Helping

By now, you will have heard about the famine in East Africa.

Its hard to explain how international 'news' touches you when it involves your child's homeland. It feels like it is happening to my home. There are many ways that you can donate to help with the relief effort. MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) is one of them. Right now the Canadian Government is matching donations.

http://canada.mcc.org/eastafricadrought/cida

I often wonder how our country would manage if we really had a disaster like this. I pray others would help us as we have to opportunity to help Africa. Please give if you can. Not everyone can give and that is ok. Prayer is also an important response.

Thanks for considering it.

Confession Friday

I confess:

* I almost didn't confess - it's just too hot

*We had a wonderful lazy vacation. We were camping up north and it was so good. Mind you it was really hot.... I am talking high 20's and low 30's in the shade. Then again we weren't doing too much but sitting by the water, swimming and reading so that was ok. We did get eaten alive though.... every sort of biting bug got me. My feet look like a mine field!!!

*Every year i look at all the families at the beach and i dream of what it will be like to be a family of 3 at the beach. We did enjoy our peace and freedom but won't it be fun to introduce Bedi to the fun of camping.

*we took absolutely no pictures during our holiday. Except for a few shots mike took of the food we were cooking one night... it was really good. So, just picture the 2 of us lounging with a book in hand and that would be our holiday.

*one high light for me is the fire flies. i have never seen so many fire flies as we see at this park. Every night they come out and flit about. they are so magical to me, so pretty and so random.

*Poor kid - we have been calling him Bedi - and when people ask me about Devin I have to think about who they are talking about. I guess i think of him as Bedi - until he is ours at least. Maybe Bedi will stick though.

*I worry sometimes that this is just a big joke and that Bedi will never come home. I like to think that i am ok with this whole court closure thing adding 2 more months to his time in an orphanage. I try not to get anxious or upset - what good does it do? But oh do i wish he could just come home. I guess i am getting used to the not knowing thing - but it would be really nice to find out when we go to E

*We had planned to do some traveling into the country when we go to E the first time. If you haven't heard there is a drought going on and lots of people are starving. I think i will feel guilty driving into the country side and eating whatever i want. I am not sure what we will do. I want to see where Bedi comes from and help if we can - but i don't want to be a 'rich foreigner' or take from anyone else. Dealing with a country and poverty is one thing but dealing with a drought and people starving is something totally different. I really want to respect the people...

Confession Friday

I confess:

*its friday but i really didn't know what day of the week it is!! We have been on holidays and this week feels like a repeating Saturday!! Probably because i have done alot of cleaning and house stuff. As you can see from Mike's post - our bedroom is getting an overhaul and it's looking great. Still have some trim work to do and paint and some curtains to hang and it should be done!!! Looking forward to the 'finished' pics and moving on to our next project :)

*We went to the Toronto Zoo yesterday and were a bit disappointed. I guess i was expecting to see more animals... Some exhibits were empty, some poor animals were hot and tired and you could just barely see them... We decided it will be alot of years before we take Devin. There were lots of kiddies having lots of melt downs!!!! Its a huge place with lots of walking.

*We finally were able to sign the forms to accept our referral. There were a few complications and i was getting worried that it was going to fall through... But its all signed and sealed and now we wait to see when we will go for court. Not sure if we will sneak in before closures happen or not.

*Momma bear instincts came to the surface when we found out wee Devin was in hospital last week. He had a flu that lead to dehydration. Poor fella. I have been feeling good about the care he is getting - but when i found out he has been sick, i just want to be the one to look after him!!!! He is doing better now and is back at the orphanage again.

*I think i have a decorating idea for the nursery... finding it fun to think about getting it finished!!!

*Today might just be a lazy day. After our trek at the zoo yesterday in the heat, it might just be nice to chill for today.

Happy Canada Day!!!!!

Work-cation

So, we decided to take a week off work to get some projects done around the house. One such project is our master bedroom. Here is what it looked like before: (well, minus the ladder and with a little more furniture!)

I (Mike) did find some wiring issues that needed attention too. No surprise in a house this old!

The ceiling has been changed from a taupe to a flat white:
...and the walls from beige to "black pepper"!
Brenda has a good eye for colour, and accessories. She is the brains behind this outfit, an I provide the labour! Our house is slowly coming together, one room at a time. The next project will be the game/toy room! It looks like I had better get to work on that soon, before Devin gets home!!

The Referral Story

Where to start??? So much to say! It has been a whirlwind since last Thursday June the 16th - the day we found out we have a son! It sure was a shock to us. As you can see, the post before was quite somber. I was pretty down about more waiting and wondering where our paperwork was. I was definitely not expecting a referral on that day!!

First of all let me say thank you for all the warm wishes - phone calls and emails. I haven't been able to get back to you all yet - but give me some time and I will. The weekend was a busy with showing off our beautiful son to anyone who would listen :) My mom and sister managed to sneak in a surprise birthday party as well on Saturday. What a great time to show off Bedilu to all my girlfriends!!!!

Our boy is amazing. His eyes are huge and beautiful - and his cheeks are ready to be pinched. He is so sweet!!! I wish I could show you all his photo - but we will need to wait till after our court date.

