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Stephanie

Family FotoFun

I didn't have any intention of participating in the Double Happiness Family FotoFun challenge, but after snapping this picture of Leah sleeping on my couch, I couldn't resist. That's Howard next to her (he is always looking for a warm body to snuggle up to). Leah fell asleep on the car ride home from the mall this afternoon, hence she still has her jacket on.

Getting away

Joe, Leah and I have had the opportunity and great pleasure to visit many places over the last few years. We got to spend a few weeks in Hong Kong during Chinese New Year in 2004. The three of us, along with my parents, spent last May in Hawaii (this was Leah's third trip to Oahu - my sister lives there). We have also taken many road trips including two trips to Montreal, Toronto, Philly and twice to Washington DC. As I said, we have been fortunate to be able to travel quite a bit. Leah is also a pretty good traveler (with the exception of one Washington D.C. trip, which we have tried unsuccessfully to block from our memories).

Each of the above trips have been either to visit family or taken with other family members. Not that there is anything wrong with the rest of our family, but we felt it was about time to go on vacation by ourselves (you know, just the four of us - Joe, Leah, myself and Sue, our foreign exchange student)! The last trip taken with just the us was when Leah was about 15 months old. We spent a week in Martha's Vineyard. It was a very relaxing, wonderful trip. We are now in need of such a trip.


So, in about two months we will be heading off on another family vacation. This time, to a beautiful resort in Jamaica. Check out this picture of the resort (which I found at Flickr). Looks heavenly, doesn't it? I cannot tell you how excited I am to "get away from it all." Even just thinking about it makes me smile.

Photo courtesy of Soupkills at Flickr

You know it is cold out when...

there is ice on the INSIDE of your window. BRRRR...

Hairless Cats

My husband is an allergy sufferer. His only relief comes when it is super cold outside (which means today, with a high of just 10 degrees, he is feeling good). Over the last few years, he has developed allergy induced asthma, for which he has an inhaler. The fact that we have two really cute but hairy cats probably don't help the situation. Recently, I did a search on the Internet for pictures of the hairless cat (yep, you can get them hairless). The big joke around here is that when Howard and Dumpling have gone to kitty heaven, we will get a hairless one. Leah even wants to name him Fu Fu Cuddly Poops (she heard the name, apparently a character on the animated show Avatar, on a commercial). Only, I am kind of not joking. Ok, they are a bit creepy, but I just love cats and I can't imagine not having one. So, hairless we may go!

Anyway, for more pictures of hairless cats you can check out this blog called Dragonheart's Domain. Otherwise, take a peek at Ugly Overload for some more goofy looking animals.

The pic above is from Ugly Overload.

Worry

Above is my little darling right before dance class last week. On her wrist is the medical ID bracelet she wears whenever we go out of the house. It simply states that she has Epilepsy.

Did I ever imagine that my daughter Leah, who spoke full sentences at 17 months, has a love of art and music, who is a master at board games, would have to see a Neurologist on a regular basis? Nope. Do I worry about her each and every time she heads off to preschool. Yep. But this is what parenthood is all about, isn't it.

It starts when you first become pregnant, or begin the adoption process. Is the baby developing in the womb? Is my child being cared for by her birth mother or the orphanage that she is in? Will I be a good parent? After your child is with you, then there is a whole bunch of other stuff you need to worry about. Is he/she gaining enough weight? Are they walking or talking on time? Do they listen to their teacher at school? Will they attend college? Can I actually afford college? YIKES!

The fact is, you never, ever stop worrying about your children or their future. We cannot change the fact that my daughter has Epilepsy. This is life and we need to deal with it.

I have learned one wonderful thing from this diagnosis. That people, some of whom I have never even met, have contacted me to tell me about how they deal every day with having Epilepsy. The fact that they would open up to me and share their experiences is really amazing. For this I am truly grateful.

Oh, and about that medical ID bracelet. It was made by this really great organization called Lauren's Hope. Made for children and adults, Lauren's Hope makes very beautiful ID bracelets. You really can't see it, but Leah is wearing their pink braided bracelet. Unless she has her hands up like in the photo, you would just assume that she was wearing pretty pink jewelry. The jewelry was designed so that kids would want to wear it. Leah now likes to show hers off!

Don't hate me because I (might be) expedited

Wow, it's been two months since letting this blog slide and almost a year from when I started it in the first place. I have been trying to follow all of my favorite adoption blogs, as well as some of my new found craft and book blogs. I have missed Forks & Chopsticks though and figured I would give you all a little update. I also thought this might be a fun experiment to see who still has me on their bloglines!!

Anyway, a lot has been going on in the two plus months that I have been away from this blog. The end of 2006 was a hard one for our family. We suffered the loss of two very close friends. Then my girlfriend suffered a terrible and heartbreaking loss. My daughter Leah also had a seizure and it was confirmed that she has epilepsy. Since she is young and her brain is still developing, there is a good chance that with her medication she can actually grow out of it. It won't be for another 2-3 years before we know for sure. Needless to say, I was more than happy to say hello to 2007!

There has been one truly bright spot of 2007 so far (and it wasn't the fact that our Septic Tank backed up into the house, I assure you). I spoke with our agency yesterday to see if they received any expedited referrals in the last (December) batch. Indeed they did! The parents had a total wait of 11 months from their log-in-date. Our agency told us that they spoke to their rep in China who said that the expedited referrals should continue and that they would be shaving about 4 months off the typical wait time. With a LID of May 18, 2006 I am looking at the possibility of receiving a referral early this summer! Of course, this is by no means a guarantee, but it does give me a little hope for the future. I have even gone back to knitting this, in the hopes that I will have a child to put it on this coming fall. You can see an updated photo of the sweater here.

In other news, we still have our lovely foreign exchange student with us. Her parents will be visiting the US for the first time in June to attend her graduation.

I will be updating this blog again every once in a while, so hope you will stop on by to check in. Thanks for being such good listeners.