Locks of Love

Leah's hair was very long. We've only trimmed it once. When we came home from China, eventually the front was longer than the back so we cut the to even it out. It was a nightmare. She screamed and cried the entire time. I never wanted to put her through it again so we just let it grow. I also knew there was very little chance of her sitting in a chair for more than a few seconds.  Keep in mind that she is our wild child and it doesn't take long for her hair to be all over the place, so for my sanity I wanted to give her a short bob (besides, she looks even more adorable with short hair, if that is possible!)  Then a friend's daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. As Hailey started to lose her hair, we knew what we had to do. Leah was a little afraid at first and did not want any part of anything that involved the word "cut". We've talked about it on and off and together have read Trish's blog . We even practiced cutting the hair of one of her dolls. I didn't want to force her, I wanted her to understand on her own, after all it is her hair!. Not sure she fully grasps the extent of this, but its a start.

Leah is starting to understand the concept of "giving" and is now looking forward to sending her pony tail to the "hair fairy" to help make wigs for kids like Hailey.

There are a few organizations that do this, but we chose Locks of Love.

You can read Hailey's story and about Locks of Love in the links above. But above all, please  join our family as we pray for Hailey and her family.

Hailey is in the middle next to Leah.

Daddy measuring before we left for the salon ( the first attempt) to make sure we had at least 10 inches

The first look of shock when the hairdresser showed her the pony tail, right before she blurted out "What the heck?" (I know, totally inappropriate language, but oh so cute!)

So proud!

The after effect

And it wouldn't be my sweetness without the silly poses

 We are so very proud of Leah. We thought she didn't understand, then, as I was reading Trish's blog this morning, she happened to walk past me and happened to notice Hailey and says, "Mommy Haily no get my hair yet?" "Is OK, it  not cold outside"

Lent

This year I decided that my Lenten sacrifices would really mean something. In our household, we have all always given something up. This year my personal sacrifices have been tough at times. Especially in the mornings. However, my diet changes have really improved my health.  For those of you that do not understand, here is the WIKI definition of Lent.

Lent (Latin: Quadragesima, "fortieth"^[1]) is the Christian observance of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Holy Thursday.

The traditional purpose of Lent is the penitential preparation of the believer—through prayer, penance, repentance, almsgiving, and self-denial. Its institutional purpose is heightened in the annual commemoration of Holy Week, marking the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the events of the Passion of Christ on Good Friday, which then culminates in the celebration on Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

During Lent, many of the faithful commit to fasting or giving up certain types of luxury as a form of penitence. The Stations of the Cross, a devotional commemoration of Christ's carrying the Cross and of His execution, are often observed. Many Roman Catholic and some Protestant churches bare their altars of candles, flowers, and other devotional offerings, while Crucifixes, religious statues, and other elaborate religious paraphernalia are often veiled in violet fabrics in observance of this event. In certain pious Catholic countries, grand processions and cultural customs are observed, and the faithful attempt to visit seven churches during Holy Week in honor of Jesus Christ heading to Mount Calvary.

 Besides the fasting sacrifices, etc, I also decided to follow one of the moms of a blog I frequent and "Clean House"!  Those of you that know us well know that we have too much stuff in our house. Some areas of my house had started looking like a hoarder lived there. So we are eliminating 40 bags of stuff in 40 days. I fell behind a little this week as I have so much going on with work and Leah's doctor appointments, but this weekend we did accomplish one major goal. Our son and I tacked his room. Mainly his drawers and closet. We took 2 large garbage bags and one very big box full of clothes to Good Will. THE BOY HAS SOOOOO MUCH CLOTHING!  I think that while he had his own place, we wouldn't do laundry, just buy new stuff when he ran out of clean stuff to wear! I can tell you that there will be many well dressed homeless people in our town dressed in freshly pressed designer clothing. Did I mention the number of loads of laundry I have done this weekend? So all in all I feel we are accomplishing something. Do we really need all this stuff? The answer is no. Doing this have enabled me to reflect on many aspects of my life. For one, I spend too much time picking up toys and cleaning big messes. Getting rid of much of our clutter has allowed me to Leah-proof our house. You see, most of our little one's special needs are not necessarily medically dangerous, but socially she needs some work. She has no spacial awareness, is extremely hyperactive and focusing on one thing is really hard for her. She is as smart as they come but the three things that I mentioned basically make her a round the clock tornado, to put it mildly. So my house and my sanity, although lots of fun, is always upside down. We are now working on taking out a toy and actually playing with it before we take out anything else. But progress has been made. We really were not making it any easier on her with so many choices around the house of things she could get into

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss

Leah went to school this morning with her Cat in the Hat T Shirt that we made with an iron on. I had bought these tights at Christmas time and forgot all about them, but they were perfect to complete the look. When I picked her up from school she was wearing this complete Cat in the Hat ensemble made of construction paper!  Too cute!