Katie was practicing for her Hanuakkah show next Friday and she was so darn cute that I had to catch it for posterity.

So here it is, immortalized for all time......Introducing Miss Katie Starr singing............

Puff the Jewish Dragon

Tools of the Trade

I came home late today and laid down my weary bones for a few minutes. Katie came in to see me and wanted to make me feel better so she gave me her fav (and first) stuffed animal, "Snotty Baby" to make me "feel better." Then she put her Sesame Street Elmo Stethescope on my heart and followed it up with her big bird scope to look in my ears and throat. Katie's Diagnosis...... H1N1!! I swear it's true!! Unfortunately, I may have to take Snuffleupagus brand Tamiflu!! *SNORT*

There is nothing worse than watching your child struggle for breathe

About ten days ago, I blogged about the fact that Katie was in the throes of bronchial distress directly related to that foam pit that she played in while at a birthday party. Now, Katie has been diagnosed with asthma and the last 2+ weeks have been nothing short of horrifying; both for her and for us.

Initially, she was placed on Albuterol Syrup in order that her airways stay open, but it was not enough to stop the terrible bronchial spasms that were causing her to cough and struggle with her breathe until she vomited. The doctor even placed her on an antibiotic in the hope that this may be a bacteria that would be killed off. Finally, on Saturday evening my terror level reached new heights as her situation worsened and I got in touch with her pediatrician who was forced to place her on the nebulizer for breathing treatments and in addition prescribed oral steroids to reduce the inflammation. When she did this, it was with words of caution that things would deteriorate before they improved. Well, she was correct! Katie's symptoms were even worse than before and to compound the discomfort, was the fact that the steroid causes sleeplessness and irritability. Katie's emotions were off the chart and she was basically jumping out of her skin.

Last night it got so bad that she was inconsolable and we took her into our bed to comfort her. Thankfully, it did comfort her and she slept. Since she is a major bed hog, no one else did...but I digress.

She woke up and I could sense immediately that she seemed to be a bit better. She was not exploding into uncontrollable attacks of coughing. I called the Doctor to ask her if we could adjust the steroid a bit as it was really playing with her little body. After listening to what she was going through and hearing that we had a bit of improvement she told me to skip the nighttime dose and double dose her in the morning. I am bringing her back tomorrow so that she can be assessed and to see what our next step is. My understanding is that once they get it under control completely, then they place her on a maintenance medication. Tonight has been peaceful so far and she is sleeping....fingers crossed!

Katie made a statement last night that was actually a refrain that I have heard throughout this ordeal. It really has struck me; both in it's deep sadness and the insight it gave me into our four year old's amazing little mind. "Mommy, I want to be normal again, I just want all of this to go away so that I can be normal..."

I gave her the only answer that I could "Baby, you will be normal again; I promise you will..."

I always keep my promises!

My month of blogging is drawing to a close and now a new chapter is beginning!

This experiment and experience of daily blogging for a month is coming to a close and I am happy to be able to say that I met the challenge. It was not always easy but in the end it was always gratifying. I really did not explore any deep or controversial issues as I have in the past but this month has really been much more lighthearted than all of that and it was fun to share all of the happy things that have been happening lately in our lives.

There have been times on this blog that I have posted quite often and easily and other times when the writers block was as bad as it gets and I have basically abandoned my blog for a couple of weeks at a time. I really love writing, so when I am blocked like that it feels quite uncomfortable. Lately, I have been exploring the creative part of my brain both with photography and with my writing. My mom is always imploring me to write a book and every time she brings it up, I do what I seem to do best and I scoff at my own abilities. I immediately respond by saying to her that it is just because she is my mom that she likes my writing as much as she does. I am sure it helps that she is my mom but deep down inside, I must believe that I have something to say or I would not have been posting pretty consistently on this blog for 4 1/2 years. As I am typing this I can hardly believe it has been that long, but yes, it was way back in 2005, just before we sent our dossier to China for Katie that I began this online journal.

