One Year Ago Today....

...Emma set foot on Canadian soil for the first time! And we returned to this glorious country after two months away. One of the happiest days of my life! Time to celebrate! :):)

Our Little Two-Wheeler

It's a miracle...it finally happened! The training wheels came off a couple weeks ago. I didn't think it would ever happen! If only you could have seen Emma a year ago when grandpa first presented her with her bike. She didn't have the foggiest idea what to do with it. For the first couple of months, we couldn't even get her to pedal! She would just sit on her bike or get off and push it around. Finally, in the late fall, our four year old neighbor taught Emma how to pedal.

We were so confident that balancing would come very quickly after learning how to pedal. Unfortunately, winter came and that ended our bike practice.

In the spring, we started up again. We tried to explain to Emma how to balance, but the concept just seemed a little too much for her. So we raised her training wheels to the highest level and Emma rode around, constantly at a 45 degree angle from one side to another. She wore those little training wheels right out!

Then one day, out of the blue, we noticed that she was balancing. It's just like something finally clicked and she got it. Shortly after that, the training wheels came off and she took off like she'd been doing it her entire life.

I was so excited and such a proud mommy. I was out there taking tons of pictures and video. I think I could equate my feelings with the way a mom feels when a baby takes it's first steps. It was such a huge accomplishment for her and it was wonderful to see how happy and excited she was. She kept riding around saying what a big girl she is. :) And then it was off to see all of our families and friends so she could show off her new skill.

A Year In Pictures

I can't believe tomorrow will be one year that we officially became parents and picked up Emma from the orphanage for good! What a whirlwind it's been and how things have changed in a year. It's been very challenging, but equally rewarding.

In honour of the occasion, I've put together my first slide show. A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into it...it was far more work than I anticipated. Now that I've learned how to do one, the next one will be a cinch. I apologize in advance for the poor quality. Blogger just doesn't do justice to videos, but you'll get the idea.

For those of you out there in bloggerland who know how difficult and how painstakingly long it takes to get pics and video on your blog, I'm sure you'll appreciate it..... Enjoy!



Happy "Gotcha" Day Emma! We love you so much!!

PS..Happy "Gotcha" Day to the Johnson family, who picked up their little David the same time we picked up Emma. We love and miss you guys!

My Turn!

Well, we're almost half way through our summer break with Emma. What Terry thought would be a nice relaxing summer spent with his daughter is turning out to be quite an ordeal. When I come home from work, I think he's way more stressed out than I am. This week, it was MY turn to stay home with Emma. Terry's work needed him back just for this week to cover where they were shorthanded. He was practically counting down the days to return to work!! He's considering this week at work to be his summer vacation!! :)

Being home this week with Emma, I can see why Terry's at his wit's end. We are being very structural with school work, and it is very difficult to have patience to teach a kid with a learning disablility. Not only is the learning disability an issue, but Emma's lack of enthusiasm and laziness just adds more frustration. I've seen Terry get very upset with Emma in certain situations. I try to remind him that if he gets Emma upset or scared, she will hate the learning even more. But I've also found myself losing patience and nearly losing it this week. There have been times where we've just had to stop what we're doing so I can take a breather. But for the most part, I think I'm a lot more calm and encouraging than my other half. He is very much the drill sargeant!

After being at home for only four days, we've discovered something...I am hands down a far better stay-at-home-mom than Terry...and he's quick to agree with that. Even though I haven't been feeling well, I can teach Emma 3 to 4 hours a day, run errands, keep appointments while keeping the house in tip top shape....cleaning, laundry, weeding, dog poop picking, and supper is on the table when hubby comes home. Compare this to when I come home from work when Terry has been home all day: House is turned upside down by dad and daughter. Dog's water dish is empty. Supper has not been started, must be started by me. Kid's hair has not been combed. There are lists EVERYWHERE (Terry needs lists to stay on task) I swear he has so many lists, he needs a list of lists!!:) Anyway, I don't mean for this to sound like complaining. I know Terry is doing his best and I'm thankful that he's home. I've just decided since seeing the comparison that I am born to be a housewife and stay-at-home-mom. If only it paid more. :( *sigh* If anyone knows of a good part time job that pays really well or something I can do from home that pays really well, let me know!

One Year Ago....

