Moving to wordpress

So I have decided to move my blog to word press. I want to have some of my personal feelings and thoughts to not be visible for the public. I am using word press, for then I can have some posts protected, so only readers who have my password, with my permission can read them, but still keep some stuff visible for everybody.

My new blog is similar to this blog which is called:
thegabourysfamilyof6.wordpress.com (you can also click on the link I have in the upper right side of my blog which is called My Ethiopian Adventure).
If you would like to read my protected posts please send me an e-mail at gabourycarpentry@sasktel.net and I can then send you the password.

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that adoption would be this hard. It is hard beyond words can express. Some days are good and other days are bad and I get really angry with the whole adoption process. I wish this adoption wasn't taking so long. By the time we are finished with this process it will be close to 3 years.

Court is 7 days away. I am having a hard time understanding that if the birth family couldn't make it on the first court date how can they be able to make it for any other court dates. It is really stressing me out.

I want my kids home with us sooner rather than later. I am having a hard time understanding why they would be better off in an orphanage rather than at home where they belong. I want court to pass. I want immigration medicals done. And visas done so we can finally meet our kids.

Court date

So I am sad to say that we did not pass court. The birth Grandmother didn't make it to court so we didn't pass. We have another court date scheduled for February 24th. I have been warned that this could take a while. They really want the birth family to show up for court and they will give them numerous chances (Up to five or six )to appear in court. So we could be at this for a while.


I good friend of mine reminded me of the positive side of this. She reminded me that MOWA showed up for court and our 2nd court date is only 12 days away. So again we count down the days. I never wished that I could speed up time as much as I do right now.

FAMILY

My dad made it home from the hospital today. Hurray!!! Thank god. I know my dad(and all the families involved) has had a lot of stress in their lives since Uncle Brian and Uncle Gordon pass away. When we were growing up it was always with either Uncle Brian and his family or Uncle Gordon and his family. They were like my 2nd and 3rd fathers. They both passed away very fast. Oh, how we all miss the little things. I miss uncle Brian's sense of humor. He was a little ruff around the edges but so soft and caring inside. I miss the way he would tease the kids and I am sad that he is not here to see my kids and who they will become. Uncle Gordon I miss you just as much. I miss his love for kids and he was also always teasing and bugging the kids. He had such a soft and gentle heart.



I get really worried when someone I love is sick. I am a worrier. I worry about everyone in my family. When they are sick, I worry, when they are healthy I worry. When they are sad I worry. I get that pretty honestly from my mother, she is a worrier. She would really like this blog to be private for she doesn't like the fact that anyone can read it and I do agree with her for the most part. I wouldn't like just anyone to ready my personal thoughts and I guess I forget that it isn't private and that anyone can read my thoughts, so eventually I will go private, but not for a while.

I love my family to pieces and I cannot imagine my life without any one of them. They mean the world to me and I have a hard time some times telling my family how much they mean to me and how much I really love them. Growing up dad always showed his love by punching us or tormenting us (in a kidding kind of way) and that was his way of telling us kids that he loved us, and we did the same to him.

P.S. ONLY 3 DAYS LEFT UNTIL OUR COURT DATE.....

Vacation to Mexico, Mazatlan.

So our flights are booked. We are leaving on April 15th and coming back on April 22nd. We are leaving Saskatoon at 10:15am and getting to Mexico at 2:30pm. We are flying west jet. We are staying in Mazatlan. Our hotel is El Cid Castilla Beach Hotel. I am so excited. I can't imagine what we will do for a whole week with out driving each other completely bonkers, but it will be great. All inclusive for like 650 per person. We upgraded to a nicer hotel across the street. I am glad.

It's great to have something else to think about besides adoption. I mean don't get me wrong, our kids are ALWAYS on my mind, but now there is something else to plan and get excited about.

Tomorrow is 5 months since our referral and it seems like we have known about our kids forever. They are in Ethiopia waiting for the day that we get to pick them up. I am so ready for that day to become a reality. I know that the day when we get to meet our kids and take custody of them is going to be the best day ever and our dreams will finally become reality.

We went to the hair dresser's yesterday to get our hair cut(me an the girls). Holly was telling the hair dresser that she has a brother and sister. She looked at me surprised, so I had to explain that we were adopting and that I was not pregnant with twins. I am in awe that she talks about her brother and sister like they were here. It makes me want to cry. I so badly want them here to start living our lives as a family of 6. Anyhow the girls look so cute in their new hair dues.

