A cute video and a question

One of the blogs I follow called the Simpson Six posted this video not so long ago.  I have to say it made chuckle!   What determination their little love has!   I couldn't climb like that for mine at the moment but am growing pretty obessed with my ipad.  I have even put the Jamie Oliver app on it to share with my mum over the holidays.  There are so many great educational apps it's amazing!  I made a super video in "imovies" as we have some ipads at school and are trying to learn how to use them.

I have an "Elf on the Shelf" in the wardrobe in my second bedroom for my little girl and was telling my students at school about this little guy.  As we teach right up until the 21st this year, about as late as we can go unless Christmas is Monday, the excitement is building BIG TIME!!!!!   Has anybody watched the movie that goes with the "elf"?   I really want to show it but don't really want to preview the whole thing.  I am so tempted to take my elf to school!

Keep posting those pictures of your family's elf.  I should be keeping a list as there are collectively some great ideas out there. 

What do you do when you fee like there is no end in sight?

It's December and I have little news to share.  I am not decorating my apartment this year.  I am not even putting a wreath on the apartment door.  Well, what's happened in 2012?  I did get my dossier to my country and make a trip, only to lose R who after what I was told about why she all of a sudden was no longer available, I can only hope has had some joy brought to her life.  I will be thinking of her Christmas morning as we open stockings and presents! 

Like Gen on Cinnamon Baby I have asked myself the same question this fall and am not ready to give up.  I haven't spent all the money I have to walk away yet, although I don't know if I can go for the length of time this mama has on Dreaming Under the Same Moon.   I have to thank these two wonderful mums in waiting for sharing as I think only those of us in our position, or those that have been in it as many of my other blogging friends have, can feel the heart ache, frustration and despair that is experienced in the adoption process.  It is certainly not a journey for the weak of heart.  When the going gets tough, the tough get going!  Or as the Brits would say have a stiff upper lip!   I don't know what to do as I have not had one email from the agent in my country this fall.  No contact.  Notta, naught, nowt!   I haven't wanted to bug her so didn't email either but I am beginning to think I have been forgotten!

 I got an email from my agency a week ago to say there has been a change in the process that clients can participate in.  It seems this change brings the process to something akin to domestic adoption.  Although, I knew there was no waiting list, no numbers, etc  I had some trust and faith.  During the summer I thought revising my home study might be to my advantage, so I did but still haven't heard anything.  Now I am trying to market myself!!!!!!   I am working on putting together a profile that somebody would choose.  Single mums are rarely chosen by birth mums in domestic adoptions, three local agencies told me this, so I can only hope international birth parents (no, don't get excited there aren't suddenly infants available) are more receptive to a single parent family situation.  If they aren't, then I am hooped!  I am trying to look at all the things I have to offer, but a single parent in an apartment doesn't really compare to the couple with the house, white picket fence, dog and station wagon. 

I phoned my local agency about Canada Adopts as I have to decide whether to renew this in January.  Apparently there have been enquiries of other parents on the BC list just not me.  It sounds like quite a few couples have had birth mums call the agency about them although of course I have been given no idea of what this means.  I am leaning towards saving the money associated on being on Canada Adopts and putting it towards the cost of a flight to Toronto in the hopes I get called for a match from my country.  

I think I may put in a call to AFABC this week.  They seem to be more in the know than anybody.  I love these folks so much and they are always so helpful and understanding.

Here are a few must have books!

I thought I would post a few books I have found.  On my way back from the doctor's a slight detour takes me past Kids Books which is the deadliest place for my debit or VISA card!  Here are a few finds.  (Note my friends in the USA, the links are to Amazon.ca but you can find all these on Amazon.com)

Book #1



http://www.amazon.ca/Have-Little-Problem-Said-Bear/dp/0735822352

I was sitting looking at books and this was one was face out on a shelf.  I read it and couldn't resist it.  I got the paperback copy and can't wait to read it to a little one.  It is one of those books that is good for snuggling.  Bear has a problem and nobody listens to him. Everybody assumes they know what his problem is and jump in to help.  It isn't until the end of the story that the final character he meets takes the time to listen.

Book #2


http://www.amazon.ca/I-Have-Right-Be-Child/dp/1554981492/ref=sr_il_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353357123&sr=1-1

This one is absolutely wonderful but for a slightly older child 8 plus to really "get" the idea of rights but a good book to discuss with the 6-8 the things they have as a child.  Interestingly the book ends by saying the USA hasn't yet signed the "United Nations Convention on the Rights of The Child".  I bought this book about three weeks ago and when I read my school newsletter this morning I discovered  that National Children's Day is tomorrow, Tuesday, November 20.  "This day commeorates the The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Child (November 20th, 1959)  and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (November 20, 1989).  The purpose of National Children's Day is to promote awareness about the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  On this day, we take time as parents and educators, to educate our children about their rights and responsibilities as Canadian citizens." (McKechnie Elementary newsletter - November 2012)  It wasn't until I got home and was reading this book that I realized my future child's country signed the Convention as has Vietnam, Honduras, Sri Lanka, Columbia, China, Congo, Repbulic of Korea, Ethiopia and Guatemala.  (I think I've got most of you on the list!!!)  There are 193 countries that have signed!  Leave me a comment if you want me to check the list in the back of the book.

Book #3

http://www.amazon.ca/Shades-People-Sheila-M-Kelly/dp/0823423050/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353358251&sr=1-1

For those of us whose children eventually ask why they are a different shade than us, or simply to talk about racial diversity with young children, this book does a fabulous job at beginning to address the issue.  It talks generally about the different shades of people in society and has a ton of wonderful pictues.  It uses words like creamy, ivory, sandy, peach, coffe, rose, almond, cocoa, copper, tan, almond!  It also says our skin is like "wrapping paper" (gift wrap for those of you south of the 49th) and you can't tell what someone is like from the colour of their skin.   I really liked the page, "Even in the same family there can be many shades". This is a must have and great book for young ones on multi-culturilism and acceptance.

Book #4


http://www.amazon.ca/Kindness-Quilt-Nancy-Wallace/dp/076145313X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353359124&sr=1-1

 Mina, a rabbit, can't decide which of her acts of kindness to write about for school so she makes a quilt showing a number of them.  Her classmates and then her school add to the quilt!   This should be on Oprah's booklist for children!!!!   Go read the reviews but it is quite delightful.  I am going to save it and read it to my class in February for a frienship/Valentines theme.  We will make a quilt and invite other classes to join us. 

Finally for today, in a previous post I wrote about "I Wished For You".  This is a must have book for any family that has or is adopting. I now have two big teddy bears (different shades) from Costco ($8.99 each) to go with the book.  I can't wait to be able to snuggle up with my little one and share this delightful story.

http://www.amazon.ca/I-Wished-You-Adoption-Story/dp/1934082066/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353359915&sr=1-1

One last book I have to share is Pete the Cat.  I had heard about it from a friend and finally ordered it from my September Scholastic.  It is a great book about teaching kids to not let things bother them and being flexible and going with the flow.  My students (6/7 years) loved it and it seems to be a hit with younger kids.


http://www.amazon.ca/Pete-Cat-Love-White-Shoes/dp/0061906220/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353360142&sr=1-1

For a live retelling by the author Eric Litwin on You Tube, click here.

I hope I have encouraged you to go and do a little bit of shopping either at Amazon (great free shipping deal in Canada at the moment) or at your local bookstore.  Now for some lunch and then my report cards which I have being procrastinating by this blog post! 

Hayley - my sister's cat playing with my brand new i-pad



My former principal had a staff BBQ at her house 18 months ago and her husband showed me how their cat played on her i-pad.  I have bought an i-pad so that when (note my positivity) I have to make the second trip to my country, the long 6-7 week trip, I can load it with educational apps for my daughter.  I have put games on it for me like: Suduko, Mahjong, Bubbles, Checkers, and Reversi.  Teaching grade two helps as I have already put some educational apps on it based on R's needs that I saw back in May.  If you are new to my blog, you can read about "R" on my other blog.  I have found an excellent sight word block as well as one that teaches letter formation. 

Now back to the cat!!!  The very first app I put on my i-pad was for Hayley.  My sister helped me set up my i-pad, she is a whiz at technology, and then we downloaded the app.  Then we found Hayley, set it up and sat back!  How many people let their cat be the first to play their i-pad?  No she didn't scratch it although from the video it looks like she is destroying it!  I love how she looks underneath it for the mouse! 

Please don't get excited, I haven't heard a thing about making a trip to meet a little girl, never mind a second trip, but like Gen over at Cinnamon Baby I am trying to spread out my expenses!  The adoption process is so expensive that any spreading out of costs helps.  This was a purchase I would have found a challenge to make right before my long trip.   

Enjoy!  I hope this puts a smile on your face.



What's up?

Nothing!

Any news?

Not a single email from my country.  Nothing.

So what now?

I guess sit and wait!

What are you going to do if you don't hear soon?

I don't know!

Are you going to change countries?

And start all over again! 

-----------------------------------------------

Although there is no line with my country, I knew that going in to it, finding another country open to singles and that is actually processing cases is like finding a needle in a haystack!   I had considered country X  and got info from a fellow blogger at the end of the summer.  Thank you my blogging friend.  Several emails back East to the agency for this country have garnered nothing!  Thus,  I don't view this route any better a route than where I am now.  I have asked for dossier requirements, fee schedule etc, nothing outlandish, but yet nothing.  The second family adopting from my country is going to court in November and I can only assume the first family is now safely home.  I was hoping for an email, pictures but I guess they are busy! 

I bought the large white Hemnes bookcase from IKEA, I love my VISA, and am working on decluttering my second bedroom.  Anybody that's a teacher will understand this comment!  I also bought two huge teddy bears from Costco - they are adorable and will be bagging them up soon so they stay dust free.  As soon as I have finished decluttering I will post before and after photos.  I am still leaving the room as my office but have put lots of children's books on the bookcase.  I have been by the chidlren's bookstore on my way home from the doctor's and have several good books I will share.  The books are in no particular order at the moment but it has given me something to do.  Why you might ask am I doing this know?  I want to get organized regardless of what happens and so decided to try and do something.  I also rationalize everything!!!!!!   It drives people that know me well crazy!   Thus I figure if I do this now then after I have received the call, see below, and made the second trip I have less to purchase.  If you read some of the blogs I follow, I am not the only person doing this!   I figure I will have to save like crazy for the final trip as it seems families are in country for a month to six weeks.  We are not allowed to stay in a hotel and have to rent a house!  This is somewhat worrisome as you don't have the security gate of the hotel but oh well!  I will cross that bridge when I get to it and will be looking for people to come and visit me and keep me company.  With one of the big teddybears on the bookcase I can't decide if I'm nesting or creating a shrine!

What are you going to do if you don't hear soon?
 I don't know!

Nobody has actually asked this question, although I have of myself!   I am far from giving up with the process, it means so much to me that I can't do that, and it is hard not to let it control your life.  I am making progress though, as I now only check my email once a day after work.  I was checking about five times a day!   After two phone calls, in which I believe I was politely firm and in control of my emotions, my revised home study did in fact make it to Toronto and then on to my country on October 18!   I continue to wait, some what on call, for the email saying a little girl or girls are available with an invitation to come and meet them.  Do I hold much hope?  Do you have to ask?  Can't you tell by my tone!
I had decided not to blog until I had news and could announce I was making another trip but as this seems to be slow in happening I am trying to stay positive.  Looking at the glass half-full,  my Halloween costume came to me easily this year,  the "Walking Wounded!"  If nothing else it was a spurt of creativity!  I usually hate Halloween.  I didn't grow up with it in the UK and am not a big fan of dressing up.   As my knee has been a bit sore, I wore my old knee from pre my ACL repair in 2000, a crutch, my arm bandaged, a wrist support, my head bandaged!!!!   Sorry, no pics with my camera!  My kiddies at school came in after lunch and a few of them asked, "What happened Miss A?  Did you hurt yourself?"  It was so sweet that they were concerned about their teacher.  I have started a program called Mind-Up and we have been doing mindful breathing three times a day for almost two weeks now.  It is making a difference for some and when they all get it I am going to be joining them.  It is kind of hard to do as you are talking them through it!

Finally, congratulations go out to my mum and dad.  On Halloween, yes you read that right, they celebrated their 48th wedding anniversary.  They got married in the UK and back then the UK didn't celebrate Halloween!

Happy Thanksgiving 2012

I turned on the computer to write this post, as I wrote one last year and discovered my blogging friend Gen had had the same thought.  (Insert smiley face here)

Well, another year has passed and I have just returned from Victoria where I was visiting my parents.  In an attempt to stay positive, see the light at the end of the tunnel and (try to) believe that his journey will be rewarding I have decided to try and count my blessings and make a list of the things I am thankful to have. See below.  So much has happened since Thanksgiving 2011 last year.  I found a country that would accept single woman.  I put my dossier together and got it to Toronto and once I signed the contract it went to my country's consulate.  I attended a local (Victoria) Ministry Matching Event last October only to discover that because I am not of First Nations ancestry and know my limitations in regards to special needs - that is being a single parent - adoption through the Ministry looks bleak.  I became a pin cushion for a large number of costly shots - no complaining just a statement as they were all necesary.  I travelled to my country for 10 days in May 2012, found a little girl and then lost this little girl,.  I  renewed my home study and like this time last year am waiting for my home study to be signed off once again!   If that isn't enough to make your head spin and your bank account hurt, I don't know what is! 

Anyway things to be thankful for:
- My family and closest friends - I don't want to start a list as I know I will miss somebody, you all know who you are, my daughter will be so fortunate to have you in her life
- My special blogging friends who I have connected with off-line (email) and whose support and understanding is immeasurable - Francesca & Matteo, Gen, Lisa, Wendy, Karen (if you guys are ever in Vancouver, please let me know) and all those who follow my blog and with whom I have made connections
- Friends I have made through my agency in Toronto - these people are so willing to help and support each other and share information, for privacy reasons they shall remain nameless.
- Supportive colleagues at work - those I have told of this journey
- Relatively good health - could do with shedding a few pounds and getting some exercise
- A 'rented' roof over my head
- The emotional stamina and strength to persist with this journey - as I've said before will I be able to teach my daughter about perserverance, persistance, patience, and there are more "p" words - I couldn't find this post to link to
- A single woman in Ontario who two weeks ago this Wednesday, went to court and signed the papers.  Her adoption is finalized and she will be homeward bound soon.  She is a trailblazer and the first to prove the process works!!!!!   Congratulations D!
- I'm sure there are more but these are key ones for today

500 Days!

What a strange title for a post!  Last night, procrastinating work as always, it was well past 11:00 p.m.  I thought I'd catch up on some blog reading.  Out of curiosity I thought I wonder how many days the 'waiting ticker' amounts to.  Taking 30 days for a month, I realized it was 499 days.  Today my friends makes 500 days!   A strange way to look at, and I don't know what made me do this, but interesting that it was such an even, clean, round number!  Well my thoughts are only that I am in a very different place in another 500 days.  Judging from the blogs of other waiting parents, I am being realistic not pessimistic!

My kids, well my actually my students, wrote Thanksgiving poems.  (Us Canadians celebrate the second Monday in October.)  One little boy wrote, "I am thankful for my mum when she tucks me in after I've had a bad dream."  I just wanted to hug him.  What a special relationship he has with his mother and it shows!  He is one of those students you could just bring home.  I am thankful for having him in my class to share his warmth and love of family.  I hope families cherish these poems and this kind of writing.  It warms my heart and soul!

Here's another one for you pet lovers.  The world's most lovable cocker spaniel has the most enormous fan club possible, an entire elementary school, but more importantly a wonderful family.  My student wrote about her beloved dog, "I am thankful for M because when I see him he makes me smile."  Check out Oscar!   If it weren't for the anti-pet rules in my apartment building I would adopt, well I guess buy, Oscar.

Trying to keep my chin up and count my blessings.

Vanvcouver, B.C. - Adoption Tax Credit and No News is Not Good News

To those visiting from Kate's blog my location is Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.  I like Kate's topic this week as it will be interesting to see if there are other people locally following Lucy's blog.  Kate, if you and Eric and the kids are ever up this way, please let me know.  I'd love to show you around!

To those following my journey my home study update is still stalled at my local agency.  I haven't heard that they have passed it on to the agency in Toronto, despite asking them to let me know when they did this, and they have had it for over a week!  The agency in Toronto requires this update to move ahead!   Eye-yah!!!!!!    I getting very good at twiddling my thumbs!!!!!!  I have done every part of the process I have control over and can't do any more.  I try to believe that my local agency has some interest in helping me become a parent. although I don't want to admit to the world what I really think!   It doesn't take me very long to fix any ypos in my report cards that my principal catches, so I can't believe that to change a number  (age of child) and a date on a letter takes a great length of time.  I paid significant stage two fees for something, for what - isn't quite clear to me yet.  It is very hard to be stalled and all I can do is hope for the families down there now and those waiting to travel that everything goes ahead.  Their success in bringing a child or children home I hope will pave the way for future successes.   I look forward to sharing the success of  the first single parent.  She went to court yesterday but will be another three weeks before she is home.  I think I will literally kiss the ground at Toronto airport and hug the customs agent when I arrive home.  If I am every successful in this process, I think I have an idea for a second job!  There are presently no services in what I am thinking of doing and although I don't want to make money off the backs of people in my situation, Lord knows we have already paid enough fees, I feel there is a need for it.

There are so many children growing up in orphanages around the world that one has to wonder just why international adoption has become so hard.  If you have a reason why, I'd love to hear it.  I have two, UNICEF and suspected child trafficking. 

I also wonder how one can tell or share about the adoption process without offending people and sharing very personal information, however I am at a point where I feel like telling it all.  Dr. Phil, I have a topic for you!  I have told a few people, friends, colleagues and their eyes pop out of their heads and I haven't even come close to the expensive part of the process!!!!  Very few people know the financial never mind emotional costs of adoption and this is seldom talked about.   Do you think this is something people should share?  I wonder if it would garner support for those of us in the process. 

 A petition was started for equal EI benefits for adoptive parents.  I think one should be started for the adoption tax credit.  The  Canadian Adoption Tax Credit is crappy!  From reading the website the credit is non-refundable.  This means you only get money back if you owe the government money, and then it is only that amount.  If you are already getting a refund then the credit amounts to a big, fat, zero!  Remember folks, the government doesn't give away money!  I emailed our premier about this last May and got no answer.  A take this as a direct indication of her "Families First" policy.  Oh, for a few minutes of her time.   In Quebec I believe their tax credit is refundable!  See their info.   The refund is 50% of the expenses up to a maximum of $10,000.  My 50% is already very nicely over $10,000 and  I have a second trip to find a child at some point and then a 6 week to go to court.  I am thinking the $10,000 credit in Quebec will be more like 10% by the time I'm done!   I would be most interested to hear what the adoption tax credit like in your area.  I think adoptive families don't fight this tax credit issue as by the time you get home with your child you are so emotionally, physically and financially spent, not to mention relieved the process is complete and you have your LONG awaited child, that fighting the tax credit is the last thing on one's mind!

Talk about annual review!

Last Wednesday I had the pleasure of meeting with the social worker who did my home study a year ago.   If you look at the dates in my time line, we signed on Sept. 16 last year and the review was Sept. 17.  How is that for being pretty dead on annual and it wasn't planned!   I had to formally increase the age of the little girl I hope will become available, there aren't any young children available in my country, and to meet BC adoption requirements had to have an annual review - at a cost of course!!!!   Don't know whether you have to do this in Alberta or Ontario, but it is an extra step here!.  I didn't increase the age back in July because I wasn't sure if I'd be charged extra, or charged twice, so I waited.  I don't think this slowed things down with the agency in Toronto but I hope not.  My social worker is contracted by my local agency and she is AMAZING, FABULOUS and INCREDIBLE.  Last Thursday she had made the changes and emailed me the new home study.  How is that for efficient but more importantly helping me to move things along?  She came over last night, Monday, with the signing pages and so she I have done our end of it and now my fingers are crossed my local agency can send it Toronto a.s.a.p.  There has to be a new letter of approval printed and I am fingers crossed that doesn't take long.  It is as simple as: call up the old, change the date, change the age of child, print it and send it.

My social worker loved my pictues and last night we were able to have a good visit.  The children are beautuiful and I have some incredible photos.  I know some of you will think I am nuts, but there is an amazing one of R that I'd love to put in a frame.  She is a beautiful girl and I sincerely hope the family coming back to get her does so soon.  As I posted on my other blog, she had a birthday on Saturday and turned 8 years old.

Dianna, the woman running Hannah's website and blog, sent me a button.  YES!  Now I can keep little Hannah's picture with Lucy's and people can check her website and blog.  I didn't want Hannah's post to get lost and explained to Dianna blogs are a little like rolling up toilet paper!  Hannah's prayer request would become burried! 

The Power of Prayer - Revised

This is a post for Kate's (Lucy's mum) Fun Friday blog posts. This week's topic - prayer requests.  I have two. 

****REVISION TO POST - Saturday morning****  I was so touched by Hannah's story when I read it in the Times Colonist in the summer that I felt like I had to do something to help.  Unfortunately with the incredible expenses involved in the adoption process, I am unable to provide any financial support but knew what I could do is help to spread the word about little Hannah.  Perhaps others reading my blog, the visitors from Lucy's blog, and with the links many of us have created within the adoption community, the word and need would go far and wide.  Spreading the word about Hannah, as it was spread about Lucy, may help to bring her family a little support.  Please visit Hannah's website and blog at http://www.angelsforhannah.com/  I am hoping to hear that a "Hannah" button is made, as Kate did for Lucy so Hannah's story does not become lost!