I have had lots of time for thinking lately, especially with all of the twists and turns that our lives have taken and I have come to the conclusion that I am going to stop sabotaging myself by finding ways to not pursue my gifts. It will not be an easy process as old habits die hard....very hard, but I am going to make a conscious effort daily to finally pursue the vocations in life that will bring me pleasure. Writing and photography will top that list. I will do my best to push the fear of failure aside and "just do it" as the commercial says. By me writing this, I am proclaiming this fact to the world or at least my little part of it.

2010 is going to be quite a year for me and I really hope that you will come along for the ride. I could really use the support and friendship as I navigate all of the barriers, both real and imagined, that are sure to come as I begin the next exciting chapter of my life as a woman who is no longer afraid to pursue my own success.

With love and gratitude,

Bridal weekend draws to a close on a very high note!

The much anticipated bridal weekend was a huge success and drew to a close today in a most wonderful fashion. Judy's parents hosted the bridal shower and they give new meaning to the phrase "Hosts with the most." They completely outdid themselves. The party was held in their backyard, which is truly an oasis by any standard. Judy's dad owns a landscaping company and he has truly created a showcase of his talents in their yard. The flora and fauna that he has cultivated is just breathtaking! It was the backdrop to a beautifully decorated patio and gazebo area. The brilliant blue skies and amazing weather just made it all that much more wonderful.

The day was highlighted with tasty food, great company, fun games and the feeling of love in the air.

It was a women's only shower but Justin was invited in for one (very fun) game and to open the gifts with Judy. I kept watching them and thinking that I just cannot believe how my baby boy has turned into such a great man and is embarking upon this new chapter with the beautiful woman, who he has loved for 6 years. It really made me quite misty in a very good way.

I also must say that Marc and I feel so blessed by the fact that this union has brought our two families together. Judy's family and our family just love each other so much and when we are together we are truly one family. We could not have wished for anything better than that.

Here are some pics from this wonderful day that this mama will always remember.

Beautiful atmosphere




Me with my son, the happy groom to be



Me and Judy, the happy bride to be



Enjoying ourselves



Judy and Joyce - Two beautiful sisters



One of the amazing floral centerpieces



The games and fun that was planned for us



Shannon and Pattie, dear family friends



Our table minus Kira who was away from the table



This was just before the game that was planned for Justin. Doesn't he look a bit nervous?? Well, he should be. He had to answer questions about Judy and if he got incorrect answers his penalty was to put on an article of lingerie. He did not know as much as he should of and..................



This was the end result. Believe me when I tell you that there were many more pictures but for the sake of family harmony, I will only show this one of his backside! Thank goodness that he is a good sport!!



Judy's dad looked pretty amused as were the rest of us.



sharing something private



My mom and another dear friend, Kira



Judy and her girls (bridesmaids and Holly on the left is her maid of honor) They did a fab job organizing the festivities.



Sharing some fun while opening gifts.



Next party will be the wedding reception. We cannot wait!!

Bridal Weekend Heats Up!

Justin and Judy's wedding is approaching at the speed of light and in anticipation of that event, we are in the midst of bridal weekend, with last night being the bachelorette party and tomorrow being the bridal shower.

Our plans were to go to a Drag Show/Dinner as a group, with the mother's in attendance and then the youngins would go off after to do what they do. A couple of my friends, who Judy has befriended, were invited as well which was really nice for me.

I got myself dolled up and then before it was time to leave Marc wanted to take some pictures of me. Since I get a lot of complaints that you all hardly see me on this blog, the next four pics from my photo shoot are for you.









We arrived at the club, got seated and waited for the fun to begin. These men/women were fabulous!! They were funny, campy, sexy and just over the top. We had a blast. The first pic is of one of the entertainers bending over me and me giving her a little love in the way of a tip (wink)



Then this lovely wo/man had all of the women at my table mesmerized with the fact that her legs reached her armpits...what a bod!



