Car Advice please!

I have had the same mini van for 7 years now. It has been a wonderful vehicle but we are thinking it is finally time to get something new before our new addition joins the family.

So... the hunt is on for something that has 3 rows of seating, is safe (as possible) in the 3rd row (major concern of mine for rear end collisions) and if possible is NOT a mini van. I have nothing against mini vans but I want something new and different. But... it has to fit a family of 5 (all in infant or booster seats for many years to come - in Ontario Canada our children are basically in boosters until they are 80lbs or 8yrs old... my kids have a long way to go before they will be 80lbs) comfortably plus a baby stoller and other things that inevitably end up in the back of a vehicle.

So, I think I've narrowed it down to these 3...

1) Saturn Outlook AWD

2) Honda Pilot AWD

3) Jeep Commander AWD (which i love best but it is the WORST by far in gas mileage)

Anyone that reads my blog that has one of these vehicles or has an opinion... I'd love to hear from you. Advice appreciated, you can leave it here or email me llightfoot@frontierwireless.ca

THANKS :)

Photo of the Week

My girl, looking oh so pretty.
This photo is from a while ago - April 2007 to be exact.

She'd taken the scissors to her bangs - as you can see here. This was the first of 2 haircuts by Chloe so far. I *think* she has decided recently to leave the cutting to her hairdresser :)
I do love my spunky girl.

Shoppping with Sadie

Yesterday was fun. I got to see Sadie again, as well as her mommy. They met me in Belleville and we went to East Side Mario's for lunch and then did some shopping. Her friend and fellow adoptive mommy joined us and we had a great time. They all came back to our house afterwards and had a visit. Keaton and Chloe finally got to meet Sadie and they fell in love. They are still talking about her today and want her to come for another visit. She is such a good baby :) They are very anxious for a little girl to join our family soon... hopefully it will happen this year.

On another note, happy birthday wishes to a very special gal: Catherine. Hope you have a wonderful day :)

Uniting

2 families in 2 different countries... both traveling for one reason - to bring their children home.

Michelle is with the same agency as we are. I have an email friendship with her and got to meet her in person a few wks ago when I went to Jacqueline's in Kingston to meet her daughter. Michelle has had her referral since around Christmas time and yesterday... finally - she became Aimee's mom. Her daughter is so cute and is almost 7 months old. I am following her story closely in case we end up traveling to the same orphanage as she :)

A fellow blogger Angel, who I admire so much is in China right now and has been united with her sweet girl Kaiya. Kaiya is almost 2 yrs old I think. Angel has the cutest video's of Kaiya toddling around the hotel, etc... so adorable!

2 families made possible through faith, hope, love and adoption. I think it is a beautiful thing.

Photo of the Week

Keaton
Originally uploaded by leslie lightfoot

...I'm a little late with photo of the week... my wireless has been on and off for a week now. GRR... the joys of living in the country.

Keaton... headed off to school one morning last week.
Hair still wet from his shower.
Age 7 1/2

DTV 10 months

dtv10
Originally uploaded by leslie lightfoot

Another month has gone by. To celebrate 10 months closer to baby girl Lightfoot I bought this sweet little romper at Children's Place . I couldn't resist the pink and yellow together. Chloe helped me pick this one out.

10 months... and how many more? I'm not sure. I'm not feeling real confident that it will be any time soon. It would nice though to get a surprise. I love surprises. Bring on the surprises!

Steven Curtis Chapman

I didn't know of his music until we started on this adoption journey. I fell in love with his song "When love takes you in" and discovered many more of his Christian songs that I loved (Cinderella, With Hope, Remembering You, etc).
I was so saddened to hear of their family tragedy this past week. He has a beautiful family with both bio children and 3 beautiful girls adopted from China. He is a great supporter of International Adoption and has a foundation "The Shaohannah’s Hope" to help families with the cost of adoption. I am sure they need and appreciate everyone's special prayers for Maria and their family. I cannot stop thinking of them... of this precious little girl and how quickly life can change - in a blink of the eye.
I saw this video to his song "Cinderella" on another friends blog and couldn't help but reflect on how this song now holds a different meaning to his fans... he wrote it last year about his daughters. Heartbreaking. Cherish every moment.

