Photo of the Week

Okay, it seems Fridays always zoom past and I'm forgetting to do my Friday Photo - so I guess I'll call it photo of the week instead, surely i can remember once a week if i don't have to do it on a specific day. :)

I found this photo this morning and although it is kinda blurry I love it. Love how excited Shaune is and encouraging. Chloe's first day walking. We wondered if she'd ever bother. She was just shy of 16 months old, she certainly took her time about it. But she was so proud of herself when she finally gave it a try and succeeded. This seems like a century ago, but was really not THAT long ago - October 10, 2004.

Now I can't get her to stay still :)

Where we are...

...so a couple weeks ago I got some new information from our agency. Anyone waiting for a referral knows that information is GOLD... anything new you can hold on to means something!

I'm finding the waiting difficult, for the most part because I feel how uncertain things in International Adoption can be and I've invested my heart. With adoption in Vietnam it is not centralized and there are so many uncertainties along the way, I'm finding I feel lost in it all at times.

We are approximately the 13th family on the 'list' with our agency awaiting a girl referral. That sounds so good to me. 13 is not that many, and unlike many 13 is a good number to me - my husband and my son's birthdays both fall on the 13th of a month. So, we wait. We hope and we pray. We think of her a lot but do not talk about her much at the moment, there is too much time still ahead and for some reason I find myself distancing myself a bit, even though I don't want to. I suppose it is a protective measure while we wait what we've been told is likely to be another 5-8 months for a referral. In the grand scheme of things, that is not so long away, is it? I think my uneasiness comes from the good chance of that wait time extending past 5-8 months. Whoever said that 'the only certain thing about IA is how uncertain it can feel' knew what they were talking about. I'm going to have to learn to cope better. Patience was never my strong point.

A video

...more than 1/2 million orphans in Vietnam.
...on average 3 in every 100 babies born is taken to an Orphanage.
...moms unable to keep their children due to poverty, amongst other things.

This video makes my heart sad. It also makes me frustrated with the 'process' and the wait. I want to be the mom to one of these children. Waiting is hard when I see this, but also so worth it. SO WORTH IT in the end.

Playing catch up...

I missed my 2nd week of FPF. (Favourite Photo Friday).

Here is one I love.... I miss this Chloe with this thumb. It was permanently in her mouth from almost birth (I think she discovered it at around 5 wks old) until she was about 3 1/2 yrs old. She gave it up surprisingly easily once SHE decided it was time. That was some love affair though, while it lasted. She is 3 in this photo. :)


In other news, the wait is killing us at times but with such a long wait still ahead we are trying to stay positive but live each day at the same time, not obsessing on how our family WILL be but how it is now... and how blessed we truly are.

This week we celebrate Keaton's 7th birthday, how crazy is that? I cannot believe that boy of mine is 7 years old, it seems like just yesterday he came into the world and turned everything golden. I can still remember his newborn smells, grunts and coo's. He is a ray of sunshine and the past 7 years have flown past. I still see him as my baby but I am so proud of the little boy he has become. His birthday party was yesterday and it was fun seeing him as he is... a friendly and excitable little guy that loves to have fun. Happy Birthday Keaton.


Shaune and I drove to the US (Watertown NY) for some shopping on Friday. We got some great deals on things and it was nice to go shopping without the kiddies (so much more productive and 'enjoyable'). We hit Red Lobster for an easy but yummy seafood supper and the drive was fast (it is about a 2 hr drive) and easy.

We also decided (I think) on a name for baby girl Lightfoot on the drive home. Meg. I love this name. Always have. Shaune suggested it. It is not 100% for sure that will be her name but it is probably the top contender at the moment. I will call her Meggy - I'm a Thornbirds mini-series fan from WAY back. This has always been a favourite name of mine. Maya and Isabel are still in the running though. Her Vietnamese name will be her middle name so we will decide for sure once we have our referral!!


That's it - I'm caught up again. Everyone ready for Christmas? I'm not.

A video feel-good

I saw this video made by a mom growing her family like we are... and it picked me up today when I needed something to pick me up and smile. The wait ahead seems very daunting and so unpredictable at times, sometimes I let it get to me. This video was a nice reminder as to why we started down this amazing journey and what is waiting for us at the end of a very winding road - and that is worth it all now, isn't it?!

Annual Christmas Card

I have been doing our Christmas Cards digitally now for 3 years. It makes for super quick cards to send out to family and friends. I just have them printed at 4x6" and send them out inside our regular Christmas cards, where I can write longer messages to our loved ones.

Getting a photo of K & C together is next to impossible, Keaton is always smiling and Chloe is always making a funny face or pushing her brother away. lol. I don't have to tell you which one loves the camera and which one does not!

So... I just used 2 photos I love - one of each of them. Side by side it struck me how much they are starting to look alike. The eyes, I guess. Anyhow, the digital kits are all from 2peas and a mish-mash of several of my favourites.

Next year there will be 3 beautiful children on our Christmas card photo, and even more reason for the happiest of holidays. I hope and pray that she will be home with us long before Christmas 2008.

FPF's are starting now

FPF you ask?

Well, all this waiting has me with very little to talk about on here. The wait is sure to last MANY more months so for when I run out of things today, I'll throw a photo at you.

