Celebrating Lori's birthday weekend ~ Oct.1-3rd

Friday evening, after 10pm, Scott interrupted my exciting time of ironing to ask if I'd like to attend a local concert, Casting Crowns, the next evening. Living in the rather spontaneous way that I tend to lean to, I was soon calling Lori in Nanaimo to see if she'd take the ferry over and come with me. It seemed a great way to celebrate her birthday, and Scott was fine with not going himself. Before I knew it, I suddenly had exciting weekend plans. The most hilarious thing was, as we marveled at how uncrowded the parking lot was at the Langley Events Centre, how I then glanced at my printed-off-the-computer tickets and saw the concert date for the following evening! Oh, how we laughed. Then we gasped as we realized that Lori would have to miss work on Monday to return on the ferry that morning. It was a bit of a dilemma. A few calls and emails went out, and then we quickly dashed off to watch a movie, "The Help", which was very good. Lori's boss came through eventually, and Lori was good to stay another night to truly enjoy the concert. Which we did... as well as have some play time with Nora. (And this time, the parking lot was packed!) So... it's okay to be spontaneous, just make sure to read the small print first. :)

Rosie loves Lori, she must sense that she used to own a Sheltie!

Who's having more fun playing with the wooden food? We take our play pretty seriously!(And yes, I need a haircut! October 20th is the day!)

Trying to get Nora to cooperate in photos is more and more challenging!

Thanks for visiting us this weekend, Lori! And "Happy Birthday!"

Meanwhile, the boys enjoyed the sunny afternoon by working on their stunts with Dad taking photos. (I'm not sure why the helmet rule was not enforced!) Here's Charles catching some air...

 

 Lewis is trying to copy big brother, a little too effectively I'm afraid!

Thomas plays it safe with the scooter...which makes me happier. :)

Fall Update and Friends ~ Sept. 27th

I realize I've been really behind in my blogging, so I apologize for having nothing here for those who check in regularly. Getting the boys back to school took some time, but really it felt like I had just started a mini-vacation. :) With only a few shifts mid-September, I was able to do some cleaning in the yard as the sun was around for part of the month. After cleaning vinyl siding and scrubbing trim
around my front entrance, I was inspired to paint the house trim where I could reach while the weather was decent. (All my other neighbours have done this recently.) So suddenly I had purchased a can of paint and was out there on my ladder during every nap time, twice a day. Was a little bit crazy, but I enjoyed it overall knowing that I was making a dint in the home maintenance. So, that took a bit of time as well as getting back into fall routines of afterschool activities and driving James to work. It's all good. We also had our last visit with the social worker to complete our last report to send to China, about Nora's adjustment to her new family. That is an exciting milestone to have passed, for sure. Our adoption is officially finished. :)

In getting back into routine, we are connecting again with our friends for play-dates, which is always fun.Nora seems to be getting the concept of having a friend, although she definitely has to work on being "friend-ly". Here's Megumi enjoying the two girls...

Her daughter has changed a lot since we went to her party on Canada Day. She's walking all over and busy, too.

The stroller was very popular, so Megumi went and bought one for her daughter later. For some reason, it wasn't nearly as exciting in her own home as Nora's had been. Maybe because Nora wasn't chasing her around trying to steal it back! :)

The girls did have fun together, but just don't ask them to sit beside each other. We hope to get together again soon, especially as now that Nora can say her friend's name, she talks about her at the strangest times... it's very sweet.

A relaxing Sunday ~ Sept. 18th

One of Nora's favourite things to do is to try on my shoes. It can be a little scary sometimes watching her try to walk in heels, but she's having so much fun that I indulge her for awhile...

Meanwhile, Scott and the boys went for a bike ride near the river. Thomas and Lewis enjoy posing for the camera.

We joined Nana and Papa for dinner at our local Chinese diner, that's been here forever. We decided that this could be Nora's "Adoption Day" celebration... just a little bit after the fact. It was still a year ago that we were in China, with Donalda too!

Watching the fish was exciting for Nora...

...while catching her reflection in the tank was fun for Scott!

Saying farewell for now...

"Daddy" enjoying Nora in one of her more charming moments. Hopefully makes up for the screaming sessions she initiates with him most mornings. (And it's Nora doing the screaming...)

A sweet gathering ~ Sept. 17th

We were all very happy to have my cousin Katie and Aunt Jean visit for the afternoon. They had been vacationing in our favourite spot of Parksville and were in between there and their next destination. Katie, from Calgary, had not met Nora before, but feels like she knows her already as she avidly follows this blog... Thanks, Katie! Katie is our inspiration for Nora's growing shoe collection. :) (Ask her how many pairs she has...) 

"Great" Auntie Jean, from Saskatoon, had been at Nora's party last year and could see quite a change. (She has hair now!)

Jena and Katie joined our families to celebrate my niece Kieren's birthday at my brother's home.

Besides being fascinated by the concept of burning candles, Nora also enjoyed her first taste of "Cand-y", which she can now say. Jean had brought all the children treats, as well as my Mom, back from her own trip to Winnipeg. Sisters think alike! :)

Sugar... the universal smile-maker!

