Changes at the Baumbach's

It's been awhile since I posted and I'm sorry about that.  It's busy around here with 4 kids!

We had a wonderful Halloween and you can see all the amazing costumes here and Alena'first and great attempt at carving a pumpkin into a Jack-O-Lantern!

 

We have so much enjoyed our time hosting Alena and meeting other host families who are having an equally wonderful experience, that I have decided to become a Local Coordinator for CIEE.  So, if you are interested in hosting an exchange student or know anyone who is, I would love to talk to you or them.  The website with more information is www.ciee.org/hs/host/ or you can leave a message here and I'll contact you directly!  The emotional rewards of welcoming a student into your home and watching them flourish in a new culture is amazing!  We have all enjoyed and grown from our experience and can't wait to do it again!

Family Life is not always perfect....

Well, it had to happen sooner or later....EVERYONE got sick!  That is everyone except Alena!  Somehow, everyone except her got the flu.  But, now she has seen us at our worst!

Then, immediately after recovering from the Baumbach flu pandemic, my dad had open heart surgery.  I left town for 3 days and Ken was on his own with 4 girls ages 7 to 16.  They all survived and the house was even pretty clean when I returned!  My Dad is doing well now and life has returned back to somewhat normal.

Oh, while I was gone, Alena went shopping with a friend to buy a Homecoming Dress.  They don't do homecoming in Germany so she is very excited!  Ken didn't think the dress was very "appropriate" but I think it is beautiful and Alena looks great in it! 

Having a teenager in the house is making Ken think about his own girls growing up and I guess he's not ready for that!

Life as it goes....

Our lives this week have been kind of mundane, normal and almost boring.  Kids are all doing great in school and we have settled into a routine.  Early to bed and very early to rise.  Lots of homework, especially Biology...Alena is dreaming about cells.

Alena was able to meet my parents this past weekend and everyone seemed to have a very nice time.  She shared some of chocolate from home....yum!  Her wonderful parents sent over a huge box of chocolates because I guess they thought we were not going to provide any sweets for the poor child....we have enjoyed sampling German chocolate candy and have found it to be quite tasty!

Katie has signed up for Club Volleyball so she can get some intense coaching and practice this year in anticipation of a competitive 7th grade tryout.  Thankfully, this does NOT include much travel...just local tournaments in nearby towns.  Emily will play recreational volleyball again this year and Megan refuses to play any sports until she can play volleyball next year!  The only sports my girls seem interested in are swimming and volleyball!  Guess that's how we roll around here!   With Alena starting swim competitions in a couple of weeks, we should be plenty busy!

Oh, exciting news...we are going to see the UT girls play Volleyball tomorrow night.  They are playing the Italian National Team.  Yep, the same team that played in the Olympics.  Now, how cool is that? Maybe we can get autographs.....

First week of school.....

Well, the first week of school is almost over. We have successfully navigated 4 kids through 3 schools and managed to have a good week despite kids getting lost on campus (very lost), no 2nd period class (finally filled), jamming lockers and very long lunch lines.

The only child really cranky this week was the little one...Megan. She is in 2nd grade and still needs more sleep than the older ones. BUT of course, she doesn't think so. It is SO hard to get her in bed when she needs to be because she is afraid she is missing something fun! She has been a bit whiny and cranky about this whole situation.

I've never been one to attempt to 'make' my kids go to sleep. I realize that is not really possible. When they became good readers (generally age 7-8) we have encouraged them to read at night by a dim lamp until they are ready to go to sleep. This has worked great with K and E (now age 10 and 11). We tell them to go to bed by around 8:30, sometimes 9, and then they read. As long as they are quiet and in bed reading, they will fall asleep when ready and we have some quiet adult time.

They also are required to wake themselves up in the morning via alarm clock. If they can't get up alone, they must be too sleepy and therefore must need to go to bed earlier and we will then be forced to enforce a lights out time. This system has worked great...except for M (age 7). She just wants to stay up! Those youngest kids get away with so much more because Mom and Dad are just tired and I think we don't realize what they are capable of handling because they always seem so young compared to the older ones.

Last thought for today....I am impressed with how well Alena has fit into this system. She is one who also likes to read at night and has done a great job of getting herself up and ready in the morning. No reminders from us needed....now, we'll see if that continues next week when she has to be at the pool for swim team by 6:15 a.m.

All in all, a great 1st week. Now, if we could just have a cold front blow in......

First Day of School.....

Wow.....Round Rock has some very large High Schools! I assume they all are as large as the one Alena is attending....Almost 3000 students and it is just 10-12 grade...they have a separate 9th grade center.

My small town HS had about 1000 I think....nothing compared to this school. I was overwhelmed....I think Alena was terrified.

We walked all around and found her A classes...at one point, she looked at us and said, "I want to go home now".....I don't blame her...I would have felt the same way....and I think she meant all the way back to Germany!

However, when she came home, she was smiling and said it was actually a good day and she ate lunch with a new friend from one of her classes! Whew....glad to hear that....

