Sign language and charades !

First and FOREMOST, I have to thank Gemini Girl for her thoughtful gift.
The signing cards are awesome. I have already started trying to teach the boys some of the signs. Spencer seems ready to go. The gift was GREATLY appreciated. Thank you thank you thank you !

My goal now, since returning from New Jersey is to learn sign language fluently. To teach it to my children and to HOPEFULLY better communicate with Toni and Hollie when they come to visit in November ?....December ?.....maybe January ? Well I'm still working on the logistics of that hopeful trip :)

Talking with Toni and Hollie was pretty easy. They were both mainstreamed in the hearing world and are both very good at communicating with hearing people. Toni has talked about her family still not knowing sign on her blog. (something I can't understand)
A lot of deaf people are forced to read lips and speak in deaf talk, never learning sign language. I can't imagine a world with limited communication.

Hollie who has no hearing ability what so ever spoke very loud and very clear. There were times that I felt as if I was talking to a hearing person...other than the fact that her hands were going 50 miles an hour. :)
Toni, my shy sweet Toni :) was very soft spoken. She has a beautiful speaking voice, but would mostly sign. Which helped me learn a lot of signs while we were there.

One thing I did learn is that in order to be deaf you must be able to spell well. HOLY SHIT. They sign words at the speed of light. There were several times that I had to have Toni sign a word out for me like 3 times.....I had the problem of watching her expression and not focusing on her hands. (she has the greatest expressions.....especially when she's in a heated debate with Hollie about something important....like chocolate)

Of course we learned all of the dirty words. sex, masturbate, asshole, fart, poop, bitch. :)
If you wanted to know what the signs were, you would ask Hollie, because it was fun to watch her squirm and blush...and then after terrorizing her for a few minutes you would ask Toni. Once we learned the sign we of course spent the next little while practicing by calling each other bitches :) (yes we are 12)

ANOTHER AMAZING THING, when Mikaela would get in trouble, or when she would argue about something with her moms. (HARDLY ever happened) She wouldn't make any noise. She would argue and cry very quietly. It was amazing. She understands that her moms are deaf and knows that screaming and crying will do nothing for her.
She speaks deaf talk when signing to them.....and under her circumstances speaks VERY well when talking to those of us who hear. She signed when talking to the kids sometimes, and taught the little ones signs too.

It was so much fun to meet these amazing women. To watch their children.
To learn, even though a limited amount, another language.

Here is a website. It's a GREAT TOOL to learn sign language. You click on the letter and then the word and it is signed for you. How awesome is that.
Thanks S for sending it to me.

From left to right
Birthmoms...Darcy, me, Elyse, Toni



Our wonderful wives.....Cindy(Elyse), Mary Lou(Darcy),J,Hollie(Toni)