first few days

Sugar and TV. That is what Roxanne advised me to give Johnley when he first came.

And it turns out it works especially well for teenagers!

Avena has spent alot of time the past few days watching TV. She loves the Disney channel. She laughs out loud at all the physical comedy, so loud that the rest of the house cracks up!

She is a very picky eater, but loves sugar. She doesn't like steak, rice, apples, oranges, potatoes, ravioli, spahgetti...except when she does! But she likes cookies, cupcakes, candy and chips of all shapes and sizes.

So she fits right in here at this house, because we can't sit down to a meal without most of the kids saying, eeeewwww, what is that????. Nick said Avena saw a picture of mashed potatoes and indicated that she liked it, so we made it for dinner. She took one little taste and made a face and shook her head. I told Nick that she is probably just saying yes cuz she doesn't understand him!

She is very, very quiet. She has a little of that teenage pouty thing going on, but mostly she is happy and smiling.

We took her to skating with us today. Again, Nick thought she said she wanted to try so he got her skates. Guess what? She took one look at those skates and said no way! She met about 10000 people today, including Joe and Dina and the kids. She was just a little overwhelmed, but she was a good sport about it. We exchanged valentines with the homeschoolers today and she was a REALLY good sport about that! Talk about culture shock! Everyone was so wonderful and welcoming. It was really great.

So far it is going well. She seems very comfortable around the house, anxious to help with dishes or laundry. She knows where everything is that she needs. She really seems to like hanging with Taishauna, so they have been playing games and doing crafts. Avena is very shy, and self-concious, but I guess anyone in her situation would be.