Back to the prayer request:

First, please pray for little Hannah who has been diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer.  Hannah is from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and the family is in BC Children's Hospital in Vancouver.  Her family are now facing the challenges of caring for a very sick little girl.  There are many pictures of Hannah on her website so I encourage you to go and take a look at this sweet, adorable, little girl.  The professional photo taken of her after losing her hair will tug at your heart strings.  Please go check out her website.


I hate to ask for this and it feels incredibly selfish, especially given Hannah's and Lucy's lives and what a fellow blogger is going through, but my second prayer request is for some progress or divine intervention in my adoption journey.  I want to be a mum so badly it hurts.  I can't explain how I feel and want to thank the blogging community for all their support and encouragement.  I have made some new friends through the process and can't thank them enough for their comments, emails, support, advice and encouragement.   So many people believe in the power of prayer and although raised with faith, in my adult years I have fallen away from the church.  I have tried several times to return to church but it hasn't met with much success.  I made a first trip to my country in May of this year and returned home with the prospect of a beautiful seven almost eight year old.  In fact it is R's 8th birthday on Saturday, Sept. 15th!  As she was older than I had originally planned I had returned home to talk to my social worker and to make the necesary changes to my paperwork.  At the end of June I found out I had lost R as she was no longer available!  You can read about this part of my journey and my first and only love letter to R on my other blog.

Thank you for your on-going support and encouragement.  They say it takes a village to raise a child and my future child has far more than a village rooting for her!

Spanish Banks Beach, Vancouver, BC

Hello all visitors from Kate's Fun Friday post.  This week Kate has asked us to share one of our favourite summer activities.  Mine is being at the beach and I thought I'd share one of our Vancouver beaches, Spanish Banks, with you.  If you ever head up north of the border to Vancouver and have kids it is definitely worth bringing your beach towels, buckets and spades (shovels).   Having loved going to the seaside for holidays (vacations) growing up as a child in England, having the beach 15 minutes from home is a blessing.  I don't know what it is about sand and water but I love it!  On my bucket list is a trip to Hawaii!  I haven't been to the beach at all this summer as I was working in July and do due to loss in the adoption process just wasn't up to going.  I hope to spend days at the beach with my child one summer but that seems more and more like a dream.

The best time to hit Spanish Banks West or East is when the tide is out.  You can walk a LONG, LONG  way out over the sand to the water and kids love it.  I have taken my classes several times as year end field trips and one year when I was at an east-side school one of my little girls in grade two said, "Miss A, this is the best day of my life ever.  I've never been to the beach before!"  It was a cold, gray June day and she was shivering and starting to turn blue around the mouth from being in the water!   On a hot, sunny, summer day with the tide out, there is no prettier place to be.  You sit with a view of the North Shore mountains and downtown Vancouver.  It is picture perfect.

Photos of Spanish Banks - will post some of my pictures when I am home and have access to my photos

http://leslieinvancan.blogspot.ca/2010_07_01_archive.html
Only citing this blog, no connection to it



See photo by Steve Smith  at World of Stock

More photos of Spanish Banks

Like I said growing up in England we would go to the seaside for a holiday.  I have many fond memories of playing in the sand and swimming in the water at  Bournemouth. Unfortunately I can't find any old photos and don't have a scanner to scan them anyway.  My childhood was long before the time of digital cameras! So thanks to FreeFoto.com for allowing their images to be shared.

This was one of my pastimes as a child.  This and being buried!

Please can I ask you to take a minute to look at a previous post called "Angels for Hannah".  A little girl from Victoria is very sick with a very rare form of cancer.  Her case is only the fourth in the world.  She is being treated in Vancouver, a hour and 45 minute ferry ride from home.  Please take a minute to look at the family's webpage and blog and keep them in your prayers.  The blog and webpage are only about a week old so please bear that in mind.  Thank you all!

Angels for Hannah- please pass the message on

In our local newspaper, well really my parents as I'm back in Victoria again, there is an article about a little girl called Hannah who has just been diagnoised with Stage 4  rhabdomyosarcoma.   The article says there are only three known cases in the world and Hannah's is the fourth and the first for British Columbia.  You can read about this family on a website that has been set up for them by friends.   The website is looking for donations, but keeping Hannah in your prayers and passing along the message to your friends is also a very valued and appreciated form of support.  By dedicating a post to Hannah, I am hoping to spread the message.  Please visit her website by Googling "Angels for Hannah"  and keep in mind it is new.

The link below is to the newspaper article that published this story in Victoria and where I first read about Hannah.
http://www.timescolonist.com/health/Burned+last+year+family+battles+cancer/7119170/story.html

At a time when I feel like my journey isn't ever going to be successful and that I should through in the towel,  I feel a bit better by being able to spread the word about Hannah.  On her website there are links for those of you that use Twitter and Facebook.

Childhood Canada Cancer Foundation

I am participating in Kate's, Lucy's mum, Fun Friday blog event.  Lucy is in the process of returning to school and Kate's topic this week is to do with special needs children returning to school.  At the bottom of the right hand side of my blog I have links regarding adoption and schools and teachers, but thought I would look up some info for Kate's topic.  I have been teaching for 21 years and haven't taught a child with cancer or returning to school after cancer yet.  I have had numerous children with special needs.

The Childhood Canada Cancer Foundation has a page devoted to helping teachers and schools deal with this topic.  I know this is a little different twist/view on Kate's topic but perhaps this information might be helpful to Lucy's teachers and any other teachers out there that are reading this.  The first video is a grade one teacher talking about how she helped a child return to school.  The hardest part for me was when she said that saying, "No," to this child so she was treated like the other kids was important.  I know this is best but it just seems so cruel.  Look at sweet, little Lucy and try to say, "No" to that face.    Later down the page they talk about students returning to school.

One of the most important things is to get a letter home to Lucy's class and Ella's class that if classmates have colds, chicken pox, Fifth Disease, anything like that they STAY home.

Kate, I hope this helps a little.

What information is in a child proposal? A call for help

This is a call for help for all those of you who have adopted.  I received a photo yesterday of a young child available for adoption in my country and today received very sketchy information on the child.  The information is not enough on which to make any kind of decision and I am more than frustrated!  

When you receive the proposal on a child what information do you typically receive?  Please leave me a comment so I know what is reasonable to ask for and what is unreasonable.  I have already asked some questions but did not receive terribly helpful answers. The child has just turned six years of age.  If you haven't received a proposal but are in the process, what would you want to know?  What would you want to be included in the package?

I wish I didn't feel like I do, in that information is not forthcoming.   I am curious as to what those of you who adopted from China, Vietnam, Honduras, Russia, Korea and Ethiopia received.

Thank you for your support.  Have a great weekend. 

Very Quiet and Slow on the Western Front

No news what so ever and I have been home for just over two months.  I would love to hear from those of you that had to change countries.  Something I am really considering doing.  At what point did you do it?  Did you wait for your country to close or did you decide to jump ship, so to speak?   Apparently although there is no matching system for my country there is some kind of waiting list kept.  I have asked to know where I am on this list.  I hope the waiting list isn't the register I gave Miss zxcvb my name and info to put in, as I can't say I hold much faith in this big book.  It kind of reminded me of the attendance registers teachers used to have to keep. 

