She's here!

It's been a whirlwind of a week, but it's been good! 

This was taken this morning just before Ane went out for the day with the other students to explore/tour downtown Portland.

We kept the kids up, and we all went to the airport to greet her Tuesday night. It was a late night for the kids, but we were glad our whole family was there when she arrived.

waiting for her to get off the plane

We spent the last few days getting to know each other, showing Ane around, taking her to stores and exciting places like the library. :) We all went to a BBQ with the other host families and their students, which was fun, but other than that we've tried to ease her into life here and just let her get acclimated. I asked Ane the second day what most surprised her so far or what was different, and her answer was, "Everything!" And I thought we were being so "normal," too.

The kids think Ane is great, and yesterday she kindly spent a long time jumping with them. They all wanted their turn to jump with Ane.

We did some baking and made some strawberry jam with berries we bought at a fruit stand. She'd never made jam before.

Greg is teaching her how to play guitar. He found out she has one at home but doesn't know how to play. His goal is to have her playing at least one song by the time she leaves.

Grant has been his usual self these last few days, a little more tired than usual, but pretty much how he always is--really, really happy or really, really mad. He's quite the charmer when he's not throwing a fit or wetting his pants, and he's been busy charming Ane these last few days.

We're looking forward to all the exciting things we get to do with Ane this next month. I have a feeling the weeks are going to fly by. This is such a wonderful opportunity for our family. We're glad she's here. We're hoping we won't drive her crazy. :) Our house isn't exactly peaceful, but I CAN say it's almost never boring!