We Have the Prints!

I'd better be good now! My fingerprints will soon be winging...err...motoring their way to Ottawa to be logged and checked by the RCMP. (Royal Canadian Mounted Police for my American friends.) A good friend from church works for our local police department and kindly offered to take my fingerprints for me. It was so much nicer having them taken by him rather than in an office at the police station! Pat took the prints, his wife Cathy took the pictures and then we sat down for a cup of tea afterwards. Yes...much nicer!

Currently, the turnaround time for fingerprints seems to be somewhere in the area of 90 days so I knew I wanted to get them done sooner rather than later. (I'm hoping that in 90 days my file will almost be ready to go to China!)

I called Pat and asked if I could set up an appt. with him to take the prints. He was happy to help me out and we set a date and time. Because he was able to do them at home he mentioned that he would be using a portable kit...the one he normally used in the morgue! (What a story that would have been!) Alas, tonight when he went to pick up the 'morgue kit' another officer had it out so he used a small ink pad to do mine. I teased him when I first got there that unlike many of his other clients, my fingers would still be warm! :o)

I have the envelope addressed to the RCMP and a stamp on it. All I need now is to get a money order and I can mail off one more piece of paperwork. It is such a wonderful feeling to know that I'm actually doing things that are helping the adoption to progress! Currently when people ask me when I anticipate getting the baby I say probably September or October of 2006. With September just hours away I'll soon be able to say, 'Next September!' Wow! In a little more than a year I'm going to be a Mom!

Police Check......check!

Happy to say my local police check returned today with a totally clear record. (Phew! ;o) Having the clear record wasn't the question...just how long it would take was the unknown. A week is a really good turnaround time! Some of my friends in larger cities find this check can take 4-6 weeks which seems like forever when you're paperchasing.

I've spoken with the friend who is going to do my fingerprints this week. Just need to call him back and set up a time. Sending fingerprints to the RCMP for their check seems to take a little longer so it's my goal to have them taken and in the mail before Friday. I'll keep you posted.

A Trip to the Fun Fair!

When you're 6, a trip to a local Fun Fair can hold as much excitment as a day at an amusement park! Hmmm...wonder if we as adults could learn something from this?

When I went to pick up R at her house she was excited to show me her latest accomplishment...1 more tooth gone with the 'Tooth Fairy!' She just laughed at silly Auntie Cathy when I asked her Mom to send along some of her baby brother's food since I wasn't sure she'd be able to eat anything with such a large gap happening at the front of her mouth! She was quite proud of the missing teeth and only too willing to give me a wide non-toothy grin when picures were in order. (Which for me is always!)
Even though the girls hadn't seen each other in a year, when we arrived at the fun fair, R and B were quick to pick up on the friendship they share and were immediately inseperable! As their bright green and peach tops ran from game to game they were easy to spot. Where 1 was, the other was always close behind. The girls had a fun afternoon enjoying games, laugher and fun! Who needs an amusement park when you have friendship to provide the entertainment?

A few days in the big city

This week has been a week in the big city! After not having been to Toronto for a month or so, I was in 4 days this week for 3 different reasons. Tuesday was the big trip to the EX for Deb and I; Wednesday was a meeting with my coworkers and then Thursday, Friday were spent at a course called, 'Dynamic Presentation Skills.' It was a great course and I learned a lot of useful skills that I'll be able to put into practice immediately. What a nice change. Some courses are informative but trying to incorporate the lessons learned can be difficult. It won't be this way with what I learned in this course. Over the 2 days we each prepared a presentation to give to the class. We were allowed to choose any subject matter we wanted. Hmmm...work topic? Nah. I chose to share about my adoption journey as it is so close to my heart. Some people chose to present information that they will be able to use at work so our class was a great dry run for them. Others chose topics such as BBQing Tips, How to Prepare for Retirement and What It's Like to Sing in a Barbershop Quartet. The presentations were great and I often forgot to look for the items we were working on in our class. After each person's presentation we shared what we liked as well as some helpful hints of things to work on. It was great!

My topic was a little different from the others in that it was most likely something they would never actually do themselves so I invited them to take the adoption journey with me that I am taking over the next 14-18 months...and then for a lifetime. I was so absorbed in what I was sharing that I forgot some of the techniques I'd been shown. Oops! Oh well, maybe next time. As I prepared to wrap up my presentation I noticed tears in the eyes of a couple of my classmates. It was exciting to see them share in my joy and anticipation of the journey God is taking me on.

Today 1 more piece of paperwork was checked off. I mailed my formal application to Deborah at Open Arms so that I will be officially registered with them!

1 small envelope to the agency, 1 more big leap towards the baby!

Welcome to 'Catherine's Chatter ~ My Adoption Blog!'

