A visit with friends

Many of you remember my friend Karen, who traveled with me to China when we adopted Olivia in June 2007. Karen and her husband just adopted their 3rd child from China, a little 2 year old boy they named Henry! He is SO ADORABLE!!!! He joins his big sisters, Emma and Jennifer, who are also from China. They all just got home a few weeks ago and Henry is adjusting very well. Here are a few photos from our visit with him.


Henry playing with his toys


Olivia, Emma, and Jennifer (yes, Olivia broke her glasses, new ones are on the way!)

Abby News

Well, we had a big day with Abby yesterday. We have been struggling a bit with her feeding tube for a couple of weeks now, I thought perhaps it was clogged. I tried all the "tricks" for when a tube gets clogged and then Sunday it just got dramatically worse. I wasn't able to push anything through the tube without her screaming in pain, and I knew that wasn't right. Even when we put the pump on a very slow drip, she cried when the liquid went in. So, Monday morning I put a call in to both her pediatrician and the surgeon in Ann Arbor. Her pediatrician called back first and we made an appointment to see her at 1pm. Then at noon the nurse from Ann Arbor called and asked if we could just hop in the car and come down there. She said the surgeon on call could do the surgery if needed and there weren't any patients in the surgery clinic that day. So, I cancelled the peds appt and headed to U of M.

The surgeon wanted a radiology report so he could see what was going on, so down we went to Radiology and had to squirt contrast into her tube so it would show up on the
x-ray. Of course that was painful and she really cried, and of coursethe radiologist kept needing different angles so there I was in my lead apron (I wanted to tell them there was no way in living heck I would ever be pregnant again so could I PUUULEASE take off this 100 lb lead apron while I am trying to pin this autistic child down on the table....I didn't care about ruining my eggs because I had NO USE FOR THEM ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!!!!) Anyway, that experience was not at all pleasant but did reveal that there was no blockage in the tube, but it had indeed slipped out of place. It was almost out of the stomach completely and was shoved right up against the wall of the stomach, hence the resistance when we would try to push anything in and also
the pain during the feedings. So, from Radiology we went back to the surgeon's office so he could decide what to do. Of course when we got there he had just scrubbed in to another surgery, so the wait was on. We waited almost 2 hours in his office for him (sigh)and poor Abby had now gone over 14 hours without food in her belly and she was getting cranky (and I had not eaten since breakfast and was also cranky!!!) Finally when he came back he said we needed to get right to the O.R. and replace the tube. He wanted to put in a tube that had a balloon to hold it in rather than a disc, so that changing it in the future would be much easier. Fine by me, let's just get this thing on the road (it was already 4:30 at that point). The nurse said we likely would be admitted overnight (double sigh....I didn't bring anything with me and I so didn't want to stay overnight!) and she reserved a room for us. Fortunately, the doctor had mercy on my soul and said he thought this would be simple and as long as it all looked fine he would let us go home after the surgery (yahooooo!) She went in to surgery at about 6pm ONE CRANKY LITTLE LADY...bless her heart. The nurses there are SO AWESOME. Abby is obsessed with hockey cards and was carrying her giant stack of hockey cards with her the whole time. The nurse anesthesist was so kind and said we could take those cards right into the surgery and she could hang onto them until she was out. I tried to get a gown on her and she started flipping out, so they didn't even make her wear a gown until she was out in the O.R. She freaked about her vitals being taken, so they said forget it we'll just take them in the O.R. I was so appreciative....at that point I was exhausted and so was she and the last thing I wanted to do was fight with her anymore. They asked if she wanted to ride in the wagon and she pointed to the wagon, put her hockey cardsin it and started pulling the wagon with the cards in it to the O.R.!!!!!!! So funny. They were so accomodating, I really was so grateful. David came straight from work and got to the hospital about 6:30pm, right about when the doc came out to say it all went well andonce she was awake enough we could go home! I had to laugh when Ifirst saw her, they had her all wrapped up like a little cocoon withher hockey cards in a plastic bag right next to her head, lol Theyknew to have those things RIGHT THERE when she woke up! We had to wait a while for her to get awake and get our discharge orders, and we got home at about 9pm. It was a long day, but thankfully we should be in good shape now! I am exhausted but glad to be home!!!!

