33 Month LID Anniversary

Well there isn't much to say when you get to this many months and you know you have probably approx the same amount of months to go. As I mentioned in my last post the CCAA matched 6 days in May - I am truly hoping that things will continue at that pace or even better but as I have found out over the last 3 1/2 years, you can't count on anything with this adoption. I truly can't believe that one day I will probably be posting about our 60th month of waiting - it really does seem soooo ridiculous.

May's Referrals

This month the CCAA referred up to and including March 14th. That is a total of 6 days...yahoo! I think this is great since there has been so much talk about how March is such a huge month etc...

The referrals didn't come until May 20th which is about 2 weeks later than usual (they usually come near the beginning of the month) so it will be interesting to see when the next batch comes? There have been rumors that we could see more referrals in approx 2 weeks (beginning of June) so I am going to keep my fingers crossed for that! I think the scare of the swine flu maybe held things up a little over the past couple of weeks.

This now takes us down to 168 lid's to get to us......this means if they could always do an average of 6 days a month (wishful thinking) we would have approx 28 months left (sep't 2011), if they could bump that to an average of 8 days a month that would give us approx 21 months (Feb 2011). I don't expect to see big numbers like this month all the time but I am hoping once we get past March we will see more consistently bigger numbers (6 or more).

Keep your fingers crossed!!! And congratulations to everyone seeing there babies faces for the first time (check out some of the referrals on Rumor Queen)

The last 2 1/2 months!

Okay so as usual my attempts to upkeep my blog failed. I am just finding it very hard to up keep with it when it seems like something that is sooooo far away and like it isn't even real :(

Anyways I am going to try to cover some of the highlights and lowlights over the last couple or months - I will start with the most recent....

May's referrals:

Well the referrals for May have not yet been released, there have been rumors over the last week or so of China not sending out referrals due to swine flu. Apparently these are just rumors, I was told by our agency that they are sending referrals as usual. Hopefully they will arrive next week and lets hope they do more than 2 days this month. With 174 lid's ahead of us we need to see a heck of a lot more than 2 days/month. There have been alot of rumors about the CCAA trying to speed things up and that we should see a speed up more into the middle of this year - here's hoping!!! I did talk to our agency yesterday and even they told me that the CCAA has told them that they are taking measures to try to speed things up from the current pace - I found this to be encouraging since my agency usually says NOTHING unless they know something!! Fingers crossed!!

LID Anniversary - 32 Months

April 29th marks 32 months since our lid and what do I say - yet another month gone and not one day closer to Mhyia?? I can't even believe that I had to make a "32" month counter - it is quite ridiculous actually. Once we get past 36 months I am hoping we will have less than 36 more months to wait...I can't believe that one day I will probably be making a "60" month counter....SAD...it is just SAD.

Still unemployed..maybe back to school??

Well I am still unemployed which is great if you have lots of money but considering I do NOT it is not fun at all - it is BORING. I have really been thinking alot about what I want to do and what options I have. I went to an information seminar put on through EI and I am looking into possibly taking a one year course in Human Resources - it is a career that I think I would really enjoy and one where I think that there is a lot of growth opportunity etc.. so I will be looking into that over the next couple of weeks!

Easter

This year we went to my moms for dinner on Good Friday which was great! Dinner was awesome, as usual!! It was nice to visit with my parents and we had a great time visiting with my brother and Tiffany too!

For Mikes side we went to Andrew and Kayla's (Mike's brother) for dinner - they have just moved into a new apartment so it was the first time we have all been there - it turned out great!

It was also Shayla's birthday on Easter Sunday - she turned 12 this year!! I can't believe she is 12 years old already, it really does seem like a couple of months ago she was just born! Shayla is my first official niece and she is just so special to me - Love you Shayla - Happy Birthday!

LID Anniversary - 31 months

Well this month actually went right by without me realizing it was the 29th - I'm not sure if that is a good or a bad sign? Anyways 31 months...ugh

March Birthdays

March is a big month in the Dufour family - 3 out of the 5 siblings have a birthday in March!! Lisa, Kevin and Amy. We don't exchange gifts anymore but we do always get together for at least cake and usually some kind of dinner. This year we went to Lisa's house and had a BBQ - I made the cake. It was alot of fun!!

Babysitting Meghan!!

Amy has asked me a couple of times to babysit Meghan which of course I was more than happy to do!! She is sooooo good she is so content and so happy all the time she is truly a joy to be around and of course how can you not love that face...I could just kiss those chubby cheeks all day!! She is approx 5 months here!

she just loves her hippo!!

Sophie in hand....already for her walk

look at that face....kissable...just kissable!

LID Anniversary - 30 months

Again not much to say. February 29th marked 30 months since our lid with China. I think in February the CCAA only matched 3 days :(

Ronin's shower - February 28th

Mike and I hosted a baby shower at our house for Kevin (Mike's brother) and Kerith and baby Ronin. I turned out great! I will post pictures for this in a couple of days since I think this post is long enough!! stay tuned!

