The room is painted!!!

Well, Isabel's room has been painted a lovely light lavender. It looks gorgeous. Right now it is still the den/computer room but the colour is peaceful and very pretty. We have primed the wardrobe in white and it looks great!!! A friend is lending me a stencil of the lilac's so that I can start with that shortly. Very exciting and a real summer project. I also need to recover the lazy boy rocking chair that was my Grandmother's. She rocked all of us in it and gave it to me when we bought our first house along with other special pieces of furniture including a beautiful needlepoint stool that sits beside my bed for Camie to use to get up.
I have found the crib that I would like at stokkeusa.com. It is amazing and has wheels so that we can roll it back and forth from our room to Isabel's with little problem. It is a circular crib and can be made into a variety of different sizes and options. In the end, it can be transformed into two chairs. Very cool. It is expensive though, so we are starting to save our money for it. I can't wait to make the special bedding for it. I love high count sheets and I have an Egyptian cotton 400 count that Rhiannon kitty clawed at one end. It will be perfect to make sheets for this cute little crib. I am thinking of things to do in this long wait but especially around the time of our referral. I also love these dolls and the woman who is distributing them is from London Ontario!! You can find them at href="http://wwwmagnolicaandfriends.com/">
I also want to thank Liam, Sherry-Lou and Julie for the gorgeous quilt squares. When our house gets back to normal and Shawn lets me have the camera for a minute, I will post pictures. The wishes were beautiful and made me teary, which as my family will tell you, is fairly normal. They were so special because they were the first ones I received and it makes this whole process real.
As I write this, a yellow butterfly is flying around the garden outside the window!! I see it everywhere now and always comment on seeing my butterfly. I had to assure Shawn that I do know that they are different butterflies!! So, ladybugs are wonderful but I love my butterfly and every time I see it I am reminded that our beautiful daughter is waiting for us in China.

Sunday, ahhh.

Ah, the floors are in and they look fantastic but they don't exactly match what we already have. Oh well, they are not that far apart. We also bought a closet organizer for Isabel's room and taped the room for painting yesterday. Forward we go!! Now we have to paint, cut and put on the new baseboards as well as prime Shawn's old wardrobe/Isabel's new wardrobe and get it painted and ready for the lilacs. The walk-in closet fits all of Shawn's clothes very nicely so he was willing to give up his beloved wardrobe.
It is also Camiecat's 18th birthday this month. I have had Camie since I was 18 and she and I can't imagine not having her with us. Lots of "huggles" and kisses to our "old girl"!!! She is our "beautiful doll", as the song goes. Other other kitty Rhiannon who died last year had a song too; "You are my sunshine". She would run up and give big snuggles whenever we sang it!! My song is "Good Morning Starshine/Age of Aquarius". My Dad used to sing that to me all the time. Shawn sings "Christine, Sixteen" to me; a KISS song of course!!! However, he did sing Eric Claptin's "Beautiful Tonight" on the radio for me and they played it on my 30th birthday. My sister's song is "Pretty Woman". I wonder what Isabel's song will be? We will only know it when we meet and see her. So Happy 18th to our "Beautiful Doll, our Great Big Beautiful Doll...".

Jude has arrived!!!!!!

Congratulations to David, Katie and Emma!!! Jude Cavel Conner ... was born today at 8:30 am EST. We are the proud Auntie and Uncle of a beautiful nephew. Katie is home and doing great!!! Jude was 8 pounds, 4 ounces at birth. We are so very excited to know that he has come safely into the world. My Mom is there for Emma and I am so glad that Jude decided to come this week so that Mom could be there. She has a huge group of students coming from Spain this weekend. It will be hard for her to leave Emma and the new baby. Katie and family live in Toronto, while Mom is in London. My Mom is also going to join us on our trip to China. She likes to be there when her grandchildren are born or in our case, "delivered" .
In other great news, the CCAA posted today that they have completed referrals up to and including June 28th. This means that they are on track with a 12 month wait and we will hopefully be going to China next spring!!!!! There was some doubt out there but they have matched 13 days worth this time which is great news. They haven't done that for months. So, with all of my events completed, CCAA's posting and of course the new arrival of baby Jude (the dude, can't help myself!!), we cracked open a bottle of champagne, ordered in sushi and are finishing up with the rest of the furniture/carpet removal tonight. The new floors go down tomorrow!! Hooray!!
So, congrats again to my little sister!! We love you guys very much and wish we were there.

