laura experience "firsts" in America. Her expression when she first saw a golf cart waiting in our driveway was priceless. This was her ticket to exploring the neighborhood  in something other than a car!

It's been fun to watch her try American foods. So far, she seems to like most everything we cook and most restaurants we try. She loves Taco Bell, so we've discovered. We haven't initiated her into the world of Zaxby's but I'm sure that won't elude us much longer!!

Tonight, she will experience American Football as our high school has a scrimmage game. It will be interesting to see what she thinks about the hoopla that Americans love so much.

School seems to be getting better each day. We continue to encourage her and reassure her that her mastery of the English language will come. As you can imagine, her Language Arts class is by far the most difficult because of her developing understanding of our language. She's getting there! Math seems to come easily but as my husband tells me often, numbers are universal!

We are steadily but surely settling in to a routine. There are still new events but home life is just that...home life. Much different than a short vacation or even a two or three month-long exchange, these ten months will give Laura a taste of life in an American home. There are fun days and then there are days in which - well - we get down and dirty with a sponge and a broom. All in all, we are taking life one moment at a time and are rejoicing in the opportunity to give her a loving, yet temporary home. After all, it's rewarding and fun to watch all of her "firsts"!!!