New Pics of Maelyn!!!

Paul and I were over the moon yesterday to receive a few new pictures of our little girl. The family in Spain that has been sponsoring her since she was two months old contacted us through email and sent us these pictures. Two of the photos are of her at around 13 months old and the last one is of Maelyn in March! That is the latest picture we have of our sweet little girl. We can't get over how big she is getting!

 

Isn't she precious?! We love you, Maelyn!

The Perfect Weekend #2

Let me just start off by saying that I had been living for this past weekend. I had really, really needed a weekend away to relax and recharge. I had been hoping for a relaxing, low-key weekend where Paul and I could take the time to connect and spend some quality time together.

We chose Niagara-on-the-Lake as our get-away destination. We have often visited this beautiful town and we really like it there -- good food, wine, going for walks, history, etc.

We headed out early Saturday morning and had a nice drive together -- chatting about our upcoming travel to China, of course! Just as we were getting close to the old town, we notice a Picard's store and had to stop! We bought quite a few treats - yummy!!

Then we parked in town and walked around, browsed through the shops, and had a fabulous lunch. The weather was fantastic! The forecast had called for rain, but it held off until Sunday morning. This meant that we were able to walk around town and enjoy being outdoors.

We had wanted to geocache while we were there, but our GPS wasn't working properly. We had also wanted to visit a few wineries and sample some of the local wine -- but by the time we got there, the tasting bars had closed. We went with plan B -- we checked into our Bed and Breakfast, the Brass Bell, close to the heart of the old town.

With the weather being as nice as it was, we were able to sit out on the porch and relax. We had a few drinks and read our travel books about China. It was really nice being able to sit quietly together and not feel like we had to rush to the next activity.

Lianne spoiled us with a gift certificate to the Vintage Hotels. Paul and I booked a reservation at the Pillar and the Post -- we were really looking forward to being able to have a nice dinner together. The owner of our bed and breakfast suggested that rather than eating in the formal dining room, we should eat in the lounge. We decided that we wanted to be able to have a nice dinner in a relaxed atmosphere -- the perfect combination!

We walked to the restaurant -- not knowing that we passed right by Shauna and MacLean on the way! Hehe...

The lounge was perfect! We were tucked away at a table in a back corner of the restaurant, in view of the fireplace. Sooooo relaxing! We started with salads and then had the best steak dinners we have had in a long time! We topped it all off with desert -- yummy! Paul kept commenting on how good his dinner was --especially with the bottle of wine that we shared. :)

If I had been a stranger watching us in the restaurant, I would have been chuckling to myself. We were so relaxed and so full, we were both leaning against the wall, our eyes closing. Paul and I smiled and commented on how old we must be getting -- but if we were old, at least we were very happy!

The next morning we had a fabulous breakfast and then headed to Toronto for Leanne and Joad's baby shower.

All in all, a fantastic and relaxing weekend.....perfect.

Travel Dates!

Well, we can finally say that it is official -- we have our tickets purchased and are making plans to head to China!!

After a lot of planning and coordinating, we finally booked our tickets! Mother nature decided that the tickets weren't already expensive enough, so she decided to throw in a little volcanic ash to increase the airline prices! Oh well -- everything is set and we couldn't be happier!

We are leaving on Thursday, June 17th. This will allow us to be in Beijing for two nights before we meet Maelyn -- more time to adjust to the change in time zones. Here is the best part -- we meet Maelyn on Father's Day!!! We then return to Canada on July 1st, Canada Day!

We will be flying with our good friends, Leanne and Joad. We are still beyond thrilled that we get to experience this trip with them. The girls will be able to spend almost a week together in Beijing -- so much fun!!

Leanne arranged a dinner with our travel group, to give us an opportunity to meet and get to know each other a little better. It turns out that Paul and I, along with Leanne and Joad, are the only first-time parents in the group. The others have all adopted before -- which is great, as their experience will come in handy, I am sure.

