Writing her first check!

Beverly was very excited tonight to write out her very first check from her bank account! She needed to pay for air time on her cell phone, and writing a check was a big, new adventure!

She wanted me to take a close up picture of the check, but it's a little fuzzy! :-)


Tonight after dinner Abby was sitting next to Beverly and kept saying "We look like twins! We have the same hair! We both have glasses! We have the same earrings!" It's funny to see that she is noticing their similarities!

Beautiful Weekend

The weather has been nice and we have enjoyed some outdoor time! Yesterday Beverly and TJ had a chance to spend some time on the tennis court, and I think they enjoyed it!

Friday night we did a little dress shopping for homecoming. Beverly is very excited about the dance, which will be on October 18. It's exciting to share her first high school dance experience with her!

She is staying busy with homework and doing some extra things, like being part of the high school speech team. They are practicing now for their speech meets, which will start in November.

Beverly and Mikaela

This picture is a couple weeks old, but I wanted to share a picture of Beverly with her friend, Mikaela. They really enjoy spending time together at school and it is a neat connection for them since Mikaela has traveled to China, and has a sister adopted from Guangxi.

A Big Day for Beverly!

Today was full of many firsts for Beverly!

She spent most of the afternoon at the high school working as a student council representative during the dedication of our new High School building. They served as greeters and hostesses to the community coming through the building, and joined in on the dedication ceremony to honor the community for providing our children with this wonderful new school facility.

After I picked her up ... she had special permission from her parents, so we were off to Pekin to get her ears pierced! She ended up choosing the very same earrings that Abby chose when she had hers pierced last September. After hearing about the process and carefully studying the two marks on her ear lobes to be sure the earrings would be even and in line with each other, it was time to start. The first earring went in without even a flinch, the second one brought a tiny "ouch". But then she was ready to look in the mirror and admire her new jewels!

As soon as we returned, TJ and our neighbors were waiting for her to take her fishing on the lake in our subdivision. They caught a big bucket of fish ... mostly bluegill and a bass or two. Beverly caught the most, with at least 15 fish on her scorecard. She is holding one of the fish she caught in that picture. She came in jumping up and down saying, "I love fishing so much!" Now our neighbor is preparing some of the fish for the kids to sample tonight. Should be fun!


Back to school tomorrow for another big week!

Orientation Picnic - more pictures!

Thanks to Shannon (our ISE area rep!) for these pictures that show Beverly at the orientation picnic yesterday!

Exchange Student Picnic

(click on the picture to see a larger version)


Yesterday we went to a picnic organized by the exchange student agency ... and Beverly had fun meeting 33 other students from all around the world!

Hopefully we will have some better pictures shared with us by a couple other host families that were there ... we dashed out for the picnic late, and in that process, neither Beverly or I remembered to take our cameras! So this picture was taken with my cell phone, and for some strange reason it looks like we were in a fog! ha ha But it was actually a nice day.

The kids introduced themselves, telling the country they are from and where they are attending high school here in the US. It was a fun day! And the students will be back together for a few special trips to St. Louis, Springfield and Chicago throughout the year. Beverly really enjoyed getting to know some of the girls from Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. There was a boy there from Hong Kong whose host sister told Beverly to speak to in Cantonese ... and when Beverly said something to him in Cantonese, he kept answering her in English. ha ha

Today is a dedication for our new school building and Beverly has her first official duty as a member of the high school student council in being a student host of the event. She has been very interested in student council and is also on the dance committee for homecoming. Drew was part of student council and I think it is such a worthwhile activity for the kids.

Tremont High School Football!

Bevery attended her first high school football game tonight with us! I think she enjoyed the crowd and activity ... and especially the band and seeing the cheerleaders! She met up with some friends and got to see the crowd gather up to support our school team. Unfortunately Tremont lost the game, but we had a good time anyway!

Tomorrow we have a picnic for exchange students to attend in the afternoon, so I'm sure we will have some new pictures then too!

Settling in!

Beverly is doing really well adjusting to life here in the U.S. I often wonder if I would do half as well if I were trying to live with a family in China right now and change my lifestyle!

We had a big weekend moving Drew off to college, so Beverly got to take a car trip (a 4 hour drive) to Kenosha, Wisconsin. When we crossed the state line ... she commented that it looked just like Illinois. ha ha

These pictures are from helping Drew set up his dorm room, and also looking out at beautiful Lake Michigan during our visit to campus. Kenosha is about 50 miles North of Chicago, and the college is right on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Today it was back in the school routine. She's really doing well making friends and getting to know the kids and teachers. We hear lots of fun stories about the happenings of school each day, so I think she likes it there most of the time!