We have been searching the Internet trying to look for a get-a-way to some place warm. There was another adoptive couple that was going to come with us. But it didn't work out so we are going solo. I am kind of sad that we will not be going away with them. We have come up with a fight to Mexico. An all inclusive vacation non stop flight for 7 days for 584 per person. Wow. What a deal. We cannot pass that up. Kind of weary on leaving the kids for 7 days, but I know they will be very well looked after. It will be a trial run for when we have to go to Ethiopia. We have never been away from our girls for more than 3 days. Since we started this adoption we have really been needing a vacation, due to all the stress that is involved in an adoption. It really consumes your whole life. Everything is revolved around when our kids our COMING.

I am still in shock that we finally got a court date. I cannot believe in 12 days we have our court date. I so hope we pass on the first try, but I am preparing myself that if we don't pass I will still be ok. Just knowing that things are happening and that one day they will be ours is what I am hanging on to. I still hope to be traveling this summer , but we will see. Visas are taking longer and I am mad about that. Once our kids are legally ours, I just want to fly to Ethiopia to go get them and not have to wait for some stinking visas which are taking anywhere for 8-18 weeks. Which is way to long.

Laura and Craig and Meagan and Kyle came over on Saturday and Spent the night. They phoned Saturday morning to let us know that they were coming that day. So I had to majorly clean up my house. The girls all played so good together. They were so loud but a happy loud, way better than angry, loud.

I am so glad to say that January is done. I felt like it was a stressful month. I am so glad to say that it is Feburary. Gracie has a valentines party on Febuary 11at school, so she is very excited about that.

Court date

WE FINALLY GOT OUR COURT DATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just got a call from CAFAC, informing us that we have a court date for February 13th. I am soooooooo excited. I cannot wait. I have been looking forward to some good news for quiet some time.

We had Neil's birthday party yesterday. It was storming in Saskatoon, so there were a lot of people that couldn't make it. Saskatoon got about 20 cms of snow. We were looking forward to seeing everybody but we understand that they couldn't make it and they were not recommending travel. We had veggies and fruit and cold cuts and chips and crackers and cake. It was yummy. We have lots left over, but we can freeze most of it, so that's ok.

We finally got our counter tops installed on Friday. They are beautiful. We waited 6 weeks for them.



Chances of us hearing any news about court this months isn't looking good. Come on already, on February 8th it will be 5 months waiting for court. That's just about 1/2 a year. That is ridiculously WAY to long... I am at my wits end. I cannot take any more set backs. I JUST WANT SOME REASSURANCE THAT WE ARE MOVING FORWARD WITH OUR ADOPTION. I WANT A COURT DATE PRONTO....

We are sending a care package to our kids, through another adoptive mother we got in contact with, which I am extremely grateful for. So we are sending an out fit, coloring book and crayons, small stuffed animal, balloons, candy, a necklace for K and cars for A and clips for K and some pictures.

Adopting Haitian Earthquake Orphans

I find it frustrating when people think that you can just go to Haiti and pick a child to adopt and bring him/her home. If only is was that simple. You just cannot skip certain steps in the adoption process because of a earthquake, it just doesn't work that way. Yes if you are the process of adopting and our close to being complete they could help to bring the children to their parents. Adoption is a complex an time consuming process. So it really ticks me off when people who have no clue what goes on in the adoption process assume that it would be so easy to adopt from Haiti, because of the devastating earthquake.


The adopting process has to have completed the following:
Choose and agency for both in province and child's country
register and complete workbook
Fill out and return provincial application forms and agency form/fee/contract
send agency fee for social worker
medical reports
provide references
Home study - complete meetings with social worker/adoption practitioner
criminal records
child abuse registry check
financial statement/letter of employment/summary of income tax
Letter of application to the country
birth certificate
marriage certificates
physician reports
immigration(apply for sponsorship kit for a family class member
send away application and receive child's application package
dossier which include: notarization of documents, provincial certification,embassy authentication, translation done in the Country, passport, visa application, and immunizations for travel.
Referral( sign forms accepting the child and sent back to the child's country, send fees)
Final adoption arrangements(receive news to travel, confirm flight plans, purchase tickets, send for travel visas,
While in the country we need (The child's birth certificate, passport, immunization record, transit visas for the trip home to Canada, adoption decree and translated official copy, and Canadian landed immigrant visa to enter Canada.
Once we arrive home we need to:
Get medical testing/doctors appointment, apply to provincial medical plan, apply for family tax credit, vital stats for name change, if needed, apply for Canadian citizenship, arrange for development assessment, notify agency of safe return an arrange for post placement visits at our own cost.
These all have to be done to complete and adoption and I know that I forgot some.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NEIL!!!!!!!!!!!!
My hubby turns 40 today. Neil has requested that I make him a cake. So this year I am going to attempt to make a birthday cake. Usually we buy the birthday cake from our store in town. Hopefully it will not be a total disaster, fingers crossed.