We leave in 8 weeks -- time is going to fly!!! Better start packing.... :)

The Perfect Weekend

This could be the title of our weekend coming up -- a weekend away at Niagara-on-the-Lake, one of our favourite get-away spots. I decided, however, that it was befitting a weekend recently spent with good friends.I started out the weekend dining with the girls at one our favourite restaurants. Julie, Vanessa, Lianne and I never ran out of things to talk about -- and the food was good, too! We were able to see firsthand Lianne's pictures of her recent trip to China. We talked about getting ready for our own adoption trip to China. We also heard about Julie and Vanessa's upcoming travels to Europe. Apparantly, this group of ladies likes to travel! :)After dinner, I went back to Lianne's and stayed there for the night. I was going to be heading to Vanessa's place to stay with the kids the next day, so it wasn't worth driving all the way back to Newmarket. It also gave me the chance to visit with the girls and sleep in my favourite bedroom! I don't know what it is about this bedroom, but it is the best ever! I always sleep well when I stay at Lianne's -- don't you agree, Shauna? :)The next morning, Lianne made breakfast and we had time to chat and look into creating my new travel blog. After Lianne and the girls headed to gymnastics, I went to Vanessa's to stay with the kids for the day. It ended up being one of the best days I had had in a long time. I find that there isn't anything more relaxing than spending the day getting lost in the fun and excitement that kids seem to naturally exude.I was treated once again that day to not having to cook a meal -- Galen made lunch for all of us and it was very tasty! He is an expert at making egg mcmuffins, but was adament that he couldn't take the credit -- they are his Dad's special recipe!

Noah also got in the action as he helped to put the ham on the muffins...

Then we all sat down to a yummy lunch...

After lunch we headed to the movies to watch 'How to Train Your Dragon' in 3-D.

I know you are all thinking that the day couldn't get any better -- but it did! Lianne and the girls met us at Canadian Tire where I purchased new shelves and cupboards for our laundry room. The trick was getting all of the purchases into my Honda Civic -- but we did it! :)

The kids then had an amazing time playing together and Lianne ordered pizza for dinner...

Not only did the kids make my day, but Lianne did a pretty good job of helping me feel relaxed and cared for -- I really enjoyed spending time with her that weekend. From having breakfast made, gifts she brought us back from her trip to China (more on that later), to dinner and even a treat for a special restaurant to use in NOTL this weekend!

After Lianne and the girls left, it was time to party with the Woodburns!! One of my favourite activities to do with the kids is to run and dance! That night, we let loose! I have a hilarious video of this dancing party, but unfortunately, I can't get it to load. I will work on it and try posting that later...

All in all, it was the perfect day and a much needed one -- relaxing and enjoying the love and company of 'my kids' and friends.

Care Package

Yes, this blogger has a lot of catching up to do!! Stay tuned for many posts to follow....

We were told back in December that once our file registered with China that we would be able to send Maelyn a care package. We were excited about being able to send her something - from our hands to hers!

However, I found this to be intimidating!! I don't know what it was, but my perfectionism hit with full force. It didn't seem like anything was good enough and I would agonize over our choices of what would go into the care package. Eventually, it got to the point where we just had to get it done!

In the end, we were very happy with the care package and it was sent to Maelyn at the end of March.

Soft photo album - fell in love with it immediately!

Mommy & Daddy

The cats / Paul's family...

Paul and his brother / Jan's family...

Auntie Kara & Uncle Cam / My kids!!

Wedding Day / Picture with Maelyn!

Teddy Bear for Maelyn - we are bringing it to China

Finger puppets...

Took AM's advice and got some Canadian chocolates -- too bad our agency had to remove them from the package before they were sent!! There are apparantly new rules that dictate no chocolate can be sent...hope they enjoyed the chocolate at the agency -- hahaha! :)

And a ladybug backpack (of course) for all of her stuff!!

We were also able to send Maelyn and her foster family a small note, which our agency had translated for us. At this point, our little girl has seen our pictures and is being told about her upcoming adoption. Although we have no expectations that a 19 month old would understand adoption and what it all means, it is nice to know that we were able to give Maelyn her first gifts from her Mommy & Daddy, halfway around the world!

18th or 25th??!!

Okay -- this is all finally starting to feel very, very real!

We have been receiving emails today about possible travel dates. As of right now, it looks like we are going to be traveling on either the 18th or 25th of June. Either way, it looks like I am going to be missing the last few weeks of school. 

