Siblings

It was the perfect cast for an uplifting reality TV show: five orphaned siblings and the loving family friends who took them in. The story line certainly appealed to the producers of ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. After learning that Phil and Loki Leomiti had opened their doors to the Higgins clan - their former neighbors and fellow church members - the show's executives proposed transforming the couple's modest Santa Fe Springs house into a nine-bedroom showcase. "The Leomitis are an amazing family," a production document reads.

Having earned money from doing chores for her grandmother, 10-year-old Kianna Johnson set out from her West Fairmount Avenue home Thursday afternoon for the nearby market with its yellow awning and oversized red lettering where they sold the Popsicles she loved. The two-block stroll along neighboring West Baltimore Street, which she had taken many times, typically took her through the glass doors of the Economy Market and Carry-Out, where she would make a swift left past the pastries and potato chips.

On October 13, 2007 ELLIOTT father of Ellen Knight and Elliott Daughtry, Jr. He is also survived by two grandchildren, one great-grandchild and siblings Ella Mae, Martha Lee, John, Cornelius and Darlene. Friends may call at the family owned MARCH FUNERAL HOME EAST, 1101 E. North Ave., on Thursday after 8 a.m. The family will receive friends at Redeemed C.O.G.I.C., 4321 Old York Rd. on Friday at 9:30 a.m. Services will follow at 10 a.m.

SEATTLE -- You can add it all up -- the thousands of days, the millions of minutes, but what it comes down to is that a long time ago, in a little church near the Canadian border, three young women all made promises and decided to keep them.For 50 years.When a couple endures 50 years, that's impressive enough. When three sisters, married on the same day, are still happily hitched after half a century -- well, you could call that a big deal, one that will be commemorated with a family dinner today in Lynden.

If singing families are the stuff of old movies, nobody told Milan Jendruch.The Slovakian music teacher and his wife, Maria, have nine children -- all of them trained singers and musicians. Step aside Von Trapps, here come Surodenci Jendruchovci (the Jendruch siblings).The children -- six daughters and three sons ranging in age from 7 to 22 -- play instruments and harmonize on religious, classical and folk songs in Slovak, German, Italian and English.The family is scheduled to visit Maryland Dec. 9-12 for Christmas concerts in Annapolis, Severna Park and Carroll County as part of a five-week East Coast tour that will include stops in Pennsylvania, New York and Florida.

Nine years after his death, Harry Weinberg still maintains a powerful grip on downtown Baltimore.Over the next two weeks, the City Council is expected to approve a bill condemning 127 downtown properties as part of a renewal project that city leaders say will rival the Inner Harbor. For shop owners set to lose their properties, the cruel irony of the plan is that it is being initiated by the billion-dollar charitable foundation Weinberg left behind.Many have held their businesses long enough to remember 30 years back when "Honolulu Harry" was a dominant force in Baltimore's downtown.

Road warriors: Chances are, a business traveler is happier about being on the road than his or her spouse is about being home alone with the kids.Homewood Suites had a survey taken of more than 500 people who stayed at its hotels, and found 59 percent believe they travel the right amount for their business.Thirty-six percent said they travel too much and 5 percent said they travel too little.But 53 percent said their spouses or significant others believe they're traveling too much.Sibling rank: The eldest child in a family was twice as likely as younger siblings to become a chief executive, president or vice president of a company, according to a survey of nearly 700 executives by Aubin International, an executive recruitment firm, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher Frank Sulloway.

We were sitting in the office, humming the love theme to "Titanic," wondering Will that brilliant diva Celine Dion ever get the exposure she deserves? when something happened that made us want to rise to our feet and beat our chest with one clenched fist, the way Celine does when she sings "My Heart Will Go On." That something, of course, was the arrival of "A Voice and a Dream: The Celine Dion Story" (Ballantine Books, $5.99).Yes, Celine fans, we know what you're thinking: Between listening to Celine's newly released French album and her soon-to-be-released Christmas album, watching her just-around-the-corner holiday special and following her world tour into the year 2000, however will we find the time to read 174 pages about "the world's hottest diva in a captivating story of a real-life Cinderella"?

First-born children have always known it's tough being the eldest, and now a study of birth order and stress in rhesus monkeys has confirmed it.In stressful situations, first-born infant monkeys produce up to twice as much of the stress hormone cortisol as their younger siblings -- and mother might be to blame, scientists announced at the fourth annual Wisconsin Symposium on Emotion in Madison.Psychologists Steven Shelton, Ned Kalin and colleagues at the University of Wisconsin in Madison exposed 13 female and 15 male monkeys aged 7 1/2 months to fear-inducing situations, such as an unfamiliar human entering the room when the monkey was alone.