I have been searching my house, tearing it apart trying to look for Neil's passport. I know that I used it for immigration as they needed a photo copy of it. I talked to our agency and asked them to e-mail the photo copy of Neil's passport, as we were going to issue a new one. So I am going crazy in my head trying to think where it could be, this is an important document. I searched all through my house, so if I cannot find it I will have to issue a new one. We really didn't want to do this. We found it last night in the bottom of a box of papers we had in the basement that we were going to through away. Luckily nobody threw the box away.

I am feeling very frustrated because every time I talk to our agency they will not give me a definite answer.
Has court been applied for?
Is all our paperwork in order?
I mean clear straight forward yes or no answers. I feel like punching something. I need a punching bag to get rid of my frustration. I cannot believe that 4 and a half months and we still don't know if court has been applied for. That is just way to long. This week has been the longest that I have struggled with since a very long time. Before referral was hard but nothing compared to this. I really really want a court date.


I am preparing a party for Neil's 40th birthday. He is struggling with turning 40. He keeps saying that he is getting old. His birthday is actually on January 18th but we are having a party on the 23rd. I am super excited about this party. There is going to be quite a few people that we haven't seen in a long time. We usually don't get very much company so I am excited.

Last night Gracie was awake, she had a bad dream. She was up most of the night. Then finally she crawled in bed with us. We are all tired today, not much going on.

Yesterday Neil's brother came over with their kids( all teenagers) and Holly and Gracie were very shy. Holly hid under the couch and cried the whole time they were here, how embarrassing. She would not come out. Gracie wasn't as shy, she at least wasn't under the couch crying. She would at least talk to them.

It has been really nice outside all week, which is a change to the normal -30 to -40 degree weather we usually get in January. We have been loving it and have been outside every day.

Not much in the adoption world lately. I was hoping to hear of a court date this week, but it doesn't look like we will have one. I really hope we get a court date soon, I really hate waiting.

Yesterday was Christmas in Ethiopia which is called (Melkam Genna). We did not celebrate the Ethiopian Christmas this year. Next year we plan on it. We plan on making a traditional Ethiopian meal. I have yet to try cooking any Ethiopian food, so hopefully I will not screw it up too bad.

Our kids will be old enough so they can help prepare and decorate how they remember Melkam Genna to be. It's a day to celebrate their heritage, which is important. To remember their birth country and where they came from.

Today marks 4 months since we got our referral of our beautiful children. It just makes me wish even more that they were here with their family, where they belong. I cannot wait to meet them.

We were told by our agency that court will be SOON. I am really starting to hate the word SOON. Every time I ask about court they tell me SOON.

We finally got our update on our kids today. Our last one was 2 months ago and the one before was 2 months ago as well so they are averaging about every 2 months.

Some time this summer all of the stress and agony of this adoption will be done and we can focus on living as a family of 6.

Once we get home with our children we are required to do updates on the kids. For the first three we have to get a social worker to come to our home and complete it
which will cost at least 250 dollars each, depending on mileage. After that we have to do the updates ourselves yearly until the children are 18 years old.

Today my heart goes out to the adoptions that fell through within the last couple of days. I cannot imagine the pain that they are feeling right now. I don't know what I would do if this happened to us. Just imagine. You get the phone call you have been dreaming about, finally get your referral. Got a couple of court dates and then you get the dreaded phone call that your kids you have been dreaming and planning for isn't going to happen because the birth mother changed her mind..

This whole adoption process is so hard, and wonderful and scary and you really don't know from one day to the next what is going to happen...

We picked up our stove today and we set up the island. It sure shrinks our kitchen. Before it seemed so huge. The girls had fun running from wall to wall. Now that we put the island in they cannot do that so easily.

Just wanted to let everybody know that we have not heard anything (adoption related, like we were promised). We were hoping to get a court date before the new year. That didn't happen. I am very hopeful that a court date will be issued in January.

It is very hard not being able to tell people anything. Everybody asks if we heard anything and we have to reply NO.... I am stressed because I don't know anything. I am a planner. I want to know everything. I had to know with the girls what sex they were so we could plan the bedrooms, the names, and even a c-section date was planned. This is so much harder than being pregnant. Emotionally I am exhausted.


