Final Elementary Concert

Six years of elementary school have gone exceedingly fast. Dayna had her last elementary program (and second band concert) earlier this month. I'm so proud of the musician she's become (and still continues to grow!)

Fifth Grade Band

Fourth and Fifth Grade Choir

Fifth Grade

With Mr. Jaworski, her band teacher

With Mrs. Krance-Wendt, her vocal music teacher

Empowered to Connect 2016

Dan and I were again blessed to be able to attend the Empowered to Connect parenting conference this year. Dr. Karyn Purvis (who entered heaven just three days after the conference to a resounding "Well done, my good and faithful servant!") has tirelessly researched and developed the TBRI (trust based relational intervention) approach to parenting children from hard places with a trauma background. It was essentially the same conference as last year, but still felt like drinking from a fire hose.

Little by little, we're able to implement more strategies, and we've noticed big changes in every member of our family in the past few weeks. Even discipline has been more productive with happier endings and less stress.

One of the biggest victories I saw was in a little one who absolutely did not want nor need an hour of quiet time...but could she just snuggle instead? In less than two minutes, this happened:

and it lasted about an hour. No fear. No anxiety. A little girl who was so completely relaxed and experiencing felt safety.

We haven't arrived, and I'm sure we'll be drinking a little more from the fire hose in the future. But we're making progress and moving forward more than we're sliding back.

I can't recommend the resources enough to my friends who are parenting, grandparenting or teaching children with trauma histories.

http://www.empoweredtoconnect.org

Annie's First Visit from the Tooth Fairy

Annie was so brave when she went for her first "big" dentist visit. It was made easier with the promise of a visit from the tooth fairy when it was all over.

 Well, the doctor couldn't comfortably remove the tooth in question, not knowing what the bone structure looked like underneath. He did manage to remove enough of a fragment, as well as fill the cavity caused by her collapsing dentition. That fragment was enough to put beneath her pillow.

 

And all was well!

He is Risen!

We love Easter. New life, small family traditions, and most importantly, the celebration of Jesus' resurrection, proving that He conquered sin and death so those who call on His name can experience eternal life.

We try to keep things small - a basket with an item significant to our faith, rising early in the morning to climb a tower and watch the sun rise (it was cold and cloudy - so while we didn't see the sun, we know that the Son has risen), a nice meal that may or may not turn out the way it's supposed to, and celebrating with our church family.

Easter Preparations

Three Years

It's hard to believe that three years ago, we were celebrating Easter in China with a girl who barely knew us. She's come a long way, and so have we! We celebrated three years as a family last week. Annie wanted spaghetti, so Olive Garden was our destination. We had a bit of a wait, it was a beautiful night, and we had the camera on us. Obviously, this girl has added a lot of laughter to our home!

Budding Composer

Just showing off Dayna's latest composition. We're still thinking of a title, but it's inspired by "The Itsy Bitsy Spider."