Happy Easter

I love Easter.  First there is the fun for the kids with Easter Egg hunts.  And second, I get a four day weekend.:)

Ali and I had a good Easter Weekend.  Friday we spent around the house enjoying the garden and getting the vegetable patch ready.  Saturday was spent enjoying Easter events.  We started at Milner Gardens for the Bunny Hunt.  At the entrance kids get a map and they have to find 10 or so ceramic rabbits hidden in the gardens.  The gardens were in flower with spring bulbs and rhododendrons so it is enjoyable for both adults and kids.  Ali found the rabbits easily.  What we didn't find was one of five hand blowen glass eggs.  Those who found them got to keep them.  We can always try again next year. 

After the hunt in the gardens, we headed to a local park for a community egg hunt.  We enjoyed a bit of sun before Ali lined up at the front of the rope to get her eggs.  It was fun watching the kids scrambling to get the most eggs they could.  Ali got quite a few so she was happy plus she got a free hula hoop. 

Lining up for the Hunt



Searching for Eggs



Found One

Sunday night we spent at my parents and Ali got up bright and early to see what the Easter Bunny had brought.  She was not disappointed.  The afternoon we went to the show with friends to see the an Easter movie which the kids enjoyed. All in all it was a good weekend. 

Adoption Trees

I have been running under these trees on my lunch for the last few years and everytime I am running under them I am thinking of one thing: adoption.  And whenever they have been in flower they have brought some relief to me and help me feel hope when sometimes there has been none.  Each year I think to myself, "When these trees flower next year I will be home with my son."

The first time I ran under these trees in flower I was in total frustration because my agency was taking so long to get my dossier to Nepal.  I would come home for lunch, check the computer for an email from my agency and head out the door frustrated over a lack of email or continued stalling.  Still I had hope that the next time these trees flowered I would be home with my son.

The second time these trees were in flower I was fighting with the government to allow the 2009 families to complete their adoptions from Nepal.  I hoped that we could move forward and by the time the trees flowered in 2011 I hoped that I would have my son.

This year, the trees have flowered again but I still don't have my son.  Each time during the last few weeks that I have run under the trees I have prayed that by next year my son will be home and this adoption journey completed.  I also picked one blossom each time to bring me luck. 

I pray that by this time next year I am home with my son.

Happy Nepali New Year 2068

Happy New Year! 

Ali and I attended the Nepali New Years celebration in Victoria last weekend and we had a good time.  Ali really enjoyed it because of the other Nepali kids.  There was dancing and music and food, Nepali of course.  I got to catch up with friends and met some new ones.  I really miss living close to the group of other adoptive parents and I feel that Ali is missing out since the other families do alot together.  To compensate, I am going to attend more weekend events this year even if I have to travel a few hours to do it.  We have already planned an event in June and there is also the annual camp out in August.  Some of the kids< including Maya, are learning Punjabi dance (there are no Nepali dance lessons so this is the next best thing).  They performed some of their dances and did an excellent job!

Maya, Linda and Ali

We stayed the night at a friend's, MaryEllen and Maya, and Ali did not get much sleep.  The girls went to bed late and were up early.  The morning was spent playing and singing.

Free morning concert!

A highlight for Ali was going to the pool.  We have been to the pool before but this time Ali and Maya got to go in ALL BY THEMSELVES.  MaryEllen and I sat at the side of the pool.  Both girls are very good swimmers so there was no problem letting them swim on their own.  The part they need to work on is getting themselves showered and dressed after the swim. It took them over half an hour in the change room and the only reason they weren't longer is that we kept going in to move them along. 

So, after only five hours sleep and over two hours of swimming, Ali was a sleep within five minutes on the drive home.