Adoption Update

I talked with the Province again today (Tuesday) as our file is still NOT sent to our agency! This is 3 weeks now that we have thought everything was fine with our dossier only to get another call to say there are items missing. Anyway...the items missing are things Chris and I have already sent to Kids Link so the Province told me they would send the dossier TODAY! I'll call them later this afternoon to make sure it's on its way - finally! It should take about 2 weeks to get translated and authenticated and then next stop if Ethiopia! YAY!

We are having 3 fundraisers in the next month and we hope lots of you can join us!! We are getting down to the crunch as we have to send off the majority of our money in the next 2 weeks. We have paid our agency fees, our homestudy fees and now we are trying to get together the $6500 US that goes to Ethiopia and helps the children living in the orphanges. If any of our fundraisers interest you, email me and I'll set you up with tickets!!!! Spread the word if you can!!! Thanks!

LADIES SPA DAY
Sunday, Nov 11
2:30-5:30
Facials, mud masks, make-up consultations, a delicious supper,
and a choice of a professional manicure or pedicure
Cost: $55

CHRISTMAS CRAFT NIGHT
Friday, Nov 23
6:30-9:00
Make 12 beautiful, handmade, christmas cards and an amazing
wooden christmas tree with lights while you enjoy a Christmas
atmosphere and delicious appetizers!
Cost: $40 (includes all supplies)

ETHNIC DINNER & DANCE
Saturday, Nov 24
East Wiltshire School
7:00 pm
Enjoy a buffet dinner featuring authentic dishes from Asia, Belize, Thailand, Canada and Africa!!
Dance the night away with our live bands, Ninth Hour and Scott Parsons (more to be announced)
Cost: $15
We will be playing "Pullin for Love" a game where you can win $500 cash.

Email me at tammymackinnon@pei.sympatico.ca if you would like more info on any of these fun events or if you would like to purchase tickets!!!

Thank you!
The MacKinnon

Happy 4th Birthday Alyssa!

This post is dedicated to our sweetness, Alyssa!

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Alyssa had her 4th birthday this week - her birthday is the day after Dylan's.

We adopted Alyssa when she was 15 months old from Hunan, China. Her adoption journey was one of the most emotional and joyful experiences of our lives. She was adopted weighing a whopping 18 pounds and had a head full of black hair!

Alyssa has been with us for almost 3 years now and she has blossomed into a sweet, happy little girl. She loves to play pretend and plays "house" with her barbies and dolls all day. She talks non stop to them (and non stop to us, too!). She loves puzzles, playing games and watching Dora videos. She is a comedian (takes after her oldest brother!!) and loves to be silly and to laugh.

Although Alyssa can be a bit bossy (okay, a LOT bossy) she is still great at sharing and will often save "treats" all day in her pockets to give to her brothers when they come home fromschool. She enjoys chasing and being chased by her brothers and being in tickle fights with them.

We are so thankful for Alyssa and having such a sweet little girl in our home. She is cherished by all of us and we are so blessed!

Happy Birthday Alyssa!

Happy 9th Birthday DYLAN!

I thought it would be fun to spend the next few posts talking about the people in my family. Since it was Dylan's birthday yesterday, I thought I'd start with him!
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Our sweet Dylan turned 9 years old yesterday! It is truly amazing how quickly the time goes.

This post is dedicated to our sweetness, Dylan!

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Dylan was born weighing a whopping 10 lbs, 5 oz and he had a head full of black hair. We were thrilled to have a brother for Caleb, who was then 21 months old.

Dylan has always been a child who loves to be silly, have fun and play, play, play! He loves to hang out with his friends and would rather be outside playing (with lots of friends) than be inside watching TV or "boring" things like that. Unless he's gotten a new gamecube game to beat - then he wants all his friends to play the game with him.

Dylan is also a very friendly boy and his heart is full of love and compassion for others. His teachers have always told us he is the first one to help others at school and will take time to work with students who need help with their work. His teachers have also told us that he always remembers his classmates' birthdays and makes sure the teacher remembers as well :-)

Dylan loves hockey and this year will be his 4th year playing. Because I'm his mother, I can brag a little - he scored 68 goals last year for his hockey team!!! He loves the game and is really good and our whole family enjoys watching his games!

We are so thankful for Dylan - what a precious boy he is and we are so thrilled he is our son. You are amazing, Dylan!!

Words of Encouragement

A friend of mine sent me an encouraging email yesterday after reading my blog post. It was a devotion she had read and she felt it really applied to how I was feeling (and how many of us feel!!). Thank you JJ for sharing this with me - it truly did encourage me and has renewed my strength in our awesome God! Here is an excerpt from the devotion she sent in her email...

... Have we ever had the shadow of a reason to doubt our Father’s goodness? Have not his loving kindnesses been marvellous? Has he once failed to justify our trust? Ah, no! our God has not left us at any time. We have had dark nights, but the star of love has shone forth amid the blackness; we have been in stern conflicts, but over our head he has held aloft the shield of our defence. We have gone through many trials, but never to our detriment, always to our advantage; and the conclusion from our past experience is, that he who has been with us in six troubles, will not forsake us in the seventh. What we have known of our faithful God, proves that he will keep us to the end. Let us not, then, reason contrary to evidence. How can we ever be so ungenerous as to doubt our God? Lord, throw down the Jezebel of our unbelief, and let the dogs devour it...

Psalm 66:20
Praise be to God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld his love from me!

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On the adoption front...our file is being sent to Kids Link this week! We are so excited...it should be sent to Ethiopia in about 3 weeks. WooHoo!!!

We (PEI Adoption Coalition) have another meeting with the Province today - we have several things on the agenda to discuss including the Waiting Child program, acceptance (or non acceptance) of adoption programs in Ethiopia and Ukraine, amendments to homestudies to address the issue of age of child so that families in PEI will not have their child proposals sent back, and several other items. I'll update after the meeting...

Tammy

Finding Strength

I have been feeling discouraged lately because things are so unclear right now. We still do not have confirmation that PEI is accepting the Ethiopian program. I feel like I'm living in denial because we are proceeding as if everything is a go yet deep inside I'm waiting for the terrible news that we will not be allowed to proceed. I went ahead and finished the bedroom for the girls - Alyssa and her new sister will be sharing a room. We are smiling and laughing and talking about our new baby sister and we are making plans and talking like she's a part of our family yet there are still doubts in my heart about how this process will end.

I honestly can't imagine God has brought us to this place to shut the door on our daughter coming home. For those of you who know our family, you would know how long I've been praying for God to open my husband's heart and mind to adopting again. I have been praying for 3 years and it has been a MAJOR struggle for me to put aside my own timelines and agendas and remember that God is in control. It's so weird that at the very time we feel God telling us to adopt that we have so many roadblocks in our way. Is it a sign to stop (NO WAY!) or is it God telling us to completely depend on Him and have faith that He will carry us through?

We are in the midst of this challenge with the Province and trying to get PEI updated and educated on the international adoption process - we are really struggling with financing this adoption, and we cannot even be sure our adoption will be allowed by our Province. Yet, I truly believe God has placed adoption on our hearts again and we are doing it at the right time. I don't mind putting up a fight - especially for our child - but I would like to have some peace of mind through this process and feel joy knowing our daughter will be with us soon. I have been encouraged by people, songs and different stories this week to ALWAYS allow God to work and not depend on my own abilities. My minister said today "When God hears the word impossible, that's when He starts to work". Well, I have been feeling this whole process is becoming impossible so I am going to read His word and pray that I can fully trust Him as He is in control. Most of all, He loves our daughter even more than we do!

I need to have complete faith that God will open the hearts and minds of those in charge in PEI who make the decisions regarding international adoption. I need to have complete faith that God will provide the money to bring our daughter home. I need to have complete faith that NO MATTER what happens and what the timeline is, God is right beside us and our daughter every step of the way.

