Recovering Noah

CAUTION!!!!! THIS BLOG POST CONTAINS GRAPHIC BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURES OF NOAH'S SKIN. PLEASE DON'T LOOK AT THESE IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH. THEY ARE VERY GRAPHIC. I've been debating about whether or not to do this blog post for some time now. Part of me thought what's the point? Showing all the pictures of how Noah's skin used to be? It's really graphic and I didn't want it to come across as too gratuitous. The other part of me thought that maybe someone battling this would find this post and it might help them. But then they'd want me to explain homeopathy and how it works and I really don't do it justice. Everytime someone asks me about it I end up sounding like a bumbling idiot and people leave more skeptical than they were in the beginning. Also, I would hate to feel responsible if someone stopped using Western medicine just based on this post. And what if homeopathy didn't work for their child? Was it the homeopathy that healed Noah's ...

I believe this song was originally intended for Christmas, but everytime I hear it, I think how it would be a perfect Thanksgiving Song.. May we all remember how truly blessed we are... Josh Groban: Thankful

After my Ode to Rachel Greene's Hair post the other day, some of you asked me to put up some pictures of my new 'do. Unfortunately, the last few days have not been about my hair at all - but rather my nose and the fact that I haven't been able to breathe out of it. Any pictures taken would have included wads of kleenex stuffed up both nostrils and a dazed drunken look from living on a liquid diet consisting solely of Ny-quil. There are some similar pictures floating around from my college days, but, uhm, yeah... we won't go there. Anyway, I am firmly placing the blame on public school. I don't know how you teachers do it. Ya'll are amazing. You must have immune systems made of steel. You see, I had the privilege (???) of accompanying Nandini to her school's Thanksgiving lunch. Basically it was just a way for the school to rake in an extra $4.00. That's my theory. But I'm a sucker for a Hallmark card moment, so I plunked down my 4 bucks and entered in...

I am bringing back The Rachel. You know. That fabulous haircut that Jennifer Aniston sported on Friends circa 1995? That's right. Don’t let anyone tell you that Leslie T is not a Trendy Wendy. Oh no. I know all about the latest trends. I'm just about 14 years too late. That’s all. Actually, I missed the whole “Rachel haircut” thing because I was living in England at the time and wasn ’t able to watch Friends. Instead my nights were spent placing bets on whether or not I was going to freeze to death in my house with no heat and wondering if the drummer living below me was actually sober when he got the huge spiderweb tattoo on his neck. Good times. Anyway, my hair was driving me nuts. It got to the point where I was going to do a Britney if something didn't change. Plus, my mom made the comment that if I grew my hair any longer it would make me look really old. Mothers. You gotta love 'em. (By the way, Mom. I know you're reading this. Thanks for watching the b...

I have posted about Nikki - oh, I don't know - a half-dozen times or so. I am somewhat fascinated by her and all she's been able to accomplish at such a young age and am living vicariously through her. It's rather embarrassing. Have I just mortified you beyond belief, Nikki? Anyway, Nikki and her boyfriend, Alex, are going to Ethiopia in February. You can read all about it HERE . She and Alex will be volunteering in a children's home through Blessing the Children International. She'll also get to visit the little girl that she's been sponsoring through World Vision. In order to help raise money for the trip, she is sponsoring a fantastic drawing chock-full of fabulous items. With Nikki's permission, I've copied her latest blog post about the raffle. I encourage you to read through it and make a donation if possible. Think CHRISTMAS GIFTS!!! Also, if you participate in the raffle and mention it on your blog, then you get an extra ticket! ...

I can't believe that just a little over a year ago, I was standing at DFW airport with my mom - ready to board a flight to Brussels and then on to New Delhi. I can't believe that one year ago TODAY I was standing with my mom in an orphanage in Pune, India and holding my beautiful daughter for the very first time. Where did the time go? Years are funny, aren't they? A year is really not that long, but yet I can hardly remember a time when Nandi wasn't a part of our lives. How is it that this little girl, who I feel like I've loved forever, has only been in our lives for one year? For those of you who were along for the journey, you probably remember my blog posts about those first few days in India. They were excruciating. And truth be told, it took about 7 months for everything to feel normal again. For Nandi to know us and for us to learn all about her and for everything to get turned right side up again. Adoption is so beautiful but can be so painful. I remember t...

I have a terrible habit of thinking that I look younger than I am. You see, inside, I still feel like I'm 19 years old - but the face in the mirror? Well, she looks a lot older. I will see people my age and think, "Wow. Is that what 35 looks like? Surely, I don't look like that?" And Sim, being the sweet, wonderful liar that he is, always says, "No, you look a lot younger." That's why we're still together. I love that after all these years, he's still a compulsive liar who will flatter me with complete untruths.. Forget all that "I like a man with a sense of humor nonsense." I like a guy who tells me I look great even when I clearly don't. Take note, guys. That'll get you right to the heart of a woman. Anyway, last night we were watching Dancing With the Starts and Warren Sapp and his partner, Kym came on. Now, she's a really pretty girl. But I think she looks older than me. In fact, she's 3 years younger. And why this e...

