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.

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.

The difference between you and me

My husband received a well deserved award at work today. He then logged onto the company rewards website to see what he had won. They had many different types of gifts to pick from including electronics, luggage, kitchen gadgets and so on.

ME: As my eyes glaze over "Oh, look you can get a gift certificate for an overnight stay at a bed and breakfast."

HIM: As his eyes glaze over "A new sawzall. Just what I've always wanted."

This, my friends, is the difference between the two of us.

Life with a teenager

Johnny asked that I blog about my experience with our foreign exchange student. First, let me tell you how this all came about. About five years ago I had read, in my church bulletin, a blurb about Japanese exchange students needing a place to stay for a month. At the time (before my daughter was born) I thought that it might be an interesting experience. Joe and I contacted the organization and made the arrangements for her arrival.Then September 11th happened and the program was put on hold. End of story.

Fast forward to August 2006. I received a phone call from the same organization telling me that they had a high school student from Japan, already here in New Jersey, who's host family had to back out of their obligation to have her stay with them. When asked if we would be interested in hosting this girl, my initial thought was something along the lines of NO WAY MAN! I already have a four year old at home, why would I want a teenager too?

Then, my conscience started working on me. Here is this girl, who just traveled all the way from Tokyo, and she doesn't even have a place to live. My husband, who is a foreigner himself (having come from Hong Kong when he was a college student) was very interested in having her stay with us, but left the decision pretty much up to me. Five days later a cute, shy, little wisp of a girl stood on my doorstep and we invited her in.

It has been almost two months since she has joined our family. For the most part, it has been a very positive experience. She is a very sweet girl, has a good sense of humor, enjoys watching movies, eats everything I put in front of her, reads Leah stories and is an excellent student (all A's so far, with the exception of a B in History).

Of course, having a complete stranger living at your house takes some getting used to. I now have one more mouth to feed, more laundry to do and I am in the car a whole lot more often than I would like to be. Then there are times like Saturday, when we were able bring her to her first Broadway show. She was so thrilled and appreciative that it makes all the extra laundry worth while.

To be honest, I can't imagine not having her at home with us. She will be staying here until the end of the school year in May and I already I know how much she will be missed. Would it do this again? It is hard to say. I feel that we have been spoiled with having such a nice young girl staying with us and possibly would have the same expectation for the next student. Fair, no - True, maybe.

As a side note, I do have to point out something a little selfish on my part. When deciding to have her stay with us, a little part of my decision was the fact that having someone else at home would help me fill up my time while we endure the long adoption wait. Maybe not the most noble of reasons, but there it is.

WTC

During summer vacation from school when I was a little girl, my father would wake me up very early, pack me into his car and bring me to work with him. As we would drive along Route 3 towards Nutley, New Jersey (where he was a police officer) we would enjoy a breathtaking early morning view of New York City. The empire state building, all shiny in the morning light would be directly ahead, with the twin towers further down lower Manhattan to the right. I still remember this view as clear as day. Since I was growing up in "the sticks" as my hometown is called, the city was and is always fascinating to me.

It wasn't until I was a young adult that I actually visited the World Trade Center. I remember viewing the city from the observation area. Joe, my father and I attended an orchid show held at the center. A month before they fell, Joe and I sat in the atrium (which by some miracle is still standing) and ate lunch while looking out over the Hudson river.

When the towers were destroyed, so was the subway system below. Not very long ago, the NY/NJ Port Authority opened up the PATH system again which connects Newark New Jersey to the World Trade Center site. The train station is located about six or so stories below street level and runs the perimeter of the hole which is ground zero. In other words, you are actually inside ground zero as you approach the train station. From the train you can see what a huge area had been destroyed and the efforts of hard working men and women as they work toward rebuilding.

So today, I not only mourn the loss of thousands of lives, but also for the loss of a New York landmark, the twin towers and surrounding buildings that were the World Trade Center. You will forever be in my memory as part of the great city of New York.

Below are a few pictures I took at ground zero while visiting the city this past weekend: