Funny Fridays.......

My kids never cease to amaze me. They are able to make me smile and laugh regardless of what may be going on.
Claire arrived home from Junior Kindergarten this afternoon, bubbly and excited to talk about her day.........

Claire: You know Mom, I'm going to be famous!

Mom: Really! I thought you wanted to own your own restaurant? (Note: Last week she wanted to be a singer on American Idol and the week before she wanted to be a doctor)

Claire: Well.....I could do both. Lots of famous people have restaurants.

Mom: Good point.

Claire: And you could come to my restaurant Mom....but I am going to have rules 'cause it's a really fancy restaurant.

Mom: what kinds of rules?

Claire: I'll have a sign that says "you have to keep your clothes on to come inside....especially your socks!" And if you want to order something, you can only talk to me in Spanish! (Hmmm...a Dora influence maybe)

Mom: I can't wait honey....and I promise I'll keep my socks on.

Kids......don't you just LOVE them.............


Coming soon...........Evan's new bedroom. Yes, it's time to move from the yellow nursery and toddler bed and create a truly "big boy" space. Pictures to follow soon.

It Makes a Mama Proud

At bedtime last night we were having problems convincing Evan that it was time to stop playing and time to go to bed. This is really nothing new, except that it seems he got the taste for staying up really late during our "mini holiday". As our frustration levels were rising (and we were getting no where), Claire (age 4) comes to the rescue....and this is the conversation that followed:

Claire: "Mom...Dad....I'll take care of it (meaning getting Evan into bed)
Claire (to Evan): I know you are feeling frustrated right now. I know how that feels. It makes your tummy hurt, right?
Evan: (stops yelling "no" and actually listens to Claire)
Claire (to Evan): I know we had fun playing together but now it's time for bed. We can play again in the morning, o.k.? I promise.........

Mommy pops into the room, scoops up a quiet Evan, brushes teeth and tucks him in! Wonders never cease!!
Adam and I were just so proud of our daughters maturity and ability to show empathy and compassion towards Evan. Wow! She could teach adults a few lessons!

Travel Adventures

To celebrate Valentines's Day we decided to take the kids away for the weekend. Not too far, mind you, as we needed to arrange "piggy sitting" for Wigglesworth, and Bailey needed to be dropped off at the "Puppy Spa" (aka Grampa and Grandma's house). We chose a very nice, full service resort that was about 2 hours away. It's true that you don't have to go far away to feel far away!
So with the "critters" taken care of we packed our bags.....all 8 of them....plus a potty seat....plus a little stool so Evan could stand to do his "wee wees"....plus ice skates.....snowpants....snack food......well, you get the idea. And we were off!!
My motives for the vacation, besides spending some uninterrupted time with my family was to give them some "practice" leading up to our travels to China next Spring. I am not so secretly petrified at the thought of taking 3 kids (soon to be 4) to China for 2 weeks. Don't get me wrong, we have really great kids....most of the time. But there are a few issues. Claire, gets motion sickness VERY easily and we spend most of our travels with the car windows open so she can have fresh air. Did I mention it was -20C this past weekend? Evan has a thing about only being able to (read: want) to sleep in his own bed. Of all the nights we were away he was the last one into bed (11 pm) and the first one to rise (6 am). He likes to stand in the playpen and yell COCK A DOODLE DOO at the crack of dawn until everyone gives up and gets up! Good grief! Alec, is a pretty good traveller....so thats one for our side!
My other intention this weekend was to let the kids experience "fine dining." They didn't really realize that some restaurants come with cloth napkins and wine glasses as opposed to a paper napkin dispenser and plastic cups with lids! Claire was hooked as soon as the waiter poured her orange juice in a wine glass at breakfast! She kept asking (in a rather loud voice) "who is MY waiter"!! Evan was mesmerized by "knives" and happily exclaimed that there was a knife "just my size"....it was a butter knife!
The kids swam, skated, tobogganned, played tennis, floor hockey. I managed to have some great meals...back to the gym this week.....and spend time away from the washing machine! The weekend was declared a SUCCESS!!

Happy Valentines Day!

The kids were so excited to wake up this morning and discover the "Valentine Cupid" had left them each a bag with presents and treats inside. They each got their 1st Webkinz! I've been holding off introducing them to the whole "Webkinz" phenomena" as quite honestly I've been through enough "fads" with the kids to know when it's a good idea just to play stupid.

"Webkinz"?
"No sorry honey....I've never heard of them."

You get the idea. Well, I finally relented because they are just so darn cute. As you can see, Claire loves her new friend and her new Gymboree "heart shirt" (just perfect for her kindergarten class party today).
I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day with the people you love the dearest.

China Adoption ~ "The Coles Notes Version"

For people who happen upon my blog and are interested in adopting from China themselves, or friends and family who are just curious as to the steps we have gone through on our road to bring Lauren home, this post should explain quite alot. My apologies if I've left any info out; to be honest I'm just so relieved that the paper chase portion is over with I may have "blocked out" parts of the process. So settle in, grab a coffee (or a stiffer beverage) and here goes.

