Two Brothers Waiting

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Joie de vivre

Noah has a love of life that is very refreshing. In every little thing he does, he seems to enjoy himself, he lives in the moment. Now some would say...well, he's only a child...it's normal. Yes, but there is something about Noah...it's in his no-worries-way of going about his little life, he has a ''joie de vivre'' that is intoxicating. He reminds me to stop and live in the moment.

Here is an example of what I mean. We went walking to a beautiful park this weekend. The kids spent a whole lot of their time rolling down a huge hill of grass. They had so much fun! Here's a video of Noah going down the hill. While rolling down, he is saying...This is awesome...This is the best day in the whole wide world...oh yeah...shake your tushie!

Although they really hate it, I snapped a few pictures of them and this is one of my favorites.

The kids also enjoyed Halloween this year. Liam was disguised as Batman and Noah as Mario. We raided the houses in our new hood and came back and devoured our loot!

Friday, October 28, 2011

My favorite time of year

Two weeks ago, we went walking up north. We go to the same place every year, and the kids are actually old enough to remember this place and look forward to walking in the leaves. They call it the Leaf Place.

Their favorite part of the day is looking for a walking stick.

My favorite part is walking off the trail and taking it all in.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Catching Up

Ok...so since the last time I posted, lots has happened. We sold our house, had a new one built from the ground, packed what seemed like a million boxes, moved those million boxes, went on a trip to Disney, finished the school year and are now having an amazing summer.

So let's go back a few months and play catch up...AGAIN! Back in January, when we finally sold our house, we anticipated that the move would be quite the undertaking. We therefore decided that it would be a good idea to take a vacation after the move. So one week after we had settled into the the new house, we packed our bags and got on a plane to Florida. We only told the kids we were leaving for Disney on the day of our departure!!!! We managed to keep this a secret from them for 3 months. I packed their bags when they were sleeping and hid them in a closet! Here is a video of them on the morning of our departure.

They were soooo excited!!!! We spent 4 whole days at Disney and had a blast! We then spent the next 7 days at Hollywood Beach. We rented a condo and relaxed for the week.

If you want to see pictures of our trip, click on the picture below.

Florida 2011

One morning, we took the kids to the Everglades for an airboat ride. We had always wanted to do this. I expected the boat to go fast....and it did!!! We were going so fast, the boat would go sideways when we took a turn. The kids were stiff as a board for the whole ride! HA! Here is a video of it...

Our summer has been quite relaxing. We are not done unpacking and that's just fine by me. We've been spending our days at the splash pad close to our house, going on picnics, and going to the zoo. Last night, we were at the premiere (in Montreal) of the original Broadway Musical Lion King!!!! The troup are on a North American tour and they are ending it in Montreal. It was absolutely amazing!!! Here is a small video of the show.

The kids loved it. Noah zonked out towards the end of it...he was so tired.

(picture taken with Steve's phone)

Monday, March 7, 2011

Hard Monday Morning

We got up this morning to this BEAUTIFUL view! UGHHHH!!!!

I wonder how much more snow is going to be dumped on us. Seriously....Have you noticed the hood of my car?!! I know Spring is just around the corner, but today it simply feels like it will never come. I can't wait to trade in my boots for my flip flops!

Anyway, Liam had an appointment at the dentist this morning for his first cavity. He really was not looking forward to this visit at all. It took us 2 hours to get there when it usually takes us 20 minutes!!!! The roads were so bad. Liam was very brave, he sat on the chair and he barely moved an inch...poor thing.

The whole intervention lasted about 30 minutes and he held his hands like this the whole time. Although this was not a fun experience, he was given headphones to watch TV up on the ceiling, and sunglasses for the bright light. Not too shabby huh?

Hope you are having a great Monday!!!!

Thursday, March 3, 2011

The wait

I haven't been updating my blog for a while now. For some reason, this blog was a constant reminder of the long wait we still have ahead of us before Mia joins our family. And although I always try keeping a positive attitude towards this wait, it affects me so much more than I ever thought it would.

We have been waiting for Mia for 3 years now...and I think we still have a 2 year wait ahead of us. Most of our family and friends have stopped asking about our adoption, and I can totally understand why. So much time has passed since we first embarked on our journey. I think most people stop asking, thinking it might hurt us to talk about it. If they only knew how we gush with happiness everytime somebody enquires about Mia. I carry Mia in my heart like I carried the boys in my belly. She is there, yet invisible to everybody.

Yesterday, my sister sent me an email. She will never know to what extent I was touched by her words. I would like to share a part of this email with you :

''Today I went to Cost Plus and spotted a ladybug ornament in their Easter section and was immediately drawn to it and decided to buy two--one for me and one for you. On my walk back home I started to think about you, Steve and the boys and what this adoption means to all of you. I started to wonder how I would feel if I were in your shoes and I immediately started to tear up and became very overwhelmed just thinking about how long it has been since you started this process, wondering when you would get word and then thinking about the child that would be part of your family. I don't think I fully appreciated, until today when I paused and really thought about it, what that wait means to you every day nor can I fully begin to understand how emotionally trying this must be for you. I often catch myself thinking "oh! jeez, I didn't ask her about the adoption when we talked" or "I wonder how she's doing today" as I hang up the phone when we talk. I always say to myself, "I'll ask her next time I call her". Sometimes I ask, other times I don't. So, I decided to put the ladybug in my son's room, somewhere where I would see it every day and be reminded of what the ladybug represents; even if I don't ask you about the adoption or how you're doing, I think about you every day, support you through this process and will keep my ladybug until the day my niece is home with her family. I'm there for you, Kathy and I will listen to you when you need to talk, cry, laugh and vent. I've been meaning to say these things to you for a while, maybe even assuming that you already knew these things but sometimes I little reminder is always helpful. I love you!''