We have decided, along with Leanne and Joad, that we are most likely going to travel to China a day earlier than scheduled. This would allow us a little more time to get adjusted to the time change before we leave Beijing and head to our daughter's provinces. 

Paul and I had always been a little sad that we wouldn't be traveling with a group, as we know how those connections can last a lifetime for both the parents and the children. Little did we know, our prayers would be answered! For the first time, the Waiting Children's program will have a group of families traveling together. Today we received an email that put us in touch with the other families. We have begun introducing ourselves through emails and hope to be able to get together at least once before we leave on our journey.

It is hard to imagine that ten weeks from now we will all be holding our little one's in our arms.....

China, here we come!!

Yesterday was a crazy, wonderful, amazing day! Here is how it all began....

It actually started out as a horrible day. I have been very burnt out, busy lately and was struggling to get through the day. I was feeling grumpy and didn't have a ton of patience left for anyone - including my students. On top of that, Paul and I had been feeling a little down lately that we probably wouldn't be receiving our LSC (the letter we needed to be able to get ourselves to China) as quickly as we had anticipated. It meant that we would be waiting even longer to meet our little girl. All in all, I was feeling a little down in the dumps.

I made it through the day and got home from school. I started preparing dinner and for my tutoring students that would arrive shortly. The phone rang and it took me a minute to register the fact that it was our adoption agency coordinator calling. She informed me that much to her surprise, they had received our LSC!!!! I couldn't believe it!! We spoke for a minute or two and then I immediately tried to get in touch with Lianne to share our news! She wasn't there, so then I called Paul and blurted out the good news -- we were going to be leaving for China in ten weeks!!

Wow!! Ten weeks!!

I don't even know how I made it trough the next hour and a half - I could barely concentrate on tutoring! As soon as the students left, Paul came home and we started making calls. It was amazing to be able to call our family and friends and tell them that Maelyn would be coming home very soon!

Wow!! Ten weeks!!

We were most excited to call Leanne and Joad and share our news. We feel such a connection to them and love being able to share our common adoption journey. When we called, Leanne answered and asked if we had also received a call from our agency. That took my breath away and gave me goosebumps -- they received their LSC letter as well! It meant that we would be traveling together! We had always talked about the possibility of traveling together, but I honestly didn't know if it would work out in our favour. It isn't common for families in the Waiting Children's program to travel together -- and now we are going to get the opportunity to travel with our very good, very dear friends! We feel so very blessed...

Wow!! Ten weeks!

Now, twenty-four hours later, we are still on cloud nine. We cannot believe how well everything has worked out. On the other hand, the panic has also set in -- the panic of getting everything done before we leave for China! How can it be that we have waited all this time to become parents and now, with ten weeks to go, I feel like I am falling behind on the to-do list!!

Wow!! Ten Weeks!!

Ten weeks until we step on a plane headed towards our little girl. Ten weeks until we get our first glimpse of our little girl's face, in person. Ten weeks until we can hug her, hold her, love her. Ten weeks until the journey to bring Maelyn and Jennie together becomes a reality.

Wow!! Ten weeks!! Life is good...

Snow? Really?!

I am sitting here in my classroom at the end of the day and just had to post -- as it is snowing!!

I cannot believe the extremes in the weather! I was totally unprepared for the weather today -- it was
FREEZING out on yard duty!

Oh well -- one last sign of winter and then bring on spring!

New Post....

There is a new post, but for some reason it posted before the 19 month post.....enjoy!

19 months!!

Today Maelyn is 19 months old -- I cannot believe how quickly time is passing!

We spent the day preparing for her arrival. We worked on putting together the finishing touches for her bedroom and bathroom. We also began the long process of washing all of her clothes, then hanging and folding them. We had a blast! A great way to spend the day -- thinking about our amazing little girl!

Happy 19 months, Maelyn! We love you to the moon and back again!

Maelyn Chronicled

This is a post I have wanted to complete for a very long time. The story of the pictures I have posted is an interesting one -- enjoy!

