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!

We have CARSEATS!!!

Last Friday Mike picked up both our carseats which was very exciting!! Especially since the CCAA didn't send any referrals out - it helped to keep us in a good mood LOL.

We tried them both out in our vehicles and loved them - I got the Britax Marathon 65 - Onyx which I love and it fits very nicely rear and forward facing. I had tried others like the Diono etc... but they were way too long and the passenger seat had to be pushed too far to the front. My vehicle is the pone we dive at night and on the weekends so we needed something that allowed us to be comfortable in the front too!!

Mike got the Safety First Complete Air 65 LX Mike really liked this one!! Although rear facing in his car does push the passenger seat right to the front it isn't really a big deal - Mike would only be using his car for daycare pickups, Daddy/Daughter days etc.. and once it is forward facing it is fine!!

It was so exciting to actually put the seats in our cars and try them out - I can't believe it is almost here. We are both getting VERY impatient now and of course China is taking their sweet time.

"Organizing Paperwork"

Well it is official - the CCAA are "organizing paperwork" which means they "could" be and hopefully are working on matching us right now!!!

Last month the "organizing paperwork" report came out on a Wednesday(15th) and then on the Friday(17th) it was reported that referrals were sent and that the CCAA had done up to and including Aug 21st.

I am REALLY hoping it happens that way again this month - that would mean we could hear something Friday! If nothing else it would be nice to hear how far they have gotten this month. Also I am REALLY REALLY hoping we are included this month! If not it will be next month for sure but we are hoping its this month.

Shouldn't be too long now!

Registered this weekend...soooo much fun!!

Well this weekend we registered for some baby items! We registered at Babies R us and at Springys Totte Shoppe - it was so much fun!!

Mike wasn't big on going, he said it doesn't matter what I pick or what cups I like and I understand that - to be honest I knew it would be better to go without him. So my sister-in-law Tiffany and my cousin Darlene and Lexi came. Saturday we headed to London to the big new Babies R us, to be honest there isn't alot of stuff we need, we have alot of blankets, sheets, clothes etc... but it is amazing how after looking around there are so many things you realize you need or will need soon!

On Sunday Mike and I went to Springy's, it is a store in Hamilton that has been in business for over 50 years and the people are sooooo nice that own it. It has some stuff that we really like that you can't get elsewhere and we love to support them! It was fun and Mike had a good time. The small store kept his attention for long enough LOL!!

I can't believe we are actually registered for baby items - it is so strange. I feel sometimes like I am not as excited as I think I should be? I don't know if it is just that I am guarded still and am not allowing myself to get too excited yet or that it has just been too long that we have been thinking/preparing for this and it has lost the excitement factor?? I find it kind of sad at times - I feel like I should be more excited?? I think what we/I need is a referral!!! I think once that referral comes it will be different - then the panic will set in LOL!!

Love this little funky brown dog - I had ever seen it before...sooooo cute!!!

Tiff loves this ball popper! I do to for the memories it brings but not for the noise it makes LOL

March 1st...could it be???

Could it be this month?? After 66 months - Yes that's right 66 months!!! Could March be our month??

For the first time I don't know what I think about what the CCAA will do next. Even RQ is saying she just doesn't know what to think anymore? Last month the CCAA only did 6 days which was the equivalent of 12 RQ families - if they did 12 families again (which is a pathetic number) then we would be included but that would be 8 days so will they do that many days??

Only time will tell!!!

2000 Days - February 19th, 2012

February 19th marks 2,000 days since our file was logged in a computer in China! I can't really even believe we have waited this long - if you had told me it would be this long when I started I probably would have never signed up.

Fast forward 2,000 days and I am glad we signed up, glad we have stuck it out, the timing seems to be great and we are sooooo happy we are almost done!!!

This is where our file has been sitting for the last 2,000 days!!

February referrals...

Referrals came out February 17th, 2012

Well it was a very emotional crazy month for us on many levels but one was the impending referrals. The CCAA had done up to and including August 15th in January so that meant we were officially 14days away from referral. Now normally I wouldn't have given it a second thought but since there is no one logged in with the CCAA (according to the RQ polls) between Aug 19-27th we thought there may be a small, very small chance we could have made it in?? I personally was giving it a 2% chance but it is amazing how as you get close that 2% gets the better of you

I know China "could" have gotten to us this month technically but I never thought they would do 14 days worth - and I was right. The only did up to and including Aug 21st. I was a little more than disappointed with this - I was thinking they would split the empty days in the middle and then hopefully finish August in March but now I am not sure??