Officially caught up on posts!!

I have been soooooo bad about posting but I have now finally caught up and I am going to try to keep up. Please look back at the last couple of posts since I actually posted them all this morning!

Also - please comment - even if it is just a HI it makes me feel like I am not only doing this for myself and I like to know who is reading! Thanks

29 Month LID Anniversary

Well 29 months down and approx 31 more to go. The CCAA has finally made it in to March 2006 but only referred 2 days. March is a big month but hopefully things will get better than 2 days. We need them to keep an average of 6 days a month for us to keep a referral time of August 2011.

The CCAA increased their in country fee to $5000 from $3000 and there are rumors that this will help to speed things up a little - here's hoping!!!

A gift I wanted to mention.

For Christmas Mike and I got lots of great things but we did receive one gift that was very special to me. As you all know My sister-in-law and her husband had our niece in October and my brother-in-law and his wife had our nephew in December right before Christmas.

This would be the first Christmas that everyone in Mike's family has children (except us) and don't get me wrong I LOVE having all the babies around and I am VERY happy for all of them but I was a little nervous about Christmas Day and how it would effect me being there with everyone and their children when this is what Mike and I have been also wanting for the last 10 years. We were now the only couple with no children although Mike and I started trying before most of these couples had even met.

Anyways when we got to Lisa's everyone was handing out their gifts to all the kids and Mikes mom handed me a box and said "I know it is still quite a while away but I saw this and had to get it for you" I took the box and opened it and it was a ladybug outfit for Mhyia - I never find ladybug stuff and Mike's mom knows how I watch for it. I LOVED it , it was sooo cute - totally something I would pick out. I think I loved the fact that she thought about us/Mhyia even more than the gift itself!! Mike's family very rarely asks how things are going etc... and it was nice to know that they are thinking about it even though they don't often bring it up! Anyways here are a couple of picks of it - I LOVE it!!!

Mike got me the Great Wall of China book ends

Happy New Year!! - here's hoping that 2009 is great!

Well it has been a crazy year. Lots of highs, lots of lows.

At the beginning of the year I got a great job that I love now it looks like that will be ending in January.

At the beginning of the year we were telling people we still had 3 years to wait for a referral and it is now 12 months later and we still have approx 3 years to wait.

My year has had its ups too - we have a new niece and a new nephew and even though my job is ending in Jan it has been a great year and I have made some amazing friends. All in all 2008 was a pretty good year but I am definitely looking forward to 2009 and what it will hold in store for us.

28 month LID Anniversary

December 29th marked 28 months of waiting since our LID. I really can't wait for the months to wait are less than the months we've waited :(

Christmas 2009!

Well this year I have almost 2 weeks off during Christmas which is sooooo nice!

For Christmas we go to my moms Christmas Eve go to church, have fun, talk, play games etc.. we stay over night and get up in the morning and open gifts etc.. and then eat a late lunch around 2pm - this works out perfectly because it allows us time to get packed get home, pack the car again and get to Lisa's for Mike's family dinner!

Christmas was great - I love being around all of our family, the older you get the more you just cherish those times and realize that your family is truly the most important thing you have.

This year with Mikes family we decided not to by gifts for each other and instead we adopted a couple of families through a local charity organization. We all put money in and got them toys, clothes, jackets, boots, and food gift certificates it was nice to be able to help others - it gave us all a nice warm and fuzzy feeling!

Christmas day was also the first time we actually got to see Ronin and hold him - he is such a little peanut - what a true gift!

Christmas morning getting ready to open gifts!

Meeting baby Ronin for the first time!

The happy new family - Ronin's first Christmas!

Landyn wants to see his new cousin too..

You may remember Meghan, our niece that was born Oct 15th - here she is now! Also her first Christmas! She has affectionately been nicknamed "Chubberella" she is sooooo freaking cute I could just eat her! - Mike and I seriously can not get enough of her!!

The two newest cousins!!

Emma - and the sweater that she wanted - I love it when you get something they love!!

Shayla and Meghan! Our oldest niece and youngest niece

Last but not least me and Meghan she is wearing a sleeper that says I love my Auntie - how appropriate!!

My job situation

As many of you know this time last year I was looking for work. Right after Christmas I got the job I currently have and I LOVE it!!! It is only a one year mat leave but it is in a field that I love and at a company I have always wanted to work at - I had hoped that something would come up and I would be able to stay. Unfortunately this week we heard from the lady on mat leave and she plans on returning at the end of Jan - because of the economy etc... they are not going to be able to keep me on at this time :(

As of Jan 30th I will once again be unemployed :( :(

Our new nephew Ronin!!

Well On December 15th our family was blessed with an early Christmas present - our new nephew Ronin!!

He was born 4 weeks early but weighed 5lbs 11ozs. He was in the NICU for a couple of days so unfortunately when we went to visit we were unable to see him but we were able to see a couple of pictures (below).

We now have a niece born Oct 15th, nephew Nov 15th and another nephew on Dec 15th - this makes things much easier to remember!!

