Our Journey to Cole's sister,Ella

quick update

2008-12-03T05:18:00.001-08:00

It's hard to believe it is 3 weeks before Christmas and that we have now been waiting 27 months. Alot has happened since my last post. We made the decision to switch to SN and are now patiently waiting again. We are really hoping the 2009 will be our year to complete our family!!!!Fingers crossed for us, please.
Cole is great and very excited for Santa. He wants everything and anything but most of all he wants a brother or sister. My heart breaks when he says this because there is nothing more in the world I would like to give him. He has been amazing through this wait, he's 5, we've realized that the wait for him is just as hard as it is for us. This might be our last christmas just the 3 of us so we are going to focus on that for now.
Anyway, that's it for now.
Happy Holidays Everyone and I'll keep you updated on the events of 2009.

Lots to think about.......

2008-08-28T06:40:00.001-07:00

It's been almost 2 years waiting and there is no end in sight. We have lots of things to think about and decisions to make about this journey!!
Stay tuned............

21 months and nothings really changed.

2008-06-17T11:06:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Mum!

So it has now ben 21 months and I honestly don't see an end in sight. Grrrrrrr.
Cole is wonderful. We are truely blessed to have him. He is still waiting patiently for his trip to China. He really doesn't understand why he is still waiting. We try to explain it as best we can.
He is starting soccer tonight. This will keep in busy for the summer. He is starting kindergarten in September so he's counting down to that for now.

20 months.........

2008-05-13T06:31:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling a very down today. The realization that we've been waiting 20 months and will most likely wait atleast 20 more has hit me hard. I just don't understand why we are still waiting and that the end is really no where in sight. I know I should be optomistic but I can't today.

My Birthday Wish

2008-04-14T09:43:00.000-07:00

As I sit and ponder the year gone by and the year ahead, my biggest wish would be for my family to be healthy and happy. I also wish for our family to be complete soon. I know this one will still by my wish next year and the year after but hey its worth wishing for,right.

Were does the time go?????

2008-03-25T07:47:00.001-07:00

Hard to believe I am actually saying this. In so many ways, with this adoption, I feel like time is standing still but the rest of my life seems to be flying by:
Happy 5th Birthday, Cole!!!!!
Wow, were have the last 5 years gone. It's very hard for me to believe my baby turned 5 today!!
He is very excited to be 5 but he did have some reservations about it. He was so cute last night when I got him into bed and I asked him how he felt knowing this was his last night of being 4 and that in the morning he would be 5, we looked up at me and told me he wasn't sure he was ready to be 5 yet and then told me how much he loved me!!! As you can imagine, tears were streaming down my face(good thing it was dark in there) God, I love him!!!!!!!!!
Hopefully he won't have too many more birthdays without his babysister!
We're waiting for you Ella and can't wait for you to join our crazy family!!!!!!

update....

2008-03-12T05:01:00.000-07:00

We got some information from our agency to say that right now there isn't much that they can do, but once our LID gets closer to referral they will try again to get further info. So I guess for know this is the best that we can do.

On a much happier note, our friends Bryan and Angela got their referral yesterday for their beautiful Ella. I have to say she is gorgeous!! Congrats to both of you. We are truely very happy for you both!!!!!Can't wait to meet her in person.

from bad to worse.....

2008-03-03T04:37:00.000-08:00

So, if 2011 wasn't bad enough we got worse news on Friday. Let me rewind a bit, we got a call 2 weeks ago that China was missing our passport pictures and that we needed to redo them and send them to them as soon as possible. So we did. I was worried though at the time as to why we were only being asked now since our file was supposedly out of review back in November. Anyway, we got a call on Friday that they have our new pictures and that our file will now be put in with the files they are working on now(end of Nov-first of Dec '06) so this means our LID has now changed and we will be waiting even longer. We contacted our agency and they are going to do everything they can to try and get our file put back to where it is supposed to go but most likely it will not happen.

This totally SUCKS!!!!! Friday was not a good day for me at all. I completely broke down on the phone with our agency. I understand it isn't thier fault but I'm really hoping they might be able to sway them to change their minds. China is what it is. They make the rules and we just have to abid by them.

Thanks Ang for totally listening to me!! It helped!!

2011..........

2008-01-22T06:37:00.000-08:00

So we received an email from our agency last week that informed us that we should expect our referral in 2011. Yup, you read it right, 2011!!!!! As anyone can well imagine this is possibly the worst news to date. Brent and I have talked again in length of what we should do. I guess when you look at time lines for adoption in Canada, it's still better than that. We have to keep an open mind about this whole thing or we, really I, will loose it completely. I want to say THANKS to the girls, you know who you are!!!, for all you kind words. I know that if I need anything you are all there. Thanks for everything. Someday I'll figure out how to repay you all. In the meantime I guess some much needed renovations to our house are going to get done along with a few trips!!!!!

.....

