Picnic lunch at Niagara on the Lake

Mike and I LOVE Niagara on the Lake - it is such a pretty little town with such great shops. We usually head down there at least once a month throughout the summer - we stop at some wineries, we love to go to the Hat shop and try on all sorts of hats, of course stop at the Bakery etc..

We just love everything about it!! This May 24th weekend we decided to head down early Saturday morning and have a picnic in the park. We shopped and packed our lunch the night before and headed out around 9:30am - we shopped for a while and ended our trip with a great picnic in the park. We talked about how we can't wait to bring Mhyia there - it is just such a nice place to go - granted it might not be as calm and slow paced when she is here but we can't wait!!

10 more days off of the Calendar!!

As I mentioned in my previous post the CCAA did 10 days - AMAZING!!!! I can't say that I think they will continue this but either way it was very exciting. I got to mark 10 more days off of the calendar I have hanging in my office and as usual Kim came a took a picture! Also I have May and June on one sheet and July and August on another so FINALLY we are on to the second sheet!!

I love that some of the girls at the office get as anxious for the amount of days as I do - I really appreciate it!

May referrals.... and WOW they are AMAZING!!

There have been some rumors the last week or so saying that the CCAA may get to June 30th this month - we all wanted it to be true but I am still having a hard time believing it.

Today RQ has confirmed that the CCAA has in fact referred up to and including June 30th - that is 10 DAYS!!! This is the biggest batch we have seen in a VERY LONG time and not only in number of days but also according the the number of RQ families from her latest poll, more than double the last couple of batch's.

Of course this throws us completely off us being able to predict for next month - I would LOVE if they kept up at this pace but I think the chances are slim to none. I am just hoping that they can keep referring even half of this months batch each month - if they could do that it would put us around Dec/Jan for a referral which would be AMAZING. I am not going to hold my breath on that one because for the CCAA to do that there would be some more months that did approx 10 days and I am not sure if they are going to do that again??

As always only time will tell but I feel that we should be able to say that we are less than a year away from referral (as long as nothing too crazy happens)!!

57 month LID anniversary

May 29th marked 57 months since our file was logged in with the CCAA - there is really nothing more to say...LOL

To Buy or not to Buy??

When we first started this adoption over 5 years ago we thought that we would have Mhyia within a year and at that time it was much much easier to predict when we would get her and approx what age etc.. well forward 5 years and it is harder than ever.

That first year I would buy things here and there is I really loved something or if it was a price to good to pass up! The last couple of years I RARELY buy anything, it is just too hard....until today!!!

I have had my eye on this clothing line at Gymboree - it is called "Palm Beach Paradise" it is tropical and has flamingo's on it and I am in LOVE with it. I have been watching to see if it would go on sale because that is the ONLY way I would even consider buying any of the pieces. Like I said it is too hard to guess when she will be here, how old she will be, how much she will weigh etc.. but I asked some friends and we took some guesses and we figure if I buy a size 2 she would hopefully be able to wear it in the summer 2013 (fingers crossed).

Well today I learnt that Gymboree was having an amazing SALE - EVERYTHING in the store was $13.99 or less. I went over on my lunch and cleaned up!! I got almost everything that I had wanted and I even asked the sales clerk if I kept the tags on and kept the receipt could I return it next year once I get my referral and she said YES - no problem - isn't that great!! I was so excited today - it makes me nervous to get excited and especially to purchase stuff like this but I went for it and it was sooo exciting!!

So without further adoo here are my purchases from today!!!

Our new niece!!! LOL

Mike's sister and her family just got a brand new puppy - she is soooooo cute they just got her on Monday - she is 8 weeks old and just over 3 pounds. We went to visit her last night and took a couple of pics of her - it is hard to get a good idea of how small she is right now but she is so tiny and absolutely adorable.

Welcome to the family "Piper" - Myhia will love you!!!

April 29th referrals

Well referrals again kind of came out of nowhere - we use to have rumors for a week or two leading up and so much guessing as to how many days - now - nothing, they just seem to appear lately. The most we usually see is maybe a rumor the day before. Don't get me wrong I am not complaining, I wish more of them would just show up out of the blue!!

This month they only did up to an including June 20th that is 5 days of referrals. Not good - I was so hoping they would get to the 21st, I know that is only 1 more day but if they had included the 21st the numbers would be more in line for number of babies. RQ has predicated June 27th for the next batch. If this happens that would be amazing!!!! I have on my predication chart that they may only do to June 21st or June 22nd so if they do more that is great!

This years referrals have been a little bit off

• January - no referrals


• February 1st - referrals


• Feb 29th - referrals


• March - no referrals


• April 1st - referrals


• April 29th - referrals

There have been 4 referral batches and there have been 4 months (just a little off) I am REALLY hoping that we see referrals come the end of May or else 2 batches in June. I guess we will have to wait and see. If they can keep up the same pace or even a little better we could get a referral next January or February (fingers crossed) but as we know - you never know!!

