WHATS NEW

All is well - Molly LOVES school. We have decided not to put her in kindergarten early after talking to the Principal who agreed she was definitely ready he advised us in all his years he rarely sees the benefit. So we have decided to wait. Health wise things of course could be better. We did 12 weeks of a powerful chemo drug in hopes to shock her system into a looooooong remission only for her to relapse twice after coming off. Anyway God is good and knows what he is doing (I hope). Which leads me to our other news. We had been looking for a program for the longest time to adopt a little Mei Mei (sister) for Molly where we would not be required to travel. Korea was the only one which gives an escort option (or so we thought) but no one qualifies for Korea unless you are Barbie or Madonna I guess. Yesterday I found out there is an agency that can arrange for an escort from Ethiopia WOW. Now as much as we would love to see Ethiopia we feel nervous about bringing Molly to a third world country due to her kidney condition and leaving her back here is NOT optional. So finding out about this has been thrilling. So we are seriously considering ETHIOPIA right now YAY. So that is it this end. Sorry I am not on here much lately - will try to update sooner xxx

SOOOO BEHIND WITH THIS

OK sorry no pics since I am working from my new laptop and have none on here yet but promise to add some later. Molly and I went to England for Christmas, New Year and my birthday. We had an amazing time. She was med free which was awesome but sadly did relapse much to our heartbreak and shock after doing 12 weeks of Cytoxan but more on this later. Seeing my family was wonderful. My niece who was 10 when we met last is now 14 and a young hip woman, my nephew still looks the same. Maegan (my niece) and Molly were all over each other and it was just so awesome to see. Molly had a blast as did I. I am so glad we went. My parents were thrilled to have us home for the holidays. Poor daddy had to stay home alone with the doggies but we spoke everyday several times. It was his idea we go since it has been a long time since I have been home and Molly was finally med free (at the time). We shopped and ate like crazy (2 of my fave things to do). It was so hard to say goodbye and come home but we are glad to be back in our own beds. Molly did relapse and has had to go back on steroids. We were devastated since we had hoped for a long remission after the 12 weeks of chemo, however we just have to find a different cocktail I guess - at least there are other choices. My whole view right now has changed. I am trying to be more positive and leave my worries at the altar. We have to let Molly live her life and let her out of that bubble a tad more. It is very hard but it can always be worse and we are grateful for the blessings we have. We signed Molly up for Pre School. Step one in letting out of the bubble. Personally I am very disapointed in the curriculum since this week they were learning to count to 10 and Molly has done this since she was 15 months and can even do it in Spanish and Italian. However, the reason we really signed her up is for the social side of things and interaction. SHE LOVES IT!!!! She has only been there for 2 days and will attend 3 mornings a week. If in May when it ends we feel she needs to go somewhere more advanced we will sign her up somewhere that will work with us. The issue is the DOB, you have to be 4 by Aug 31st 2008 to be in the older class. She was 4 Dec 5th 2008. Annoying thing is she is more advanced than the older class too. Man do I sound like a total snob here? We just want the best for her is all!
Other bit of news is I have a job YAY!! I work now for www.thedogwizard.com they are dog trainers and AWESOME!!! I love my job, I work from home and do all there office/scheduling stuff. I get to work with a cell phone too if I need to run errands. I got this job through Charlie the dog we rescued. I had been searching for a trainer when we first got him and I met these guys. I hammered them for a job and they came through. So 2009 has already brought many changes. 2007 was horrid, 2008 a little better so here is hoping that 2009 will be an awesome year for EVERYONE!!!!

WONDERFUL ACT OF KINDNESS

The other day my dear online friend Tammy whose son Michael also has NS sent Molly a HUGE box of goodies. When I say huge you can see in the pic Molly actually fits in the box. I knew she was making her a prayer blanket but had no idea about all the other gifts that were from her and some of her friends who do not even know Molly nor myself. It moved me so much and I called her immediately to say thank you. What a wonderful and kind woman she is and so are all those who put these goodies in for Molly. We thank you SO deeply. The green scarf around Molly's neck is actually knitted like a Kidney disease awareness ribbon - so clever. We are so touched by this generosity and cannot find the words to express it. Please know we are truly grateful.

I AM SOOOOO BEHIND

I have been so hooked on Facebook that I have neglected this blog, sorry Molly. Well since I last wrote Molly turned 4 and had a birthday bash at Monkey Joes with 10 of her friends - they had a blast. Today she completed her 12 week course of Cytoxan (a chemo drug) and has been steroid free for 5 weeks. The hope here is to buy her a long med free remission, the best outlook would be a permanent one but that is not as likely. I do not want to harp on this or tell the devil too much of my mind so I shall leave it at that. The other news is I am taking Molly to England for Christmas YAY - I have not been home for 2 1/2 years so it will be wonderful and she will have a ball. Of course I am dreading the flight (germs and my fear of flying period) so all prayers welcome please. We still talk about a sister for Molly but right now I am not comfortable with any program so I putting it on hold indefinitely. I think we will most likely do it again be it in 1 year or 8 years we still want to adopt an older child so it makes no difference really. Molly still wants to be a big sister so whatever the man upstairs wants is ok. Will try to update more often xxxx

PHOTO BLAST AND THE LATEST

Ok, in no particular order here are some new pics. Some are from a local annual festival we like to attend - we had great fun there. The others are of Molly and her friend Abby after they went to see "The Pirates who don't do anything" (great movie). And then pics of Molly having her very first eye exam. Her eyes were fine :-). I keep forgetting to mention too that at her last dental check up she got a medal for having NO cavities AND a gift cert for Barnes & Nobel. Molly is doing great and having fun with her friends xxxxxxxxx