I just posted on my other blog and said I am about ready to give up.  I can't believe how much money I have already spent in agency fees (local and facilitator), medical - shots, postage, citizenship, etc,etc.  At least if things don't work out, I know I tried and put up a good fight which seems to be the story of my life.  Sorry, this sounds like a pity party and with what other people are facing in life, it really shouldn't be!  The $10,000 CAD (airfare, hotel, driver, shots, food, lost wages) the trip cost me I can at least say was a trip and an experience that I would otherwise never had had or never taken.  It allowed me to travel to a country I would not otherwise have visited.  I came back all eager for July, so despite a work contract, I could start making a photo book of myh trip.  Any of you that are teachers now that June, or the last month of school for those in the US, is a write off for getting much else done.  Needless to say July has come and gone and there is no photo book, not even any signs of one starting.  I have to be completely honest and say I have little interest now in putting one together. 

 I have two weeks of holiday left, three offically but I never look at the last week of August as a holiday, when I am in school getting ready for September!    Due to a number of things, I can't say I am excited, but then who really is!   I have bought some books off of Amazon that I can use with books and ideas l I already have for an almost year long writing project.  I plan to do a piece of writing every second week for this project and think the finished project will be a keepsake for families, I hope anyway.  As I am working on making things less stressful at work for me, these pieces of writing will be in a draft form.   The editing and publishing process with young children requires a huge amount of time and effort.   Special pieces, those for holidays, Mother's Day, Father's Day or to go on display will of course be published.   As I have all new students, last year I went from a  grade 1/2 to a grade 2 and kept some students, I can also do the "All About Books" I have done in past.  These too parents love!  Thank you K for sharing this idea years ago.  It is still a great success.

I haven't done much blog following in the last few days so am going to go and get caught up.

Decline in the number of international adoptions

In searching to see how many BC agencies are working with my country, as I have some legitimate concerns, I found this article on another local agency website.  It doesn't paint a very bright picture for those of us waiting to adopt internationally.  It is very frustrating when there are many orphans world wide that need homes! 

Things are still at a stand still and I am TRYING to find out information on another agency back east and need to talk to a fellow blogger this week.  I just need to know that something is happening for me.  To change countries at this point is incredibly costly and I'm not sure I have the money to do so.   My confidence, trust and faith are at all time lows!

One blog I am following talked about another "childless Christmas" this year.  I couldn't believe it when I read it because it is how I feel.  When I went back to look for it to link to it, I couldn't find it!  Obviously I read it somewhere else, I hope that's the case, otherwise my mind is playing tricks on me.  I know this sounds strange, "a childless Christmas" but I so would love the to do, see and be a part of the Santa thing.  Don't get me wrong, I am grateful for my family and having a place to go for Christmas, but I would so love to see a child enjoy Christmas.  I also look forward to maintaing family traditions and building new ones with my child.

I am trying to count my blessings.  My mum saw some show on TV a while ago that was about some woman's book on gratitude, sorry, I am not good with names, and apparently each day we should find 10 things we are thankful for. I started to make a list for you but only got to six!  I guess the first one,
"Family and friends (that includes my online blogging friends) that love me, care about me and support me." I could break into three! 

Post # 90 - Check out my other blog for my first and last "Heart Letter" to R

I have been following Lisa's blog, "Are We There Yet, Len?" and love the 'heart' and 'love' letters she writes to her girls K and L.  I should have checked with Lisa, I never like to use other people's ideas without asking, but needed to put closure on my adoption loss and so went ahead and wrote a 'heart' letter to R.  I don't think R will ever see it but she is a very special little girl who deserves a special family and a loving, caring, forever home.  I only hope the couple that is finally returning to start the adoption paperwork realize what a wonderful child R is.  Please hop on over to my other blog (link in top righthand corner) to read the letter.   It is nothing like the ones Lisa writes, she was a high school English teachers, and my high school English teachers didn't know where I'd come from (the experimental education era in the UK in the 70's) with the exception of Mr. R at Oak Bay High.  Thanks Mr. R, for encouraging me that writing from the heart, doesn't have to be perfect!  Sometimes the content and the message are what counts! Another reminder of Mr. R came the last week of school when one of my little students M, when asked to write about somebody special in her life, insisted on writing about her cat Pepper.  Her writing almost made me cry as the tabby cat she described could have been our dear old, most beloved Tinkerbell.  Even though Tinkerbell has been gone for 12 years, I have missed a lot in the last two weeks as she had the uncanny ability of knowing who it was in the family that needed her the most, and then giving her time to that person.  I couldn't find the kids' writing today and can only hope the substitute teacher handed them out on the last day of school.  I wanted a copy of M's piece and to let her mum know this was a piece that needed to be saved!

Happy Belated Independence Day to my extended family and friends in the USA!

Adoption Loss

I don't recall this topic as part of the AEP I took last summer, perhaps it was addressed but then I put it out of mind, forgetting about it,  hopeful it wouldn't happen to me.  Today is the first day since learning of the loss on Wednesday around 5:00 by email that I have not spent time crying, but then today isn't over yet and I haven't made two very difficult calls!  

I arrived home from my country on May 31st with the decision as to whether to increase the age of the child I was going to adopt and put in an application for a beautiful, sweet, gentle and affectionate soon to be 8 year old.  There was a very definite connection with 'R' and it didn't take me long to realize that this little girl and I would be wonderful for each other.  I felt I had so much to offer her and was very willing to help her deal with her issues around grief and loss.  Thank you to all of you who looked at my pictures and videos, spent hours talking to me, or emailing me.  Thank you also for being her for me now as I am hurting and feeling so empty inside.  I was so devestated and upset by the news that I had to take the last day of school off.  In 21 years of teaching I have never missed the last day of school!  Being absent on the last day of school, I went to my GP's to get an absence note.  When asked by him why I'd come in, I said I hoped he knew of a cure for a broken heart and burst into tears!   Perhaps not the smartest move, as all who are in the adoption process know we rely on GP's to fill in medical forms asking all sorts of questions about the applicant, but I couldn't help it!

On June 14th I learned from the Canadian agent on the ground in my country that 'R' was cleared and available for adoption.  With this news, I started to send Seattle Children's Hospital video footage and photos I had taken and started thinking about the bed (much nicer in the store with other bedding on it) I had seen at IKEA in early May and how I could decorate 'R's" room.  I talked to a family in Toronto adopting 'R's' friend from the same orphanage and have also been excited with the friendship I am forming with another single woman (also a grade two teacher) in another BC town who is travelling to my country in August.  Then WHAM!!!!!!  Out of left field is this email from the agency director, via the agent, that the family in Europe that adopted "R's" sister several years ago are starting the paperwork this summer to adopt "R".  Note they haven't already started, they ARE starting.  I am very happy for 'R' that she will get to be reunited with her younger sister, don't get me wrong here, but why all of a sudden is this news being dropped.  Why wasn't I told something about this in the last month?  I suspect the family may have been phoned and told there was interest in 'R' and asked if they were interested in their daughter's sibling - "R".  I will never ever know the answer but hope and pray that 'R' is happy with this reunification.