The Paper Chase
1) Contact an approved Home Study Adoption Practioner that is licensed through the Ministry of Community and Social Services.
The Home Study portion consists of approximately 5 meetings. In our case all meetings were conducted in our home with the children present. There are several aspects to the Home Study including: Financial Letters from employers, a Net Worth Statement, a Financial Statement, Police Clearance Letters, Marriage Certificates, Birth Certificates, Divorce Certificates, Home Safety Report, a completed medical exam and letter from your family physician, Personal Letters of Reference, and an extensive questionaire on your health, marriage, childhood etc.
2) The result of the Homestudy being completed is (hopefully) a recommendation from the Adoption Practioner to the Ministry of Community and Social Services for a Letter of Approval to adopt. This basically indicates that the Province has approved you to adopt. This does not indicate that China approves you to adopt.
3) Obtain an Interpol Clearance Letter stating that you have no prior crimminal record.
4) Have your family physician complete a CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs) Medical Clearance Letter
5) Complete another Financial Statement as provided by the CCAA.
6) In our particular case, we qualify to have our file expedited due to Chinese ancestry, and needed to provide Birth Certificates or Citizenship papers stating the place of birth of my husbands parents.
7) Obtain or renew passports.
8) Collect a variety of photos that clearly represent: the family home, all family members, individual photos of my husband and myself, and photos of the day to day life in our home.

Once the documents are compiled, photocopied in triplicate, and submitted to your Adoption Agency the next stage begins.....

Waiting
1) Your local Agency will have the originals of the documents notorized, and upon receiving the Letter of Approval from the Ministry, will send the completed package (now known as a Dossier) to the CCAA. This is officially known as DTC (Dossier to China).
2) Once there, the Dossier is translated to Mandarin and offically logged-in to the system. you will receive from your Agency a LID (log in date). It is from this date that you officially begin counting the months until you will receive a referral of a child.
3) Timelines are always a "hot topic" and open to change and much speculation. Because we are expedited we can expect to wait approx. 14-15 months until Referral. The wait times for the non-expedited program are currently between 3-4 years.

The Referral
1) The referral occurs when a child is "matched" to a family. There is no choice on the part of the adopting parents and the matching is done in China at the CCAA . New parents will receive a photo of the child, and basic info such as where the child is residing, age (often estimated), the health of the child etc. As the majority of children in China are abandonned there is no family background or health information available.
2) Your referral must be shown to your Home Study Adoption Practioner and it is often a good idea to review the photo and info with your Family Practioner before acceptiing the Referral.
3) Once you accept the Referral, a letter will be prepared by the Adoption Agency indicting your acceptance.
4) Travel to receive the child occurs approximately 6 - 8 weeks after receiving the Referral.

Travel to China
1) Travel to China for 10 - 14 days is mandatory. For families travelling from Canada, you typically fly into Bejing, and with a short layover, fly directly to your child's province of residence. You remain in the province for the 1st week and then return to Bejing for the 2nd week to finalize the process.
2) Immigration policies have recently changed to make becoming a Canadian Citizen easier. It is my understanding (as we are not that far in the process yet) that the child will automatically become a Canadian Citizen upon landing on Canadian soil.

Follow Up
1) Two Post Placements Reports must be completed by your Adoption Practitioner at 6 months and 12 months. These are a mandatory requirement of the CCAA.

Whew......hopefully I haven't lost anyone.....and you are still awake!!


15 hours of being interviewed......
300 sheets of photocopied documents........
$25,000.00 ..................
bringing Lauren Jade home...........PRICELESS!!!

A Picture Speaks a Thousand Words

These are a few of my favourite things

Well, it's neither Spring or Winter here today. While I blog, my youngest is outside having a blast sloshing through the 3 inches of water that is currently my backyard. He's having so much fun that I don't have the heart to make him come inside just yet! I still remember a few puddles that I jumped in as a kid! So even though we can't do too much outside right now, I thought I'd take a minute to remember just how much fun we've had over the last year. Enjoy the pictures.

Princess Claire turns four!!!

Examining Mommy's army of Gingerbread!

Enjoying the last warm days (sort of) on Papa's beach!

Alec chops down his first Christmas tree unassisted!

Our prescious Dossier goes to China!

Blogging with a Purpose

I know that many of you are aware of the terrible weather conditions currently being experienced in China. Thousands of people are stranded in an effort to return home to celebrate the upcoming holiday. Often this is the only opportunity to see their families for the entire year. The ones who are truly suffering though are the orphans and the elderly. With no heat, electricity, rising food prices and a shortage of diapers, warm clothing etc. the effect has been devasting. According to Half the Sky Foundation who updated their website only hours ago, already several elderly have not been able to withstand these harsh conditions and have perished. Orphanges, working in conjuction with foundations like HTS, are appealing to everyone to assist with monetary donations in order to purchase warm quilts, diapers, heaters etc. for the children.
There is no immediate end in sight for the severe weather and the need is great.
As I write tonight I am comfortable, warm and well fed. My little ones are tucked into bed safely and the thought would never cross their minds that they might ever be cold, hungry or neglected. My heart goes out to the thousands that need our help. The world seems a smaller place when I think that it may be my daughter, cold and frightened in China tonight.
If you would like to help please check out the website www.halfthesky.org

Introductions and a New Beginning

To friends and family who are visiting my Blog for the first time....WELCOME!! If you have just happened upon my site by chance then all the better. To those who are familiar with the world of International Adoption you will know that it can be a wild roller coaster ride (to say the least). In my search for support and friendship during our wait to bring Lauren home from China I have happened upon many wonderful websites full of women whose hearts and spirits are so amazing and inspirational. I'll be posting a list of my favourite sites, and hopefully they will lead you to feel inspired in your life too! So I invite you to check in once in awhile. My hope is to entertain, inform and share the daily challenges, laughs and inspirational moments of my life.

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined" Henry David Thoreau