SPLICE

I'm taking a break from the usual business of our lives here to give you glimpse into what life at SPLICE missionary training has been like.

Imagine taking 39 future missionaries, complete with their 34 children (yes I'm not kidding!) and putting them to live together in a large house for 3 weeks. Make them eat 3 meals a day together and attend trainings together 8:00-4:00. Don't give them any TVs or internet (except in common areas). It's a bit like being at camp or in college, except everyone's grown up with kids. We have missionaries who are bound for Napal, Spain, Costa Rica, Japan, the Ukraine, South Africa, and many other places. We're all as different as can be, and yet the same. We have formed many lasting friendships.

Our trainings have been a bit like trying to drink water from a fire hose. Each day has been emotionally draining and heavy. We've leaned about paradoxes, resilience in adversity, how to exit one culture and enter another, signs of stress and stess management, conflict resolution styles, and and expectations vs. reality. And we are only half way through!

Chad and I are sharing a room with our two kiddos. I was very dissappointed when I found out that's how it would be, but it's turned out to kind of be a blessing. In the evenings when our kids go to bed at 7:30, we are forced to spend our time in the common area with a baby monitor. We have spent every night staying up late talking and playing games. It's a fun way to relieve the heaviness of our training sessions. 

Our instructors are amazing! Our main instructor has the uncanny ability to make his students come up with all the answers and conclusions. Our sessions have involved lots of tears. We also have small growth groups we meet with and a personal coach that meets with each family. 

So there it is! A glimpse into our life. We dread entering back into our "real world" and yet we can't wait. Another paradox! Friends and family: we miss you terribly. See you soon!

Graham is turning 3!

Graham doesn't turn 3 until Monday but we will be out of town so I'm posting a tad early. :)

WOW! I can't believe it. No really, I can't believe it. How can Graham be 3 years old already?!

I'll never forget this special day when this special boy was born on April 15, 2010. 9 pounds 15 ounces, 22 inches long. 

And here he is on his first birthday. Such a big, happy boy.

And here he is on his second birthday (he wasn't much into getting his picture taken that day).

Here are some things about Graham's third year:

*Note: There's a lot! I'm writing this down for myself and for Graham to be able to look at later. I understand it would probably be boring to other people. :)

He weighs 38 pounds and is 41.5 inches tall. Well above the 95th percentile, as usual!

He wears size 3T-4T clothes, size 6 diapers (we haven't tackled potty training again yet) and size 10-11 shoes. 

He stopped napping 2 months after Molly was born. :(

He goes to bed at 7:30 and sleeps 12 hours or more at night. He has to have his stuffed animals, car blanket, and noise maker. He is sleeping in a twin bed. 

He eats 3 meals a day and 1-2 snacks. Some of his favorite foods are: pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers, french fries (he likes salty, savory foods!), goldfish, cheese, pretzels, broccoli, asparagus, ham, apples, strawberries, and fish sticks. He will pretty much eat anything I give him with the notable exception of pasta. 

His speech has improved tremendously. He speaks in sentences that just get longer and longer. He is always learning new words! I love to hear all of his thoughts and ideas. Being able to communicate with him so well is just a joy!

Graham had speech therapy twice a month (we're done now!). We both love his speech therapist Lori. She comes to our house and Graham loves to play and read with her. She gives me lots of great tips on how to help Graham improve his speech. 

He has started going to school at Young Children's World, the mother's day out program at our church. He loves it!

Graham has some pretty special friends. He loves to see them and play with them at play group every week. 

He is a very active little boy. He can, and will, climb just about everything, he runs, jumps, walks backwards, turns summersaults, and can stand on his head (while leaning against a couch or chair). 

He became a big brother! Graham loves his "sissy" and is extremely sweet towards her. He even offered one day for Molly to sleep with his stuffed animals (his prized possessions!). 

He is a such a good helper. He is now old enough to help me with lots of things like cleaning up, dishes, setting the table, feeding the dog, etc.

Some of his favorite things are trucks (duh), trains, Mickey Mouse, Elmo, Thomas the Tank Engine, books, and being outside. 

WE LOVE OUR BOY SO MUCH! We are so incredibly proud of him. He is a blessing from above and we are enjoying every day we spend with him. Pics of birthday party to come!

Speech Therapy

Graham had his last speech session today. I am so proud of him. He has really come a long way! 

We were first referred to ECI when Graham was 15 months old. He was not saying any words or very many sounds, and not copying us at all. Our case worker, Kindy, has been such a blessing right from her very first visit. She was kind, understanding, and helpful. A whole lot of testing showed us that Graham was delayed in several areas, and qualified for speech therapy.

His first therapist was a woman named Katherine who we really liked, but after a few months she left ECI. Graham was then placed with Lori. She started coming to our house for an hour once a week, and Graham just fell in love with her. Lori has been helpful for us in so many ways. She is always encouraging us that Graham is making excellent progress and that she's very impressed and proud. She also gives me lots of pointers on how to work with Graham on his different speech issues.