Where does this leave me?  Well, I haven't been able to speak to the agent in my country, only the director of the agency in Ontario.   At the moment, I don't feel that my wishes or best interests are being taken into consideration so I am going to try and decide what to do.  I have the next week off between school and summer school and will try to make phone calls and connections with people that are impossible when differences in time don't make things easy.   Yes, F, I have spoken to my agency about changing to your country and even phoned a clinic here in town to try and get infromation on the medical tests you have told me about.  G, I am also reaseraching your country and waiting to hear from my local agency about their agreement with MLJ, which is the US agency I'd have to use.  It is a huge decision to change countries, not to mention loss of money which there is a lot less of now, at this point in time but it may have to be done.  I know several of you whose blogs I follow have had to do this and have gone on to bring home wonderful, adorable children from other countries.  A few people have told me that things happen for a reason, perhaps they do, but right now that reason is very hard to understand.  I am not a great believer in karma - except parking, but hope mine begins to change!  I envy, this is the wrong word but I don't know which word to use, those of you that have a strong relationship with God as I want to be a mum so badly yet seem to be having so much difficulty in the process.

Sorry for the depressing and down post on a Sunday of a long weekend, but to anybody following this blog that isn't on my group email list, you wouldn't have heard the news!  Thank you again to everybody for all your emails and support.  It has meant so much to me in the last few days and I will try to gradually respond to them.

To my fellow Canadians, near, far and overseas (M - I'm thinking of you Down Under) Happy Canada Day!   12 years ago today on July 1, 2000 I became a Canadian citizen in a special millenium celebration in Barkerville, British Columbia.  I was living in Quesnel at the time so it wasn't as far away as it is now!  I hate to admit it took me almost 17 years to do so!

Why go to bed!

If you are only going to lie there tossing and turning and debating whose neck you are going to wring first, why go to bed!   I was asked to be a reference by the agency in Toronto for another single woman in BC and am now in the process making friends with a wonderful woman who lives about 5 hours away.  We are email and phone buddies and have a lot in common.  If we aren't off on parenthood leave next year, note my very optimistic thinking here as there is still NO news from you know where, we are thinking of having our students be penpals!   I hope to meet this great gal one day as we shared some good laughs on the phone the other night.

On Sunday night I attended my first AFABC social event.  I went to a potluck supper at a local couple's house and met other people in the same boat as me.  Seems we all feel like we need an advocate!  We are in different programs and going different routes (domestic, Canada Adopts, international) to try and create our families.  Waiting parents are a unique breed of people!  We are often strongly supported by family and friends yet face a very emotional journey with often little information forthcoming.  We understand each other and can relate to each other's stories and experiences.  The next AFABC waiting parents event will be sometime in September.  Thank you so much to the couple who hosted the event and welcomed 10-12 complete strangers into their home.

Time - home for three weeks now

I can't believe in a couple of hours time I will have been home for 3 weeks!  We got back around 1:00 in the morning.  My country feels like a million miles away!  Time is ticking and the lawyer's assistant's comment of,  :if everything is in place, it could be a September court date" is now likely November if I decide to go this route!   Presently, I am spinning my wheels in quick sand!  There is no court in December and the last thing I want to do is spend Christmas in a hotel room in a foreign country!   To those of you who were privy to my emails while travelling, I haven't made a decision but am investigating the possibility.

 What has happened in those three weeks isn't much I'm afraid, although those of you that know me well, know I haven't been sitting still.  Just picture a dog with a bone!   The first week I was numb, shell-shocked, felt like I'd been dragged through a bush backwards, broken-hearted, and more emotions than I can name or care to post.  I have run out of "i-stock credits" and although beyond broke (financially and emotionally) went to their website to see if they had pictures for the feelings I was experiencing, no, nothing not a single photo matched my emotions!   Hence, no photos to post!

 The first week back I had my dad here with me as he was at a conference here in Vancouver.  We are very close and it was good to have his company.  The weekend he left was particularly hard and last week was very tough too!   I have been in tears several times but haven't actually broken down and cried yet although have felt like it a number of times.  I am having to be patient in this process but this is hard when information isn't forth-coming.   The end of last week, I tried to take the bull by the horns so as to avoid a repeat of the previous weekend.  At the end of last week, I was asked to have patience!   I wanted to scream and shout, "Do you know how long I have been trying to be patient?"   I want some information and answers and don't believe they can be that hard to get.  Unfortunately, there are no daisies around here to pick, not that I want to or feel like it anyway!

This week I have been encouraged by the agency director back east to be pro-active in this process.  This is good news, but now I have to figure out what this means.  I have to figure out how to be pro-active without stepping on another certain person's toes that I feel holds so much for me at the moment.  For years I have advocated for my students with special needs, written letters to doctors telling them what we need to get a designation, and being pretty successful.  Since I have been home I have been asking myself, why now when I am trying find and bring my child home do I keep striking out.  I want help!   Where is the person to help me accomplish this?  I am so grateful to my friends and blogging buddies.  I think I have posted before that I don't tweet or have a facebook page, but I have learnt there are some very wonderful people on-line walking the same journey who send me emails and support me.  One day I wish we could have a great big family get together!   What a multi-cultural party it would be with children from all over the world!  Thanks especially to F, G and G.

I am beginning to wonder if there is some reason this adoption process isn't working out but try hard to stop these thoughts and to remind myself that the process of international is complex and challenging for most families.  As several of us have said, it isn't for the faint of heart and we will certainly be able to teach our children about persistence and determination.

I have to give thanks to AFABC, who are absolutely wonderful.  For those of you in BC - become a member you won't be sorry!  After talking to them, I am pursuing a consultation with The Centre for Adoptive Medicine at Seattle Children's Hospital.  I love the way Americans respond!  Within hours of sending a request for information I had heard back from these people.   One of the women in the office even made me laugh when she compared my process to "bushwhacking".  Maybe "i-stock" have a photo for that!   I had an experience with the American medical system in December of last year and I was very impressed so have decided to go south of the border again!  I will keep you informed, as much as I can on my blog, of their services and support but have barely started and already feel supported.  I don't think their costs are bad at all, not given what I have already paid and what I have got for that significant sum of money.  

I begin to wonder if I am going through some grieving process as this week I find myself feeling angry with the system and the lack of success with my trip.  I knew if the trip wound up like this, I wouldn't be too happy a camper once home, but I didn't believe it would go this way.  I was so absolutely positive, certain I would find a child.  Maybe I did or as A said on at dinner last Friday, maybe my child found me. 

It is Thursday in about 20 minutes!  Maybe I'll hear news before the weekend, after all I do have Thursday and Friday but I'm not holding my breath!  I tried to make a phone call tonight, thanks to being given permission to make it, but the person is away is until the end of next week!   Another delay!

Good night all.  I sure wish I had some positive news to share and was making progress.  While I investigate at Seattle Children's I am also starting to research an other country.  Not sure how I can afford to do this, but the end result is what is driving me.

Was I duped today?

A few years ago there used to be a very friendly, pleasant homeless guy outside of London Drugs.  He was never in your face, stoned or drunk, and was always polite.  I talked to him several times and gave him money a few times.  Once some to put towards a hard hat for work, another time for McDonalds, again for a hostel so he could shower to go to work.  He had the uncanny ability to be outside London Drugs  on days where I felt like nothing had gone right and I'd had a day from H-E - double hockey sticks!   I believed in him to a certain extent and one time he told me he'd been in nine different foster homes.  I can remember thinking, "Too bad I didn't have a foster home, I'd have made things work for you!"  Well I haven't seen him in a long, long time and the other guys that hang around outside London Drugs have not made the same impression or connection with me.  I know what you are all thinking, perhaps I am a sucker, but I felt I had to give him a chance.   I don't know what it was about him, but I think he would been one of those kids that no matter how difficult they were in your class and how crazy they drove you, you couldn't help but love them.   Apparently according to my friend C, a gal that used to work at summer school with us had a boyfriend that gave him money as well.

