Cancun!

Grant did a great job! The pictures from that previous post about my dream trip turned out to be identical to the pictures I took on our trip! The trip was fantastic! Husband and I had such a good time. Birthday getaways are really the way to go.  A friend gave me a ribbon that said "The Big 30" and so I wore that all day. People around the resort thought that it was pretty funny, or at least I think they did because I was getting a lot of funny looks that day! LOL      

We had such a great week. We did lots of things and some days we did nothing at all! We enjoyed our last vacation together as DINKs because next year we turn into DIOKs! HAHA

Smart Sparky

Grant just called and he got 91% on his final and an overall course mark of 90%! Way to go Sparky!!  You are the smartest electrician I know ... heeheehee

Ambush!

On Monday night Grant and I were out running errands when he pulled into a Starbucks and asked me to run inside and get him a latte.  Weird very weird, Grant usually runs into stores while I sit in the car.  So I needed a bit more coaxing to get out but I did.  When we got inside some of my girlfriends were waiting to wish me a Happy Birthday!

It was nice to visit with them and I got lots of great goodies for our trip and some things to warm me up when I get back to cold rainy Victoria!

Thanks girls! and Grant, no more secrets!!!

Cancun, Coronas, and Flakey!

Grant told me last Saturday (after 6 weeks of keep it secret) that we are going to Cancun!  I am so proud of him.  Keeping secrets is not easy and it looks like he has planned a great trip!  I'll post some pictures when we get back.

As of this morning, I am officially on vacation until next year! WooHoo!  I go back to work Jan. 2... Today that feels like a long time away.  Grant is writing his finally exam as I type this and he will be done and on vacation (or unemployed however you look at it) in an hour or two!

The last few months at work have been stressful for me, they've been training me in CT (formerly called CAT scan)  It's hard to learn all new stuff, new protocols, new equipment, new procedures.  The other thing I've been struggling with is starting IV's.  For a lot of the scans we used IV contrast and so as a technologist it's my job to start the IV's.  It's a tricky thing to learn but I think I finally have a handle on it.  I'm feeling very confident about it and it has lead me to some realizations about myself....

(Here comes the Flakey)

I am a believer in Reiki, healing energies, and the like.  I haven't trained in Reiki yet but it's on my list of things to do.  I have been told by a Reiki master that I have strong energy, and I'm excited about learning how to use it.  As an xray tech I have always had people comment on how gentle I am and how easy and painless I did their xrays.  The funny thing is that I am a perfectionist and so I always strive to get perfect images.  I have always prided myself in getting these perfect pictures without causing too much pain to my patients.  I get compliments from my patients on how easy the xrays were and compliments from doctors on how good my images are.  I have always thought that it's these healing energies that help me do this.

Now I have learned to start IVs.  For the first month I felt like I'd never get it. But in the last couple of weeks it's clicked.  My last few shifts I have had 7 patients compliment me.  One person who was terrified of needles told me it was the easiest needle they'd ever had, another patient told me no one can ever get a vein on her and was amazed that I got one on my first try.  Again, I know that this is not my skills, I haven't been doing it long enough to have "skills".  There are other forces helping me.   I don't usually pat myself on the back but I am very proud of myself.  My mother once told me "If you don't pat yourself on your back, no one will" 

2008 is going to be the year that I finally learn about these energies.  I have dreams about helping our baby relax on the plane ride home with Reiki.  I feel lucky that this energy has chosen me as a portal and I'm looking forward to learning how to help others with it.

Count down to Mystery Vacation!

I'm hoping that in 11 days this picture will be real and not just an image I made on my Mac.... Grant has planned a vacation for us in lieu of Christmas this year.  Last year we decided that instead of Christmas & my birthday (also Dec. 25) we would drop Christmas and just have my birthday.  It's a zero birthday and we thought that it deserved some celebration!  
I haven't had any say in the planning, Grant has done it all by himself.  It's been pretty hard for me because in our house I am the planner and Grant is the doer.  When I imagine a winter get away this is what comes to mind.  I'm hoping to spend a week in a bathing suit, sipping tropical rum drinks in the sand.

