Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Pre-K Graduation!




Charlie graduated from Pre-K in May. I finally remembered to get my film developed!


His graduation ceremony was so cute! Charlie's teacher was very good and worked very patiently with him. At times we wondered if Charlie was a little bored in Pre-K, as he is quite smart. But his hyper-activity got him into some trouble. I read an article by a Pediatrician who had found that large doses of Calcium and Magnesium could help with this problem, so we have been doing that for the last couple of weeks. We think we can see some improvement, he seems to be a bit calmer. We have found a wonderful new therapist for the kids, and we hope that Charlie can work through his emotional trauma.

Following Hurricane Katrina, the girls missed a lot of school. First due to the hurricane, then due to moving from one shelter to the next, then due to their mom being too hung over to make sure that they went to school! Both girls were held back this year, which was good. Marquel did not miss one day of school, and Annie missed only 2 days when she was sick with a virus. They are very proud of their Perfect Attendance certificates!

Annie excelled in her 1st grade class, learning to read very well. Marquel worked very hard to catch up. Marquel started the year very behind her 3rd grade level. As I studied with her for her achievement tests, I could tell how hard she had worked and how much she had progressed during the year. We were all ecstatic when she passed her tests with flying colors!

Now with school out for the summer, we have fun outings planned - such as church camp for the girls, and afternoons spent at the river swimming - - stay tuned!

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Hello and Welcome!

It took two of us all day to figure out the "3 easy steps" to create this blog! But here we go . . .

The book is in the printing phase. After a year of writing, rewriting, revising and editing, it is finally becoming a reality. It is written in diary format, as you live the story with us, never sure what the next day might bring. The style is more "conversational" in nature, in order to make the book easy to read and understand.

As the story evolved, it became clear that there were two purposes for the book: 1) to tell this unbelieveable story - and 2) a way to learn to help others without hurting them more in the process.

Over time, I will be posting little stories and photos of the Thornton kids, what they are doing and experiencing. Feel free to leave a message here or on our guestbook.

If you send me your email address you will be the first to know when the books arrive!

Thanks for looking and check back often.
Stephanie