Our Holiday

Last week we packed up and flew off to Toronto to see Sean and Kristin. While we were driving to Sean's condo from the airport, Amy spotted the Hippo Bus, a large tour bus that drives into the water and becomes a boat. She was so excited by it that we had to go on one the next day. Kristin and John came with us as poor Sean had to work.It actually was quite a bit of fun and offered a great view from the water.

The next day involved a road trip to Ottawa to celebrate (three months early) Robin's brother Ric's 60th birthday. Of course, no trip would be complete without stopping at the Big Apple to feed the animals . . .

. . . eat apple pie and touch the Big Red Apple.

We celebrated Ric's birthday at a restaurant and he was a great sport and actually wore all the 60 things we brought.

Robin's other brother Ron and his wife Elinor joined us there as well.

Amy reacquainted herself with Uncle Ric when he got the best piece of birthday cake ever. I guess she felt he needed a little help consuming it all!

This is the most common view when Sean, Kristin and Amy are walking together. Amy loves to have them swing her along.

The following morning we met up with our niece Stephanie and her boyfriend Ian for brunch. I'd just like to mention that this goofy group of people are all from Robin's side.

Before the ride back to Toronto, we stopped in to say "hi" to the Governor General. She wasn't home, but her friends were. They're not an overly talkative bunch.

Daddy and two of his kids outside the GG's house.

Then it was off to Langdon Hall . . . without any kids! This is a beautiful country manor that we love. Sean and Kristin were kind enough to entertain Amy while Robin and I had a little break all by ourselves.

This is where we spent most of our time. Drinks were only a phone call away and I actually read an 850 page book in one day! Talk about indulgence. It was terrific.

Thanks Sean and Kristin for being such good hosts. We really appreciated it.

The Referral

Wouldn't you know it. The day that we have been waiting for for a year and a half finally came and I was at Dad's, on the farm, in the middle of nowhere, with only dial up! Ugh!!!

Amy, my sister Carol and I were at Dad's when Robin's assistant Maureen called and immediately transferred me to him without any conversation. I could tell by the tone of his voice that this was the call we had been waiting for. I had to hang up so that Carol could sit at Dad's ten year old computer and wait for it to start and then wait for the dial up to kick in so we could see pictures of the baby.

In the mean time, I was out in the middle of the yard, wandering around with Dad's cell phone (because I discovered mine does not get coverage out there), trying to get reception. I found a spot and was able to speak to Robin once again and get more of the details. Finally, Carol yelled to say she had the pictures. I ran into the house to see our new baby and promptly lost reception on the cell. That's how the next half an hour went. I'd look at the referral and then run outside to find the spot in the yard so that I could discuss her medical condition with Robin. We had planned on being at the farm for another day, but we immediately packed up and drove three hours to come home to celebrate.

Amy was so cute. We had not told her about getting a new sister as she has no real sense of time and everything that happens either happens today, yesterday or tomorrow. So, to preserve our sanity, we had not informed her . . . until the day we got the referral. She sat on my lap and absolutely twitched with excitement about her new baby "stister". It really was adorable.

Here she is!

Introducing the newest member of our family . . . Anna. She is currently living with her foster parents in Shenzhen City in the province of Guangdong, which looks like it could almost be a suburb of Hong Kong. She has some issues with her heart, but she is post operative. She will be two on December 22.

To say we are over the moon would be an understatement! Amy has been so excited talking about her "little stister", her baby. She literally squeals with joy when she starts discussing her. If you listen carefully, you can hear squeals of joy from her other two siblings in Toronto too. And Mommy and Daddy too, of course.

What a great day!

A Day at the Beach

Amy and I were invited to our friends' cottage for the day. The three kids had a great time playing on the beach in the sand and the water and the mommies had a wonderful time relaxing.

Thanks. We had a terrific day.

When?

We are in waiting mode around here.

Back in January 2009, we decided that we would adopt from China again and we announced it at our family Chinese New Year dinner with the help of some clues in fortune cookies. That was over a year and a half ago. For Amy, we waited almost exactly one year (minus two days) from the first conversations about adding to our family to the day we received her referral. This time it has been longer.

