Time in Halifax

We had such a great time in Halifax. Hillary, Angela and Emily (who came here for 2 weeks from England) all tried Ethiopian Food for the first time. It was very good and they all seemed to like it. We also had Tim and Thelma and their boys join us for their first try of Ethiopian food. They also enjoyed it but the boys did not like the Injera. Tim and Thelma both said they would be back but would bring pita bread for the boys LOL.

Once again the owners were absolutely the best, they opened the restaurant for our guests. There were about 20 of us in total. The owners are so supportive and we all enjoy seeing them each time we are there.

Thanks Dawn and family for welcoming us into your home. The girls had such a great time going through the baby clothes. If any of them have one in the next year I am personally blaming you and your cute clothes LOL LOL LOL.

Louise

WATOTO CONCERT

The Watoto Concert...its an African Children's Choir from Uganda! It was absolutely amazing...hard to describe really how it touched me. I felt like finally I could relax in the wait because I know in the end it is all worth it. That these kids are so amazing!
The children are all orphans who parents have either passed away or have abandoned them. They were all living on the streets or in insufficient housing in Uganda. They were taken to the Watoto and live with a foster home. Siblings are kept together. They are given love, nuturing, education, medication, and hope. Hope the most important thing they could be given. They have the belief that they will grow up to be someone!!
Louise

Cleaning House

So we moved around some rooms today, did some major cleaning, etc today. Fun I know..but productive. In this productivity I was able to start organizing the playroom. I was able to get the toys in there organized. I also put together the dome tent play activity center together. See when I bought it I remember thinking oh yeah this is going to be one of those you want to kill it toy while putting it together. Well it wasn't that bad..but why does fisher price feel the need to make toys that need to be screwed together.....screws and toys..what brainless person thought this up. I don't want to assemble toys...I want to snap them together LOL LOL. I don't ever remember our toys as kids needing to be a complicated in assembly as they are today. Not to mention they are so tightly attached to the box that its like the Fort Knox of Toys.
Anyhow...1/2 hr later it was together (an improvement after my 4 hr marathon rocking chair).
Here are some pics....






Greatest buy ever...at winners yesterday I got the elephant, and the three things on the top shelf of the white tower (except the stacking squares) for only 13 dollars....awesome buy!!!

More pics

I love this frame...found it at Hallmark...It says For dreams are the voice of your wisdom with in that whispers the way on each path you begin. You can all guess what is going in that frame.

The white dresser...the bookends I got on Ebay as well...gotta love Ebay.

Nursery pics to share

I have downloaded some pics to share

two of the framed nursery rhyme prints that I got off ebay...there are 6 in total..and I just love them!

This is my very cool hideaway closet...it is waist high, and so I am gonna use it as a changing area. That is if the baby is young enough to need a changing table. I like it because I can close the doors and no one knows what is in there...and then the top of my dresser is clear for the lamp and book ends.

No comments on the diapers needed LOL HEHEHEHE..they were on sale, I got them with shoppers points...and well well well ummm I wanted to buy them. Better to buy them now when I am on full income, than when I am on the laughable 55% income. LOL HAHAHA.

My rocking chair that only took me 4 1/2 hours to put together...but ahh its so nice!

My room is so many different colours in it...white crib, white dresser with wood knobs. Wood armoir (matches handles on dresser) and cherry wood Rocker...oh well...one colour is just boring. LOL LOL

Little things that are exciting!

It is so interesting to find what things can make an adoptive parent to be excited. Today I went to the pharmacy and picked up a few things. I picked up infant tylenol, tylenol rapid release(for me :) LOL), and nystatin cream for any diaper rash issues. I know that I need to get a few more over the counter items..so I will pick those up as I continue my wait. But after I bought them...I thought...wow I am buying these for my baby..for my trip to Ethiopia! That was exciting to me. Too funny...yes I can laugh at myself over this.
Today is 8 months since my dossier left the country for Ethiopia. I remember just feeling so happy that the next thing I would be doing is getting that referral and signing those papers that would change my life forever!! Now I can hardly stand waiting anymore. I feel like I am driving in my parents car across Canada and asking "ARE WE THERE YET". This has felt like forever..but honestly the last year and a half has zoomed by and here I am on the verge of seeing my child for the first time. That can't come fast enough..but really where has the time gone. Somedays it feels like yesterday that I first contacted Roberta and had a long chat about the Ethiopia program.

So I hope Month 8 is a lucky month. Thank you to everyone who has been encouraging, excited, and await my news. It is such a blessing to be able to share this experience with others who have been there or others who are in the wait just like I am.

Louise

WOOHHOO Dawn and Gerald have a travel date!!

Wow...it is with great excitment that I can say that a very good friend has a travel date!! Dawn and Gerald in Nova Scotia will be leaving in April to go pick up their babies!!! I am so excited for them. They will be home with their daughter and son just before their Son's first birthday. YAHHH!
Congrats Dawn and Gerald, and family. Its the completion of one journey and the start of your family of 8.....wow that Burke Bus is gonna be full now! Can't wait to see you land and walk out of that arrival gate!
Louise

Packing List

I found this great packing list on another blog...think it is something that I will be using