I have been riding such an emotional roller coaster since arriving home and am having to really practice the virture of patience.  It is all I can do not to scream and shout.  I was going to teach my kids a new word today, inept!  Anyway, this guy for some reason has crossed my mind several times.  I haven't seen him in years and wondered if he had made it! 

Fast forward to this afternoon.  I left school right after the bell.  I had to get a card and gift in the mail for Father's Day and decided that despite wanting to come home and crawl into bed, I would attend a meeting so I could take my half-day off without feeling guilty.  That darn old guilt - another story!  Well, this guy came up to me out side Shopper's Drug Mart and said, "Hi, you don't recognize me do you?" - I must have looked puzzled.  He continued, "I used to hang outside London Drugs and you'd help me."   I was speechless!   He is clean, nicely dressed with glasses and looked quite presentable!  I couldn't believe it!  How and why after thinking about him like I have over the last week, should I bump into him?   Anyway, he tells me has completed grade 9 and 10 and is presently getting his lowest grades of 81% in grade 11 adult ed.  When he completes his high school courses he is going to become a drug and alcohol counsellor and help the people on the downtown East Side.  He then explained how after paying his rent he was left with only $27/month for food!   How he is having to fight for disability.   Now those parts were believable thanks to our present provincial government, welfare rates, etc.  Anyway you can guess his next question, "Can you give me anything for food?"   I had no money on me and made the decision to go and get him some money from the bank.  Needless to say since I've been on unpaid leave there wasn't a whole lot to give!  He was very grateful and told me he'd go to Superstore.  I sat talking to him for a few minutes and told him how proud I was of him and how I had been wondering about since returning from my rather mixed trip.  I figure whatever he spends it on beats me spending it on pop and chocolate!!!!

Now what are the odds after all these years of bumping into him like I did?   He said he is in my neighbourhood every Tuesday afternoon because he volunteers at a local church.  If I hadn't left school early today, I'd never have bumped into him as I am never in the village at this time.  As I drove to my meeting, I thought I'm going to phone that church, double check his story and then once a month leave him some groceries or a gift card for Superstore.   My determination with this seemingly endless process I've embarked in, is nothing in comparision to his!

I came away thinking, if I can't make a difference in a child's life at the moment thanks to things far beyond my control, then at least I can maybe feel good by helping T out.  If I was duped, then I'm a sucker!  If not, then hopefully T is able to have a few  decent dinners.  He is probably better at me than budgeting money!  Regardless, he made my day and at the moment I'll take that!

On the adoption front: No emails from my country!  I am beyond frustrated!  I am growing fonder of the child I met and can't believe this is now almost two weeks without information! 

I'm back to using this blog and prayers for Lucy

Not back as I had hoped and expected with wonderful news to announce, but back with an incredible, amazing, eye-opening, heart-wrenching and life-touching experience.  Thank you to LC for sharing this with me and to everybody else that is supporting, encouraging and following me in this process/journey.  My trip is one I will never forget.  In fact, if I were independently wealthy I would go back and spend time with the wonderful children I had the opportunity to meet.  I now have to wait patiently for information and either work on changing the vision I entered the adoption process or have faith in a system that I have now experienced first hand!

This week I learned little Lucy's cancer is back. If you are interested you can read her family's blog here.  I had first read about her story in Feb/March from the blog called "Catherine's Chatter" and for a short time before I travelled, despite having a feeding tube, things looked like they might be turning in this little girl's favour.   One can't help but be touched and captivated by this sweet, sweet little girl.  In the last couple of weeks have taken a sudden and very sad turn.  I know several of us have picked up on Lucy's story from Catherine's blog and my friend "F" on her blog "Viaggio da Vietnam" has posted about it as well.   Please keep Lucy and her family in your thoughts and prayers at this difficult time.  The strength and faith this family has is amazing!

Home in Body But Not In Spirit

Well, I arrived home a week ago tonight and it has been a very difficult week in a number of ways!  My heart is still in my country with the children I met.  I can't stop thinking about J&L and the opportunity they would have here, about the home and life I could give some of the others.  I spoke to the director of my Ontario agency this morning and am trying to work things out.  I haven't spoken to my local agency yet, with the week I've had I haven't had the time to contact them.  I found the image below on a fellow blogger's blog.  She found it on Pinterest.  It sort of speaks to the decision I am facing at the moment.  I can't wait to talk to some of you and show you the photos and videos.  R and A I am especially interested in hearing your thoughts.  Thank you T for talking to me yesterday.  The vision I had going into this process looks very different than the one I could be facing now, that is why I had to come to make the decision.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as it is really about the connection the child and I have, and ultimately the relationship we would have.

Source: Pinterest

Check out my other blog!

Hi,
I am travelling at the moment and am updating the journey with photos on my other blog.  Use the link to check out some of the photos.
Elizabeth

Dates

For those that love dates, I travelled a year to the calendar date from registering with my local agency.  It was a Thursday in 2011 and a Saturday this year due to the leap year, but still rather exciting.  Needless to say, I will honestly admit I have been like a dog with a bone over the last year!  Thank you to everybody for your support and encouragement. 

I also just realized updating things that my dossier didn't actually arrive here in my country until April 25.  So travel was less than a month later!   Wow!  There was no holding me back.  It'll hit when I get home and have no pay cheque for ten days of personal leave but this journey is everything to me and what else is a line of credit for!!!!

I am travelling at the moment and have updated my other blog with some photos.  Please use the link to see some photos on, "On the Road to Bringing My Daughter Home".  I will have to keep up with all of you when I get home. I am busy with group emails home and will try to keep the other blog up to date.  I will post more detailed entries on the other blog when I get home.  My emails and posts are my journal as I hate writing and find it easier to type.

I have so much to do and so little time to do it!

I have almost finished the goody bags for the orphanages.  I just need to get a few more stickers.  Thank you to my sister and a gal at her office for hitting the other Dollorama stores for me.  Here's a picture of one them.

Not a great photo of a wonderful little bag of goodies but made the bag for $20 including tax.  Each bag has 5 little mini-frisbees, 5 boomerangs, 3 sheets of stickers, a package of Canada pencils, the Canadian boomwhackers or bang sticks posted earlier, note pads (Disney princesses or Cars), crayons, 2 packages of sticky stretchy bugs, 2 packages of dinosaur glow-in-the-dark shaped bracelets, barrettes, Chinese skipping elastic, and a beach ball.  I only hope that I can get them all into the duffel bug I bought at MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-op).  The bags added up but I think it is a nice little gift to leave with orphanage as a 'thank you' for letting me visit.





I spent a cool $230 at London Drugs tonight, like Longs for those in the USA, and will post more about that later.  This was the big non-prescription drug shop!!!  I need to go back Wednesday or Thursday with my prescriptions!!!   At least those I should be able to claim on my extended health.  The only debatable prescription is the one for malaria.   $50 of the $230 was for iron pills and another $24 for two disposable cameras ($12 each).  A big thank you to my fellow bloggers for your ideas here. It seems many of you have sent or left these cameras with your child's orphanage or foster home so they can take photos of the child in a familiar environment and with caregivers and friends.  This camera is then hopefully returned when the adoption is finalized.  Sometimes these are the only pictures pre-adoption that children and families have. 

