Half Birthday and Other Catching Up

Before the year ends (!!!), I have some catching up to do. Today is the first day for me with nothing on the agenda (aaahhhh), so I hope to stay busy with the blog for a little while.

Since we missed Miss Mei Mei's first two birthdays, we decided to celebrate her half birthday in early December. We've never done that with any of our kids, and kept it very simple. One (big) present, and a piece of cake with candles and singing. She loved it, and has been talking about birthdays since:)



Mei Mei is very outgoing and loves to spend time with her friends, and of course with Little Miss, and all her siblings.



We have enjoyed the Florida December weather so much. A bit cooler than in the fall, but still warm enough to go to the parks.



Our church had a Star Wars costume party for the youth group before the movie came out, and Mr A and Missy both won best costume awards! Their friends' costumes were awesome, too!




We had a very quiet Thanksgiving in Florida (Mei Mei was still recovering), and then it was Christmas everywhere! It took us a little while to get in the Christmas spirit with the warm weather and palm trees everywhere, but bringing out the candles helped.



And watching Mei Mei's joy and wonder about Christmas! More on Christmas in another blog post. But first - a traveling post.

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Ennen kuin vuosi loppuu, yritän saada näitä joulukuun postauksia tehtyä. Kiitospäivä oli hiljainen, Mei Mei toipui vielä leikkauksesta. Sitten tulikin joulukuu ja joulua kaikkialla. Pikkasen toimme joulukoristeita esiin, ja Mei Mei ihastui kynttilöihin. Ja niin nautti kun päätimme viettää puolikasta syntymäpäivää! Olimme missanneet Mei Mein kaksi ensimmäistä synttäriä, ja kun 2.5 saapui, päätimme antaa lahjan ja juhlia kakunpalalla, kynttilöillä ja laulamalla. Voi sitä iloa ja ihanuutta!
Ja lisäksi ulkokuvia Floridan lämmöstä joulukuussa:) Seuraavaksi matkapostaus.

Enchanted Forest Gallery/Satumetsägalleria

 

Post-Op Update/Päivitystä leikkauksen jälkeen

Two and a half weeks have passed since Mei Mei's cleft palate surgery. How is she doing?




She is doing remarkably well. We have been amazed at her resiliency, her courage and her acceptance of everything she has had to endure in the last weeks.




We had asked for your prayers for a few concerns, and I am happy to report God answered our prayers and even the ones we didn't think to ask for beforehand.

- We got Mei Mei's lab work done (it did take visits to three different labs, and on surgery day our cleft team didn't have the results, but by God's grace I remembered which lab it had been (!) and they were able to get the results online right before going into surgery).

- Mei Mei and our whole family stayed healthy, even though Mr T had been so sick, and usually these bugs go through everybody in the household.

- While Mei Mei figured out quick how to get out of her arm restraints, she tolerated them for the most part, and didn't suck her fingers! In the morning and after nap time when I would take her arm restraints off, she would always smile at the "no no-nos!". A funny story: one of the first nights at home Mei Mei went to say goodnight to daddy. She stood in front of him, pulled her arm out of the no-no, waved goodnight, and put her arm right back in:)
She is still not sucking her fingers, so this may have broken the habit!

- As far as the supernatural understanding for Mei Mei.. She definitely understood once she felt a bit better and was out of the medicine fog, especially when we got home. I think there were still a couple of days that were especially difficult for her. We are so thankful for God's grace that covers the difficult days...

- And all those details... There were many. Like our friends at the campground. God surely is in the details! (He even knows the number of our hairs on our heads.. Why am I surprised when He takes care of even little details??)




I took these (five) photos yesterday. She is totally back to her outgoing, energetic and fun-loving personality!




We are so in love with our little girlie! While in many ways it was so crazy to go back to China and bring home a sixth child, God surely has blessed our obedience to His call. I get all teary-eyed just thinking about missing out on this blessing. God is so good!




Ignore our funny expressions:)

Last week we had Mei Mei's post-op appointment. Huge thanks to Casa Flamingo - we stayed with our Flamingo friends the night before, and loved visiting with them:)

The good news were her mouth has healed really well! The surgeons thought she looked great! Soft foods for another week, which now means just another day or so, then we can go back to regular foods. We were able to stop using the no-nos that day, which was such a relief!




Mei Mei also saw our ENT doctor, and her ears looked good. In three months we'll need a checkup to see if the tubes are still in, and in May she will get another hearing test.

