At the end of August my friend and I drove out to a tomato farm. We bought 6 bushels of tomatoes (thats about 360 pounds of tomatoes!). We also bought all the other supplies we would need to make homemade salsa and spaghetti sauce. We spent the next three days canning. It was a lot of work, but it was so worth it in the end... we have yummy homemade sauce and salsa for the year! This was our second canning weekend, I think I forgot to mention that we canned beets one weekend in August.
We have been working on mom's kitchen, the cupboards are all installed. We decided to do a tile countertop and so we had to reinforce the cupboards to make sure that the weight of the counter would be supported. We ordered the tiles and the special moldings to finish up the tile... We've had a terrible time getting the supplies in. The company ordered the wrong kind of moldings not once, but twice! So once we get the moldings in, the kitchen will be done. I thought mom would have her kitchen for Thanksgiving, but, now I'm not so sure... we'll have to see!
This past weekend we went apple picking... well it rained so we picked one bag of apples and then we bought the rest (6 bushels of apples) to make apple sauce, apple butter and to can apple pie filling. Yum! I bought a shelf to hold all of the canning that we've done this year...I've done canning in the past, but never this much before! It's fun... especially when you have lots of helpers!
We were invited to an information session given by our adoption agency. The session was animated by a nurse, she shared information about the kinds of health issues you may encounter when you adopt. At the session we met Patricia face to face! I used to work with Patricia's brother and we both started the adoption process at the same time, however we've never met before... we read each other's blogs and have encouraged each other along the way, but it was nice to finally meet Patricia and her hubby Yan.
Oh and there were birthdays...
Eric's mom's birthday was at the beginning of the month... we went out for dinner to a lovely french restaurant...Auberge Handfield it's a family favorite! Rachelle came home from Belgium on the 8th of September...MSF sent her for epidemiology training (the study of epidemics). This will be her last trip for a little while, she starts work at the Jewish General Hospital at the end of the month.
I celebrated my 36th birthday this month... I spent the day with my friend and then came home to a lovely party planned by my hubby... there was good food and wine and lots of friends and family... it was wonderful!
For the past year we have volunteered at our church leading the youth group. It has been a wonderful experience. We are grateful that we had the opportunity to be a part of the teens' lives. However, with our upcoming adoption, we felt that we needed to step down and focus on things at home for now. It was a difficult decision, but we know that it was the right one for our family for right now.
So, here we are with 23 months completed...I must say that the 24 months is quickly approaching and there hasn't been a proposal since July. We have heard that our agency is annoucing that the delays are lining up to 30 months. Hearing the news that the wait is going to be officially extended has been difficult for us. We knew that it was possible, but you always hope that it won't happen. So, we're preparing ourselves to wait a little longer.
4 comments:
Congratulations on 23 months! I hope that you hear something sooner rather than later. We got our referral for our daughter in August!!!! :-)) And at least another couple in the yahoo philippine adoption group has also received a referral after us. So, maybe soon!!! It's nice you're staying busy during the wait. I love to can, but definitely not the capacity that you did!!! How awesome!
Bon 23 ième! je vous souhaite de tout coeur qu'il soit le dernier!xx
Happy belated birthday!! It sounds like you are a real Martha Stewart with all your homemade goodies! I bet that they are all delicious and you will be enjoying it all for a long time to come.
It is disappointing to hear that things are heading towards 30 months, but as you know, you never know when your referral may come. I'm hoping and praying that you guys hear by Christmas and it would be wonderful if we could both travel at the same time.
Take care and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Tam, I just would like to mention that a family member of mine who worked at the largest adoption agency in Europe for many years before retirement, spoke to her colleagues who just returned from the Philippines. The had mentioned to her that there are 50 more files from 2008, and that they will work on doing thier best to get those families matched by the end of the year. Now this is all dependant on the amount of children released for adoption etc., but maybe this also gives you encouragement for less long waiting times. Hand in there! I will do the same. If we can all meet in MNL early next year, that would be the cherry on the cake.
Best wishes, Veronica
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