Gung Hei Fat Choy!

Hannah and I are blessed to have many friends to celebrate CNY with!
Back in the years when I was waiting for Hannah I met many others who were also waiting for their children.  Friendships were formed as we met a number of times as a Waiting Mommies group.  We still get together a couple of times a year now to celebrate Chinese New Year/Tet and the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival.  We are beyond blessed to be parents to these amazing children!!
And on the other side of this pic….(Our group is old school.  Not a camera phone in the group!)
Happy year of the monkey!
Our dragon parade.
Hannah enjoyed opening her red envelopes when we got  home.  Gung hei fat choy!!

Welcome to Canada Baby Grace!

Last night Hannah and I were excited to go to the airport to welcome home our newest little Canadian – Baby Grace!  (She looked extra adorable wearing one of Hannah’s baby outfits!)

This picture was taken just moments after they entered the terminal and poor little Grace was a little overwhelmed by all that was happening around her.  From the safety and familiarity of Mommy’s arms she soon began to take in all that was happening around her.

Suzanne and I met through the waiting Mom’s group that gets together every-other month for dinner.  Suzanne has patiently waited year after year and celebrated with others as many babies have come home.  This time we couldn’t be more thrilled that it was Grace’s homecoming that we were able to celebrate last night!!

Hannah made a sign to welcome home baby Grace and she and her little friend Mhyia waited excitedly for their new little friend to arrive!

New China sisters!  Our family is growing!

Congratulations Suzanne and Grace!  Welcome home Mommy!!

Hannah's First 'Waiting Mom's' Dinner

Saturday our group was together for dinner but this time was extra special for me as I was able to have Hannah with me!! The first of these dinners was back in 2006 and since then we've been meeting 6x a year. How wonderful it was to have Hannah beside me to share in the fun! There are a lot of babies home now so the group has changed to include both waiting moms and moms home with their babies. It's still an encouragement to all and a great place to share about our children and ask questions of other BTDT moms.

Here's this month's group
Hannah and her little friend Gracie enjoying some time together again
Mommy stayed a little later than originally intended so my little miss was getting tired. She slept all the way home though and went to bed after a brief playtime.
Looking forward to more dinners and welcoming more babies home!!

Waiting Moms...Plus Their Mom's...Dinner!

This month's waiting mommies dinner fell on Mother's Day weekend so we decided to switch it up and open it up to multiple generations. It was a wonderful treat for our mom's to meet some of our adoption friends and also some of the babies already home! I'm sure this will become an annual tradition but as one gal said, next year we might want to consider moving this particular dinner to Chuck E Cheese's with all the babies and little ones that our group is celebrating! Yay! That's what it's all about!! After a number of dinners with little/no referral information to share, this is changing and each dinner is one of celebration!!

My Mom and I

Diane, her mom Donna and daughter Grace. LOL! Can you tell Gracie has 3 older brothers who encourage all her adorable antics?!
Andrea, her mom Sally and daughter Sarah
Sharon and Nathaniel
Christine with her Mom and Mother-in-law. Christine and her hubby received a referral of a wonderful baby boy in Vietnam just last week!
Robyn and her Mom Heather. Robyn is also a new Mom as she and her hubby received a referral of an adorable baby boy inVietnam, last week!
Bev and Benjaminh
Grace (l) and Sarah getting to know one another.

This year was my last Mother's Day before Hannah is home and she was never far from my heart, thoughts and prayers! I love you sweet baby girl!! Next year we will celebrate this extra special day together as MOTHER and DAUGHTER!!!

Waiting Mommies Dinner #10

Saturday night was our 10th Waiting Mommies Dinner. What fun! We welcomed a number of new Vietnam Waiting Moms to our dinner this month. It's always neat to see this 'little' group grow and our GTA Waiting Mommies Yahoo Group now has over 50 members! It reminds me how important it is for us to have one another for friendship, support, encouragement and also to celebrate referrals and babies brought home!!

Here's the whole group together! Whoee, this was a big pic to set up for. Thankfully one of the dads showed up to pick up his little princesses so he helped us out by taking the pics. Thanks Mike!

