Jodi Speaks Her Mind

So much to say, so little time… 4/1/2006

I haven’t failed to post because there isn’t anything to write about, but rather that life has been throwing a lot our way. I’ll try to sum up here, and I reserve the right (ah, blogger’s rights) to elaborate on them more soon.

Here is what has been going on with us - in no particular order:

Adelina - schools and more schools: I have been visiting different educational options to consider for kindergarten next year. This was very overwhelming at first, and we are still undecided, but I am pleased to report that we do have two reasonable options to choose from, although one of them is significantly more costly than the other. Still, choice is always a good thing in matters such as this.

Adelina - progress: Of course Adelina continues to progress in both her ability to convey her thoughts and feelings in sign language, and in her ability to speak English. She is now learning to speak two-word combinations, and it will be many months before she begins to speak in sentences, but we are encouraged by her rate of progress and her obvious internal motivation to speak. We wrestled a bit with whether or not to phase out sign language, but the truth is we all love it so much that we will stick to our original plan to raise her bilingually to the best of our ability. This means we will continue to learn and develop sign language ourselves. It’s really time for us to get a better grasp on the grammar and syntax of ASL, which thus far has eluded us, especially since we thus far have emphasized spoken English along with our signing. If we are going to be bilingual, then each language needs its own proper grammar and syntax. It’s time for us to expand our circle of friends to include more deaf families. We have a sweet neighbor who is deaf, but she (and her family) use Signed Exact English not ASL. And, yes, they are very different.

Church: We recently said goodbye to the church we have attended for 4.5 years. We now find ourselves faced with the hopeful but also somewhat overwhelming task of finding a new church home. It is really an interesting position to find ourselves in - and largely an unexpected one. Still, I’ve done some reading on various Christian blogs, and definitely have some new thoughts on this topic that I may explore further. Well, maybe they aren’t thoughts as much as questions: what is the purpose of the local church? how should one go about seeking a church? how do today’s churches align with the biblical expression of church? should they align? is church a place for believers to grow or for unbelievers to meet God? can it be both? and so on… Definitely some good stuff to be chewing on. Thus far, we have enjoyed services at Cornerstone.

Family: We had a wonderful visit by Steve’s parents complete with the sweetest and most genuine tears shed by Adelina upon their departure. She loves her grandparents so much (both sets)!! While they were here, we checked out the Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum, The Wildlife World Zoo, and Adelina got her first taste of Taliesen West (only the bookstore).

Loss: Becky Richardson, the wife of Oscar Richardson, the pastor of the Chesapeake Vineyard Church we attended in Virginia, was unexpectedly taken to be with the Lord. Oscar co-officiated our wedding and their family is very dear to us. She will be sorely missed on earth, but I have no doubt she is beyond herself with joy, as worshipping the Lord was her absolute most favorite thing in the world to do, and now she can do it without hindrance or interruption. We love you, Becky, and will miss your smile and your presence!