Eight Months

Already eight months...hard to believe that it has passed so quickly and harder yet to think that we have another 10 or more to go!

This month we met some of our bloggy friends for coffee...they don't live in our area. It was so nice to meet them in person. It was interesting to talk about the various phases of adoption, and see how similar or different our experiences have been. I am looking forward to seeing them again soon. And I have been thinking of how great it will be when we can introduce our Little Ones to each other!

Eric's sister Rachelle who just came back home after a year of working with MSF in Africa, was offered a six month position in the Philippines again with MSF. She accepted and is leaving for the Philippines this weekend. We are proud of her and the work that she is doing to help people. The situation however brings with it, mixed emotions for me, while I am happy for her that she is doing something that she loves and is good for the world, I am sad too because I want to be getting on that plane to go to the Philippines. I was surprised by my reaction, and after some contemplation, I realized that going the Philippines means much more than getting on a plane, it has become symbolic - kind of like when a woman goes into labour, she is not just going to the hospital, she knows that this is it, she is going to see her baby very soon. Rachelle and I have talked about it, and she was very understanding, and now that we've talked about it, I am feeling better about it. I will miss her terribly... I always do... but we'll manage stay in touch... thank God for e-mail!

I started to work on the Little One's quilt this month. I have chosen the fabrics, blues, greens, yellows and brown. I have the top of the quilt finished and now have to think of the pattern I'll use for the back of the quilt.

That is all the news for this month...we're enjoying the beginning of our summer holidays and looking forward to spending time with family and friends from near and far this summer.

Shared Joy...

Tonight (or rather, this morning!) I am thankful for friends!

I had a get-together tonight with two special friends and it was so fun to talk a little about our adoption and to have them share our joy!

Thanks for your support and encouragement!! It means a lot...it is fun to dream of the day we'll pick up our Little One! It is also fun to hear others talk of their excitement about our adoption! I feel so blessed to know that our Little One is loved and highly anticipated, by our families and friends!

We can't wait to meet you, Little One!

Seven Months

We've been waiting for seven months! Time seems to be flying by! Well, at least it is for us right now anyway.

As far as our adoption process, not much has happened this past month. We have not done any more work on the Little One's room. I did sleep in there one night though...and it is a really pleasant room to wake up in! We haven't done much reading, just some articles and blogs on the internet.

We were pretty busy getting ready and participating in our friend's wedding. Jen is a great girl - honestly one of the nicest people you'll ever meet and Marty is a great guy too! The wedding was beautiful even though it poured rain all day! Imagine the puddles! Jen had a great attitude and kept saying...it doesn't matter if it rains...I'm getting married today...and it's "shower's of blessing"...the wedding was fun...how could it not be with six kids...that's right, I said six kids (under 8) in the bridal party! I wish them both a happy marriage (with lots of little ones!).

My sister-in-law (Eric's sister, Rachelle) came home! She is a nurse and took a one year sabbatical from work to join Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontiers - MSF). She went to Africa where she worked on three different projects, one in Ethiopia, Central African Republic and Burundi. We are so proud of her and the work that she has done. She is an amazing person with a huge heart! The projects that she was working on were all nutrition oriented, the people didn't have enough food and MSF was there to make sure that the children were not dying of starvation. It is really difficult to hear her talk about the malnurished children.When she showed us her photos, I was reminded again that we have enough, even too much...and we sometimes take our food, clean water, home and health for granted. I'm glad that she is home safe and sound...because the areas that she was working in were not the safest.

My mom decided to get her driver's licence...she took the test to get her learner's permit and passed with 99%! Way to go mom! I am so proud of you...soon you'll be driving all over town and you'll wonder what took you so long!


So that is our little update for this month...looking forward to holding our Little One in our arms soon!

Dreaming of our turn...

This morning while reading some e-mails from our Agency's Adoption Forum, I came across a video about a couple who adopted from the Philippines. The report was done by TQS, on a show called 90 minutes de bonheur (90 minutes of happiness - what a great name for a tv show!).

