Aunt Bobby's Miscellany

John-Claude has a sister!

2008-10-09T10:37:00Z

Update on Jeannette and Jean-Claude:

Arian, a beautiful 8lb.,4 oz baby girl, was born to Jeannette Wednesday morning. She's fine and her mother Jeannette is fine.

I haven't seen them, yet, as I am in Albuquerque on the first of my four trips this month. I'll take pictures and post them as soon as I can.

Praising the Lord for His care --

Hugs ~~ Aunt Bobby

I remember 9/12/52

2008-09-13T02:30:00Z

Fifty-six years ago on September 12, I married my first love. I still remember ... We were so young, so in love, so happy!

We had 25 wonderful years. We had four beautiful children who have grown to be incredible adults. We had many adventures -- he was, among other things, a missionary to Ecuador, the pastor of several churches, a College professor, a College president . . . and much more. I met him when he was the Scoutmaster of my brother's Boy Scout Troop.

So, I remember 9/12/52.

Adventure over!

2008-09-11T20:48:00Z

Dear Friends:

Well, the month-long adventure with Jeannette and Jean-Claude is over. Her parents said she should come home, and so that seemed to be the best thing, under the circumstances.

Her parent's apartment is very near my church, so I will still see them often. I saw Jeannette last night at choir practice, and gave her and Jean-Claude a ride home.

Also, I have been taking her to her ob/gyn, so I'll continue to do that. And, I probably will be the one to take her to the hospital when the baby is born.

It was an exciting experiment! I miss the two of them very much -- the house is VERY quiet and lonely. But I think this is the right move for now.

Thanks for your interest and support!

"After bath"

2008-08-28T14:35:00Z

Last night after choir practice Jeannette gave Jean-Claude a bath, to get him ready for bed. She wrapped him in a towel, African style. Here's a picture:

Jean-Claude, with "bike" and "baby"

2008-08-23T18:59:00Z

We got Jean-Claude this neat Fischer Price tricycle that can be a rocker or a pusher or a trike.

We also got him a baby doll, and his mother showed him how to carry the doll on his back.

So, here is the picture!

Yesterday's "Boy and Dog" Story

2008-08-21T13:37:00Z

I invited Jean-Claude to come feed the cats with me yesterday afternoon. As a part of this ritual, I always give Toby the Dog a dog biscuit. I handed the dog biscuit to Jean-Claude, telling him about being gentle and giving the biscuit to the dog carefully and all. Before I could stop him, Jean-Claude had eaten the dog biscuit! Oh, well, I reasoned, it won't kill him. I told him, though, that I would go get him a cookie. So I stepped inside to get a vanilla wafer for him. Then I handed him the vanilla wafer, and said, OK, Jean-Claude, this is for you. I didn't even get it handed to him good before Toby snatched it and ate it. So, we started over, with another biscuit and another vanilla wafer, and this time the right "people" got the right cookie. Jeannette and I had a good laugh over this as it happened.

Little glimpses --

2008-08-20T05:50:00Z

Well, It's been a little more than two weeks since Jeannette and Jean-Claude came into my life. What a wonderfully rich whirlwind it has been. Here are just some highlights:

"It's My Job" -- My son Fred and his wife Cedra (of Palette Play fame) happened to be visiting me for the first week with Jeanette and John-Claude. Talk about a serendipity! What a glorious help they were. Cedra is a fantastic artist, and also a trained Montessori teacher. She spent several "quality moments" with Jean-Claude! Fred is a jack-of-all-trades, but among the things he does, he is a bicyclist and a whiz at repairing bikes. OK -- so the first thing is that I am having a hard time explaining to Jeannette that I "work" at the computer. "Is your job?" "Yes" "You work here (meaning at my home at one of my computers)?" "Yes" "They pay you money for work?" "Yes" -- so she sort of wanders off, shaking her head. Then, Cedra was working on one of her paintings. She is a graduate student at NMSU in fine arts-painting, and has several juries she must keep creating for. Jeanette watched for awhile, and then asked "You tired?" Cedra explained that yes, she did get tired, but that she really had to do at least a few hours of painting every day, because "this is my job". Jeannette just looks puzzled. THEN, Fred was fixing one of three bikes my daughter dug out of her storeroom to give to the Burundi, through the church. Jeannette watched him, fascinated. "You do good!" she said. Fred replied, "Aw, it's OK. It's just my job". Now, can't you just hear Jeannette trying to explain to her Burundi friends -- "I sure don't know where this crazy family I live with get their money. One says her job is playing on the computer. One says her job is coloring pictures. One says his job is fixing bicycles. Very strange."

"This what you do?" -- After watching Cedra paint, several different times, Jeannette went into her room and brought out a jar of finger-nail polish, and brought it to Cedra. "This you paint?" Cedra explained, that no, she was not a manicurist. She was an artist.

