We’re Back from B.C. December 31, 2007

What a trip to visit my sister! One of our kids had the flu on the way down and another on the way home. It made for an interesting car ride, but we survived and actually had a great time! It was so good to connect again and have the kids all play together.

On the adoption front, we are still waiting for paperwork from foreign affairs. It is taking longer due to the Christmas holidays and we’re o.k. with that. We hope to see movement on the package this week though. I would be disappointed if it didn’t get done this week. BUT, as I remind myself, worrying doesn’t translate to the government workers who have our papers! To them, it’s just work. To us, it’s a step closer to bringing our kids home.

There’s been a lot of talk about the new bill that will “help” adoptive families bring home their kids sooner by making them citizens right away. We are hoping that it does in fact speed things up, but won’t know until people start testing the system. Our agency doesn’t think that much of a difference will be made. Others are hopeful that maybe three months would be gained by this new process. Obviously all adoptive parents want  the three months. The less time our children spend in institutionalized care, the better. Hopefully the government understands this as well and the changes really do translate into a positive change, not just a new system that takes just as long.  We are anxiously watching and waiting to see what happens for the first families who are testing right now.

Other than that, we are just doing the regular! We have an Ethiopian adoption group meeting coming up (this time in Winkler, MB which is not our usual) and our whole family always looks forward to these! It’s a monthly meeting and it really allows us to notch months off our wait each time we meet. It’s also been such a blessing to be in a group with others who understand not only the process, but the feelings and reactions associated with adoption. I really didn’t expect how I would feel about others reactions and comments and how much that would play into my feelings during the process.

Tonight is New Year’s and we’re off to a murder mystery party! It should be a blast. All the kids are meeting at our house for their own party. It works out wonderfully since both parties are within four houses of each other! We can run back and forth if need be. I’m in charge of kids pizza buns which are almost done!

update December 19, 2007

Well no news yet from the foreign embassy, but it is the week before Christmas! I was really hoping it would get done this week, but I’m not feeling too anxious (I’m only tracking the package twice a day which for me is very relaxed!).

We’re too busy getting ready to drive to B.C. to visit my sister and her wonderful kids. It’s going to be a long drive… really long… but totally worth it! We are hitching a ride with my parents, so it’ll be a full van load! We hope to at least stop for a hug with Dave’s brother in Canmore on the way. It should be a great week of family fun. Part of that fun will be two days of skiing which I can’t partake in due to my surgery. Ugh!!! I love skiing, especially with my kids. Oh well, I’ll be the mom in the chalet who warms the kids and feeds them as they need it during the day!

On an adoption front, but not mine, I helped my friend Lisa sew some blankets for her daughter (picking up in January from Ethiopia) and some to leave at the foster home. What a great day! It was so much fun talking about her daughter and dreaming about our little ones. I’m going to start making some blankets to take with us when we go as well now! What a great idea!

Well it may be quiet on this front until new years when we get home. Hopefully my next post can say our file is on it’s way to Ethiopia!

Another Milestone! December 13, 2007

Hey everyone, I know it’s been awhile since I updated. Sorry. Life is hectic. During the absence I managed to get myself checked into the hospital one week and have surgery the next. Intense!

Back to why you’re all here; the adoption! Our paperwork was approved by the province of Manitoba this week!! It’s now on it’s way to the Foreign Embassy in Ottawa for their approval. We are told this usually takes about two weeks, but they are not sure about ours since it is so close to Christmas. I’m hoping it gets there and they quickly get it done so that it’s not sitting on their desk when they get back. At least that’s the kind of person I am – get that desk cleared off!

We are also very excited for friends of ours from church who just received their travel date!!! They are on their way at the end of January to pick up their darling daughter. We are very excited for them. It’s been a long road and they finally see the light at the end.

Our Ethiopia group is meeting this Friday and I really hope to be feeling well enough to join them as a family. Our kids are very excited. They figured out the other day that if we count by “Ethiopia night” meetings (once a month) it would make our adoption seem faster! Well right now we’re sitting at … let’s see maybe 18 meetings to go? That doesn’t help right now unfortunately. Perhaps nearer to the end my sweet children.

That’s about it. Now I can have the fun of tracking my dossier across the country as it travels. I’m not sure if it’s a good thing. I’m staring at the computer waiting and willing an e-mail to show up saying it’s moving anywhere! Pathetic. Fortunately I can’t do that all day. I really need to lie down and help my recovery speed up! I’m not feeling as peppy as I had hoped and the pain isn’t as manageable  as I had hoped either. Bummer.

Thanks for “tuning in”!