Thousands, THOUSANDS, of these on campus today. Wonder what it could mean? Referrals? Referrals speeding up? Who knows but I send our ladybug infestation out to all, for luck in adoption. :D

Happy Halloween!

Dad took Reese trick or treating this evening. I manned the truck, following them for when they decided they were done. She's got candy, and we're going to get some on sake tomorrow for me, since Mom has decided that at 18 (19 in December), I'm too old to go around begging for candy, even if I do take a cute 5 year old with me. Lol.

Reese was a lion, and I used eyeliner to put whiskers and a nose on her. She's such a cute little lion. The big belly just makes the outfit, lol. And yes, the lion outfit has a tail.

This is also just over a week since she had her laser (a week ago yesterday). Obviously, you can't see her legs, but yeah. She's "shedding", for lack of a more politically correct term. The scabs from her "spots" are coming off, which they haven't done that I remember, previously, on her face. He legs, yes, but not her face. But they did turn the laser up, and her face was more swollen afterwards, so I guess it doesn't really "surprise" me. But she's healing up nicely, off of Tylenol 3 now, and just getting plain ol' Tylenol now and then, when it hurts. Some of the scabs on her leg just came off, and she was complaining of them burning just now, and I offered her Tylenol 3 (since she really seemed to be hurting), and she wanted it, and she HATES the taste of Tylenol 3. I even offered her normal Tylenol ("purple tylenol") which she LOVES and she still took the icky Tylenol 3 over her yummy normal Tylenol. She understands the T3 works better than the normal Tylenol on big owies. But overall, she's doing well in the healing process, I believe.

Happy Halloween!

Laser Treatment

Her leg on Saturday night (early blistering)

Also, Saturday night

Friday, Reese had her 11th laser treatment on her first, and her 3rd treatment on her left leg (last one on her left leg was last December). They turned up the laser on her face to 13, and on her leg to 11, up one notch on each. Her face was a bit more swollen than usual, but it's her legs that have really been bothering her. With her legs, the laser was turned up and therefore she blistered. We think they'll keep it at 11 for a while, until her legs get used to it. Obviously, the blistering hurts. They actually gave her morphine while in surgery, and 2 more kicks of it in post-op. My mom had to take her to Arkansas Children's Hospital alone, since I had school, and Dad had work. So I think the anasthesiologist really didn't want her to have to deal with Reese's usual post-op reactions, which include screaming, crying, and, of course, pain. Fortunately, things were a lot easier for Mom because of the extra pain meds. She's on tylenol 3 with codeine to help with the pain from the blisters. She's going back to school tomorrow.

These laser treatments help lighten her birthmark, 10 laser treatments later, her birthmark is obviously lighter on her face, particularly around her chin, jaw, and upper forehead. It's slowly breaking up, and some areas will be more stubborn than others, like her eyelids. It's a long road we have ahead of us in the area of laser treatments for her birthmark. Our friend, Stacey, has a daughter with a smaller facial port-wine stain, who has had 13 laser treatments and is now on maintenance. Reese's PWS is appearing to be more persistent, but it is also more extensive, which could have something to do with it. I'm really happy for Stacey and Erin Joy that they will have less of this in their lives now. I know it's really no fun for the kiddos.

Birthmark Beauties For Adoption

Okay, so I don't actually know what she looks like, but there's a 6 year old girl on GWCA's (Great Wall China Adoption) individual waiting child list. Her special need is a large hairy nevus. She's described as: This beautiful little girl is described as active and extroverted and has a beautiful singing voice. She is very clever and curious and will ask questions until she is satisfied with the answer she is given. Her favorite activity is to play with jigsaw puzzles.

She's ID 148 on GWCA's list. Not only is she older, but she has a birthmark (hairy nevus tends to black and, as the hairy part mentions, fuzzy, but usually removable to some extent through laser treatments, skin excisions, and skin grafts.), and so I feel compelled to advocate for her. And it's an open list (anyone can look at it), so I don't think sharing will be a problem.

There's also a 10 year old girl with a hemangioma on her wrist, and a 5 year old boy with "post operative right lower limb KT syndrome (deep vein deformity with lymph angeioma)" on CHI's Future Stars List. The boy, I think, has Klippel-Trenauney Syndrome ("KT syndrome"). I could be wrong, but it sounds right. KTS is similar to Sturge-Weber Syndrome (SWS), the syndrome Reese has. It's just more focused on limbs than face, as a general rule.

All 3 of these kids are from China. Check them out!

Happy Birthday, Reese!