An Incredibly Cool New Site for Kids!

A wonderful organization called Half the Sky has started such an awesome new website for kids who want to "make a difference". Half the Sky Foundation works with orphans in China and does amazing work. This new site aims to show kids all over the world what it means to care for others in need and gives them a safe place to get to know other children. It is called "Give Me Wings". Click here to visit this really awesome site for kids.

Prayers for little Mavery

Please pray for little Mavery today. She is another CHI (Children's House International Adoption Agency) baby just like our Olivia. Mavery has a serious heart condition and had open heart surgery this morning. While the doctors were operating, they found a few surprises and they have left her on the vent, trying to determine if she will have to go back into surgery this evening. Her mommy, Shannon, is understandably scared and they all need prayers. Shannon was going to see her for the first time very soon and they have tried to prepare her for what she will see, since Mavery is very heavily sedated (they told her she will look "dead" which is not something any mommy wants to hear). Mavery's blog is at www.herewegrowagain.blogspot.com Shannon will keep updating as the day progresses.

Gung Hei Fat Choi!

Which is Cantonese for "May You Be Prosperous" in the new year. It's the year of the Ox in China, beginning today. Happy Chinese New Year!

Pond hockey!

Mason had a super fun day today skating at his buddy's backyard rink. Some of the boys from his team got together today and had a blast out on the ice. They were out there for hours and didn't seem to even notice the cold (it was COLD today!) They had one hot chocolate break (a very brief break) and then got right back out there to skate. Hockey buddies are your friends for life!

Abby is doing well

Abby's surgery to put her PEG tube in place went very well! She is recovering and already looks so much better from the good nutrition. Thanks for all the prayers!

Abby's appointment

Abby had her surgical consult today in Ann Arbor for the feeding tube. Her surgery is scheduled for next Thursday, Jan 15th, but I am going to see if we can change that to Friday the 16th, since they want to keep her overnight. She has lost a bit more weight, and is still not eating much during the day, so it just confirms that we are doing the right thing. Even with the feeding tube in (it is just a "button" on her belly and we insert the tube and put the Ensure or other formula into it) she can still eat by mouth and we will still try to get her to eat more. She just can't go on like this, she officially got the "failure to thrive" diagnosis and so we have come to the point where the tube is the answer for her. I have joined an online support group for parents of children with feeding tubes and I have already learned alot from them. I feel confident in our decision to move forward with the g-tube, and even though I know it will be hard, I am just glad there is something we can do to help her get healthy again. Keep praying for her!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!

Well it's already 2009, hard to believe! Here are a few photos of the kids celebrating the new year. We are dog-sitting for my Aunt Sheila, and Mason and Jasmine tried to stay awake to watch the ball drop, but clearly did not make it. :)

Some Auntie Bragging

I decided I would just take a couple of posts to brag about my nieces and nephews. These are my brother's 3 kids, Sebastian, Rachel, and Andrea. Aren't they SO adorable?????? My sister in law is the photographer responsible for the gorgeous photo above and for just about any gorgeous photo you see of my kids. She rocks!

My Sweet Nephew

I have to brag on my sweet nephew and post some photos of him. His name is Pete and he is almost 15 months old and is TOO CUTE!!!!!!!!! Here are some of his cute little antics and a photo of my sister Heather and her husband Peter. There are even more adorable photos of him on their website www.babyhomepages.net/pete Sorry for the shameless brag, but I'm just a proud auntie!