God will make a way
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me
He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength for each new day
He will make a way

Tammy

Family Fun!

Just some silly & fun shots of our family....

We had a candlelight Thanksgiving dinner a couple of weekends ago and it was really nice to spend the night with just the 5 of us. It's been pretty crazy around our house with all the meetings, planning sessions and writing I've been involved in with the PEI Adoption Coalition. The kids are into all their activities now so our home is very busy. It was a great chance for us to relax and enjoy the night together.

Enjoying some bubbly and our candlelit dinner! CHEERS!

We had a "thanksgiving" poster that we did - each person had to write why they were thankful for all the other people in the family. We all enjoyed hearing the nice things written about us! :-)

Silly kids!!

Little Miss Alyssa

Dad and the boys - I'm hoping Dylan's finger isn't really all the way up his nose!

Meeting news & Fun events!

Well, we had our meeting on Friday morning and I have to say it went very well. The Director of Child Welfare met with Chris and I and Richey (Provincial Adoption Coordinator) and we talked about the Ethiopian program and the "risks" that are involved with us adopting from there. They mentioned the fact that our new daughter will be offically ours - offically adopted - before we even meet her. In the China program, you go to China and meet your child (Gotcha Day) and then the next day is Adoption Day. They mentioned a few other things like that but Chris and I already knew them and we are more than happy to proceed :-)

We should have our Provincial Approval letter next week and then we can finally send everything to Kids Link! YAY!!!

I have a couple of fun fundraisers coming up if anyone is interested...these are done to help raise some of the funds for our adoption but I've planned them with YOUR ENJOYMENT in mind!! Hee Hee!

Take a peek and see if you would like to come and enjoy some fun...

Ladies Spa Day

Sunday, November 11th
2:00-5:00 (ish)
29 Woodlands Blvd (Eliot Park)

Relax with a facial and mud mask, make-up consultation and then enjoy a delicious meal! You can have all this PLUS choose between a professional manicure or pedicure
for only $55

(Services provided by Deb Gallant from "Abraca Debra" and Dawna MacDougall from "Cocoon")
There will be some other fun as well
and a chance to win a gift basket.

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CHRISTMAS CRAFT NIGHT

Friday, November 23rd from 6:30-9:00 (ish)

17 Allison Avenue (my house)

Enjoy a festive night of christmas music, amazing appetizers and plenty of time to get "crafty". You will have the opportunity to make 12 homemade cards (all materials supplied) and a wooden christmas tree - a perfect addition to your holiday decorations (material provided).

Card making will be led by Elizabeth Gallant and our wood craft will be led by Kim MacLean.

Enjoy this amazing craft party for only $40 (food, fun and all supplies included!!)

Hope to have you join us!

Provincial Approval Meeting

Chris and I have our Provincial Approval meeting THIS Friday. We are so excited. It only took 7 business days to get the meeting and that's quick for PEI. Unfortunately, we still haven't had absolute confirmation that PEI is accepting the Ethiopian program but I am still optimistic and will hire a lawyer if it comes to that! Our agency, Kids Link, is sending a full package to our Provincial Adoption Coordinator and the Director of Child Welfare so they can see what legal documents and paperwork is provided. Hopefully this will assure PEI that Ethiopia is following all the guidelines of the Hague Convention and there won't be any problems with us pursuing our adoption! We just want our baby girl to come home!

I think we are changing our age request to 18 months - 3 years at time of referral. We originally had between 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 but we would really like her to be closer to 3 when we go to Ethiopia to pick her up, rather than her being closer to 4 years old. But, I know most times you are referred a child at the older part of your age request so she will still probably be between 3 and 3 1/2 years old. Which is great! A great age for a sister for Alyssa, too!

Chris is going to Halifax on Friday to get his passport - finally! It's the last piece of paperwork we need to send our file to Ethiopia.