Over the Christmas break and in-between packing, Paul and I started researching anything we could about Maelyn -- her province, her orphanage, etc. In searching, we came across blogs of other people who had also adopted children from the same orphanage as Maelyn. We even saw pictures of a little girl in the same foster home as Maelyn! It's remarkable how beside ourselves we were about being able to see her foster home from different angles -- and even a picture of the foster mother!

That blog lead us to yahoo discussion groups and more specifically, one that is for individuals who have adopted children from Maelyn's orphanage and who all had the last name, Ling (this is a name assigned by the orphanage itself). When I signed up for the group, I had no idea how important that decision would be...

While I was reading posts from others in the group, I came across a few postings from a woman who lives in Spain. She was posting messages about her organization, one that sponsors children from Maelyn's orphanage. She explained that families in Barcelona, Spain would sign up to sponsor a child and receive montly updates about the sponsored child. The money would pay for various things, but mostly it allowed the child to be moved from an orphanage setting to a foster family. In this group, she had been contacting the families of the children the organization had sponsored -- she was even able to provide the adoptive families the pictures that had been sent on a monthly basis to the sponsor families.

Well -- needless to say, I didn't waste a second. I emailed her immediately and asked if she knew Ling Wanhao. We had our answer within three days -- Maelyn was one of the girls they sponsored! We couldn't believe our luck -- we were so excited!! She told us that she had pictures for every month of Maelyn's life and would send them along shortly.

On January 6th, the evening before we took possession of our new house, we came home to an email full of pictures -- beautiful pictures of our little girl!! We were so grateful to this woman for making it possible for us to help create a history for Maelyn -- what a gift! Also, we were anxious to see pictures of what her cleft had looked like before the surgery. It was wider than we had originally assumed (due to the amazing job they did repairing her lip), but she looks beautiful in each and every photo!

October 8th, 2008 - 1 month old

November 16th, 2008 - 2 months old

December 22nd, 2008 - 3 months old

January 26th, 2009 - 4 months old

March 4th, 2009 - 5 months old

March 25th, 2009 - 6 months old

April 24th, 2009 - 7 months old

April 24th, 2009 - 7 months old

May 24th, 2009 - 8 months old

June 10th, 2009 - 9 months old

August 27th, 2009 - 11 months old

We were so excited to receive the next four photos -- they are all dated later than any other pictures we had seen of Maelyn. Our little girl is growing!!

September 27th, 2009 - 12 months old

October 22nd, 2009 - 13 months old

November 26th, 2009 - 14 months old

December 31st, 2009 - 15 months old

Being sent these pictures is one of the greatest gifts we could have ever received. We haven't seen any updated pictures of our little girl in three months, but that is soon to change! Our agency has made a request to China for an update on Maelyn. We should receive new pictures and updated medical information within the next two weeks -- we can't wait!

Maelyn's Bedroom

There are moments when I have a hard time believing that I am in fact writing this post. We have waited three years to be able to paint and decorate our child's room -- and the time is finally here!

Around our house, March Break was spent in construction mode. My focus was on Maelyn's bedroom and bathroom.

Before the March Break, we had put some furniture in her room and even tried out the bedding set. I looked for hours online to find the PERFECT bedding set and accessories. I don't know why it meant so much to me, but it did! I finally found the set I was looking for -- ladybugs and butterflies -- but a set that didn't make it look like a newborn's room.

The first big job to complete was painting the room. I knew that I wanted to go with a colour that had a grey tone to it - to soften up all of the colour. My sister helped me pick the colour and we ended up loving it!

I also had to paint the change table. It was given to us by Julie and we absolutely loved it, but we wanted to paint it white, to match the rest of the room. Honestly, it took me longer to paint the change table than it did the entire bedroom!! I still have one last coat to apply, but I am very happy with how it ended up looking -- love it!

Once the painting was done, we were able to put up the blinds, valence, butterfly moblie and some of the furniture into place!

I then got started on painting her bathroom. We chose a colour on the same palate as the room colour, just one shade darker. I think it will work well with the reds, ladybugs, and shower curtain.

It has been a blast getting Maelyn's room ready -- it is now the best-looking room in the house! I am looking forward to getting the final touches finished -- and then on to the playroom!