TOMORROW, TOMORROW, I Love Ya’, TOMORROW…

You’re only a day away!!!




So…TOMORROW is the day!!!! The day we finally get to know who “Maggie” really is!

I am feeling less anxious tonight than I was yesterday. Just knowing that tomorrow is THE day has relieved some of my stress.

Today was tough until I finally got a hold of our Children’s Services office and got to speak to someone…at 3:45!!!!! ARRRHH

Why are they never at their desk or just never pick up the phone whenever I call??!!??!!

Apparently the lady that reviews the files was in meetings for 2 days and only got back to the office after lunch today…blah, blah, blah!! So she told me she would review our file and call me tomorrow.

“Maggie”,

Hold on tight little one, tomorrow Mommy & Daddy will finally get to know who & where you are. We are both over the moon with excitement and anticipation. Tomorrow is going to be the first step to “us”…the 3 of us…forever. My heart beats fast whenever I think about what tomorrow is going to be like. Your Daddy & I have waited so long for this life-changing day.
Love you forever and always,

Your Momma xoxoxo

NO CALL TODAY :(

I sat on pins & needles all day at work trying to will the phone to ring but every time it rang it was not the call I was waiting for. I almost had a heart attack every time it did ring though, lol!

This is a picture of me yesterday:


















This was me today:


















I sent 2 emails to our local Children’s Services today and did not get a reply to either one! Tomorrow I will be phoning them and will keep doing so until I finally get to talk to someone that can give me some sort of information…even if it is to tell me they are still working on it. At least that would be something!

Here is a picture of the set up we have in our office to record the moment the call comes! I will have still pictures (taken by Donna, seen in picture) and video (compliments of Mary’s webcam).


















We are so very blessed to have some of the most wonderful, caring friends. ♥ The comments are so amazing that everyone has been leaving on my blog & Face*book. ♥ Your support and encouragement during all of our stressful days has been nothing short of amazing!! ♥



Tonight I am starting to go over the immigration paperwork to keep my mind busy. And boy is it working!!! There is so much information and photocopies required it is crazy!!! Wow…I had no idea!

My Mom & Larry went for their first shot of Twin*rix today. There are pictures but they are on my Mom’s camera so I will post the pictures another time. I am waiting until we get the call and I have some information to tell our doctor about “Maggie” before I go…which will hopefully be this week!!!!!

My next question to all of you…how much do the Twin*rix shots hurt?????
I want to be prepared. My friend Mary is going with me to talk me through it so hopefully it won’t be too bad. Ugh, I hate needles!

Oh well, I will do it because I LOVE my “Maggie” and will do whatever it takes to bring her home!

Please keep us in your thoughts & prayers as we wait for the most amazing call of our lives! Every thought, prayer, good vibe or whatever is very much appreciated!!!!!!!

~ Don't forget to read the post below and submit your guess for "Maggie's" age, special need, and province. ~ If you haven't done it yet come on…make your guess now!!!

Emotional Overload!

So as most of you know we were not in the last batch of referrals...

BUT…

Yesterday I received a message from Cathy at Children’s Bridge that she was looking for a copy of our provincial approval. (I was planning on sending this to her once we had a new one completed to amended the level/degree for cleft palate.) She insisted that she needed this right away for our file because she could not send out any referrals without a copy of this. She also said, “we have received more referrals” … So I called her back right away to let her know that I hadn’t sent the copy of our first provincial approval because we were in the process of completing an amended to it which I was planning on sending to them once it was finished. Of course she was not at her desk, so after calling MANY times in the end had to leave a message for her to call me back.

Today around 11:30am my phone rang and the call display said Children’s Bridge…this is when my day took the wildest turn ever!!!!!!!!!!

I told her why she didn’t already have a copy of the letter and she said it should be all right and for me to just fax her a copy of the first one we had done. She then said again, “as I’m sure you know, we have received more referrals”. She also told me that because we live out of the province of Ontario, our provincial Children’s Services would have to be the ones to call with our referral news. At the end of the call she said, “because of provincial rules I can not say much but I think by the end of the day you will have some GREAT news”. Cathy finished the call by saying she would make some phone calls to our social worker and our local Children’s Services and call me back this afternoon.

Insert here: shaking hands, the in-ability to speak, and TEARS…LOTS of tears!!!!!!

So after my mini meltdown I dug out the approval letter and faxed it her and then called Larry. He was excited but still a little in disbelief that it is really going to happen.