Who's in the pic? Here you go. (back row, l to r) Me, Suzanne, Tammy, Andrea, Liz and Ava, Ange, Leslie, Anne-Marie, Stephanie and Justine. (front row l to r) Karen with Samara and Victoria, Tracey with Ran and Maia, Bev, Julia, Renny and Leah.

This month's dinner we were blessed to share the table with 5 adorable little girls celebrating Mother's Day a little early with their Mom's:

Samara


Victoria


Ran(l) and Maia(r)


Ava


Part of our bi-monthly dinners is also a gift exchange. Since our group is now made up with moms waiting for baby girls, boys and children already home we've switched things up and each months gift exchange will now be a book theme. This month's theme was Alphabet books and I received this adorable little book for Hannah! Samara took one look at it and realized it was one of her very favourites! Sounds like it comes highly recommended! (Also, a big Thank You to Victoria and Maia who helped me out with the gift exchange! Thanks girls...you did a great job!)

I'm going to pop another special gift in here. Last week I received this adorable little hand-made bib from Kayce. Thanks so much Kayce! I'm sure it will be adorable on Hannah!

The next dinner is July 11th and unfortunately I'll have to miss it as I'll be on vacation that week. It will be my first miss since we started these dinners a year and a half ago. Oh well, the others are still planning on going so if you're in the GTA and want to come along, please email me and I'll pass on the details to you.

Thanks for another great evening ladies! These dinners are a great way to help keep our spirits up and also form friendships that will last long after our babies are home. Have fun next time and I'll see you in September!!

Waiting Mommies Dinner #9

Last night a group of us gathered for another Waiting Mommies Dinner. We were excited to have the adorable Owen with us but Daddy missed him too much and snuck him away before I could snap any pics. He's absolutely adorable so hop on over to Ange's blog if your want to see pics of this little cutie. He also holds a place of honour in that he's the very first boy to earn a place at the Waiting Mommies table. We're hoping he'll be joined by many other boys this year but for now, the place is his alone. Welcome Owen! Congratulations Ange!!

Last night was a fun group made up of mommies adopting from Ethiopia, Vietnam and China. Here's the rundown of who is in the picture: (back row l to r): Jill, Ange, Anne-Marie (who was with us for the first time...welcome!!), Andrea, myself. (Front row l to r): Karen, Tammy, Lea, Julia and Bev. It was great to spend time with everyone! Looking forward to May 10th. Any suggestions for a gift theme for May? Please leave them in the comments area.

Last night's gift theme was 'Pamper Mommy'. Oh yah....that's a good theme! (Thanks Karen!) I received this adorable little mug that I'd seen on Lea's blog but had restrained myself from asking where she bought it. Now I have my very own and my coffee will taste extra special in that adorable mug....after Roll-up time is over! ;o)

Speaking of Roll-up time, my dear friend Karen showed up with this fun gift from she and her hubby Mike. A winning coffee Roll-up!! LOL!! It was beautifully wrapped in a gift bag and I laughed when I opened it. Thanks so much Karen and Mike! You're too funny! I'll think of you and smile when I enjoy my coffee.

I also wanted to add another beautiful gift that I received recently from my friend Julia who is also part of this group. It's the book, 'the Gift of an Angel' by Marianne Richmond. It's a beautiful book written to welcome a new child and the first time I read it there were a few tears. Thank you Julia! I'll treasure it and look forward to reading it to Hannah.

I am SO thankful to have this wonderful group of ladies in my life. Ladies who know what it's like to wait for so long for a child they already love so much. A supportive group of people who allow us to share our frustrations with the wait, question the unknowns (of which there are many) and also, celebrate our referrals and the addition of new babies to the group!

It really is quite funny I must say though when these new cuties join our group. In most baby situations everyone would be playing 'pass the baby' but we all understand the importance of the initial attachment and bonding period so we look on from a safe distance allowing mommy to be the one to totally care for baby. Oh yes, we oooo and awwwwe but just without the holding part. It's tough but we are all well studied in the adjustments mommy and baby are making so for the first visit we look on without holding. Now, after about 6 months home we're more than happy to hug, snuggle and do everything we can to help mommy out!

