July Referrals - 2011

Well referrals arrived right at the end of the month again - which is good because at least there seems to be something you can count on! The CCAA only referred "20" RQ families which is the WORST batch we have ever rec'd. It was 6 days which is a half decent number of days but like I said a brutal batch of referrals. They did up to and including July 12th.

Just another day at work!!

It was a beautiful afternoon, sun shining, blue skies so what better to do then leave work at noon for a round of golf!! It was literally the perfect day for golf - we had so much fun - I am not the best player but I held my own and we had a great time!!! Now only if more "work" afternoons were like this!!

Dora Cake

Well I took a stab at a character cake and Voila!! I must say I was nervous but I think it turned out great and although VERY time consuming I love doing them- so fun!!

This cake was actually for my Father-in-laws 65th birthday...LOL... with some of the grand kids being so young he decided to make it a Dora theme - they got backpacks and even went on an adventure with their maps! It was really cute.

It turned out to be a great day...with great cake..LOL

Bottles & Blankets

One of my friends at work is pregnant and it is so exciting because I have been living through her with this pregnancy and the two of us are constantly researching baby products and visiting new baby boutiques on our lunch etc...

Lately I have been researching bottles - I don't know exactly how old she will be but she should be still taking a couple of bottles a day. I am really looking forward to bottles, I think it is just such a great time to bond and build the attachment between us and her. I have always liked the glass bottles, I think they are tested and true and the only concern is the fact that they are glass and potentially breakable....well.....solution found!! I found these bottles made by lifefactory and I just LOVE them. They come with a silicone sleeve that can be removed if necessary but considering it can be boiled, microwaved, put in the dishwasher etc... I don't think we should have to remove it very often.

I purchased 8 bottles which I think should be enough?? I am assuming she wouldn't have more than 4 bottles tops a day, probably more like 3?


We bought 2 pink, 1 raspberry, 1 orange, 1 lilac, 1 turquoise, 1 deep purple and 1 light green! They are just so cute and we purchased some of these lids so the bottle can convert to a sippy cup.I also picked up two of these blankets - I LOVE them - they are Muslin blankets, so light and pretty. They are Aiden + Anais I got the pink stripe and floral one - I wish I could get one in my size - such a nice buggy blanket, especially in the summer. All in all I am very happy with my recent purchases, it is so nice to finally feel like I am picking up some things with an actual purpose!!

16 Years ago today...

16 years ago today we were married - at times it feels like a lifetime ago and other times it feels like yesterday.

A lot has happened in the last 16 years - more things than I could have ever imagined - some good and some not so good. The one great thing is that no matter what has happened we have always gone through it together. I fell like every year just gets better!!

Hopefully this will be our last Anniversay without Mhyia - it has been 16 years just the two of us and I must admit I have LOVED it. It has allowed us to get to a place of real comfort and maturity that I don't think we would have had if we had had a child right away so for that I am thankful but we are sooooo READY for her to be here and can't wait for the amazing journey the next 16 years will bring us.

Michael - I love you more than words can say, you are a great husband and I know you will be an amazing Father, Happy Anniversary!!

Happy Canada Day!!!

Today is Canada's 144th Birthday!!! It is an absolutely beautiful day!!

The last couple of years Mike and I have had a Canada Day BBQ at our house - it has become somewhat of a tradition now!! This year was beautiful weather - we set up the little kiddie pool and the kids were occupied for hours! All in all it was a Happy Canada Day with family and friends - hopefully next Canada Day we will have a new little Canadian citizen here with our family!!!!

58 months and June referrals!!

Well August 29th marked our 58th month since our LID - August will officially be 5 years since our file was logged in in China - there is no way we are getting a referral in the next 2 months so I guess there's just one more thing that China said that wasn't true (that the wait would not reach 5 years). Also since we started this process in January 2006 we have actually been waiting 5 1/2 years. Well at least we feel there is a light at the end of the tunnel!! Fingers crossed.

