Letter of Confirmation

Big news in our household today! We not only received the Letter of Confirmation, but we actually got our appointment to get Anna!

Monday, November 29th!!!

We are still trying to work things out about work and school. This is not the best time for Robin (huge work commitment) or Kristin (end of school, exams, job), as the Asian Games and a huge trades show are going on in Anna's capital city in November and December. There is a window during the week of the 29th to the 3rd where nothing big is happening and hotels are available then. This seems to be our only week.

We haven't worked out an itinerary or departure date, but hopefully soon.

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are doing the happy dance tonight as we finally have been advised that our Letter of Seeking Confirmation (LOA in the USA) has arrived at our provincial office. Finally! Today is Day 85 since we were pre-approved to become Anna's parents. For Amy, we heard on Day 50, so we are a little behind. I was beginning to have nightmares that something had happened with our dossier.

Our agency advised us that we should travel in about four weeks. We hope that we can go ahead and make our travel arrangements before we get our last bit of paperwork from China.

I'm off to finish up projects around here such as curtains for Anna's room. Woo hoo!!!!

Happy Brithday Gui Hua

Tomorrow is Gui Hua's 20th birthday, so we celebrated this evening. The girls all got into the action of decorating the cake . . . and giving the fingers.

After dinner, Lin and Pin got to work lighting the many candles.

Princess Gui Hua.

I love how Amy has this amazing ability to stare someone down as a gift is being opened. "Are you going to open that all by yourself? It looks too hard for you. I can help you with that. Here, let me do it."

Skating Lessons

Today, Amy began her skating lessons. I never had skating lessons as a child and so did not quite know what to expect. I thought, given it is indoors, it would be fairly warm inside. Yes, I am Canadian! I'm just not an athletic one.

I dressed her in tights and sweats, a turtle neck and a fall jacket. When we got to the rink, I noticed all the other kids were in ski pants and jackets . . . because it's cold in the rink!

We signed her up for preschool level and was shortly told that they were moving her up to Level One. That was terrific, but for the fact that it was an hour long class and not half an hour. My poor girl seemed a little overwhelmed, not to mention frozen. After fifteen minutes, I drove home to get her parka and touque, which seemed to make her a little warmer.
By the last ten minutes of the lesson, she was not skating a whole lot, until they announced that it was time to get a sticker for her helmet. It was pure magic! She raced over to the instructor, beating a few other kids, and took at least five minutes to pick out the perfect one. When she got off the ice, we praised her for doing so well and she just beamed.

Back in the dressing room, she announced that her feet were "dizzy" (otherwise known as frozen!). Sorry Pal, next week we will dress you much warmer and you'll love your lessons even more.

The Wiggles!

The Wiggles were in town tonight for another of their great performances. Although Amy does not watch and listen to them nearly as much as she did when she was a baby, she still loved it. They played a great mix of their old and new songs and it really got everyone singing and clapping.

One of the best parts, for us as parents, is the fact that they seem to be having a great time. That is all but Sam. He seems to be in a bit of a funk and does not participate in a lot of the more physical aspects of the show. Murray had to go home to Australia unexpectedly, so they had a new guy "Ringo" step in. He was great! His voice was fantastic and he seemed to really be enjoying himself. So, in my humble opinion Anthony, Jeff and Murray, perhaps you should consider a switch between Ringo and Sam . . . hmm. The best part was the fact that I got to be up close and personal with Anthony.

I still think he's the hottest grape going. Of course, Captain Feathersword, the fifth Wiggle, is incredibly entertaining to watch too, but in an very different way.

As the show was ending, we observed that this would probably not be our last Wiggles show, and that makes me very happy.

Package #2 for Anna

Package #2 is heading off to Anna today. Included are books, an outfit, candies and a few toys. We also got our Malaysian girls to translate a letter to her, so that was included as well.
Let's hope we get to China before the package does (not that we have a date yet)!

Shoes

Amy loves shoes. So much so, that she easily has a dozen pairs. Most of them are pink or sparkly or pink and sparkly. Yes, this is a girly girl. Here is a sampling of what she has in her closet:

New shoes for China (not that we know when we're going yet!) (Anna has these in a smaller size) Sparkly runners (Anna has smaller size as well)

Fancy Nancy Slippers

Sparkly Tinkerbell slippers (some for Anna too!)

Bejeweled flip flops (oddly enough, we bought some for Anna)

Lined pink crocs with a light up Tinkerbell thingy (for the record, Mommy is opposed to these as they don't seem to go with anything, but Amy insists on wearing these all the time)

Boots (Anna too)

Amy's all time favourite by far, the very sparkly, big flower, silver flip flops (these got a lot of wear this summer)

The very stinky, gold sparkly ballet flats (Amy wore these at school all summer and boy, do they smell!)