I'm so lucky to have her as my sister and friend. This email means more than she will ever know.

I love you Debby!

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Fall has come and gone...

and much has happened since my last post. I do plan on catching up, but for now I've decided to post a few of my favorite pics that were taken in the past few weeks. Enjoy!

Monday, August 30, 2010

I don't want to go to school!

Noah kept repeating the same sentence this morning...I don't want to go to school! Although we've been counting down the days and he was very excited to start school, this morning the reality of it hit hard. Poor Noah, he was not happy.

But after I told him he could bring Woody to school with him, he finally cracked a smile.

So thanks to Woody, Noah suddenly had no problem going to school. He gave a big hug to Baba, Mommy and Liam and walked into his pre-k classroom with a huge smile. Woody saved the day!

Friday, August 20, 2010

Summer vacation went by so fast

One more week and school starts! UGHHH!!!! I don't know if I'm ready yet for all that it entails. OH how I will miss our lazy mornings and fun days with no schedule to worry about.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Referrals!

Not so long ago, I posted that our dossier had been reviewed and accepted. Click here to read that post.

Our dossier is now in the matching room at the CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs) . The matching room is where the CCAA chooses a child for you. After you are matched with a child they send you your referral. Your referral is all of the information about the child China has matched you with, including pictures! Referrals are usually sent out once a month. Last Monday, families with a LID through May 15, 2006 got a very special phone call. I thought you would like to see a few of these lucky families who have posted pictures on their blog. Enjoy!
By the way, although our dossier is in the matching room, we do not expect to get a referral sometime soon. The CCAA is only sending referrals to families with a LID through May 15, 2006. Our LID is November 13, 2008. The families below who received their referral have been waiting for 52 months! That's right...4 years and 4 months!!!! So we still have lots of waiting to do! We have been waiting for 21 months now. We are hoping our turn will come end of 2012.

The Bumblebee and the Ladybug

Peaceful Panda

Adventures in Bellahland

Baby Steps...all the way to China

Hope

Abby

The Mercer Family

The Long Road to China

Cantrell Crew

Monday, August 9, 2010

My nephew

I already love you so much! I can't wait to meet you.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Catching up!

We're back....and have been back for a while now! Ha!

Deb and Chris, we had so much fun visiting you. Thanks for having us for 2 whole weeks! We miss you so much! Here's a little montage of our time with you.

If you would like to see more pictures of our trip, click here.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

2 weeks in San Francisco!

This is a picture of us back in 2006 on our last visit to San Francisco. The boys were almost 1 and 3. I can't wait to rediscover this beautiful city through their eyes again!

AUNTIE & UNKIE here we come! Woo Hoo!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

More fabric for Mia's Bai Jia Bei

We have received more fabric!

Fabric 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 are from my mom. She took the time to choose beautiful fabric for Mia. They are so cute!!!! My favorite one is the one with the turtles.

Fabric 16 is from my Dad. I was so touched to know that he took the time to choose the card and fabric himself.

Fabric 17 is from Laura and Jay. I absolutely love the bright colors! Thank you for your beautiful message to Mia!

Fabric 18 is from my aunt Suzanne and my uncle Jacques. My aunt is very sick, but she took the time to write a beautiful message to Mia and choose such a cute fabric design. I am very grateful. Merci beaucoup tante Suzanne!

Fabric 19 is from Nanny. I have fond memories of my grandmother. She was such a loving person. If she would be here with us today, she could have made Mia's quilt with her eyes closed. She was one talented lady. My mom kept some of her leftover fabric when she passed away as a keepsake. She recently gave me this beautiful fabric in her memory. I am so happy that she will be a part of Mia's quilt. Thank you Mommy!

Fabric 20, 21, 22, and 23 are from Steve's family in Syria. Steve's dad recently took a trip there to visit his family. We were very touched upon his return to receive these fabrics for the quilt. Thank you to Soeur Vartouhi, Aboud, Rita, Madeleine and Peter Saydouni, Tante Madeleine and cousins Katherine, Emil and Gabi. I absolutely loved the idea of the postcards!

Friday, May 28, 2010

My favorite flowers!

I love flowers! Some of my favorites are daisies, Gerbera daisies, roses and tulips. But by far, my favorite ones are the wild flowers the children pick for me in the grass. I enjoy watching them carefully choose the perfect one and then quickly run towards me! I also really enjoy watching their faces as they proudly hand me their gift.
Last September, when summer was quickly coming to an end, I was worried that it might be the last summer they would do this, as they are getting older. Click here to see that post.
Well, I am happy to say that I might still have an extra summer! YAY!!!!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Great weekend!

This past weekend, we rented a cottage up north with Chantal, Bob and Maï-Lee. The cottage was located in what felt like the middle of nowhere. It was GREAT!!!! We were surrounded by trees, a beautiful lake and the chant of owls at night...and to top it off, there was an outdoor jacuzzi!!!! The kids absolutely loved the experience...going to bed late, playing with their flashlights in the dark, playing with worms, learning how to fish and eating to their heart's content lots of food they don't usually get to eat at home. Lots of candy, cookies, chips and marshmallows. Yes, there were sugar rushes and some meltdowns, but nothing too dramatic!

Steve also got to learn how to fish thanks to Bob...He was quite proud.

Merci les amis pour ce beau weekend!

Click on image to see larger.