Welcome! If you're reading this for the first time, you may be one of many family and friends that have asked to follow my adoption journey. I'd origianlly thought of setting up a website but then 'blogs' became all the rage and besides that, they're much easier to use.

I look forward to sharing this special, amazing, wonderful, sometimes overwhelming journey with you!

Some days you'll hear about the steps that are happening in the journey. Sometimes you'll hear my heart's cry to God for His leading and guidance. Other days I'll just talk about the day to day events happening in my little corner of the world.

Please feel free to check in as often as you like. After each entry their is a 'comments' section. Please use these for your enjoyment and mine! It's fun to read your stories, thoughts and comments.

I've made a few entries before today. A couple of the key ones are:
A New Adventure...My Adoption Blog and
New Beginnings.

Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful journey with me! Your prayers, support and friendship are needed and appreciated!

Let's Go To The EX! ~ A Trip Down Memory Lane!

As hard as it is to believe, the Canadian National Exhibition, known as 'The EX,' is in full swing already! The EX has always been one of those things that I've looked forward to yet at the same time it sadly signals summer drawing to a close. (All too quickly I might add!)

Over the years there have been various groups that I've gone to the EX with. In my childhood, it was an annual tradition for Mom, Dad, my brothers and I to head there. The fun would begin when we boarded the 'GO Train' and anticipation built as the sights and smells of the fair bombarded my senses with almost more information than I could handle as a child! Oh the EXcitement! A day with my family at The EX always began with our trip to Tiny Tom Donuts for delicious hot, sweet donuts generously sprinkled with icing sugar! Yumm!


As I grew up, the next EX memory I have is with my friend Joy - I'm guessing around 1981. Again we took the train and enjoyed lots of girl time laughing, chatting, shopping, eating and building memories to last a lifetime.
After coming home and sharing the fun we had we decided we'd go again the following year and Japhia would come too! Who would have thought back in 1982 that we would go to the EX on and off together for a number of years? Japhia, do you remember the year a horse refused one of the jumps throwing it's rider? I think we impaled people with flying Candy Peanuts for 10 aisles back as we jumped in fright!

I think after 1982 my trips to the EX took a bit of a break as I went through that 'I'm too cool to go to the EX phase!' What was I thinking???

Thankfully, sometime in the mid 90's I came to my senses and realized what a fun time could be had at the EX and so the annual trek into the city began again. For a number of years Joy, Japhia, Sharon, Grandma and I went together and oh what fun we had! The day would begin with a few games of BINGO which gave our laughter muscles a good workout first thing in the morning! We would also need a trip to the car after our BINGO escapades to haul away the loot we won! Our day would be full of shopping, talking, shopping, eating, talking, shopping and watching the horse jumping competitions! We often decided on our winner of the horse jumping by the colour of their coat or the horse with the cutest name! Wonder why we weren't too successful is predicting the winners?

As children began to arrive on the scene our annual trips changed from a 'Girls Day Out' to a wonderful time with the kids. I'm guessing Chris is about 5 or 6 here and he and I are practicing our drumming skills! He's been musical for as long as I can remember!
In 2001 and 2002, R, V, Mom and I went together. It was so much fun to experience the EX through the eyes of a child! V was a little more daring than R so would enjoy the little roller coaster while going on the merry-go-round was more R's speed. A day at the EX would never be complete without going the the Eucaneuba Dog Show! Who knew 2 little girls could make so much noise cheering on their team of dogs?


For the past 2 years my friend Cathy and I have taken R and B to the 'fair' (as B calls it) and they've had such fun! Even though this is one of the few times the girls see each other all year they get along famously! Eating cotton candy and visiting the horses seem to be some of the things they enjoy most. Oh yah...and watching Barney! The funny thing is that even now if I go over to visit Cathy in January, B will talk about the fair and R. Yeah! We're building memories of the EX for them too!

Well, this year it will be 2 trips to the EX. One adult trip, one with a child. (R's social calendar is booked the day Cathy, Wes, B and I are going. I don't dare tell her or she'll be so disappointed!)

Yesterday was the trip with my wonderful friend Deb! Can you believe I didn't take any pictures? What was I thinking??? This is probably the 3rd or 4th year we've gone together and it's always tons of fun! We saw a human cannonball which was a sight to see! They said his body goes from 0 to 80km an hour in 1/2 a second! Can you imagine? Sure hope he has a good chiropractor! We also watched a couple of cooking shows which leads to a funny story. As we were waiting for the cooking show to begin, Deb went in search of recipes. I'm saving seats and the guy doing the show comes over and hands me a bag of 5 sweet potatoes. Now I'd like to try these potatoes but you need to know it's only 12:15 and the day has just begun. Carrying potatoes around all day will get kinda heavy. Hmmm...what to do, what to do? I know! Before Deb gets back I'll put them in her backpack and see if she notices! :o) Hee, hee, hee! Much to my disappointment when Deb gets back with the recipes she decides to put them in her backpack and I was caught! We did have a good laugh about it and did each time she took something out of the backpack that had little bits of potato skin stuck to them! During the cooking show they were giving out prizes. I won Mr. Clean sponges ~ much to the relief of Deb! As they say, a good time was had by all and we plan on going again next year!

