our very own personal German…

as many of you know, our kids go to a German immersion school here in Anchorage.  We feel really fortunate that they have this chance to really learn another language, and some bits of the culture as well.

one of the programs that the school has is an intern exchange.  This year there are a total of 11 interns, student teachers from Germany, who will be spending all or part of the year working at the school.  Each of these interns is hosted by a family from the school.

When we heard about this last year, we wanted in on the fun.  So, we submitted our names and requested to become a host family.

On January 30th, we got our very own intern.  She is completely delightful and seems to be fitting in just fine here at the Lawrence Lair.  Sina is with us for just 2 months, so in some ways, she is a trial intern, if all goes well, we will consider hosting for a longer period in years to come.

Our house is pretty little, so we have done some fancy re-arranging, we converted our room into a little retreat room, with tv, chair and a bed.  emptied out the closets and now it is our intern room.  We will also use this room as our primary guest room once Sina heads back to Germany in April. We have a steady stream of visitors, not only in the summer, but throughout the year, really, and it will be nice to have a dedicated space.

Dave and I moved into the extra large walk in closet off the boys’ room, and the boys’ room got re-arranged to accommodate the computer and home office equipment that used to reside in the closet.  The closet-room is big enough to serve as an overflow guest room, at least for those guest that we know really really well, or that are related to us and are obligated to love us in-spite of  less than luxurious accommodations.

Having another person in the house has made things busier, that is for sure, and at times has added a bit of stress, but it is far outweighed by having a chance to make a new friend.

I keep waiting for things to slow down…

I know, it is never going to happen.  But i am holding out hope.  My intentions are good, my friends, very good.  I think about writing here nearly every day,  it seems that I have so much to say, and so little time to get the words out.

Lucy, my dear sister, came to visit for a few days last month, it was so very very good to have her here.  She brought her 12 year old daughter with her, and the kids had SO much fun playing with their cousin.  It was too short, just 4 days, but perfect all at the same time.  We enjoyed endless hours of chatting, laughing, walking the dog, a little shopping, some dining out, and coffee.  It was great.

The weeks just fly by, i don’t even know where the time goes. The alarms rings at 5:07 on Monday morning, and the week starts with walking the dog, and chatting with a dog-walking neighbor/friend.  It is a good way to start the week, and a good way to start each weekday.  A little bit of time to visit, a little bit of exercise, a lot of tail wagging.

After that first alarm goes on Monday, I am not sure I even really sit down until sometime on Friday, the days just blur together in a chaotic symphony.  Not elegant, but certainly noisy. Trips to and from school, work and the airport, interspersed with the grocery store, and too occasional trips to the gym, and then come the extra curricular, oh boy. each kid is involved in no more than 2 things, but it adds up!

Each weekend I think, ahhh, the time to relax is here, and somehow, it slips away as well, lost in the dishes and vacuuming and folding of clothes…. and the enjoying of our friends…

I am not complaining, just explaining, I haven’t been ignoring  my little blog, I have been living a good, and busy little life.