Six-Month Visit

I received a telephone call the other day from a woman at the adoption home study office advising it was time for Lola's six-month update visit!! Wow, time really does fly!! We have been scheduled for a visit on May 13. I was told by my adoption agency that I have to make 3 sets of 6 photos of Lola so the Russian courts can see how she's doing. Unlike some of the paperwork I had to do for the adoption, I think this part will be fun!! I can have Lola help me choose some photos or if she wants we can take a few and show the courts the progression of time - - from Dec 2007 up through May 2008.

The other night we ordered pizza and got out the game of Monopoly, which was one I acquired from one of the ladies in my Bible Study group at her garage sale. When we opened the game we found we had no dice....we looked all over the house to see if perhaps another game had some dice, but no luck...then Lola said, "Oh, Mom! We use cards, ok?" So we got out the playing cards, took the jokers out and I must say I actually prefer using cards to dice anyway...it's less chaotic to the playing board if we have houses and hotels on the properties!!

Bearing that in mind, I received a letter from Lola's school (in Spanish, no less - -apparently they don't look at her record closely enough to count her as an individual by observing that she is not Spanish...) indicating that I am to appear for a meeting with some panel today at the school regarding Lola's 'below grade level performance'. Someone please tell me how a child that has just received a report card four weeks ago with Math - B, ESOL - B, Science - B, Social Studies - C, General Music - A, Phys Ed - A, and a smattering of S's for satisfactory can be performing below grade level??? I may be biased, but I think Lola has done quite well for only having been in school for eleven weeks!! Yes, I was a bit incensed by this letter and even insulted by having to fill out some ridiculous four-page survey asking me, basically, if my child had been dropped on her head when born, if she has had any run-in with the law, and if I could pinpoint the problem as to why she is having difficulty in school. WHAT DIFFICULTY?? She is a child from Russia who is trying to learn English!! Give me a break!!