So to take my mind off of the adoption we have been busy with our house. Our stove is in and we can put the finishing touches to our kitchen/dining room renovation. Monday we are picking up our stove and putting up the island. All that's left is the counter tops.

Well monday Neil goes back to work. He has been off for a good month working on our house. It is just about complete. It has been good having him home to help with the girls and we are all going to miss him when he goes back to work. I know he is looking forward to going back to work. It is very stressful only having one income and when they are not working it is double stressfull.

I am glad the Christmas stress is over. The buying of gifts, the christmas baking and all the extra house cleaning. I am looking forward to 2010. It's going to be an amazing year. I can say that 2010 is the year we get to meet our kids and bring them home to their forever family. We are so ready for them to join our family....


HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVERYONE........

Christmas was great. The kids got many gifts. We were trying to explain to the kids that Christmas is suppose to be about love and giving, not about receiving. But they are only 3 and 5 and have no concept that they should be thankful for what they have.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIYA.....
Today my daughter turns 6 years old. I wish she and her brother were here to celebrate her birthday. I can't wait until they are here with us. I am so sick of waiting...

Merry Chrismas

Merry Christmas to everyone. I am so thankful for all I have. I have a loving husband and 2 beautiful healthy daughters. We have all we need and then some. Christmas time is suppose to be a magical time. I am praying that we hear of a court date. Through the holidays we are hopefully going to hear something about court, but I am not sure. My kids are a million miles away. I feel that I will never get to them. It's like a dream. We originally thought that we would travel in April or May. Now it's looking more like June. That would be close to a year. Oh well I'm not going to think about that. I m going to enjoy my Christmas with my wonderful family. I feel so blessed to have so many loving people in my life.

Gracie and Holly are so excited for Christmas. It is so cute. As parents we want to raise our kids to be honest. Well it seems that we keep making up lies about Santa. Gracie asked me :"Santa will not know where to find us, he thinks we still live at our old house." I told her not to worry because we left him a note when we moved.

I really do love Christmas. It's a time to get together with family and friends. Enjoy delicious food, and just to have a good time. We seem to go along our busy lives and not find the time for those who matter most. You never know from one year to the next, who will not be there. I cherish each day that I have with my family and friends. Merry Christmas to all...

Mom and Dad came over for supper last night. There was a family fun night at Gracie's school from 7-9pm. The kids had a blast. We played bingo. Mom, and Dad and I all won a prize, which the kids picked out. Gracie and Holly both won a prize in the gym. Santa made an appearance. Gracie and Holly both stood in line, with some encouragement. Gracie had no problem staying in line. I had to keep putting Holly back in line. When It was Gracie's turn to see Santa she sat on his knee and was rubbing his back. How adorably cute. She told Santa she wanted a singing barbie. Holly sat on Santa's knee. She told Santa she wanted a candy cane. I wish I would have brought my camera.

I did some Christmas baking today. I made rice crispy squares, chocolate truffles and cinnamon buns. I LOVE baking just as much a I LOVE eating it. When I bake it reminds me of when I was a little girl and Grandma would be baking in her kitchen. It gives me a sense of comfort. The other day I made Cookie Dough truffles and doughnuts. They are just as good. I am a recipe collector. Anybody who knows me knows this. My girls really enjoy helping me in the kitchen and I love it, minus the mess and the fighting.

Our kitchen renovation is in full swing. The old cabinets are out and some of the new ones are put on. Went to order counter tops in town and we were told not to expect them until the new year. That's like a couple of weeks away. They are going to look so nice with our new cabinets.

Christmas is right around the corner. Have to start wrapping presents and sending out Christmas cards, not like leaving it till the last minute. As Christmas is approaching REALLY fast I am thinking when will we hear any news about our adoption. We were told that we would receive pictures of our kids at the beginning of December. Now we are told that we may not receive any more pictures until we are ready to travel. Are you serious, that is like 6 more months with nothing. No news or contact. You are telling me that no one can take a freaking picture, no body. How frustrating. I feel like crying and ripping something apart. I feel the need to holler and scream and then maybe something will happen. It has been 3 and a 1/2 months of waiting. Waiting for court that seems that will never happen. Waiting for a picture. I would feel so much better if we at least just got a picture. That's all I want.

It has been very cold over here, like -30 to -40, very unbearable. Cannot go outside. Tomorrow is suppose to be a little nicer. We will have to go outside.

Are kitchen is under major construction. The cabinets are all gone and that makes it very difficult for cooking. Tommorows job is the floor then the cabinets can be put in, very exciting. can't wait to get my new kitchen up and running. It will be 110%better than what is was before.