THE LATEST HAPPENINGS

Well Molly is about to start Cytoxan, a chemo drug which is also used for Nephrotic Syndrome. She will be on this for 12 weeks providing she has no terrible side effects from it during. Fingers crossed that this works well for her. Also as some of you already know, little miss Molly has developed a tic. She keeps moving her eyes from the far left or right, blinking and either nodding her head or twitching it. It seems 25% of children go through some sort of temporary tic. It is what appears to be a simple motor tic but being the overly protective mother that I am I am getting her checked out anyway and also her eyes. Other than that all is well. Many of our travel mates are on the road to adopting again and Molly keeps asking for a little sister. We still have plans to adopt an older child should be adopt again but will stay with the birth order. When Molly is in school and I am back at work, or when we are getting close to that time we will decide then. In the meantime I will keep a hold of the clothes Molly starts to outgrow soon ;-)

WHATS BEEN GOING ON???

Well Molly has been of the steroids now for 3 weeks, first time in months!!! I was hoping to keep her med free for as long as poss but last weekend she was attacked by mosquito's, chiggers and possibly spiders all over and it started her kidneys to play up. At first we were hopeful her body could correct itself without putting her back on drugs but so far it is not looking likely. It is also starting to show signs of steroid dependency which we had thought. If her body does not correct itself within the next few days it will be back on the steroids and then a 12 week course of Cytoxan (a cancer drug). If Cytoxan works for Molly it could possibly alter the path of her disease and put her in a long remission, that is why we are going to try. As much as this is a horrid disorder and it kills us to have our child suffer this we also realize it can be much worse. I am a member of so many kidney disorder groups and it is just heartbreaking when I read about these kids that are having transplants. We hope and pray Molly will never be one of them. On another note 4 of the fmilies in our travel group are on the road for # 2 (or in one families case # 406 LOL just kidding darlings). We are thrilled for them. One family is filing for the Phillipines which is the country we have been hoping to go to if we ever go for # 2. Being Roman Catholic, & having a friend who goes there every year to feed the families who live off the landfills really draws us there...plus Molly really looks Filipino.

As for Charlie, the abused puppy, I am not allowed to write much (as per the DA's office) until after the case is closed....sorry. But he has chewed so many shoes and house breaking is A PAIN!!!!!

Well that is about it. Sorry it has taken me so long to post, kinda have my hands full :-)

MEET CHARLIE (AKA JUSTICE)

This adorable little boy was taken from the yard of someone in Wadesboro, NC to a vacant house nextdoor and abused severely. He is at our house and we are nursing him back to health. Despite this barbaric torture he has suffered he is such a sweet and loving doggy. He does not have a bad bone in his body. Read the story....
On Sunday July 27th this 4-month old puppy was brutally beaten by 4 juveniles in Wadesboro (Anson County). He was brought to a vacant house where he was beaten with beer bottles, rocks and the handle of a sledgehammer. As you can see, he has several severe lacerations. The vet could not save his eye and it had to be removed as a result of this beating. The Homeward Bound Humane Society rescued this dog and is now looking for donations to help cover the medical bills. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, the address is: Homeward Bound Humane Society P.O. Box 291 Marshville, NC 28103 Please indicate "puppy" in the memo line on your check. You can also make an on-line donation using pay-pal, by visiting our website www.homewardboundhumane.org Thank you, Allison Burke Homeward Bound Humane Society
If you would like to see justice for this puppy and punishment for theindividuals who committed this horrific act, please contact the followingauthorities to show your support:Anson County District AttorneyP.O. Box 761Wadesboro, NC 28170704-694-0166 Wadesboro Police DepartmentPolice Chief Vance JohnsonP.O. Box 697 Wadesboro, NC 28170704-694-2167 johnsonwpd@windstream.net Please pass this along to as many people as possible.
UPDATED PICS CAN BE FOUND HERE http://s523.photobucket.com/albums/w358/HomewardBoundPets/?

WE WERE IN THE HOSPITAL

As most of you know Molly went into Hospital for a kidney biopsy to determine what kind of NS she has. The worst part of the hospital stay was the blood drawing and I knew it would be. She screamed and fought and would not give her arm up for nothing - she clung to me yelling Mama and it broke my heart. How I remained calm on the outside I will never know as I was so close to saying "I can't do this let's go". Finally they were able to draw blood and that was over. After about 10 mins she calmed down and played. I made them promise not to do the IV until she was out. After about an hour when we got the OK on the blood levels they gave her a drink of a med called Versed LOL Molly was drunk in about 5-10 mins. At first it was funny but then a little scary coz it wasn't Molly anymore. She was in all slow motion but totally relaxed and happy which was nice. We went to the OR and they gave her gas and she was out. At this point the anesthetist did not want me present so I had to leave. I did not mind though as her Neph was the one doing the procedure. What should have taken about 15 mins took about an hour as it turns out her Neph called for another radiologist as he was not happy with the current one. But he told me all went well after except they did have to tube her as her breathing was off. She did really well though. She had 2 ice lollies in the recovery room and by the time we got to the overnight room she was pretty much normal. She was on Bed rest for 24 hours which was hard. They had to draw blood again later but I insisted they try draw from the IV and when that did not work to just squeeze out of her finger from a prick - oddly enough she does not mind this and lucky it worked. The next morning we got the ok to leave but I heard Minnie & Mickey were in the bldg so we hung out and I surprised her. Sadly I had no camera but they took pics and promised to send them to me. It was awesome, it was just like Disney only no 4 hour wait and she had them all to herself pretty much. I cried watching her as she was so thrilled holding their hands and they were all over her - it made it all worth it (kind of). Plus daddy had bought her a Minnie balloon the day before which went down well with Minnie. Other than peeing blood due to too much running around probably (she is supposed to be resting for 2 weeks) she is doing really well. We got the results anyway and it appears she has minimal change which is what we were hoping for. Of course this can change but we continue to hope & pray that she will outgrow this someday. I have a meeting with her Nephrologist on Aug 4th to discuss drug options to try get her off the steroids and hopefully keep her in remission longer. All the drugs are immune supressive drugs due to the fact that this disorder is a flaw in the immune system - not the kidneys themselves. I am sorry I am so behind in blogging, we have made many new friends in our new neighbourhood and I will have to post pics and details at a later date.

