Several families who have adopted through our agency from China and Guatemala live in Charleston, SC. Never ones to shy away from a trip to Charleston, we joined a bunch of adoptive friends for a get-together there this weekend. The plan was for the China families to meet for dinner tonight and the Guatemala families to also meet for dinner but at a different restaurant. Then we’ll all meet up tomorrow and spend the day at the beach.

Karys handled the 3-1/2 to 4 hour road trip very well thanks in part to a good nap. We knew it was a good nap because she was drooling despite the noise coming from Eliana’s Nintendo DS.

The China families gathered at a cool restaurant called Queen Anne’s Revenge which is the only restaurant of it’s kind dedicated to the authentic history of piracy along the Carolina coast. We only had five families there - four with adopted children and one family expecting a referral at any time - but we enjoyed delicious food and great conversation.

Of course we had to have a picture of the kiddos after our meal. Left to right is Eliana, Karys, Samantha, Annagrace, Moli and Grace. Moli and Grace belong to Jamie and Tara who are opening their home up to the Hendersons for the weekend.

she wants La Choy crispy rice noodles sprinkled on top of her cake and ice cream.

I had a final follow-up with my infectious diseases doctor this morning.

After looking at my ultrasound results from last Thursday, he said my liver and spleen were still slightly enlarged but were no larger than the first ultrasound showed during my hospital stay in June.

He is now passing the baton to our family physician so I won’t be seeing the three specialists anymore unless I feel it’s necessary.

Even though it’s a little late in the game, I requested that a copy of my records be faxed to another infectious diseases specialist in a larger North Carolina hospital for review.

Never hurts to get a second opinion, eh?

I’m such a sucker. There...I said it.

Eliana has been begging for a Nintendo DS for a long time. Carmi even said the child prays for one every night. So I crumbled and bought her one.

Doggone it. I took Eliana and Karys to summer camp this morning and walked them in. In the main room, one wall was lined with kids and each kid had his nose buried in a game console. Eliana moped over to the group, dropped her book bag and watched with a long face as the others clearly enjoyed themselves.

I witnessed this same scenario play out again and again but this time my heart really ached for her.

Carmi and I have been telling Eliana that we would consider buying a DS for Christmas. Well, Christmas came in July and the smile on her beautiful face (plus the big hug she gave me later) made the purchase worth every penny.

The 2008 Beijing Olympics are just 10 days away and Garmin has released the City Navigator China NT 2008 in conjunction with the games.

This new application stores nearly 7 million points of interest on a microSD/SD memory card which is compatible with a Garmin navigational device. The names of locations will be displayed in Pinyin. Beijing won’t be the only city to benefit from these maps, though, as they extend to over 980 other Chinese cities, just in case you’d like to take an extended tour after the Olympics is over.

Tourists’ will definitely find these handy, that’s for sure - especially when you’re in dire need for the nearest restroom.

This journal offers a peek inside the Henderson home where you'll find two Little Empresses. Eliana stole our hearts on October 29, 2002 and Karys forever became a part of our family on September 17, 2007. Is a Little Emperor in the future?