Christmas time is soon approaching. The presents are all bought plus some. I bought an easy bake oven for Gracie and I just got a chance to open it today. It was so small. I was expecting something bigger. The pans you put in the oven are mini sized. Oh, well what do you expect for 10 dollars.

Santa is going to be good this year. He bought Gracie a play guitar and Holly a barbie doll. My girls are all full of questions about Santa, like since we moved Santa will not know where to find us. Gracie was all concerned because she didn't tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas. So therefore Santa isn't coming. We reassure her he was and then Holly was concerned because she thought Santa was going to come in her room. Kids are so gullible and I love it. I cannot wait until next year. Next year at this time we will have all our kids with us and we will feel complete. we don't feel so compete this Christmas but we are putting on a happy front for the kids. It's all about the kids and I love it.

Today marks 3 months since we seen our kids pictures for the first time. It seems like such a long time. This is such a long journey. I don't understand why it takes so long. I feel a piece is missing in our family, our kids. They are so far away. I want to hop on a plane and go get them and bring them home with us. This waiting isn't fun.

I had a phone call yesterday. It was our social worker that is working on our inter country adoption, who is from Regina. She was phoning to check up to see where we stood in the adoption process. She asked if we were waiting for visas.

I said: "I wish, visas, no not until we are ready to travel.

She says:"Oh, your STILL waiting for court, it takes that long. It seems like such a long time since we talked to you last."

I said:" Your telling me. I know it takes a long time. It is what it is. We wont be expecting to know about visas until end of April or May at the earliest."

She says :" Wow, May. What a long process."


That was our conversation. Really didn't make me feel better. If she thinks it is a long time, what does she think it feels like for us.I am so grateful that I have my girls to get my mind off of the adoption, some what. Part of my brain is always thinking about our adoption, our kids.

Our house is under major constuction. We are making our kitchen bigger and adding a dining room and our master bedroom off of the dining room. It will be nice when it is complete. It has only just begun. Next the old cabinets are being taken down and the new ones need to be put in.

Gracie Morgan Gaboury. Born July 30, 2004. She weighed 9 pounds and 4 1/2 ounces. How my baby girl has grown so fast. I cannot belive that my little princess is 5 years old, how she grown into a beautiful little lady.

Holly Maria Gaboury. Born May 17, 2006. She weighed 10 pounds 3 1/2 ounces.It is hard to believe that my baby is growing up. In 3 years she had grown and blossomed into a beautiful little lady. Here smile lites my heart.

Our Christmas tree is decorated. The girls are very proud of their tree. We got our Christmas tree given to us from Auntie Hilda. The girls were confused because we had Auntie's tree, and we needed to give it back to her. Once I explained to them that Auntie bought a new tree and she gave us her old one they were fine with it. When Auntie Hilda and Wendy came over for supper yesterday the girls were very excited to see them. The girls both were very proud of our tree and had to show it off, how cute.

At supper yesterday we had raw veggies, a roast, and fries. The girls are very good eaters and I gave Gracie a raw carrot, forgetting that she doesn't eat "rotten" carrots. Instead of raw she called them rotten, which made every one laugh hysterically.

Today is 1 month since we got our last update of our beautiful children. Every month we are suppose to get an update until we go travel. But because of how busy they are this doesn't always happen. The pictures we receive are the only connections to our children and we look forward to seeing each picture and their updates on how they have grown. We have fallen in love with their pictures. There is so much uncertainty that we do not know. I feel like I am pregnant and each picture is like a ultra sound picture. You fall in love with the picture for sure, how can you not.

After you receive a referral you are expected to wait 6-8 months before you are ready to travel so we are half way there. Another 3-5 months to go. It seems like such a long time.

Just found out that our court date for our children probably will not be until January, some time. Is seems as if the time frame keeps getting longer and longer. First we were told that a court date would be issued in November. Then they told us it would be in December, now I am told that a court date will not be issued until January. I know that they are really busy and first come first serve, but I just want a court date.

Gifts

We are collecting gifts for the orphanage staff, taxi drivers, guest house staff, and other persons who assist us in our adoption. This is not mandatory but it shows our appreciation for their work. Some examples are t-shirts, hats, ties for men. Earrings, hair barrettes, shampoos, soaps, lotions, pencils, paper, crayon, chalk, calenders, postcards, pens, key chains to name a few. We have started collecting a few donations like key chains and paper and crayons.

We are told they there will be beggars all around us. We are collecting granola bars and candies and balloons to give out to the beggars on the street. I cannot imagine a world where the children are begging for food. It is so sad that in other parts of the world the parents can't afford food so the children's only hope for food is what they find on the streets, which I can't imagine is very clean.