"Boy and Dog" -- Jean-Claude and my little Toby dog are actually about the same size, if you measure from their heads to their bottoms. I know this because one afternoon when I gave Toby a dog biscuit, he lay down on the grass on his tummy to eat it. When I turned around, there was Jean-Claude lying beside him, in exactly the same position, watching Toby eat! Oh, for a camera! Jean-Claude has made great progress with Toby. At first, he was terrified of the dog -- he would literally climb the nearest adult. Then he got to where he would tolerate Toby if Toby wasn't too close, and Jean-Claude was being held by an adult. Then he got to the point where he was gingerly accepting Toby's overtures of friendship. Then he got to the point where he was patting and hugging Toby ("gently, now, Jean-Claude -- we treat animals gently"). Then he "progressed" to the point of recognizing that he, Jean-Claude, was higher on the totem pole than Toby, so he started kicking and hitting him. Of course, we have worked him back from that position, and now I think that very soon the dog will have a boy and the boy will have a dog -- and that's what BOTH of them really need, right?

"Sit" -- Jean-Claude is learning English by leaps and bounds, but on his first day at Pre-School, he really didn't know much English. However, when we picked him up, the pre-school teacher told us that she felt like he was destined to be a leader. She said that when she told the children to "Come now and sit in a circle", that Jean-Claude went to each child that was not obeying and said "Sit! Sit!" I told her Jean-Claude had been practicing on the dog.

That will do for now -- I'll add more incidents as I remember them (or as they happen). Thanks for all of your support. Keep praying!

Hugs ~~ Aunt Bobby

Answered Prayer

2008-08-18T03:16:00Z

It occurred to me today at church that all during Chet's final illness, the Burundi had been coming to our church and I was not involved with them, even though I was thrilled to see it happen. Then, after Chet died, I began to pray that God would help me find some sort of ministry or involvement with the Burundis. I had no idea I was praying for Him to send me "a couple of Burundis of my very own"! Guess that means you better be careful what you pray for -- God just MIGHT answer you!

Rejoicing in all the different ways to serve ~~ Aunt Bobby

Day Whatever It Is!! - - -

2008-08-16T18:35:00Z

Where has the time gone? I intended to keep this blog up!

Here's a copy of an eMail I sent to several of my eMail Scrabble correspondents and others to tell them why I hadn't made a Scrabble play in a while. It contains some old and some new information. I must find the time to share some wonderful stuff -- like trying to explain Beef Jerky and having Jeannette taste it and say "Oh. African meat". Lots more stuff like that, but I've got to go now. I promised Jeannette that if she would play with Jean-Claude this morning, I would take her and him to MacDonalds to let him play on the gymboree, and get a hamburger. So -- gotta go. Hugs to all.

Dear Friends:

Just a quick note to help explain why I might be a little late with Scrabble plays or other response.

On August 2, I took into my home an 18-year old Burundi refugee girl, who has a 2-year-old son and is expecting a daughter in October. She had no place else to go.

Since then, things have been, to say the least, rather hectic. In the first place, neither Jeanette nor her son Jean-Claude speak much English. In the second place, moving to my house meant transferring her from one school district to another. Since school started at her new High School on the 11^th, I really hustled to get her transferred, and then get her enrolled in her classes.

Then there was the challenge of finding Jean-Claude a good preschool, but we did, and have enrolled Jean-Claude in it. He is thriving – his English vocabulary has increased exponentially.

Then there was . . .

But enough! You get the idea. I think that I have gotten them settled into somewhat of a routine, now, and I expect to start being able to sort of having a life of my own. (Ha!)

Anyway, now you know . . .

Blessings,

Aunt Bobby

Day Four

2008-08-06T08:29:00Z

I really didn't intend to blog today, but I had to post this picture of Jean-Claude "helping".

Today went well. We took Jean-Claude to Payless Shoes to get him some sandals with velcro and some tennis shoes with velcro, to replace the "combat boot" type high-tops that looked so hot and clumsy on his feet. No wonder they looked clumsy -- the shoes that fit him are size 8 1/2, and the ones he had been wearing were size 12! I'm sure they were better than no shoes at all, but oh, does he love his new shoes! And very soon he will be able to put them on himself, since they are velcro fastened.

I went to the ball game this evening leaving Jeanette and John-Claude alone at home, and when I returned they were asleep and the house looked great. Jeanette jumps up from the table after each meal and does the dishes, and then she sweeps and mops the kitchen floor. And Jean-Claude helps!

I also caught him in a happier, less photo-shy moment, rocking himself in my rocking chair.

A good day! Blessings! ~~ Aunt Bobby

Day Three and following

2008-08-05T13:54:00Z

I was too tired to post last night, so I went to bed early.

Jean-Claude let me rock him to sleep again last night -- I had forgotten how wonderfully sweet it is to rock a grandchild to sleep!

Here is a picture:

It will be good when we find out exactly what Jeanette is going to be doing this fall, because she really needs something to do during the days.

My daughter had a very good bike that her children were no longer using, and my son -- who is a biker and a bike repair specialist -- is getting it up to snuff for her, with a baby carrier and all, so she will have transportation to local things.

Actually, yesterday was just a pretty normal day with a two-year-old in the home!

Hugs ~~ Aunt Bobby

Day Two

2008-08-04T07:59:00Z

Today was Sunday, which means I didn't really have Jeanette and John-Claude very much, since they spent the day at church with all their Burundian friends.

