Happy Mardi Gras 2010

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

NEW ORLEANS (Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010) -- I'm still exhausted.

After a full day of activities with the Krewe of Endymion on Saturday -- including the parade that night and the Endymion Extravaganza following in the Superdome -- Pam and I didn't get home until 2:30 a.m.

This year's event was spectacular. The crowds were simply amazing, literally wall-to-wall all along the parade route that took the procession through Mid-City and into downtown New Orleans.

In my six years of riding in Endymion, I have never seem the crowds that large.

While I don't have a nice representation of photos showing the floats, I am posting a slideshow giving you an idea of the enormity of the crowds. And they were huge. I hope you enjoy this -- and have a great Mardi Gras in 2010.


Copyright 2010 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

Cassreinos return from successful cruise

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

PEARL RIVER, La. (Sunday, Nov. 29) -- Well, we made it. We survived seven days at sea in the Western Caribbean with two children -- and lived to tell about it. Actually, it was a great vacation, one of the best cruises my wife and I have taken.

The chief reason: We really enjoyed spending a full week with our children and watching them have a great time on the Norwegian Spirit and at the beach in Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico.

They loved every minute of it. And I hope to post a collection of photos from our travels. First up is this brief glimpse at Day 1 of the cruise. I also will offer a critical review of the trip and the NCL service (which was good, but not on par with previous NCL cruises).


Copyright 2009 Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

An oyster festival without the oysters: 'We ran out'

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

METAIRIE, La. (Saturday, Nov. 15, 2009) – The giant nutria, about 6-and-a-half feet tall, was within a few feet of Matthew when his face turned to pure terror and he was on the verge of a blood-curdling scream.

So much for a photo with the kids and the Zephyrs baseball team mascot.

At least Matthew and Camryn enjoyed the sights and rode a few of the puny kiddie rides at the annual St. Clement of Rome Catholic Church Oyster Festival tonight in Metairie. That was about the only thing worthwhile at the event.

What, you say? Did you go there to see The Producers? The band you remember seeing on the S.S. President when it offered nightly concert cruises on the Mississippi River in downtown New Orleans? The same ship that now sits idle on the Mississippi in St. Louis as a floating casino?

Didn’t you go to the oyster festival to eat char-broiled oysters prepared and sold by Drago’s? Didn’t you go to enjoy the entertainment and fellowship afford by annual Catholic Church events like this one that happens nearly every week in metro New Orleans?

Well, yes and no.

The Producers sucked. They looked like a bunch of middle-age men trying to recapture the youth of the past. The keyboard player was paunchy and overweight. The others looked like they were 35 years older than the last time I saw them. And they sounded badly off key.

And the oysters – they were out. Yes, folks, you read it right: The oyster festival was out of oysters despite having another day to go. Hmmm. Sounds kind of like Popeyes being out of chicken. Or Burger King running out of ground meat for burgers.

At least we spent time together as a family.

Here are a few pictures.

And hey – it’s one week until our Thanksgiving cruise with the kids aboard Norwegian Cruise Lines. Now that should be a trip to remember.


Copyright 2009 Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

Great weekend highlighted by trip to French Quarter

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

PEARL RIVER, La. (Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009) -- Can you think of a better weekend?

Partly cloudy skies. Temperatures in the 60s. Great fall weather. The Saints win in an impressive game. Ole Miss wins at homecoming. And the Cassreinos visited the French Quarter on Saturday.

Yep. We packed the kids in the car, drove to the city, took the Canal Street streetcar to the Quarter and walked for a few hours. We ended the night with an unmemorable dinner at Mandina's in Mandeville, but it was still a great, relaxing weekend.

We even took Camryn and Matthew on a horse-and-buggy ride through the French Quarter -- something we promised Camryn weeks ago that we would do. We took a few photos and I am posting a slide show below.

As always, click the photo for a larger version. Enjoy.


Text and photos Copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

Cooling off with a New Orleans snowball

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

NEW ORLEANS (Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009, 10:30 p.m.) – The line snaked through the small store, out the double doors and around the corner from Tchoupitoulas Street in Uptown New Orleans, with some folks waiting 30 minutes or longer – all for a snowball.