Not knowing what the next phone call later in the day would bring I gave my camera to my co-worker/friend, Donna, so she could take pictures of me getting the call. Another co-worker/friend, Mary, brought her personal laptop in to my office and set it up so I could record the phone call with her webcam. Everything was ready…

So I kind of fumbled through the next couple hours and at approx. 2:30 Cathy called to let me know she was in touch with our social worker and NS Children’s Services and the wheels are in motion!!!!!! So tomorrow we will set up the cameras and webcams again to try to capture a special moment...guess we will just have to wait and see!!!

I feel like I am caught in an emotional storm!!!


This journey has been LONG but during the next few days a miracle WILL happen!!!!!! ♥
_______________________________________________________________________



WHAT'S YOUR GUESS??

Lets have some fun while we wait…

Our age request was:
A girl under the age of 2 at referral

Our special needs we listed were:
Clubfoot
Cleft Palate/Cleft Lip
Missing/Additional Digits
Minor Correctable Heart Defect (VSD)



Here are your questions. Please leave your guesses in the comments below.

1. How old will she be?
2. What will her special need be?
3. What province is she living in?

Who will be closest in their guesses?

Here I sit…head spinning and time ticking!

Last week I made a phone call to my agency, just for some random questions … low and behold, part way through our conversation she says, “ oh by the way we received our special needs files for this summer”

WHAT!!??

I had no idea; I thought they weren’t arriving until later in the summer.


There are 11 families waiting on the active SN list with our agency and we are #6 on the list.

Now for a little Q & A:

Q - Are we close?
A - YES

Q - Is our referral in this batch of files?
A - POSSIBLY

Q - When will we know?
A - YOUR GUESS IS AS GOOD AS MINE!

All I do know right now is that our little girl’s picture could be sitting on someone’s desk in Ontario as her crucial information is translated from Chinese to English.

Q - Are we “ready”?
A - UMMM…GOOD QUESTION!!

You would think after all these years I could confidently answer this question with a resounding “YES”, but for some reason now that we can see the light I am in a state of shock & panic! Every time I think about it I get butterflies in my stomach. I’m not sure if it is because it is getting close or because I am trying to guard my heart because of the unknown. As most of you know the adoption world is ever changing…you just never know when the rollercoaster could jump the tracks and get thrown off course!

But seriously…“Are we ready?”…Well, there is still a lot of preparation & paperwork to do, appointments and arrangements to be made, and a nursery to finish…but YES, YES, YES, in our heart of hearts we are more than ready for every single precious moment to come!!! Along with many friends & family!


_____________________________________________________________________

It seems I can go from a very boring, ho-hum life to a crazy hectic one with the snap of a finger. Along with all of the referral excitement I am also trying to complete the second part of the payroll course I was working on before. I am trying to get through chapter 4 and all of the assignments, essays and quizzes that go along with it before Wednesday because on the weekend I will be doing the mid-term exam. I also have 4 appointments this week after work and will be starting the immigration paperwork for “Maggie”. I would also like to fit in some time for exercise, eating and bathing sometime during this hectic week, lol!!!

How will I ever find enough hours in the day when Maggie gets here!?!?

Now back to studying...time is ticking away…

Mother's Day & Emotions

Today is Mother’s Day, a time to celebrate all the wonderful Mom’s out there!!!



Today I celebrate my Mom,
she has always been,
my encourager,
my defender,
my teacher,
my supporter,
and above all…
my friend!

Happy Mother’s Day to you Mom, one of the strongest women I know!!
Love you! xoxo

Make a Smilebox greeting

This is the first year that I feel really emotional about this day. The last few years for me it all seemed surreal, that one day I would actually be a Mom. I was hoping for it to happen, and happen fast but so many obsticals have slowed our process that it just seemed like a dream.

Today I received my second “Mommy-to-be” Mother’s Day card for this year. The thought came to my head that this is probably the last Mother’s Day I will spend without my little Maggie here. Then the realization hit that she IS alive somewhere in China right now…and is probably no longer with her birth mom.

So, today my heart is a bit heavy with the thoughts of Maggie and her birthmom and the sacrifices that were made.

Maggie, my little princess, this is the last Mother’s Day you will spend without a Mommy. I am praying to see your precious face soon and long for the day I finally hold you in my arms, until then I will pray for peace and comfort for you and your birthmom.









(If you click on this graphic it will open up larger so you can read it. Then just click the back arrow to return to this page.)











Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother.
- Lin Yutang

Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother.
- Oprah Winfrey

Easter Greetings!!

Happy Easter to all of you!
















I hope the bunny finds you & you all enjoy a nice day with friends & family!

Time For Another HS Update

Well the course I was taking has ended, YAY!!!!!!

After a lot of stressing & studying I passed my final exam with a 90%. I’m glad the course is over for now but we start the second part on April 20th, so we get a break but not for very long.