Please Pray for this Special Family

Click on the photo above to go to the website for the Riggs family. Their little Abby was adopted from Guatemala and has leukemia. She is currently in treatment, and they received the sad news that she has a rare genetic profile which makes her at high risk for fatal complications from chemo treatments. We all know that God can heal this child, so please join me in prayer for her complete healing.

A Great Video for Hockey Parents

I LOVE this!!! It's so true, and it applies to any parent who has a child playing sports.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWjBvcfhRX0

Merry Christmas!

At Bronner's Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth, MI


Olivia checking out a nutcracker


3 of the 4 kiddos at Bronner's (Abby did not want to be in the picture)


Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! We had our annual Christmas Eve visit to Bronner's Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth. and the kids loved it as usual. We love going there on Christmas Eve because it isn't terribly crowded and there is no better place to get in the "Christmas mood" than Bronners! Here is their website in case you have never been: Bronner's Christmas Wonderland Then we went to my parents' house in the evening to do our family gifts after church and have a Christmas Eve dinner. The kids got new Christmas jammies from Grandma Bettie and changed into them as soon as we got home to get ready for Santa's arrival. The girls went right to bed, but Mason had a hard time falling asleep, he finally fell sound asleep at 10:30pm so Santa could come! ;) Then at 2:30am I heard a "WHOA!!! AWESOME!!!! WE WERE REALLY GOOD KIDS!" coming from downstairs in the family room. David went down and let Mason look at the wrapped gifts for about 5 minutes and then told him we had to go back to sleep and couldn't open gifts until morning! (Can you imagine opening gifts at 2:30am?) We finally made it until about 7:30am, and then we all got up to open the gifts. The pictures we took that morning turned out really dark and blurry for some reason, but I will post a few anyway. The kids had all day to play with their new treasures, then at dinner time we headed back over to my parents' house for the HUGE extended family Christmas (about 45 people). The kids draw names for gifts and it is a madhouse when my Dad plays Santa and passes out the gifts. We got home at about 9:30 and everyone (including mommy and daddy) was ready for bed! It was a very fun and lively Christmas at the Weiss house this year.....hope yours was happy too!


All ready in our Christmas jammies


Kids and wrapping paper EVERYWHERE

Christmas portraits

We survived having the kids' Christmas portraits taken for our Christmas cards. Anyone who has more than one child knows what I mean by "survived"! We are SO BLESSED that my sister in law Angie is a phenomenal photographer....she can work magic and takes the most beautiful pictures! Her website is www.angelacarrier.com I thought I would post a couple of my favorites here. Keep in mind that Olivia had cut her own bangs (yikes)a couple of weeks ago, Emma was running around like a wild woman so her beautiful hairdo was pretty much shot, and Mason was just trying to corral everyone the whole time. So, considering that, I think the pictures turned out great! Pretty cute kids, if I do say so myself! ;)

Hockey weekend!

This weekend Mason's hockey team competed in the Regional Silver Sticks Tournament. The boys played 4 games, making it into the Semifinals, where they lost to the team that ended up winning the whole tournament. The tournament took place about an hour and a half away from home, so we did alot of driving back and forth and ate alot of McDonalds (blah!) The boys did a great job, and we are having a really fun season so far. We have a great group of parents, the boys are all buddies, the coaches work well together....it's really nice this year! If you don't live up North in "hockey world" it's kind of hard to explain the world of travel hockey! Mason LOVES to play hockey, he had a hockey stick in his hands even before he was walking (he got a Little Tykes hockey set for his first birthday and it went from there). I think he would honestly play hockey almost all day if given the opportunity! So while travel hockey can be brutal and some people think we're nuts to spend so much time at the rink (either at practice or at games) we know our son is doing something he truly loves, and we are having a great time too! Here are a couple of photos of Mason "in action"!