June referrals were sent out on June 30th - they have been literally arriving the last day of each month and there have been 6 months so far and also 6 referral batches!! I know they usually skip a month somewhere in the year but so far things are looking good. They only did 6 days this month which was extremely small compared to last month but not too far off from the rest of this year. Also there were a bunch of people who were in the expedited group as well as some people that were skipped last month.

I feel like if they continue to do approx the same amount of babies then it would put us around January/Feb for a referral. Will they do it??? who knows?? Once you get to August and even the second half of July there are so few people logged in that they could still do a small amount of babies but cover a larger amount of days so we will have to wait and see!!

Father's Day!

Another Step Closer to our baby girl!

About a month ago or so our agency sent us the links and information for the immigration paper work we need to fill out for Mhyia. To be honest I looked at it quickly but we decided that Mike would look after this part since he was familiar with a lot of this kind of stuff from work. Thank goodness - it all looks very confusing. We were taking our time getting to it but after last months huge batch it got us thinking we better get on it "just in case" apparently it can take up to 6 months to have this completed, depending on which route you go.

There is now two ways that you can bring your child back to Canada - "as a landed immigrant" or "as a Canadian citizen" at first we were going to go landed immigrant route because there could be some kind of issues with Mhyia's children's children not being Canadian citizens if she marries a non Canadian citizen and if the child is born outside of Canada (or something like that). The more we thought about it and read about it and looked at all the paper work etc... we decided that we would go the Canadian citizen route. Which means that she will travel to Canada with a Canadian passport and land in Canada as a Canadian citizen!!
Mike took care of doing all the paper work and having everything notarized at the lawyers, paying on line and making copies. It was so great!!

Today we sent it off to the Citizenship office - we now wait to hear back from them and then that is it until we return to Canada with her - then I believe we have to send in a "part 2" within a year. I am not sure exactly what that is for but I know that Daddy is on it LOL!!

Good job Daddy!!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!!

Today is my parents 42nd Wedding Anniversary.

I know everyone says this but I could not ask for two better parents - I just love them more than words could ever express. I have found that the older I get the more I appreciate them, not only as parents but as people and as friends. It is amazing to know that there is always someone in your corner truly looking out for you and truly wanting nothing but the best for you. It is comforting to know that they are 100% behind us in anything we do.

I think I have really come to this realization over the last 10 years or so with all the fertility issues and now adoption issues etc... Friends, co-workers, family etc... mean well and they do truly care but not like your parents - they are different, (well mine are & I hope yours are too) - they just really want what is best for us ALL the time and do anything in their power to try to help us get that.

I only hope that Mike and I can be as great of parents as they are and that Mhyia will hopefully feel the same way about us!!

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad - I LOVE you!!

June 9th - also Pat's Birthday

June 9th is also Pat's (Mike's mom) birthday - yes her son passed away on her birthday - awful.

For the last 2 years we haven't really gotten together to celebrate her birthday but this year we did. I am so glad because we miss Kevin dearly and it is a hard day but it is still her birthday and she deserves a celebration whether big or small. The last time we were all together as a family with Kevin was on the Saturday before he passed away and we were all at his house celebrating her birthday so I am glad this year we have started celebrating again.

We had dinner at Lisa's and I made the cake - it was a great get together!

Pat with Ronin and Meghan

Work Conference 2011

June 9th - 2 years

Two years ago on June 9th Mike's brother passed away - I can't believe it has been two years. In one way it seems like yesterday and in another it seems like a lifetime ago.

I can honestly say there isn't a day that goes by that we don't think about him - his picture is on our fridge and Mike says every morning he will look at it. Ronin is going to be 3 in December and he is getting so big - Kevin would be soooo proud of him and the wonderful job Kerith is doing in raising him.

I sometimes think about the fact that Kevin will never get to meet Mhyia - he knew all the years of heartache we went through and how we were so excited about her and how the kids would play together etc.. Mike use to say how he was excited that they would both have young kids at the same time and we could all do family things together - that will unfortunately never happen now. We of course will all do family things together but it always feels like something (someone) is missing.

The grief is always there to some extent and it will take a long time to try and heal from the loss of someone we loved so dearly. We miss you Kevin xoxo

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!