_________________________________________________________

Larry & I go to Halifax tomorrow to amend our homestudy and submit the list of special needs we feel comfortable, capable and have the resources to deal with. Then we wait for approval from the Nova Scotia Government.

It feels like it is taking forever to get to this point. Hopefully we will receive our referral in the next batch, possibly August or somewhere around there. I am excited and scared all at the same time.

Birthday Bowling Break!

This weekend I took a little break on Saturday from the studying to go out for my birthday. My birthday is not until next weekend but I will need the whole weekend to study for my exam on Monday March 30. So we thought a break on Saturday for some fun would be a good idea. I had a wonderful evening with lots of fun, friends and laughter. We started the evening with some bowling and then headed home for a game of Cran*ium and a few snacks & beverages. Lisa & Jeff spent the night at our house so we finished off the evening with some games of w*ii … and finally caught some shuteye around 4pm!!





I had a wonderful evening and love all the thoughtful gifts from my friends. Thanks so much to all of you!! xoxox

PARENT - Job Description

~ A friend sent this to me and I thought it was cute enough to share. ~

POSITION :

Mom, Mommy, Mama, Ma
Dad, Daddy, Dada, Pa, Pop

JOB DESCRIPTION :

Long term, team players needed, for challenging,
permanent work in an often chaotic environment.
Candidates must possess excellent communication
and organizational skills and be willing to work
variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends
and frequent 24 hour shifts on call.
Some overnight travel required,
including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends
and endless sports tournaments in far away cities!
Travel expenses not reimbursed.
Extensive courier duties also required.

RESPONSIBILITIES :

The rest of your life.
Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily,
until someone needs $5.
Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly.
Also, must possess the physical stamina

of a pack mule and be able to go from zero

to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case,

this time, the screams from the backyard

are not someone just crying wolf.
Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges,

such as small gadget repair, mysterious ugly sluggish toilets

and stuck zippers.
Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and
coordinate production of multiple homework projects.
Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings
for clients of all ages and mental outlooks.
Must be a willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next.
Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a
half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices.
Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.
Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product.
Responsibilities also include floor maintenance

and janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION :

None.
Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills,
so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE :

None required unfortunately.
On-the-job training offered on a continually

exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION :

Get this! You pay them!
Offering frequent raises and bonuses.
A balloon payment i s due when they turn 18 because
of the assumption that college will help them
become financially independent.
When you die, you give them whatever is left.
The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that
you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

BENEFITS :

While no health or dental insurance, no pension,
no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and
no stock options are offered;
this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth,

unconditional love, and free hugs and kisses for life ...

if you play your cards right.

** AND A FOOTNOTE, THERE IS NO RETIREMENT -- EVER!!! **

Larry & I sent our “resume's” in over 2 years ago … we can’t wait to get the call & be accepted for these positions!!!

Have You Flapped Your Jack* Today?

· In Canada, the United States, and South Africa, flapjack is another term for a thin pancake that is not only crispy, but slightly chewy as well. A largely defining attribute of a flapjack is its large diameter, commonly measuring 12" (30 cm) or more.

Today is Shrove Tuesday* (pancake day), yum!! I will indulge any holiday that includes food … especially PANCAKES!

One of my co-workers, Danny (you may remember him from this post) brought all the ingredients to work for making pancakes from scratch … YES, I said SCRATCH! At lunchtime Danny went to work in the kitchen making tones of pancakes. Of course, once the aroma of pancakes wafted throughout the office the taste-testers began to arrive. We were treated to apple cinnamon pancakes and real maple syrup.

Thanks for the tasty treat for lunch today Dan!

After I left work I came home to make some more pancakes, lol!! Guess I just couldn’t get enough!

*Shrove Tuesday Traditions
Among Anglicans, Lutherans and other Protestant denominations, and among cultures in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, this day is also known as Pancake Tuesday, as it is customary to eat pancakes on this day.
Pancakes and doughnuts are associated with the day preceding Lent because they were a way to use up rich foodstuffs such as eggs, milk, and sugar, before the fasting season of the 40 days of Lent. The liturgical fasting emphasized eating plainer food and refraining from food that would give pleasure: In many cultures, this means no meat, dairy, or eggs.

Here is a good recipe for some Good Old Fashioned Pancakes.



INGREDIENTS
· 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (sifted)
· 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 1 tablespoon white sugar
· 1 1/4 cups milk (room temp.)
· 1 egg (room temp.)
· 3 tablespoons butter, melted (unsalted)
·
DIRECTIONS
1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot. Enjoy!