Hello, peoples!

   It's been a long while, and for that I apologize! Lots of things have been happening lately, with school, the doctors, adopting, moving, etc. And, I will admit, there were quite a few times when I simply forgot to update, even though I had time. But I promise I'm going to get better. I'll try to post at least once a week, starting now.
   We've got a lot to catch up on!
   For Christmas, I got tons of art supplies (like awesome skin-toned color pencils and my favorite kind of pens, yay!) which made me pretty happy! I also got some gift cards to buy clothes (and I found the cutest dress). But honestly, the best part of Christmas morning was watching everyone else! James got an instrument he wanted - ukelele? Guitelele? Something like that. He was so excited! And the kids. Oh, the kids. They got new bicycles, and I swear they were freaking out. They were so happy! Everyone always gets one super big special gift, and James' was the instrument. Mine was this thing for my face that I honestly can't remember the name of (but I love it!). K got an Elsa doll that sings in English and Spanish, and she seriously won't put it down. J got a toy vacuum, which caused severe jealousy in the others. And F? He wanted to be like "his James", and so he got a little toy guitar!
   School is actually pretty difficult right now. Not because I don't like it -- trust me, I still absolutely love it! -- but because my classes are presenting a real challenge for me this year. The two most difficult to understand are currently AP Calculus AB and AP Micro/Macro Economy. I don't really understand integrals, antiderivatives, and all of the monosponies and oligopolies. Until this year, I didn't even know those were words! AP Language Arts is fantastic. We've finished our Puritanism unit (we learned about the Salem Witch Trials) and Realism unit (analyzing the Declaration, and Crisis by Thomas Paine). In AP Physics, we've started our gravity unit, which is actually pretty fun! Orbital velocities and all that. My French II class is learning about food, and currently I'm working on this one assignment where I have to create a menu of French foods for a restaurant of my own invention. Naturally, none of it can be in English. Yearbook is cool - we're a bit behind schedule but catching up! I no longer have a spread team; I'm working by myself which is nice. In Contemporary Issues in Education, I'm still working as a teacher aide in one of my favorite teacher's classrooms, so that's pretty awesome!
   Our house is still pretty crazy. I mean, it won't be quieting down for a long, long time, with the kids and all. We're still in the process of moving, but it's starting to feel like home. The living room and kitchen are painted, with new kitchen appliances; our paintings and pictures are being hung up. We're beginning to master the art of packing 7-8 people around one dinner table!
   And the littles. I mean, they still drive me crazy - I expected they would. Little siblings, after all! But they've also gotten way more comfortable with us, and some pretty funny and cute things have happened. I've discovered that J's favorite thing to do is snuggle, and F likes it when you sing "Apples and Bananas". K just wants to go outside and ride bikes.
   Ooh, and speaking of bikes - I've finally started to go out and ride mine when I have free time! It's fantastic. It's got three wheels, which makes it easier for me to balance; and it's actually a bit easier for me to pedal than most bikes, even though it wasn't designed to be that way. I can't go very far, since I'll get way tired and out-of-breath. There's also this steep hill by the house that I'm not supposed to go on, which limits me some more. But I like to ride in the two little cul-de-sacs right next to our house.
   So, my wheelchair totally broke down a few weeks ago. I'm not sure what's wrong with it, but it wouldn't even turn on... which meant that I had to use my manual chair for a day or two. And then, my friend's wonderful mom let me borrow their extra chair and charger! So, while it may not be perfectly me, I have a hot-pink electric chair for school. I can continue to run people down in the halls - yay!
   I've joined the Dungeons and Dragons (or D&D) club at my school. We meet on Wednesday's, and it's lots of fun! The other guys in the club - and yes, so far they are all guys - are pretty crazy. We have lots of interesting discussions. I was playing the villainess, Countess Blackstone, but the heroes kinda killed her... so today, I get to play as a new character that I created! Her name is Arilyse, and she's pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.
  I took the SAT on January 21... I think it went pretty well! There was a bit of a problem when I was registering -- some sort of issue where a coordinator at my school was supposed to set up my testing site, but didn't. But I went to the counseling office and then spoke to the College Board directly, and we got it fixed! The test itself was pretty easy, especially in the two Language Arts sections. I really enjoyed those. The math-with-calculator was okay, but... math-without-calculator was sorta terrible. I guess we'll see how I did soon -- the scores are released later this month!
 
   Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Write me a poem.
With scribbles and scratching, let your thoughts
Run straight out from somewhere deep inside your mind.

Sing me a song.
Open your mouth and let the words
Pour out from somewhere deep inside your soul.

Hum me a tune.
Whistle and whisper and let the music
Soar out from somewhere deep inside your heart.