My bank visit on Saturday showed up today but I think I miscalculated and didn't take out enough funds. Oh well, it's a good job I am working for three weeks in July.  I may be living on baked beans and toast soon!

I just realized . . .

I just realized that L and I will be travelling exactly a year from when I registered with my local agency.  I registered on May 19, 2011 and I fly on May 19, 2012.   I am just hoping there is a little one available for adoption in one of the orphanages.  I will be a walking medicine cabinet with all the prescriptions and over-the counter meds I am taking!  I think I will need to check two pieces of luggage.

  I don't like to get too personal, but I must have one of the world's most sensitive tummies!  I never know what will trigger and what won't, and what doesn't one time may do the next time.  I had a long talk with W tonight from "On My Again" and she suggested "Pearls".  A probiotic that doesn't need to be refrigerated.   The reviews on line are all extremely positive and my little, healthy supermarket down the street sells them.  I am going to buy some tomorrow and start taking them so I can see how I tolerate them. 

Getting Ready to Go

It has been a very busy week.  I feel like I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off.  I encourage to hop on over to my other blog, see the link in the top right hand corner, to see what I have been up to and what I still have to do.   A major accomplishment yesterday was booking the flights and now I need to focus on accommodation.  I see my GP for prescriptions for everything on Thursday and my lady at the bank to clean-out accounts on Saturday!

I am not sure I will be able to post from the hotel I am staying at but I hope so.  Like some of you have done, I may be able to update but not post any pictures. I will do that when I get back.

A wonderful book - Gen and Gina, check this one out!



A blogging friend called Gen recently shared this book on her blog.  The book was given to her by another waiting parent who lives near her.   I have seen this book at Kids Books but haven't bought it yet.  I have however posted about another wonderful book before but will repost because the book is so worth it.

view this book on Amazon



                                                      

To summarize September's post

 "I Wished For You" is the conversation between a mother bear and her little bear and the story about how they became a family.  The soft watercolour illustrations and beautiful text make the book a real keepsake.  It is a very gentle and loving story as mama takes the time to answer all little bear's questions.  Little bear asks questions like, "What did you do when you first held me?"  He also asks if it is okay that they don't look like, wonderful for all of us going down the road of an international adoption.  If you are adopting you have to get this book for your library.  If you know people that have adopted or in the process this book would be a wonderful gift.

Gina has posted about another picture book, One Love, on her blog.  I have the reference book on parenting your internationally adopted child and have tried several times to read it but couldn't stick with it.  I am hoping once I return from my first trip it sudddenly becomes very relevant to me.

P.S.  If anybody out there has a list of what one should take in their travel kit please let me know.  Leave me a coment with a link.  I have seen pictures of bags but am needing a list now.





Shots and still trouble with Blogger

I am still having trouble with accessing my blog from home but was able to do so with no problems from work the other day!  This post is from home and the tool bar is almost useless!  Good job I know what the icons are and can recognize them from the very tiny bit of them I can see. 

I'd love to put a big picture here of a needle but have run out of "istock" credits.  As a teacher, I am very aware of copyright restrictions and had several emails with "istock photos" about how to source their pictures.  The last thing I want in this process is to have somebody catch me posting images without permission.  This warning kind of goes along a bit with a recent post on the Cinnamon Baby blog.  "istock" is amazing and has photos of almost anything you could imagine.  Those of you photographers can open an account and put your photos up, after they've been approved, and then when people like me download them you get some kind of royalty.

I have been to the travel clinic again tonight!  Another $440!!!!!  I am not blogging about the cost of the adoption process as it is something I don't think everybody needs to know.  However, I don't mind sharing the cost privately with people who are sincerely interested.  However, the cost of shots came as a big shock and one I hadn't really budgeted for.   I won't take any more out of my nest egg to pay for them as what I have left is the money I need to travel and some money towards staying home for the 35 weeks of EI.  By the way EI is close to $400 a week!  It doesn't even pay the rent so I am working hard to grow my nest egg.  In the mean time I have been putting the cost of these shots on my VISA and just trying to pay them.  I will be claiming them on my 2012 income tax return as I am unable to claim them on my extended health plan at work.

To travel to my daughter's tropical country I have needed the following shots, this is prior to the prescription medication for Malaria and Traveller's diarrhoea.

Shots required and cost in CAN  $
** Consultation with travel clinic doctor - $45
Twinrex A & B - first shot $80
MMR booster (measles, mumps, rubella) - free
Tetanus - didn't need it as mine is 2 years old from a dog bite but free
Twinrex A & B - second shot $80
Typhoid - $40.00
Rabies shot #1 - $200
Rabies shot#2 - $200
Yellow Fever - $125
Dukoral (traveller's diarrhoea and cholera) - $75
Florastor - $40
Rabies shot #3 - $200  (May 9th)
Twinrex A & B - $80 (my guess, at the end of August)

A total of $1,165 before I even fill the two prescriptions.  I also need two more prescriptions from my GP, one for antibiotics just in case I need it.  I have had a number of people tell me to travel with this.  And the other, the pill for that female infection, again preventative, but good to have on hand just in case it also rears its ugly little head while I'm away. 

The MMR is good for life and I have been told when I get the third Twinrex shot at the end of August the Hep A & B is good for life.  The Typhoid is good for 2 years.  The Dukoral (two oral doses) is good for cholera for 2 years and for traveller's diarrhoea three months and the Yellow Fever is good for 10 years.  I have a certificate of vacination in my immunization to show proof upon entrance to my child's country.  With all of this, if everything goes as planned, I will only need the Dukoral and Florastor when I travel again.

A note about the rabies:  I have been told to assume all animals in my daughter's country have rabies!   That is all the wild dogs, monkeys in the parks, etc!!!!   I love animals and have many canine and feline friends.  However, close to two years ago walking at Iona Point, a German Sheppard lunged at my arm hungry for dinner!   It was a totally unprovoked attack and has made me leery around big dogs.  T and L if you are reading this, I love your Sheppard's.  Trixie is as soft as can be!  Zeeva and Murphy, I love you too!  Anyway, the doctor at the travel clinic said for the first trip of 10 days, I probably didn't need the shots, but for the second trip that could be up to three months, she would definitely recommend them.  I accepted that and put it aside but about two weeks ago I reread the health section in the travel book for my country and then checked on-line.  If I have three shots and then have an incident down there I only need two more shots (one right away and the other on day 3) which I should be able to get in country.  If I don't have any shots, I need four shots plus the immune globulin or serum.  The first shot and the immune globulin need to be given right away.  As many of these developing countries don't have the serum so you are forced to leave a.s.a.p.   As I am not going on holiday, but rather the journey of a lifetime so to speak, I will be in no position to leave!  Thus, I sucked up the cost and went for the shots.  As K at school said, it is peace of mind.  For somebody like me, peace of mind is worth a lot and I would rather be safe than sorry.

I am starting a second blog specifically to document my journey to my daughter's country and to start a blog that can be made into a book.  I will post a link to it shortly.  Thank you to other bloggers for this idea and to Lisa and Catherine for sharing blog2book.com

I hope by sharing about the shots I can help other prospective families budget the cost better than I did.  My advice, especially if there are two of you, and you need a full battery of shots like me is to try to start as early as you can.  The Twinrex is one that can be had while you are waiting.  Something like the Dukoral is time sensitive to travel dates.