I fixed scrambled eggs for breakfast, along with bananas, toast, and milk. That seemed to please Jean-Claude, and was fine with Jeanette. It's interesting that I don't really know how to fix food for them yet -- but I figured they might as well get an "American" breakfast! As I thought, it DID take a little longer than usual to get ready for church -- the main problem being that we could not find Jean-Claude's shoes ANYWHERE. Jeanetter finally dug out an old pair and put it on him. We got to church on time, but barely!

What I do during Sunday School these days is play the piano for the opening assembly in the department of people my age, and then go over to the Pre-School area and help with the babies and toddlers there. Jean-Claude is in the toddler class, and he was glad to see me when I arrived. He happily showed off the motions he had learned Saturday night to the wonderful toddler song "Here's a Ball for Baby". He seemed pretty tired and fussy, and he let me rock him for just a minute, but then the activities of the toddlers were just too enticing, so he jumped down and began playing happily, and was still doing so when I left for church. What I did then was rock the littlest baby until she went to sleep, and then slip out, because there were plenty of workers today (there sometimes are not!)

After church, someone brought Jeanette and John-Claude home. We all played together for awhile, and then Jean-Claude got really fussy and unhappy -- the manifestations of a two-year-old who is ready to go to sleep. He let me rock him to sleep. Then Jeanette retired to her room and shut the door -- I think she was probably pretty tired, too.

Tomorrow morning, I am going to try to teach Jeanette to scramble the eggs and use the toaster oven to make toast, and then she and Jean-Claude can have breakfast as early or as late as they wish, no matter what I do -- which will be good.

So -- off to bed, now -- thanks for caring, all you Artella people! Hugs ~~ Aunt Bobby ("Baba" to Jean-Claude -- and to ALL of my grands and great-grands)

Day One!

2008-08-03T06:14:00Z

Jeanette and Jean-Claude arrived about two o'clock today, along with three couples from the church that sort of have taken all the Burundi in our church under their wing. They brought all her possessions -- and they barely filled a chest-of-drawers I had emptied for her. No toys at all for Jean-Claude, but of course that was no problem at THIS house -- it comes equipped for grandchildren. Jeanette actually speaks quite a few words of English -- certainly enough for us to understand each other on a simple level. Jean-Claude is adorable (what 2-year-old isn't?). The biggest problem we had was that Jean-Claude was afraid the dogs.

Let me interject here that the reason "dogs" is plural is because my son and his wife and their two dogs are visiting from Albuquerque. If you read the Muse, and especially Pallette Play, you are acquainted with the work of Fred and Cedra -- they are responsible for the art and words for Pallette Play each day. They will be here until a week from Monday. My little dog Toby and Jean-Claude got along fairly well, but the "big dogs" scared him some.

We finally got Jean-Claude to pretty much ignore the dogs, and we played outside and then inside for awhile. We had a fine supper -- they had told me that Jeanette's family had probably not been giving her a full share of their food, and indeed she did pretty much eat like she was starved. But, then, I remember when I was pregnant, I always ate like I was starved, no matter how much I had had to eat the day or the meal before!

Jean-Claude was a little reluctant to go to bed -- I'm sure it all seemed pretty strange to him -- but now they are all settled (Fred and Cedra, too), so the house is very quiet.

I think having Jeanette and Jean-Claude is going to work out just fine. The plan for tomorrow is for me to take them to church with me, and then they will spend the entire day there -- it will be a time for Jeanette to visit her Burundi friends. Someone will bring them home after the evening service. So they won't be here much tomorrow. It will be interesting getting ready for church with a two-year-old -- I seem to remember having a little trouble with that when my children were that age <grin>. But maybe it won't be a problem for Jeanette and Jean-Claude. I am not sure what to have for breakfast tomorrow -- maybe I will scramble them some eggs. That might work.

Thank you for your kind words and all your prayers and support. You are certainly a loving circle of friends and family!

Hugs ~~ Aunt Bobby

Beginning an exciting adventure

2008-08-02T14:52:00Z

Hi, all my Artella friends and family:

Today I begin a new and exciting adventure. A young girl, 18 years old, with a 2-year-old son and expecting a baby in October, was told by her family (actually, two families living in one small apartment) that there was no room for her. She needs a place to live. The choir director from my church and his wife heard of this and thought of me. SInce Chet died, I have been living alone in this big house. They asked me if I would take her in. I told them yes. She and her son come today. Her name is Jeanette. Her son's name is John-Claude. The fact that she is a refugee from Burundi, Africa, and speaks very little English, adds another ingredient to the mix.

It's going to be interesing. Pray for me and for her. Thanks!

Hugs ~~ Aunt Bobby

Meet my friend Amanda

2008-07-17T03:43:00Z

Hey, guys -- have you noticed a new name among those who are being published in the Muse? Check out the Sunday Poem & Garden Section, and let me know what you think of Amanda Buck and her poems. I am encouraging her to get a Blog, and also to start responding to the Forums. I think she will be a great addition to the Artella family!

Hugs ~~ Aunt Bobby