Good Bye Thumb!

She was such a cute thumb sucker.

I mean adorable!

When Claire came into our family....she was very attached to her thumb.

And her hands in general.  She would lay on her back and watch her hands twirl above her head in the air for long periods of time....especially when she was tired.

We called them "hand movies".  In the days after "Gotcha Day" she would lay on the hotel bed and watch hand movies.  We would lay on the bed beside her and watch her intently.  

A reminder that life in an orphanage means basic care but not a lot of attention or stimulation.

In fact, when we visited her orphanage {and when westerners get a tour we can definitely say we get the favored glimpse into orphanage life} it was clear, toys were scarce!  In this play room where the babies spent their day, the shelves were empty.  Lots of babies.  No toys.




So we completely understood why any baby would take to their thumb for entertainment, stimulation and self soothing.  What a glorious thing, really!

This baby girl didn't jut like her thumb....she LOVED it...
The funny thing is....none {NONE} of the other four children sucked anything.

And we were not about to tell her she couldn't suck it!

{All these pictures in succession make me laugh!!!}

We gave it no attention.  We were thankful, in fact, that her one item of attachment was something attached to her that could come home with her and us.  What a blessing.

Just look at her go. . .

We didn't really worry about it until preschool.  

But we thought she would surely give it up when she was ready.

In kindergarten, we were assured that feeling like a big girl and being busy and on a schedule would assist her is phasing it out of her repertoire.

In first grade, we were told that peer pressure, both positive and negative, would help her abolish what was now a terrible habit.  Not so cute any more.  The dentist was on her case.  Charlotte's orthodontist was on her case.  We tried everything to help her quit.  Bribes.  Behavior charts.  Threats.  Prizes.  Logic.  Threats.  To no avail!

Now Claire is a second grader, with permanent teeth.  So when our dentist asked if we wanted a "little help in this area", I hastily blurted out  responded "YES".  Indeed we did!  And as much as Claire really loves her thumb still, she has wanted to quit sucking, too.  

The "help" was twofold.....an orthodontic appliance  that sits on the roof of her mouth with a spinning bead.  She got to pick the color.  She went with white.

The appliance is a great deterrent, but it is coupled with a behavior modification program utilizing a plethora of darling stickers and cute bandaids.  Claire is all about the cutey cute cute!!!

The stickers are awarded on full days when her thumb does not sneak into her mouth.  

The bandaids are for her thumb -  a visual and tactile reminder not to suck!

The first day she was particularly cranky {like I have been on days when I try to give up coffee} and she even put herself to bed early.  Sweet thing.  And she did not earn a sticker that day - she confessed that it sneaked in at school.  

But days two through five were successful and she earned four stickers in a row!  But then.....a disappointing sixth day....she was upset with a sibling and in a sad moment, the thumb went in.  Only for a split second, but we had to print a new calendar and start OVER.  Even I was disappointed.  For this to work, we have to be absolutely precise in following the behavior with the consequence or reward.

She needs 21 consecutive days and then Dr. Brown rewards her with a gift card to Target. We aren't allowed to do any rewards at home until the game is complete. 

She is doing GREAT.  I am absolutely amazed at how quickly she has adjusted to not sucking.  We pray about it every night.  If you think of her, pray for strength and peace.  It was a darling and necessary habit, but it really became a stronghold.  I am so proud of her!!!

If you have a thumb sucker, I highly recommend this program.  No tears, no pain, no more threats, no more bribes.  It is a simple game with seemingly great outcomes.  95% effective rate, they say.  Let's hope we're counted among that number!!!

Hair Bow Mania

Charlotte is crazy about hair bows.  

Our sweet fifth grader has a creative, project minded personality.

So tonight, when the big kids went with Ian to the movies, we made hair bows.

It was crazy fun.

We watched a few tutorials on you tube and then we learned by trial and error.

Boy did we get the giggles!  We had a great time together.

And here are a few of Charlotte's fun creations.  

The big question is...which one will she wear to church tomorrow???

