So Special!

Friday night we rec'd a call from Mikes sister asking what we were doing Saturday for dinner?  Thankfully we had nothing going on so we all decided to get MyThai and have dinner here at our house!  We all LOVE MyThai - we really can't get enough of it, it never disappoints and I think we could easily eat it every weekend!

Well when the door bell rang Saturday night, Mike and I ran up to answer it because of course not only Amy and her husband Chris were coming over our niece and nephew were coming too - and anyone who knows us knows how much we LOVE when they visit!!

When we opened the door we were not only greeted by all their smiling faces but also by these two little matching shirts that the kids had on!!  SOOOOOO cute and we just loved them!!

So thoughtful of Amy and Chris and it means so much that they would show their excitement and support for us and Mhyia in this way - of course I got a little chocked up LOL

So special, Thank You!

Booked our flights!

Mommy and Daddy are coming to get you Mhyia!!

Well we have booked our flights!

We were told we could fly out on a Friday but we decided to leave 2 days early.  For us to leave here on a Friday afternoon we would get to China Saturday night and then up in the morning and on another plane for 3.5 hours to Kunming City and then possibly get Mhyia within hours?  Too much!!

We decided for sure that we would leave one day early but then when we went to book our flights and we realized the direct flights were sold out that day we quickly decided to go 2 days early LOL!

We will leave here on the Wednesday and get to China on the Thursday - hopefully go to bed and actually sleep and then we will have all day Friday and Saturday to get the lay of the land, purchase some things we need, exchange money, re-pack suitcases etc...

We don't have our exact itinerary yet but we should fly to Kunming City on the Sunday and then stay there until the Friday or Saturday then back to Beijing and then Home Sweet Home on the Friday!!

We have so much to prepare, pack, organize etc.... but oh how we just want to go right now!!

Easter Weekend 2012

Easter weekend was just AMAZING!!  We had Mike's family over on the Friday which was also the day we were going to show them all her picture!  We had told them about her but avoided showing a picture, we just said "we hope to have one for Friday" LOL  Mike really wanted to surprise everyone and show them all at once.

One Table set!

We went out and got little Easter themed Chinese Take out boxes and put her picture in it with some chocolate etc.. for each family.  When everyone came over Mike gave them all their boxes and showed them a large blown up version of her picture!  He was sooo excited and so proud to show it off it was sooo cute!

Aunt Amy, Uncle Chris, Meghan and Mathew brought this cute little pig toy for Mhyia for Easter!!  So cute, we had actually registered for it and they didn't even know!!

 We also had a little easter egg hunt out in the back yard - Mike had hid a bunch of the plastic eggs, and by hid I mean laid them throughout the backyard!  It was sooo cute they wer sooo excited to get out there after dinner!

On the Saturday we did some running around, shopping, baking etc...  Had to make another carrot cake! 

 

mmmm Carrot cake!



Sunday we headed to my brother and sister-in-laws.  They were hosting dinner this year so it was a nice treat!  Mike had brought down a bottle of wine that he has been saving for our referral.  A good friend of mine had donated it as a raffle prize at the fundraiser and another friend of ours had won it and gave it to Mike knowing how much he would LOVE it!!  Mike wanted to share it with Rob to ccelebrate and thank him for all his hard work with the fundraiser etc...  We also brought them take out boxes with Mhyias picture and also did up this little card for my mom and dad (aka Grandma & Grandpa).  We had a great meal and a great visit!    



Granma and Granpas Easter card!

Loves a good bottle of wine!!

Mhyia's First Easter!  Next Easter will be soooo much better when she is actually here with us!

Purolator/Stork landing and our SW visit!!

The Purolator Guy/Stork came to my work today - the poor guy didn't realize what he was in for or certainly what he was delivering!!
When he got to the front Cathy called me so I could sign for the "package" and could snap a couple of pics! He was a good sport and once he left I literally couldn't wait to get that envelope open!! I knew most of what was in it already but it was still so special. It included all the original documents that were in Chinese and her original little pictures in an envelope! Loved it!!

That night our Social Worker came over and we reviewed her file etc... talked about all that was to come and things we should watch for etc.. It was a great visit and one that was a LONG time coming!! We signed our official Letter of Seeking document and everything else that was needed. We just have to go to the Doctor's on Easter Monday to have her look over her file and then our package will be on its way back to China!!

One step closer to bringing our little girl home!

My Office!!

I am sure you have heard me say before how I LOVE where I work and how much I love all the people there. They have been so amazing with me/us through this journey. I am sure I have drove them nuts at times during this ridiculous wait and they were probably wanting her here as much as we were LOL

On Tuesday when we got the call I took off out of there so fast with soooo many well wishers at my side!! When I came in Wednesday morning this is what I cam into. My friend Kimberly decorated up my office (soon to be Auntie Kimberly!!) and it was AMAZING!!

