Guatemala Group Easter Party

What a great morning!

We joined 11 other families with beautiful Guatemalan kids for "Breakfast with the Easter Bunny" at Quail Hollow State Park in Hartville.

We enjoyed cinnamon french toast stick and sausage, fruit cups and tea while Mr. Bunny wandered the room to visit with the kids. Isabella went right up to him, shook his hand, shared her cookies and posed for a nice photo.

After breakfast, we headed outside for an egg hunt. The weather cooperated - not too cold or snowy/muddy. Then we visited the nature center and saw hawks and owls and lots of snakes.

"Smile for Daddy!"

"Smile for Mommy!"

"This is good sausage. I hope everyone else is enjoying breakfast."

"Hi, Mr. Bunny."

"Would you like one of my cookies?"

"Hoppy Easter!"

Time for the hunt. Wait....

Go!

"I'm getting the eggs!"

"Mom says I should share with the babies."

"Check out this hawk!"

"Can I touch it?"

"This is really soft."

Our Family

Here's a great shot of the family at the shoe show. Kevin is still getting a lot of compliments on the event. Collectors from other states have contacted him to talk about how they can host similar events.

Snow AND Spring Ahead

Nearly two feet of snow and the loss of an hour's sleep in the same weekend!

What have we done to deserve this?!!!!!

For those of you who have been basking in the warmth of the sun or who have been living under a rock the past week, Ohio and the Great Lakes were slammed with a snow storm this weekend.

It started around 11 a.m. Friday. I know this because I was co-chair of a conference - YouToo: Social Media Boot Camp and Leadership Summit - that expected out-of-town presenters for afternoon sessions. I sat with the other co-chair and made phone calls to confirm the sessions at this time - watching the snow flakes turn into drifts and piles faster than the trucks could salt and plow.

That was just the beginning, though. By this morning, mother nature had dropped nearly two feet of the white stuff, shutting down Akron and the surrounding areas. I mean everything was closed, even McDonald's.

Kevin cleared our driveway and four of our neighbor's drives five times by this morning. That's in two days! Thank goodness for the snow blower.

So with no falling snow today, we began to dig out and stock up. And so did everyone else. The stores were packed, the gas stations backed up, restaurants overflowing. We were all tired of being inside, and we are all out of whack with the later daylight!

From Isabella - "Bedtime when it's light out? Why, Mommy?"

Success!

Congrats to Kevin for his job well done at this weekend's Cleveland's Got Sole Sneaker Showcase. More than 200 people attended the show with 30 table displays and more than 30 volunteers. At $5 for admission and raffle tickets, he helped raise more than $2,400 for charity. Everyone was very impressed. I'll post a lot of pics later this week, but here's a sneak peek!

Bella and Her Daddy

"Where's my daddy?" is the first question Isabella asks me every morning when she wakes up. She knows he's at work, but she has to ask the question anyways. Weekends really throw her, though, because her daddy gets her up. "Why you not at work daddy?" is her question. "Because I stayed home to be with you, my Bella," he says!

Check out these pics of Bella with her daddy.

That's Our Bella

Just a few pics of our crazy girl, being, yep, crazy! (And check out how much she's gumming her tongue. She's finally getting some big girl teeth.)

Pump It Up

Back in November - yes, that's how behind I am - we celebrated cousin Kelsey’s birthday at Pump It Up. The kids had a blast running around and jumping on all the huge inflatables. And the dads had a great time fighting each other in the enclosed Bouncer. The party was great!

We're Back!

Everyone is feeling much better! Super huge thanks to my mom and dad for watching "us" as I mended. And now, finally, some pictures!

Isabella loves animals. So for Christmas, her Aunt TT and Uncle Keith brought her the movie, The Jungle Book. She dances to the songs and especially loves the scenes with the elephants.

Her Grandma Sue and Papa Al got her a book about The Jungle Book with felt figures so she could tell the story herself. It' a wonderful, educational toy that she loves to play with. She makes up her own version of the story and plays with the felt board as she talks about the adventures of the characters.

I encourage every parent to purchase these kinds of toys for their children. Not only does the felt book get her away from the beloved television version of The Jungle Book, but it also encourages her to talk as she tells her story in her ever-developing vocabulary.