Just think...next year I'll probably be within weeks of travelling to China! By the time the EX comes around I'll either have my referral or be waiting (im)patiently for it to arrive! Wow! I couldn't help but appreciate every asian little girl that I saw walking around or being pushed in her stroller. 2 years from now it will be time to begin building memories of the EX with my precious daughter! Amazing!!!

The Paperchase has Officially Begun!

It's official...the paperchase has begun! After signing the line of credit papers on Saturday I was all set to officially begin my paperchase.

This morning I walked over to our local police station and filled out the paperwork for the police check. I was shaking so badly I could hardly hold the pen! Uh oh! The officer behind the counter laughed at me as she reminded me this was only the beginning of many papers that would need to be filled out. Yup....but this is one of the FIRST since hearing God's answers to the prayers of myself and many others! Gulp! It's really happening! And I couldn't be more excited!!!

The other form that I had already requested in the spring was my long-form birth certificate. I was able to do this earlier as it is not a document that can 'stale date' before going to China as some others can. When that arrived via registered letter, I was not prepared for what I was going to see! What I saw immediately gave me goosebumps and brought tears to my eyes! I was looking at a copy of the form my Mom had filled out 39 years ago when she and Dad registered my birth! I hadn't expected to see her familiar hand writing and when I did it was such a wonderful moment! As I try to imagine how Mom and Dad felt when they filled out that paperwork is overwhelming. Mom had had difficulties (to put it very mildly!) having children so I was her first.

As I begin this journey to mommyhood myself I understand more and more about the longings of a woman's heart to be a Mom! Thank you Mom and Dad for persuing having a birth child and then for adopting my great brothers when another birth child was not what God had planned for you. God had David, Ken and I planned for you from the very beginning and for that I am so thankful! I am thrilled to be able to continue adding to our family through the amazing priveledge of adoption!

Calling 'Open Arms'

Well, today I made 'the call' to Deborah at my agency, Open Arms to International Adoption. Open Arms

Deborah was happy to hear that I've decided to go ahead with the adoption and told me that my spot is still available just as she said it would be! I'm so excited! There is 1 other single ahead of me who is also working on her homestudy. Deborah also told me that she has 4 dossiers for singles that she will be sending to China shortly! Just think, in a few short months it will be my dossier that is ready to go! I can hardly stand it!! Until then I have a lot of paperwork, studying and preparation to do. Let the paperchase begin!

God's Timing is ALWAYS Perfect!

Today was one of those days when God reaffirmed to me that He is in control and is leading me in this process. Why is it that I'm 'surprised' when He shows Himself in the small details of my life? He knows the number of hairs on my head (and that I'm not a natural blonde!) so why should I be shocked when His timing is perfect?

What I am going to share may seem like a small thing to some, and some may think it purely coincidental, but I know it's all God's timing!

A few of the details to help make the ending understandable:

• Monday, 9:15am I called and requested a Line of Credit to assist me with the adoption costs
• Monday after work I filled up my car and was shocked when it cost $52.00! My little car had never taken more than $42.00 to fill so this was a shocker...oh yah...also seeing $1.02 on the sign caused my heart to beat a little faster! Yikes! Who would have thought a year ago that finding gas at $0.90 would feel like a bargain and have people rushing the pumps?

At this point my small dilemma began. I had offered to help out at the MBC bookstore one of the next 2 weekends if they needed my help, but I was beginning to question what was a wise use of my finances? Should I be driving 4 hours in a day to volunteer for 8 hours at a cost of $30+ for gas as well as wear and tear on the car? Not sure. I mulled this over for a few days, waffling between keeping a commitment that I'd made (which means a lot to me) or being wise with my finances and staying home.

Finally deciding that I needed to honour my commitment I called JoAnn at MBC. When I asked if they needed my help this weekend I was told they were ok for staff and I didn't need to come. I was thankful and very happy with that answer. I felt I'd done what I'd needed to do yet at the same time God had answed my question.

Little did I know at the time, what God really had planned that I was not aware of! Less than an hour after talking with JoAnn (and 4 days after my original call) I received a call from someone at PC Financial. He wondered if I'd be home at 11:00 Saturday morning so that he could come over and we could sign the Line of Credit papers? Too cool! God knew all along that He needed me home on Saturday and He directed everything in His timing.

God's timing is always perfect!!!