After these appointments it was time to do something fun! Yes, chocolate! Yes, chocolate ice cream! And while it looks like Mei Mei is devouring the entire pint, she did have help... This girl loves her chocolate:)




The short summary of this long blog post would be Mei Mei is doing very well, and has healed amazingly quickly. We did have some rough nights for a week or so, which makes this mama feel her age, but fortunately we have a lot of helpers in this crew.



We are back to normal routines, back to school, church and errands. Just in time for Christmas vacation:)

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Reilu kaksi viikkoa on kulunut Mei Mein leikkauksesta, ja pikkuinen on toipunut ihan uskomattoman nopeasti. Kun kurkistaa suuhun, se näyttää ihan tavalliselta suulta, enää ei näy tikkejä kitalaessa, ei ole turvotusta eikä punotusta. Ainoa ero on ikenen puuttuva hammas, ja pieni kolo siinä kohdalla.

Kävimme tarkastuksessa viime viikolla, ja kirurgitkin olivat tyytyväisiä kuinka hyvältä kitalaki näyttää. Saimme heti jättää käsivarsien no-no't pois, mutta pehmeällä ruokavaliolla pitää vielä jatkaa pari päivää. Seuraava tarkastus vasta toukokuussa, paitsi korvat pitää tarkistaa kerran ennen sitä. Uusi kuulotesti tehdään sitten toukokuussa myös, ja silloin katsotaan puheterapian tarve myös (tosin halkioäidit netissä suosittelevat, että puheterapia aloitettaisiin heti, eli saa nähdä - meillä on tässä joulun matkustamiset edessä vielä myös.)

Kyllä meidän pienellä Mei Meillä on sisua! Ihaillen olen katsonut vierestä kuinka tyttö on selvinnyt tästäkin kokemuksesta. Pieneen elämään on mahtunut jo paljon vaikeita kokemuksia... Me uskomme, että Taivaan Isä on pitänyt tyttöä kämmenellään nämä kaksi ja puoli vuotta.

Kiitollisia olemme meidän Pikku-Myy ilopilleristämme. Emme oikeasti voi kuvitella elämää ilman häntä. Niin paljon iloa Mei Mei tuo joka päivään. Ihan kaheliahan se oli meidän mennä Kiinaan uudestaan, ja tuoda kuudes (!) lapsi perheeseen, mutta onneksi kuuntelimme Taivaan Isän kutsua. Mikä siunaus ja onni meidän perheelle!

Nyt Mei Mei on toipunut niin hyvin, että olemme päässeet normaaleihin rutiineihin kiinni taas. Mei Mei nukkuu taas yöt hyvin (eka viikko, vähän toinenkin oli rankka). On kotikoulua Pikkuneidin kanssa, palasimme kirkkoon Mei Mein iloksi (ystäviä!), ja kaikki muut tavalliset arjen touhut sujuvat taas. Hyvä päästä arkijuttuihin kiinni juuri ennen joululomaa:)

Mei Mei's First Camping Trip/Mei Mein eka asuntoautoreissu!

We reached a very important milestone in Mei Mei's life last month! Not only did she get a new mouth on the inside (how we explained her cleft palate surgery to Mei Mei), Mei Mei got to go on her very first camping trip in the Mothership!




Because of the circumstances, those two milestones were combined...




Yes, we actually stayed in the Mothership at a campground during Mei Mei's surgery!




We ended up traveling as a mini family, and all five of us stayed in the Mothership one night. Then Mei Mei and mama stayed in the hospital the next night, while the Captain spent the night in the Mothership with Little Miss and Mr A.




I love how our Heavenly Father takes care of all the little (and big!) details in our lives. Our dear friends, the P family, was camping at the same campground that week. We had a wonderful time visiting with them, and Mr A and Little Miss hang out with them a most of Thursday when Mei Mei had her surgery.
(We LOVED the campground decorations at the P site - the green fairy lights were magical! Thanks for all the meals, too, N!)



We so enjoyed our little camping trip, and can't wait to go back, hopefully soon! We have a few favorite campgrounds in Florida, and this is number one in our book.

We do have to iron out some kinks - the sleeping arrangements need to be figured out. The Mothership is so narrow Mei Mei's portacrib won't fit in the hallway, and sleeping next to Little Miss didn't really work out. But we'll think of something:)



As we were leaving the campground the day after Mei Mei's surgery, a little raccoon came out to say hello. Or possibly join our crew?

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Mei Mei pääsi ensimmäiselle asuntoautoreissulleen marraskuussa - yövyimme Mothership'issä ennen leikkausta, ja sen yhden sairaalayön, kun Mei Mei ja mama olimme sairaalassa, Kapteeni yöpyi asuntoautossa Mr A:n ja Pikkuneidin kanssa. Meidän ystävämme olivat samalla leirintäalueella koko viikon (näitä ihania Taivaan Isän ajoituksia!), ja leikkauspäivänä Mr A ja Pikkuneiti hengailivat heidän kanssaan melkein koko päivän.

