Adoption Presentation

Portia's teacher was kind enough to allow me to come and talk to the class about adoption. Portia was so excited and asked if she could sit right beside me at the front. The next thing I knew she was carrying this fair size chair over to me and almost knocked out one of her classmates. There were all these little faces staring and wondering what I had to say. I must admit I was nervous. I decided to keep it simple. I began by telling the class that it was a special week for us since it had been 4 years since Portia's adoption day or the day we became a family. I explained Portia came from China and that we travelled there to meet her and then became a family. The teacher pulled out a globe so we could point out the location. I read the class "I Love You Like Crazy Cakes" since it was similar to our experience. After the story, the teacher asked if anyone had questions for me. One little girl said she liked the book and asked where we got it. And then another little boy said that he was adopted too. I was surprised since I didn't realize there was another adopted child in the class. He said "My mom is from the Phillipines and when she was there, I was in her belly." They are so innocent. Obviously he confused adoption with coming from far away. Too cute. After that Portia handed out Dunkeroos to each classmate. That made all the kids really happy. Portia was so happy and proud of her story. And that alone made my heart happy.

Adoption Update

We FINALLY completed our Citizenship forms (Part 1) and have couriered them over. We should have had this done ages ago but we just kept on procrastinating. Anyways, it's done and it was received on the morning of December 31st. Apparently the average wait time to hear back is approximately 11 weeks. Yikes, that's about 2.5 months! We also had to contact our social worker and get our homestudy updated. It wasn't too bad. We had to e-mail the details of the changes and on Monday I will need to call and schedule a home visit since we've moved. Too bad about the move, otherwise we could have just popped in for a quick visit/interview. Hopefully this time it won't be so painful. It worries me that the renovations haven't even begun yet. Mind you we hired a professional contractor that has given us a 5 week turnaround from start to finish. We've already had a designer come in and she came up with an amazing layout. It practically doubles the space, sunlight, etc. It's literally been one thing after another but so far everything is falling into place and we are taking each day as it comes. We've been through renovations before so we know it's not an easy road. Add to that a move, adoption, vehicle accident and it leaves you thinking, okay, what's next? It's always good to keep a sense of humour at times like this. We watched Planes, Trains and Automobiles (my favorite movie) and Rat Race the other night. Now that is good quality down time.

Adoption Update

We called the agency and found out that there are still about 35 to 40 families ahead of us, all waiting for a non special needs child. In respects to timelines, the best estimate that our agency could provide, at least at this time, is approximately one year before we would receive a proposal. We also just found out that we are number one on the list for parents open to special needs. That being said, I believe that the 3 year old boy that I had mentioned in my last update, was likely accepted by the other couple that was ahead of us on the list. I don't know this family but I can only imagine how excited they must be. So what does this mean for us? Well, unfortunately, the agency can not provide any approximate time lines at this point, although they feel fairly certain that a special needs proposal will come sooner than waiting another year for a non special needs. After experiencing a longer wait than was orginally expected, we are trying to be patient and not get excited or ahead of ourselves.

As mentioned before, Portia had some bloodwork done and we found out that China did innoculate her with the Hep B vaccine however she does not have any Hep A antibodies. We briefly discussed this with Portia's pediatrician and although he feels that we shouldn't have any concern, Alex and I did some research, and feel more comfortable having Portia innoculated. My sister-in-law will be travelling with us as well and has started the vaccination protocols. On that note, once Portia has been vaccinated, we will all be ready to travel. Now to complete some more paperwork...We are waiting for our social worker to come home from holidays to have some changes made to our homestudy. This will then have to be sent to the Ministry for approval. We also need to check on the Citizenship papers. It seems like just when you think it's over, there's always something else to think about.

Jose & Nancy's Wedding

What an emotional wedding! Our dear friend Nancy had met Jose, the man of her dreams. Their wedding day was set for Saturday, September 13th, however the night before their wedding day, Jose fell ill and had to be hospitalized. The morning of the wedding, we got the call that the wedding was cancelled. As the day progressed, we kept hoping that we would get the call that everything was okay and that the wedding was still on, however the time came and went. We found out that Jose's health had declined and the situation had become quite grave. The doctors performed emergency surgery to stop internal bleeding however his hemoglobin dipped to life threatening levels. They didn't know if Jose was going to survive. Every time the phone rang, we jumped, thinking the worst. We went to bed not knowing what the next morning would bring. We were thrilled in ours hearts when we found out that Jose & Nancy got married in the hospital by his bedside at about 10 minutes to midnight. As the time progressed in the following months, the news changed daily. There were days where he was doing much better and then as quick as a blink, it would change again. All that being said, you can imagine what an emotional day it was to see my dear friend get her day. She looked absolutely beautiful as she stared up into her husband's eyes while they danced their first dance. Jose still has some hurdles to overcome, but he's got a woman by his side that won't give up. She is a true example of what the meaning of true love is really about....through better or worse....

