Merry Christmas

Today Rafael is 14 months old. The time is passing so quickly and we can't wait to have him home with us. We would have especially loved to have been with him this morning when he woke up and opened his gift. Next year......
I hope that all you guys are having a Merry Christmas and that Santa has been good to you. For those of you still waiting to be matched, I think of you all everyday and pray that your turn is coming soon. For those of you still waiting to travel to your child, I also think of you everyday as well. Hopefully by next Christmas we will all have our children home and just imagine how much fun that will be!!!!!!

Medical appointment set!!!!

Today just before lunch I received an e-mail from our social worker saying that she had gotten an e-mail back from ICAB saying that Rafael's medical appointment has been scheduled for January 13th!!!!!! This is just the news I wanted to hear before Christmas!!! Hopefully he will pass his medical with flying colours and then his visa can be completed and we'll be almost finished our wait. I'm hoping that it will only be 4-6 weeks after Rafael's medical that we will get the call to travel. I don't know if anyone else can give me their timeline between the medical appointment and call to travel. This is such an exciting time. The final countdown is on!!!!!

A little bit of everything.....

We've been busy for the past few weeks with lots of Christmas parties and events. I just love this time of year!! I've been eating chocolate for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Is there a rule about this???? I certainly hope not because I'm really enjoying it! I'm finished all my shopping and I even bought a Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head for Rafael. It was such a cute set that I couldn't pass it up.
I was talking to our social worker today and she is still waiting to hear back from ICAB with news on Rafael's medical and on news of the update we requested back in mid November. She e-mailed ICAB again today but she probably won't hear anything until after Christmas as things will soon be shut down over there for the holidays. We're really hoping that Rafael's medical will take place sometime in January because we are soooo anxious for him to finally come home. We are also anxious to receive the update as we're sure he has changed so much since the information given in the referral package.
It was seven weeks ago today that we found out that we had been matched with Rafael. I thought that I would post a few photos of that day and also of the day when we signed the acceptance papers on November 10. Such an exciting day!!

Care package for Rafael. I hope he enjoys it all!!!

Right after signing the acceptance papers. Brian still has his work clothes on as he had to leave work to come to the office. Such an exciting day!!! One we will never forget!!!

It was in the Bahamas that we found out about our referral. We'll never forget that vacation.

This was the internet cafe that we first found out about Rafael. I was there alone as Brian was sick on board the boat. My fingers were shaking like crazy as I e-mailed our social worker back telling her that I would call her right away to get the information on our child. All she told us in the initial e-mail was that we had be matched with a child. It was such a whirlwind that I forgot our social worker's phone number, which I know off by heart, and I ended up having to call work to get the number. That moment in time now seems like a dream.

After getting off the phone with our social worker, I headed out to buy Rafael his first gift. I thought a Bahamas shirt would be appropriate as it would always remind us of where we were when we found out about our son. I think that he has a bit of growing to do though before it will fit him.

Paradise Island, Bahamas

Cruising out of Miami

Washington D.C.

Our last photo together before finding out about Rafael. Life will never be the same again!!!!

Christmas party

Tonight we attended the Christmas party for the Filipino Association of Newfoundland. This was our first time attending and we had a great time. It was our first time trying pancit, pork adobo and lumpia. It was all really good and I'll have to try making it all at home sometime. We met lots of Filipino people and children. We were also lucky to meet the only other couple from Newfoundland, that I am aware of, who have adopted from the Philippines. Their boys are 12 and 8 so they're a little older than Rafael but it is still so nice to have that connection. There were several childrens games and we're looking forward to next Christmas when Rafael can take part!!!

Preparations

We just found out that Rafael received his care package yesterday. We were so happy to hear that he got it in time for Christmas. I hope that he likes all of his goodies. I have also managed to find a second hand chariot jogging stroller!!!! I was thrilled about this as I've been looking for a while because they are around $600 - $700 to buy new. I really wanted a chariot as it came highly recommended by some of my running friends. I am hoping to pick it up tomorrow. Another thing to scratch off my to do list. Next I'm going to look for some baby gates and monitors. Does anyone have a monitor that they recommend?

1 month ago.....