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

Where do I start? It has been a rollercoaster for sure. We finally moved but it has been rocky. The sales agent left us high and dry, screwed us big time and we are still fighting issues with that one now. We move in and Molly relapses! Next thing will be the hospital to take kidney biopsies. Then one of our new neighbours demon dogs who is allowed to roam the neighbourhood attacks our beloved GiGi (whom is the best doggy in the world btw). They did not return my calls so I had to call animal control who warned them but thy of course lied and said it was not their dog HUH! Then we hired someone to fence some of our yard - they did such a horrid job. Ernie spent hours trying to fix it. He finally got it looking great then our a$$hole nieghbour complained it was on his property. Ernie moved it. Then when we got home yesterday the twat pounced on us before we even got out the car and told Ernie it was still on his property. Ernie was very graceful and polite but this time my fiery side erupted and I told the guy he was an a$$ etc etc. Is our house cursed? I have however, met 3 wonderful ladies here in our street. One is named Susie who is as sweet as can be, she lost her beloved husband this Jan to cancer - so sad. Then there is Lisa, here is the great thing....she has a 10 year old daughter from China and an 8 yr old son from Vietnam. She is mega talented and can make awesome things so check out her site to the right. And Donna, another lovie who was friends with the previous owner. Donna seems really kind and fair. I know I will be great friends with these 3 women. They are all like me in different ways - very honest and that means a lot. So like I said it has been a bit yo yo like lately. That is it in a nutshell.

MOLLY HAPPENINGS

GENIUS AT WORK!

















WOULD YOU LOOK AT THIS FACE!











So as you know we are in the middle of moving again. Trying to tidy up the house, pack etc etc I spilled nail polish on the new carpet. I said "Molly PLEASE do nto tell daddy - tell him it was cat throw up and I have been scrubbing it to get that out" Of course daddy comes home and we sit down to dinner. There is silence then this conversation.....
Molly "Errrr daddy, mummy spilled..."
Me "MOLLY shhhhhhh"
Molly "Errr daddy, mummy spilled errrrr"
Me giving Molly THE LOOK!
Molly "daddy, mummy spilled cat throw up on the new carpet"

Then the other day I said "Molly how did you get so beautiful?" to which she replied "I don't know, I was just born that way". Kids are SO funny.

SHE IS ONE OF US

And here she is showing off her new tattoo's just like Mum & Dad however I have warned her she is only ever allowed the wash off kind - even when she is 45 :-)
Well in 2 weeks we are moving YET again. Only this time it is only about 3 miles away. So we are busy packing up etc. Man I do not know anyone else who has had more addresses than me! Next weekend we are having a yard sale.

ANOTHER UPDATE

Well I went and had a consultation with Molly's Nephrologist and explained all my fears, beliefs and then some. He totally took the time to explain all he could. He really is awesome. He said that there are other drugs we can try and really wants to get her off the steroids since they are deadly with long term use. Of course as he explained there is no such thing as a free lunch and all the meds come with risks etc etc. We discussed why a biopsy would be beneficial and that we would wait until if/when she next relapses. Then once we get her back in remission we would do a biopsy of the kidneys to get a diagnosis of whether it is minimal change NS or another kind of NS - all the others are bleaker so we pray for minimal change. What they do is take a part of the gloummerli (spell?) and send it off to be analyzed. It should just be one overnight hospital stay. Once we get the diagnosis we can decided how to carry on and what drug to try. I do not feel the need for a second opinion, plus there are 4 other Nephrologists in his office and they all work under the same practice. I actually did see a different one there when Molly was first diagnosed and swapped to the one we use now. He genuinely cares about Molly and has been doing this for 20 odd years. He has worked at prestigious places such as St Judes and Duke to name a couple. Right now I feel confident in him. So that is where we are at right now, Molly is currently on the Steroids still and in remission :-) and we are tapering off again slowly. Now here is the other thing. If you look to the right I have posted a link to my dear friends walk for Kidneys they are doing THIS WEEKEND for Molly. If you feel the urge to donate a little click on the link - the participants name is JiaLi Madden - Molly's China sister. THANK YOU JIALI WE LOVE YOU xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

UPDATE

Well I took Molly to see a Naturopathic doctor today. To be honest I was not 100% convinced with it. He said we would need to do a full consultation where I would give him as much info about Molly as possible and we would take it from there. He said it would be herbalistic and it is totally safe (has he not heard of St Johns wart?). I am just very confused, I really want to do a little of both. Natural combined with coventional. You see her Nephrologist wanted me to up her dosage of the steroids back to the full amount of 9cc a day when she just relapsed - I said No and that I did not feel she needed that much - he agreed to my suggested 6cc - and guess what - she has been Neg for 2 days. When I go to meet with the Neph tomorrow to discuss his wanting to try Cytoxan (Chemo drug) and do a biopsy I will be totally frank and tell him I refuse to go by protocol. I am always her second doctor and it is not that I have little faith in him or his office it (Well maybe I have lost a little) is that she is my child and my life and I need to understand EVERYTHING and analyze every little detail & option. I am not yet ready to try a harder drug than Prednisone on her. I guess he wants to change the med since she is showing signs of dependency. Like I said and will always say I do not go for protocol. Words of wisdom anyone????? PS- Have you seen my friends JiaLi's site - you gottah see what they did for Molly YOU GUYS ROCK WE LOVE YOU!!!!! This is a pic of Molly and JiaLi in Atlanta this year.