Welcome Lea!

We have a great group of waiting mommies who live in the Greater Toronto area. Every other month we get together for dinner, a gift exchange and just enjoy the time we spend together. I love that this group is made up of ladies adopting from China, Vietnam and Ethiopia. There are also many who originally came to the group as 'waiting mommies' and are now home with their sweeties.

Another great part of our group is that it's comprised of bloggers and non-bloggers alike. We often tease the 'non-bloggers' that we still love them even without having a blog. :o) Well, today a waiting mommy friend decided to open her blog and share her journey with us.

Please hop on over to Lea's blog and say 'hi!' I've shared with the gals of the waiting mommies group what a wonderful, loving supportive group the IA bloggy world is and honestly, I know this wait would be TONS harder without YOU! So thank you for hanging out here as we wait...and thanks for popping in to welcome a new friend too.

Waiting Mommies Dinner #7

I'm late posting this but wanted to share a picture of our latest waiting mommies dinner. It's hard to believe that it's only been a year since we first started getting together! Last November when we got together for the first time many of us had never met before. Now, one short year later the ladies that attend these dinners are some of my most precious and cherished friends and I am thankful to God from bringing us together!

Here's the group that gathered together on November 9th. Back row (l to r): Ange (who showed us pictures of her adorable son waiting for her in Vietnam!), Bev, Karen, Tammy, Jill, Rebekah and myself. Front row: Lea, Suzanne, Julia, Paula, Liz and the oh so adorable Ava!

Each time we meet together it's fun to hear what's been happening in one anothers lives and also see new referral pictures. Congratulations Ange!! We also have a gift exchange that is optional to participate in. This month's theme was 'Reading is Fun' and we encouraged people to give their favourite childhood book to someone else. Hannah received a beautiful board book and matching bunny for the 'Guess How Much I Love You' story! Too cute! Thank you! And yes, I teared up in the restaurant when I read it. What a beautiful story! My arms ache for the day when I'll be holding Hannah and reading this beautiful story to her.

Hannah, Guess how much I love you? I love you more than I ever knew I could even though right now you are only in my heart you are a part of my life, dreams and future. I'm praying for you and excited about the day that God will bring you and I together. Hannah, mommy loves you!! xoxo

Waiting Mommies Dinner #6

Saturday evening was another night of fun for our local group of Waiting Mommies. Those at this dinner were: (back row l to r) Michelle, Dolores, Kathy, Doris, Bev, Lisa, Leslie (front row) myself, Liz & Ava, Julia, Suzanne, Deb with a sleepy Mercy and Lori.

We enjoyed the wonderful company of our guest Doris who was in town for the weekend. It was GREAT having you with us Doris! Hopefully you can come again soon!!

This was the first time that we were able to meet Mercy and oh what a sweetie she is! Absolutley adorable and too precious for words! I think all of the excitement was too much for her and she quietly fell alseep in her (Mickey Mouse! :o) stroller. I'm so glad you and Mercy were able to be at the dinner Deb. You help to encourage all of us.

Little Miss Ava lit up the room with her smiles and giggles all around. She will never know how much her 'lap hopping' did for all of these mommies who still hold their children only in their hearts.

We were happy to celebrate Rhonda's birthday with her. Happy Birthday Rhonda! Hope you had a great day of celebrations!

One of the fun parts of the waiter was our great waiter John. He made us smile, was a great guy and called us all by name as he noted our nametags. Psst....don't you think this adorable guy could be Mr. Bean's son?

Thanks for another wonderful dinner ladies! See you November 9th.

And...if any of you bloggy friends from near and far want to join us, just let me know. Doris joined us this time and we're SO GLAD she did! We're always welcome to new people coming and 'guest visitors' from across Canada and the US are always welcome!

Waiting Mommies Dinner #5

Last night we had the fun of enjoying our 5th Waiting Mommies Dinner! The group continues to grow and it was wonderful to meet so many new people last night! Here's the gang from last night: (back row l to r) Tammy, Karen, Suzanne, Kelly, Chris, Andrea and Paula.
(middle row) Nicole, Cari, Tracey, Leslie, Karen, Dolores and Julia.
(front row) myself, Liz and Ava and Michelle.