Well, let me rephrase that: A snowball from Hansen's Sno-Bliz, probably the best snowball stand in metro New Orleans. This isn't just shaved ice. This is a snowball made with fine ice the texture of powdery snow, perfect for use with Hansen's homemade syrups.

I remember visiting Hansen's as a child when my family lived a few blocks away on Jena Street, just off Magazine Street and Napoleon Avenue. My mother used to take me and my sister for a snowball during New Orleans' often cruel, stiflingly hot summers.

On Sunday, I did the same thing for my two children. With my mother joining me on the trip – Pam wasn't feeling very well and stayed home in Pearl River – I packed Camryn and Matthew into my car and trekked across the lake to New Orleans.

Our original plan was to visit the Audubon Zoological Gardens. But after getting off to a late start (we left home about 1:30 p.m.) and seeing the vast crowds at the zoo, we decided to wait until later in the year despite incredibly nice weather for August (temps in the mid-80s and humidity at 50 percent.

So we drove through Uptown, stopped at Hansen's and bought a snowball. I had Cream of Nectar, my mother had Cream of Chocolate and Camryn had Cream of Strawberry. They were very good. Camryn made it through half of hers, letting Matthew take the rest. Matthew also ate most of mine.

After the Hansen's visit, we headed down to the French Quarter and the Flea Market. After finding a parking spot for $5, we unpacked the two strollers, transferred the children from the car to the strollers and then spent a couple of hours walking through the Quarter.

All in all – a nice Sunday.

Copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

Weekends, like the one just ended, are entirely too short to spend enough time with your family

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

PEARL RIVER, LA. (Monday, Aug. 10, 2009, 6 a.m.) – Another weekend has ended and once again it was way too short.

My weekend saw my wife and I attend a new parents social at St. Margaret Mary Catholic School in Slidell where Pam met some of the parents whose children will be in her pre-K class and I met Camryn's pre-K teacher and other parents.

Despite my initial misgivings and concerns, I thought the event was nice and went over well. And I thought I did fairly well controlling my appetite – I ate a little of the pasta salad, ate some fruit, ate some cheese and drank a couple of Diet Cokes.

No beer or mixed drinks for me. I'm three weeks into a Weight Watchers diet, I've lost about seven pounds so far (well on my way to a goal of losing 50 pounds) and wasn't about to screw that up. My mother graciously offered to watch Camryn and Matthew at our house while we attended the social.

We were home by 10 p.m. – that was Friday.

On Saturday, I piled Pam, Camryn and Matthew into my Ford Fusion, took a ride in torrential rain, ate lunch at a so-so Mexican/Cuban restaurant in Covington, visited Pontchatoula and then returned home. It was a nice, uneventful outing – well, until I took Camryn with me to Best Buy and she insisted I buy her a Dora the Explorer movie (the one where she rescues a mermaid, I think).

Sunday was even less eventful: A trip to Rouses to buy groceries (no more Wal-Mart on Saturday for me) and a trip to my mother's house to fix her computer (a bad modem).

And now onto the new week. The big news: Matthew will have his full-leg cast removed on Wednesday. I have arranged to take a personal day from work on Wednesday and will take Matthew from Pearl River to the Children's Hospital in New Orleans for his cast removal.

This is an important procedure. If his casting went well, then it's possible he won't require surgery to permanently correct his club foot. It's also possible that Matthew may require a second cast on his leg, more than likely after he gets a short reprieve.

I hope and pray that the casting negates the need for surgery.

Matthew has weathered the cast amazingly well. While obviously uncomfortable for much of the past two weeks – and desperately wanting to get in the tub for a bath each night – our son has been a great sport. He obviously doesn't understand what's happening – hopefully he will appreciate it years down the road.

We took some great photos of the folks at Children's Hospital putting the cast on Matthew's leg. I plan to take more photos on Wednesday to document the removal. And then – if everything works out – I'll post a complete photo gallery-slide show of the entire process here at my blog.

Until then … have a great week.

Copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

Leg cast starts to irritate Matthew

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

NEW ORLEANS (Friday, July 31, 2009) – It's been two days since Matthew received his full-leg cast – and it started to irritate him Thursday night (which led to an incredibly fitful sleep for my wife and I).