Go Texan Day

It's Go Texas Day today at school.
It's Go Texas Day state wide actually.
Us Yankee City-slickers are on a learning curve this first year.
All I can say for sure this morning is this is BIG.  Really, really BIG!
You see, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is rolling into town today

The kids are busting out their boots, jean skirts, western wear and cowboy hats.  Claire and Charlotte were showing their Texan spirit today.

The Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo promises two weeks of parades, livestock exhibits, breeder competitions, concerts, champion rodeo events, tractor pulls, wildlife expos, pig races, muttin busting, petting farms, horticulture exhibits, animal auctions, horse shows. . .and lots of BBQ!

Everything Texas.  Everything western.

It is in fact the world's largest livestock exhibition, the world's richest regular-season rodeo and the Southwest's premier entertainment event.  Yep....it's BIG.  

We'll be attending over our upcoming Spring Break y'all!  More about it then.

Lent - A Meditation

Today, Ash Wednesday, marks the beginning of Lent, a season of spiritual discipline anticipating the celebration of the death and resurrection of Christ.  It is traditionally and historically focused on repentance from sin.  A time to reflect upon our heart's condition before a Holy God.

Of course as Martin Luther taught, the Christian life is, in its totality, a life of repentance.  So while a repentant spirit is the mark of the Christian life day in and day out, it has been historically appropriate in the church to set aside the season leading up to Easter as a particular season for focus on our need to repent of sin and to refocus on the mercy extended to us by God on the cross of Calvary.  Through the darkness of our sin comes the precious light that is Christ Jesus!  What a cause for meditation!

Lent too often is a season of self righteousness.  Trying harder.  Digging deeper.  Doing our duty. Giving more.  Eating less.  Human nature demonstrates, does it not,  that as we examine our own unworthiness, we defend ourselves by recounting our good deeds, our moral efforts....in essence, we trust in ourselves and fool ourselves into thinking we must earn favor with our God and trust not in the finished work of Christ.  As if our efforts can amend the wrongs we have done.  I am so guilty of this. I recognize that I add to the true gospel all the time.  Obedience is not the way to be accepted by God.  Our works-righteousness during Lent or any time of the year does not honor the law and does not produce salvation.  {I am currently studying Galations which is all about this very thing}

Let us be mindful of our sin.  And let us be sure that we stand in the truth of being justified by Christ alone, building our confidence solely on the work of Christ.  We receive it by faith, we do not produce it.  We give nothing for it.  We do nothing to have it.  Friends, God the Father freely gives it to us through Jesus Christ.  What GRACE!  Perfect righteousness that is not our own imputed or credited to us.  Through him there is no more law or wrath or punishment.  We stand in Christ's righteousness.  Now our works are beautiful acts of gratitude and not works of attaining mercy or right standing with God.  The Law of God becomes a delight to us and no longer a burden.  It totally transforms us but it does not save us.  I am utterly thankful for this truth.

The Puritans understood their depravity well.  They handled sin well.  They understood the mercy of God well. They rested in the finished work of Christ. Their beautiful prayers are one of my favorite devotions.  I love reading and savoring these written prayers during Lent.  Second to the Bible, The Valley of Vision is my favorite book.

The prayers contained in this book are rich with biblical thoroughness.  I hope to share some with you during Lent as I use them myself to draw near to the God of mercy and His righteousness.  May these prayers be a study of my wretched condition before a Holy God and the perfect redeeming righteousness GIVEN to me and received by FATIH ALONE!

SINS

Merciful, Lord,

Pardon all my sins of this day, week, year,

             all the sins of my life

             sins of early, middle, and advanced years,

                    of omission and commission

                    of morose, peevish and angry tempers

                    of lip, life and walk,

                    of hard-heartedness, unbelief, presumption, pride,

                    of unfaithfulness to the souls of men,

                    of want of bold decision in the cause of Christ,

                    of deficiency in outspoken zeal for his glory,

                    of bringing dishonor upon thy great name,

                    of deception, injustice, untruthfulness in my dealings with others,

                    of impurity in thought, word, and deed,

                    of covetousness, which is idolatry,

                    of substance unduly hoarded, improvidently squandered,

                              not consecrated to the glory of thee, the great Giver,

            sins in private and in the family,

                   in study and recreation, in the busy haunts of men,

                   in the study of thy Word and in the neglect of it,

                   in prayer irreverently offered and coldly witheld,

                   in time misspent,

                   in yielding to Satan's wiles,

                   in opening my heart to his temptations,

                   in being unwatchful when I know him nigh,

                   in quelching the Holy Spirit;

            sins against light and knowledge,

                   against conscience and the restraints of thy Spirit,

                   against the law of eternal love.