THANK YOU!! We have noticed some significant changes in Eli over the last few days. Behaviorally? Eh... not so much. But cognitively? Heck yeah! It's like a light-switch has been turned on in his head. I know I've mentioned it before, but we have been working on numbers and letters for THREE YEARS. That's not an exaggeration . I mean, as of last week, Eli still couldn't recognize letters of the alphabet or any number except for the number 1. We would show him a 2 and he would say it was a P. Or the number 6 was the number 3 and the letter S was the number V. And the only word that he could write, his name, was written backwards and upside down. But something clicked in him Saturday and he wanted to watch the Leap Frog Letter Factory (thanks Amy !) over and over again. He's never been interested in that DVD. He always thought it was boring. But he must've have watched it 8 times over the weekend. Yeah, yeah. I know that's a little bit too much TV watchin...

The past few weeks have been really exciting for Nandi . She had a lot of firsts that I thought I'd share...... Her first birthday as part of a family! That's right. Nandi is now FOUR! We had a great time. It was very small. We just went over to my grandad's and had some pizza and cake and ice cream. (Oh, and Noah said, "Ice Cream!" clear as day while we were there.) As you can tell, there was a doggy theme. She is obsessed with all things dog. In fact, she was deeply upset that her greatest wish in the world did not come true - and that when she woke up on her 4 th birthday that she was still a little girl and did not magically turn into a doggie overnight. Quirkiness obviously races through the veins of this family. I was very proud of myself that I did not go overboard on her gifts. She is so easy to please. Do you know how many stuffed animal dogs you buy for a quarter at a garage sale? She got 2 of those, a thrifted toy dinosaur, and a package of under...

One of my favorite people ever, Christine , wrote a blog post yesterday that I thought was really interesting. It was how she - as a Baptist preacher's wife in rural Oklahoma - voted for Barack Obama. Pretty cool, read. We held our own mock election through our homeschool group. Even Nandi got to participate - even though she is now a full-fledged public schooler. Both Eli and Nandi voted for Obama. When I asked why, Eli told me because Barack Obama looks JUST like him and he's a pretty cool dude. In fact, when I told Eli that Obama DID win, he ran around the house shouting, "I won! I won!" Nandi just liked saying his name. I think she liked the way it rolled off her tongue. (Free speech therapy!) Noah, the little maverick, voted for John McCain. I asked him three times and he picked McCain each time. Personally, I think he's got a bit of crush on Sarah Palin. Although, I had my glasses on once and someone said I looked like Sarah Palin (??) so maybe he thought he...

I saw this on a yahoogroup that I belong to and thought I'd pass it on. Who knows... maybe someone reading this blog will be interested! Boy orphan from Asia, 6 year old, $14,400 grant for his adoption. This little boy needs a family to adopt him. Adeptly using a walker to make the round of each room, he is part social butterfly and part comedian. This precious six-year-old boy was born with cerebral palsy and spastic diplegia. On a recent trip to his country he sincerely asked us, "when is my mommy going to take me home?" He receives physical therapy three times a week and happily demonstrates independent skills, such as dressing, brushing teeth, going to the potty and cleaning up. The family that chooses to adopt this handsome little guy with flawless skin and dark curly hair will receive a life time of smiles and laughter. Please ask to see his most recent video. The adoption fees, application fee and post placement fees totalling $14,400 have already been donated for ...

I've been thinking a lot about Eli, and I just don't buy it. Autism? There's just no way. Maybe I'm in denial. Maybe everyone has seen this coming or thought, " Hmmmm .... there's something a little bit off with that kid." If so, please tell me. Because I just don't know what to think about it all. Now, granted, I have been around kids before and thought to myself how obvious it is that they are on the spectrum - and how could their parents not know. So, I know it's not something you just go up and say to people, but I'm giving you free reign. Here's the deal. If the only thing you know about autism is Noah, then you're going to think I'm nuts for even bringing any of this up. And, truthfully, I should probably not even be blogging about it. But seeing that Sim is on a solo hiking trip to Big Bend this week without cell reception, I don't have anyone to talk to about this. "Hey, I think something is neurologically wrong w...

I'm still here. Just taking a slight blogging break. We have a lot of things going on right now, so I haven't had much time to sit and type. I promise to do some updates. Lots of first for Nandi... first day of school, first birthday as part of a family, first Halloween.. lots of cool things. And lots of not so cool things, too. Eli is having a neuro-psych evaluation in two weeks. His clinical psychologist/behavioral therapist thinks he might be somewhere on the autism spectrum... What???? Never in a million years would I have thought that, but when you put it down on paper it certainly screams "Asperger's". And now we're paying for attention to it and it's like, "Wow. Wow!" There are a lot of things we never noticed. Anyway, that was a bit of a blow - although it doesn't change anything. He's still the same kid. It's just....hmmmmmmmmm.... never saw that one coming. So he's undergoing a neuro-psych evaluation in a few weeks. Ho...