Our waitress was also an entertainer. She was outrageous!!



Here is my girl, Kira



Judy's lovely mom and sister, Elsa and Joyce



and my other girl, Shannon :)



Here is the beautiful bride to be, my soon to be daughter in law, Judy



Judy got pulled on stage and of course things heated up a notch but hey, what happens in the drag club needs to stay in the drag club.

My only complaint about the evening was that it was far too short. When I walked into the house my hubby was shocked that I was home so early. He knows me very well and this mama can still party like a rock star but alas, this night was for another star and it was her party so.......

I am sure that I can find something to celebrate soon so that we can partake in a little more fun!

A day for hanging around

Yes, it has been a day for hanging out. The kids did their hanging in the park with daddy and I am at home hanging out and doing a bit of online holiday shopping as well as organizing for next week's annual home purging...oops, I mean garage sale and getting ready for a weekend of fun.

This is Judy's bridal weekend. Tonight is the bachelorette party and then Sunday is the bridal shower. I will have lots of fresh material for blog posts! In the meantime, I am going to go back to my hanging out. I need to conserve my energy for the night ahead >;0)

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are thankful for the food that sustains us...



Family to share it with...



Humor to make our life so much more fun...



Men who don't rub it in (much) when they win a game....



A strong and sensitive husband (pictured holding his very petite mother)...



and warm and wonderful, soon to be in-laws, that we love very much!



We are so blessed. From our gang to yours, we wish you a most wonderful and joyous holiday season!

So thankful for Katie's School

I have spoken about Ethan's school before. We are so grateful to have been placed there as well as with a wonderful teacher that has allowed him to continue to progress towards his potential. I have never really posted about how wonderful Katie's school is. Today, is a good day to post about how thankful we are for this wonderful school community that we happened upon over two years ago.

By a weird set of circumstances, (which is our life) we happened to walk into a temple in our city which is well known for it's excellent preschool. Marc went in while I stayed in the car with a sleeping Katie. Ethan was not yet a part of our family. I asked him to get some info on the preschool while he was in there and when he walked out he looked happy and excited. While talking to the director of the school and after realizing that they are both from New Jersey, he found that she was the best friend to his cousin Gayle in New Jersey. We had heard about Gayle's best friend so many times and here we happened upon her at this preschool...such a small world and such an amazing feeling of "beshert" (The Hebrew word for destiny) Not only was this a highly rated school but a very close family friend oversees it. How much better can it really get?

Katie started just a couple of months later, at age 2 1/2, just after we adopted Ethan. It was perfect timing, as Katie needed something of her own while Mommy and Daddy forged a bond with her new brother. She took to her new school so beautifully and we have been blessed with wonderful teachers throughout her time there. Katie is now in Pre-Kindergarten and is excelling. We are so grateful. The school staff and community have embraced us as if we are family and we work very hard to assist them in all of their endeavors. It is a beautiful marriage and it works.

Today will illustrate why this school is so special to us. Instead of the traditional Thanksgiving Party, which has been done time and again; the story of which is hard for children to identify with at this young age, the school decided to have a multi-cultural celebration celebrating the diversity of it's families. Their reasoning was aren't we all pilgrims to this country unless we are native American? Shouldn't we instill pride in the fact that we all are so beautifully different and so amazingly the same? I loved the idea as did Marc.

So today, off we went with our beautiful daughter who was born in China. She was adorned in a beautiful red dress that we purchased for her there and we brought a couple of artifacts that were also purchased there that have significance to us and could be displayed. We also brought in a Chinese Rice dish to share with the group. We dropped Katie at her class and her pride was shining through for all to see. The great thing was that she was able to experience that pride with so many different children that have backgrounds that cover the globe. After we set up the social hall, we got to watch the children walk in and the excitement was palpable as they found their families and got to check out all of their friends finery. Then they got to sample a variety of very tasty foods from those countries and sing wonderful songs.