Looks as though there might be a lot of posts titled "One Year Ago..." for the next little while.:)

I just thought that it would be worthwhile to mention that one year ago today, we met Emma for the very first time. It was probably the most exciting, happy, scariest whirlwind of a day in my life!

Summer, so far, has been going OK. It's a little difficult to leave to work every morning, while my two favorite people get to hang out at home. But I am managing. And Terry's doing a great job of being stay-at-home-mom and teacher. It's a little trying on his patience and he reminds me a little of a drill sargent. As far as I can see, he'll have Emma whipped right into shape before school starts in September!
One thing I am really enjoying is my lunch breaks. I come home for lunch everyday to a meal prepared and to great company. I love it! :)

Last weekend, Emma got to experience her first wedding. She was quite excited when I told her that there would be dancing. After arriving, she would ask about every thirty seconds...."Can we dance now? Can we dance now?" It's all she cared about. That, and the pretty white dress that the lovely bride was wearing. If ever there's a day where a little girl starts dreaming about her wedding, that day was Saturday for Emma!

In closing, I just wanted to share a little video of Emma from the wedding. Check out our little mover and shaker.......:)

The First Day.....and the Last Day

The first picture is Emma on the first day of school. The second was taken this morning, her last day of grade one. She may not look a whole lot different, but my goodness, how she's changed! I can see the difference just in her eyes. On the first day of school, she was afraid, apprehensive and quiet. Now it's quite the opposite. Her smile and energy light up the room when she walks in. And even though she is still immature for her age, she seems so much more grown up to me than when we brought her home!

Today I took the day off work to join Emma for a picnic lunch at school. She's not used to seeing me at school anymore since I've been back to work...only to drop her off in the mornings. It was so awesome when she opened her classroom door to find me standing outside. She screamed so loud, I think the whole school could probably hear, "My MOMMY's here!!!!" She ran to me and wrapped her arms around my waist for a tight squeeze. She then proceeded to run to the office and other classrooms to tell everyone that her mommy was there. I stood there, maybe a little bit proud, as other moms watched and wondered what I did to make my kid so excited to see me. Sigh...that's my girl...I love her so much!

I was strangely emotional today, being it's the last day of school. I'm having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that for the next two months Emma will be at home and I'll be at work. A few weeks ago, I eluded to something major happening at work. Some of you out there knew what was going on, but I tried to keep it under wraps until I knew what the outcome would be. The outcome of what you ask? After meeting with Emma's teachers and adoption pediatrician, we were advised that I should stay home with Emma over the summer. Our adoption specialist thinks that if we were to stick Emma with a new full-time caregiver, she would totally regress in her attachment. And the teachers at school strongly recommended we keep a school routine over the summer, so Emma does not lose what she has learned through the school year. So, we knew a sitter was not an option. I had letters from both the school and Emma's doctor, strongly supporting my leave of absense for the summer. SO, after I had been back to work for a month, I figured it was time to spring it on my managers. Somehow I had convinced myself that they would completely understand and I wouldn't have any problems. After all, they managed without me for a year, did they not? Boy, was I wrong! I was shot down so fast, I couldn't even believe it. They didn't even want to see the letters I brought in. I left their office devestated and totally p*$$*d off!

I couldn't post about this right after it happened, as I was likely to type something that could get me in a lot of hot water, possibly even getting me fired if someone from work happened to be reading this. Yes, that's how mad I was. Terry and I seriously considered me resigning. In fact, before I met with the managers, we had decided I would resign if they said no. But when the time came, I just couldn't do it. Why? I couldn't tell you. Every bone in my body wanted to quit right then and there, but I guess I didn't want to make a decision knowing how emotional I was at that moment. When I got home that night, Terry was glad I didn't quit. After we sat down and seriously considered our options, we realized me quitting my job was not one of them. :( It's not like it was a year ago, where you could go anywhere and get a job. It was too large of a risk for me, not knowing if I'd be able to find a job come September. Especially since things have been so flaky for Terry at work in this economic downturn. He is working far less hours than he used to and we just can't afford to live on only his income at this point. On top of it all, my rheumatologist wants to put me on some new medication that he is telling me will cost 10K a month!! The medication, however, is covered by my benefits at work. So, there you have it. I'm trapped there!