Prayers for Abby

Hi All! I am asking for prayers for our oldest daughter Abby, who is
9 years old. Most of you know that Abby is autistic. She is
nonverbal, and communicates mostly with gestures and pointing. She is
a very sweet, smart, and gentle girl. Abby has always had feeding
issues, she has never in her life chewed any solid foods. I have
pureed her food ever since we FINALLY got off baby food only a couple
of years ago. If I do not puree the food completely (meaning no
chunks at all) she gags and vomits. She also refuses to drink, and
fortunately she gets tons of liquids in her pureed foods and is never
dehydrated. In the last 4 or 5 months she has progressively stopped
eating her usual foods, and has been down to eating only pureed mashed
potatoes and green beans. She literally would eat about 8 bowls of
this a day, and that was it. But about two months ago, she got a
stomach virus and since that time has really not been the same. She
has had days where she would not eat a bite, and has had chronic
diarrhea. She is now down to 43 lbs, and we are needing to do
something. We have always kind of "walked the line" of needing a
feeding tube for Abby, but she would usually eat such a good variety
of foods and was growing, albeit slowly. She has dropped 10 lbs in
the last 6 months, and is not healthy. We saw a pediatric
gastroenterologist today at University of Michigan. Abby has tested
negative for any parasites, she does not have Celiac disease, she has
very healthy blood counts (which is so hard to believe based on her
restricted diet!) but she persistently has pain and diarrhea,
terrible gas and weight loss. The doctor prescribed an antibiotic to
address any bacterial overgrowth that may be in her intestine, and we
are praying that will help the diarrhea. The gas is likely caused by
her pathological aerophagia, which is her compulsive air swallowing.
Abby will wake up with a flat stomach, but she immediately begins
compulsively gulping air (it sounds like she is holding her breath and
swallowing, then she lets out a big "taaaaaaaaa" and breathes out the
air). Her stomach will blow up like a balloon and is hard as a rock.
I mean her stomach gets HUGE.....which of course causes excessive
belching and gas and pain, and aggravates the feeding issue because
her brain thinks she is full when her stomach is so stretched. The
doctor feels we need to consult with a surgeon about a feeding tube
for Abby. For one thing, she will get adequate nutrition, and we can
also let out all the air from her belly through the button on her
belly, alleviating that discomfort. I agree that this is what we
should do, but it's a very hard step and I am not looking forward to
it. Please say a prayer for Abby and for us as we learn about this
feeding tube stuff.....yet another club I get to join (kind of like
joining a sorority you didn't pledge for, lol) I know I will be able
to handle it...I've handled her seizures, I've handled her gagging on
food and pureeing mashed potatoes for what seems like 150 times a
day....but right at the moment it feels like a very scary thing. I am
NOT a good medical person, I get easily grossed out, but I will do
anything to help Abby get better....she is now officially "failure to
thrive" and that is one diagnosis that can evoke some major mommy
guilt! Thanks for your prayers!

To All The Moms of Special Needs Children

Thoughts of a Mom

By Maureen K. Higgins

Many of you I have never even met face to face, but I've searched
you out every day. I've looked for you on the Internet, on
playgrounds and in grocery stores. I've become an expert at
identifying you. You are well worn. You are stronger than you ever
wanted to be. Your words ring experience, experience you culled with
your very heart and soul. You are compassionate beyond the
expectations of this world. You are my "sisters."

Yes, you and I, my friend, are sisters in a sorority. A very elite
sorority. We are special. Just like any other sorority, we were
chosen to be members. Some of us were invited to join immediately,
some not for months or even years. Some of us even tried to refuse
membership, but to no avail.

We were initiated in neurologist' s offices and NICU units, in
obstetrician' s offices, in emergency rooms, and during ultrasounds.
We were initiated with somber telephone calls, consultations,
evaluations, blood tests, x-rays, MRI films, and heart surgeries.

All of us have one thing in common. One day things were fine. We
were pregnant, or we had just given birth, or we were nursing our
newborn, or we were playing with our toddler. Yes, one minute
everything was fine. Then, whether it happened in an instant, as it
often does, or over the course of a few weeks or months, our entire
lives changed. Something wasn't quite right. Then we found ourselves
mothers of children with special needs.