MOLLY'S KIDNEY DISORDER

We were making chocolate covered pretzels - as you can see most of the chocolate did not cover the pretzels. Well Molly has relapsed yet again and for no apparent reason. She is now showing classic signs of steroid dependency. I have a meeting with her Nephrologist next Tues to discuss a Chemotherapy drug called Cytoxan and also doing a kidney biopsy. I am not thrilled or convinced about either. As much as I am trying to have faith in the Almighty, that too is being challenged. Sweet, amazing and cherished little Molly. Our girls have already been through enough in their little lives, why this too? I will never understand why children (or animals) must suffer.

OUR HUBEI REUNION

We had the best weekend ever!!! We met up with our Hubei family in Atlanta, GA and it was so much fun. We had only seen one of the girls since we all came home almost 3 years ago so seeing them all was amazing and emotional. 2 of the families did not come which was sad, especially since one of the little girls was Molly's best friend when they were babies. But we did get to see Molly's other best friend Lauren (see below) and all the other amazing beauties. saying goodbye was hard as it made us feel like when we parted in China. The battery to my camera died as soon as we arrived and stupid me did not bring the charger so I have been bugging everyone for copies. We truly have such a wonderful group and we all love each other dearly.

THIS IS LAUREN & MOLLY NOW













AND THEN JUST BEFORE WE GOT TO BRING THEM HOME FROM CHINA.


















THE FAMOUS RED COUCH BACK IN 2005














NOW ANOTHER RED COUCH IN 2008

MOLLY TELLING A STORY

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Well here is what we have been up to since the last post. Nanny & grandad are safe and sound back home. We took them to Lazy 5 ranch hence the animal shots. other bit of news we are moving yet again. We found a house with 2.1 acres not too far from where we are now, we are in contract to purchase it. So watch this space.

MOLLY & GRANDAD BEING SILLY

SOON THE PARTY WILL BE OVER

Much to my heartache it will soon be time for my parents to leave. Molly will also be heartbroken. I hope we actually get to go home and visit them this year at some point. I have been saying goodbye to my parents for years but let me tell you it never gets any easier, each time it hurts that little bit more. I simply adore them and I know some people find our bond rather weird but it is a true blessing to still have both my parents and to have them almost celebrate thier 50th wedding anniversary. My parents are amazing and I truly cherish them.

ST. PATRICKS DAY 2008

As most of you know, my father is from Cork City and 100% Irish. My parents are over and we got to celebrate St. Patricks day together :-) as we did last year. A couple of things that bother us with real Irish blood is that there is NO Corned Beef and cabbage meal in Ireland - it is boiled bacon and cabbage (me being a vegetarian I don't eat either) and the whole 4 leafed clover thing really bothers my father. This is not Irish either, it is the Shamrock that is Irish (the Holy Trinity). Anyway, a grand day was had by all.

TALKING CAT

THIS VIDEO IS SO FUNNY I JUST HAD TO ADD IT _ IT MAKES MOLLY & I LAUGH.

YIPPEEEEEE MY PARENTS ARE HERE

We had not seen my parents for a whole year which for me is WAAAAAAAYYYY too long. So as you can imagine I am a happy camper right now. Of course Molly is all over her grandad (but it is very mutual).

GOOD NEWS!!!!

Molly did not relapse, even though her kidneys acted funky due to her illness she fought it and it all balanced out and we did not have to increase her steroids. YIPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEE PLUS.....
We found our beloved cat Ace, after searching high and low he showed up in someones garden & they were kind enough to call us - he is back.

MOLLY'S SIGNATURE

Yesterday Molly sat next to me on the couch and just wrote this in her Diego Journal. Of course we think it is amazing how she could write her name without anything to copy/follow. Regarding her health I took her to her pediatrician this morning due to her Bronchitis and she has a viral one with is left off from her flu last week so we are using the Nebulizer that we used this time last year. Still being on the steroids may make this a harder battle. I hate this season.

WELCOME TO THE HOUSE OF FLU

Let me start by saying I am not impressed with 2008 so far. 2007 was a horrid year for us and I was hoping in 2008 we would get a break - so far this is not the case. Molly already relapsed in Jan with this horrid kidney condition she has been given, during the taper of the disgusting steroids I have to pump her full off she caught some kind of flu and is now heading into yet another relapse. It is no fun trying to get over an illness when you have to take a drug that lowers your immune system too. Ernie too had flu and he caught it from his work mates and now I have it. On top of all this one of the cats we have had for 10 years has gone M.I.A. He is an inddor cat but ran out through the garage one day and coz of my lackadaisical approach he has now been missing for over a week. we have searched high and low every day several times a day and it is like he vanished. Ernie is devastated. I am upset but I gottah admit I am full of worry with Molly and have no room for yet another worry. It is just so unfair how a child who has already been through so much in her little life has to have this to deal with too. Why oh why does any child have to suffer?

Found this on my friend's blog and had to post it.