A husband and his mom wrote in to the tv show saying that they would like to surprise the wife/daughter-in-law by painting and decorating the baby's nursery. The couple had been waiting for their referral for some time, and they were feeling discouraged. The tv reporter and crew then surprised the unsuspecting wife with many surprises! It's a tear-jerker! Get your kleenex ready and click on the link below.

(for those of you who don't speak french...I post a translation in the comments...I don't want to ruin the surprises for those who want to watch the video - it's worth it to watch it)

http://ft1.tqs.ca/videos/90-minutes-de-bonheur/2007/11/adoption-international-19733.php

...after watching the video...we are dreaming of our turn...when will we get the call...where will we be...what will our reactions be...how will we announce it to our families...so many happy things to think of today!

Happy Mother's Day

I had a wonderful surprise today when my mom gave me flowers to celebrate that I am "expecting"... I cried, of course. Thanks Mom...

Today I have been thinking a lot of our Little One's mother. I know that she has had (or will have) to make difficult decisions, decisions that will affect her life and mine for the rest of our days. I will always be grateful for, what I can only imagine is, a huge sacrifice made for our child...

I am truly blessed to have a great mom... and I hope to be as good a mom to our children.

Blurb

I've just heard about this great website...and I can't wait to write my own book!

All you have to do is download their free software...choose a background...add your photos and text...and away you go...I can think of so many ideas for books...I have a friend who's getting married...a sister-in-law who's spent the past year in Africa working with Medecins Sans Frontieres...a neice and a nephew who love books...some favorite recipes that I'd love to make into a personalized cookbook...or...an adoption journey book...our journey to you, Little one!

Six Months

So I'm told it's been six months since ICAB retained our candidacy to adopt. Notice that I'm somewhat oblivious to the specific passage in time. I've found it particularly interesting how the timing seems to be such a concern - I remember my wife pointing out nutters on the posting boards getting up in arms over comparing the timing of adoptions.
Now before you chuck your pro-biotic yoghurt/muslix at the screen... just hold on.
I get that in a nearly real sense this is like a gestation period for women and that this is ultimately the fulfilment of many years of a difficult emotional voyage. bon-bon c'est correcte... However I'm just saying that for me, time is zipping by - work is nuts - theres a growing list of stuff thats needs to happen around the house.
I've had a long standing sense that as far as taking care of a kid emotionally, spiritually and academically I'll be fine. The whole health thing is more of an issue to refer to mom/sister/wife who are either nurses of better informed... as long as food goes down and comes out the other way all systems are go to my mind. But the logistics are just enough to drown in... yikes.
So yeah I think that the time we have pre-kid is valuable and needs to be spent wisely - we need to talk about discipline - household management - is fixing the roof or getting a fenced in yard the bigger priority... all stuff that will become significantly more dificult to chat about when there's +1 in our mix.
So six months gone who knows how many more to go. Insha Allah, as they say.
Uncle Rikki signs off -a.k.a. Dad

Six months have passed and we're doing ok! The wait so far has not been as bad as I had expected it to be. We're keeping busy and I can now see that before we know it we'll be holding our Little One in our arms. I was sure that this wait would be excruciating, but so far, I'm doing ok and for that I am glad (as he stated above, my hubby knew he would be fine).
I picked up my Tagalog book again today...and ironically, I am starting to feel a little stressed that there won't be enough time for me to learn some Tagalog before we go!
As mentioned in previous posts, we have been doing a lot of reading and it seems like the more we learn, the more there is to learn, it can be overwhelming, but we'll just try to keep reading and learning as much as we can.
This blog has encouraged me through this part of our journey, it has been somewhat therapeutic to write about what is going on and where we're at in our journey, and it has the added benefit that family and friends (both old and new!) are both supportive and encouraging.
Tammy - a.k.a. Mom

The Little One's Room...in progress...part 2

I felt inspired today to do some work on the Little One's room, so I dug out my paint and paint brushes and headed upstairs...

