YES TO CHANGE

Even thought I am not an american citizen i am so excited at the outcome of yesterdays election. It actually brought tears to my eyes when I was listening to Obama's speech. This not only means change for American's but change of the world, and the fact that the Americans voted in their first African American to run the county is a huge step for African American's everywhere. This change will have a direct impact on my son and how he sees the world. He truly can be anything he puts his mind to and Barack Obama proved it last night. Congrats to him and to all the citizens for electing change.

ARGHHHH 10 Pounds

What the heck is this about? I weighed myself yesterday and low and behold I have gained 10 lbs since this process began. I'm not pregnant, why would I be gaining wait you may ask. Well let see, since i'm not a millionaire and can't do as much retail therapy as I would like, i tend to do another kind of therapy....eating....not eating good stuff, that would be to simply...no eating junk food, all the time. I eat when I have a bad day, I eat when i'm nervous, I eat when I can't stand the wait anymore and so on. What will I look like in a year from now? I'm guessing alot bigger than I am now and still eating....lol

HELP ME STOP THIS GROWING MONSTER, any tips will do.

Things people say.

I copied this post from another adoptive parent (thanks Tammy) and felt it was important to share, as being educated on this subject is the only way people who aren't going thru it can somewhat understand...or at least be careful when they speak.

"When you haven't been through an experience that someone else has gone through or is going through you can't say to them that you really understand. The same thing goes for infertility or the process of adoption. If you haven't experienced it like I have, you truly can't understand what it has been like.

I've been thinking about a few things that have been said to me in the past 6 years where I just have either looked stunned or just had to inwardly shake my head in attempt to avoid exploding.
1. "Once you adopt you'll get pregnant."
*Yep-we've all heard that one before. You know what? Some people just can't get pregnant! It isn't possible and will never happen. Give it up already. I have!
*When you are adopting it doesn't matter if you can or cannot get pregnant at that point. Having an adopted child is the same thing as having a bio child!!! Treat it as such!

2. "You just haven't prayed hard enough."
*Yep, someone actually said that to me. It deserves no comment.

3. "How can someone just give their baby away?"
*Placing a child for adoption has involved months of thought, heartache and tears. A mother doesn't just willy nilly place her child for adoption. She makes the biggest sacrifice for her child so her child can have a better life. She isn't 'giving' it away. I have a tremendous amount of respect for birth moms...I love my birth mom already. I think about her ALL the time and I don't even know her.

This is one added by a fellow blogger and one I've heard MANY times over:
4. "You are lucky, at least you won't have to deal with getting pregnant and being fat."
*Yes, I am lucky! Being an adoptive parent is a true blessing and gift from God! (My response)*But I am getting fat! I'm gaining weight being depressed because I have no control over when I will have a baby. (My response)

Another from a fellow blogger:
5. 'Oh, you're adopting just like Madonna and Angelina Jolie.'*Yep, just like Madonna and Angelina Jolie. Only they don't have to remortgage their house just to finance the adoption. (My response: ok, I'm exaggerating...just a home equity loan...)

There have been other comments made that I just can't remember at the moment. I'm sure you have others. Please let me know and I'll add them to the list. It is important that we help others understand what type of comments help and which do not. Saying something 'thoughtful' versus the first thing that comes into your head."

Dinner out for my birthday

Last night my sister and her husband Pat joined Chris and I for dinner out to celebrate my birthday, we then went to my place and had a fun night of game playing. Here are pics for you to look at.

A quick kiss before we leave.

Happy after a wonderful meal

Pat (brother in law) enjoying an after dinner expresso.

me and my beautifl sister.

You're so close don't give up

The other day I was having one of those days, the 6 wk mark for approval came and went and I was a tad (to put it lightly) feeling down. So i'm reading a copy of Women's World, and I happen to read a side bar in the magazine, which I usually don't take the time to read. Here is what it said and I think it will be inspiring to many.

You're So Close---don't give up now!

Want Something with all your heart---yet still waiting for it to happen?
It's natural to start doubting whether it ever will, even to tell yourself that maybe it just wasn't meant to be.
But all that hard work and hope will pay off.
Happiness is your destiny.
And your dream could be just weeks, days or even minutes away from coming true!