It was all possible and absolutely wonderful because of the leadership in the school and the dedicated staff and parents that carried it off.

Later, when Katie came home and she opened up her backpack and there was her report card. The following comments brought us a great deal of pride.

"Katie is a sweet, kind and cooperative child who is very mature for her age. She has adjusted well to Pre-K. Her verbal and motor skills are good and she knows all of her letters and most of her numbers in 4 languages! During class discussions she raises her hand and patiently waits her turn. She is not only at ease with her adoption and her Chinese heritage, she is proud of them and enjoys teaching the class the numbers in Chinese. She is a joy to have in class."

We could not be any prouder of her or her school. We love how they have embraced our daughter and all of the facets of her life. As Katie faces life as a member of a minority race, I am so gratified that the school is on the same page as we are in setting the bar for her sense of self. There is nothing in my estimation that is more important than that!

Here are a few pictures from today's festivities.



Katie's contribution on the table







Here comes the children



















The nontraditional Marc in the traditional head dress of Trinidad

My foot is twitching...That may be a bad sign!

That is what it has come to this November. My self imposed "daily blogging for a month" experiment has just about pushed me over the edge. It really was a small shove to get there. I am the one that has made my own life resemble "The twirling tea cups ride" at Disney World. I seem to have lost the ability to say no, but even worse, I have lost the ability not to volunteer in the first place. I have so many projects on my plate in addition to work, being a mother and a wife that I find myself looking at my size ten left foot quivering and wondering what I can do to make it stop. To add to my anxiety is two sick children and a dog that is looking a bit sick herself.

It sure would be nice if I could think about it on vacation, while sipping a chilled adult beverage.

I do know one thing. It is a good thing that I have the most supportive and involved husband that I could have ever dreamed of. There is no way that "stress would be as fashionable as black" without him.

OK, enough venting, I have to go do some Internet research as to how to stop this twitch. If Katie's coughing is not keeping us all up tonight, then I sure as heck don't want it to be my foot that does! *SNORT*

There is quite a bit of power in that tiny package!

It was a crazy busy weekend and to be quite honest, I am exhausted. I usually have great stamina and can go days without a lot of sleep and really be no worse for the wear. Today is different though. After a weekend of non stop action and in addition Katie fighting the beginnings of asthma, there has been no rest for the weary.

I thought about what I wanted to post today and one thing kept coming back to my mind and that is the DD's very good friend, Erin.

Erin is the daughter of Tammie and David, two wonderful friends of ours that came into our lives through what I always call the "miracle of adoption." Since the moment that Erin met both members of the DD, they have had an amazing connection. Erin has an especially strong connection with Ethan. Tammie told me that from the moment she saw his referral photo she said to her mom that "he was hers!" She feels very protective of E and it is a very common sight at most of our FCC gatherings to see Ethan in Erin's arms. she totes him everywhere. This has become much more difficult of late as he is getting bigger and heavier. Erin is as petite as she is beautiful. As strong as she is, the little mama is going to have to let him walk on his own soon *SNORT* Here are a couple of photos that I found that will show you what I am talking about. In these, she has E on her lap.





Erin is smart, strong, compassionate and loving. Marc and I always marvel at all of her wonderful qualities and we know that the devotion of her parents has played a huge role in nurturing this amazing little soul.

OK, now that you have the background on Erin, it brings me to what stood out in my mind this weekend. During our FCC Picnic, Erin and her Karate team gave our group a demonstration of their skills.

There she was, this little seven year old spitfire, adorned in her blue belt, not only keeping up but excelling with children several years senior to her. You could see how the other kids felt towards Erin and how much she respected them as well. When they performed, I was so proud for her, her family and for us. How lucky are we to have this beautiful child in our lives. She is truly a role model for the children that are coming up after her.