I worked on the deciduous trees first, and then on the grass and flowers at the bottom of all the trees, I still have some work to do on the evergreens. The main project I worked on today was to paint the Hobbit Hole. Eric had drawn an outline on the wall, but I needed some inspiration, so I looked through his copy of The Hobbit and there were some great illustrations, that was all the inspiration I needed!

Here are the pictures of some of the trees and the Hobbit hole.

A little reviewing...

After my last post, I received a couple of questions that got me thinking about the books that I was reading, so I've written a little blurb about each one - just my thoughts...

Attaching in Adoption
One of the main concerns I have about our adoption is about attaching with our little one. My husband read Deborah Gray's Attaching in Adoption before I did, and since he knows me so well, he recommended that I only read certain chapters that are more relevant to our current situation, so that I don't stress myself out needlessly. Attaching in Adoption is an important resource book for every adoptive family, and it will stay in our Adoption Library.

Conquering Infertility
I must admit that when our social worker first recommended a book about conquering your infertility, I was a little confused. We'll be married for ten years this year and after undergoing infertility treatments; being diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome; and taking time to grieve the loss of the biological child we will not have; I can honestly say that at the point in time when the social worker recommeded this book, I felt that I had dealt with my infertility. I got the book anyway and began reading it anyway, and it helped me to see that, I had dealt with the main issues related to my infertility, which was reassuring since we're now on a different path. It also helped me to understand why I had behaved and/or reacted in certain ways in certain instances/situations. Although I wish I had read this book while I was first dealing with infertility, I am glad to have read it and to know for sure that we are in the right place and on the right path now.

Secret thoughts of an adoptive mother
This is one of my favorite books! I admire Jana Wolff's humour, candor, and honesty! Reading her book is a little like reading a friend's diary, in it, she openly shares her thoughts and fears regarding her adoption. Although the paths to our children are different (she chose open domestic adoption), her concerns about being an adoptive parent really resonated with me. While reading this book, I slowly began to feel that the feelings, and thoughts I have/am having are "normal", and for that I am grateful.

Becoming a family
This book had great information about healthy attachments. The chapter "bringing your baby home" has lots of great information that I plan to use to help us educate our family and friends about what to expect when our little one comes home. The author shares important information about the need for your child to be physically attached to you for the first while to help to promote healthy attachment.

The whole life adoption book
I'm only halfway through this book, but what I like is that it is full of practical ideas to help you through different situations with your child. It has some suggestions for educating family, friends, educators, and important people in your child's life. There is a summary at the end of each chapter as well as a list of questions for small groups (it would be nice to have a small group wouldn't it?!).

Labor of the heart
This book is another one - for the journey to adoption, It was one of my favorite books about working through the decisions to adopt and preparing to be a parent. At the end of each chapter, there is a section called "Adoptive Parents' Workbook" that encourages the parents to evaluate themselves based on the topic of the chapter.

So...there you have it...my two cents...what are your favorite adoption related books?

A little reading...

Books we're reading:
Attaching in Adoption - Deborah D. Gray
Conquering Infertility - Mind/body guide to enhancing fertility and coping with infertility - Alice D. Domar, Ph.D (this book was a suggestion by our social worker)
The whole life adoption book - Jayne E. Schooler & Thomas C. Atwood


Books we've read:
Becoming a Family - promoting healthy attachments with your adopted child - Lark Eshleman, Ph.D
Secret thoughts of an adoptive mother - Jana Wolff
Labor of the Heart - a parents guide to the decisions and emotions in adoption - Kathleen L. Whitten, Ph.D
Twenty things adopted kids wish their adoptive parents knew - Sherrie Eldridge

The Perfect Stroller?

We've begun our search for "The Perfect Stroller" however, I must admit that I wonder if it exists?

Eric is 6'2" while I am only 5'2"...usually if the stroller is comfortable for me to push...then Eric has to practically bend in two to push it, and if the stroller is comfortable for Eric then I feel like a little kid trying to push a shopping cart!