After dinner, we explored Rob and Kellie's beautiful backyard. Nora kept the two Grandpas' busy. We never really saw Thomas and Lewis for most of the party, as they were with their cousins in the  trampoline.

I wish we could have vacationed together like we have in the past, but it's always so good to see family regardless of how much time there is.

Jean, Katie and Susan.  

When the kids cleared out for dessert, somehow Nora ended up on the trampoline. (Grandpa and Uncle Rob had something to do with it...) It became quite obvious that she was thrilled.

Willow, the cat, was not so impressed with Nora as she was with her. Willow spent most of the time hiding from Nora..

A year ago today... September 13th

Most of you were there with us last year, following along on our other blog, as we finally received the gift of Nora. It's still hard to believe that we went through step after step of paperwork, day after month after year of waiting for the call, occasionally questioning the outcome. I'm so glad I didn't know ahead of time all that would be involved or it would have been overwhelming. Instead, God gave us what we needed for each part of the journey whether it was peace of mind, patience, direction from others who'd gone before us, the extra surges of financial income, and then amazingly, the precious, healthy little girl we held in our arms. It was a completely surreal experience, full of varying emotions, all felt in the stifling heat of a room full of mostly strangers and others soon to be friends, joined by a common experience.

Joy... at finally seeing her imagined face.

Wonder... that she was real, and so perfect.

Excitement... wishing the boys could be with us to meet their little sister. (But then we would have wished them back home again...)

Curiosity... who is this little one? What has your life been like so far?

Nora likely feeling the same, "Who are these funny-looking people?"

Peace... my heart is finally full. I can now move forward with the rest of my life.

Gratitude... we can never thank these caregivers enough for loving our daughter while we were apart.

Love abounding... with commitments made to this tender one, our daughter.

Technically, Nora's adoption paperwork was completed on September 14th, but this is the day we became family with Nora, so I think we'll be choosing to celebrate this day more than the next. Many adoptive families have special celebrations or traditions on their "Adoption" or "Family Day". I'm not sure what we'll do in the years ahead, but it will always be a memorable day. We'll follow Nora's lead also as she grows and understands the significance of this event, always with the intent of honouring her birthparents as well.

For this year to celebrate our milestone, Scott and I picked out a Willow Tree figurine while in San Francisco entitled "Our Gift: Our bright, joyful gift!" It seemed appropriate, although it isn't particularly fun for Nora at this stage. This is as close to the figurine as she'll get for a few years!

And lastly a poem, by an unknown author, simply titled....

ADOPTION

You first came to us in an envelope

With letters, forms and such

Just two tiny little pictures

With nothing warm to touch.

You grew in our imagination

In our hearts and in our minds.

You brought us greater joy

Than we ever thought we'd find.

A phone call started labour pains

Which lasted 'til we met

Strangers brought together

A day we won't forget.

You bloomed as you were planted

In our hearts, our lives, our home.

Our child of chance, of plan, of will

You're now our very own.

Mid-Autumn Festival ~ Sept. 10th

It was a year ago that we flew to China, on Sept.10th, to bring our daughter home. I'm enjoying remembering our trip day by day, but am thankful we're not missing the first weeks of school again... that was a bit insane. :) This past weekend, we were able to join local adoptive families of Chinese children, who decided to get together to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. (We recall being in China and seeing mooncakes everywhere...) We met at a school yard in Walnut Grove at 7pm. Thankfully, it had been a beautiful sunny day.

Thomas and Lewis were good sports to come along... we bribed them with promises of snacks. Nora enjoyed the slide, having no fear.

Ever seen toddler girls play football? It's very entertaining, especially when they won't share the ball. The kids ran around the playground while we met the other families, many of whom had traveled together to adopt their daughters.

As the moon rose higher, we gathered for an evening picnic of shared treats. When I asked what the story is of the moon lady, no one actually knew verbatim and so we figured we should probably find out to tell the children next time. The boys wondered what the neighbours were thinking across the street, hoping that they wouldn't see anyone they knew! :)

Once the eating began, it definitely felt like a party... 

Many interesting foods to try, including mooncakes.

We all brought paper lanterns to use for a walk around the field when it got dark enough. Glow sticks abounded as well.

Nora wasn't satisfied with just one lantern...

She enjoyed running around in the dark, while Thomas confided to me, " I don't like this, as I'm sure some little girl is going to get lost...." He was half serious, I believe.

Scott was having fun trying out new techniques with his camera. The boys did have a good time despite the eventual destruction of one of the lanterns. Was nice to meet some new families. With Nora being the youngest, she was reminding the other parents of what it was like when their girls were that small.

An amazing shot taken by Scott of the full moon, which while beautiful, definitely influenced the behaviour of those where I worked over the weekend. (That is one myth which always seems to be true... yikes!) I really enjoyed getting out in the midst of my shifts, even if it felt like going from one bizarre reality to another magical one. Normal life tends to be over-rated, right?! :)