We are adopting once again from the Waiting Child Program, which is a list of children with some sort of special need or for older children. A new list of available children usually comes out approximately once a month and it has recently been released around the twentieth. That's in about one week. And I'm waiting . . . counting the days yet again. I know we are very close to getting a referral, but nothing is guaranteed. I had hoped to use my summer holidays to get ready for the new arrival, but when I don't know who or how old the child will be, it makes it very difficult to put clothes in drawers and paint on the wall.

We have not told Amy yet of the new arrival. Her sense of time is limited as everything that happened in the past was yesterday and everything that will happen in the future happens tomorrow. We have decided to wait until we actually have a picture in hand before we tell her she will be a big "stisster".

She actually talks about Baby Amy, her imaginary baby sister already. Baby Amy sits at the table with us, comes in the car (and needs to be strapped in), and swims in the pool with us. And it only feels a littl odd when we are walking in a parking lot and I need to hold Amy's hand as well as holding out my hand, pretending to hold Baby Amy's.

So Baby Amy, I'm begging you. Please show your face around here soon. I'm trying to be patient, but the wait is driving me crazy . . . and so is your wonderful Big "Stisster".

Riley and the Train

My friend Teresa and her son Riley came to town for a little holiday. We met them and went for a ride on an old train that runs out of our city. The conductor came along to punch our tickets and the kids were mesmerized.

The ride was about thirty minutes long and then we arrived in a small town, just outside the city, where we had an hour to enjoy some fun. There was a magician, a petting zoo, and a little train to go for a ride in.

One of Amy's soccer team mates was on the train as well as one of her friends from school. She may not look it, but my social butterfly was in heaven.

Here's the wonderful old steam engine we went on. And here's my little supermodel in the making.

Visitors from Afar

My friend Arlene's sister and her family came to visit her from Fort Nelson, BC. They came by one evening for a swim and a dinner. Their visit began with a swim in the pool, testing out all the new pool toys they brought - good thing too, as we were running low!Amy made fast friends with the kids, Liam, eight years old (not in the picture), Trinity, three years old, and Kelsey, five years old. We bought all the kids shark towels and they looked so cute after their swim.

Then it was time for dinner. As per usual, it took three men three drinks and one digital thermometer to decide if the meat was cooked enough. Notice the new deck in the background! The plywood decking is just a temporary feature.

The kids sat down at their very own table. (Liam, Kelsey, Amy and Trinity)

Then it was time for the obligatory Princess Fashion Show with all three ladies looking lovely and regal. Liam opted out.

Apart from some initial jealousy on Amy's part - "That's my Aunt Arlene!", - she had such a great time with her new friends, that we joined them the next day (their last, unfortunately) at a water slide park for the afternoon.

Thanks for coming to see us. Amy can hardly wait to see you again.

Grandpa Asher Comes to Town

My Bio Dad came to visit from Vancouver last week and we spent some time with him. Amy, Grandpa and I went to the zoo on his last day. They both seemed to like the lions the best. Then it was off to the little train that has been running since I was Amy's age. I couldn't tell who was more excited, Grandpa or Amy.

Thanks for coming Grandpa. Having you around was lots of fun.

A Trip to the Cottage

Amy and I took off to the cottage for a quick overnight on the weekend. There has been lots of rain in the area, so all the lakes are very high. We went to Rainbow Falls, a place where I spent many an hour as a teen, swimming and (shudder!) diving off the falls!!! My niece and nephew Sarah and Scott were at the cottage as well. Sarah took Amy for her first ride on, what Amy has dubbed, the "watermobile" (as opposed to a snowmobile). She was a little apprehensive at first, but Sarah promised her that they would only go out for a bit and then turn around.

They were gone, however, for quite a long period of time.

And she loved it.

Clearly.

Canada Day

We had a few of our friends over for a Canada Day pool party from the FCC play group. The weather was perfect for enjoying hours in the pool. We barbecued and everyone brought salads, snacks and desserts to share.

The adults even got a chance to enjoy a glass of wine and discuss the flagpole incident.

It was lots of fun and a very easy group to host. We will definitely do it again next year.

Happy Canada Day everyone.