61 MONTHS!

Today marks 61 months since our file was logged in with the CCAA - as always I really can't believe it. Although today I am not upset about it - yesterday the CCAA matched 14 days worth of families and that was VERY exciting!! It not a huge batch in terms of babies but we will take it and I LOVED marking 14 days of my calendar at work. Kimberly marched right over to my desk and made me mark them off as soon as I got in. We are "hoping" that we will have about 6-7 more months to go still?? Which seems like nothing really after this long. Mike actually called me at work and said "maybe we should paint the nursery?" - so cute - I LOVE that he is starting to get excited too!!

Our file as I said was sent to the CCAA and logged in there computer system 61 months ago and since then it has been sitting on a shelf - maybe in one of these pics?? who knows?





I have also been thinking about Mhyia alot lately - I have been thinking that she is probably born now and waiting for us in an orphanage - it upsets me that she will be there for months before we get her but we will make up for lost time once we have her in our arms. Of course I am hoping for the youngest baby possible and am hoping that if we do get a referral in March/April - I am hoping she would have a birthday of Aug/Sept or dare I even say October!! Only time will tell!

14 Days - in the September Batch

Well the last two months have been the wost batches EVER - in terms of RQ numbers they were 20 & 21 families (of course RQ families is only a fraction of the world total) but none the less brutally small months.

I got up on Wednesday morning and pulled up RQ as I do most mornings close to the end of the month and I saw July 28th!!! which was 14 days!!!! - in terms of RQ families it is 46 which is more in line with this year but it covered 14 days and I was soooooo excited!!

They are almost done July!! I can't believe that in approx 6-7 months (or possibly less?) we will be seeing our little baby girls face. It has been sooooo long and I still feel un-prepared and like its not real.

What this 14 day batch says to me is that they are not going to try to stretch out July to last until Dec (even if they skip a month) and that they (CCAA) will do a large number of days - both good news!!

ONLY 31 LID'S UNTIL US!!!!

Our first concrete project!

My Birthday!

Fantastic Fundraiser - Sep'tember 17th!

Visit with a friend!

One person's trash....

5 YEARS - since our file was logged in at the CCAA

I would NEVER have imagined I would ever type this post. When we started we were soooo excited and were told 9-12 months. In fact when we started in Jan 2006 people who were then receiving referrals had waited 7 months. I can remember the night they told us at Adopttalk that it could reach 18 months, I cried all the way home.

I am not going to lie - these 5 years have been very hard - during this time soooo much has happened..births, deaths, marriages, vacations, job changes etc... when I stop and think about it it is even harder. We have friends/family that have gotten married and have 2 kids now and yes we are STILL waiting. I think about how Mhyia's Uncle Kevin will never meet her and it makes me sad.

I think the hardest part is the fact that I have not yet gotten to a point where we can truly be excited - we are always cautious. It has always been so far away that we actually have tried not to talk about it too much. Although I want to talk about it - I want to be excited, I want to look at and buy some baby items without feeling silly or guilty. I want people to ask me how it is going and about the process etc... and I find that most people don't ask us ANYTHING and that is hard. I think the past couple of months we have finally started to get a bit excited, and although we are still cautious we are moving forward - we see a small light at the end of the tunnel.

I think about her everyday and I wonder if she is born yet, I think about the woman walking around who is pregnant with her and how this will be the hardest thing she will ever do yet in some strange way the best thing that will ever happen to us. I wonder where she will leave her and if she will leave a note, I think about how we will love her more than anything and try to give her everything yet her birth mom will never know where she is or who she is with. I think about that day we will receive her referral and how I pray she will be as young as possible, and at the very least have her here before her 1st birthday.

We can't wait to go to China, we think about it all the time, we can't wait to meet her, we can't wait to go back to our hotel room with her and hang out just the three of us, we can't wait to be home with her and get on with our lives as a family of three!

So today although in one way sad in another way it is exciting because we are always one day closer to her and to be honest as much as this wait has been the worst thing EVER I feel like the timing is now perfect and we are soooo ready for her!!

New Bed - KING - YAHOO!!!!!

After 10 years we are FINALLY getting a new mattress - YAHOO!! I don't know why we just don't like to spend money on things we literally use everyday. So we finally bit the bullet and went out to get one - then the dilemma became Queen or King??

We currently have a Queen and it is fine but oh how we have always said we would love a King - the only problem is if we go to a King we need a new bed, sheets, comforter etc... but we decided to go with it!! Also with Mhyia coming there will be that little bit of extra room to sit and watch Saturday morning cartoons!!

We also bought a new bed frame which is a 4 poster black bed - LOVE it!!! Can't wait - 2 weeks!

Furniture makeover for Mhyia

Happy Birthday to my hubby - Aug 17th!!

Mhyia's closet

I am not exactly sure when I will do Mhyias room but I knew that before anything I wanted to cut the closet opening to make it wider. The closet itself isn't a bad size but the 1 door opening was ridiculous.

I am surprised by the amount of people with August lid's that have their nurseries started and even finished - I was planning on maybe starting it in the Fall/Winter but I thought I would do the closet while on vacation this summer. To be honest now that we have done the closet I just want to keep going and do it all!!! I need to start by cleaning out the room, up to this point we have used this room as kind of an extra large closet. After that is done I can start painting - hopefully this Fall.

So far this is what we have done with the closet!!

Before:

Mid Construction:After:

59 month LID anniversary

Today marks 59 months since our file was logged in in China with the CCAA - next month will be 5 years! To be honest there really isn't much to say other than that!

Citizenship papers acknowledged

Earlier this June Mike sent off our paperwork to Citizenship Canada to start the process for Mhyia - we received a confirmation letter from them on July 12th stating that they received our application and that it would take approx 20 weeks to complete (from June 28th). Wow the government works quickly and efficiently...LOL

Going to be an Aunt and Uncle again

Well Mike and I are going to be an Aunt and Uncle again!! Mike's sister Amy is pregnant with their second child!!

Meghan will be a big sister which should be cute and hilarious knowing Megs - Amy is Due February 2012 - we can't wait!! Another little baby to love!

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!!