Anna-Marie (barely visible at the bottom of the pile), Savannah, Reese, and Rachael.

Her party was at a swimming pool (indoor, thank God, since it was like 54* outside)

Raeghan, Rachael, Reese, Anna-Marie, and Savannah, which together represent a good chunk of China: Guangdong, Chongqing, Shanxi, Hunan, and Yunnan.

Reese's cake (no, we didn't make it)

Reese turned 5 on October 8. Life has just been nuts since then, so I haven't really had a chance to post. She wanted to have her party at a pool, so fortunately, we were able to get her party at a nice indoor pool, so our little fish was thrilled. She had a fun party with the R's there: Kim, Bryan, Anna-Marie, and Savannah; the W's there: Charlotte, Evelina, Riley, Raeghan, and Rachael; the B's: Bob, Meredith, and Allison-Grace, and Kammy, along with our Uncle (our mom's brother) Jeff, Aunt Mandy, Justin and Caroline, and Grandma Debbie.

Reese had a ball, she got a Leapster 2 (which she loves and I highly recommend), a charger for it, a case (we got the messenger bag style, despite the fact it only comes in blue/green), and 2 games (Pet Pals and Ni-Hao, Kai-Lan's Beach Party). She got several books, a Mulan Barbie, a Chinese Barbie, a Scooby-Doo movie, a dancing/singing poodle, some make-up stuff (she loves make-up stuff and nails), and some Color Wonder marker things.

Her favorite part was definitely the pool. She's a little fish when appropriately dressed in a life jacket. She loves to swim and play in the water.

It's so weird to think we've now had 3 birthdays with her, and the two before that she was well-cared for and her special day truly celebrated. She's an amazing little girl, and I love her to pieces, even though she's ornery and can be a brat (but that's a kid for you, right?).

Happy Birthday, Reesey!

Reese's 1st birthday, in China. October 8, 2005

Reese's 2nd birthday, in Taiyuan, Shanxi, China. October 8, 2006.
Reese's 3rd birthday, her first at home with us. October 8, 2007.

4th birthday, ~October 8, 2008

5th birthday (actually taken on October 10, 2009).

Moon Festival 2009

Part of the group shot: Kai, Reese, and Kaleigh

Group shot!

Norah

We celebrated the Moon Festival on Saturday. Or Mid-Autumn Festival, if you prefer. Anyway, it was fun and the moon was gorgeous once it came out. Reese had a ton of fun with every body. Got bug bitten horribly, but she had fun. And my car battery died so we had to get a jump (thanks Kammy and Kelley)!

Anyway, we had fun seeing everyone, and the food was good. And Reese had fun.

TAYLOR SWIFT!

Reese by Taylor's bus

Bad shot of the big screen

Reese in her Taylor Swift Fearless Tour 2009 t-shirt and glow stick

Reese, Dad, and I went to see Taylor Swift last night. It was an awesome show. If you have any chance to go see it (even though most, if not all, of the shows in the USA are reportedly sold out), you really should. It's absolutely brilliant and exciting. Reese was tired, but she enjoyed it (well, that's what happens when you won't take a nap! >.> ) Anyway, this was Reese's first ever concert.

Excuse the bad quality of the shots, all I had was my camera phone.

Reese loves Taylor, but by the time the two opening acts were about done, she was ready to go. I think she was pretty sure Taylor wasn't really going to be coming out at all. Taylor Swift had like 9 costume changes, and every time there was a huge amount of applause, you could tell that Taylor really loves what she does and she's really grateful for this opportunity to do what she loves.

Love Without Boundaries

www.lovewithoutboundaries.org

It's a wild life but it's our life!

It's been a while since we posted.Things have been busy since school started. Reese started pre-k at a local public school, Monica started college and a new job (go Petco!), and in what can only be described as a decision based in insanity, I decided to go back to school also. So I signed up for three online classes and one "real" class at UALR. Kudos to my husband who is going to keep us all on track for the next few months.

Reese is loving her school, Monica and I are both enjoying school. The drama in our lives at this moment is Reese having something flaky going on with her heart. A chest xray last week for a bad cough revealed an enlargement in one part of her heart. So we will be visiting the peds cardio folks at Children's Hospital soon to see what is going on. More updates soon.

Kaci's 13th Birthday

Reese and Dad

Reese

Sunday was my niece, Kaci's 13th birthday, but her party was Saturday. It was luau themed. There were burgers and hot dogs and "pina coladas" and fruit punch, along with cake and s'mores. So it was fun. Reese had a good time, and I got my roasted marshmellows. LOL.