No big deal, though. As much as it is uncomfortable for Matthew today, he'll be grateful we did this for him years later down the road. Hopefully, this additional Ponsetti Method, as it's called, will be successful and avoid us from having surgery.

I don't know what will happen with his crossed eyes. Pam made an appointment with a pediatric ophthalmologist in a couple of weeks. And it looks at this point that he probably will need surgery to correct his problems.

If he doesn't, our regular ophthalmologist said, Matthew's left eye would likely not develop and he essentially would be blind in one eye.

Hey – at least it's the weekend.

Copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

Matthew to receive cast today for club foot

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

NEW ORLEANS ( Wednesday, July 29, 2009) – In just a few short minutes, I will join my wife and our son on a trip to Children's Hospital in New Orleans where he will be treated for his club foot by having his entire right leg placed in a cast.

We first saw the orthopedic pediatric specialist last week. And rather than jumping into surgery, he suggested we try to cast Matthew's right leg for two weeks, remove the cast, evaluate his status, possibly cast a second time and then decide if will need surgery.

While Matthew, who is 2, no doubt will be miserable – his leg will be bent at the knee in the cast – this is worth a try if it keeps him from going under the knife for surgery. The procedure is set for 1 p.m. today, so I'll update later today with details and photos.

Matthew and his sister, Camryn, 4, visited the ophthalmologist on Tuesday. Camryn has a lazy eye, which we all knew; Dr. Cangelosi ordered her to wear her glasses all the time every day to help develop her bad eye and give her vision from both eyes.

Matthew, we discovered, has crossed eyes and will no doubt require surgery at some point possibly this year. So while Matthew may escape surgery for his club foot (that isn't certain, however), he appears likely headed to surgery for his eyes.

Our doctor gave us the name of a pediatric ophthalmologist who specializes in this. No date has been set for a visit.

Copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

The Cassreinos have officially moved to Southeast Louisiana

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

PEARL RIVER, La. (Tuesday, July 28, 2009) – Friends and family,

As many of you may know, Pam, Camryn, Matthew and I left Madison, Miss., earlier this month for a new start in Pearl River, La., and Southeast Louisiana after I took a new job in New Orleans. It was tough and not something we really wanted to do. But when my job with the Mississippi Democratic Party ended on Jan. 31 and my efforts to find work in Mississippi went nowhere, we were forced once again to relocate. Our 2½ years in Madison were great and memorable.

But our nation's and our state's economy took its toll. And after weeks of unsuccessful attempts to find work in Mississippi, we were forced to expand our search. Luckily, that led me to my new job as director of communications for the Housing Authority of New Orleans. With my hometown still suffering from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, this seemed like a good way to help people help themselves.

So on July 2, movers packed our belongings into two trucks, headed South to Pearl River, La., and delivered it to our rental home the following day. Pam and I placed our Madison home on the market, hoping to sell it as quickly as possible so we can turn our attention in Southeast Louisiana to finding a more permanent home next year.

Meanwhile, Pam has landed a job as kindergarten teacher at St. Margaret Mary Catholic School – an elementary school that teaches children from pre-kindergarten through the eighth grade. Camryn, 4, our oldest, will attend pre-K there beginning this fall. Matthew, 2, our youngest, will attend day care near the school. And I will make the 30-minute commute to and from work in New Orleans every day.

The past few months have been incredibly stressful on our family as I looked long and hard for a permanent job. I had a brief gig in March and April as campaign manager for Democrat Brenda Scott's Jackson mayoral race. We weren't successful, but I had the distinct privilege of working with one of the best people I have ever known. Brenda is a warm hearted, hard-nosed, hard-working person who would have served Jackson well. Despite her loss, I hope she considers running for office again the future; she has a lot to offer. Together, Brenda and I gained an awful lot of political experience.

I also started my own media and political consulting company, Cassreino Consulting LLC, www.cassreino.net. Even though I'm now living in Southeast Louisiana, I still have a lot of great friends and political contacts in Mississippi; I intend to maintain those ties and my business remains active and available to work with political candidates at anytime throughout Mississippi. Note, please, that I'm only focusing my consulting business on Mississippi.