Yard Work

...It is something I'm not fond of doing, but when you live on an acre + of property, there always seems to be something needing to be done. The list is ENDLESS it seems and the pool area is my number one objective this Spring... I must get all the wood decking painted/stained and I have 4 out of 5 big flower beds still to tackle within the pool fenced area, amongst other things.

Today I planted some Wave Petunia planters and a Clematis flowering vine to climb up some of the fencing. If it takes well, I plan on buying several. We had Clematis at our first home (climbing up the verandah columns) and it was so pretty in magenta's and purples. Anyhow, ...so much more to do. I'm going to try and buy up a bunch of plants and maybe a Weeping Pussy Willow tree this weekend. I wish plants and perennials weren't all so much money (when you need 5 flower beds worth)!! I'm hoping my brother will come with me and keep me from making any wrong purchases. The pool area is full sun most of the day and I am used to flower gardens that are almost full shade all day (the front of our house) - I am going to need his help.

Another thing I "FINALLY" got around to doing... I finished colour staining our pool shed, the door was the last thing to be finished. I have Gerbera daisy planters in the window boxes and I am crossing my fingers that they live. They look so cute!

Still to do (before pool party season?)...
*finish staining wood privacy fence
*stain decking
*4 flower gardens including large/tall shrubs to 'hide' the propane heating tank
*sew (or buy) simple curtains for the pool shed
*large planters of flowers x 2
*remove river rock from one flower garden and decide if we are sodding it for a play area or firepit spot.
*stone walkway leading from pool area to backyard (I think we will have to pay someone to do this, we just don't have the skills!)

Needless to say, we have lots to keep us busy this summer while we wait on 'the phone call' from our agency. That isn't to say I wouldn't rather hear from them now... but until then - I will keep working at my pool to-do list and hope I develop the green thumb my brother seems to have been born with.

Seeing RED

Finally, my stools are finished. If I never paint with red again, it will be too soon. I do like how they look in my apple green/red/brown kitchen. Here is a peek at what all the complaining was about...

Photo of the Week

Keaton laughed when he saw this photo of his sister as a baby. She is sitting in our flower garden, I put her there so I could get her photo. Before I could even get the shot she had grabbed ahold of these flowers and attempted to eat them up. I think she is about 10 months old here... so sweet.

I have a nephew

Congratulations to Shaune's brother Aaron and his wonderful wife Sarah.

Today they were blessed with their second child, a boy this time - Thomas Aaron Lightfoot. Adah will love having a baby brother I'm sure!

We hope to go see the beautiful baby boy (and his parents) tomorrow but here is a sneak peek at the beautiful mom and her son, courtesy of Shaune's mom's camera.

Sarah, I'm so happy for you. Overalls, dirt and bugs... its a whole different world - but a marvelous one indeed!

Long weekend has begun!

Here in Canada we are gearing up for a long weekend. I love me some long weekends with the kids home and Shaune home. Unforunately the weather is looking 'iffy'... rain is coming. Shaune had hoped to finish staining our deck and fence around the pool this weekend and I wanted to get my flower gardens done around the pool as well. We put the pool in October 2006 and still haven't gotten around to much landscaping in the pool area. I'm just not good at that sort of thing. Luckily my brother has a green thumb and has given me some perennials and advice to go along with them. I can't wait til it is all finished and FINALLY the way we want it.

We cannot wait to go see the new Narnia movie. My kids are on pins and needles wanting to see it and we've been counting down the days til it was in the theaters. I loved the first movie and hope this one measures up. Chloe is fascinated that Lucy (the main character) is all 'grown up' in this movie... she is Lucy obsessed. I always thought they sort of resembled each other.