Up early this morning...

very early. When I have a big event, it is very rare to have a good night sleep before it. My dreams were filled with horror stories like not having enough wine, the music ending too soon etc. Ah, the life of an event planner. So from 3:30am onward, I thought about numerous things; planning the day ahead and actually coming up with some good ideas. One of those ideas was to share these two stories of families in China right now. They are from Family Outreach International and one family is from Victoria. Shawn and I have been following their incredible trips. You can read about the Thoms at http://oliviagracethom.blogspot.com/ and the Wolffs at www.freewebs.com/journeytoana/june172006.htm . Shawn loves reading about the plane trips to China and in China. The Wolffs actually posted a picture from the airplane. Shawn is very much looking forward to the 12 hour flight. I on the other hand... gravol all the way. So, have to get my day started. No news of my little sister's baby yet. Still waiting...

And today is...

just another day. I tried very hard to motivate myself to start painting Isabel's room yesterday but household chores just seemed to take up the entire day. I wonder really, if I am making excuses but the laundry has to be done,phone calls made, the kitchen cleaned and the food prepared for the coming week. So I hope not but I had meant to at least tape it off. I think that taking that step will be a big one and I am superstitious. Kind of like when people don't want to do anything for a new baby until it is here. I am justifying the painting of the lavender room by telling myself that even if it doesn't end up being her room, I still really like the colour.

In other more exciting news, my sister is about to have her second baby!! When I was speaking to her yesterday she was uncomfortable and the baby had dropped. Can't wait to hear that the baby has arrived safe and sound. She had a midwife appointment today that she was looking forward to. I think at this stage (she has two due dates, the 23rd and July 1st), she just wants to have that baby. They have their wonderful new home and this baby won't have to start out in the walk-in closet like my dear niece Emma did!! By the way, Kate's baby room is ready to go and the crib is up and ready to receive the new addition. I only hope that four year old Emma will survive the excitement of a new baby at home. She has barely survived the excitement of baby Blake, her cousin, who is now 11 months old. We are thinking of you Katie and hope that everything goes well in the next few weeks. Big hugs from your big sis.

What a week!!

It has been a crazy week with so much to do at work. I am planning two separate events that happen next week for a Director who is leaving at the end of June. One is a five course dinner party for 170 people with live entertainment of course!! The other is a champagne tea with the staff. I have created a few skits so that we can "roast" him at the tea. Should be fun, but what a job!! He is such a perfectionist and I even went to the trouble of ordering silver vases for the roses from the States!! Crazy!! We had our Father's Day Ho-down yesterday with BBQ ribs, country music and chocolate cigars for all of the fellas. I have also planned the Father's day dinner party for tomorrow night. Who knew that I would be planning parties for 200+ people on a regular basis!! Not I!!!
I was chatting with a woman who has three young boys and does the same job as I do. She says that when people's kids come over to her house, they always leave with a craft or baked goodie that they have made. She said that she programs events at work and at home!! I wonder if I will be like that with Isabel? I know that I am planning to have a craft area for her with an easel etc. We have also been looking into the different activities offered in our area for her to participate in. Music is high on our list as is swimming and other active pursuits. My focus will change from running these other events to putting together her birthday parties and family events. With Shawn's schedule, we will be able to do so much next summer!! And yes, I was looking in the paper this morning at used RV's!! Can't get them out of my head.
So, these are my thoughts for today. Back to ripping up the last bits of carpet pad so that the new floors can be installed next week. Yippee, no more living out of boxes!!

It's Monday...

Back to work and back to planning and thinking about the future. We finally have a date for the contractor to come in and finish the floors. Then we will be able to move on to the kitchen (I think!!!). Shawn isn't so sure but I would love ceramic tile like we have in our front foyer area, for the kitchen. We certainly need a new countertop.
So, as for planning the future. I was reading a comment to another blog and the woman wrote that she is "guarding her heart". I have had this conversation myself with a few close friends and family. For anyone who hasn't gone through this kind of uncertainty, think of when you wrote a very important test and then had to wait to see if you passed. If you do, then your whole life will change. These are nailbiting, white knuckle moments. That is what this wait is like, except it is an extended period of time and we don't know when the "test results" aka referral will come. So, you "guard your heart" so you don't go insane.
We are however, planning for Isabel's arrival. We purchased the paint for her room, I have the ideas in my mind of how I will refinish some of our furniture to make it hers BUT I don't know when I will start on these projects. If the wait times miraculously speed up, then I will start this summer. If not, maybe next fall or winter. The problem is that once you get involved in preparing and planning for your child, the wait seems even more excruciating. So, for those people who think "guarding your heart" is a negative thing, I would say that if those of us who are in this situation didn't, we may just go insane. So, I will continue to "guard my heart" until that referral lands in my lap, like a little yellow butterfly.
As an aside- I have seen at least 3 yellow butterflies in the past two days. I couldn't help smiling each time.