Matthew, whom we adopted from China in December 2008, continues to adjust well to his new home. You may remember that he suffered from a club foot that was repaired; he goes to see a specialist in New Orleans and may require minor surgery later this year to permanently correct his problem. Other than that, he is your typical 2-year-old boy: He's incredibly active, loves Thomas the Tank Engine, has a great sense of humor and loves to eat.

Camryn may be 4, but she is still our baby. She is growing up fast and has become a beautiful 4-year-old girl who loves the water (like her brother) and seems to be incredibly smart and perceptive. Camryn has played a major role in helping Matthew adjust – she and Matthew play well together and she continues to help him with his vocabulary and other skills. Without Camryn around, I doubt Matthew would have progressed as fast and as much as he has since we brought him home in December. Matthew couldn't have had a better big sister.

Now that Pam and I live in Southeast Louisiana, prospects look slim that we'll be able to attend any Ole Miss games this fall in Oxford. We'll have to hope they appear a lot of TV this fall and, possibly, snag a spot in the Sugar Bowl (I don't think that's too far off because Houston Nutt's team should be pretty good this year). Unfortunately, we will have tolerate more LSU fans than ever before. But that's OK – Pam and I both have jobs in a pretty lousy economy.

For those of you who make it to New Orleans or Southeast Louisiana, please drop us a line or give us a call. We would love to meet up with you. Please note our new address, phone numbers and e-mail addresses. Thank you all and God bless.

TERRY R. CASSREINO

1109 Forest Ridge Loop

Pearl River, LA 70452

Phone: (985) 250-9466

Terry's E-mail: cassreino@gmail.com, terry@cassreino.com

Pam's E-mail: pcassreino@gmail.com

Cassreino Consulting LLC E-mail: terry@cassreino.net

Copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

Matthew's birthday memories: A slide show you must see

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

MADISON, Miss. (Sunday, May 3, 2009) -- Sorry it's been a while since I posted here. I have been up to my neck with Jackson mayoral politics, managing a candidate in the Tuesday, May 5, Democratic Party primary.

Well, I did manage to post a new slide show -- this once covering Matthew's birthday on March 16, 2009. I plan to post another slide show in the next few days for Camryn's birthday.

Hope you enjoy.

Copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

Managing a mayoral campaign and my family -- at the same time

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

MADISON, Miss. (Monday, April 13, 2009) - It's been a long, long day.

I got up at 4:45 a.m. and left home at 5:15 a.m. for a trip 30 minutes away in South Jackson to WAPT-TV. There, I met my Jackson mayoral candidate, Brenda Scott, for a live TV appearance on the station's morning show.

It ended more than 12 hours later when I arrived home at about 8 p.m. after attending a mayoral campaign forum at a Jackson library -- the first of at least three forums this week. It's tough when you have 10 Democrats running in the May 5 party primary.

As you probably know by now, I am managing Brenda's campaign. It's tough.

Meanwhile, when I have time, I'm sorting through some of the photos I've taken since Pam and I went to China in December 2008 for Matthew's adoption. I hope to put together a slide show in time for his Baptism sometime this summer.

I post it when I have it completed. And I'll also post the date of the Baptism for those interested. Until then, I'm posting a great photo of me and my two children. Pam snapped this photo a coupleo f weeks ago.

Happy Mardi Gras

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

SLIDELL, La. (Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009) -- As we prepare to head to the Thursday night parades in New Orleans, I've included a brief slide show/photo gallery for your enjoyment. I'll post a few more before Fat Tuesday. Here goes:

Endymion float show previews the Feb. 21 parade

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

MADISON, Miss. (Monday, Feb. 9, 2009, 9:32 a.m.) – When the Krewe of Endymion hits the streets of New Orleans on Saturday, Feb. 21, you'll witness one of the organization's best parades in recent memory.

My family and I had a sneak peek at the krewe's floats during an open house at the Endymion den Saturday, Feb. 7. The theme: "Tales of Sleep and Dreams"; floats depict nightmare tales and storybook themes.

All were depicted in minute detail on parade floats decorated with intricate papier mache props. They should look incredible when fully lit and traveling down Canal Street on parade night.