The Roayl Wedding Day - April 29, 2011

As usual I am a little late posting these - the Royal Wedding took place on April 29th, 2011. It was AMAZING!! I don't know why but I was soooo excited about the wedding - you would have thought I was actually invited or something...lol

That morning I set my alarm for 5:00am so I could start watching people arriving at the church and of course see Will and then Kate arrive. The actual wedding started at 6:00am (our time). She looked very beautiful - I personally would have liked her dress to be a little more grandiose but it was her, classy, elegant and not too flashy - it was beautiful.

She chose to wear the Cartier “halo” tiara, which was made in 1936 and purchased by the Duke of York (later King George VI) for his wife, Elizabeth's mother (also Elizabeth). Queen Elizabeth received it as an 18th-birthday present, at which time she was Princess Elizabeth. The delicate headpiece, which is as understated as a headband of diamonds can be, was lent to Kate by the Queen.

Of course William looked very handsome as did his brother Harry (very good looking!!)

I watched the whole ceremony as I got ready for work - I left for work after the ceremony but before they were scheduled to make their debut on the balcony for their first kiss! I rushed into work and myself and a couple of my friends set up shop in front of the TV to watch for their first kiss!! They came out onto the balcony and there was a sea of people - you could see Kate mouth "wow" as she walked out. They had their first kiss which was nice but almost awkward lol - they both seem so quiet and reserved. They did however give the crowd a second kiss which was MUCH better and the crowd (as well as us at work)cheered!!



It was such a great day - we were constantly checking the internet for updated photos etc... I even had the live streaming going on my computer through out the day. This is when I say William and Kate pull out in his Dad's convertible and take a drive through the town!!

So exciting to watch - what a great day it was!!

56 months - WOW

Well as with many other months I really don't have too much to say - I guess the only good thing is that we are another month closer!! I do really feel (hope) as long as things stay approx. the same that we should get a referral by this time next year!! I REALLY hope so - I think I have waited long enough. I didn't mind a couple of extra months but 48 and counting is just getting a little ridiculous!!

Also I/we have been thinking a lot lately that most likely somewhere in China someone has either given birth to our daughter or someone is pregnant with her - it is so unbelievable to think about it but SOOOOO exciting!! I just so badly want her here with us - we are so excited about her and about finally becoming a family of 3!! She will suffer loss prior to joining our family and we will never forget the sacrifice her birth mom made for her but we will be eternally grateful and can't wait for her to be here with us - her forever family.

Another exciting thing about today is the Royal Wedding - yahoo!!

Royal Wedding of Prince William & Kate Middleton - tomorrow!!!

I am so excited to see the Royal Wedding tomorrow - I have to work but I am setting my alarm for 5:00am and I plan on watching it - in fact I think I have set the PVR for approx 10 hours of wedding overage!! The actual ceremony will begin at 6:00am (our time) and there is constant coverage leading up to it. I have not been able to stop thinking about ti today - I just can't imagine how she is feeling - I mean every bride is excited on their wedding day but OMG she is marrying a Prince!! There is so much hype around what her dress will be like and her hair etc... As I am sitting here typing (11:12pm) all I can think is she must be up now and getting ready, probably having her hair and make-up done - AHHHH she must be freaking out...soooo exciting!!!

I can remember watching Prince Charles and Princess Diana get married Feb 24th, 1981. I was only 8 years old but I was so excited to watch that wedding - I was just so excited to see her arrive in the carriage and see her dress and the gorgeous ceremony. I think it was borderline obsessed with the fact that she was a real princess - it was a fairytale wedding!! My mom and I watched it together and I will never forget it!!

Easter 2011

For Easter this year we had my side of the family over for dinner on Good Friday - I made a carrot cake and had little easter baskets (take out box's) for everyone. I made tags for the boxs and had a matching placecard for their place at the table. I really liked the way the table turned out this year. The two cream bunnies on the table with the raffia bows were gifts - one for my parents and one for my brother & Tiffany. We had ham and scalloped potatoes (from Dennigers, mmmm). My mom and Dad made me/us up a little plate of treats, rice krispie eggs, some hard boiled decorated eggs and a chocolate pig (i love pigs) - it was so cute and a really cute ceramic plate to keep. It was a great Easter - I love getting together with everyone, it was especially nice to see my brother and Tiffany since we don't get to see them as often!






On the Sunday Mikes Mom and Dad had us all over - it was somewhat nice out so we hung out in the back yard for a bit and the kids ran around and played with some of their easter goodies! Not everyone could stay for dinner but it was great to see everyone. The kids are all getting so big.

I made some carrot cupcakes the night before and had some leftover batter so I made a little cake for Shayla since we never had cake for her birthday this year!