Niin ihanaa oli pitkästä aikaa olla leirintäalueella ja asuntoautossa, että pian pitää päästä uudestaan. Pitää vaan keksiä paremmat nukkumisjärjestelyt, Mei Mei eikä Pikkuneiti kumpikaan nukkuneet kovin hyvin vierekkäin. Muuten meillä oli oikein kivaa leirintäalueella.

Lähtiessä pieni pesukarhu tuli meitä hyvästelemään, tai kenties olisi tullut mukaan Mothership'iin?

Going Home/Kotiin!

So.... This was a week ago. We ended up staying in the hospital for one night, only (Cleft Palate Surgery blog post here). It actually wasn't too bad, our night nurse was so quiet we did get some sleep, too. But there is no place like home, so we were happy to hear we were being discharged.




The view from our hospital room...



The Captain and Little Miss brought Mei Mei a Minnie Mouse balloon, which she loved! It was the first balloon we had given her, and she always likes to point to them at the grocery store.



She wanted her shoes on, even those her IV site was a little sore on her foot.



Starting to feel a lot better, and a lot happier! The balloon was such a great idea!!



Despite being told in the morning we'd be discharged, it took a half a day to be able to leave the hospital. I guess that is the way it goes. We had another stop to make (next blog post, hopefully), and a long drive home, but we did make it.

It was so good to have this part behind us!

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Olimme sairaalassa vain yhden yön (enemmän leikkauksesta täällä), ja vaikka aamulla meille luvattiin, että päästään kotiin, kesti puoli päivää, ennen kuin pääsimme lähtemään. Seuraavassa blogipostauksessa kerron missä vielä pysähdyimme, sitten ajoimme pitkän matkan kotiin.

Lähtöpäivänä Kapteenin ja Pikkuneidin tuoma ilmapallo toi paljon iloa ja onnea Mei Meille! Hän on aina ihaillut ilmapalloja ruokakauppojen kassalla, mutta ensimmäistä kertaa (meillä ainakin) sai leikkiä ilmapallolla:)

Cleft Palate Surgery/Kitalakihalkioleikkaus

Early in the morning yesterday we arrived at the hospital for Mei Mei's cleft palate surgery. We had tried to explain to Mei Mei what was happening, but we don't know how much she understood. She knew something different was happening, and wasn't so sure about the nurses and doctors checking her out. I kept praying for God to grant her the peace that passes all understanding.



The surgery went well. She first had tubes put in her ears, as we had had a checkup on Wednesday with our ENT doctor, and had found out she still had fluid in her ears. Next was the palate repair. It lasted two or three hours. Plus time in recovery room before we could see her.

It turns out her palate was wider than anticipated, so there may be another surgery down the road, but we don't need to worry about that right now. The surgery went well, and there was minimal bleeding.

She was uncomfortable most of yesterday, and wanted mama to hold her. Daddy was a great second, too, and we got our first smiles last night when Mr A and Little Miss stopped by.

In the evening Mei Mei started to calm down, I was able to put her on the bed, and she even signed and attempted to speak some. It was difficult as she had no-nos (arm restraints) on and her tongue had a stitch on to keep it from rolling back.

She wanted to drink water and apple juice and even had clear broth last night. The hospital had soft tender-care feeders with a small tube going into her mouth, so nothing would hurt the palate or the stitches in her mouth.



This morning Mei Mei is doing great! She has been calm, and sleeping in the crib. She woke up regularly at night, the nurse and I would give her meds (she doesn't care for it), and she would sleep again. I had a sofa bed in the room, but needed to stay by her side all night. Fortunately there was a comfortable recliner that was brought in for me last night, so I got some sleep, too.

I am waiting for the doctors to make their rounds, but one of her surgeons came by, and was pleased how well she is doing. He clipped the stitch off her tongue, and that immediately made Mei Mei feel more comfortable.

She needs to be seen by a few more people, but it looks like we can go home today!

Thank you all so much for all your prayers. God is so good. We have been comforted by so many people lifting her up to our Heavenly Father in their prayers around the world, and have loved all the notes on Facebook and here on the blog. Thanks also for all the emails and texts!

We will keep posting on Facebook and here when we can on her progress.

