Everything But

On Saturday night we attended Jeremy & Anya's engagement party. It was really nicely put together. There was a slide show of the couple, as well as Karaoke. For some reason I was so tired, so we ended up leaving earlier than I would have liked. On Sunday, we had a wonderful dinner at Wade & Mandy's, with a great dessert to end the evening. Portia also came out of her shell a bit and wasn't as frightened of Gaby the cat by the time the evening ended.

Renovations are coming along. The framing has been completed. As well, some insulation and dry wall has been put up. Tonight we have an appt. for the pre-install of the kitchen so tomorrow I will likely be in a huge lineup at Ikea, placing the order. Last time it took 1.5 hours to see a rep. The sale that is coming to a close at the end of this month doesn't help of course, but it surely will pay off if we can get the order in on time. They are offering 10% back so that will pay for the new bedroom and kitchen accessories.

Yesterday we got many of our errands done. Portia is all packed up and I'm half packed. We are leaving for holidays tomorrow after Alex finishes work. Dom, Chris & the kids are already there and they say the beach is amazing, food is good and the hotel is very clean. Glad to hear it!

Oh yeah!  Almost forgot...we keep a growth chart for Portia but I guess she decided to start one of her own, in pen, right on the fairly new painted wall.  See the picture.

No Updates & March Break

I won't deny the fact that I'm finding the wait time hard. As of this morning there were no updates at all. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Niente. Nula. At this point in time they are waiting for Vietnam so any time frames given would only be guestimates.

Portia had a fun & busy week. Monday she was at her friend Bella's for an all-girls party. Tuesday we were off with Kloe to the Museum of Science & Tech, then McDonald's Play Place and the grand finale was spending the rest of the afternoon outside playing with 6 other little kids. Tuesday night Portia slept at her grandparents house so Wednesday I took some much needed me time and went to Starbucks and read some of my Frommer's book on Vietnam (very informative). Thursday Portia and I went to go see Hotel for Dogs and then after we just happened to go into Sears and came across an amazing kids clothing sale. Needless to say, she's ready for our family vacation, not to mention the summer. And finally today, Friday, we went with Kloe to the Museum of Nature and then they both got to pick out something at the Dollar Store. Alex just got home a while ago and what a sight for sore eyes. He decided to give me a break and took the girls outside to play while they waited for Kloe's parents. I'll end the evening tonight at Starbucks catching up with my cousin Krista.

Agency

We finally got to put some faces to names today. Alex and I had a meeting with our agency and got to meet these wonderful people that are working so hard behind the scenes. I must say the office was very well organized and everyone was so friendly. You could tell that they all love what they do and were so patient in answering our bazillion questions. We still don't know when we will be travelling. It could be as late as May. We are the only family with a proposal from the Go Vap orphanage so they really can't provide timelines and they would need our son's documents before they could even provide a guess. On another note, we did receive some good news. There is another apartment type hotel (Pacific Garden) available and it's half the price of the one we were likely going to stay at, plus it has a pool. (A very important feature for my two little fishes, Alex & Portia.) We also found out that although most prefer to travel with Air Canada/Cathay Airlines, there is another airline (Eva Airlines) that offers cheaper flights (approx. $300/pp cheaper) or you can pay about the same price if you upgrade to a deluxe seat. We haven't done any research on this airline yet but at least there is another option to keep costs down. I'm just thinking of stretching our dollar since I really want to take Portia to Hong Kong Disneyland and apparently the hotels cost $300/nt. I ordered a Frommer's Vietnam guide which I'm finding to be helpful in planning out some of the things we want to see and do. Note to self: We are allowed to freely take pictures in Vietnam, as long as we don't take pictures of any military/police or pictures in the passport office. We definitely do not want to repeat history after what happened to us in China.

So what else? We have an electrician coming tomorrow and a plumber on Wednesday. Just two more steps closer to getting renovations completed.

I'm currently reading "The Lost Daughters of China." As Portia is getting older, I feel more compelled to reach out, understand and prepare myself for some of the questions she will inevitably ask. We have always gone at her pace and never provide her with more information than we feel she can handle. One of her favorite books "I Love You Like Crazycakes" states on the last page "...The tears were for your Chinese mother, who could not keep you. I wanted her to know that we would always remember her. And I hoped somehow she knew you were safe and happy in the world." When we get to this part, I can see in her eyes that the wheels are turning. She occasionally has questions, but nothing too deep, yet. She understands that she didn't grow in my tummy and will often say that she wishes she had. I reassure her that I couldn't have loved her more if I had given birth to her. She always smiles, kisses me and tells me how happy she is that we went to China to get her. The true fact is that I've never loved anyone as much as I love this precious child and am so grateful for the priviledge of being her mom.