FPF = Favourite/Funny/or Fab Photo Fridays. Now, lots of other bloggers are doing this and I like seeing peices of them and their photos - so I'm copying them. Simple as that. And... heaven knows I have enough photos to last me every friday til eternity.

So... here is my first ever FPF. It is an oldie... Keaton on October 31st, 2004 - enjoying the leaves. Fall is my most favourite time of the year. Here in Ontario it is so beautiful! Side note: my adorable boy got himself on the cover of Scrapbooks Etc Magazine with this photo. He has grown sooooooooo much since this photo, I barely recognize him here. I love this kids enthusiasm for life, that has not changed over the years one bit :) Behind his back in this photo is a hand full of leaves... and he threw them at me too!

We had a fantastic vacation!

... we needed to get away for a bit. 10 days was the perfect amount of time, although I could of easily stayed longer ;)

The kids had a blast and now official Disney fanatics. What a well-oiled machine Disney is :) Everything was top-notch and service on the ship was beyond amazing. We enjoyed both Disney World and the Cruise but if I had to say what we all preferred it was definetly the cruise. It combined the magic of Disney (characters, theme nights, fireworks, musical performances, etc) with great food and a happy atmosphere. The word Magic keeps coming to mind - how fitting that that is the ship we were on... "The Disney Magic".

7 days at sea and on tropical islands... it just doesn't get much better. I really enjoyed cruising and can see us doing that again sometime. Disney is building 2 more ships so perhaps in 3-4 yrs we will go try it again as a family of five :)

Highlights and all kinds of photos are posted on our family blog, for anyone interested.
http://www.leslielightfoot.typepad.com/ - Direct links to 2 albums will be in the post from Nov. 22nd.

I purchased Rosetta Stone's Vietnamese language lessons and am looking forward to getting started on that. We have a long wait ahead of us so I'm trying to stay positive and use all this time in a positive way. I think traveling in VN and having a small grasp on the language will be really helpful and it is something I'd like to retain a bit after travel is through also. Wish me luck, I suck at languages. I live in a bilingual country and can't say more than 5 sentences in French... pathetic and on my list of things to do some day.

Kukunest Bedding

Hey, I know alot of you liked the bedding I got for Chloe and baby Lightfoot with the Lanterns and little girls on it. Thought I'd pass a long this coupon code for anyone interested:

KukuNest is having a holiday sale. 25% off any order. Coupon code is HOLIDAY

Have fun shopping! I'm tempted to get the underwater one for my son.

Ah, vacation time is a good time!

Enjoying our holiday.
Seen so many Disney characters my head is spinning. Floating in the ocean is a bit surreal, especially with the magic of Disney tossed in.
We were in St Thomas today and did St Maarten's yesterday - had a fabulous time both days.
Tomorrow we are at sea again and looking forward to relaxing.

That's all, online access is pricey in the Caribbean Sea ;)

On our way

to Disney!!! Hard to believe we are finally taking the kids to Disney. If our packing tendencies are any indication of what we will pack for Vietnam, we are in trouble. 4 big suitcases for 2 big people and 2 little people. plus 4 carry-ons. How crazy is that?
By the time we packed princess costumes, pirate costumes, formal wear, casual wear, etc., the amt of luggage we had was overwhelming. Oh well, at least we shouldnt' have to do laundry ;)

We are flying out of Rochester. It is a lot cheaper to fly out of NY than to fly out of Toronto... so we endured a bit longer drive (and snow!) to get here. I saw a Target on the way so we are headed there now (yahoo - no Targets in Ontario!)

I hope I come home to many more bloggy friends referrals and good news. I remember when we first started the adoption I secretly hoped we might even have our referral (wishful thinking mostly) by our trip but that is not going to be the case. Now I'm hopeful for spring maybe.

I can't wait to see the kids at Walt Disney World for the first time and then I am so anxious to kick back and float around the Caribbean with a fruity alcohol concoction and lots of fun along the way.

Chow~Leslie

A song...

(i listen to at least 3x a day.)

The Promise - Tracy Chapman

If you wait for me
then I'll come for you
Although I've traveled far
I always hold a place for you in my heart

If you think of me,
if you miss me once in awhile
Then I'll return to you
I'll return and fill that space in your heart

Remembering
Your touch
Your kiss
Your warm embrace
I'll find my way back to you
If you'll be waiting

If you dream of me,
like I dream of you
In a place thats warm and dark
In a place where I can feel
the beating of your heart

Remembering
Your touch
Your kiss
Your warm embrace
Ill find my way back to you
If you'll be waiting

I've longed for you
and I have desired
To see your face
your smile
To be with you
wherever you are

It would feel so good to be
In your arms
Where all my journeys end
If you can make a promise
if its one that you can keep,
I vow to come for you
If you wait for me
and say you'll hold
A place for me in your heart.

======================================

The wait is getting harder. and harder, and we have so far to go still. Our dossier is 3.5 months in Vietnam. I miss her and think of her all the time... and I want to know this little girl I long for and think of so often. The kids ask about her often, they don't understand the wait and I wish we had been able to not tell them as soon as we did. I've come to realize that my children will be 7 & 5 by the time they have baby sister home... Keaton may even be 8 by then although I hope the wait does not come to be that long. She has a place in our family's heart already, we will wait and pray she joins our family when the time is right. Until then I will continue to think of her and hope she is healthy and being loved until we can hold her in our arms.