I was REALLY thinking it would be March but it was kind of a kick in the stomach when I saw the 21st - I mean in terms of RQ families it is the worst batch EVER (not that doing those couple of more days would have made a difference in that area) I just don't know if they will do 8 days next time??

On a good note - we are less than 10 LID's away from referral!! OMG single digits!!!

My mom

My mom....were do I start? She is amazing and means the world to me!! We have had a bit of a scare with her over the last couple of months - I won't go in to a huge amount of detail but I do want to at least acknowledge it here. It is the life we are living on "our journey to Mhyia" and it is important.

In November after a series of tests etc.. she was diagnosed with colon cancer - we were all shocked, including the Doctors!! They never expected it to come back showing cancer. We of course were very upset and extremely worried and even though you feel like things are going to work out it is always in the back of your mind "what if it doesn't".

Thankfully they found a very small percentage of cancer and we were very hopeful that when they went in to remove the pc of bowel that they would have already gotten it all or that they would definitely get it all then. Two weeks ago she went in for her surgery to remove the pc - the surgery went well and although the recovery has been hard at times it does seem to get a little better everyday.

My Dad and I picked my mom up from the hospital 4 days after her surgery to bring her home. I know she was soooooo THANKFUL to be home in her own house. I stayed with her and helped her get showered and settled in, I even blow dried her hair! Like I said I know she was just sooo thankful to be back in her own house and it was so nice to be there with her during this time!

My mom is ALWAYS there for me and it is nice to be able to feel like you are able to repay some of that unconditional love that I feel everyday! Now we wait, we wait for the test results to come back - we are hoping they will have them this week when she see's the Doctor. The Doctor did say to us after surgery that from what he could see things looked good but he can't say anything for sure until we get those results. I just pray that everything is going to come back clear!!

UPDATE (Feb 16th): The results are in and everything is clear!!!!! Thank God!!!! She still has quite a few weeks of recovery ahead of her but thankfully the news was good!! I literally started bawling at my desk and I had to tell my friends - no worries - they are happy tears!!

I am just so happy and so thankful that things look good, it has been a very stressful couple of months!!

Mom I am sooooo happy and so Thankful - you rest up now because in a couple of months we are going to have a new little family member with lots of energy!! Love you xo

Our new nephew!!

Mike's sister had her second child - a baby boy!! Meghan now has a baby brother. He weighed in at 10lbs 3oz - soooooo cute and kissable!!!

I am also so excited that there are still some little ones in our family - it will be so nice for Mhyia to have so many cousins around her age to play with!!

Mom and baby are doing well and Uncle Mike and I can not wait to go kiss and hug him!!! Here are a couple of pics - sorry not great quality pics - they are from my ipod!!

Valentines Day!

We never make too big of a deal about Valentines Day. It is just another day pretty much! We do usually always get each other a card and sometimes we will go out for dinner.

This year Mike had a meeting that night which I wasn't overly happy about but I decided to clean out the pantry and let me tell you it was one of the best Valentine's Days yet LOL - I love getting organized!! I wanted to clear out 1 - 2 shelves for us to put Mhyia's stuff (bottles, plates, snacks etc..) Mission accomplished!!

This is the card (home made I might add) and yes in case you are wondering Mike did the lettering on his own, freehand!! Pretty good! He also had some sour keys (my fav) wrapped up!!

The crib is up, the stroller is assembled and the diaper bag is ready!!

Well the last couple of weeks we have got quite a few things done. I am not completely don the nursery but as soon as I am I will post some pics. It was very exciting to get the crib up and now we also have our stroller and the diaper bag!!

I am feeling like even though we have so much done we have SOOOOOO much to do. I just really want to try to get so many things done around here before we go to China. I don't want to come home to a list of things we need to finish or get. When we get home I just want to concentrate on us for the first little while!!

Our next purchase/must have is a carseat - as soon as we have our referral we will have to make a decision as to which one we want so stay tuned!!

here is one quick pic from the ipod of the stroller!!

Diaper Bag and a Stroller all in one day!!

A local baby store was having their once a year Anniversary sale which was 20% off everything in the store. I had been in earlier in the week and decided that I was going to order my diaper bag on Saturday - they said I could get the 20% off online as well. I thought I heard a salesperson say everything was on sale except strollers and car seats?