I came around the corner and almost started bawling - for sooo many years I watched other people get their referrals and have their office/homes etc... decorated and FINALLY it was here it was happening to me. It was sooooo cute, everything was pink and there were even pink Chinese lanterns. There were pink little clothes pegs on the tree and "baby" confetti all over my desk!! It was just so overwhelming and so touching.

It was just such an amazing day - everyone was coming over to see her picture - which I proudly showed off! There were well wishes, tears, questions etc... it was just so sweet.

Kimberly also gave me a sweet frame with Mhyia's picture in it and my friend Shauna gave me a pink journal that says "I believe in pink" on the front - perfect for me to start writing some of my thoughts etc... during this last stretch!! Just amazing!!

So fun and it just made my already amazing week that much more special!! I truly don't know how I would have made it through with out so many people being so supportive - Thank You!!!!

"THE" Day - and Oh what a day!!!!

Okay where do I start?? I am just not a writer and I have so many feelings about that day and I don't even know how to write them down to capture how I/we were feeling that day?

First of all we found out Tuesday, March 27th that we were in and that the packages had been mailed from China, we found out on the Thursday afternoon that our package had landed in our agencies office and that it was on its way to translation. This was a huge relief because you just never know if you get skipped or if you actually had a different lid etc.. We were told that we wouldn't get any information until the following week maybe Tues or Wed. This was so hard because I knew that the girls at the agency had seen our baby and knew how old etc... and we knew nothing. Monday came and I soooo badly wanted to call my agency but I held off. Later that morning I had to email them about something so I asked at the end of my email "do you think we will hear anything today?" They emailed back and said that the file was back from translation but they were waiting on one small detail that translation did not give them....UGH...okay now it is killing me...LOL. They told me they would get it that night from China and call us tomorrow. AAAHHHHH tomorrow - after 6+ years we were finally going to know who are little girl was, we were going to put a face to the name we have been saying for 5+ years, we were finally going to see her little face, know where she was living, know when she was born - I couldn't believe it....FINALLY TOMORROW!!!!

Tuesday morning - April 3rd, we both got up and headed to work, we had no idea what time they would call so we figured we would head to work until we got "The Call". Around 9:30am I went up to the front desk to cover for Cathy while she ran downstairs. I was up there for less than 2 minutes and I saw a call coming in from my phone - OMG my heart dropped and I picked it up - it was Darlene from the agency, our conversation went like this...

Tammy - "Is everything okay? do you have all of our information?"
Darlene - "yes I have everything here and I can tell you when you are ready"
Tammy - "OMG I can't believe it - I am going to call Mike and we are going to head right home and we will call you in less than an hour"
Darlene - "okay sounds great"
Tammy - "have you called our other group member yet?"
Darlene - "No of course I called you first, lol"
Tammy - "okay OMG I am so excited"
Darlene - "Yes I think you are going to be very surprised!"
Tammy - "Okay I am going to go get Mike we will call you soon"

I immediately called Kimberly and told her I got the call, I think she was running up to the front before I even had a chance to hang up the phone, "Go, Go, she said - I will cover" I headed to my desk, told my boss I got the call and was heading home (of course I was shaking and half crying at this point). I tried to call Mike at his desk-no answer, his cell-no answer, "are you kidding me" tried his desk again-no answer so I pushed "0" and got put through to a lady in his office. Well after a small search they came back to tell me he was in the washroom, "seriously, you have got to be kidding me" I said can someone go and knock on the door and have him call me immediately!

So I sat at my desk waiting, by this point Kimberly and a couple of other friends were gathered around my desk as we all sat waiting for Mike to finish in the bathroom and call me back LOL. Then the phone rang, I told him to head home

"It was time!!"

On the way home I had a million thoughts running through my head - first of all what did Darlene mean "you are going to be surprised?" was this a good thing? I know Darlene was well aware of my feelings bout a baby as young as possible and how badly we wanted that - especially for her to be here before her first birthday - so was that it?? Is that what she meant?? Oh I was just sooo excited - I can't even put into words all the thoughts, hopes, fears et... going through my mind, it was amazing!!

So I arrived home first, set up the video camera, got out our "call" sheets to fill out. Mike arrived, he put on his "China" shirt and we were ready!! We started the video camera and dialed the phone number...Darlene answered and we both said hello - all of a sudden the phone went dead. We were sitting there saying "hello" "hello" and nothing. Darlene's work line had died LOL we tried calling her back but it was busy so we waited - meanwhile I thought I would rewind the tape and re-start - well of course as I am rewinding the phone rings and it is her. I was so frazzled that I was trying to push record and I had no idea what I was doing. We had her on speaker and before I could get everything set she says "You have a daughter" I was yelling "wait, wait" "I am trying to record" LOL I was a mess LOL Anyways I got it working and the call continued...