So far our favorite has been the Chicco Cortina Stroller. Our favorite feature is the adjustable handle! Can you believe it an a-d-j-u-s-t-a-b-l-e handle?! (watch the video here...yes...the website has videos on its website that show you how to operate the stroller!) We think the Chicco designers are geniuses! The price tag is a little too steep for us right now (we're trying to be thrifty)...so we've been doing a little "window" shopping...online...ebay...craig's list...US stores...sales...even the Chicco store in Manila! I am learning to be pretty patient when it comes to hunting for a good bargain - and since we won't really need the stroller for another year or so - we have some time! We'll keep researching and hopefully find a GREAT deal!

What's your idea of the perfect stroller?

Five Months

Eric's belated bits... so five months since acceptance; 14 months since "officially" starting the proccess and like umpteen years since we decided together to go for kids...

And so here we are today: mortgage, backyard, dog and other overtly "western family" trappings... But I am realizing more and more that those things are not what will make our family a good family or succsessful by any sense of the word... The measure of our family greatness must clearly be - - - my superpowers...
- What you have superpowers ?? - Indeed I do, and the application of those to our family dynamics - dog walking, mowing the lawn and kid raising and wife caring will create an atmosphere of awesomeness unparalled in all modern suburbia.

Otherwise stuffs good
'till the next chicane
Eric

Another month closer to our little one!
Thankfully, time seems to be passing more quickly as the months go by. Looking back and realizing that it's been 14 months since we started the process makes me think that we'll have our little one in our arms before we know it!

The Little One's Room..in progress...Part 1

We have begun working on our Little One's room. Eric and I have had many discussions about how to decorate it. He wanted to paint a mural on all the walls in the room but I wanted a mural on only one wall (He's usually right about these things - he HAS chosen every paint color in our home!). He had tons of ideas and since I am a more visual person and was having a hard time envisioning his ideas, one night I had him draw on the walls with chalk and after living with the chalk drawings for months, we decided to bite the bullet and try to paint the mural on two walls in the room to see how we felt. After the trial paint job...the next morning, I began painting the first coat of the mural...on all the walls of the room! It took a couple of coats of paint on the bottom of the mural (that was the easy part). We had decided that the sky should have some "texture" and we chose to use two colors of blue paint and through trial and error; using many techniques; we finally have a beautiful blue sky. The next step is to paint the decorative elements...the clouds...the trees...the animals...the moose...and the hobbit hole...yes...I did say hobbit hole...Eric is a huge Lord of the Rings fan...so there will be a hobbit hole...


Here are some pictures of the room "in progress"...

Four Months

We're four months closer to our Little One!
The waiting is not easy, but we are finding ways to get through it. We are continuing to read about attachment and about the Philippines. I just finished reading "Becoming a family" by Lark Eshleman, Ph.D. It has some great info about bringing our Little One home, it gives some great pointers about what attachment should look and feel like as well as some information about our homecoming/attachment time that we'll be passing along to our families.

I have already begun making lists for our trip (things to bring, things to buy when we're there, and thanks to Rachel a list of questions to ask...). I have a journal that I have been keeping since August 2008. I have been writing letters to our Little One every now and again, this is also the same book where we have started to keep our lists of things not to forget...I love lists!

If it is possible to do so, we would like to vacation in the Philippines just before we adopt, so we are doing some research. We will have to be pretty organized to be able to pull it off, because we won't have much notice to travel, but it is something that we both want to do very much. So far we have talked to our resource person from our agency and she doesn't think there will be a problem, other than being willing to travel without much notice. We'll have to investigate this a little further once we actually receive our referral, but so far it doesn't seem impossible...so we're hopeful!

Encouraged!

I just finished reading about this family's adoption journey. I am so encouraged. I love the honesty, and the raw emotions that were shared. Even though I don't know this family, I found myself laughing and crying and sighing with joy and frustration at the process. Thanks so much for sharing your blog. I am so glad that I stumbled upon it! I especially love your "Tips for adoption travels".