2008-01-07T06:03:00.000-08:00

Well here we are in 2008, who would've thought we'd still be waiting and will continue to wait for another year or more. I'm feeling pretty down today as I realize that 2008 will not be our year and 2009 most likely will not be either. It frustrates me to know that the wait will continue to get longer and longer and that our dream of completing our family will continue to get further and further away. It breaks my heart when Cole talks about his baby sister because he wants her to be here so much and asks alot why we haven't gone yet. I have a really hard time understanding it so how can I explain it to a 4 year old.
Anyway enough whining out of me, it won't change anything.
So heres to 2008 making dreams come true for our friends Angela & Bryan!!Can't wait to meet your Ella!

Welcome Home

2007-12-21T04:32:00.000-08:00

We went to the airport last night to welcome home Tracy, Chris and Madi. They had a very long journey home but they made is safe and sound. She is beautiful!!! Considering the fact that they travelled for 30 hours to get home she was happy, laughing and smiling. What a sweetheart.
Another family came home last night too, Scott,Jen and Kate. She's adorable too.
I'm so glad the families are all home safe and sound for the holidays.
Merry Christmas everyone!!!
We'll see you all in the New Year.

P.S. Ang, our time will come!!!!!!!

Out of review!!!!!!!

2007-11-30T04:38:00.001-08:00

It's official our file if finally out of review. It's a small step but its something.

14 Months and counting......

2007-11-13T09:41:00.001-08:00

Today we celebrate 14 months that our file has been in China, keeping our fingers crossed that the wait time is going to speed up. Probably wishful thinking but hey that's all we have right now!!!

Congrats Tracy & Chris

2007-11-06T07:02:00.000-08:00

So December 8th is the cutoff. Congrats

to everyone that is seeing their childs

face for the first time.

Special Congrats to Tracy & Chris, can't wait

to see Madison.

September still isn't out of reveiw, we haven't

heard anything. I hope no news is good news

More Ladybugs

2007-10-23T04:38:00.001-07:00

I had another Ladybug in the house last night. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this means good things are happening.

Ladybug Sighting

2007-10-19T04:25:00.001-07:00

So I was feeling kindof down yesterday and when I got home there was a ladybug sitting on my front door waiting for me. It totally brightened my day. I like to try and keep track of when I see them to see if the sighting really mean anything.
Cole has been asking almost daily lately when we are going to get his sister, what she'll look like and how old she'll be. I'm so glad he is so excited but it also breaks my heart that we still have so long to wait.
He also said when his sister comes home he wants her to be a bumble bee for Haloween. Guess I'll have to keep that in mind for when the time happens.

1 Year waiting......

2007-09-13T07:25:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe it's been a year since our file has been logged. And what a year it's been. When we started this process we really thought that by now we would've been there. The wait times have gone from bad to worse and in reality it is now looking more and more like 2009. I truly believe everything happens for a reason so lets hope I'm right.
I have meet the most amazing group of ladies(Angela,Tracy,Cindy,Steph and Judy) I can't imagine this wait without all of you. You've been so wonderful. Thanks for being so great. Can't wait for ALL our girls to be together.
The past year has been an emotional roller coast for lots of other reasons too. We've had weddings,funerals,births,vacations and parties. Friends of ours have had babies,lost babies. Family members have passed away. Friends have come and gone, boys have come and gone(Brandon, Patrick and Marcus, we miss you all lots!!!).
All of these things have certainly made the last year go by quickly. Lets just hope the next year goes as quick. Cole is very excited for her sister to get here, we talk about her alot and all the things he can't wait to do with her. So everyone keep your fingers crossed that the wait will speed up. It has to right? Until then we will continue to enjoy life, Cole, family and great friends.

is there really an end in sight.........

2007-09-03T17:56:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe it has been so long since I last posted. Not much new to report on the adoption side. They only did 4 days again this month. It is very hard to comprehend or see the end in sight as we are still so far away and realistically if they continue at this pace it will be 2010 before we are even close.

Other than that things are quiet around here. Marcus left last Thursday(I miss him like crazy!!) I'm sure he'll do big things and we will be behind him 100%.

Cole is wonderful. We are so blessed to have him in our lives and I can't imagine this wait without him.

2007-07-17T11:41:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd drop a quick line, nothing much new happening around here these days. We celebrated Christmas in July at the cottage on the weekend. It went well. This is our first year without Dad and I sure did miss him. I hope I did him proud!!!!
Other than that things are quiet. Cole is great and very excited that we are finally getting some nice weather.

7 more days down.....lots to go

2007-07-06T16:03:00.000-07:00

The CCAA site ha been updated. Congratulations to everyone that is seeing their babies for the first time.

As you can tell we still have a very long wait,but it is getting much closer for some good friends of ours. I can't wait to see their girls.

we're back....