"I think The Jungle Book and The Lion King characters should all play together."

"Mom, can I stay up late and play?"

"Can I see through all this hair?"

Cleveland's Got Sole

Many of you know that Kevin is a shoe collector. He collects rare Nikes and Player Edition shoes wore by players, mostly Lebron James. Some of these shoes are worth more than $1,000 a pair since only a few exist in the world.

Well, he's taking his love for shoes and turning it into a sneaker expo to benefit charity.

Cleveland's Got Sole Sneaker Show will raise money for the Finish Line Youth Foundation which funds Cleveland-area athletic programs. The show will feature collectors' displays of rare shoes. The show will also have a raffle to win game-worn shoes from Cleveland Browns' players Josh Cribbs and Braylon Edwards and some rare Lebron shoes that collector's want to get their hands on. Raffle tickets are only $5 each (these shoes are worth upwards of $500-$750 each).

If you'd like to a donation, send a check payable to Finish Line Youth Foundation to our home. Kevin has worked really hard to pull this event together. I can't wait to seeke the finished project. It will be impressive!

On the mend - again

Thanks to lots of needed rest, I'm starting to regain my strength. I'm hoping by this time nest week I'll be back 100%.

I visited with my primary care doctor yesterday for nearly an hour to go over all the lab results, doctor consult reports and medications. She was very thorough and answered every question I threw at her, even the "So what's wrong with me?"

She was very straightforward and said they don't know and that they may never know what virus caused me to get so sick on top of the pneumonia. I had more blood work done and will meet with her again next Friday to see what new things develop.

Thanks again for your continued calls and messages. I love getting online and reading all your blog messages so keep them coming.

I've not been one for taking pictures lately but Isabella is doing SO well. She's got one heck of an imagination - I think she's going to be a fantasy writer when she grows up. Her latest of tall tales include caring for a guinea pig and a raccoon that live in her pockets!

I'm Out!

After 11 days in Akron General, I'm out! The doctor's released me last night to the care of my father (which I thought was pretty funny - obviously they don't think I can take care of myself yet.)

I'm still pretty sick. One nurse told me that for each day spent in the hospital, you should spend at least two days in bed at home. "You come to the hospital it get medicine, not to get well," he said.

Still very weak, wheezing and exhausted with each breath, I'm taking it easy at my mom's for a about a week.

I'm back online which is wonderful, even though I had more than 100 messages from just one client to answer.

Thank you for all of your cards, calls and flowers. They all brightened the deary days.

So what's wrong you may ask? What's not wrong is a better start.

About a month ago, I started coughing, went to the doctor's and was told it was bronchitis. Ten days of meds didn't make me better and the diagnosis moved to pneumonia. Ten more days of meds. I saw the doctor on Jan. 18. I was feeling a little better, still coughing though. She decided to see how I did without new meds.

I felt good all weekend and thought I was getting over the pneumonia. Felt good Monday until 4 p.m. when I crashed. Fever spiked to 105 degrees, couldn't breathe, ached all over. Kevin took me to the ER.

The pneumonia was back. But something else was wreaking havoc throughout my blood. And no one could figure it out. I had a team of eight doctors working for more than a week to figure out what was making me so sick.

The determination: Pneumonia, acute bronchitis with complications from asthma, an atypical bacterial infection and an undetermined viral pathogen causing fluid to collect around my heart. I'm on antibiotics, antivirals, steroids, inhalers, antacids, etc. I take pills eight times a day and I'm always sick to my stomach.

I go back for new blood work Monday to see if my ever-rising white cell count has started to fall.

Again, thanks for checking in! I'll keep you all posted!

Hospital Bound

This is Julie (Jennifer's sister), she asked me to post this so no one was worried.