I feel like we are always broke but we always have all the food we need or want and we always have a warm house to sleep in. We are truly blessed in this world.

adoption costs

We have invested $ 17,500 into our adoption. When I added it all up I had to re add it. It sounds like a lot of money, no wonder why we are broke. And we are not done yet. To travel to Ethiopia and back we are looking at spending $5000-$6000 dollars. This all depends on when we go, what day of the week we go. And once we are in Ethiopia we have to pay for housing which can vary. If we stay at the guest house they provide it costs from $30-$100 per day, or there are hotels we can stay which range from $100-$200 dollars per day. Then there are meals to consider which range from cheap to very expensive. We are told not to drink any water that isn't bottled, don't eat fresh fruits and vegetables because they are not safe due to the water, no salads for me. We are advised to eat only fresh hot prepared meals. We are also in charge of paying for taxi fare which can cost up to $170. Phones or faxes are $18 birr per minute for foreign calls and $2 birr per minute for local calls. Birr is their money in Ethiopia and the exchange is to every 11 birr is the same as 1 dollar.

Got in contact with another mother who is adopting through CAFAC. She phoned me and we talked for a long time. We are both in the same stage of the adoption. We got our referral about a month before hers. We are both waiting for a court date. It is so nice to talk to someone who has gone through this before (she has adopted from China). It is nice to know that our kids are in the same orphanage and are playing together. We might be travel buddies. We have requested that there be a group of us when we travel because I don't want to be the only adopted parent when we go. It is kind of reassuring that there will be someone else that will speak our language.

Went to Prince Albert last night for supper and to do some shopping at Wal-mart. On our way home it started to rain and the closer we got to home the more it rained. This morning it was very icy.

Neil was working on our addition today. Put in the new garden doors and do they ever look nice. Next week he will be working on the kitchen. I am excited to get the kitchen reno going. Hopefully by next week they will be in. How exciting.

Holly and Gracie are feeling better, back to bugging and terrorizing each other. We ordered a computer game from school and we got it the other day. Gracie bugged until we played it. It took a while to save it on the computer and register everything. She is very interested in computers. Since school started she has been really interested in the computer. So finally we started playing the game and er and Holly took turns. When Holly's turn was done she immediately fell to the floor and started crying until it was her turn again. How fun.

Took Holly to the doctor today. Last night she hardly slept at all. We were up lots with her. She had a fever, her ear was in pain, and she has no appetite. The doctor said she has a bad ear infection, and a cold. They put her on antibiotics for her ear. She just laid around today, wining and crying, poor girl. She had a 3 hour nap today. Woke up feeling better, until it was time to have supper. She was excited and wanted to eat, but her stomach was bothering her so she couldn't eat anything. Yesterday Gracie and Holly were invited to a birthday party, but Gracie wasn't feeling well, so we didn't go. She had the stomach flu and slept most of the morning. Today she is much better but Holly is sick. Hopefully tomorrow I will have 2 health kids again.

When we were at the doctor's office we needed to get the doctor to write out a prescription for malaria medication, for when we go to Ethiopia. We will need to take this medicine for 45 days and we need to take it 2 days before we go travel.

we have to make an appointment to get an update on our Hep A&B vaccinations that we took a month ago. We both took 5 needles each, and cost $1000. The expenses keep coming and coming.

Here is a poem I have been working on, It reflects my feelings about our 2 newest additions to the Gaboury's:

adoption:

I am so in love with two
precious gifts from god who,
are scared and brave
They will save
Me, for my heart breaks
Every day that we are not together it makes
me proud that
I am your mother, how great that
will sound. I promice to love you
and care for you
as if I gave birth
Your are so worth
All of this waiting game, for
I will treat you the same, I pour
my heart out to you,
And I would go to the end of the world
To protect you.

Our house is under construction. We are adding a bedroom and a dinning room. Where the garage door is, that is where the bedroom will be. We are also extending our kitchen as it is very small. Feeding 4 kids would be a nightmare in our tiny kitchen. All of our kitchen cabinets are currently in our basement, so it will be nice to have them in so I can have my basement back. We are also re doing our 2 bathrooms in our house, along with changing all the windows and doors and siding. What a lot of work.

Just got a e-mail from Karen from our adoption agency. Just got word back that all our documents are in order and they have filed for a court date. I don't know a date yet, but hopefully I will hear with in the next few weeks. After we pass court our kids are legally ours. This is a big step. Then we just have to wait for all our documents to be ready to pick up our kids. This will take 6-8 weeks after we pass court.