Pardon all my sins, known and unknown,

                               felt and unfelt,

                               confessed and not confessed,

                               remembered or forgotten.

Good Lord, hear;

and hearing. . .forgive.

Another Winner!

It is so much fun to try new recipes.

This one is another new favorite from the Rodale Whole Foods Cookbook.

Spicy Chicken Empanadas!

The whole wheat crust was delicious and quite fun to work with -

Made for great 'play dough' fun for David.



The filling is diced chicken which simmers with a myriad of fantastic herbs and spices along with  grated pepper jack cheese.  I cooked and diced the chicken yesterday and had the dough made in the fridge.  Today was assembly day.

I did them early in the day and covered them so they would be ready for a quick dinner tonight.
Next time I will definitely do them with the kids around so we can do an assembly line.  I know Charlotte will think that to be fun!

All I had to do at dinner time was brush them with a beaten egg wash and bake them for 20 minutes.

Another winner with the kids!

I'm telling you.....this is the best cookbook EVER!
And everyone is done asking, is this another dinner from that healthy book!?
They just go with it now!  Praise God.

Recovery

David has been a trooper the past couple days recovering from his little procedure.  

Naturally he's been a little less active and he has sure demonstrated his cautious side.

Feeling a little better each day, but 

let's just say theres been no jumping on the trampoline!

That's okay - it's been too rainy anyway!

Dora (the explorer), Thomas (the useful engine) and Bob (the builder) have been good friends of late!

And we've read oh so many books.  He adores books.  I adore the snuggling part!

And we've done a few quiet projects. 

He loves to paint so Ian got this Double Racers kit for him to work on.

He loved it!

And he now has two pretty cool race cars.
One's for Peter, he told us!

I love watching him approach projects like this.
He carefully plans his work

and likes to switch colors as many times as is possible.

It is much more fun and messy that way!!!

Thanks for your prayers for David.  He is on the mend and we'll be back on the tramp soon!

Suzuki Group Lesson

Once a month, Claire has a group lesson with her teacher, Ms. Ksenia.

They are memorizing the composers and their dates for all the songs in Suzuki Book 1.

They are also learning to recognize each song when Ms. Ksenia plays only a few notes of a given song.  

Listening and learning by ear are an important part of the Suzuki Method.

The focus of the group lesson is more on composition and theory than during her weekly individual lesson.  It also provides a place to play in front of others in preparation for recitals.  It is made creative and fun with games and activities!

Today they spent time practicing naming notes on the treble and bass clefs

They reviewed terms

And practiced drawing their own grand clef with measures, notes, and dynamics

Then Ms. ksenia said, "Now we will make a concert."  I love her Russian accent.

Claire played her song. . .now she is thinking of a name for it.

The next concert is in April and Claire is working on two pieces.  It is a blessing to see her progress from week to week and month to month.

Our Little Patient

Today our little David was a brave boy.

He had his little boy surgery at Texas Children's Hospital.

Pre-op vitals...David chattered through the whole exam.

What a remarkable health system.
We were so impressed with everyone that interacted with us today.
They were particularly thorough about his past heart surgery and health.
We saw an extra practitioner about this alone.  She read his whole cardiology report and listened to his heart.....sounds good!!!

Here he is in the waiting room....so much fun to distract nervous children!

Phones couldn't be on in the back, so no pics of David in his cute blue TCH pajamies.

After the doctor and nurse and the two anesthetists described everything, he walked bravely with them through the double doors to the surgery suite.  Yes, chattering all the way.  He did make one announcement before they departed.  "Don't touch my penis, okay!?"

He was a champ...and woke up so nicely, ate 3 popsicles and drank some juice and told the nurse he wanted to go home!

Here he is snuggled up with Claire watching Curious George with Claire.

And look he is even laying on his tummy!

Glad that is over with!