November 2008~

Terri Ben Ami here.  Hope this finds you well.

We are doing okay (me, Tovah, the kids:  Nashi, Hyman, even little Wally); we have our bad days, and we have our good ones, too; it all balances out in the end.

Wally, our little boy from China, is here.  He came three weeks ago, and he is a precious little peanut with huge, obsidian eyes, thick, jet-black hair, and a smile that could light up the room, it's so bright.  We love him so much, and Hyman is thrilled to have a little brother he can pal around with!

Nashi, she could care less.  LOL

Just one more person to get to know.  LOL

Nashi just got out of the hospital last week.  Another respiratory infection that tried to go into pneumonia; oxygen and antibiotics did the trick; she's just now about over it.  We have to be so careful this time of year:  it's the time for flus, respiratory illnesses; any number of them could prove to be fatal to our daughter.

Nashi can't chew or swallow; this makes her highly susceptible to illnesses like colds or flus; she also can't fight off the germs; this is one reason she ends up becoming very sick, or worse, in the hospital, where doctors or nurses can care for her until she recovers.  It's always a frightening time for us.

As a result of her recent hospital stay, we now do physiotherapy on our daughter, where we pound her chest, sides, to try to get rid of any excess mucus that may be clogging her airways; it's akin to getting ketchup out of a bottle.  She has this three times a day, for an hour each, without fail; we do this to keep her alive, to try to help her stay well, to keep her from becoming sick yet again.

We are having a pretty good fall, other than Nashi's recent hospitalization.  That set us back a little; we are trying like he-double-hockey-stick to catch back up to where we were before Nashi became ill.  We are getting ready for Thanksgiving, then soon it will be Christmas.

Time to think of what to get the children for Christmas.  Toys, clothes, DVD's, books:  anything to try to keep their young minds, hands occupied while mother and father try to take care of things.  LOL  Time to act secretive, so the children don't realize that we're the ones who really get the gifts, not Santa Claus.

Thank God they're still young enough to believe in Santa Claus!!  What a magical time of year for children; oh, to have that excitement, that joy, in our lives as adults!

Christmas (as well as Thanksgiving) will be especially memorable for us:  Wally, our little boy, is here from China; our family's now grown by one.  Two boys, one girl.  We are indeed blessed; Yeshua is taking care of our needs in ways that we can't even beGIN to imagine!!  There will be cousins for him to get to know, and new aunts, uncles; no doubt, he will become spoiled by all the extra attention lavished on him when we go to our relatives' houses for the holidays! 

I just hope Tovah or I can handle him once the holidays are overwith!  Oh, joy!!  LOL

Well, Hyman is up, and Wally won't be far behind, I'm sure.  And I hear Nashi's nutrition pump singing again; time to check on her, too.  I will write in here again, probably next month, before Christmas.  Until then, may you have a most blessed Thanksgiving!

~Love, your friend, Terri Ben Ami. :)