You know you are an adoptive mother (or you should be!) if:

1. The fact that there are 143 million children without a parent to kiss them goodnight has ever made you lose sleep.
2. You realize DNA has nothing to do with love and family.
3. You can't watch Adoption Stories on TLC without sobbing.
4. The fact that if 7% of Christians adopted 1 child, there would be no orphans in the world is convicting to you.
5. You spend free time surfing blogs about families who have experienced the blessing of adoption.
6. It drives you crazy when people ask you about your adopted child's "real" parents.
7. You have ever been "pregnant" with your adoptive child longer than it takes an elephant to give birth (2 years!)
8. You had no idea how you would afford to adopt but stepped out in faith anyway knowing where God calls you He will provide.
9. You have ever taken a airplane ride half way around the world with a child you just met.
10. You believe God's heart is for adoption.
11. You realize that welcoming a child into your heart and family is one of the most important legacy's you could ever leave on this earth.
12. You shudder when people say your child is so lucky that you adopted them, knowing full well you are the blessed one to have them in your life.
13. You know what the word Dossier means and you can actually pronounce it!
14. You have welcomed a social worker into the most private parts of your life.

MOLLY'S BOYFRIEND PATRICK

Myspace Glitter Graphics

DISNEY!!!!

We had a wonderul time, Molly got to meet most of her favorites. We were even in the parade. The time went sooooooo quickly though. We were only there 3 days and we had to go down to Coral Springs and spend the night with family too. we never got to see the Registers (part of our travel group) who are probably mad at us? The whole trip was great but there was just not enough time. Since being back we have gotten our new doggy who is a doll (more on her later). But Molly sadly looks like she is heading for another relapse so prayers please everyone. Other than that she continues to thrive. She knows her left and right (I still struggle with that one, she suprised us one day announcing out of the blue "If you are upright you are vertical and if you are on your side you are horizontal" both daddy and I nearly fell on the floor. She is off the charts with her intellect. Her memory is flawless and we have been blessed with her gift of speech which has been full clear sentences since 15 months. However, none of this means a thing when you have a major organ that does not function as it should. I would take her health over her smarts anyday. On a brighter note to see the pics I think you have to click on it.
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MEET GIGI

THIS IS GIGI, SHE IS OUR NEW FAMILY MEMBER. WE ARE GETTING HER FROM A LOCAL RESCUE GROUP WHOM I HAVE NOW BECOME INVOLVED WITH. SHE IS A GORDON SETTER AND JUST THE SWEETEST THING. WE ARE OFF TO DISNEY IN A FEW DAYS SO WHEN WE ARE BACK WE CAN BRING HER HOME FOR GOOD. CHECK OUT THE BLOG I AM STARTING FOR THE RESCUE GROUP. http://homewardboundhumanesociety.blogspot.com/

China Communists sacked for having too many children: state media

Authorities in a central China province have expelled hundreds of people from the Communist Party or their government posts for having more than one child, state media said Monday.
At least 93,084 people in Hubei province last year had more children than they were allowed under the policy of one per family, Xinhua news agency said quoting the provincial family planning commission.

They included 1,678 officials or party members, it added, saying about 500 had been expelled from the party and 395 stripped of their official posts.

Previous reports said the officials had also been fined.

The violators included seven national and local lawmakers or political advisors, Xinhua added.

"More party members, celebrities and well-off people are violating the policies... which has undermined social equality," commission director Yang Youwang was quoted as saying.

No information was given as to the punishments meted out to the more than 90,000 other people in Hubei who violated the "one-child" policy last year.

China's family planning policy began in the late 1970s as a way to control the world's largest population, now at 1.3 billion people.

Generally, urban families can have one child and rural families can have two if the first is a girl. About 400 million births have been averted thanks to the policy, the government has said.

But in recent years the policy has been routinely ignored in rural areas, while increasing numbers of China's urban new rich have been able to afford the requisite fines for violating the rules.

Chinese parents have traditionally favoured large families -- and sons, in particular -- to support them in their old age.

The policy has been notorious from the start for the harsh punishments and brutal methods used to enforce it, such as forced late-term abortions and the sterilisation of women.

Several areas of the poor southern province of Guangxi erupted in riots last year after officials launched a harsh crackdown to enforce the policy, with residents saying forced abortions were among the methods used by authorities.

100% PRINCESS

I always tell her she is a princess without the costumes. Someone to bathe her, wipe her bum, cook for her, brush her teeth, dress her (even though we always argue about what clothes), feed her, drive her around, read to her, change the channel for her, feed her NEED I SAY MORE!!!!!

CHRISTMAS 2007

Christmas was lovely. Molly took forever to open her gifts, over an hour. It was just the 3 of us and I wondered if I may get homesick but it was a lovely quiet day. We had a traditional English Christmas dinner and Christmas Eve was Italian style. I hope next year we get to spend it with some family other than us, maybe NYC or London?

MOLLY TURNED 3

Molly turned 3 Dec 5th. I am late in updating this blog and still have more to put but this little firecraker keeps me BUSY!!! She has become a little adult, strong willed, head strong and full of energy. Some of this may be due to the steroids but she is FULL OF LIFE!!!! She is 3 going on 18 for sure. 100% girly girl, wants dresses and girly stuff all the time (unlike her mother). We had a few of Molly's friends over for her birthday to share cake and play but the real party will be when we hit Disney next month yippeeeeeee.

YET ANOTHER RELAPSE

YOU CAN ONLY IMAGINE HOW I HATE WRITING THIS - FOR SOME UNKNOWN REASON MOLLY HAS RELAPSED AND TOMORROW WILL ONCE AGAIN GO BACK ON THE STEROIDS. PLEASE KEEP HER IN YOUR PRAYERS.