I caught all of the action on my camera. These are the raw images but I really wanted to get them on here before too much time had passed. You can see Erin here from introduction through the finale. There was even a demonstration of her skills when attacked from behind by a much larger girl.

Erin; our pride and respect for you is immense. We love you sweet girl.

waiting to start

very patiently

Let's get this party started!





















Being introduced after the demo and then leading the ending ritual





That went well!

Who is this celebrity?

This celebrity was attending a wedding that we attended today. She is a good friend of the bride and groom. She was a singer that began her career in the 50s. Her real name is Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero, she was married four times and has lived quite a tragic life. One of her many memorable songs was "Who's crying now?" It was also the title to her autobiography. Can you guess?

This is her with Marc and I today.



This was her back in the day....



BTW, We had a blast at the wedding. We sat with a group of really good friends. We had so much fun and danced ourselves silly...literally!

It was a very good day!

FCC- South Florida National Adoption Month Picnic

Today is National Adoption Day. Our FCC chapter, of which I am President, hosted it's third annual adoption month picnic. It was awesome!! We had warm, sunny weather, good food, entertainment for the kids and the adults and camaraderie with the most supportive FCC Chapter in the world, as far as I am concerned.

When you are amongst friends who have also adopted, it is like coming home. There are no questions, no weird looks and no explaining about the way that you have chosen to form your family. I love all of my friends but it sure is wonderful to be around my dear adoption friends.

I have a kadjillion pics to go through but here are a few of my kiddos and hubby in the meantime. Some were taken by me and some by my dear friends.

Germ Pits

Those are the two words that run though my paranoid mommy head every time we arrive at a party location that has one of these things. Last week was no exception but unfortunately, I ignored that little voice in my head and let the DD play away. Actually both kids pulled a switcheroo on me. Ethan was the one who was quietly playing with his friends in the play kitchen area of the location and Katie Starr decided to be the Indiana Jones of the party and kept diving into the foam pit. Seriously, she was in and out of that thing for the full 90 minutes we were in that room. About an hour into it, she came over to me because she wanted to give me a hug and I saw that her eyes were very irritated. I asked her to slow down a bit but before I could say "Please" she was off and running again. I hate to squelch these opportunities as she is not normally that adventurous and I think it is great when she starts to relax a little in these situations.

A little bit later, the party attendants called all of the party goers into the party room for Pizza and Cake. After locating and gathering the DD up, I started to hear that Katie was coughing. By the time that we got into the room she was having a full blown coughing and wheezing attack. It was so bad that Katie could hardly catch her breath, so I bid the hostess and birthday boy a hasty adieu and off we went so that I could get Katie something to relieve these symptoms. The whole way home she continued with the harsh coughing. We got home and I performed some of my mommy hocus pocus on her and the cough subsided. By the time she went to bed she was just fine. I immediately drew a correlation between the coughing and the foam pit. For the next few days, the only time that she would cough was sporadically at night and when she ran around too much during the day. She had no fever and no other symptoms...not even a runny nose.

Finally, last night she awoke at 4:00 AM and was coughing and choking again. She did this for about an hour and a half. I actually thought she was going to vomit from all of the coughing. It happened again on the Playground at school earlier today. We decided to take Katie to see her doctor. The doctor examined her carefully. She must have listened to her lungs for 7-10 minutes. After listening to my story of how this had all started, she said that this was definitely caused by the foam pit. It was not that she got sick from the germs right away but that the mold and dust that live in the foam and are stirred up by the movement, had irritated her lungs. Katie definitely has a predisposition to lung issues, especially since her bout with Pneumonia this past May.

She warned me to keep her away from the pits and other similar things that may irritate her lungs. She has put her on Albuterol Syrup, which is a medicine that deals with airway spasms. We just now left her room for the third or fourth time since she went to bed to rub her back and comfort her as the coughing so severely. I pray that she falls asleep soon so that she can get some rest.

