I know people compare their lives sometimes to rollercoasters. Lately, my life has not only been like a rollarcoaster, but DisneyWorld has a ride called ” The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” that my life seems to literally & figuratively be like the Winnie the Pooh ride, where guests ride in “spinnable” honey pots through what was conceptualized as the best scenes from the three Winnie the Pooh featurettes, & the tracks take you on a wild ride, turning & twisting, banging into doors & walls, etc.

maya & dima came Thursday night, 12/19. maya is staying at our home, & doing a fabulous job at learning 2 languages (english & “jenny-ese”)! dima i hardly ever see–he’s staying w/some neighbors.

I keep a practice log for music therapy, & thought I’d share these notes from it:

Friday, 12/20–Our 1st full day w/Maya (our Ukranian visitor who barely speaks English)—both of us seem to have improved w/our English skills, & she seems to understand me!

Mon., 12/23— Today was the 1st day I had to use google translate w/Maya

Christmas Eve, I saw a friend who hasn’t seen me in a year. Last time she saw me, I could vocalize & say things like “ah”, but that was it. That particular day was a very good speaking day, so I’d answer her questions w/words & short sentences. She did quite well at understanding me, & was almost in tears that we were TALKING, & loved telling people, “did u know she can talk?!?”

this month, we celebrated the birth of Christ. Why is that birth so important? the answer is in John 3: 16, which says: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Recently (ironically on Christmas Morning), I had an experience that had me marvel at the Christlike behavior I saw, & I thought: did Christ not also sacrifice himself 4 me? It seems a sacrifice worth remembering, & the best way to honor that sacrifice is to do what that sacrifice was for: repent & change.

For me, part of my changing requires me to return to no signing days. No signing days stopped over the summer w/the family when Dima & Maya came (though I still did it Wed. mornings w/Angie, until very recently).

I’ve been to chicken to do this, & I keep brushing aside: “While no signing days have been helpful for me to re-learn speech, there is another benefit, & it will help me in other ways as well.” Even though my speech is like 100 times better, i am scared & terrified of doing no signing days again, & I’ve been justifying it, by thinking, “Well, I often speak the majority of any day now, & only sign when I HAVE to, anyway!” But I’ll be upset if I don’t try it out, too, & it seems like it is precisely what I think I need, in order to grow the way I should!