THE BIG 3!!!!!!!

I THINK YOU HAVE TO CLICK ON THIS TO GET THE FULL EXPERIENCE!!!
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MOLLY'S FIRST PROFESSIONAL HAIRCUT!!!!

MOLLY'S FEELINGS ON THE END RESULT HA HA

THIS IS HOW MOLLY SPENT OUR 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

WE ATE AND SHE SLEPT!!!!

2 YEARS OF AMAZEMENT

ON NOV 14TH WE HIT 2 YEARS OF BEING TOGETHER - ALTHOUGH I FEEL WE WERE ALWAYS MOLLY'S PARENTS........BEFORE SHE WAS EVEN BORN. IT HAS BEEN AN AMAZING 2 YEARS, SOMETIMES VERY TRAUMATIC AND PAINFUL BUT ALWAYS WONDERFUL. MOLLY IS THE MOST INCREDIBLE, BEAUTIFUL, SWEET, LOVING AND INGENIOUS CHILD WE COULD EVER BE BLESSED TO HAVE. I KNOW FOR SURE EVERY PARENT IN OUR TRAVEL GROUP FEELS THE SAME ABOUT THIER CHILD AND SO IT ONLY PROVES WE WERE ALL MADE TO BE TOGETHER. TONIGHT WE ARE GOING OUT TO CELEBRATE!!!!!!!!

OUR STAR!

HALLOWEEN 2007

PEEKABOO IT'S ME BLUE!

MMMMMMM SO MUCH CANDY SO LITTLE TIME!

YUMMY - SO THIS IS WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT!!!!!

What have we been up to lately???

Well Molly relapsed went back on the steroids and is doing better
:-). We went to Raleigh for the weekend a few weeks back to visit a friend. We went to our church festival and the highlight was the Irish dancers which molly loves and I have always since it is my heritage - Molly is too young to sign up but I would love to sign her up later. Molly is totally into the princesses as you can see in one of the shots. All are well xxx

MEET LAUREN

 
This is Lauren, she is 2 years old. Lauren also has Nephrotic Syndrome. Lauren was diagnosed 1 1/2 years ago and sadly has been on the steroids continuously. The plumpness of her face is a side effect of the medicine but she is still gorgeous. I edited the pic as I know her mum would kill me if I posted her pic too. Lauren and her family live in MI but we met through a mutual friend and the weird thing is, unbeknownst to us we were both in China at the same time. There are so many rare and uncommon diseases out there that children are suffering from and we have never heard of them. Since Molly being diagnosed with her's I have become more aware and more sensitive to it. Whoever reads this please keep these children and thier families in your prayers. There is nothing worse than having a child suffer with any kind of illness - especially one with no cure. Molly went back on the steroids last Sunday but during the week I had our parish priest anoint her and the next day her urine tests were normal and have been since - now we can start to wean her off the drugs again. Thank you so much to all of you who prayed for her - love and blessings to you all.

MOLLY HAS RELAPSED

Much to our major heartache our beloved Molly has relapsed. The doctor wants ut to wait it out for a bit and see if her body heals itself, if not then she has to go back on those horrid steroids. She does have a cough and cold which is what triggered off the relapse. I was planning to take her home to England to see her cousins and grandparents this month but now it looks like we will have to wait till the weather is nicer next year. Please pray for Molly and all sick children.

SOCCER GIRL

ON SATURDAY WE HAD BEEN INVITED TO A FESTIVAL BEING HELD FOR CHILDREN WITH CHRONIC DISEASES - WE TOOK MOLLY BUT AS SOON AS SHE SPOTTED THE GIRLS PLAYING SOCCER SHE WAS OFF LIKE A BAT OUTTAH HELL. DADDY AND I WERE IN SHOCK HOW SHE JUST RAN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FIELD AND GRABBED THE BALL. SHE WAS OBLIVIOUS TO ANYONE ELSE - SHE JUST WANTED TO SCORE!!! OF COURSE I AM THE SOCCER LOVER AND I WAS VERY PROUD. I AM HOPING SHE WILL BE THE NEXT MIA HAMM (A HERO OF MINE) OR ABBY WAMBACH. WHEN SHE IS BIG ENOUGH I AM SIGNING HER UP FOR SOCCER!!!!!

MANY FACES OF MOLLY

 

I cut her hair again poor thing - I am always chopping away at it. I attempted a bob this time, she seems to like it ;-)

VENT! SELFISH PARENTS!!!!

This is a post to thank all those parents out there who always take thier kids out when they are sick and where other children play. This has bothered me for a long time but now I have had it! We were at the mall on Sunday and of course Molly spots the play area and wants to play. So we let her go in and we noticed half the kids were sneezing and coughing all over the place. Of course now poor Molly has a cold and a cough. Why are these other parents so selfish and so inconsiderate? Because of this my poor daughter has to suffer and risk relapsing with her kidney disease. To all you parents who do this & may stumble across my site and read this I urge you to please stop and think about other children before you socialize your sick child. Not only do you risk your child picking up secondary infections while thier immune system is low you risk other children and people picking up unwanted germs. Stop thinking of yourself please.

MONKEY JOES

 

This place is highly suggested for our monkey Babies.

5 MONTHS AGO THE MOST CHERISHED THING IN OUR LIFE, THE ONE THING WE TRIED SO HARD FOR AND FINALLY WAS BLESSED WITH WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A KIDNEY CONDITION.

I FELL APART.