Portia's Kids Party

Another great time had by all. The kids absolutely enjoyed themselves. The funny thing is since most of Portia's toys are packed away until the renovations are over, I decided to play Martha Stewart and organize all these arts and crafts. Don't get me wrong, the kids did sit down and enjoy them, but hands down, the highlight for them were the balloons. There were balloons EVERYWHERE!! They all kept wanting to take turns with the balloon inflater to either blow up another balloon or to just let it fly around the room as it deflated. Their great, big, contagious, belly laughs warmed my heart. They were all sooo cute! The nice thing is that we've put a stop to just having the mom's and the kids come over, so now the dad's join us too. Of course, Alex's Pasta sauce was a great, big, hit again. This year, Portia and I made a cake shaped into a flower, with a caterpillar and 2 butterflies. I must admit, it looked alot better than last year. Who knows, maybe next year the adults will be able to figure out what it actually is supposed to look like.

Anniversary Party

We threw a wonderful 20th year surprise party for my brother/sister in-law and it went down perfectly. My husband was convinced his brother knew, so I kept trying to call his bluff, so I allowed him to go to the party with jogging pants and T-shirt (thinking he had a bag with a change of clothes). Well, he didn't. Too funny! We also set up a mini slide-show with pictures of them through the years. And the cake...it was beautiful. My other SIL, Franca, ordered it from this lady that is big on details. It was heart-shaped with silver beads all around and a picture from their wedding day crafted right into the cake. For $50 it was huge and excellent. We had food galore so tomorrow is pajama day with plans to veg, watch movies and munch on left overs. Yes, we will be using paperplates and cups since I have NO intention of washing dishes tomorrow. I've got another busy week planned. Monday I have tons of errands to run. Portia has an appt. with a professional photographer on Tuesday. We only ordered minimum school pictures. I don't know who their photographer is, but I don't think this is his calling. I had two choices, with one being Portia with her eyes semi- closed, so I had to choose the one with her looking like she had a pumpkin head with teeny, tiny shoulders. We bought it cause it's so funny looking. Anyways, we went out Friday and came across the most beautiful dress for her. She'll wear it for her pictures, plus she will get to wear it at 2 upcoming weddings, so it will be worth every dime. This week I took some time to review our status of innoculations. Portia's results came back and it appears that China innoculated her for Hep B, but not Hep A. Our doctor said he' wouldn't worry, as long as we stay away from the water. His daughter got Hep A one year in Dominican and fully recovered. I'm still teeter tottering. Anyways, I also have to get Portia's passport renewed. I took her for passport pictures and she came out looking like she just finished doing time in the slammer. Thank goodness she wasn't wearing any horizontal stripes!

Adoption Update

I called our agency and so here is where we are at. Our Dossier was sent to Vietnam April 15, 2008 (as we know). It has been processed and translated by the Office in Vietnam. It is likely in the DIA's office as we speak but unfortunately, the person who would be able to answer the status more accurately was not in the office today. As it stands now, and at the speed and average the proposals are coming in, which is approximately 3 boys per month, we would have to wait another year before travelling to receive a healthy baby boy. They are currently working to sign up with more orphanages however these things take time. Hopefully if all goes well, our agency will start receiving more proposals, but until then we have to ride it out and wait. The good news is that our agency is starting to process more special needs children. It's on a case-by-case basis however what they tend to come across is cleft lip and/or palate, clubbed feet and Hep C. Apparently we are not far down the list of parents open to special needs children. Our agency is currently aware of a little 3 year old boy however his medicals have not been completed as of yet, and as well there is a family ahead of us that would have first choice. And the roller coaster ride continues... In the meantime we wait. The other positive thing we heard is that last time Vietnam closed their program to Canada, they still honored and processed all the dossiers that were registered in Vietnam, so incase Vietnam were to close their doors once again (and not that there is any talk of that), it is hopeful that they would do the same as they did last time.