She repeated for us "you have a daughter" AMAZING - I felt pretty positive that this was the case but you just never know?? When Darlene had said "you are going to be surprised" earlier it got me thinking LOL I was not crying but I seriously couldn't even read he words on my call sheet, I kept looking for all the blanks to fill in and I couldn't even comprehend what I was reading.

She then said her birthday - September 3rd, 2011 - and I wanted to start bawling (I think I did a little) - it is exactly what I had always wanted and I couldn't believe it!! Before I left work that day I said to my friend "I just want her birthday to be Aug or Sep't" and it was!!! Right in between Mike and I and most importantly she was only 7 months old!!! 7 months that day! I really, really wanted her home before her first birthday and it was a reality now!!

Darlene went on to tell us all about her and the details etc.. She went on and on about how beautiful she was and how we were just going to think so is soooo beautiful. To be honest I was excited to hear those words but I thought we will see, sometimes those little pics they take are so not flattering, I wouldn't want to be judged on one little passport like photo LOL. After the call she said it would be about 20 minutes for the pics to be emailed!

Mike and I were just soooooo happy and soooo relieved and so excited etc... I/we cried it was just the most amazing feeling in the world - we were parents FINALLY and she was everything we had prayed for! About an hour later we finally got the pictures and I was soooo nervous - I don't know why? I/we started reading the email and thought what the heck are we doing and started frantically scrolling to the bottom to the pics - as soon as we hit the first picture I started to cry - she was SOOOOOO CUTE!! I looked at her and said to Mike "OMG she is soooo cute, (still scrolling) and she has matching socks!" LOL Over the last couple of months I have seen so many referral pics with crazy not matched socks and I always joke "what is with the socks?" Well not my girl, she had matching socks! it was a match made in heaven and love at first sight!! Mike and I just couldn't stop staring at her!

We could not believe that everything worked out exactly how we had always wanted it to - it was a very hard 6 years with alot of good and bad and ups and downs and every single second was worth it once we knew who she was and saw her little face! I know people have said that for years to us and it is honestly kind of annoying lol but it is soooooo true - once you see her and know she is yours all the bad stuff and miserableness of 6+ years of waiting etc... just disappears and it is soooo worth it!

I can't even begin to tell you how much we love her already and how we just can't wait to get her and bring her home, finally our lives can begin as a family of 3!!!

The first person I called was my mom - her and m dad were at Lowes and she answered her cell - I couldn't live it! she said "sooo?" ad told her - I don't know if she was crying or not but I was lol. I know she was just soooo happy that she was exactly what we wanted and that she was so young. They were on their way down to our house lol! I called Kimberly and sent her the pic, I called my cousins and sent them pics too - it was just the most amazing feeling!

When my parents got to our house they had a beautiful plant and cute gift for Mhyia(so sweet)...I just couldn't wait to show them her pic - they 100% agreed she was a cutie!!! We headed right to Walmart to make multiple copies to give out/show off! Mike had to go back to work and didn't want to tell his family until Good Friday (3 days) when they were all coming over for dinner. I didn't think that would last but I left it up to him! Later that day when he got home we called a few more friends etc... and then it got the better of him and we called the family one by one - we were still going to say the pic for Good Friday but it was soooo exciting to tell them our amazing news - we were just sooooo happy!

Truly one of the best days of our lives....so far!!

She is here and she is AMAZING!!!!

She is absolutely PERFECT
seriously I am not just saying that because she is ours
but she is absolutely perfect and everything we have ever wanted!!!

Introducing

Kun Ya Long soon to be
Mhyia Kunya
born Sep't 3rd, 2011

(these pics were taken Dec 22nd)

I want to post about the day and all the exciting things since - I will try to do that tomorrow!! I know all people want to see is the pictures LOL. I know that people always say this and I use to hate it but it is sooooooo true - it is soooo worth the wait and once you see her you just forget all about it!!

Tick Tock....Tick Tock......

Well this past weekend was our last weekend we will spend without a picture of our daughter!! It is so unbelievable that after soooo many years we are days away from seeing the picture of our daughter – the little girl that will join our lives and our family forever! This weekend we visited with some friends, my mom and I went to a bridal shower on Saturday and then we had some visitors on Sunday. We didn’t get as much accomplished as I would have liked but there’s always today LOL!!

This week is going to be excruciating – everytime the phone rings I think my heart will skip a beat! We are waiting for our agency to get our file back from translation and then they will call us. I am sooo excited and so nervous at the same time – I just want everything to be what we want and we have had soooo many years of disappointment that I think it makes me worry about every little thing. I think once we have her info and everything is fine I am just going to breath the BIGGEST sigh of relief.