When Graham had his next evaluation about 6 months ago, he barely qualified to continue receiving services (I was really glad that he did though, because I wanted him to be able to keep having speech until he turned 3). He literally talks all day long, and is ahead in many areas! ECI is only for kids under 3. If we were going to be staying here (which we aren't) and if he continued to need speech (which he doesn't) we would begin receiving services at John T. White Elementary School.

I'm so thankful that this early intervention program was available for us. As a former Head Start and Pre-K teacher, I am fully aware of how important early intervention is! I wish more people would take advantage of it.

Here is Graham with Lori (left) and Kindy (right). He wasn't really in a "picture mood." Thank you ladies, we love you!!!

Molly 4 Months!

I may not have mentioned it yet, but WE ARE JUST CRAZY ABOUT THIS GIRL! :) She is just a ray or sunshine everywhere we go. What a blessing it is to us that God has trusted us with this sweet, precious little one.

Molly has turned 4 months. She's doing a lot of new things this month:

She weighs 18 pounds (above 95%) and is 24.5 inches long (50%). Her head size is 90%.

She is wearing size 6 month clothes (and some 9 months) and size 3 diapers. 

She is nursing 6 times a day and has gotten to be a really fast nurser. 

She is taking 5 naps, 1 1/2-2 hours each. Although, at least one nap a day gets skipped or shortened because we are out. She still sleeps in her carseat, but we are in the process this week of transitioning her to her crib.

She is sleeping 9 hours at night. 

She has started blowing raspberries. 

The drooling has started! She can soak a bib in no time. Teeth are on the way! Though I know from experience that they will take a few months to get here. 

She can sit up assisted, if you hold her hands or prop her up on the couch. 

Her "talking" has gotten much louder!

When she's awake we get big smiles all the time and the occasional sweet giggle. She is a very happy baby.

She can bat at things and reach out to grab toys close by. But she's not very interested in toys yet. 

She loves to look at her hands and often has one or both in her mouth. 

She found her toes! She loves to see them and try to grab them.

What We've Been Up To

1. Lots of brother/sister play time! Graham is so sweet, gentle, and perfect with Molly (so far). She loves to watch him so much. I am praying every day that they will have a great relationship. 

2. A fun trip to the Canton Trade Days with Mimi. Graham liked looking at the antique trains and running up and down ramps. I bought 2 scarves and a necklace. It was only my second time to go and I thoroughly enjoyed walking around and hanging out with my mom and the kids!

3. Riding the Forrest Park Mini Train with Mimi. My mom was on spring break last week so she came and spend a couple of days with us. Man, we had fun! Graham LOVES riding the train. He got to try popcorn for the first time (ate a whole box). The weather was perfect for some Fort Worth fun!

4. Packing. Packing. Buying stuff. And more packing. Our container ships in just a few weeks....AH!

5. Fun times at Papa and Mimi's house. We are treasuring up as much family time as we can possibly squeeze in lately! That means going to Kaufman almost every weekend. Graham's favorite thing is playing in their backyard with the dogs. He could seriously do it all day. Last weekend had the added bonus of seeing my grandparents from Arkansas. 

6. Petting rabbits at the Wataga Library. Graham was SO excited. But of course when it was finally our turn he got scared. He would touch them but wouldn't hold them. Until the very end when it was time to leave, he decided he wanted to hold one and threw a fit. Go figure! But we always have fun with our playgroup peeps. :)

Daphne DuMaurier

If I had to name my favorite author, it might be Daphne DuMaurier. 

I first read her most popular novel, Rebecca, in high school. It's one of my mom's favorite books. Rebecca follows a nameless young woman who falls in love with a much older, very wealthy, widower named Maxim. As newlyweds the couple returns to Maxim's family home in Cornwall. At first they are happy, but the heroine is haunted by the presence of Maxim's first wife, Rebecca. It seems that she can never live up to her legacy.

Rebecca is easy to read and spooky, without being scary.  I also love the movie, which was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and won the Oscar for best picture in 1940. It stars Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier. 

After enjoying Rebecca so much, I decided to check out some of DuMaurier's other books. I breezed right through every DuMaurier book that the Sweetwater Library had. Including: The Scapegoat, The House on the Strand, and My Cousin Rachel. They are all very original and eerie. 

Later in college I read The King's General, which is nonfiction, and Jamaica Inn. The later became my favorite of her works. 

Jamaica Inn takes place on the Bodmin Moor in Cornwall (DuMaurier loved Cornwall and lived there much of her life. Many of her books take place there) in 1820. The story follows a young woman named Mary who loses her mother and is forced to leave home to live with an aunt that she barely knows. She discovers that her aunt has married and her husband is landlord of a very secluded coaching house called Jamaica Inn. Mary learns on arrival that her uncle is a dangerous, violent man and that secrets lurk around every corner of Jamaica Inn. 

The unusual twists and turns of this book seem to surprise me every time I read it!

*Note: Jamaica Inn is a real place that Daphne DuMaurier really visited and based the book on. The story goes that she got lost on horseback in the mist of the moors and wound up at Jamaica Inn. It is still a functioning inn and museum. I would love to go visit someday!