I WAS RAISED ROMAN CATHOLIC FROM BIRTH BUT NEVER REALLY TOOK CHRISTIANITY SERIOUSLY UNTIL ABOUT 4 YEARS AGO. HOWEVER I HAVE NEVER BEEN GOOD AT PRAYING. WHEN OUR DAUGHTER GOT SICK I PLEADED WITH JESUS TO LAY HIS HEALING HANDS ON HER AND IN RETURN I WOULD PRAY EVERY DAY AND CREATE A WEBSITE FOR HIM. FOR 4 MONTHS NOW MOLLY HAS BEEN DOING GREAT AND HAS BEEN OFF THE MEDS FOR ONE MONTH. THE CHANCES ARE SHE MAY RELAPSE BUT I BELIEVE JESUS HAS BEEN HEALING HER. I NOW PRAY EVERYDAY, NOT JUST FOR HER BUT FOR EVERY CHILD, PERSON AND ANIMAL IN THE WORLD THAT SUFFERS. I DO NOT KNOW WHY JESUS ONLY HEALS SOME AND NOT OTHERS AND I DO NOT KNOW WHY HE HAS CHOSE TO HELP HER BUT I AM ETERNALLY GRATEFUL AND FEARFUL TOO. I BELIEVE IN JESUS, THE ANGELS AND THE SAINTS - I BELIEVE IF IT IS IN JESUS' WILL THEN HE WILL ANSWER YOUR PRAYERS. THANK YOU LORD AND PLEASE KEEP YOUR HEALING HANDS ON MOLLY <><>

WE LOVE SNOOPY

MOLLY THE ACTRESS

Gosh well we all knew she was a character but now she is totally into acting. This can be slightly embaressing when we are out and she shouts to me "hey Murray" and insists I call her Greg ( these are from the Wiggles) or she calls me Stuart (Stuart Little) and I have to refer to her as Mrs. Little. The Queen part and her being Princess I can deal with but the others a little head turning and I can't imagine what others a wondering.

2 YEARS AGO TODAY

I was a nervous wreck. I kept calling Cathi at the Florida CHI office saying "anything yet". I was at work and of course could not concentrate - well the truth be know since I became paper pregnant I thought of nothing but Molly and nothing else. Finally at 2:20PM Cathi called me and said "congrats, you have a daughter" I fell apart. I was such a mess everyone at the office thought I had heard bad news coz I was crying hysterically and cathi later told me in all the years she had done this noone had cried as much as me (what a surprise). I called Ernie and told him. Cathi only had a fax of Molly's face but I had her scan it and email me the picture. Of course I am not sure where that email is now as it was on my pc at my old job, shame. I will never forget that day, it was the biggest relief I had ever felt. Finally I had a child: now I just had to get her. I loved her before I even knew her and yet somehow I always knew her coz we were meant to be together. Every child in our group was matched with the right parents, it is truly miraculous. Molly, one day when you read this (which may be soon as you are on the computer more than me these days), know that your daddy and I adore every little pore on your skin, every little hair on your head, every little inch of you is cherished, loved and treasured. You are the best thing that ever happened to us and the most important thing in the world.

THE DENTIST VISITS

The first 2 shots are of todays visit to see Dr. Matthew Savage and the bottom 2 were her first ever visit to the dentist and I don't even know what her name was but she was not well liked by us hense seeking the second opinion. You see we went to see the dentist on Friday Aug 17th. Molly has had a crack in her front tooth and a discoloured one since we brought her home almost 2 years ago. I thought I better get it checked out and was horrified when the dentist said she has cavities and may need a crown. Not convinced and not wanting to put her through anymore trauma this year I asked around for a highly recommended pediatric dentist and found the practice Laxer, Long & Lavage. I took her to see Dr. Savage today and Molly liked him and so did I. He said she has something called enamel hypoplasia & would more than likely need fillings in it at some point but the tooth was strong and needed no work right now. In 6 months we will go back and have a cleaning and then talk about making it look a little better. WOW!!!! I am so glad I sought a second opinion. In fact Ernie is quite an expert when it comes to dental treatment since he has had such bad experiences with them since he was a kid. I had called him upon first leaving the first dentist and he too was not convinced and suggested going elsewhere - well we were right!!!! YEEHAA!!

Molly Days

Cool Slideshows!

WATERBABY

She really is quite fearless in the water, like her daddy she is a fish. Notice there are no pics of me in a swimsuit LOL I am not that daft.

Which one is the panda?

Lazy 5 Ranch

This weekend we went to Lazy 5 Ranch. It was AWESOME! Laura Ware had told us about it and we went (thanks laura). It is like being on a safari. We had such a great time being so close to all the animals and having them poke their heads in the car windows was hysterical. Molly had a blast, she really thought she was Diego rescuing the animals. Next time we go we will take a picnic too and more food for the animals.

Cool Slideshows!

MISS FUNNY FACE

SHE TRULY IS THE QUEEN OF THE FUNNY FACE.

MOLLY SHAKESPEARE

The Hubei beauties reunited!!!

Molly our Heart

Cool Slideshows!

I AM POTTY TRAINED YIPPEEE

Yes she is totally potty trained now - sometimes we wet at night but I make her wear diapers anyway when she sleeps. Her latest wacky comment was this weekend when we went to a local restaurant and she told me she needed to use the potty. When we walked out of the toilet she felt she needed to shout out to her daddy the other side of the room "I did pee pee and poo poo" at the top of her lungs. So now the whole of our town know she is potty trained.