Kevin and Kerith you have truly been given the best Christmas present ever - Congratulations!!!

27 month LID Anniversary!!

Well there really isn't much to say except we are one month closer to our little girl!

November 29th, 2008 marks 27 months since our LID.

In November they only referred 2 days.

MIW Dinner - November 14th

I try to attend the MIW dinners as much as possible. I must say that the last couple of times I just haven't felt up to going - I think that the wait is soooo long and I almost feel like it is something that will never come true. I feel like the more I do the more it will make it harder to cope if something happens to our adoption.

In the end I always ed up going if I am available and I am ALWAYS happy that I did. I LOVE driving in with Karen - we always have such good chats and it is so nice to have someone in my life to talk to who really "gets it" - this is also how I feel about all the mommies in waiting, once I am there I just feel like I am surrounded by people who understand and have the exact same feelings as I do.

It has been so nice to be part of this group and I cherish the dinners we have together!!!

26 month LID Anniversary!

We were away on our cruise during our 26 month anniversary since our LID - as always I can't even believe that I am saying that number. The sad part is the way things are going we have at least 26 more months to go. Oh well I guess everyday is one day closer.

I just don't know what to think anymore - will it truly ever happen?? I am starting to wonder?

Our new Niece!!

On October 15th Mike's youngest sister Amy and her husband Chris had their first baby! My new niece Meghan Veronica born at 4:42 a.m.7lbs 14oz. She is sooooo cute - of course I am probably biased but she really is soooo cute. We went to see her in the hospital that night. We haven't seen her since then because we were away on the cruise but I can't wait to see her again this weekend! Yahoo! a new cousin for Mhyia!!! It hopefully won't be more than 3 more years for Mhyia to be here and by then Meghan will be close to 3 years old and Mhyia should be around 1 so it will be perfect!!

YY what a little peanut YY

Mike came down the stairs wearing a pink shirt and sweater he said it was in honour of Meghan - too cute!!!

4 Posts in one night!!!

I went on a bit of a posting spree so make sure you scroll down and read them all!! More to come soon 10 sleeps until we leave on our cruise!!!

What a great Thanksgiving weekend!!

Well Thanksgiving weekend was absolutely perfect - sunny, not a cloud in sight!

Friday night we went to our friends house for a get together!! My girlfriend and her husband moved to Boston a couple of months ago so they were visiting, it was great!! We watched Sex and the City - Suzanne had made copies for us girls! I never really watched the series when it was on but I love watching them now and I love the movie. There are the four of us who always try to get together and have "girls night" it is sooo much fun and so great to be together! It is a little harder now that one of us lives in Boston but we will work with it!! It was great seeing you guys this weekend! We miss you!!


We went to my mom and dads for dinner on Saturday night and PIGGED out!! My brother and his wife were there and we had a great time. Pretty much all Saturday and Sunday we worked on the basement. We have been finishing it ourselves and although I love doing stuff like this it just takes too long. It is hard when you are busy every weekend! This weekend we accomplished a lot - we are priming now so next is the ceiling - we are having someone come in and do the California knock down - then we will be ready to paint, trim, doors, floor etc... I can't wait!!

Monday we met Mike's family for breakfast - it was great!! The only one who could not attend was Mike's sister Amy and her husband - Amy wasn't feeling great - she is pregnant and as of this evening is in the hospital delivering my baby niece!!! Yahoo can't wait!! By tomorrow I should be an Aunt again!!

My cousins wedding!

A couple of weeks ago we went to my cousins wedding, well actually my second cousin. It was absolutely beautiful, she looked amazing - the day was perfect!! I just wanted to post some pics and say congratulations to both of them!!! May you both live a long and happy life togetherYY.

Me, Mike and my parents

My cousin and her new husband!!

Her dress was amazing!!!

Another day???

A strange thing happened the other day? I was reading the Rumor Queen and apparently people with a LID of February 16th are receiving referrals. This is strange considering it is only one day and mid month - very out of the ordinary! It looks like some people have gotten their pictures etc... but some people are still waiting to hear more??? It is very strange - I would love to think that it was in some way a speed up but I feel very strongly it might have actually been a mistake? I guess over the next couple of days we will find out!!

Less than 200 LID's away!!

Well this month they have referred up to and including February 15th, 2006 - which means they did 6 days this month. I never thought the day would come when I was happy they did at least 6 days. I can remember when things first started to slow down I would figure out our wait time if they did an average of 15 days, 14 days, 13 days ect... I can can clearly remember thinking they will never go below 10?? ha was I ever wrong!!

So far this year they have referred 63 days (including this month) which is an average of 6.3 days per month. We now have 195 log in days to get to us which means if they could keep an average of 6.3 it would be 31 more months or May 2011!! It is not my best case scenario but as I have learnt...it could be worse, at least that is finally less than 3 more years. Of course i pray for some kind of speed up even if it is small!!

As I mentioned we are below 200 days!! Yahoo!!! I literally live for referral time!