Don't get me wrong.... I really DO enjoy my job. I've been there for years, and I think I do a pretty good job. I've felt a real sense of accomplishment since I've been back and, of course, I'm happy to be making money again. :) It took a little while, but I've come to terms with the fact that I have to work this summer. So, now the question....what are we going to do with Emma? Well, if she can't have mommy, she can have the next best thing....daddy! Yeah, that's right. Terry's staying home (lucky bugger) His boss had no qualms about giving him the summer off. In fact, he has to hire someone to replace Terry for two months, since Terry is the only one in the shop who does his job. And, they are giving him the time as a temporary layoff, so he'll be able to collect EI. Not that it will even come close to replacing his wage, but it's better than nothing. We'll be back to pinching pennies again. :)

It won't be all fun and games for Terry and Emma this summer. As I mentioned, he will be setting up a daily routine (that's the plan, anyway) to keep Emma on top of her school work. We met with Emma's teachers a few days ago and decided to have Emma repeat grade one. Even though she has made a lot of progress in the last year, she still is not at a kindergarten level. It'll be interesting to see if the one-on-one teaching will work better for her during the summer.

We talked to the school about getting Emma more one-on-one help at school next year. Two hours a week just isn't cutting it. What a HUGE frustration!!! This year we were told that Emma needs a psycological evaluation to determine where she's at to get her the extra help. Unfortunately, the school would not do the testing due to the "language barrier." When we brought it up the other day, we were assured by the school that Emma has been immersed in enough english and that they would do the testing on her first thing next school year. I was so relieved to hear this, until the teachers informed us that even when Emma takes the test, she probably will not qualify for extra help. WHAT!?! Apparently, receiving aides is not based on your kid's learning ablilities. Only kids who aren't toilet trained or have severe behavioural issues qualify for aides. In fact, the teachers informed us that the help Emma received this year was far more than what she qualified for. I just don't get it! She has severe learning delays and she is an ESL student......and you're telling me she doesn't qualify for 2 hours a week?!? I can't believe how much our school system is failing our children. Terry and I aren't leaving this one alone. We'll keep trying to talk to higher ups until someone is willing to listen and give Emma the help she requires.

Well, that's all for now. I'm going to try and convince Terry that it's his turn to keep up the blog since today is his last day of work. He probably won't comply, so my posts may be few and far between this summer. I need to spend some time working on Emma's one year post-placement report for the Ukraine government. Wish me luck!

One Year Ago......

My, how time flies!

One year ago today, right at this very minute, Terry and I were cramped on a run-down, over-crowded plane somewhere over the ocean. We were heading for another country, or what seemed like another world, to embark on the wildest journey we could ever imagine. Who would have thought that exactly one year later, I'd be tucking my little angel all snug into bed, receiving a shower of hugs and kisses and "I love you mommy!" Who would have thought I'd be dealing with runny noses and scraped knees? Attending dance recitals and preparing for end of school parties? I'm still amazed at how much our lives have changed, yet somehow it's so natural it's as if we've been doing it forever.

Remembering our journey, once again, gives me a true appreciation of being home. It's funny, when we travelled to Calgary a couple weeks ago, I began to have some very vivid memories of our travel to Ukraine. Pulling out those suitcases, which were pristine a year ago, now tattered and dirty after being dragged all around Ukraine. As I packed, I remembered how much I hated living out of a suitcase, yet I am now very good at it.

Unfortunately, our travels to Ukraine do not bring fond memories. The sting of all the trials we went through are somewhat faded, but still overshadow our thoughts as we remember. But, our trials were not in vain. We are blessed to have such a light in our lives come from Ukraine. And not all memories are bad. We met some truly amazing people in Ukraine. Our facilitator and his family, whom we had only had email communication with for the previous two and a half years before our trip, seemed like old friends when we finally met in person. Our American friends, who God truly blessed us with. We were so thankful to share our journey and have the support of another english speaking family. The kids at the orphanage...brings tears to my eyes just to think of them...we had some incredible fun getting to know and spend time with them. How I pray that they all find their forever families. And we also met many people along the way, who despite the language barrier, went out of their way to show us extra hospitality. Gee, maybe the trip wasn't so bad! :)

I'm just a lot happier knowing we'll be spending our summer on Canadian soil this year!