Listen to your mama gut...it is usually right. I wish that I had this past Saturday.

She's Back!

I actually just asked Marc if he could blog again tonight as I am neck deep in doo doo and I can't seem to find my way out. He said yes and then he laughed and told me that he was joking @*!?!%#!! That is not funny! I am thankful he took over last night as I did not get home until very late after a meeting but honestly today makes yesterday pale in comparison. Like I said, I am neck deep in paperwork from issues arising out of the closing of our business. I was also trying to conduct new business, take care of the DD and then tonight, handle three PTO related projects from both kids schools. I still need to wash my hair and it is 10:00. So of course, what else would I do at 10:00 when I should be washing my hair....blogging!!

Thanks to those who came forward and commented. It was so nice to read comments from some new friends.

To Andrea "Tweeters" ~ Thank you for following my blog. No, following it and not commenting does NOT make you creepy! I actually follow a few that I do not comment on as well ;-) I hope that you comment more now and I will definitely look at your blog later tonight after I wash my hair and long after my husband is snoring next to me!

To Gina ~ I loved that T-Shirt and also that you thought of my DD when you saw it! It actually gave me the brainstorm to design my own DD T-Shirt for my DD :) Thank you for following my blog for so long and thank you for telling me that!!

Monica, my sweet friend....I will never tell!!! Bwaahahaha!

To Kate ~ Love to hear that you have been following me and I will follow your journey as well. Whenever I see someone from across the pond come on to my blog, I am always that much more curious to know who they are so I am really glad that you spoke up!!

Dawn ~ I am glad that you enjoyed Marc's response to your question!! He is a keeper isn't he! So is your Jacob, we sure are lucky women!

Vivian ~ I have about half of my shopping done. Things that I have had for awhile. They are both pretty easy right now. With Katie, anything Barbie, Princess or Art related is the ticket. She also needs a bigger bike. The mischief man is all about cars, trains and Leggos. Justin, on the other hand is always my quandary; especially now that I know longer get a list..Judy does :)

Samantha and Woody ~ I hear ya about the feed checker. I so love getting those comments. I know that the DD will love them someday too. Thanks for hanging with me :)

Mary McG ~ You are so faithful to my blog even when I am not. Thank you! BTW, I love that idea about the bouncy ball and I will get one for both members of the Dynamic Duo!

Strange that so many of my regular peeps did not comment. There is still time though! ;-)

Hugs to all of you wonderful ladies. I have a crazy busy weekend but I will be true to my word and post each day. Sending love to all of you!

Until tomorrow...

The DH steps in.....

In baseball, the “DH” stands for “Designated Hitter”, a player who doesn’t play defense on the field but plays offense and only comes to bat, usually for the pitcher. In the world of adoption lingo the “DH” stands for “Dear Husband.” Tonight I am playing both roles for my “DW” (Dear Wife) as I step in to bat for my wife and give her a night off from her usual duties of recording the happenings of our lives in this blog. So, here I am for only the second time since the beginning of Lori’s magnificent journey of recording the life and times of our family. The first time I stepped to the plate was in China, to relief my exhausted wife, who just traveled half way around the world by plane and she isn’t the most comfortable on a plane, then experiencing the life changing event of receiving Ethan who was in so much need of love and caring. Being the kind of guy who just handles whatever is thrown at me (for better or worse) I wasn’t quite up to speed with the caring of a grieving baby, I was just following along. For that reason it wasn’t as draining for me as it was for Lori. But I digress off my point, I had to fill in that night because we had so many people back at home in the US who were hanging on every little tidbit of information that we were able to get out of China and into the hearts of our friends and family back home. It was fun to be part of the “blog” thing and describe our experience in China. Tonight however I am now rethinking my promise to Lori about stepping in but I am a man of my word. So bear with me as I answer one of the questions asked by one of you last night at Lori’s request for post ideas.