We are united, we sisters, regardless of the diversity of our
children's special needs. Some of our children undergo chemotherapy.
Some need respirators and ventilators. Some are unable to talk, some
are unable to walk. Some eat through feeding tubes. Some live in a
different world.

We do not discriminate against those mothers whose children's needs
are not as "special" as our child's. We have mutual respect and
empathy for all the women who walk in our shoes.

We are knowledgeable. We have educated ourselves with whatever
materials we could find. We know "the" specialists in the field. We
know "the" neurologists, "the" hospitals, "the" wonder drugs, "the"
treatments. We know "the" tests that need to be done, we know "the"
degenerative and progressive diseases and we hold our breath while
our children are tested for them. Without formal education, we could
become board certified in neurology, endocrinology, and psychiatry.

We have taken on our insurance companies and school boards to get
what our children need to survive, and to flourish. We have
prevailed upon the State to include augmentative communication
devices in special education classes and mainstream schools for our
children with cerebral palsy. We have labored to prove to insurance
companies the medical necessity of gait trainers and other adaptive
equipment for our children with spinal cord defects. We have sued
municipalities to have our children properly classified so they
could receive education and evaluation commensurate with their
diagnosis.

We have learned to deal with the rest of the world, even if that
means walking away from it.

We have tolerated scorn in supermarkets during "tantrums" and
gritted our teeth while discipline was advocated by the person
behind us on line.

We have tolerated inane suggestions and home remedies from well-
meaning strangers.

We have tolerated mothers of children without special needs
complaining about chicken pox and ear infections.

We have learned that many of our closest friends can't understand
what it's like to be in our sorority, and don't even want to try.

We have our own personal copies of Emily Perl Kingsley's "A Trip To
Holland" and Erma Bombeck's "The Special Mother." We keep them by
our bedside and read and reread them during our toughest hours.

We have coped with holidays. We have found ways to get our
physically handicapped children to the neighbors' front doors on
Halloween, and we have found ways to help our deaf children form the
words, "trick or treat." We have accepted that our children with
sensory dysfunction will never wear velvet or lace on Christmas. We
have painted a canvas of lights and a blazing Yule log with our
words for our blind children. We have pureed turkey on Thanksgiving.
We have bought white chocolate bunnies for Easter. And all the
while, we have tried to create a festive atmosphere for the rest of
our family.

We've gotten up every morning since our journey began wondering how
we'd make it through another day, and gone to bed every evening not
sure how we did it.

We've mourned the fact that we never got to relax and sip red wine
in Italy. We've mourned the fact that our trip to Holland has
required much more baggage than we ever imagined when we first
visited the travel agent. And we've mourned because we left for the
airport without most of the things we needed for the trip.

22 Shopping Days Left......

And I have one gift purchased. Those of you who know me are SHOCKED by that statement, because one of my very favorite things to do is Christmas shopping. I didn't even get to venture out on "Black Friday" this year....my favorite shopping day!!!!!!!!! I am not prepared this year...I hope I won't be up until 2am on Christmas Eve wrapping gifts. I really love Christmas, but the commercial part of it is ALOT of work for moms!!!!!!!

SNOW DAY!!!!!!!!!

Emma and Olivia "snow sliding"


We had our first snow day today.....I'm not sure exactly how much snow we got, but it was alot and it fell pretty much all night, so no school for David or the kids! The kids had tons of fun playing out in the snow, I did boring "mom" stuff like laundry and cleaning. I was only able to catch a few photos of Emma and Olivia out in the snow, Mason was in the driveway playing "snow hockey" alot and I didn't get any pictures of that. Anyway, winter is officially HERE!!!!!!!!


Emma making a snow angel


"It's WAY too cold out here."