Early Monday morning, Kevin took Jennifer to the ER. The last few weeks she's been battling pneumonia and a really bad cough. Well, her body finally had enough. With a temperature of 103, coughing her head off and resulting her back to have spasms, she decided it was time to go to the hospital.
After waiting in the ER for hours, they finally decided to admit her. After further tests, they concluded she has a bladder infection and an undetermined blood infection, on top of the pneumonia. They were also going to run some more tests to check to see if her mono came back. She's also waiting to hear back about the strep test.
Isabella has been sleeping over at our mom and dad's house. Even though it's always fun to play with Grandma and Pappa, Bella really misses her mommy. In fact, Jennifer told me just this morning how much she misses Isabella. This is the first time she's been away from her for this long. All the other hospital stays, she's came to visit. But because she's in that stage of clinging to mommy, everyone thought it was best to not let her see Jennifer right now.
So please keep Jennifer in your thoughts and prayers and hope for a quick recovery. We're not sure when she'll be home, we're hoping by this weekend. We'll keep you all updated as we find things out.
Get Well Jen, I love you! :-)

To Catch a Baby Broker

The title of the Dateline NBC program says it all...or does it?

Dateline examined the corrupt Guatemalan adoption system tonight just weeks after the country was officially closed for international adoption. You can check out the transcripts online at To Catch a Baby Broker.

Remember though, as you read, that the story is aimed to show the horrors of this corrupt system. For instance, at the very start of the program, the program reports:
"I knew the second I saw her, that - that was our little girl. But was she? There's so much the camera does not reveal, especially in the sometimes secretive and shadowy world of international adoption."

And that's what the rest reveals.

It pains me that it has come to this -- the secret investigations, the heart-wrenching stories of betrayal and loss, the abandoned children who will never know the love of a family.

I know that is it important that we "call out" the corruption but at what cost? Is it worth stopping the 3,000 open Guatemalan adoption cases, in which, now those children will suffer in orphanages without loving homes?

My heart aches for Jason and Jennell who appeared in the episode and for all the parents who are waiting to bring their babies home.

I've emailed my thoughts on this to msnbc.com and have posted a story about our adoption, along with a family photo, on the site to show that good adoptions happen, too.

One in three people is touched by adoption. We are a community. We have to share the message -- of struggle, of hope and of love.

If you want to help spread the message, start here by posting a comment on this blog who is read by more than 100 people each day.

We can make a difference one message at a time!

ABCs

We had some excitement in our house last night!

While Kevin was changing Isabella into her pajamas, she started singing. I always sing to her when I'm changing her. It could be Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, the ABC Song, Old McDonald, whatever. Well, during her changing last night, Isabella began singing her ABCs. She's been able to get to the letter H for the past week or so, but last night, she sang them all by herself all the way through.

Kevin yelled for me, and we tried to get her to sing them again. She could only get to K.

Well, today, I heard the proof. She sang them three times in a row all the way through!

Yeah, Isabella!

The Funny Face Book

A great book to develop imagination and vocabulary is "Magnetic Silly Animals." Distributed by Top That Kids, this book allows Isabella to create funny animal faces using magnetic mouths, noses and eyes on 10 different animals. She can match the correct features to the animals or "be silly" and make hilarious creatures.

Outings

Our outings lately have been...
to the doctor's office. No one in this house can get better. Isabella is coughing her head off. I'm having a hard time breathing, and I sound like Darth Vader when I talk. Kevin is congested and can't sleep. Is there an end in sight??!!

Half the problem is this Ohio weather. Yesterday's high was 62 degrees; today 40. These roller coaster temps can't help with our breathing issues.

Sorry for the rant; just feed up with feeling crummy! Needless to say none of us have felt like getting our pics taken. Sorry!

Fun with...

Grandma Sue and Papa Al! Friday night we all headed to a local restaurant for dinner and then back to our house for fun play time. Isabella played "chef" with Papa Al serving as the assistant, making yummy treats for Grandma Sue. Then Grandma Sue got her hair done by hairdresser Bella at her new Dora salon. Finally, before bed, Grandma Sue, Papa Al and Bella played an exciting game of hide-and-go-seek. We all had a great time! (And Isabella is talking up a storm. Her personally is really developing and she's quite the comedian.)

Still on the mend

Sorry for the lack of pics and posts lately. With all the sickness, we've been staying in bed, cuddled up in blankets in front of the television or reading books, and eating lots of soup.

Isabella is finally starting to act like herself again but still has a very runny nose and croupy cough. Today, I finally am regaining some energy-we'll see how the day goes. I go back to the doctor Wednesday for a follow-up visit to check on the progression of the pneumonia. X-rays did show that the infection is in both lungs.

Stay tuned for updates and maybe some pics if we get out and about.

Hope you all are feeling well!!!