Had a dream last night about our Ethiopian daughter. We were in a dark room and all we did was hold each other and hug. I kept telling her how much I love her. That was the extent to my dream. That is the first dream I have had about our kids.

Talked to CAFAC today. I am donating 30 dollars to the orphanage where my kids are in. With this money they will be purchasing gifts for the kids and food for a Christmas dinner. To most of these kids this is the first present they will receive. My kids are going to be spoiled and showered with presents. I have been collecting numerous things for when they come home. I have purchased clothes, books, crayons and toys. I can't wait to bring them home so we can start our family together.

CAFAC also mention to me that our court date probably will not be until the first or second week in December. It just seems to be dragging on,and on. Yes it is great knowing who our kids are, but this wait is just as hard as waiting for a referral.Christmas is a hard time to be away from our kids, when I want them here so badly. By next Christmas we will be a family of 6. Our kids will be learning a new language, ajusting to a new culture, and a new family. It is a new beginning.

Gracie got her pictures back from school the other day. They are so beautiful. My little girl is sure growing up WAY to fast.

On Friday the 13th we all got our H1N1 vaccinations here in Spiritwood at the bowling arena. We mentioned the shots to Gracie and Holly the day before, wanting to prepare them for it, but it backfired on us. Gracie began crying hysterically. She wasn't getting one. She forgot our whole discussion the next day. When it was time to go she didn't say anything. When she saw the needle she began panicking so I held her while the nurse quickly gave her the needle and it was over. Same for Holly. She saw her big sister crying, which made her cry. It was over very quickly. Neil and I both got the needles too. It didn't even hurt. The arm was sore that night we all took Tylenol and went to bed.


On Saturday the 14th we all went to Mom and Dad's for supper. Laura and Craig were out with their kids Meagan and Kyle. They are so adorable. The girls played, fought, laughed, and cried. It was a good day. Mom and Dad had invited their neighbor, Don (who bought Mom and Dad's old house), over for supper. Neil and Craig went hunting and Dad was off working in the shop. So who was the first person to show up for supper. Well Don of course. The only guy in a room full of women. He brought out the alcohol and we were all drinking and having a good time sharing stories.


Today marks 2 years since we began our adoption. We singed our papers saying that we pick CAFAC as our adoption Facilitator and we want to move forward, and we sent our fees off to CAFAC. I always pictures us home with our kids by now.

Adoption poem

This saturday will be 2 years since we started our adoption. I can't believe it will be 2 years. I cannot wait till I get the phone call saying we can go pick up our son and daughter. Some days it seems as if this will never happen and in other ways it feels like "oh my god, I am not ready, there is so much to do and buy." There are beds to buy, dressers to buy, kitchen reno to start, bedrooms to paint, windows to put in, siding to put on, dining room to construct, and the list of course goes on and on. My kids keep me really busy that I don't have much time to sit around and think of all of this that has to be done before spring. I am estimating that we will go fly to Ethiopia in April or May.

I am writing a poem for our kids and here is one of them:
I am so in love with you
I stare at your picture and
I am amazed I get this
Wonderful gift of love
Seeing your smile makes
Me smile and I cannot wait
Till the day I
Get to hold you In my arms
You are a true blessing
Without you my family would
Not be complete
So thank you.

Today Gracie had school, slept in didn't wake up until 8:30am. It is a good thing that we are only a few feet away from school. Once I was up, it didn't take
Gracie long to get ready. I had to feed her breakfast, get her dressed, make her lunch, do her hair, brush her teeth, and wash her hands and face. All within 15 minutes. They are starting show and tell at school and every day there is something different that they have to bring. Well this morning I was in a rush, I forgot all about show and tell, but Gracie reminded me of this when she got home. She was almost in tears telling me that she was the ONLY one who didn't bring anything. I felt so horrible that I forgot.

Holly woke up this morning coughing and all stuffed up, but no fever. About a week ago I had to take Holly to the doctor because she had a constant fever, wouldn't eat, had no energy, and weak, and hard breathing because she was stuffed up. The doctor listened to her breathing and put her on antibiotics, and Asama medication right away, no questions asked. My first fears was of H1N1, of course. Finally after a couple of days on meds she was feeling better. I hope she is not coming down with something again. Tomorrow is the H1N1 vaccinations and because we missed the first one since Holly was sick I hope she doesn't get sick before tomorrow. I will feel more at ease when every body gets vaccinated. I feel myself worrying about it and I am not the worrying type. I can feel gray hairs arising.

