Transracial Adoption

This is a very interesting video.  It has a US perspective, (including some race issues particular to the USA) but it’s still worth a look if you are interested in the challenges of transracial adoption.

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The Logdriver’s Waltz

Telles, this is for you!  Authentic Canadiana!
(My explanation will make a lot more sense when you see the video!)

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No new house

Dang it.
 The owners wouldn’t move much on the price, and we just won’t pay that much for the house, as much as we like it. 
So I’m moping.  No new house.
Dang it.

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Buying a new house

So I’ve found a house… and we’ve even put in an offer.  I really excited!! because it’s so cute and near the beach and has a beautiful yard.  But J is going through some intestinal gurgling and churning because the house will require a lot of renos, and renovators are pretty hard to come by [...]

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Our baby

We think the baby of our family, Haatim, may be feeling threatened.

What would Freud think of this? (Haatim hangs out in the pram all the time.)

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A fun weekend with Telles

This past weekend Telles came to visit us in Kelowna.  We had a lot of fun, eating nachos and hamburgers, biking around the Lake Country rural roads.  It’s pretty easy to keep a teenager occupied… and I think pretty healthy, since we did so many active things.  (Ok, so us old folks, we’re exhausted!)

A fellow [...]

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Adoption Legislation

The Canadian Senate passed Bill C-14 – the Citizenship Bill last week and it is expected to receive Royal Assent in the next few days.
This bill means that children adopted abroad by Canadian famillies, where the adoption is finalized in the country of origin, will become citizens of Canada. With the current process, we have to [...]

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Our first 3 kids

When I was growing up, our family always had other kids in the house… many, exchange students from overseas.  Shortly after Jrock and I bought our first house, I announced to him: “By the way, a 15 year old from the Philippines is moving in with us for a couple of months in September.”  His [...]

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The shopping begins…

Ok, so the shopping began a while ago.  But there are only so many things that you can buy when you don’t know the age or gender of your children.
 Jrock and I are pretty fixed on a boy and a girl, but I’ve been nervous about purchasing anything… “just in case.”  But yesterday I broke [...]

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To post or not to post…

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The new digs

Our friends and family keep asking for pictures of the new abode – and now that we’ve unpacked (excepting the mountain of boxes in the garage) I’ll post a few pictures! 
The animals are starting to feel at home, although the yard is taking some getting used to.
 
We had our first guests yesterday – my Auntie [...]

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Being a celebrity…

Now for something on the lighter side…

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Celebrity continued…

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Daddy J’s reading list

So J decided a week or so ago that he needed to do some reading.  Here is the reading list I put together for him, which I think summarized some of the best adoption, parenting and Ethiopian culture resources in easy-to-read formats.  Maybe he’ll give you book reviews when he is done each!
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Adoption
The Complete Book [...]

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The homestudy/homework begins

On Monday we met with the social worker (SW) for the first time.  (The appointment a week before turned out to be with the lady who runs the local agency.)  We had homework to do before we got there… three long questionnaires to fill out on our personalities, our families, and even on how ready [...]

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