Highlights from Fall in Fort Collins

We've had a glorious Fall here in Ft. Collins. Penny is continuing to grow and learn new ways of doing things and relating to others, including her parents. The moods and hormones can shift and make it hard at times. But, if we wait and calmly teach, all of a sudden we see a caring, thoughtful and hard-working new young woman emerging. She has decided that she likes raking leaves and shoveling snow. She had the first opportunity to spend a few hours home alone when she had a snow day and Mom and Dad did not. But, I got off early and came home to find that she had shoveled the driveway TWICE for me! Alone time is totally different from being at the orphanage. So, kind of scary, but she was brave and did great. She was glad that I got off early and we could make a snowman and snow child together.

Yes, we've had snow twice this October. In the recent storm our snowfall total was 21 inches! Jay and Penny both got one snow day off together. She was thrilled that Daddy offered to play games with her. She also did endless chores all on her own as she has recently begun to set goals for things she really wants to buy. Anything "Hello Kitty" is at the top of her list of interests. Target is her new favorite store because they have Hello Kitty stuff. Then there's the popular Thai band called Golf-Mike. She was thrilled when she discovered the other day that you can purchase their CD's here in America on Amazon. And since we rented the DVD now she loves Hannah Montana. She loves to dance with Hannah. Mom and daughter had a really fun time carving the biggest pumpkin we picked out of the ten we had in our garden. It weighed 19 lbs. Then we roasted the seeds and they were a real hit. Later in the afternoon we bonded through helping each other dress up in Mom's kimonos and doing each other's hair. Then we hit the streets trick-or-treating in spite of the cold and some leftover snow. She was so thrilled and thought that the people in our neighborhood were kinder than people in her original hometown in Thailand. I guess she's beginning to feel at home.