It was just what I needed to boost my spirits that day. I hope it does the same for someone else out there.

Thank you all

Thank you all for the birthday wishes. I'm hoping I only have one more to go without my son. I hope you all had a great day. Here's a picture of my pumkins.

SURPRISE

To all who know me, you know that my birthday is tomorrow and every (I mean every) year I get an ice cream cake for my birthday. Well my parents are leaving town this weekend and weren't going to be around so we are celebrating it on Monday which is great. However this evening, just after Chris got home from work, my mom and dad showed up at my door with a surprise birthday cake for me, and of course it was my ice cream cake. They said it just wouldn't be the same if I get it next week. Here's a pic of the cake and of me with it. They sang me "Happy Birthday" we watched my TV interview I had this week and it was great. I just thought I would share it with you all as it really lifted my spirits. Thank you Mom and Dad. xoxox

6 Week mark

Tomorrow will be 6 wks that our dossier is in Ministry hands awaiting approval. I know I was told 6-8 wks but have seen many families receive their approval in 6 wks so I was hoping we would be in the 6 wk area as well. I worry that the dossier isn't even there, that for some reason it didn't make it there and we won't know until 8 wks as that is when my Case Worker will call for an update. I worry that it's taking that long due to issues the gov't may have about us. This approval will at least put my mind at ease that we "according to gov't standards" will be allowed to have a family. I know that the wait for the referral will be much harder and the wait for travel even worse but at this point i'm sitting here waiting for a gov't official to decide if we will be good parents. What will I do if they say no. The odds of that are rare I understand and there is nothing in the home study to suggest that we would be not approved but what if, what if, what if, is always in my mind. An approval will mean that, yes, I will still have to wait to expand our family with a little one, but at least I will know that the "out of our hands" decisions are done with.

I hope i'm not being selfish in this next statement, but I ask you all to please pray that we will receive our approval soon and that I can officially wear my "Expecting from Ethiopia" tshirt. I really don't mean to sound so discouraged I just want this hurdle over and done with. My birthday is this Friday and i've been wishing all month for that as a birthday gift, so maybe Friday will be the day.

thanks for listening.

Referrals

I would like to take a moment to congratulate all the new mommy and daddy's that received their referrals today. It's been a long time coming and here's hoping many more referrals come soon. My day seems so far away at this point it almost feel unattainable but I know someday it will be my day and today is their day, congrats again to all.

Help Support Breast Cancer

It's a simple and easy wait to help the fight against Breast Cancer. All you have to do is go to www.lookpink.com and use this site as your search engine for 30 days, you can use it forever but 30 days is all they ask. Everytime you do a search you will raise a penny towards Breast Cancer, it may not seem like much but if you think of all the searchs you can do in a day imagine the amount that can be raised by all of us. It's simply and free, however, remember to log in to your account before doing the searches as it won't count.

One more down, Hopefully only a few to go

Another week of waiting for the approval has come and gone. I know to some this waiting is nothing compared to the wait they have waited to see their childs face but I feel this wait is horrible, I feel like this wait is putting my adoption on hold. I'm not saying the wait in Ethiopia will be easier, but at least the end result will be a baby, it won't be a simple letter saying that the gov. of Ont. feels we are good enough people to be parents. I just want the red tape part to be over so that I can as well be officially expecting. How will I deal with the long wait for a referral, if I can't deal with the short wait, you may ask? Well i'm not sure but hopefully somewhat better than I'm dealing with this wait. The days and weeks are so sloooooowwwww. I just want Kaysen home. I know some have been waiting much longer, I just feel like i've been waiting 4 years to have a family and now I have to wait at least 1-2 more, it's just hard. I'm also turning 32 in 2 weeks and feel like i'm getting old and still don't have my family.....why? why? why? I know to most 32 is not old, but to me it's old to not have my family started. Sorry just a quick vent this morning to allow me to go on and wait the next few weeks.