This is what Grant has in mind... A week in a snowsuit, sipping hot toddies knee deep in powder!  This sounds good too but not this trip.

So far I am enjoying not having the stress of Christmas upon me.  There are a lot of things about Christmas that I am missing though.  I'm already looking forward to next year!!!  We both felt that Christmas has gotten too big and too out of control.  We are going to keep note of what we are missing this year and then next year we will cut out all of the things that we didn't miss.  Other than one day in a car on a cross-Canada road trip Grant and I have never been out of Canada together.  We've only been on a plane together twice both times to London to visit my parents.  So this trip is going to be fun!  It doesn't seem quite real to me since I don't even know what time of day our flight leaves!  All I know is that James & Kristie are taking Qimik, our neighbours are feeding Sativa, we leave on Dec. 22, and it's a direct flight from Victoria.

I'm only going to pack sundresses and bikinis so if we end up somewhere snowy our first stop will have to be the mall!!!

(RED)

Grant and I wanted to have a decoration for our tree to commemorate this Christmas.  A "Baby's First Christmas" wouldn't work.  We decided that this Hallmark INSPI(RED) decoration was perfect!  Years from now we can tell our child that we bought it with them in mind.

What is (RED)?  I learned about it last fall while watching Oprah, Bono was on and talking about it.  (RED) was created by Bono and Bobby Shriver and raises awareness and money for the Global Fund.  They have teamed up with some of the worlds biggest labels to produce products made with (RED) label.  A percentage of the money made by the sales of these products goes to the Global Fund and that money helps woman & children living with HIV/AIDS in Africa. 

I like that (RED) is not a charity or a campaign it's an economic initiative and I think that it is going to change the way that the business world does things.  It was launched in the UK in March 2006 and since then more than $50 million have been given to the Global Fund.  It kicked off in North America in October 2006.  

What are the ( ) all about?  Well they are a symbol meaning embrace.   

I was shopping with a friend the other day and saw this little onsie at the GAP.  It was way to cute to pass up.  I'm hoping that our little one will fit in it but if they don't I know that I can find someone who will!!  I encourage you to buy (RED) is you have the chance.

  http://www.joinred.com

Little helper?

Thank you for all your supportive comments.  We are actually feeling pretty positive about the recent news for the time lines.  Although it may take us a lot longer than we had thought to bring our baby home it's nice to know ahead of time.  We are also very optimistic that the new legislation which comes into effect this month will change the time lines again.  We realize that it's going to take a few months to iron the bugs out but we think it's going to shorten the time between court and travel!  Also I look at the extended timeline as an opportunity to save more money.  Since we are planning on me taking the parental leave, it means I can work longer.  

Here are some pictures of my little helper.  Our cat, Sativa.

We just got a laptop and she's not quite sure what to think of it.  She likes to curl up in my lap and when I work on the PC that is usually where she is.  She also gives more licks than the average dog!!  I think that she is quite jealous of our laptop.  Here she's trying to talk me into putting it away so she can have her spot back!  It's not easy to type while a cat is licking your hand!

Waiting just got worse!

I've had some information lately that I thought I should pass along.  Our wait just got a whole lot longer ... Our hopes of April are long gone and now we are hoping that our baby will be here for next Christmas!  Yes, it really is that bad.

Everything seems to be shutting down for the month of December.  The High Commission in Nirobi is closing from Dec 15 to Jan 15.  This doesn't directly affect us since we are still waiting for our referral but it does mean that things are getting backed up which slows everybody down!  Our agency in Ontario is closing from Dec 21 to Jan 7.  So that means no information.

Also in my inbox this morning was a timeline update of expected wait times.  Here's a summary as it applies to us...