We have not officially accepted the referral but hope to do that in the next few days. This should put is in a good place to have a court date in August!!!!!! That has my head spinning!!!

So, on to the 'referral story'.

Thursday, June 16. I was out of the office for most of the day. We had a team building 'staff day'. It was a good day. Most of the staff enjoyed a picture scavenger hunt but i stayed back to help a friend get the bbq lunch ready. We had a nice visit and talked about all sorts of things including the adoption and next steps. At lunch i sat with 2 co-workers who have adopted and they each told the stories of adopting their kids. It seemed like i was talking 'adoption' alot! Near the end of the day, I gave a co-worker a ride to a store near our house and then decided to go home. I actually turned into the driveway but then decided i better go back to the office (5 minutes away) as i still technically had another hour of work. As soon as i got back i noticed a phone message. I was expecting a message from one of the stores, as i realized i forgot to do a message saying i was out of the office. It was a woman (who's name i didn't recognize) saying "we just sent you a very important email, you really need to check it, you will be very happy, please check it right away". I knew instantly what 'it' was. I was shaking so hard i could hardly think straight. Not sure how many tries it took to dial Mike's cell phone. I have no idea what i said something like ' you need to come home NOW - we have an email, we have an email!!!!!!' I was just beside myself!!! I got my stuff together and found the only other person in the office - i am pretty sure i scared to socks off of her!! i was jumping up and down, babbling away - we got an email, i have got to go - we got an email!!! she looked at me like i had 10 heads, she hugged me and then i left. I do remember that she had tears in her eyes.

I got in the truck and i remember thinking i need to settle down or i would get in an accident! So, i took a deep breath and drove home. A bit down the street, a few more co-workers were returning and i pulled over and rolled down the window and said 'we have an email!!!!' and then i sped off. They must have thought i was off my rocker!

When i got home, i opened the computer and saw the email - sent at 10:30am - and by now it was 3:30pm! I called my mom - still shaking!!! She kept me on the phone till Mike got home, so that i wouldn't open the email without him!!! It seemed like forEVER till Mike got home. He rushed in, and we hit the button and the face of our beautiful SON appeared. It took a while to figure things out because i just couldn't focus long enough to read the details. Later on Ange would ask things like, what orphanage is he at - and i had no idea cause all i could handle was that he was a boy named Bedilu. What a moment!!!! The first time you see your Son's face. So amazing!!!!!!!!!!! He is absolutely wonderful. I just looked at Mike and said 'we have a boy!' Its so crazy, cause we have been waiting for 3+ years and still nothing prepares you for the moment you see your boy!!!! Eventually, Mike had to go back to work - and i starting calling anyone who would listen! I still wasn't making much sense... I left alot of messages on machines where i was pretty much just screaming - and got quite a few call backs of screaming in my ear!!! SO MUCH FUN!!!!

That first night i didn't sleep too much - WAY to excited!!!! But you know what? I now have a peace about where he is and how he is being cared for. I didn't expect that - I thought i would be worried more. Do i wish it was me rocking him to sleep and feeding him? Of coarse i do. But now that i know where he is, i can relax because he is being well cared for - the folks in that orphanage are doing a great job caring for him - I have no doubt about that. Up until now i just didn't know where he was or if he was being cared for and now i have no doubt about it.

It is still sinking in. I look at Mike a few times a day and say 'we have a boy!' It feels hard to believe!! And then i see the photo and i just can't stop staring into his eyes!!! I can't believe that we have such a beautiful boy!! He is the cutest baby i have ever seen!!!! I am sure that you will all agree with me :)

The rest of the weekend is a blur. A great day of shopping and hanging out on Saturday. A wonderful day on Sunday celebrating Father's Day and here we are. We are so blessed to have our son. It is just amazing to me to have him in our lives. I know that its been a long haul and lots of times that i didn't believe it would happen. I need to thank all of those who rose up after the bankruptcy and made things happen. I didn't believe in it at first. I just didn't believe it would work. I need to thank all you - our friends and family for encouraging us and praying for us through this whole process. We couldn't have made it this far without all of you. Thanks to God for blessing us so much more than we imagined or expected. We are humbled by the honour of parenting this amazing boy!

WE HAVE A BOY!

not nothin

WE HAVE A BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Got the call today - story to follow

he is the sweetest thing ever!!!

7 months old - born Nov 28/10

cute as can be

so excited

praising God for His faithfulness and goodness to us and to baby

his name is Devin Shawn Bedilu

must try to sleep

nothin

I got nothin for ya. No new news. I have been told that we are at 'the top' of the list. Which i have already found very tiring. Every time the phone rings you jump and wonder... but we could be at the top of that list for a long time. My dear friends R&A have been at the top of their list for over a year now...

Paperwork is still an issue. Misplaced is a better word than lost and i think things are on the right track again. Its supposed to all be done in 2 weeks - so ask me then. It should have been done over 2 months ago but who's counting. It all got 'lost' in the shuffle of the handover from Imagine to MoT.

And so we continue to wait. Feeling a bit frustrated and frankly tired. The best thing ever was meeting sweet little Addis last week. Oh how wonderful to hold and play with that little guy. I am so excited for my friends as they begin their journey of parenthood!!! And for me it was a good reminder - this will end some day with our baby home!