See you on the Flip Side!

Well, the time has finally come to go to China and bring home our son. We leave VERY early tomorrow morning and forever day will be Monday, October 29th. We welcome you to follow our journey to Ethan, through China and then home again at:
www.ethansjourneyhome.com

Please send all of your positive energy and hope that Ethan's transition into our family is an easy one for him to make and that Katie Starr accepts him with a loving heart.

A Cautionary Tale

I have heard several stories of our children that have come home from China and have had eyesight issues; enough stories that I decided to make an appointment with a Pediatric Opthamologist appointment for Katie Starr. I was going to make the appointment after our journey to Bring Ethan home but at my Mother's urging I made it before. My Mom had worked for several years for a great one in our area so it really was a no brainer. There were some small signs that made me a bit concerned such as minor squinting, sitting too close to the TV, etc., but I really thought that there were no real issues. I thought that this would be a routine appointment with a clean bill of eye health given at the end. Well, I was very wrong I am quite sorry to say. The good news is that Katie has healthy eyes with no underlying disease. The bad news is that she is nearsighted in both eyes with her left eye being twice as bad as her right as well as having astigmatism in both eyes. She will have to wear glasses all of the time and the Dr. told me that if I had not caught it this early her left eye would have started drifting and become virtually useless thus putting additional strain on the right eye.

The reason that I am sharing this so quickly even though I am in the midst of a packing frenzy and winding up my business is that it is so important to remember that we have virtually no history on our children and that it is up to us to build one where and when we can. The basis in that is a good pediatrician who covers as many bases as possible when you arrive home and then if you see ANY signs at all of a particular health issue please go get your child checked out by a specialist; no matter how small the signs may seem at the time. It may make all the difference in the world in your child's outcome.

Trick or Treat!!

Today was our FCC - South Florida Annual Halloween Bash. We had a full house and great fun was had by all. We had the kiddos trick or treating from table to table and they were soooo adorable. We coached Katie Starr beforehand on the art of trick or treating but somehow it was lost on her as we approached the first table. When the guests at that table gave her a few pieces of candy she gave a couple back..What!!??!! You cannot give candy back on Halloween Katie!! There is a Mommy and Daddy finders fee that must be paid out of your take. That was when I made sure that she did not make that mistake again... ROFL!!! The rest of the afternoon she had at least one lollipop in her mouth at all times; that's my girl :)


Here are a few photos from the day....

Our little Raggedy Ann

With her best friend Mia (Dora the Explorer)

The Beautiful bride Lily from Eggrolls and Chopsticks

Group Shot ~ Some had wandered away by this point

It was a very good day

A taste of Lil Miss Bossy

We affectionately call our Starr "The Boss" as she just loves telling us all what to do. Of course, I could go into the many psychological reasons why this may be the case or maybe it is just in her genes. Never the less, we love "The Boss" and know that soon there will be another little person in our family who she will try to tell what to do. Now that should be VERY interesting ;-)

Here is Katie at her Music Together Class which Marc takes her to weekly. She has been going for well over a year and she is well known for her take charge attitude. All the mommies love Katie and Marc. Katie is totally into her teacher Miss Sue as you can see in the video. At one point you will see that she has to see herself in the viewfinder of the video camera before resuming her duties as class director. Enjoy!!

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Family

Marc's brother Barry, wife Robin and nephew Joshua were in town this weekend. We do not get to see them nearly as much as we would like but the most recent visit was especially fun as we were able to get our children together. Josh is 5 years old and that age difference from 2 year old Katie was a good one for sharing :)

They had fun playing and swimming and we adults had fun catching up.

We hope that we see you guys again VERY soon!!

Cousins Josh and Katie

Brothers (Still boys at heart)

A Plea for Help from My Best Friend Kira

Please read the following story and please find it in your heart to contibute any amount of money that you can (no amount is too small) Kira is a wonderful woman and her family is in desperate need for this young cousin.

Thank you in advance for your consideration,
Lori

Please help Darwin gets his much needed operation.About 3 weeks ago, my cousin's 7 year old son, Darwin Fuentes, was hit by a car on his way to school. The driver was driving under the influence of drugs. Thankfully, he survived the impact, but both his legs suffered many fractures. A cast was placed on both his legs and the family was told that he would recuperate within 8 to 10 weeks. A follow up visit was made to the doctor about 2 weeks later and it turns out that his bones are not healing properly and he would need to be operated on by an orthopedic surgeon in order for his legs to heal properly. They live in Guatemala and unfortunately there is no recourse against the driver nor is there any insurance or public service hospital that would take care of this child. The family has 3 other children to care for and has very low financial resources. The surgery will cost Q.20,000, which is about $3,000 dollars. It was very sad to get a call from my cousin, pleading for me to help them. Please, can you give $5, $10, $20, $50 to Darwin??? THIS CHILD needs this surgery as soon as possible. We thank you in advance for your generosity.

Your Next American Idol?

Here is Katie's rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. You have to listen for the line ~ Up above the world so high ~ She sings up a bubble in the sky ;0) ~ What a Starr!!

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Getting Ready for Little Brother

Making Room for Her Little Brother in the Double Stroller

Hmmmmm; maybe not quite yet :)

We are all getting ready for Ethan and our living room and dining room have turned into the staging area for travel related paraphernalia. We are starting to talk to our Starr daily about her little brother so that hopefully the shock of an instant sibling her own age is not too great. Right now she tells us that she will share with her brother and that she loves him. We cannot wait to see how it all plays out.

We received our itinerary and we will be receiving our sweet boy on 10/29 at 11:30 am. Ten months and one day from the day that we accepted his referral but who's counting..LOL.

I have to admit that I am a bit melancholy as we spend these last few weeks alone with our sweet girl. I know that having Ethan join and complete our family is going to be a wonderful thing for all of us but change can be tough and I know that the first few weeks and months home lots of adjustments will need to be made.

Soon we will be a family of five and as my friend Tammie pointed out I will need to change the name of my blog from Three and a High Chair to something else. How do you all like Diapers and Depends? ;-)