Full February....

We sure have been enjoying the mild February weather. I hope it doesn't mean we will have snow into April! Life is extremely busy around here. I have been a bit slack with taking photos, but take it from me, we are not at a loss for activity. William and Patrick are playing indoor soccer. Thankfully, William can practice with an older group of boys, so both he and Patrick practice on the same day. While Patrick practices, William and I work on his homework. I drive Patrick home, pick up Natalia and drop her off at the local college for ESL (English as a second language). I pick William up and drop him off at the house where Bill has his bath water, pj's and snack ready. I head back out to one (or more stores) to capitalize on the food deals of the week. I pick Natalia up at 9:30. Tuesday is a long day for me. I have wondered if Patrick and William would like wrestling? They are both very muscular and athletic. I learned of a local retired high school wrestling coach that runs a 'Mat Club' to foster young boys in learning about wrestling fundamentals. I signed the boys up. The clinic started in January and runs through March. It has been really fun to watch to boys 'evolve' from the first day. Neither were used to someone being in their personal space;) William got over it pretty quickly. Patrick is still a bit shy when it comes to someone handling every part of him. At the end of every class, they wrestle one another. The youngest two wrestle one another and the winner continues. They spend the first hour learning new moves. A boy practices on William while the assistant coaches them:

 

Patrick is very tough, but doesn't have a mean bone in his body. He skips around, happy as a lark:

 

William, on the other hand is very mild mannered, but aggressive and competitive. He took down six kids in a row, many much heavier than him:

 

Wrestling is a very difficult sport. I am amazed at the amount of skill that it takes to succeed:

 

William wins:

 

About 3 or 4 years ago, Natalia began having migraines. A few months ago, I took her to have an MRI, simply to rule out any problems. She was diagnosed as having migraines and she was prescribed different meds, but I believed we had to try something other than medication. I am familiar with acupuncture and figured we would give it a try. Natalia has visited Jaesun three times and thankfully she has seen a huge improvement in the frequency of migraines experienced. Jaesun gave Natalia some very sound advice to consume as many 'whole foods' and cut out processed foods, especially chips, cookies, and soda. Natalia is to only drink water, herbal teas, and almond milk. She is taking herbs twice daily, a strong dose of B12. At night, she takes a magnesium drink called, Calm. A typical acupuncture treatment involves the insertion of fine needles into acupuncture points on the body followed by gentle manipulation of the needles. This instantly increases blood flow in the tissues through a mechanism know as the "axon reflex", which dilates the small vessels around the needle area. An increase in circulation where blood flow is poor is called removal of "stagnation" in Asian medicine and is generally considered a very good response for most chronic conditions and for migraine prevention. Jaesun in action:

 

She places about 20 needs, from the top of Natalia's head to the tops of her feet. The needles are about the width of a strand of hair:

 

Once the needles are inserted, Natalia listens to relaxing music and falls asleep. The needles remain for 30-40 minutes. I am so proud of Natalia for not cheating once with chips, cookies or soda. She has been faithful in drinking water. I pray that Natalia is healed from migraines:

 

William, Patrick and Peter participated in the Boy Scout Derby. William's car:

 

Peter's car:

 

Patrick's car:

 

William and Patrick receiving their 'drivers license':

 

All three boys with their patch and license:

 

Peter's car on the starting line:

 

And a HUGE thank you to Chris, who was so helpful with carving the boys cars and photographing the event for me;)

 

Peter participated three times a week for the month of February in Chess Club. He learned more of the strategies necessary to master the game of chess. Peter never ceases to amaze us with his clever mind, but only if he has interest in the activity at hand. Peter received a hand written valentine from a kind boy in his class that said, "You are respectful, you are kind. You come to school every day with a smile on your face". My valentines day was made! I send an email to the boy's parents, thanking them for the job they are doing in raising such a kind son. My complement made their day! All of the children enjoyed making valentines for their classmates. Marta seemed to 'go with the flow' as she thankfully does so well. We are pleased with her progress. Her language is emerging, which is music to our ears;) It will be a long process, but nonetheless, day by day as her security grows in knowing that we will not abandon her (like prior adults in her life), her confidence in her ability to speak is growing. It is really a miracle before our eyes. February marks our fifth month home with the girls and I really cannot believe all of the gains they have made.