There were many of our group who weren't able to make it to the dinner because it's summer and prime vacation time. Please know that you were missed! We also have 1 mom who is currently in China (meeting her daughter tomorrow!) and also Tracey, who was new this time is anticipating receiving her referral Monday!! Congratulations Tracey! We can't wait to celebrate with you!

As I sat and enjoyed the company of so many waiting moms I realized what a neat, assorted group we have become. We are made up of moms who are home with their babies, those who have their files overseas and are waiting for referrals and others who are currently working on their home study or waiting for ministry approval. The other thing that is so neat is that we're quickly bridging out of just a China moms group and now have moms who are waiting for their babies from Vietnam and Ethiopia too! It's an ever changing, ever growing group and inclusive of all moms in the area who are somewhere in the process on International Adoption. We are made up of ladies who have blogs and... *gasp!* those who do not! ;o) (We're working on them though! :o) Yes, it's a fun, open, supportive group who basically get together every-other month for an evening of fun, food, laughter, chatter and then for most of us it's the last time we see one another until 2 months later. Each time it's fun to catch up with those we've met before and meet the new gals that have joined!

Last night we once again headed to the Pickle Barrel (which is now our standard location) and enjoyed our evening together. We were even blessed with the presence of adorable, beautiful Ava who had her initial cleft lip surgery only 2 days prior to our dinner! She was too cute for words and still an bundle of energy! Her mommy says she's a great weight loss plan so I'm looking forward to trying that one! I think it's one of the only ones I haven't tried and I'm more excited about the 'Mommy Diet/Chase a Toddler Diet' than any of those other ones I've endured!

Each month we choose a gift theme and have a mini baby-shower. Last night's theme was 'Beach Baby' and people were so creative! Each person brings 1 gift and takes a different gift home. Last night Hannah received some adorable Baby Gap clothes and little hat! Thanks Nicole!

Another treat last night was that Paula's mom knit each of us an adorable little teddy bear! How thoughtful! I chose pink for Hannah (I know you're surprised!) and look forward to adding it to her collection of little, huggable toys. Thanks Paula's mom!

If you're a waiting mommy and you live in our area and want to join us next time, please feel free to do so. Our next dinner is on Saturday, September 8th. Please email me for more details. Also, if you're a bloggy friend who doesn't live in the area and can arrange to be here that day please know that we would love to have you join us! Rumour has it at least 1 mommy from afar is hoping to make it to the September 8th dinner. Hopefully more will come. We would love to meet you!

Waiting Mommies Dinner #4 - A Huge Success!!

Wow!! What an amazinf evening with a great turnout! In the end we had 23 mommies/mommies in waiting and 3 little ones present. I'll do my best to introduce you to everyone and attempt to link to those who have blogs. Here we go....


Back row l to r: Kathy, Jill, Leslie, Paula, Deb (formerly known as Mystery Mom! See post below for a pic of her precious Mercy), Rebekah, Julia, Bev, Beth and Julie.
Middle row l to r: Dayna, Laurie, Andrea, Michelle, Karen and Samara, Nicole, Suzanne
Front row l to r: me, Cari, Dolores, Liz and Ava, Debbie and Olivia

What a great night we had! Lot of laughter, fun and chatting! Our group took up the majority of the back room at the Pickle Barrel. It became quite funny to watch the hostess bring in people to sit at the tables around us only for them to see the comotion (and hear the deafening noise) come from our tables and see them ask to sit elsewhere. A few brave couples and families joined in the fun and the babies kept them well entertained!

Thanks for another GREAT night everyone! Hope you're able to make it to the next dinner on July 6th!

Here are a few fun pics from last night...

Dessert anyone?











Gifts for Hannah! Thanks for the fun umbrella and beautiful scrapbooked layout Paula! Also to Liz for the fun lunchbox kit and Jill for the tea and fortune cookie (which didn't last long enough to be included in the picture!)

Such great memories! Thanks ladies...you're the best! So very thankful for this wonderful group that live close enough one another to become friends now and share happy times with our children later! Looking forward to planning playgroups rather than (errr...in addition to) dinners!