Kaysen bedding set

My parents bought me the bedding and all accessories for Kaysen's nursery. Our theme is a baseball theme, we are both baseball fans and figured this is the only chance we may get to decorate his room with baseball as we can't guarantee he'll like sports later on, who knows what he'll be into when he gets bigger, he may prefer science or music or sponge bob...right? Anyways, here are some pictures. Thank you Mom and Dad Chris and I both love it. His quilt style bedding
The Hamper
Decortive wall hangings

We also have a valance, wall paper border, and a baseball mobile. We also bought some new flooring and a closet organizer for his closet. He will have the nicest room in the house. I can't wait to get started.

Chris Shopping

Chris has been keeping busy shopping for Kaysen lately. He says his part of the wardrobe is to buy sports stuff but he did manage one item to support africa. Here are some pictures. As also realized that I have yet to show you all some of my shopping items. I couldn't show you everything as it would take days but you can get the idea.

Congrats

I just wanted to say congratulations to the two families who received referrals yesterday. These two families have been waiting over a year for the referral of their child, which I think is a ridiculous waiting time. But they now have their referral and have renewed hope. Congratulations to the both of you.

Jake's injury

Hi All, i've been asked about the cone on Jakes head and because it was wordless wednesday I had to wait to explain. According to the vet it's a hot spot that wouldn't heal. A hot spot is a sore that dogs get if an area doesn't dry properly and then it gets aggrivated and the more the scratch the worse it gets. He has the wear the cone to allow it to heal, but he will be fine.
Thanks for your concerns,

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

6 Random facts about me.

I was tagged today by Rana to write 6 random facts about me on my blog. So here goes.

1. I am a Days of our Lives addict. I record it on a daily basis on my PVR and discuss it with my sister like it's our own life gossip. In fact, i'm watching it right now.

2. I am deadly afraid of heights and spiders. I'm good with spiders if they don't move but the second they start moving they turn into a giant monster and my heart races and I can't do anything to help myself. As for the height part, I'm lucky I can stand on my own two feet without being scared...lol

3. I had plastic surgery...i'll let you all guess on that one.

4. I love all musicals, and wish I could see plays more often. If you see a commercial about a musical movie coming out you can be sure i'll be in the theatres watching it and then it will be in my DVD library.

5. Chris and I are both the babies of the family with two older siblings, how two people who were always the babies can get along so well and have good balance i'm not sure but so far its worked amazingly.

6. I am the type of person that goes 110% when I get my mind on something. Whether it be the adoption, my career, a new hobby, moving out of town, whatever it is, once i've made a decision to do something I don't look back I just do it. For example, one week Chris and I were saying we would never move back, the next week, we decided it may be a good idea, the next week our house was sold and we had bought another in our home town the next we were getting jobs back home. I just don't like to dwell on something and second guess our decisions.


I must tag others so here it is, Jaclyn, Alicia, Tammy, Sebrina.

Have fun.

Please VOTE - Support Ethiopia Reads!

Ethiopia Reads founder Yohannes Gebregeorgis is one of the 10 finalists for CNN's Hero of the Year. You can vote for your choice of 'hero of the year' here: http://heroes.cnn.com/default.asp

The winner will receive $100,000 for their program!

Ethiopia Reads is a grassroots non profit/non government organization geared toward bringing literacy and literacy related resources to Ethiopia. Yohannes has started a lot of different projects including a mobile donkey library to get books to kids in poor rural areas- very cool!

Thanksgiving

What a great day. Yesterday we had a nice big turkey dinner at my mom's house. My brother and sister in law came home and we had a great day. At night it was so nice we got to sit outside by the fire. One of the few we had a chance to sit by this summer. and this morning we all went to out and took family pictures with a photographer, the weather was perfect and the colors were perfect. I will post some pics once I get them but for now i'll show you a few my mom took with her camera.

I hope you all had as nice a weekend as I did.

Dad and Chris by the fire.

6 month mark

Today marks the 6 month mark since we began this wonderful journey. Okay, at times not so wonderful but most days wonderful and the end result will be priceless. I received our translated marriage certificate today so that officially marks the last paper work we need...for now i'm sure.

Not much else going on here, the weather is amazing, we are having thanksgiving dinner this weekend, my brother and sister in law are coming down and we are doing a large family photo shoot on Sunday. Can't wait to show you all the great pics.

Have a great thanksgiving all.