Other things on my list for this weekend is to finally finish painting those DREADED RED STOOLS for the kitchen. Our new leather couch and chair is coming home today and I can't wait for that. I will be pillow shopping this weekend, the set is a chocolate brown leather and I want some bright greens and other colours for pillows. Our house needs more colour!

All this to say I'm trying to keep myself very busy. I have projects to keep me busy on the work front and our house needs some major TLC. I got confirmation today in an email that we are still at #6 on the list of families awaiting a girl proposal. There were 4 boy referrals this week I guess and I'm happy to report that one of my good friends I've made during this adoption journey got her referral!!! He is beautiful and I am very happy for my friend and her family.

So, we continue to wait. Somehow today I feel very at peace with the wait. Now.. that is not saying that I'm not overly anxious and wishing our time was here - but somehow I've come to accept (at least for today - :) that it is out of my hands and it is just not our time yet. I cannot control this situation (the hardest part for me) and I need to stay positive and somehow learn to enjoy the wait more. Worry less, be more patient and just pray that our time will come soon, when it is meant to.

To all the families with our agency that recieved great news this week - HUGE congrats. If you read my blog, drop me an email. I'd love to hear from you.

Happy Mother's Day

I had a great Mom day today. Very low key just the way I like it. I posted some photos over at our family blog if you are interested. We managed one decent photo of me with Keaton and Chloe together. What can I say, I didn't get all dolled up today but oh well... this is me - the way they love me every day :)
Thanks K, C and Shaune for making today special.

And a special shout out to my mom and my mother in law, 2 very special women and very loved mothers and Nana's.

GTA Waiting Mommies Night Out - May 08

Last night was a great time. I love gathering with this group of amazing women. We all very different and yet very alike in many ways too. Some of us have children and some are still on their path to motherhood for the first time, but we all share the common bond of understanding what adoption means in our hearts. I wish I could see these women more often, once every 2 months does not seem often enough.
There were some new faces and several Vietnam waiting mom's at this dinner. It was great meeting some girls I have spoken to on email and the phone but had never met in person before :)
I had a delicious meal and enjoyed great company. I can't wait til July's GTAWM dinner :)

Here is a photo Catherine was kind enough to share with me, since I did not take my camera. The women in the photo represent mom's adopting from China, Vietnam and Ethiopia. We had some little gals there too, which always does the heart good to see. They were wonderful and so totally adorable.

Photo(s) of the Week

My boy and his homework... a nightly occurance that he doesn't really mind once he gets going on it. He is smart and he tries really hard. He has made me so proud this year with the boy he is. I could go on and on and gush and gush... but instead I'll just share a photo or 2 of my sweet little prince.

Keaton

Grade 2

7 yrs old

Meeting Sadie!!!

My friend J is finally home and settled after spending 3 weeks in Vietnam to bring back her beautiful daughter Sadie. I drove up to Kingston today and met her. Wow, she is something else. I fell in love with her. She is the sweetest... the cutest... and it was so nice to see her in person and play with her and watch her with her mommy. It did me a world of good today. I didn't get many photos of her but her mommy said I could share a photo or 2 of her on my blog.

She is so special. It is hard to believe how much her life has changed this past month and she is the sweetest little girl... so tiny and full of curiosity.

I also had the treat of meeting Michelle in person for the first time. She lives in Ottawa and has been waiting 5 months to bring her beautiful Aimee home from the same orphanage Sadie was at. She drove down and it was so nice to finally connect in person, after months of emailing eachother. I am hopeful that she will be traveling very soon to bring her daughter home, I think her flight leaves next week sometime, unless things get postponed again.

What can I say, it was a great day. I left with a smile on my face and sang really loud to happy music the whole way home.

Thanks J for a wonderful uplifting day and Michelle - it was awesome meeting you. We must get together again... hopefully I can meet Aimee very soon.

Red Letters Campaign - Go and check it out!

Angel is an amazing person. I enjoy reading her family blog and find her a huge inspiration. She is a person that not only wants to make this world a better place... but she is doing it day by day.