Now, day two (which is really ANOTHER day one because of block classes)....we show up early again and find all of her classes....well sort-of....one of her classes is in the 9th grade center so she has to walk there or take a shuttle bus.....not fun.

We stand in line to pick up 5 heavy textbooks, get an ID card, locker, etc.....this is just a crazy mess....today will be the day she gets lost because her classes are spread all over campus....good thing no tardies are counted the first week!

She will be very ready for the weekend and then next week she starts swimming everyday at 6:30 a.m......yes, you read that right....6:30 to swim, 9 to classes, home by 4:45, homework, dinner, bed......quite a day!


Our oldest also started a new school this year....Middle School....dreaded by all....She got lost once (but just once), had her locker jam, lunch ran so late she had to eat with the 7th graders......but somehow, she said she had a good day as well.

These kids are very resilient and you just have to proud of the way the figure things out and make it work despite a few setbacks!

The younger two have it easy in Elementary school....they know their way around, know most of the teachers, have been there a few years now....piece of cake!

Growing up is hard....but I guess our kids are prepared to handle it!

Birthday Girl....

Happy 16th Birthday!

Alena opening a box from home...it was supposed to be a surprise, but a little somebody (who is in all the pics with Alena) couldn't keep a secret and told her earlier today!

What a beautiful, happy smile!

Apparently, her family thought we would not provide any candy or chocolate because they sent TONS of it! :)

She enjoyed all the goodies and gifts from her family back home.

We went up to the High School today to get all signed up and registered only to find out the counselors were unavailable until tomorrow....So, tomorrow, she gets to pick classes!

We went to Rock'n River (local waterpark and pool) this afternoon and then had a birthday dinner with Ken's parents and my sister. Quite a busy day!

On another note, we will have many guest writers in this blog.....Emily wants to write, Alena wants to write...I'm hoping other family members will choose to write here as well so we can have a balanced chronicle of our adventures together.

Alena is so very sweet and kind and is a wonderful addition to our family! We are so lucky to have her with us for this time!

First days....

Arriving at the airport after a long day of travel...







First day, Alena was understandably very tired from being awake since 4 a.m., but in good spirits. She went to be early and Saturday, we took her grocery shopping and to get her first American library card.







A little fun in the pool and then family movie night....typical, lazy day at the Baumbach's!

Today is the big day....

Today is the big day. We are heading down to the airport about 2 to meet Alena's plane at 3:25.

Pictures to follow later today, assuming I can figure out how to upload pics on this blog site!

Imagine....

Imagine being dropped off in a country where you thought you knew the language only to find out they say things in such weird ways and talk so fast you often feel a paragraph behind. Imagine living with a family you have never actually met. Imagine trying to interpret their family "code" (rules and behavior expectations) without stepping on anyone's toes. Imagine suddenly having 3 younger sisters and that you must all 4 share a bathroom. Imagine having no friends the first day of school. Imagine being only 16 and away from your family for a semester or two.

Exhausting isn't it. Takes a very brave teenager to sign up for this! I'm proud of her already!

About our family....

Okay, well, this blog won't just be about our new exchange student....obviously it will be mainly about our family and our experiences during this adventure.

So, first, we were told by our coordinator to start thinking of our house rules because the student will be required to follow them and not be treated as a guest....at first I thought, well, we don't have too many rules so this should be easy.

But really, if you stop to think about it, so many of your family rules are really unspoken expectations. I mean, when you live with the same people for many years, you all just come to expect certain things that often go without saying. Things like, sharing a bathroom...sometimes modesty has to take a back seat when you have multiple people sharing one. Who cooks and cleans up meals. Who controls the remote control? Who lets the dogs out? Where is it okay to take off your shoes, put your backpack, purse, etc? What kind of comfy clothing (okay, how little) is okay to lounge around the house in? Bedroom doors closed or open? Knock or just walk in? When can friends come over? Dinnertime behavior....stay until everyone is finished?....prayer?....eat what is prepared or are you allowed to make something different if you don't like it? Guidelines for using the house phone and computer?

See what I mean...most of these are totally unspoken and Alena will have to come into this family with all of our unspoken rules (you have them too!) and navigate through them and remember them. Even harder when you throw in cultural expectations that may be totally different than ours.

All of us will have to do an exceptional job of communicating to make sure any misunderstandings and expectations are addressed right away so they don't fester into something bigger. Patience for all of us as we adjust will be of utmost importance as we develop our relationships and begin to merge into a slightly different family unit.

Almost here....

We are hosting an exchange student from Germany. Her name is Alena, she is from Germany, and she will be here on Friday afternoon of this week.

This blog will be about the ups and downs, challenges and rewards of adding a teenager to our already busy lives....we are anticipating this to be an amazing experience for all of us.

Our current family consists of mom (me, Kristi), dad (Ken) and three daughters, Kathryn (we call her Katie sometimes) age 11, Emily, age 10, and Megan, age 7. As you can imagine, we requested a female student because we have NO idea how to raise boys!

We have been communicating with her and her mom on facebook and email for months so we feel like we already know her! Both of them speak and write well in English so this has been fun and easy for us!

So, welcome to my blog and thanks for coming along for the ride!