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Mei Mein leikkaus meni hyvin. Se alkoi eilen aamulla ennen klo 8, ensin laitettiin putket korviin, sitten oli kitalakihalkioleikkauksen vuoro. Kaiken kaikkiaan meni noin kolme tuntia. Mei Mei oli aika itkuinen eilen, halusi maman syliin (daddy oli hyvä kakkonen), ja olo oli selvästi surkea. Iltaanpäin hän alkoi rauhoittumaan, joi vettä, omenamehua ja kanalientä. Kun Kapteeni toi Mr A:n ja Pikkuneidin vierailemaan, Mei Mei virkistyi ja saimme jopa ekat hymyt.

Yö meni rauhallisesti, lääkettä annoimme hoitajan kanssa säännöllisesti (siihen tarvittiin kaksi), ja olo selvästi alkoi olla parempi. Minä nukuin vieressä mukavassa tuolissa, jonka sai nukkuma-asentoon.

Lääkäri käväisi jo aamulla, ja oli tyytyväinen kuinka hyvin Mei Mei voi. Hänen mukaansa voimme lähteä kotiin tänään, mutta odottelemme vielä muita lääkäreitä ja terapeutteja.

Kiitos teille kaikille esirukouksistanne! Taivaan Isä on niin hyvä meitä kohtaan. On ollut ihana saada viestejä ympäri maailmaa, kovasti lämmittänyt mieltä.

Laitan päivityksiä Facebookiin ja tänne kun mahis.

Upcoming Cleft Palate Surgery/Tuleva halkioleikkaus

A big week ahead of us... Mei Mei's cleft palate surgery is scheduled for Thursday. We had her pre-op appointment this week, and also (after unsuccessfully visiting two local dentists) had an x-ray of her mouth done at the cleft team dentist's office.



Mei Mei is missing a tooth in the cleft gum line, and the x-ray showed nothing hiding in there, making the repair simpler, so that was good news. Apparently down the road she may get an implant where she is missing a tooth, or one of her teeth will be 'shaped' to look like the one that is supposed to be there.



Our pre-op appointment went well. We really like our surgeon. I think I remembered to ask all the questions I thought of after we left the cleft clinic last month.



We do have some specific prayer requests as we are getting closer to the surgery date. In addition to surgery being successful, and recovery as painless and quick as possible without complications...

- Mei Mei needs labwork done, praying to get that done tomorrow successfully

- Mei Mei (and us all!) would stay well. Mr T has been sick, but he is starting to feel better, and Mei Mei so far seems fine. We have been shielding her from germs as much as possible for about a week already

- Especially for two weeks after surgery it is very important Mei Mei doesn't suck her fingers. She finds much comfort in sucking, and we will need a miracle here. We will be given arm restraints (no-nos) for her, but our surgeon thinks she is old enough to figure out how to get out of them. Any tips would be appreciated, if you have gone the road ahead of us...

- Supernatural understanding for Mei Mei as she goes through this painful and confusing experience.


- For all the many details that need to be taken care of before, during and after.. Poor Mei Mei - her first Thanksgiving will be all pureed foods! (Good thing she loves my mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and cranberry jello:)



God is good... All the time!



Not sure how much we can post here, but if I have wifi at the hospital we will be posting updates on the Mothership FB page. Make sure to like and follow our updates, and most importantly... pray. Thank you!!!

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Ensi viikolla on Mei Mein halkioleikkaus. Tällä viikolla kävimme kirurgin vastaanotolla valmistautumassa leikkaukseen, ja käväisimme myös halkiotiimin hammaslääkärin luona, jossa vihdoin onnistui suun röntgen (kolmas kerta toden sanoo). Ienhalkiosta ei löytynyt hammasta, mikä yksinkertaistaa ensi viikon leikkausta. Kirurgilla oli aikaa meidän kanssa jutella ja vastailla kysymyksiin - kaikkiin niihin, jotka tuli mieleen halkiotiimin viime kuisen vierailun jälkeen.

Rukouspyyntöiksi jättäisin, että leikkaus onnistuu, toipuminen sujuu hyvin ja mahdollisimman nopeasti ja kivuttomasti, ilman mitään komplikaatioita. Että kaikki yksityiskohdat ja järjestelyt onnistuisi, niin ennen, leikkauksen aikana kuin jälkeenkin. Mr T on ollut kipeä, onneksi alkaa vointi parantua, mutta rukoillaan, ettei Mei Mei sairastuisi, tai kukaan muukaan. Huomenna pitäisi saada labrakokeet otettua onnistuneesti.

Ja yksi iso rukouspyyntö: ettei Mei Mei imisi sormiaan leikkauksen jälkeen. Hän niin saa lohdutusta imemisestä, mutta pariin viikkoon ei saa, ettei leikkauskohta aukenisi. Käsivarsiin laitetaan hihat (no-not), jotka estävät käsivarsien taivuttamisen, mutta kirurgin mukaan Mei Mei varmasti keksii, kuinka ne saa pois käsistä. Tähän tarvitsemme ihmettä.. Onko neuvoja?


