The Week of New Beginnings

This past Sunday, Isabelle and her friend Sophia started Sunday School class at our church and loved it. Proud Grandmama shared this moment via email with the Reverend in Jordan who baptized Isabelle a year and a half ago:

"----- Original Message -----
September 03, 2009 3:12 AM
Subject: FW: First day of Sunday school

Dear Pastor Azar,

We wanted to share with you the little baby you baptized at River Jordan in February 2008. Isabelle ( the blonde) is now 2-1/2 years old and has started attending Sunday School at Christ Lutheran Church in Valencia, California – our church since 1978.

Sincerely,

Karen Ilich
(Proud Grandmama)"

Sophia and Isabelle showing off their stickers from Sunday School And here was his response:

"Dear karen,

That is very kind of you to email me with the picture of Isabelle. Indeed I still recall to wanderful event we had at the very site Jesus was baptized. I was a great privilege and honor for me to carry out this Holy Sacrament for your Grandson Isabelle. May she grow up in wisdom, stature, and grace.

I value a continued link from time to time and you graciously welcome to visit us again in Amman. May be Isabelle one day will choose to have Jordan as her venue for her marriage ceremony.

Best Regards to her Grandpa and her parents and a hug to Isabelle.
Rev. Samer Azar"

We hope that one day we will be able to return to Jordan with Isabelle, when she is a little older, and retrace our footsteps to share with her what all we did and what all she experienced when she was only 18 months old.

Amber and Isabelle at the video arcade-Dance Dance Revolution! Another new beginning happened today. We withdrew Isabelle from her other preschool and enrolled her into a new school, Tutor Time. This one is not far from work and home but not as close as her other one was. However after visiting Tutor Time twice, both Michael and I felt that this school offers more structure, planned curriculum and activities for our growing, ever so curious little one. Isabelle is going in as a "Prepper"-a 2 to 3 year old child who is potty trained and ready for bigger things than what the "Twaddler" class has to offer. She waltzed right in there, took Miss Gina's hand (the Director), went to her class to drop everything off and started playing. All of the other kids were outside so we all went outside. I said my good byes and with a few tears, Isabelle said good bye to me then to Papa and then back to Miss. Gina but now with no tears whatsoever. I called to check in on how she is doing and Miss. Gina said, "she is a perfect little angel and is doing awesome!". YAY! Hopefully there is no "honeymoon" and she will be the same way from here on out.

Isabelle at Venutra Beach with PapaWe were also very lucky to find out last week that Isabelle was accepted into a parent/child class on Mondays with Mia...Miss Stella's class. This is a parent/child participation class that Michael will be taking her to on Mondays from 10:30-12:30 which is truly VERY difficult to get into but once you are in, you are in. A lot of the children in this class have been together since 6-12 months old and the waiting list is huge but lucky us, Caryn added us to the list early on and to top things off, we found out that I actually know Miss Stella and her daughter! Tara went to school and was in Girl Scouts with her daughter Christy, who has seen NUMEROUS pictures of "Macho Nacho" that Tara has posted on Facebook. Such a small world I tell ya! Well this past Monday was her first day however Michael did not get to take her. He has been battling a nasty bug (and still is) and with me at work, Caryn offered to be the "surrogate mom" for us in class that morning. I came to pick Isabelle up to take her to her eye doctor appointment and when I got there she was telling me all about what she did; she had shared 2 toys with her classmates, did 2 art projects, ate snack, played bean bag toss, read stories and sang songs...all in 2 hours! Again, a more structured environment that we are so pleased she gets to be a part of.