It was one month ago today that we received the long awaited e-mail saying that we had finally been matched!!! I can't believe that a month has passed already! We were told last week that Rafael's medical will soon happen so we are hoping and praying that it happens before Christmas and then if things go smoothly maybe we could travel in January or February at the latest. It's all a guessing game!
Yesterday I bought a jungle themed quilt for his bed. We have a crib but we also plan to buy a bedroom set for him so the quilt will be for his big boy bed. He is still sleeping in a crib now so I'll guess that's where he will start out when he comes home. We haven't even started his room yet because Brian has to finish off the basement first so that we can move all the upstairs spare bedroom furniture downstairs. Then we can finish off Rafael's room. I sure hope that he likes it!!! As soon as we get started, I'll post some photos.

Our cruise

Here are a few photos from our cruise. It was a month ago today that we left. Where does the time go?? It now seems like forever ago so I thought that I would post a few photos to remind me of our great vacation. Here they are. It is crazy to think that our next time on plane will be on our trip to the Philippines!!!!

I have 2 fruit skewers here that I dipped in the chocolate fountain. Of course all you can see is all the chocolate but there really is something healthy underneath!!

There were lots of ships in when we visited Nassau Bahamas. That's where we found out about Rafael!!

South Beach, Miami. It was pretty chilly in Miami but at least there was sun.

Cococay Beach, Bahamas

13 months old today!!!

Our little guy turns 13 months old today. We were also lucky enough today to receive 5 new photos of him including one of him with his 1st birthday cake and one of him in his birthday hat. Just adorable he is!!!!! It is wonderful to get these new photos and to see how he's changed. We were also told by our sw that ICAB said his medical would soon be scheduled. I don't know exactly what they mean by soon but I hope it means ASAP!!!!!!! It is still so hard to believe that things are moving along so fast. After all the waiting, it is finally good to see things going smoothly. Happy 13 month birthday Rafael!!!!

It's amazing!!

We just found out that Deborah's daughters are also at the same orphanage as Rafael!!! This just keeps getting better and better. She is hoping to travel in February or March to pick them up which is around the same time we are hoping to travel. She is from Canada as well. You gotta love it!!

A gift for us!!

Today we received the precious gift of some new photos of Rafael!!! Jenifer, a lady in the Philippine adoption Yahoo group, told me that she had just picked up her daughter at the same orphanage as Rafael just 7 weeks ago. This is so amazing!!! She had taken a few photos of Rafael and she sent them to me today. She said that she stood next to him for a few minutes and he waved and smiled at her and her husband!! What a sweet little boy!! It is also great because Jenifer can pass on all the information about his orphanage as well as hotel information. What a wonderful connection we have made!!

gifts for Rafael

Today would have been 30 months since ICAB approval. Thank goodness we didn't reach that mark!!!! Today we sent Rafael a care package with several little summer outfits, toys, books and a disposable camera for the orphanage staff to take some pictures of him. I hope that he likes all of his little gifts and I hope that he receives his package before Christmas.

We were told by our social worker that we should have a travel date in 2 - 3 months. I really hope that this is the case. It is hard to imagine that we could possibly travel by mid January. This would be the best case scenario however so most likely we won't travel until February or March. I then get almost 9 months off which will allow lots of time for bonding with Rafael.

We've already requested an update on Rafael because I'm sure that he has changed alot since the photo that was taken the end of July. It would be wonderful to see what he looks like now and to hear what he is doing.

The next job is to start his room. We haven't even started it yet so we have alot to do!!!! We'd better soon get started.

It's a boy!!!!!!

It's official. After 29.5 months of waiting, we are now the proud parents of a 12.5 month old little boy named Rafael!!!!!!!!!!! We are on cloud nine and a half!!!! We actually got the e-mail while we were on our cruise in the Bahamas. It was quite surreal at the time as you can imagine!!! We just got home 1:05 am yesterday morning and we met with our social worker at 8:30 that morning. We had his file reviewed by a pediatrician and then today we signed the acceptance papers. Hopefully everything will be forwarded to ICAB by the end of the week and then it's onto the next part of the wait.
We recieved one photo of him and he is just adorable!!!!!!!!! His birthday is October 25th, 2009 and our social worker e-mailed us on the 29th of October. I'm really hoping that it will only be a 3-4 month wait from here. My fingers and toes are crossed!!!!! I still can't believe that it finally happened to us. I'm really hoping an praying for all you who are still waiting. IT WILL HAPPEN!!!!!

Renee
Mom to Rafael

Four years

It was four years ago yesterday that we initially decided to adopt. It wasn't until that December that we started the paperwork and we took the two months in between to do our research and decide on a country. We had initially decided on China since there have been so many adoptions from there here in Newfoundland, but after 6 months we realized that the program there was rapidly slowly down. We then settled on Thailand or the Philippines and I spoke to a few people who had adopted from both of these countries. We ended up choosing the Philippines and we are so glad that we did. We've met so many nice families along the way.