Below is a photo gallery slide show from the open house. Don't forget to use the button in the bottom left corner of the slide show to toggle captions. And click the photo to enlarge in a new window.

Copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

Cassreinos enjoy Slidell parade on Sunday

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

MADISON, Miss. (Monday, Feb. 9, 2009, 7:57 a.m.)- Before I post a photo gallery from my family's trip to New Orleans for a weekend of Carnival events, below is a news report that appeared Sunday night, Feb. 8, 2009, on WGNO-TV ABC26 in New Orleans. It features our family. Check back later for photos.

Press play below; the video airs immediately after a brief commercial.

Enjoying a Carnival weekend in metro New Orleans

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

SLIDELL, La. (Sunday, Jan. 25, 2009, 3 p.m.) – A relaxing weekend in Slidell and New Orleans, highlighted by a trip to the Endymion den for my krewe throws, ended far too soon today.

As you may know from earlier posts, I ride in the Krewe of Endymion, the largest Carnival parading organization in New Orleans. I had to stop by the krewe den on Saturday to pick up about $500 worth of krewe-emblem throws I bought for the parade.

Among the items: Krewe cups, krewe beads, stuffed animals, Endymion footballs and Endymion Frisbees. My mom's house in Slidell is overflowing with junk for me to throw on the six-mile route Saturday, Feb. 21.

Camryn, my 3-year-old daughter, had a great time. She waited at the krewe den with me and my mom and then had a rare treat of a peek through the large doors of the den at floats still under construction.

Today, Camryn, my mother and I joined my sister and her family for the Krewe of Claude parade in Slidell. As expected, it was awful: Cheesy floats, two bands and not much else.

How bad was the parade? Well, they used rental floats from Barry Barth – floats that were small, narrow and just plain hideous. It also didn't look good when the third float was numbered 10 and the fourth was numbered 22.

But my daughter didn't care. She just wanted to see floats, see marching bands and catch beads.

Next up: A trip to Slidell on Saturday, Jan. 31, for the Krewe of Endymion coronation ball that night at the Hilton in New Orleans and another cheap Slidell parade on Sunday, Feb. 1.

The real stuff kicks in the weekend of Feb . 14.

Below is a photo gallery slide show from the weekend. If you see a photo you like, click it and you'll open a larger version. And use the button o the left corner of the slide show to toggle captions.

Copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

Matthew makes it through the night with his foot brace

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

MADISON, Miss. (Friday, Jan. 23, 2009, 7 a.m.) – Matthew made it through his first night wearing the foot brace required to correct his right club foot.

I'll try to take a photo of the brace and post it later. But essentially the brace is one long bar with two open toed shows o n both ends; we tie the shoes tightly on Matthew, his feet become immobile and he sleeps with them all night.

It's rather sad and I felt bad putting them on. But Matthew didn't fight. He didn't protest. He allowed me to put the shoes on his feet. And as awkward as they were, he slept through much of the night.

One month down

As I write this, it's been a little more than a month since Pam, Matthew and I have been back from China.

Catholic Charities, which is our social agency in charge of our home study, visited the house this week for the required one month report. We have a six-month and then one-year report before we are totally on our own.

Catholic Charities completes the report, forwards a copy to Holt International Children's Services and then, I believe, Holt sends a copy to the China Center for Adoption Affairs.

Mardi Gras approaches

Camryn, our daughter, and I will head down to New Orleans early Saturday for a quick trip in which I'll pick up my Krewe of Endymion throws for our parade on Saturday, Feb. 21, in New Orleans.

I'll visit my mother and family, Camryn will get to spend some time her aunt, uncle and cousins. And I'll also have time to get excited about Carnival season.

Few times of the year rouse my interest like Carnival and Mardi Gras in New Orleans. I don't know what it is about it – probably the feeling of carefree escapism it creates – but I love this time of the year.

Pam and I plan to head down for weekend parades in February, as well as, of course, the Endymion weekend celebration.

I'll chronicle our visit to Mardi Gras this year with stories photos I post on this blog. So, don't forget to check back often.

Copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

NEW: View photo gallery, Mardi Gras in New Orleans

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

MADISON, Miss. (Sunday, Jan.18, 2009, 5:03 p.m.) – It’s Carnival time in New Orleans.