Red Letters Campaign is an amazing new (it was launched on Monday) site that has so much great information. If you are adopting, if you care about the poor and the needy... the extremely impoverished people in this world we share, if you care period - go and check it out. Take some time to look around and then start to think of little and big things you can do to make this world a better place for everyone. I think if everyone believed they could change the world, they would - and we can. You just have to start doing it. This site can help you think of ways to start doing it.

Uplifting

I needed something to pull me back up and stop focusing on the long wait and look toward what is to come (and appreciate the NOW!)

This video is beautiful. It features Vietnamese & Chinese orphanages and all the beautiful children in need. Thought I'd share.

REMEMBER to pause the music that we have playing on our blog, in order to listen to the video. You can do that by finding the music on the right hand side of our blog and pressing the pause button.

Slow go

The past couple months we have only moved 1 spot on the wait list for a little girl. I honestly am struggling with what to tell family and friends (and my children) who ask of any news. There is no news, just endless waiting. I know our daughter will join our family but when is very unknown at this time. I honestly am not sure she will be home in 2008 now. I'm trying to stay optimistic and am hoping for travel in the early Fall but it seems more likely that we may get our referral around that time. Then the wait from referral to travel ranges from 2 months - 4 months depending on the orphanage she is at. Will we be in Vietnam for Christmas? No knowing yet.

God grant me more patience. I'm not very good at this.
I'm not complaining. I'm just venting, and hoping for the daughter we are so ready to welcome home already.

IA for 2007 and take those bottles back

Thought I'd share some information on where we are with International Adoption in Canada. The following is a partial list showing statistics on International Adoption in Canada from Jan 07 - September 07...

International adoptions by Canadians,
January to September, 2007 (latest figures available):

1) China 524
2) Ethiopia 92
3) Russia 83
4) United States 71
5) Haiti 67

Other Countires: 338
Total International Adoptions: 1,175

A few things I found interesting: China makes up 50% of our international adoptions. I wonder how these statistics will change as other programs become more established and the China wait continues to lengthen? Also, I am surprised that international adoptions from the USA made the top 5, although low in number. Regarding Ethiopia, I was surprised this number wasn't higher, maybe 2008 these statistics will change drastically?

I do know that our Ontario agency did 35+ Vietnam adoptions last year, total. I would estimate that Canada probably had 60-70 max adoptions for the entire year of 2007. That estimate is really just a guess. If anyone knows the actual number, I'd love to hear from you.

Anyhow, found it on a website... thought I'd share.

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On another note, I read on a message board that Zellers, Toys R Us and Walmart Canada are accepting all BPA harmful baby bottles... no receipt needed... can be already used bottles - in exchange for a gift certificate or BPA safe/free bottles. That is pretty great I think, so I thought I'd share the news.

Just for the record...

I DETEST PAINTING.

I'd use the word hate but I'm always reminding my children that hate is a bad word, so I'd better just say I detest painting sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much.



I am painting our kitchen stools. I am painting them RED. Yes, RED. I wish someone had told me ahead of time that painting anything RED will make you want to pull every single hair out of your head. I was just starting to love the colour RED, and now... I think I detest it along with painting.



I will never paint anything RED again.

Rant over. Must go get the paint out of my hair.



ps: I'm still not finished. It needs another coat. PUKE.

If and when I ever finish these stupid red stools, I will take a photo for your viewing pleasure. Next time, I won't buy them unless they are already the colour I like.

Photo of the Week

Another friday has come and is almost gone!

Our friends Ang and Elm are treating us to dinner out tonight for all the boy clothes Keaton has given their little guys over the years. What a nice surprise! We are going to Earl & Angelo's which I hear is a really tasty restaurant.

For photo of the week... a photo of Little Miss Muffet (aka: Chloe at 6 months old) in her Christening gown (the same one I wore for my Christening many years earlier). I could just kiss that chubby little face all day long... and I used to do just that. She was a wonderful glorious little baby.

Memories!