New Beginnings

After much prayer, crying out to God seeking His Will, I can now share with you that I am moving ahead with the adoption of a precious baby girl from China! I am totally at peace with this decision and believe that to do anything but move forward would not be what God's plan is for my life right now. It feels so good to know that this decision has been bathed in prayer both by myself, my precious parents, my family and many, many friends! Thank you for praying and laying this before the feet of Jesus.

'In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice;

in the morning I lay my requests before you

and wait in expectation.' Psalm 5:3

It is wonderful to know that I have prayer warriors along this journey; uplifting and supporting me along the way. The fact that people take time out of their busy lives to pray for me and the adoption is both ans awesome and humbling experience. Please know that you are appreciated more than you know and that I covet your prayers. This precious baby girl who is probably not even born yet, will wonderfully change my life forever and she will also be a part of your lives too! How precious it will be to share with her someday about the many, many people who prayed for her before she was ever born and before we became a forever family!

Thank you for praying.

Still trying to figure this out!

Please humour me as I have a minor rant! The title of today's entry was fueled by the fact that I'm still trying to figure out how to write in this blog and add all the fancy things I see others doing. You know me...I want to go 0-60 in 10 seconds! This situation was proven a moment ago when I had an entry fully written, previewed it then hit the back button (of course, ignoring the warning that popped up!) and found that all my hard work had disappeared into cyber space! Oh no! Hopefully I don't make that mistake too many times!

It's hard to believe that this blog has been in place for over two weeks and this is....yup...this is only entry #2! Yeah for entry #2!

It's funny...ever since I began praying about and persuing this adoption I've told people that I hope to put a website together so that you can share my exciting journey with me. Now that I have an avenue to do this...I don't know what to write. Any of you who know me (no comments from the Peanut Gallery...David...Scott...) know that I'm never at a loss for words! Why now? I guess somehow writing down the daily goings-on can seem a little 'ho hum' but I'll try to keep it light so you enjoy your visits here. I know this journey will be a mixture of many emotions and I look forward to sharing those with you and giving you a small glimpse into my life as it changes in such an amazing way over the next year!

Now...for the lastest goings on. Last night I had one of those 'Intro to Mommy 101' nights! What fun! I had the priviledge of babysitting a friend's 3 youngest children who are 5yo, 15 months and 7 months. No problem! I've done this lots before with many children but last night I decided to add just one more obstacle to the course...swimming! The swimming part was easy...it was the getting dressed before and after that were the humerous part! As the 5yo got himself ready I took the 2 babies with me while I got changed. (I've heard of these moms who say 'I didn't have a minute to get dressed today' and often thought...Huh? Well...now I understand!) As I'm attempting to change, Baby A has the run of the room with me and Baby B is being entertained by him and all his antics! Who would think little 10" legs could move so fast? Phew! I turn my back....first big mistake...and hear giggling. Uh oh...Baby A has found the toilet paper and is happily rolling it onto the floor! I hurry over to stop this, move him aside and quickly roll the paper back up. Oh no....this gave him enough time to get into a cupboard and proceed to empty everything he could! Yup....over I go and put the stuff back! What am I thinking? My putting the stuff back allowed him to go back to the TP and continue with his first task of unrolling again! (Baby B is all smiles! Who would have thought getting changed could be so entertaining!) Well finally, after 2 TP episodes, 1 emptying of the cabinet and everything on the side of the tub being tossed into the tub, I'm ready to take on the challenge of swimming! Baby B goes into the baby swing near the pool, Baby A dons his life jacket and the 5yo is raring to go. So thankful the 5yo is a good swimmer! We enjoy a fun time in the pool, playing, swimming, splashing and enjoying something that comes and goes all too quickly in Canada...a hot, sunny evening in the pool.

Now, after swimming what comes next? Getting changed again! Oh no!!! I transfer Baby B from swing into a baby seat (At least was organized enough to realize that I'd be wet so would need a way to carry her without soaking her too. 1 pt for me!) Remove Baby A's life jacket and wrap him in a towel while trying to dry myself at the same time. OK...now to get upstairs...Baby A has a wet swimmer diaper on which would love to drip should it be given the chance, 5yo is hyped from his swim in the pool and Baby B has decided now was a really good time to 'express herself' and has 'blown' her diaper! (How can 1 tiny tushie make such a mess?) Oh well....what's one more little person to change?

By now, Baby A has had it...swimming was fun but it's time for bed! I quickly change him, get dressed myself and settle into the rocking chair with him for a bit of calm and cuddles...my favourite part! Change Baby B, read and pray with 5yo then head downstairs for some quiet 1 on 1 with Baby B. Phew...it was a busy couple of hours but wonderful! It did cross my mind though as I thought of mom's I see around with 2, 3 or 4 toddlers...how do they do it? My hat's off to them! I'm glad I'll be starting with just 1!