Clothes for Parents
-t-shirts
-long light weight pants
-long-sleeved light weight shirts
-one warm jacket
-one nicer outfit
-undergarments
-socks
-pajamas/sleep clothes
-bathing suit
-flip flops for shower/pool areas
-hat
Clothes for child
-t-shirts
-long sleeved shirts
-one or two sweat shirts
-one piece outfits for younger kids and babies
-pants
-shorts
-warm jacket
-hat
-socks
-underwear
-dresses and tights (for girls)
-onesies (for babies)
-pajamas/sleepers
-bathing suit
-bibs (I love the disposable ones for traveling)
-shoes or booties
TOILETRIES
deodorants
-shampoo
-conditioner
-body wash/soap
-saline solution
-contact case and extra contacts
-lotion (it is really dry in Addis
-sunblock (the sun is really strong)
-feminine products
-face wash and face lotion
-brush and comb
-tooth brush and paste
-Kleenex packets (keep some on you)
-Purel
-razor and shaving cream
diapers or pull-ups (if needed)
-wipes (I always have wet wipes handy)
-tooth brush
-soap (I love the disposable Huggies brand washcloths)
-shampoo/conditioner
-lotion
-hair products (such as hair lotion or balm)
-Purel
-sunblock
-comb/brush
-hair accessories (for girls who aren’t bald!)
-diaper rash ointment (if adopting a baby)
Medical Stuff
-cold medicine for parents (non-drowsy)
-Immodium AD (for traveler’s problems!)
-Excedrin/Tylenol/Ibuprophen
-Tums or Pepto tablets
-travel sized first aid kit (band-aids, neosporin, gauze)
-anti-fungal cream (for ring worm and other rashes)
-Nix or other Lice treatment (can leave at orphanage if unneeded)
-Elimite for scabies (can leave at orphanage if unneeded)
-lice comb
-hydrocortisone
-child’s cold medicine
-children’s Benadryl
-children’s Tylenol/advil for pain and fever
-any prescription medicines parents take
-any prescription meds doc prescribes for parents and child for trip
-thermometer
-rubber gloves (good for handling blood if child has any infectious diseases…also smart for changing diapers since children adopted internationally often have parasites
giardia and other icky things).
-multivitamins (if you take them)
-gas drops (if adopting a baby)
-teething gel (for babies)
-bulb aspirator (for babies)
-Q-tips (for lots of things)
-insect repellant (if you will have the need)
-motion sickness meds (if needed)
-any other meds you regularly take and/or might need
tweezer
medical tape
Miscellaneous
books
-travel belt/wallet
-deck of cards or travel game
-snacks
-powdered drinks (great for adding to a bottle of water)
-power adapter/converter
-travel alarm clock
-travel DVD player and DVD’s (it was really nice on the plane and in the hotel room)
-lap top
-IPOD
-gum
-anti bacterial wipes
-dish soap for washing sippy cups, bottles
-ziplocks (countless uses when traveling)
-travel flash light
-glasses (if necessary)
-journal
-pens
-photos of family at home to show/share
-camera, battery, memory card
-video camera and accessories
-travel laundry kit
-baby sling/Snuggli/carrier
-travel book
-phrase book
-dictionary (an Amharic dictionary)
Paperwork-
-passports with visas
-photocopies of your passports and visas packed separately from originals
-tickets with itineraries
-photocopies of your tickets and itineraries packed separately from originals
-money/travelers checks
-Driver's licenses for ID
-credit card or two
-list of phone numbers for contacts in country and back at home
-copy of homestudy and dossier and any other important adoption documents
-photocopies of any essential adoption-related documents
-hotel or guest house reservation info
-list of restaurants and shops
-list of email addresses
-contact info for travel agent

One Year Ago today...

Its really neat to look back and reflect. Even though this journey at times feels like it is going in slow motion, in reality life is speeding by at an incredible pace. A year ago today I had my last homestudy visit. My social worker came to the house this day last year, oh what a stressful day. I remember cleaning and organizing...I even washed the outside of the patio doors....which let me tell you does not work that well in the middle of winter :). But once I was done, waiting for her to come I started to panic thinking oh no, its too clean HAHAHA it was too perfect...maybe I needed to make it look more lived in...aww well too late...she was in the driveway.
She came in, took a very very quick tour of the house, came and sat at the kitchen table for the next hour. Then she was done. Wow all that work, all that worry was done, over with. All I had to do was wait for her to write up the report. I remember feeling so happy that the visits were done. It was one more step closer to bringing my baby home. If you had of told me at that time that I woud still be waiting for a referral a year later...I would have scoffed at you...but ahh life makes its on way...and one has little control of destiny. My child is simply not ready yet for me to be aware who he or she is. And I will wait for that!

Louise

Take Food with Antibiotics.....trust me...do this!!!

Okay so I came down with sinus cold, chest cold, and strep throat all roled up into one. Not sure who I made mad in the grand plan of things...but really was this completely necessary. One would of been plenty, thank you very much.
Maybe its just this past year catching up with me. All the emotions, happiness, frustration, tears, excitment, anxiousness, anticipation just catching up. Its so close, and I got enough news to be settled into the rest of the wait. Enough news to know that a match will eventually be made, that I have not been forgotten about, that they have not lost my dossier :). Because I feel this, I have had time to reflect on the past year without feeling totally and utterally anxiety ridden about this wait.
This past year has given me so much joy and has challenged me beyond what I ever could have imagined. I would have never imagined when I started this journey that I would still be waiting for a referral at this point. I would never have thought that the two closest friends that I have made in this journey would still be waiting to pick up their children. There have been many unexpected bumps and road blocks along the way. But along with those came the most unexpected blessings.
These blessings are so many in number. I have met and chatted with countless people....honestly I can't even comprehend how many..that I would have never had the opportunity to connect with before this process. I feel enriched and blessed by their friendship and support. I know that even as I end the journey of the wait to adopt and move onto the journey of motherhood...we will not lose touch, we will celebrate the joys of parenthood, the joys of raising adopted children, the joys of having this connection of having Ethiopian Children, and the joy of just being able to call each other friend.
So even though I feel sick tonight, I feel so blessed by all this journey has given me. And to think 16 months ago, I thought this journey was going to give me the chance of motherhood...my goodness it has given that and sooo much more.
Luv ya all...
Louise