Pink sparkly flip flops (Anna has a smaller version)

Ye Olde Crocs. Purple, butterfly thingys. Not pink. Not sparkly.

The brand spankin' new, "kindergarten" shoes. We're not sure why she calls them this, but it may have something to do with the fact that a lot of the children at her school who are in Kindergarten and wear a uniform, also wear dark maryjanes. I'm just guessing.

There. She does have silver, sparkly ballet flats at school, rubber boots, and a few other pairs of flip flops, but these were all I could round up on the fly.

I'm off to polish my one pair of work shoes that I have and will wear until they fall apart.

Thanksgiving

After sixteen people came to dinner, this is all that is left of a thirty-one pound turkey.
Happy Thanksgiving.

Corn Maze Again!

Yesterday we took advantage of our very unseasonably warm weather (26^C) and headed back to the Corn Maze with our friends Peter, Monina, Ben and Julianne. We had a wiener roast, which was really uncomfortable given the heat. Our fire pit was conveniently located right beside the hay bales, so the kids spent a fair bit of time on them (so did Daddy). Ben was able to get in this picture as well. And yes, I know Amy is wearing the same shirt and her hair still looks disheveled, but Carol gave her a great french braid and she didn't want to take it out. We have no excuse, however, for the shirt.

We took in the pony rides and the hay ride.

The petting zoo seems to be losing its charm, but I guess that's what happens when you visit the Corn Maze three weeks in a row. Take note of the modifications performed on Amy's outfit. It was so hot that I gathered her shirt back with a bread tie and rolled up her jeans.

The Pumpkin Barn was our last stop. We purchased two big pumpkins for Jack-o'lanterns and took the Pumpkin Train back to our car.

Well, time to hit the kitchen. We are having two Thanksgiving dinners this weekend, so I better get baking and cooking.

Family Day

It was three years ago today that I pulled a scared, thin little girl into my arms. She was so brave and didn't cry. I've often wondered what she was thinking that morning. Where was Popo? Who were these strange people?

As we enter into the process to bring our fourth child into our family, I look back to what the process was like for Amy. She has taught me a great deal and I am so thankful for her every day.
Amy was such a joy right from the beginning. She was so hungry and seemed to eat constantly. I remember feeling so happy and overwhelmed all at the same time.
This morning when we got up, there was a little present waiting for her at her spot at the table.

Don't ask about her hair. Today was an in service day for her, so she was heading to Aunty Carol's for the day. I knew she would get a fancy hairdo there, so I didn't even bother to fix it this morning.

She is such a goof sometimes!

After work, we had Margaret, Greg and their daughters Meagan and Jillian over. Amy and Jillian share the same Family Day and our families were together in China. The two girls have a very special relationship.

We all celebrated with Champagne (some had ginger ale) and dinner.

It was a beautiful day.

Curls

Amy always wants to have curls, just like her friend Camille at school who has tightly curled, long hair. I had been curling her hair with the curling iron for special occasions, but I would have to use half a bottle of hairspray to get it to last more than an hour. She has, however, gone to bed with a bun in her hair from dancing class, and that has created bouffy hair, but not like Camille's.

So Monday night, after much pestering on her part, I dampened her hair and made a few tight buns on her head before she went to bed. I'm sure you can tell by her expression how excited she was. Fast forward ten hours and this was the look I got after I took the buns out! Someone DID NOT like the new coiffure, even if it was exactly how Camille's hair is.

Finally, after some water and a bit of brushing, she was much happier (although I'm not sure it's much better than the first go round).

Of course, by the time I picked her up from school, her hair was pretty much flat once again. Oh well, at least she had her curls for a few hours.

Happy 20th Birthday Lin and Pin

Last weekend we celebrated Lin and Pin's 20th birthday. Amy and I decorated the house with badminton racquets and birdies, as that is their sport, and I made various Asian dishes (red chicken, Char Siu BBQ pork and hoisin braised beef with beans). Arlene and Aunty Marilyn also came to join in the festivities. (I think this peace sign thing is really catching on!)

For dessert, we made a banana foster cheesecake.

Then there was some picture taking.

And the present opening commenced following that. Warmth seemed to be the theme of the gifts. The girls received much needed warm hoodies from us . . .

. . . and mitts, . . .

. . . neck warmers and tuques from Arlene. I think Lin was trying to either demonstrate how to be a Canadian or a bank robber.

I think Pin definitely had the right idea.

Happy birthday girls!

Morning

Amy and I were up early the other morning. We sat at the table, ate toast and watched the sun come up. She was still sleepy, which made for a quiet morning.

She looked so adorable with her messy hair and dishevelled dress, due to the fact that she had fallen asleep in the car after gymnastics the night before.

I kept staring at her, thinking how lucky we were to have her in our life.

I didn't want to forget this moment of incredible gratitude. It was a beautiful, peaceful way to start the day.