UPDATE ON MOLLY'S NS

We went to the Nephrologist today and he is very pleased with her response to the steroids. We can now start weaning her off. The trick here is that she does not relapse coz she is getting less - that would make her steroid dependent - but we are hopeful that is not the case. The Lord has been laying his healing hands on her OH THANK YOU JESUS!!!!! She is more than likely going to relapse, it is just the way this condition is BUT we pray she is not a frequent relapser and only has them on occasion. Please keep your prayers coming. The doc said she may grow out of this by her teens and we hope is stays the mild case that is seems to be. We still have to keep her on a low sodiun diet and he said she may have to for the rest of her life but hey, thats healthy for anyone anyway. Love to you all and THANK YOU FOR ALL YOR SUPPORT!!!!!!!

Asian Festival and my first Snow Cone

WOW - LISTEN TO THIS

Here is crazy Molly wearing her trousers on her head. Anyway, through a mutual friend whom we were in China with we have been introduced to a family in MI who were also in China the same time as us. Well sadly their daughter also has NS. She was diagnosed at one year old. Luckily she has responded well to the steroids but sadly has been on them for a year as she relapses frequently and she is only 2 and a bit. Her name is Lauren and if we could all include her when we pray for Molly and this horrible condition pretty please?

LIFE IS A GIFT FROM GOD

Molly is such a water baby. Our community pool is open and the weather has been nice but the water in the pool is coooooooooooold. Like all kids she loves the park too. And at the bottom there she is with her friend Saige. We were wondering if moving to NC had been a curse since we have had a very bad year so far but we have met some wonderful people through being here so perhaps we are not cursed at all. Saige and her family are some of them. Also, by having a bad spell in your life you sadly get to see who genuinely cares and who is a fairweather (spell?) friend and we have been totally blessed by discovering some awseome friends out of this hic up in our road. We love you and we will be eternally grateful for your love and support. More than anything though, those who pray we cannot thank enough. We cannot wait to see our China family again - now more than ever. Oh before I forget, Molly has been using the potty. I have backed off and not pushed her anymore for obvious reasons - and she has been using it all by herself. BUT! I keep her in a diaper when we are out since she does not like public loo's. (like me).

The Look of Nephrotic syndrome

I really did not want to post these pics but Ernie suggested in order to show people the signs and educate people, we should. This is actually not to bad a picture. Molly looked far worse a few days later, her eyes were so puffed up & swollen by the time she went into hospital that they looked severely beaten and closed. She had also gained about 5-7 pounds. I have posted this picture not to embaress Molly but just so other people who may stumble across this site are aware and learn not to always trust what the pediatricians diagnose - always do your own research.

WHAT A BEAUTY!!!!!

This time last week

As you all know, last Weds Molly was admitted into hospital with full blown Nephrotic syndrome. I still cannot believe it now even while I am typing this. Sometimes life is so cruel and your faith in the almighty is tested and tried for sure. NS is a kidney problem. There are all different kinds and at this point we are thinking and hoping it is the lesser of all the evils. She has been on the steroids now for one week and it could take a few more weeks until we see the protein leave her urine and stay in her body-if this happens then this means she is responding. She is likely to have relapses but so long as she always responds to the meds she should be able to lead a relatively normal life. I don't even want to discuss the altenatives at this point. Her whole diet has had to change but hey that is a small sacrifice.

They say that there is a ray of sunshine in every storm (or something like that) and out of this we have discovered we have some pretty amazing people in our lives. The love and support we have recieved from certain people in our life has been wonderful. You know who you are and we cannot thank you enough. We love you so much.

We are still asking everyone to pray pray and pray, never stop. And please pray for all those children in this world who are in need. Molly just has to get better, she is all we have and all we have ever wanted. All children are precious, this I know, but molly truly is special and her life has already been so bumpy. Please GOD, we all beg of you to heal our little angel and in doing this we can all be a great testimony to the power of prayer. Only you can help us, PLEASE.

OUR FUNNY GIRL

Daddy took Molly grocery shopping last week and I stayed home. As soon as they got back she wanted to go in the swing. Then out of the blue she said "Oh daddy bought you a card......oh woops, er no nothing". Of course I know this was a Mothers day card. Then she kept saying "I can't tell you". Poor thing she felt so bad. We now know there is nothing we can say or do around her anymore that we do not want anyone to know ha ha ha

GIRL WITH A MISSION

Well daddy is Molly's hero. He built her a swing and she is soooooo happy. It is so cute when he comes home from work she goes running to him "Daddy daddy" and every sound she hears she thinks it is daddy coming home. Daddy taught her how to spell her name and how to spell Mommy & Daddy and I taught her cat. She is growing in leaps and bounds. She has been sleeping in her own bed finally for over a week now but it is in our room - which is fine. Potty training is coming along slowly but she LOVES wearing knickers (girls panties for my American readers). She keeps asking for a sister now and I tell her we are working on it and we do hope we can go back to Asia somewhere but I think we will have to wait until I go back to work.

THE MANY FACES OF MOLLY

CLASSIC MOLLY COMMENTS

During church this past Sunday Molly was scratching her head and very loudly, while the whole church was silent I might add, she said "I've got fleas"!

Another time in church during the priests homily Molly decided to shout "Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah".

We have found an abandoned Robin's nest in a bush outside our house. I told Molly they had no mummy and asked her if she would like to be mummy to the little blue egg's. "yes" she said and then with a puzzled look on her face quickly said " but I don't want to go in the nest".

"Good morning babe" Molly said when she woke up one morning and then asked "Where is the other babe" meaning her dad.

Molly really comes out with some gems - too many to list but I will try to put some from time to time as she adds to the collection.