Lori and I met on the Internet… not on a dating site but while Lori was shopping for a DJ for her upcoming holiday party at work and performed a search for one in the nearby area. This lead her to me and after a pleasant conversation about my services as a DJ, we realized we had a mutual friend in common, who was a childhood friend of mine from NJ now living in the same town as me in Florida, and was also someone that Lori had dated. We made a “date” to meet each other at a local nightclub to see where this conversation could go. This is where the first problem of the night arose. There I was waiting to meet a blind date and all I had to go on was a picture of Lori that she had sent to me of her and her sister. After what seemed like a lifetime, a woman stepped out of the club and looked around the parking lot as if she too was looking for someone. I quietly asked “Are you Lori?, she smirked and said “No, I’m not but I guess you’re here on a blind date” and I told her I was. Now I went back to waiting, now thinking that she stood me up (not the first time this had happened to me on a blind date, but that story will stay with me.) Thinking it was time to call it quits, my cell phone rang and there was Lori on the other end asking me where I was and did I stand her up? I told her that I was standing at the entrance to the club that I had been to many times before and I didn’t see her. She said she was also standing at the entrance and that she had been here many times before and this is where she entered. I said that I was under the blue lights that say the name of the club, and she said she was too! Now I am becoming paranoid thinking she in a car with friends watching me and having a good laugh at this poor soul waiting to meet her. As I started to pace the sidewalk talking to Lori on the other end, I turned the corner of the sidewalk and low and behold there was another entrance to the club and Lori talking to me on the phone; this gave us both a good laugh and now the date could start. We went inside after laughing for a few minutes and were seated at a table so that we (or I could have something to eat as I just came from a gig). Problem number two was about to start. I ordered Fried Ravioli and Lori ordered a diet coke. As I took the first bite, hot molten cheese shot out and landed on Lori’s arm and let me tell you in was hot as I could barely eat it. Being the cool calm girl that Lori is, she just wiped it off and went on with the conversation as if nothing happened, boy is she a trooper. This actually happened not once but twice! After apologizing a few times we went on. Problem three was lurking nearby as the woman that I had first asked outside if she was Lori was seated right behind Lori and now leaned into our booth to ask Lori how the blind date was going and she was glad to see we finally found each other outside. As the night progressed our unwanted guest kept asking how things were going and to my pleasure Lori would say “great.” So to make this long story short, Lori didn’t have a holiday party with a DJ that year and it wasn’t until we were in a relationship that I got the chance to perform at her party. As you all know this story has a happy ending (well actually it’s only in the middle), we have a great family and friends that we wouldn’t trade for the world.

In closing of this temporary bump in the smooth road, I want to publicly say to Lori how much I love her and appreciate the hard work and patience that goes into the making of this blog and that I know how much her children will treasure this valuable and heartfelt gift. I apologize to you the reader for tuning in tonight and realizing that an amateur had stepped in to bat for the homerun hitter.

Lori will return to her regularly scheduled writing tomorrow.

This is a picture that I took of Lori soon after we began dating. I dedicate this post to my beautiful wife.

This is feeling a bit like a job and unfortunately there is no pay!

I made the commitment to blog daily for National Blog Posting Month, but man oh man, it is not easy! Today, I feel like I have hit a bit of a dry spell, so if any of my wonderful readers would like to ask me a question or even suggest a topic, I would so appreciate it. It would give me a little fuel to keep going and fulfill my promise.

C'mon friends, help a fellow blogger out! I promise as long as the question or topic is not out of bounds, I promise to respond.

One more thing friends, I get about 250 hits a day and so I would love to hear from those who do not normally comment in addition to my loyal supporters.

Nothing worse than a sick child

It was a slow news day around here at "Stress Central." The big news story was that Katie Starr was really sick last night with severe vomiting and coughing; no fever though thank goodness. By this morning she seemed to be just fine. With all of the talk of H1N1, I am pretty fearful of every symptom that rears it's ugly head. Katie was vaccinated last Thursday but it takes weeks to take any effect and she gets her booster in a month. Ethan gets his shot this week in school.