After dinner, Beverly and TJ took a quick bike ride, and then she and Abby played outside for a bit just before it was getting dark. Almost time for bed and another school day!

Meeting Grandma and Grandpa

Beverly had a chance tonight to meet Grandma and Grandpa Scott when they came to our house for dinner. We had a nice visit and then after dinner, Grandma and Grandpa got to sample some of the Mooncakes that Beverly brought to us from China. They really liked the pineapple flavored one, but the green tea flavored one was a very different taste!

A Great First Day!

One more "back to school" picture this morning since Abby was joining the crew as she starts kindergarten today ... and I promised Beverly that we don't take pictures of the kids EVERY morning as they leave for school! ha ha

Beverly is headed off for her second day of school now, but I just wanted to share what a great first day she had!

She was very excited last night to update us on her classes, teachers and the kids at school. She's really doing great in remembering teacher and student names, which I know is tough when you meet a lot of different people at one time. She was very happy to make some friends and I think she feels very good about the school.

Last night for dinner we had spaghetti, which she really liked. And Beverly brought a box of mooncakes to share with us ... a traditional food in China for the Moon Festival. So we sampled them and decided which were our favorite flavors, and that was really fun. Since she has an American Government class and is getting a crash course in how the November election will work, we have watched part of the Democratic convention with her and tried to answer questions about the process. We'll do the same with the Republican convention and try to give her a better picture of U.S. politics, which I think will be helpful for her in the class.

Today for gym class they are swimming, so she was off with her swim suit and towel, as well as a very full backpack of school books and binders. The high school teachers ask the kids to have a separate binder for each class, so Drew shared some of his with her last night and helped her get them ready for class. I'm glad he has been here for the start of her week so that he can give her some guidance on what is needed for high school.

I hope this all translates well for her family and friends following the blog. I just want you to know that she is such a bright and confident young woman, and she is adjusting very well. We are proud to have her in our home this year!

First Day of School

The big day has finally arrived for TJ & Beverly! Today is the first day of middle school and high school! They were happy to pose outside for a picture this morning.

They were up on time and excited to go. Today is just a short day for the first day, more to see the classrooms and meet the teachers, so they will be back home by Noon. Then tomorrow starts the more regular schedule.

We also stopped for a quick picture of TJ & Beverly with our neighbors. Beverly has had a good time getting to know the girls and swimming at their house a couple times.

Can't wait to hear all about the first day of U.S. high school for Beverly! I know she is going to do great! Tomorrow Abby will join them on the bus for her first day of kindergarten!

A beautiful and relaxing Sunday

We had a very good day today. We are taking our last moments to relax before the hectic pace of the school year starts back up on Tuesday!

Beverly is doing really, really well with us. She is very adaptable and open to going along with whatever the family has going on. Or just relaxing if there is not much going on. She is so good with TJ and Abby, and I know that having younger siblings around ... demanding her time and attention ... is a new experience for her.

We took our boat out today for a late summer ride. It was a beautiful day, and Beverly had a chance to enjoy the Illinois River and take in a pretty day here in Central Illinois. I did manage to get this picture of the kids on the boat from my cell phone, but did not take my camera along!

Tomorrow it is back to the school to finalize her schedule, and talk with the counselor about her desire to complete her high school and college education here in the U.S. So we need to be sure this all important first year has her moving in the right direction!

A Great First Day!

Beverly managed to get about 11 hours of sleep last night ... which I think was really good after her long day of travel, and being so far off on her time schedule! She got up about 10 am and was looking for a little breakfast!

We visited Mitch at the bank and he set up her account here. Then we grabbed a quick lunch and went to the school for a visit. Drew and TJ tagged along, and I took this picture of the 3 of them on the steps of the school.

Many of the teachers were around today in their final preparations for school to start on Tuesday ... and so we had the chance to meet some teachers she will be with. The principal gave us a personalized tour of the school, and it was even fun for Drew to take that tour since the school has completed a big expansion this summer that was taking place the last 2 years of his time at THS. Since he lived through the construction mess as a Junior and Senior ... he enjoyed having a chance to see the finished product!

Beverly will be placed as a Sophomore, but will take a variety of classes at different grade levels. We are going back on Monday morning to meet with the guidance counselor again and put the finishing touches on her schedule ... but it looks like she will take American History, American Government, English II, Geometry, Biology, Spanish, Chorus and Physical Education. The American Govt class is what the Seniors take to prepare for the Constitution class they have to pass to graduate, and it is only one semester ... so we will have to choose one more class for 2nd semester to round out her schedule for the last half of the year.

