Leaps and Bounds

This is Ruby on her school hiking fieldtrip.

This is the only photo I got of her, but she had a blast.

I tagged along and just loved it. I also found out a boy has a crush on her - or at least that is what I over heard a group of boys saying. Those school secrets don't stay secrets for long :)

Things are starting to fall in place more and more each week. I've decided that the challenges are needed in order jump leaps and bounds. Ruby is becoming more open to communicating about when she gets mad. She has also been opening up to us more about her life in China and a few thoughts about her birth mother every couple of weeks. Many times it comes up as we talk about behavior or why she might act a certain way. We feel honored that she trusts us enough to talk about these deep issues. School is also going better for her. I'm not attending school with her as much. She is learning cursive writing and she is completing her academic testing next week. So, hopefully we'll have an English Title 1 or ESL class lined up and she can attend school in the morning or until the end of the day. Now she attends school from 9:45-2.

In other news: I visited the hospital yesterday, but I'm OK. I had severe stomach cramping. At one point it hurt so much I passed out as I was throwing up. Luckily a co-worker was there to drive me to the doctor. I must say it was one of my most glamorous moments. It turns out I might have gastric acid reflux disease. Anyone out there has this? I would love to hear your experiences. I need more testing done before they can determine if this is really it or not. At least I didn't need surgery for anything exploding in my abdomen.