Gotcha Day

Shawn and I were sitting on top of Mount Tolmie last night, watching the sun set and the moon rise. It was a perfect night. Gorgeous colours and views. The wind was rushing through the tall grasses just over the guardrail and other than the occasional car, it was this incredible sound of whispering grass. Needless to say, we were mesmerized.

So, last night on this perfect evening, we started to talk about "Gotcha Day" with Isabel in China. This is the day when your name is called and you are handed your beautiful daughter. We watched "Lost Girls" a few weeks ago. It is a National Geographic program that follows a family and their trip to pick up their second daughter in China. I, of course, was crying non-stop through all of the scenes where the families were given their children. You could feel the emotions and energy buzzing in that small room in China.

I know that when I was a little girl, seeing adults cry, even for joy, was frightening. I said to Shawn that I don't want our daughter's first vision of me as a crying, scary lady. I would rather her see us laugh with joy. His response was that we have lots of time to prepare ourselves for that day. Then again you can never tell what you will actually do. At our wedding ceremony, I giggled through the whole thing, when I though that I would be in tears. Shawn, on the other hand, had everyone crying their eyes out. So, we shall see.

I know that the day we first hold Isabel, we will be full of every kind of emotion there is. It will be a relief when we finally touch her and hopefully laughter full of joy may come from that. We just want to connect with our daughter for the first with smiles not tears. We shall have to wait and see.

The Sun is Shining...

My Grandma Shain always felt better when she woke up and the sun was shining. It meant that her day would be bright and she would have the energy to get on with her day. I remember getting up and finding her at the dining room table in her dressing gown, listening to the radio and playing solitaire. I don't think that I was every up early enough to actually catch her eating her breakfast but she would always get up and "find" me something to eat. We would then sit at the table together and plan the day ahead; meals and activities.
When I woke up this morning at 5:30(thank you Shawn and Camie), the sun was already peeking over the horizon and coming through the blinds in the living room. I remembered her saying and felt that warm feeling of love wash over me. Those were special times and I am very glad to have those memories of when the two of us put our heads together and came up with brilliant ideas. Maybe that is why I am an "event planner" today!! I can never plan an event without food involved either!! My Grandma's legacy.
My Grandma Conners always took me to Flo and Arn's trailer and I had the best time playing with all of their grandkids. We built campfires and played hide and seek at night. Best of all, we slept in a "real bed" in their gorgeous trailer, not in a tent on the ground. As Shawn can tell you, I have the "trailer bug" and I want to buy a camper van. We live in BC, the most beautiful country to camp in. Last summer when we rented one and went wine tasting in Osoyoos, it was the best trip ever. Again, my Grandma's legacy.
I wish that Isabel could have met both of my Grandmas. They were both so "neat" in their own individual ways. I was lucky enough to be able to spend my holidays with each of them sans siblings. My family are great story tellers and I know that I will be able to tell her all about her GREAT-Grandmas but I wish that they could have had the chance to hold her. They would have loved her so much, just as they loved all of us. There is a silver lining though, my Dad being the historian he is, encouraged my sister and I to do projects about the lives of our Grandmas. We have both of them speaking on tape, telling their own stories. I will fill in the blanks as I went to sleep at night, listening to each of them reminisce about their childhoods and lives. Isabel will also have her own Grandmas to love her and cherish her.
So, the sun is shining today. It will be a bright and lovely day here in Victoria!!

It's been three months...

since we were put into the computer in China. This means that we have possibly, 9 more months to wait for our referral!! Very exciting. There was a posting on one of the groups that we belong to and I really liked what they had to say about the wait. The four seasons, just like Vivaldi's beautiful compositions. First, summer. Lazy summer days and long nights with all the great activities, holidays and festivals that we can attend all summer long. Not to mention the renovations we are doing on our condo!! Then the fall, celebrating the harvest, walking in the falling leaves and celebrating Thanksgiving. Then for me, the busy season both at work and at home. From mid-October to January, the time flies by - with Bazaars, parties and the holiday season. Then the winter where we will be very close to referral (we hope!!). We also celebrate our anniversary, birthdays and Valentines' Day!! Next, spring comes around again and we will be getting ready to have Isabel officially come join our family. So, put that way, the wait doesn't seem that long. June is here faster than we thought it would be and we are looking forward to all of the quilt swaps, secret pal exchanges and exciting changes that will happen over the next year!!