I think she is looking forward to getting started, and I think she felt very welcome today. All of the teachers were so happy to meet her and complimented her on her English skills.

Tonight she and the kids went to our neighbors to swim and had a great time ... and she learned how to play "Marco Polo" in the pool. :-)

We have several things to do yet before she is ready to head to school, but we are close to pulling it all together! I know the weekend will go fast and the kids will be on that bus before we know it!

Welcome, Beverly!

We met Beverly at the Peoria airport about 5:00 pm ... she flew in on the smallest plane I think I have ever seen come to the Peoria airport. Poor girl, that seemed small after getting off the 747 before! The kids had their signs that they had worked on and were so proud of. So we took a moment for a picture outside as we were leaving.

We came home and got dinner started ... for her first American dinner, she had TACOS! ha ha It was a first and she did like them, I think. She was outside with the kids awhile, we visited with the neighbor, and had a little time to get the unpacking started. You would not believe all the gifts this girl brought ... it's enough to start a small gift shop specializing in items from China!

Now it's about 10 pm and she has had a shower and is thinking about going to bed. She has been up for most all of the last 30 hours, not sleeping much on the plane. Tomorrow we go to school and register for classes and meet the teachers and staff ... it promises to be a full day!

She's in the Air!

And almost in the US according to the USA Today Flight Tracker ... Beverly's plane is running about an hour ahead of schedule into Minneapolis, and should now be just about over the continental US, at a little before 8:30 am Central Time.

Beverly will be in the air soon!

At about 7 pm Central Time tonight, Beverly's plane will take off from Guangzhou for the first leg of a 22-hour journey to the US!

Last I heard from her she said they were "as busy as bees" packing her up and trying to fit everything into two large suitcases. It would be tough to pack for the whole school year in a varied temperature climate ... it's hard enough for me to pack us up for a one week vacation!

We will pick her up at the Peoria airport about 5 pm on Thursday night. Watch for arrival pictures, and join us in wishing her safe and speedy travels!

Eight More Days!

Only 8 days until Beverly arrives in Tremont! We'll pick her up about 5 pm next Thursday at the Peoria airport, after a 22 hour travel day for her.

TJ and I had the chance to talk with her on the phone yesterday, which was really fun!

Beverly, here's another video from TJ and Abby for you! They are really rambling in this one, hope it all makes sense!

Around the House

It's only 11 days now until Beverly arrives in Tremont! She should be back in China now after a two-week group trip to Europe. I know she was anxious to get home and catch a replay of the Opening Ceremonies in Beijing, which were televised while she was in the air, on the return trip home. We watched last night here in the U.S., about 12 hours after the actual ceremony took place. What a wonderful job China did in welcoming the world to Beijing.


We have been doing some improvements around the house, and the last couple of weeks have involved removal of old wallpaper in the kitchen, new wallpaper going up and a new floor going down. Our house is about 30 years old and we have lived here for 12 years. Things had just been updated when we moved in, so we have not really done anything until now ... and it really gives it a nice facelift.

We didn't make any recent changes here in the dining room, it's just a picture for Beverly to see another part of the house. It's a pretty cloudy day so not a bright day for taking pictures!

Just outside the dining room doors we have a deck and fenced in part of our back yard. It's a nice shady retreat on the hot days. We also have a small fish pond that has some pretty large goldfish in it, and some resident frogs that seem to find their way in every year! There are about four that have these bright green faces and are pretty big. TJ took this picture, it is really tough to get a good picture of them because as soon as they hear us coming, they leap into the air and then into the pond with a big splash!

Next week is new carpet upstairs!

Special Delivery from China!

See our family blog for a post and pictures of a very special package we received from China today!

http://tremont-scotts.blogspot.com/

Thank you, Beverly! They are so beautiful, and very special to me since you picked them out!

Beverly is in England for 2 weeks!

I was happy to receive an email from Beverly letting me know she had arrived in Oxford, England for a two-week program there. She flew with a group, and they had a long travel day from China to Thailand to Sri Lanka to London, and onto Oxford. After some confusion on her host family location and exactly where that home was located ... she is settled in with a family who has a 4 year old daughter (probably good practice for her in being around Abby when she comes here!) and things are going much better. She'll be back in China around August 9 or 10.

We did get travel information on her arrival in the U.S., and she will leave China on August 21, connecting through Tokyo and Minneapolis before moving onto Peoria. Another long travel day ... but we will be there to greet her and get her settled in Tremont for the coming school year!