2007-06-29T08:08:00.000-07:00

We're back from our trip to California and had an amazing trip. Cole was a real trooper. We had lots of late nights and early mornings but he loved every minute of it. We stayed at this great beach house in Santa Cruz. It was beautiful. The weather was outstanding,no rain,no bugs. It doesn't get much better than that. I want to say a big "Thank You" to the Watson family for making the trip so great. We made memories that will last a lifetime!! We love you guys!!!!!!

We are now repacking,getting ready to head to the cottage for the long weekend.
Hope everyone has a great long weekend, Happy Canada Day!!!!!

on vacation

2007-06-14T14:45:00.000-07:00

Yahoo....I'm officially on vacation until July 3. We are off to California next Wednesday and I can't wait.
Not too much new to report this week. I was out with the girls on Tuesday to JJ's, we had a great time. And yes girls I am going to check out the "bar"LOL.

Anniversary & CCAA update

2007-06-07T15:37:00.000-07:00

I meant to post on Tuesday but got so busy. Brent and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary on June 5. Hard to believe it's been 8 years already.

So the CCAA processed 6 days last month. They are now up to Nov.7/05. It is better then 2 days ,which is what the placed a few months back but still very discouraging.
This brings us 6 days closer but still sooooooo far away.

Questions about our adoption

2007-05-30T03:45:00.001-07:00

So I've had a few people recently ask me lots of questions about our adoption so I decided I would try to give a quick overview of how,why,when.
As most of you know, Cole was born in 2003 and being his parents has been the greatest joy for Brent and I. We always said we wanted another child and made the decision in 2005 to adopt. We choose adoption because we have been so blessed in having our own biological child and realized that there are so many other children out there that need a home and an opportunity to be part of a great family(not to toot our own horn,but we are pretty great!!). We contacted Children and Family Services and had our name put on the list for a domestic adoption but was soon told that the wait time for adoption was approx 10 years. Yes I said 10 years,if you want to adopt a child under the age of 2, in good health with little to no issues.
So needless to say that is when we started looking into International adoption. At this point we went and talked to friends of ours that have already adopted and were in the process of adopting again from China and got lots of information,advise and support. Thanks Jeff and Leslie,we couldn't have done this without you guys!!!! We decided to us Children's Bridge as our agency,they are located in Ottawa and have been great to deal with.
It is now January of 2006 and we start filling out paperwork,getting physicals,bloodwork,police checks,fingerprints,financial records together,references,pictures and so much more. Getting all of this done and together took us till April.
In April 2003 we started our homestudy. The homestudy consisted of meeting with a social worker, Judy in Saint John(it was quicker for us to go to Saint John as the social workers in Moncton were too busy and we would have had to wait longer). We meet with her once a week for 6 weeks and talked about everything and anything in our lives. Family, marriage, money, kids, home, work, you name it we talked about it. Then she came to our house and checked it out to make sure we lived where we said and that we had room for another child.
We are now the end of June and we got the full written report from Judy. This is put together with all the other paper work from the province and the adoption agency and off the lawyer it goes. Once it has all be signed and sealed by the lawyer it was sent to the adoption agency for translation. All of the papers that we have done had to be translated to Chinese. Once this was done it was then forwarded to China.
Our file was logged in with the CCAA(China Center for Adoption Affairs) on September 13,2006. In the adoption world this date is referred to as LID and is the date everyone refers to. When we first started the process the wait time between LID and referral(which is when you get the picture and info about your child)was 6-8 months. Right now it is about 18-24 months. Lets hope it speeds up soon. At this rate Cole will be grown and gone before she ever gets here.LOL
To help people understand,the CCAA just finished matching people with a LID of November 1, 2005. So they need to match lots more families before they get to us. The normal average is 15-20 days per month that they match. So as you can see we still have a long road ahead of us.
So far though,we have meet some great people and made some amazing friends.(My JJ girls,you have no idea how wonderful you all are and how much I enjoy getting together with you!!!!) They have helped to make the wait easier.
As you can see it has been quite a journey so far and we still have much more to go. I hope this has helped answer some questions for people.

2007-05-28T18:25:00.000-07:00

Nothing much going on these days. Thank goodness for the nice weekend.We have the cottage open and just waiting for the boat to be ready. Can't wait to get out there. Cole is great and is getting very excited about our vacation coming up. He can't wait to go and see Marcus.

Oh, I had my first taste of 'Stamping' the other night. Thanks girls,I could see this becoming an addiction.

Getting started

2007-05-17T17:07:00.001-07:00

Ok here it goes, I'm totally new to this whole blogging thing but I'm going to give it a try.
I really don't have that much to say right now anyway. But I'm hoping to keep this updated on what is happening in our world when it comes to Cole and our journey to his baby sister,Ella.
We aren't expecting anything to happen till late next year so in the meantime I can tell you what's going on with him.

He is very patiently waiting to go to China to get his baby sister. He really doen't get why it is taking so long, he's 4 and thinks that things should happen when he says so.
We are going on vacation in a few weeks to California so this will be a good test for us to see how well he is going to travel when the time comes.

I'm going to try and figure out how to put pictures on here too at some point.