Referral time = 2 to 4 months

Court date = 2 to 3 months

Time of travel = up to 6 months

Total = 10 to 14 months

For those of you who are trying to count on your fingers here's what this means.  Our paperwork (dossier) went to Ethiopia on October 11, add a week to allow for the postman to get it there, and that means our waiting started on October 18.  

Referral time = December 18 to February 18

Court date = April 18 to May 18

Travel time = October 18

Total time = August 18 to December 18

When we started we were told that it was taking about a year from the start of paperwork until travel time.  We started our process around April 13 and that is why we've been expecting to be picking up our baby in April or May.  With the new timeline and all the delays we will be luck to be traveling next Christmas.  It also means that instead of bringing home the baby that we were planning to bring home we will likely be bringing home a toddler.

I should also mention that the High Commission has a summer closure of 2 months (Aug & Sept) that we were thinking we wouldn't get caught in because of the timing of our dossier being sent.  There is now a possibility that we will now get stuck in it!  And that would mean that we won't be traveling until 2009!

This has not been easy so far and looking ahead I'm thinking that it's not going to get any easier.  My hopes and wishes to be a Mum before I turn 30 are gone.  I can't believe it. 

Books

I have been trying my best to read books.  That's what us waiting parents are supposed to do, right?  Read and try to get a handle on what lies ahead of us.  My original plan had been to read a book and then post a book report here so that everyone could get an idea of what I'm reading and learning.  I haven't ruled that out yet, but the first book that I read was really really hard for me to get through.  The book did have a couple of interesting points but basically I found it really painful.  It might have been because it was written by an American single mother with 2 adopted Korean girls.  I think it was just to removed from our situation.  If I can manage to open it back up I will post a summary to it. 

The next book that I am trying to read seems a bit better.  I made it through 67 pages on Saturday.  Already I feel that I have taken more out of it than I did the whole of the other book.  I will do a book report of this one.  

These are both books that I have borrowed from the Adoptive Families Association of British Columbia or AFABC.  It has a lending library which is nice that I don't have to buy a ton of books.  I did however pick out some books on amazon.ca and they arrived this week!

"There is no me without you" by Melissa Fay Greene seems to be a cult classic amongst us EthioCanadian families.  It's written by a woman whom has adopted children from Ethiopia and it is about an Ethiopian lady.  It is the next book I plan on read, I've been cautioned to have a box of tissues close at hand.

"The Connected Child" by K. Purvis, D. Cross, and W. Lyons Sunshine is one I chose myself after reading a bit about it on amazon.  It is about building bonds with your adopted child as well as dealing with with learning or behavioral disorders and disciplining without making your child feel threatened. 

"my family, my journey A Memory Book" by Chronicle Books is THE book that I am the most excited about!  Parents of biological children will recognize it as a baby book.  It has been written specifically for adopted children and is amazing!  

This is where we are at now. Waiting.

This is what we are looking forward to.  I can't wait until the day when we can fill this page out!!

Snow & Fred Penner

I know for the vast majority of you snow is an integral part ofwinter.  However here on the west coast we are lucky to have a few flakes here and there.  Usually it is wet sloppy snow but sometimes we get blessed with soft light snow.  This morning we woke up to a blanket of snowy delight!

Grant had a job planned for this morning but couldn't do it due to the snow (Yeah for me!) So we bundled up and took the dogs to the lake.  (we were dog sitting, the extra dog isn't ours)  The lake was wonderful, I could have stayed there all day.  I LOVE SNOW!

But we couldn't spend all day there because Grant had a date with our nephew.  (Can you call it a date when it's two boys?) Grant took our nephew Ethan to see Fred Penner with some of our friends.  

They had a good time although they did have to leave early because Ethan was missing his momma.  However once they got outside the hall Ethan seemed better for Grant stopped by Dairy Queen for a sundae on the way home!  What a nice Uncle/Nephew afternoon!