There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about our adoption and about our little one coming home to us! I try not to think in terms of time frames, because I think that will make me crazy (some might say crazier :) ). Lately I have been focusing on decorating the little one's room; painting the mural and finding the right fabric for the bedding. It helps me deal with the wait when I have a project that I am actively working on.

Three Months

So we've passed the three month mark...the wait has gotten somewhat easier since the holidays have passed. We are able to see that the end of our adoption journey is near.

This month, we finished painting the stairway to the basement - What a difference some paint and lighting makes! We still have some work to do on the little one's room, but we cannot agree on the paint scheme. Eric wants us to paint a mural on all the walls, where I want to paint a mural on only one wall. I think we are going to try painting two walls and see how it feels. We have quite a bit of work to do in that room, so we'll have to start working on it soon.

This month, we have been talking a lot about names for our little one. We are not going to be sharing our choice until after we receive our proposal, and maybe not until we meet our little one. It is interesting to hear our family member's suggestions and to play around with different names. Eric has a bunch of boy names that he would like, but I'm not yet convinced. In the event that we are proposed a girl, we have chosen a girl name that we agree on.

Two months

This Christmas season was somewhat difficult; its been two months of officially waiting to adopt, and all Christmas events and happenings are seen through that filter. And there were two family members who were missing this year, one who passed away and one who is working halfway around the world with MSF.
Our house is in need of some renovations before the little one arrives. We began doing some of the reno work this month. We sanded, and primed the stairway leading to our unfinished basement. We had not painted the stairway when we moved into the house (three years ago) so who knows how long it has been since that stairway was painted... The walls are now ready to be painted, what a difference some plaster and primer makes! During our wait we are planning to tackle as much of the basement as we can.
We also have some work to do in the little one's room which we will be getting to...the "Moose themed" room has just about all the moose items that it will need (or can fit), so next we will be working on painting/decorating the walls.



Tammy has realized that once we adopt, when Eric comes home from work the ordinarily calm house will turn into a mad house with Eric, Hobbes and the little one running, jumping and wrestling until, during and after supper until she has had enough and she cries "that's enough, you need to calm down!" That is what happens now so we can only imagine what adding a little one into the mix will do.

Gram-Gram's Moose

My mom used to make us crocheted stuffed animals when we were kids...I still have this one...

When thinking that we were going to have a child, one thing was sure, I wanted my mom to crochet a stuffed animal for them. So, we decided on a theme...moose...for a boy or a girl...it will be moose...so I commissioned my mom. I asked if she could make me a stuffed moose for our baby. We looked everywhere for a pattern, but we could not find one, but that didn't matter to my mom, she created one!

She used a teddy bear pattern, a pattern we purchased from here on Etsy, and her own creation. I absolutely love him! I think he turned out great! He's sitting in the highchair waiting for our little one. Thanks Gram-Gram! He will be well loved!