For now…….we wait……again……

The Stork has Landed!!!

Well the stork has officially landed at our agency!! I got an email yesterday afternoon confirming that they have our file (Thank God) and that they were scanning and sending it for translation. I was so excited to see that the package had arrived on the Thursday because we were thinking it might not be until Friday.

We are hoping that we will hear something mid next week!! It is soooo weird to think that at our agency has our file with a picture of our daughter and yet we have no idea what she looks like, how old, where she is etc.. It is weird that some people already know who she is yet we don't.

Mike and I are just so excited and we are still in shock that after more than 6 years we are days away from seeing her little face - AAAHHHHH this next 4 or 5 days are going to be sooooo long!

WE ARE IN!!!!!!!! IT IS ALMOST UNBELIEVABLE!!

Where do I even start??? Today has been the most amazing day since this whole journey started over 6 years ago (Jan 21^st, 2006)

This is what we read/saw on RQ Monday and then more recently Tuesday morning!!!

We have been expecting referrals since approx. th 16^th of this month since the last two months have both been the 17^th. As you know they did not come on the 16^th and the entire week after also produced NO referrals. Every night for the last 2 weeks or so I wake up through the night and check Spanish RQ, regular RQ, facebook etc.. to see if anyone has posted rumors and ….nothing. Monday I came to work a little down because I was actually staring to worry – what if the CCAA has stopped sending referals, what if they are skipping a month etc… and then voilà!!! A rumor that they had been mailed – THANK GOD!!

Fast forward to Monday night and I think I had refreshed my pages a hundred times that day so I went to bed early because the earlier I go to bed the quicker I can wake up and hopefully hear some news as to a cut-off date.

I woke up around 3am and checked – nothing, then as I laid there trying to get back to sleep I was thinking what if they only do to the 27^th or 28^th?? I will be happy that I would be next month but disappointed that I wasn't in this month L

Now 6:15 in the morning and once again I turned on the ipod to check the Spanish RQ site –OMG OMG she had posted something about August and then I saw the number 31!!! What does this mean, I can’t read Spanish and I couldn't get it to translate AAAHHHHH!! I was clicking things and things were coming up that shouldn't it was crazy! I told Mike “OMG I think we might be in” I immediately went to facebook because I knew all my August group and my September group would also be checking and sure enough I saw the most exciting words “Spanish RQ says they have referred upto August 31^st” AAAAHHHHHHHH

I then noticed that people had already sent me messages and people had posted around 4am asking why I was still sleeping etc… hilarious and soooo exciting!!!

I immediately called my mom and considering it was approx. 6:30am I think she knew exactly why that phone was ringing!!! That call turned into a series of many calls to many people! I stillcouldn't believe we were actually in!!!!

Today has just been amazing – I accomplished very little work but it has been amazing!! I had so many people at work welcoming me at the door with hugs and tears and soooooo many congratulations on our facebook etc… What a wonderful day!!! Hopefully I can survive the next week until we actually get “THE” call – I can’t even imagine how amazing I will feel that day (as long as everything is fine with our file – fingers crossed)

Here are a couple of shots of me marking those last few days off my calendar and also a surprise delivery on my desk – I had ordered some products and they came in that morning – how perfect!!!

Referrals have been mailed!!

According to RQ an European agency has reported that the CCAA mailed out referrals today!! Thank God because at 3:30am this morning when I woke up and started checking the Spanish RQ site I still didn't see any rumors and to be honest I was getting worried!

Lets hope if they were in fact mailed then the European agencies will start getting them tomorrow and we can FINALLY know if we are in his month or not!!

Another Friday and NO news!

Well this week has been HELL - I wake up two or three times a night checking the Spanish RQ and the RQ and the forum and facebook etc... it is awful.

I really thought we would hear something today but I guess not. Another weekend with no news and the worst part is that we don't know if we are in or not?? I just want to know already!!!!

On another note - I work at the best place ever and this amazing Sundae Bar was set up and open at 3:00pm Friday afternoon!! What a great treat after a crappy week!!!

STILL Matching??? Really??

Well we were really hoping to hear something last Friday (16th) , which of course we did not and even worse it is now Thursday and still nothing UGGGHHHH so frustrating.

A big American agency says that the CCAA are matching and RQ confirmed the same thing so I am REALLY hoping to hear something tomorrow! It would be okay if I just knew if we would beincluded this month or not - that is the part that is killing me. I can't imagine having to go through another month like this.

There are alot of people hoping/thinking they will finish August and I hope they are right I just can't believe it. I am just hoping they make it to the 29th and I am not even sure they will do that since that would mean 8 days?? There are some rumors that we could/should hear something tomorrow so once again...fingers crossed!