Keskellä Mei Mein toipumusta on Kiitospäivä - Mei Mein ensimmäinen. Onneksi hän tykkää perunamuusista ja karpalohillosta:)

Jo ennen kuin me saimme Mei Mein syliimme, Taivaan Isän on hänestä pitänyt hyvää huolta. Niin luotamme Hänen täydelliseen suunnitelmaansa ja rakkauteensa Mei Meitä kohtaan tulevienkin päivien ja viikkojen suhteen. Jumala on hyvä. Aina.

Jos päivityksiä ei ilmesti blogiin, toivottavasti niitä löytyy facebook-sivuilta. Kiitos rukouksistanne!

4 Ways To Choose The Best Math Curriculum - Guest Post by Mr. D

4 Ways To Choose The Best Math Curriculum
By Dennis DiNoia, M.A.Ed

I always have parents telling me that they have tried it all…and they feel resigned and a little hopeless.  I hate when that happens.

If math curriculums have been a sore spot in your homeschooling experience, here is the “Mr. D” List for choosing the right math curriculum for your family.

1.  Stick with it

I have travelled across North America, stationed myself in Hawaii and questioned select educators in Europe to research a broad range of math programs.  I wanted to learn how they are constructed, how inclusive they are and how the concepts are delivered.  What I have discovered however, is there really aren’t major differences between curriculums content, only in how they’re structured. What I did learn, is that the schools with the highest performance percentages remained consistent with their curriculum.  The school system used the same textbook series middle school to high school to create consistency and promote higher comprehension.  When students first begin a new program, it can be difficult to adjust. But if they tough it out long enough, something wonderful happens. Our brains begin to adjust to the new learning style, making it easier to comprehend. So if you feel like your textbook isn’t working for you, ask yourself “have I given it enough time?”  You’d be surprised how much you grow and develop in the course of a school year.

2. Compare your high school textbooks against entry-level college textbooks

It is critical to have a solid mathematical foundation before entering college.  College professors spend little time reviewing concepts with the hopes that you already have a strong grasp on what was covered in high school.  When choosing a high school curriculum, it might be helpful to browse through the table of contents of your current math book and compare the topics to an entry-level college textbook.  If there are some concepts missing, it might be best to invest in a different textbook.

3. Don’t make a decision based on the price

When finding the right curriculum, money should not be the main consideration. Obviously it plays a role, but if you are either looking to get a bargain or spend as much as possible for the “top of the line” curriculum, you might be disappointed in the results. Always keep in mind that price does not entirely reflect quality.  Be sure to collect your research and don’t make the mistake of letting price be the deciding factor.

4. Decide what your end goal is for your education

Whether you plan to attend college, vocational school or complete high school and go right to work, it’s important to align your education with your future goals. If you are still unsure, then assume you’ll attend college and study with that mindset. By choosing the highest and broadest level of math, it will leave your options open and help you cultivate a deeper understanding for the concepts you’re learning.  Knowing what you want to do is key to deciding what curriculum to use.  That may also mean completing a little homework on the vocation you’re eying to learn what kind of math skills or education levels are required.  Of course, there is nothing wrong with changing your mind, but it’s important to actively look towards the future and plan accordingly.  In my own life, I would have never thought I would become a math curriculum creator.  I did however want to be in business for myself and play music. But when the time came, I had to decide what would be my profession and what would be my hobby.

Finally, if you make a curriculum switch, be sure you didn’t miss anything.

Math is important and colleges need to know you’re on par with the nation’s average.  Their only uniform measure of knowing you didn’t fall asleep during most your high school math classes is how well you perform on the SAT and ACT.  As of March 2016, the SAT is changing to include a higher level of math expectancy.  If a student has a solid comprehension of Algebra I and Geometry, they could score well on the old SAT.  But the new SAT requires students to be proficient in Algebra I, Geometry and Algebra II.  By moving to a new curriculum, there’s a chance important concepts could be overlooked if the new curriculum assumes the content was already covered in a previous course.  For example, in my Algebra II course we cover logarithms and matrices.  If a student comes to my Pre-Calculus course without covering these concepts, it can serve as a challenge for the student.  While this isn’t a deal breaker, the start of the semester can be a little rocky.  Fortunately, I provide plenty of review videos and extra practice for anyone in need of a refresher crash course.


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Thank you so much for your helpful article, Mr. D! You can learn more about Mr. D Math here. It is the math curriculum we use and highly recommend!