The beginning

How our journey began
I was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrom (PCOS) when I was sixteen. I knew then that getting pregnant and giving birth to biological children would be difficult if not impossible for me. So before getting married, Eric and I discussed adoption as an option for creating our family. We did try to conceive naturally, and with the use of fertility drugs, but in the end, we were not able to conceive. After researching other infertility treatments we did not feel comfortable with the "success rates", so we started considering adoption and foster care. The two years that we spent trying to conceive took a toll on us and we decided that we needed to take a break from trying to conceive and just focus on us.
Foster Care or Adoption
We researched foster care first and were not comfortable with it because the laws in Quebec tend to be in favor of returning children to their biological parents/family. We knew that it would be too difficult for us to finally have a child and then lose them so we knew that foster care was not the way to go for us (at least for our first child). We then began researching international adoption (because we live in Quebec, all adoptions that are not through foster care are considered international adoptions). Around this same time, Eric's aunt adopted two girls from Haiti, after having one unsuccessful adoption in India. We were able to see first hand as his aunt adopted first one and then another how the adopted child could integrate into the family, community and country. Neither of the girls spoke French when they were adopted, however it was not long before they were able to communicate easily. We thought that we would adopt from Haiti too, we even attended an information session to help us to prepare. We were not quite ready to adopt then (around 2005), so we waited awhile, and then in December 2007, we realized that we were ready to adopt (knowing that the process takes between two and four years). Before announcing our decision to our families, we decided that we would research the country and actually register with an adoption agency before making it official with our family and friends. When we contacted the agency that Eric's aunt used, they informed us that we no longer met their criteria (we were not yet 35 and we had not been married for 10 years), we could not adopt from Haiti. We contacted another agency that facilitates adoptions from Haiti and were told the same thing. It was official, unless we wanted to wait another two years before beginning the process (and then wait for two to four years for the adoption to be finalized), we would not adopt from Haiti, we were saddened, by this news, but we decided that we would investigate other countries. Eric was doing most of the research for the countries, he contacted a bunch of agencies, asked all of the questions and then we discussed the information he collected. I was really happy that he took the lead on this part of the process, I was feeling discouraged and did not feel up to all the research. After much research, we realized that there was only one agency that was available for us, I must say that I was discouraged and was struggling with the decision of the agency. One day I was praying and asking God why the process seemed so difficult, and I was reminded that throughout the years, everytime I prayed about our adoption, I asked God to help us to find the child that he wanted us to have. I then felt comforted knowing that there was only one agency that was available for us. The choice was clear.
We were looking for an agency that would help us to adopt a healthy child, from an orphanage where the children would be well taken care of, where we could adopt within a reasonable amount of time, all while staying within our budget. Our agency meets all of that criteria. There was a moment where we were not sure about whether we would adopt from the Philippines or from China, but after attending information sessions and having all of our questions answered, we decided on the Philippines. We are both so excited to embark on the next chapter of our lives!

The announcement

After deciding on a country and putting financing in place, all that was left to do was tell our families. We were each responsible for creating our announcement to each of our families.
Tammy's Family
We gave Tammy's Mom, brother and sister-in-law each a key chain, each key chain was identified (Grandma, Uncle Tim and Auntie Charleen). The key shows a penguin family of three. Each key chain was put in a box and they were all wrapped the same way. we gave them their presents after Tyler (5yrs) and Britney (2yrs) had gone to bed (we thought that they may be too young to understand, and wanted their parents to decide when they would be ready to hear of the adoption). There were more than a few tears of joy that were shed! I was surprised at how emotional I was, all I could squeak out was "We're adopting". It was so exciting to see them open their gifts and to tell them that we were officially (finally) on the path to adoption.
Eric's Family
Eric created a series of clues on cards and had one card for each family member. The clue cards were numbered and had a snapshot of the historical discovery of the Philippines by Magellan... It took them a while and some prompting - but after actually saying "We're adopting from the Philippines" they all got it... The best part was Eric's mom getting all nervous and acting out by sweeping the floor and cleaning the kitchen table (neither was dirty). So a D- for history and an A+ for cleanliness.

One month

It's been one month since we heard the fab news that we were officially approved to adopt from the Philippines... and time has since moved forward like a dead sloth going uphill in a blizzard. So like we don't know if it's because we have been talking more about the adoption together and with others, but, wow...

We find ourselves daydreaming about being parents; about having a little furless monkey around and how that will change and challenge our family dynamics; about names for our child (like Van-Troy which is an awesome name); about our trip to the Philippines; about other adopting families and how they manage to deal with the wait.

and...the wait continues...

ugh...this wait is going to be long!

Yesterday I read a post on the agency's adoption forum, there is a family who is leaving this weekend to go to the Philippines to pick up their child. They are so excited and are looking forward to spending their first Christmas with their child. I am happy for them, but at the same time, my heart aches thinking we will probably have at least two more Christmases until we spend our first Christmas with our child.

I'm a noob...

i'm here mainly for comic relief...
happy skroolling

Opening up this blog...