And with parades just weeks away, I thought I’d post a new photo gallery here to the blog. This one features some Mardi Gras photos I’ve gathered over the past three years.

These are some of the nicer ones, a small sampling of the literally hundreds I’ve snapped.

As we get closer to Mardi Gras and I start attending events – the Endymion Coronation Ball, the Endymion float show and New Orleans area parades – look for more photos.

Until then, enjoy.

Copyright 2009 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.


DIRECTIONS: Click photo to enlarge. Toggle photo captions with button in left-hand corner of photo gallery slide show.

Attention turns to New Year's Day

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

MADISON, Miss. (Monday, Dec. 29, 2008, 11:15 a.m.) – Now that Christmas is over, Pam, Camryn, Matthew and I are busy preparing for the New Year.

Nope, we won’t be hitting the clubs or the party circuit on New Year’s Eve. It’s possible we might travel to Slidell – but that’s pretty iffy at the moment.

Actually, if I do travel to Slidell I will have to spend some time shopping for Carnival and the Krewe of Endymion.

I ride in Endymion, the largest Carnival organization in New Orleans with more than 2,500 members. The parade attracts 1 million-plus people to the streets of New Orleans; I’m on Float 7-A this year.

I already bought the majority of my beads; now I need stuffed animals and other throws. And if we head to Slidell this weekend, I may try to complete my parade shopping for this year’s event.

The parade, of course, is just one part of the next two months. Pam and I will attend the Endymion coronation ball on Jan. 31, the open house at our den Feb. 7 and the Endymion Extravaganza the night of the parade Feb. 21.

We also plan to take Camryn and Matthew to New Orleans for the parades. Camryn absolutely loves Carnival parades; it will be interesting to see what Matthew thinks.

Cassreinos prepare for Dec. 1 China adoption trip

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

MADISON, Miss. (Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008) -- Welcome back to Cassreino Online, our family blog and an archive of our April-March 2006 trip to China to adopt our daughter, Camryn Ai Hua.

It’s been two years and eight months since that momentous occasion. You can look back at our trip by visiting this blog’s archives on the left side of this page. From there, go to March 27, 2006, and you can follow our trip day-to-day until we returned to Mississippi after a nearly three-week stay.

Since then, we moved from Hattiesburg, relocated in Madison County just north of Jackson, I took a job as communications director for the Mississippi Democratic Party, Pam works as a teacher in Madison County Schools, and Camryn continues to grow and amaze.

The big news for us, however, is that Pam and I are returning to China on Monday, Dec. 1, 2008, to adopt a little boy. And we will chronicle every step of our trip through this blog, offering readers like you an update probably twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon; sometimes we’ll update more often.

You can expect more of what you experienced during our last trip: Observations about China and what’s different two years since our last visit; a critical review of airline food (and with all the extra fees they are charging, it ought to be better than the garbage we had last time); a critical review of the different Chinese beers based, of course, on observations and reports from our new son (who has had more than a year to try them before we arrive in December); and, more importantly, an intimate look at our adoption.

The world has changed a lot in the past two years. We moved to Central Mississippi after quickly selling our Hattiesburg home in the end of a booming real estate market; the state and national economy has crashed; we have a new president who no doubt will right what had been a sinking ship; “The Sopranos” is no longer on television and I have nothing for anyone to tape on television while I’m gone; and Blu-Ray discs have replaced DVDs (at least for me and my sick addiction to buying films) in home libraries.

But one thing hasn’t: The need for innocent, abandoned children to find a new home. And that’s what we plan to do. After months of stressful waiting, Pam and I are finally ready to head to China on a trip that will end with us adopting an orphan boy. He Wu Di was born on March 16, 2007. And he’ll be 1 year, eight months when we get him.

Check back daily beginning today and follow our journey. Don’t forget to share your thoughts with us, too, by sending an e-mail or commenting on our entries. And something new this time: Look to the left-hand column and you’ll see a link that will allow you to subscribe to our blog by RSS feed.

Look for more on He Wu Di and our complete travel plans in the next couple of days.

Copyright 2008 by Terry R. Cassreino, all rights reserved.