Happy Mother's Day to all!!!

Our first Babies!!

Last night was even more exciting as we welcomed home 3 babies from China! Aren't they adorable?!!!

Here is Karen and her sweet Samara. She was the quietest of the 3 little ones last night and loved to take in all the excitement from the safety of mommy's lap. She's absolutely precious! Welcome home Samara!

This is little Olivia and her mom Deb! This littly dynamo just learned how to walk on Friday and was only too pleased to show all of us her new skill! She's a busy little one with a ready smile and loves to keep her mommy hopping. Welcome home Olivia!

Our most recent addition is beautiful Ava and her mommy Liz. Ava has been home less than 2 weeks and was ready to join in the fun of chasing bubbles and playing! Ava had a smile that lights up the room! Welcome home Ava!

Playtime for Ava and Olivia!







This last picture made me smile! As I was down on the floor taking pics of the little ones playing I turned to my left and saw this. Oh yes! Can you imagine? The babies were here! Can you imagine what kind of damage we'll do when more and more babies join our group? We'll have to pay extra for a cleaning staff to tidy when we leave. :o)

It was wonderful to meet you Samara, Olivia and Ava! Welcome to the GTA Waiting Mommies Group!

Another addition to our group is precious Mercy. Here's a picture of her proud Mommy Deb (formerly known as 'Mystery Mom 1') with her sweet baby's picture. Congratulations Deb! Looking forward to following your journey to China this summer.

My How We've Grown!

Wow!!! You may remember last November that a small group of waiting mommies got together for dinner. I think there were 7 or 8 of us. I'm just on my way out the door to have dinner with the same group and we've exploded to be 23 waiting mommies and 3 newly home babies!!! Too cool!! Can't wait to meet all the new waiting mommies, catch up with old friends and ooooo....adore the newly home babies too!

If you hear noise coming from the Toronto area tonigh that's just our group getting to know one another! You're sure to see pictures either later today or tomorrow.

And....

Happy Mother's Day to all my bloggy friends! Those who have children in thier arms and those who hold them only in their hearts today!

Waiting Mommies...Take 2!

Last night was another fun night out with some new friends. This is a group of single gals in the area that are adopting and we met for dinner for the first time. It was fun getting to know 'Mystery Mom #2' (who chooses to remain anonymous as her referral is still a year or two away and she hasn't told many people) and in the front row l to r are Liz and Cari! We had a great visit at the Mandarin and couldn't believe when 4 hours flew by with us barely moving...well...other than our jaws chatting and laughing!

It was a real treat meeting more new mommies who are also waiting. But, speaking of waiting, it won't be long now for Liz! She found out yesterday that she will be leaving in 2 short weeks to meet her precious Ava!!! What an exciting time that will be! Looking forward to following her journey to Ava online. As we chatted Liz talked about one of my concerns....how do we pack all the stuff we need to take and still somehow pack all we'll need for 1 week in 1 suitcase that weighs 44lbs. or less?? YIKES!!! When Sharon and I went to Vancouver in January I 'downsized' and my 1 week suitcase for lil' ole me weighed 55lbs! Oh man...I'm in so much trouble! :o) The flights to China aren't the problem as I can take 2 suitcases with a bigger weight limit but once in Beijing I'll board a domestic flight within China to spend a week in Hannah's home province and that's where the suitcase, carrying all I'll need, all Hannah will need (including clothing, diapers, food, medications, etc.) can weigh only 44 lbs. Hmmm...don't tell them yet but I'm sure I'll be begging space in Mom, Dad and Norma's suitcases! ;o)

Congratulations Liz! So excited for you! Also, thank you so much for the adorable ladybug bodysuit, squeezably soft panda and cute little piggy door handle cover!

It was great meeting you Liz, Cari and Mystery Mom 'R'! See you on May 12th at the next Waiting Mommies Dinner!

Note: If you're a waiting mommy in the area and want to join us on May 12th please know that the invitation to attend is open to you! Please email me and I'll put you in my email group to send you more details. So far we have over 20 people on the invite list and acceptances from people in both Canada and our US friends! Too cool! This little group is growing...growing!