I have been writing this blog on and off for the past little while, and although I am still nervous about sharing this information, I think it will be a good experience, and it will help us to record this process.

Happy reading...

Officially approved

We received a call on November 4th at 9:00am to let us know that we were officially approved by ICAB (Inter Country Adoption Board)! Our moderator told us that we were approved in record time, usually it takes two to three months to be approved, but our file was received by ICAB on September 29, and approved on October 27!

What this means is that we will adopt from the Philippines. It is now just a matter of time (the estimated waiting period at this point is 18 to 24 months). The adoption agencies (orphanages) try to match each child with a family who will best meet their needs. We are praying that we will be matched soon! In the Philippines, all of the files are not necessarily processed in a chronological order.

We are very excited about this next step - it finally feels as though this is really happening - we have a timeline. I imagine that couples feel this way when they find out that they are pregnant...for us it just happens to be a two year gestation period! Which considering that we have been waiting for so long already, what's another two years!

Here is the text of the e-mail we received confirming our approval:

Objet : Adoption Application of Mr. Eric Jean and Mrs. Tammy Lea Seguin

Greetings of Peace!

This has reference to Mr. and Mrs. Seguin's adoption application received by this office on September 29, 2008.

We are pleased to inform you that the Inter-Country Adoption Board (ICAB) has approved the above adoption application on October 27, 2008. Mr. and Mrs. Seguin are now listed in our Roster of Approved Applicants. Your office will be duly advised as soon as the proper determination is made as to which child's needs will be best responded to by Mr. and Mrs. Seguin.

Very truly yours,

Update

We are now awaiting the official approval from the ICAB to officially approve us to adopt from the Philippines. Our file was finally completed and submitted to the Adoption Agency on September 17 and sent to the Philippines on September 26.

Going through this process has been somewhat trying. We wanted to have our file prepared in English to save the cost of translation, by the time they referred us to an English Social Worker, it was the beginning of summer and we had to juggle holidays and time off and meetings so it took a little longer for her to complete the Home Study report than expected. Then we met with the Psychologist, and it took about a month to complete the psychological report.

And now, finally our file is in the Philippines and we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. We should receive confirmation from the ICAB by the end of this month and then we begin "the wait". We should be paired with a child in the next 18 to 24 months.

During the summer, Eric and I decided on a theme for the "baby's room". Although we liked the idea of the Alphabet, we decided instead that we will be using Moose as our main theme. We have purchased some moose stuffed animals and we are now discussing the paint schemes. Eric would like to have a mural on all four walls, but I am not yet convinced. We have drawn the mural on the wall in chalk, and we will try some different paint schemes and then we will see. I was originally thinking that it would be nice to have a mural on just one wall. What also makes the decorating difficult is that we don't know if we will be adopting a girl or a boy. Please feel free to weigh in here with your comments and suggestions about the baby's room.

Here is a wall mounted moose that we are considering for the baby's room (from cuddleworks.com):

Our First Purchase...

Tonight, we made our first purchase for the Baby.

Eric and I have always wanted to decorate the baby's room with alphabet letters. A couple of weeks ago, at Indigo, I saw these giant "flashcard" type of cards that were really colorful and fun. I did not want to buy them then though, because I thought that it was a decision we should make together.

We had a date-night tonight, and after dinner, we walked over to Indigo. I showed Eric the cards and he liked them too. As an added bonus - they were 50% off!

One month into the process...

It is hard to believe that it has been just over one month since we officially decided to adopt from the Philippines. In some ways, it seems like we have beeen filling out paperwork forever and a day, and in others, it seems like it was only yesterday.

We have completed the paperwork for the DPJ (youth protection). They are now checking our references.

Once the references are received by the DPJ, they will contact us to schedule the Home Study and Psycho-Social Evaluations.

We have almost completed the paperwork for the Agency (Formons une Famille), but it will only be truly complete when the Home Study and Psycho-Social Evaluations are complete.

It still doesn't seem real...