29 months

Another month down! There have been no new referrals in the Yahoo group in several weeks but I did hear of two referrals for families outside the group who had both waited 27 - 29 months so you would think that our turn should be coming soon. You would think.....

We leave in 12 days for our vacation so we're really looking forward to that. We haven't taken vacation time since April so we are both very ready for a break from work!!

A little bit of news

I've heard from a few Yahoo friends that their agencies were in contact with ICAB and ICAB said that there are 50 families approved in 2008 who are still waiting to be matched. Of course we are one of those waiting families. ICAB supposedly are hoping to have those 50 families matched by the end of the year. Now whether this actually happens is another thing. I'm hoping that all those families, us included, are matched by Christmas. How wonderful would that be!!

My birthday was on Monday and I was really hoping that we would have heard on that day, but of course the call didn't come. Maybe our telephone is broken (ha, ha, ha, ha!!). Maybe we'll hear something on our wedding anniversary which is the 19th of October. Let's hope!

Hiking in the Fall

Last weekend we did a 4 hour hike in Outer Cove and also had a little picnic. The hike was beautiful and Sid totally enjoyed himself. Hopefully this was the first of many hikes in the fall! Here are a few photos.

28 months

It was 28 months ago today that we recieved ICAB approval. Where does the time go! I know of another family or two who were matched in their 28th month. I'm not sure how long the longest wait ever for a referral was but I'm sure that we will most likely break that record. Now that is one record no one wants to break!

Welcome fall!

I just love the fall and when the leaves start to change colour. Unfortunately that means that the summer is over but the cooler temperatures will be nice. There is not much new around here. Last weekend we plant 15 new trees in the garden and we kept busy at the yard. We have been dog sitting my parents dog for the past 10 days so having two dogs is keeping us quite busy. They get along well so it's not too bad. I just finished watching a fantastic 5 set tennis match between Federer and Djokovic. It was a nail biter for sure. Djokovic won in the end and will play Nadal tomorrow. I can't wait! Otherwise, it has been a pretty quiet weekend.

On the adoption front, there is no news. Two families I know have just returned home with their children. There was one referral this week but otherwise things have been pretty quiet.

27 months

It has now been 27 months since ICAB approval. We are another step closer to our child! I just had a lovely weekend away with the running girls. We just sat out in the sun all weekend and ate lots of junk. We packed up early this morning and headed home. I have tons of gardening to do so I better get out at that before the weekend is over and I'm back to work. I'm kind of sad that the summer is passing by so quickly but I love the Fall to so it won't be too bad.

The wait has really been bugging me lately so I thought that we both needed something else to look forward to so I booked a 1o night bahamas cruise. I had been looking at vacations but I really didn't want to waste any money on going away when we could have possibly been travelling to the Philippines in the not too far future. Now I'm pretty sure that there won't be a trip to the Philippines before Christmas so this will be something to help break up the time. We leave in late October and we spend two days in Baltimore before the cruise. We ended up getting an amazing deal which I love. The cruise is $54 dollars a day and we also get $15o credit to spend on the boat. We used points to book our flight so the trip is costing us very little. As soon as I booked it I felt so much better because now I have something else to focus on and to help me forget about this very long wait. I was kind of expecting to get the call as soon as we booked the trip but that still hasn't happened. Maybe tomorrow, Friday the 13th, will be the lucky day!!

2 years, 2 months, 2 weeks and 2 days

There is nothing new to report but I just thought that it was neat that we have now reached 2 years, 2 months, 2 weeks and 2 days since ICAB approval. Maybe this will be our lucky week!

26 months

We now have another month under our belts. The summer seems to be flying by and before you know it the fall will be here. We have had a full week of lovely weather but today it got cold again but I'm not complaining.
Last night we had a lovely visit with Tammy and Eric who live in Quebec and are also adopting from the Philippines. It was the first time we had met another family in person who were also adopting from the Philippines. Of course there was tons to talk about and sadly they had to leave at 12:00am as I was falling asleep. I am up at 4:15 am every morning so I usually go to be around 9:30 - 10:30. Needless to say, I'm not a very good hostess! It was a great visit and I'm hoping that we may be able to visit them in Quebec sometime as well.
There was another referral earlier this week in the Yahoo group. Tammy had also mentioned that she knew of a family in Quebec who had just been matched after waiting 28.5 months. I am pretty sure that we will be matched by Christmas time but I won't get too hopeful. Last year at this time, I was thinking that we might be matched by Christmas 2009. I was pretty far off with that guess!