I WAS IN THE MIDST of a cozy holiday gathering the other evening at the Guilford Avenue house where so many generations of my family have lived. One group clustered in the parlor. Another stationed itself in the dining room. A third hugged the kitchen table and chairs. Any newcomers were given a complete tour, from basement to third floor.Somewhere about 9 o'clock, my sister Ann produced an old Stewart's shopping bag cluttered with papers, documents she had discovered while doing a bit of pre-holiday cleaning and organizing.

Caitlin Kinney has a hidden advantage - and it just might come in handy as the blond ballerina from Annapolis competes this week on the highly rated Fox reality show, So You Think You Can Dance? The 21-year-old Kinney's secret weapon isn't her stunning good looks, her story of perseverance over adversity (after a potentially career-ending injury, her entire right hip was rebuilt 18 months ago), or even the rock-solid technical skills she polished as a student at the Baltimore School for the Arts.

Under a pavilion at Druid Hill Park, a little girl deftly twirled a hula hoop. The spry 10-year-old easily matched dance steps with a crush of practiced teenagers and sat patiently while a volunteer painted her face with feline features. But the minute she spotted her brother, she raced toward him. She held him in a fierce hug, saying the 11-year-old's name over and over. The pair had not seen each other since Easter. No one better understood that reaction than Shantel Randolph, a former foster child who organized the picnic to reunite siblings in foster care.

On March 25, 2008 RAMON ANDRE WILLIAMS passed away peacefully in his home. He is survived by his loving mother Augusta, his precious daughter Brittney and his dear siblings Ronnie, Khadijah,Victor, Dwayne and Victoria. The memorial service will be held on Tuesday, April 1 at 1 PM at 5240 Reisterstown Rd. Arrangements by JOHN L. WILLIAMS FUNERAL DIRECTORS,P.A.

On January 28, 2008, JOHN THOMAS MOSETTI; son of the late Joseph Mosetti and the late Elaine Mack; he is survived by his siblings Mary Travers, Michael Mosetti, James Mosetti, Anthony Mosetti and Rosemarie Strohminger; nieces, nephews and other relatives and friends. At John's request no services have been planned.

Elizabeth Julian White, a retired high school teacher, died of age-related illness Dec. 30 at her home in Baltimore. She was 96. Born in Montgomery, Ala., Mrs. White moved, when a young child, with her parents and five siblings to Greencastle, Ind. She graduated from DePauw University - as did all her siblings - where she studied modern languages and was a member of the swim team. She later earned master's degrees in Romance languages from Indiana University and English from New York University.

On October 13, 2007 ELLIOTT father of Ellen Knight and Elliott Daughtry, Jr. He is also survived by two grandchildren, one great-grandchild and siblings Ella Mae, Martha Lee, John, Cornelius and Darlene. Friends may call at the family owned MARCH FUNERAL HOME EAST, 1101 E. North Ave., on Thursday after 8 a.m. The family will receive friends at Redeemed C.O.G.I.C., 4321 Old York Rd. on Friday at 9:30 a.m. Services will follow at 10 a.m.

The woman in the picture wore a smart suit jacket with a white blouse. A white handkerchief poked out of a left breast pocket. She wore a hat cocked rakishly to the right side. She was slimmer, younger than I remembered her. But that was definitely my Aunt Margaret in that seemingly ancient black-and-white photo. The picture was on the front of a funeral program that read "Celebrating the Life of Margaret E. Brown, Sunrise: May 29, 1916, Sunset: August 25, 2007." My Aunt Margaret was 91 when she died after a lengthy illness.

On May 7, 2007, CAROL L. DADDARIO, age 40, of Hallandale, FL, passed away after a long illness. She is survived by her parents and four siblings. A private, Graveside, family Memorial Service will be held on June 30, at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens.

Having earned money from doing chores for her grandmother, 10-year-old Kianna Johnson set out from her West Fairmount Avenue home Thursday afternoon for the nearby market with its yellow awning and oversized red lettering where they sold the Popsicles she loved. The two-block stroll along neighboring West Baltimore Street, which she had taken many times, typically took her through the glass doors of the Economy Market and Carry-Out, where she would make a swift left past the pastries and potato chips.

Researchers have found that firstborn children are smarter than their siblings - and the reason appears to be not genetics but the way their parents treat them, according to a study published today. The study of 240,000 Norwegian men in the journal Science found that the IQs of firstborns were two to three points higher than their younger siblings'. While that might not sound like a lot, experts said a few IQ points can make a big difference over the course of a lifetime - and set firstborns on a trajectory for success.