I had every intention of ordering my diaper bag on line and leaving it at that - I woke up at 6:30am and was too excited and couldn't get back to sleep so I decided to go online. I found my diaper bag and was about to place the order until I started reading their return policy etc... and I just decided for some reason it might be easier for me to go to the store and order it there with the help of the salespeople. I called my mom and of course she said she would go which was so great (I hate shopping by myself).

When we got to the store OMG there was a line up completely down one side and half way up the other - I wasn't too concerned because I was most concern with getting some questions answered and then potentially just ordering online. As I looked around I came across the stroller we like (Baby Jogger City Select) and I was showing my mom - I asked the lady if these were on sale (I didn't think they were) and she said "yes" but in store only - I asked how much they were as I was pretty sure they were already on sale for $50 off - the lady said they were that price plus and extra 20%!!!! That equals almost $160 off and I have NEVER seen it that low anywhere. I was a little nervous but I went for it! After waiting approx 1hr and 30min my diaper bag was ordered and so was the stroller - sooooo excited to get them both - they said hopefully they will both be in this week!

All in all it was a very successful day with some good sales!!

Here is my diaper bag - I think I have seen 100's of diaper bags and this is the onle I like best! It is the Oioi Black Floral Messenger;

And here is our stroller - I just can't wait to put her in it!!

Gung Hei Fat Choy – Year of the Dragon!

Happy Chinese New Year to all our friends and family and to our baby girl who is somewhere in China – it won’t be too much longer and mommy and daddy will be coming to get you!

Year of the Dragon is known for being one of the luckiest years and we are hoping this proves to be true for us!

We have some big changes coming in our lives and we cannot wait!!

I read this article on the some of the history etc.. and found it quite interesting so I decided to re-post it here! Enjoy…

"Gung Hei Fat Choy" That’s the traditional Chinese New Year greeting that means “wishing you prosperity” in Mandarin. The first day of the Chinese New Year – which begins at midnight on January 23, 2012 – is the most important of Chinese holidays, celebrated by billions in China, and by millions of ethnic Chinese around the world. It’s a celebration that lasts for 15 days, culminating with the Lantern Festival. Each year is associated with one of twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac. For 2012, it’s the Year of the Dragon.

There are several variations on the mythology behind Chinese New Year celebrations. Most are based on a ugly bloodthirsty monster named Nian that would emerge on the last night of each year to destroy villages and eat people. A wise elder advised villagers to scare the monster away with loud noises. That night, they set fire to bamboo, lit fireworks, and banged their drums. The monster, afraid of the loud noises and lights, ran away to hide in its cave. In another version of the myth, an old man persuaded Nian to turn its wrath on other monsters, not the villagers. Before he was seen riding away on Nian, the old man, actually a god, advised the people to hang red paper decorations in their homes and set off firecrackers on the last night of the year to keep Nian away. On the first day of the new year, the villagers celebrated, greeting each other with the words “Guo Nian” which means “survive the Nian”, a tradition that has continued to this day to mean “celebrate the new year.”

Chinese New Year celebrations traditionally lasts 15 days, from the first day (during a new moon) to the 15th day (a full moon). Each day holds a special significance that varies according to local traditions. But first, before the arrival of the new year, homes are thoroughly cleaned to sweep away ill fortune, and to welcome good luck. On new year’s eve, there are family gatherings to celebrate and enjoy sumptuous traditional feasts, and to greet the new year with fireworks at midnight.

The celebration culminates on the 15th day with the Lantern festival; on this night of the full moon, families mingle in the streets carrying lighted lanterns, often creating a beautiful light display.
The Chinese New Year for 2012 will be celebrated on 23 January. It’s the most important of Chinese holidays, celebrated by billions of people across the world. Festivities traditionally last for 15 days to culminate with the Lantern Festival. This calendar is based on a complex lunisolar calendar system that uses both lunar and solar cycles to mark time. As a result, Chinese New Year falls on different dates each year, between January 21 and February 21 of the conventional Gregorian calendar. Each Chinese lunar year is associated with one of twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac. For 2012, it’s the Year of the Dragon.

Mike and I didn't have anything planned this year for Chinese New Year but when he came home from the gym he brought this little surprise!! These were the best chicken balls we have ever had - form a little local restaurant - why haven't we tried them sooner!!!!