Gracie Gaboury

Gracie is our first born. She is either laughing and having a good time or she is upset and crying about something. She is very moody and sensitive. I love her laughter, she has such the hardiest laughter. I love her views on life, she seems to think that she knows it all and tells us we are doing it wrong, and how to do it HER way, which is always right of course.

She loves her movies and always wants to put the movie in herself. She thinks she knows how to run the computer, better than me of course. She loves books and is very interested in writting words. She seems to think if she puts a few words together they should make a word. She is too smart for her own good. She is always up for hugs and kisses, no matter what the situation is. I love my little princess to pieces. She is so sweet and caring. She can't wait to grow up and be just like her mommy. I cherish every moment we spend together as a family.

Holly Gaboury

Holly was born on May 17,
2006. She tries so hard to keep up with her big sister. What ever
Gracie is doing, Holly wants to do it first. I love the love they give to each other. She reminds me of me when I was a kid. They will hold hands and laugh and sing, then they will wrestle and fight, then they will hug again. Holly loves books, crayons, and loves to draw. When ever Gracie is away at school, Holly is lost. She paces around looking for trouble. Holly loves to make you laugh. If she knows you are laughing at her she gets really excited and does it over and over again until it is not longer funny. She cannot wait to grow up and be just like her mommy. I am so proud. She gives me so much joy. Her hugs will knock you down, so look out. Holly loves to dress up like a princess, but doesn't always act like one. If she is wearing pants, she wants a skirt. If she is wearing a skirt she wants to wear pants. She likes to test my Patience. She is a good kid and I love her with all my heart, I can't imagine life without her.

Halloween

Halloween was cold and windy. It fell on a saturday this year. We were not sure what time the kids would start coming, but we were prepared to give out alot of candy. We only got about 14 kids come. We have a lot of left over candy. When we go to Ethiopia to get our kids I am going to hand out candy to the kids on the streets.

We are very excited to be the proud parents of 4 wonderfully beautiful children. I feel really blessed to be able to adopt from Ethiopia. This is our story, it may be boring at times, but really interesting at other times. We have a five year old girl named Gracie and a 3 year old girl named Holly. We first decided to adopt in 2003. We were currently looking after foster kids at the time. The kids would come and go and we knew that we wanted something permanent. We started our home study in 2003. We got pregnant and had to put the adoption on hold. We then decided to start our family and stopped being foster parents and focus all of our attention on our new family. 22 months later we had our second child. I am diabetic and the pregnancy was very hard on my body (numbness in my feet and hands for months after giving birth). I was told by my doctor's that I shouldn't have another baby. Right after my second pregnancy I wanted to have another baby. Feeling the way I did, I knew this was not an option. So we began looking into international adoption. At first I didn't know if we could afford it, but we looked into it more carefully and decided this was what we really wanted, and we couldn't put a price on our happiness.



We Began our adoption in November 2007. That is when we signed the forms and sent them to CAFAC to start our adoption. We knew at that time adoptions were taking about 24 months to complete and we wanted our kids to be close in age so we thought this was the best choice. Our dossier was sent to Ethiopia in June of 2008. It took 15 months shy of 1 day to get the call that we have been waiting,which seemed like for ever. I just talked to CAFAC a week before to check up and make sure that they haven't forgot about us. They told me that we would likely be waiting 18 months plus. We were approved for 1 child under 18 months or siblings 0-5 years. On September 8, 2009 our social worker from Prince Albert contacted me and told me that they have a referral for me. I was shocked beyond belief. My heart began to flutter and I felt like crying. He told me to go check my computer and go aver all the information that they sent me and they were going to phone me tomorrow to see what we thought. I immediately went to the computer. It took me some time but I got all the information. We are proud parents of a 6 year old girl(December 27, 2003) and a 3 year old boy (August 10, 2006). I immediately phoned my husband and of course I couldn't reach him. The biggest news and I couldn't reach him no where. So I text him and then he phones me right back. I told him. My family was so excited for us. Since then we have signed the acceptance papers, paid the fees, finished the immigration. I hold a picture in my purse that I show to complete strangers. Sometimes I get so excited and I tell people that we are adopting from Ethiopia people are shocked and don't know what to say. I forget that not all people are as excited as we are.

On November 3, 2009 we got an update on our kids. It has been 2 months since we got our referral. They have both grew a lot. They both shot up 3 cm, and have both gained 2kg. The new picture that we got was breath taking. They are both smiling and happy, quite a difference from the first pictures. Hopefully in the next few weeks we will hear of a court date.