Visitors

Next week Tammy and Eric from Quebec, who are also adopting from the Philippines, are visiting Newfoundland. They are spending a few days in St. John's so we are getting together for a hike and supper. I'm very excited to meet another family who are in the same boat as us. They have been ICAB approved for 20 months so hopefully we both don't have too much longer to wait!
The weather here has been freezing cold for the past two days. This morning it was 6 degrees celcius around 44 Farenheit. The high for today was only 11 degrees. Sad but true. I am hoping that we get some summer soon!! I had to wear heavy pants and a sweatshirt last night when walking Sid and I wished that I had worn gloves!

A little good news!

Yesterday a blogging friend received her referral for an almost one year old little boy!!! Very exciting news. We were both matched around the same time and it was very exciting this morning when I received an e-mail from her saying that she had been matched. I'm very hopeful that we will soon hear as well because I'd love to have someone going through this part of the process the same time as us. My fingers are still crossed!!

Hiking photos

We have finally been getting some good weather over the past few days so we've spent every second outside enjoying it. Yesterday morning I did a hike with my running friends and in the evening Brian and I went out again. Here are a few pictures of the day. The first few pictures were taken in our garden.

25 months

Another month has passed and we've now reached 25 months. I can't remember anyone waiting longer than 28 months in the past while so I'm really hoping that we have no longer than three months of waiting left. There was another referral for a family last week who were approved just after us so that is a good sign. Our lives have been pretty boring lately other than we've spent lots of time in the garden. We don't plan on taking any vacation time this summer as we are still hoping to be travelling to the Philippines by the end of this year. It is looking less and less probable but we're still hopeful. Only time will tell!

More dreams

Well last night I had a long and vivid dream that we were referred a little girl who was roughly two years old. I had always dreamt (I'm not even sure if this is an actual word but it sounds right) that we were referred a little boy but I guess with all the girls being referred lately, I dreamt of a girl. I am kind of superstitous and tomorrow is 2 years, 2 weeks, and 2 days of waiting so hopefully this is a sign.

The weather here is still freezing cold. Brian and I went to the gardening center yesterday and bought another rose bush and two rhododendrens. We can't plant the rose bush in yet because it's too cold so we have to put it outside in the day and take it in every night. We're hoping to get out at the garden a little today but it isn't too pleasant because you have to wear your winter jacket and a hat. I'm starting to wonder why we didn't move somewhere warmer instead of sticking around here in Newfoundland.

The poll

I was just checking out the poll that I did several months back on when we would get our referral. The third option was May 24th, today, and no one picked that one and they were right as we didn't get matched yet. The last option was Canada Day, July 1st. Two of you picked that date and I hope that you're right!! That would mean we would only have just over one month left to wait. I dread that thoughts of not being matched by Canada Day and having to come up with another poll. That would just be too depressing so I'm putting my bet on Canada Day too!

This was a long weekend here so I don't head back to work until tomorrow. Brian was away with his friends all weekend so I went out to visit Mom as Dad was also away for the weekend. We had a great time playing cards, going for walks, and visiting friends and family. The weather here hasn't been good and today it was just above freezing for most of the day. I'm ready for some good weather so please send some our way!

Referrals are finally coming in!

Over the past few days two of my Yahoo group friends, Tangie and Chrissi, have received referrals for little girls. This is such exciting news!!! It is nice to see that things are starting to move again because it has been so long since there has been anything. Hopefully this trend continues and the referrals will keep pouring in. My fingers are crossed!

2 years

It's been 2 years nice ICAB approval. I only have one question - how much longer??

Finally, a few pictures

I am finally getting around to posting some pictures. The pictures from our kayaking trip are on our other camera and we've somehow managed to lose the camera cord so we can't transfer the pictures to the computer. Those were some of my favorite pictures. Hopefully the cord will show up soon. Enjoy the pictures. On top of Diamond Head

Botanical gardens in Kailua

Lagoon next to the Hilton Hotel. A great place to run early in the morning.

Maakapu Beach

The Sea Life Park

Maakapu light house trail

Moana Falls hike

Fireworks cruise

View from our hotel balconey

Pool at our hotel