I am sure that all of the parents that read this blog can relate to the fact that there is nothing, absolutely, positively nothing worse than when one of our children is sick. Especially when they are very sick.

Justin was a pretty sickly young child and it took several sets of ear tubes, his adenoids out twice and finally his tonsils removed before things improved, although his ears will always remain his weak spot. When he was sick he always spiked crazy high temps and did so for long periods of time. Once he hovered aound 105 for almost a week...it was horrible.

With my DD, it is Katie that scares us the most and that is so weird considering that Ethan has repaired congenital heart defects and an underdeveloped trachea. Strangely, he is the one that can throw off things much easier than our Starr who can go from zero to 60 in no time flat on the sickness race track. One moment she is fine and the next she is scaring the you know what out of us. Since her bout with Pneumonia last May, I am even more petrified. None of the kiddos have every scared me to that extent.

If one wish could be granted to me it would be that my children never had another ill day for the rest of their lives. Pretty much a long shot but hey, it's my fantasy and a girl can dream, can't she?

In the meantime, I will use all of my mama hocus pocus and pull out all the stops to make them feel better when they are down and try my best to avoid it happening in the first place.

Ethan's Red Couch Photo - Kinda!

I wanted to show you Ethan's red couch photo since I posted Katie's yesterday. This is not the one that I wanted to show you but I am having a hard time finding the one that I really like. My hard drive crashed sometime back and I lost it on that. I did have a copy on a disc but with all of the mess from my closed business in my home office, I am having a hard time putting my hands on it.

I will look again tomorrow for the one that I have of the newly formed Dynamic Duo on the red couch all by themselves.



Katie is not feeling well tonight (vomiting and bad coughing). She just fell asleep so I am heading to sleep as well. It may be a looong night :(

A beautiful gift

Let me give you the background story to the story about the beautiful gift that we received this past week. It all centers around "The Red Couch" in The White Swan Hotel in China. Most adoptive families stay at this beautiful hotel on Shamian Island while they are completing all of the necessary steps and paperwork needed for the United States to allow their child to leave China and head home to the US. A day or two before you leave, you get together with your group if you are with one and by yourself if you are not and take a picture of all the children on the Red Couch. There are actually several red couches in the hotel lobby so any one of them will do. Even if you do not stay at this hotel you will most likely have made your way to the hotel to get this picture taken. It is one of the China Adoption rites of passage. I will not generalize but 99.99% of us have a picture like this.



As you can see, none of the children in Katie's travel group look that pleased to be on the red couch; certainly not as pleased as their parents were who have placed them there. Our picture was even crazier than most as there is not a dry eye in the house. All of these wonderful children are Katie's Gansu sisters and they all are very special to us. If you cannot tell, Katie is the one on the top row to the far left.

So now on to the beautiful gift. Marc's cousin, Nina is an artist. Way back, just after we adopted Katie, she saw our photo and was very taken with it. She asked us if she could borrow it as she might like to paint it. We were thrilled at the prospect and of course handed it right over.

Nina did end up painting the picture and then she began showing it in galleries and shows around where she lives in the NYC metro area. We were happy that others would get to see this picture but secretly hoped that someday it would be ours. We were overjoyed and completely taken aback this past week when this tremendous surprise came in the mail for us; the painting of our red couch photo!!



We love her interpretation of it. She had told us at first that she had made the red couch another color, not realizing it's significance but she was set straight by adoptive families that viewed it and changed it to the red color. She has taken artistic license with some of the details but we totally LOVE it!! It means so much to us. Of course, my picture cannot do it justice as I took it tonight with poor lighting but you get the wonderful idea.

Thank you Cousin Nina from the bottom of our hearts; what a meaningful gift you have given to us!