Not too old for dolls

Kaylin has always had an interest in black dolls. I can't remember if her first black doll was a Barbie or her Bitty Baby. However, Baby Addy, as she called her, easily was her most loved and cherished doll. I will never forget the smiles and the shrieks of pleasure that Kaylin just could not stop that Christmas when she opened her present and found her doll.

Through the years Kaylin has added to her doll collection. A black American Girl doll that she calls Addy. Multiple Barbies and groovy girls with dark skin. And for the past few months the two of us have been scouring eBay, looking longingly at Corolle dolls online and visiting our local thrift stores. Soon after we received the phone call from the social worker, I knew what I was looking for. And miracle of miracles I found her in a toy store in my parents' home town. We stopped off there to visit on our way to Virginia and I found the cutest little doll.


What 2 year old girl wouldn't love Babipouce Graceful from Corolle? At least we're hoping our soon to be 2 year old girl will love her.

Jumping for joy

Our entire family was home together for a whopping 2 days this summer. But that's not the whole reason for celebration. The joy is what happened for 5 brief minutes during that time. We have been waiting for a referral from our orphanage since our papers have been in Haiti in June. I've been trying to be realistic on a time frame since there are so many families ahead of us.

Our referral has to go through our provincial contact at Community Services and who should call but Community Services. Our orphanage asked her to ask us if we would consider an initial referral because the age limit is slightly different from what we asked. We asked for a sibling group that were 6 years and under. They want to send us a referral of a 6 1/2 year old boy and his 23 month old sister. YES. I think that fits with our criteria but they wanted us to amend our homestudy.

That has finally been done and now we wait for the official referral. But the neat thing is that all of our kids were home when we got the phone call. How cool is that? Even though Joshua is now away at university, he still was a part of this really big step. We know the ages and gender of the kids and hopefully we'll get news soon. Vacation is over and it's time to get moving.

A Big Mouth

How do people know when to keep their big mouths shut on their blog? There are a bunch of things I would love to "talk" about but it seems like I would be violating the privacy of others, and so I am quiet. Much too quiet. I haven't posted much this summer and so much has happened. My son is amazing me with his wisdom. My daughter is ready and willing to give so much of herself to others. My other daughter is just so neat that I want to shout it out loud. But I don't want to embarrass any of them or potentially hurt somebody's feelings. But the stories are great!

There are also a couple of book reviews that I would like to post but they seem too overwhelming. I guess that's the difference between real writers and wannabes. The real writers just love to put words down even if it's a struggle or hard work, which I'm sure it is for most writers. I keep procrastinating on the time consuming posts. Oh well, at least I'm learning a bit about myself.

I'll just keep plugging away and try to walk the fine line between blabbing and holding it all in.

Going... going... gone...

Yes, my son of 18 years has left the building. We drove 27 hours to Virginia and dropped Joshua off for his first year of university. Not the most flattering picture but I want to remember the room and my son and the whole experience. It was an experience. So many emotions and thoughts and questions going through my mind.

As a homeschooling mom, did I prepare him well enough academically for the next level? Did I impart all of my earthly wisdom? Did I give him enough pointers on the little nuances of life? Yikes, I could go on forever with the doubts.

As we passed through Charlottesville, VA (who even knew there was a Charlottesville) and we saw the signs for the U of VA, I was just struck with how little I know about this part of the country. I don't know anything! We don't have any contacts! The Christian community tends to be small but this is one part of the community where I don't know a soul. It felt lonely and I wasn't even staying there... just my son.

As we entered Liberty, I was amazed at the size. Yes, I grew up outside of NYC, but I've lived in small town Atlantic Canada for the past 20 years. Who am I kidding? I love small town living. Lynchburg is not a huge city, but the campus was larger than I expected. The parents and students were all over. We soon figured out where we were going. Key first, then unload my son's earthly possessions.

The students we ran into were nice. It's comforting to think my son is in a place with nice good kids. Robin was even jealous of the adventure Josh will have. I had a sense that this was going to be fun for Josh. I am so happy and excited for him.

I think Josh was most excited over his cell phone. Yes, my son is connected. His Uncle Tim bought him a phone for graduation, but it wouldn't work in Canada. He was thrilled to finally be on US soil so he could get a signal. He even called us after we left him. And he called the next day to ask me a question. Bless his heart! How's that for southern jargon?

It was tough to leave him. The roads and parking lots were full, but he was standing there all alone. He wasn't alone for long, but it was heart breaking to see him walk away from us. Robin even wanted to hang around for a couple of hours the next day, but I wouldn't let him. How's that for role reversals? It's time to let go. It's time for him to spread his wings. What a cliche but so true.

We miss him, but I'm thrilled with the young man he's become and I know he will continue to amaze us and himself.