It's all coming together.......

Tammy

Pumpkins and Thanksgiving

Our family went pumpking picking this weekend -great fun and the pictures turned out sweet! We also had a great candlelight thanksgiving dinner together as a family (just the 5 of us). Tomorrow we will get together with Chris' brother and his family and Chris' mom to have a big turkey dinner.

The three cuties - I love my kids! They are so awesome.Truth be told - the boys enjoyed the cows more than the pumpkins :-(

Little Miss Alyssa

All of us!

Silly kids!

I don't have too much news on the adoption front today so I thought I'd put a few cute pictures of our silly kids!

The boys - Caleb and Dylan
The little lady - Alyssa

I am still waiting to hear back from the Province in regards to 1) Our provincial approval and 2) confirmation that the Province supports Ethiopian adoptions.

Another piece of great news - Chris' fingerprints came back from the RCMP in Ottawa. We've been waiting 3 months for these to come!!! Our file cannot be sent to Ethiopia without it so we are so glad it came!

The only piece of paperwork left is a copy of Chris' passport. Unfortunately he lost his passport the week before we started our adoption process - go figure! He is going to Halifax next Friday to get his new one and then we can send that off. After that, all the paperwork is out of our hands and sent to the agency. YaHoo!!

Results from our meeting!

Well, our meeting is over and WOW did we cover a lot of ground. The meeting was 2 hours long and many, many issues were brought forth. Here is a brief summary of my take on the meeting...

*At this time, the Province will not budge on its view that it is illegal, under Hague, to allow agencies to match children with families. Our adoption coalition disagrees with this and we are in the process of working with our lawyer to fight this.

*The Province told us that they did not have to inform families when child proposals arrived in PEI, earmarked for specific families. We said this was not acceptable and stressed that families need the opportunity to review a child proposal, especially if the Province has concerns with the file (ie. age is different than approved homestudy, issues with health, etc...). We feel very strongly that the family and Province should work together in determining if a child proposal should be accepted or rejected. At the very least, our Social Workers should be contacted by the Province to review our child files.

*The Ethiopian and Ukrainian adoption processes are being reviewed by the Province to confirm if families in PEI can adopt from these countries. We also want confirmation on Russia and Tawain. Keep in mind, that all other provinces in Canada allow families to adopt from Ethiopia and Russia. Most provinces (perhaps all - I haven't verified all yet) allow families to adopt from Tawian and Ukraine. We are very hopeful that PEI will also find that these are countries Island families can adopt from.

*Families in PEI who are expecting child referrals in the next few months are strongly urged to get amendments done to the homestudies to increase the age of the child they are requesting. To do this, call your Social Worker and tell them you would like an amendment done. If you have requested a child up to 10 months or 12 months you may want to write in your amendment that you are requesting a child up to 18 months or 24 months, depending on what you are comfortable with. This is still a major issue between our Coalition and the Province. We feel strongly that even without an amendment, families should be given the opportunity to decide if they will accept a child proposal if it's different from their homestudy.

*The PEI Gov't site will have more information posted - especially about any changes that are occuring in regards to international adoption. A link will also be posted for adoptive families to join our Coalition group to be kept up to date on the process of adoption and any information about international adoption.

*An overall review of all adoption procedures is being done by PEI and we are partnering with the Province to allow open communication between the province and adopting families. We will be involved in the policies and overview of the international adoption process.

There was lots more said and discussed but it's hard to put it all into words. PLEASE feel free to email me if you have concerns or issues you would like discussed on PEI. We are meeting again in 2 weeks with the same people (Director of Child Welfare, Director of Child & Family Services, Deputy Minister and a represetative from Premier Ghiz's office). I would be more than happy to bring forward any concerns or issues you have with international adoption!!!

Thank you to the many people who sent letters or email on behalf of the adoption community of PEI. Premier Ghiz received many responses and even received a call from Stephane Dion (Opposition Leader).

Our meeting with the Province

Today 2 other adoptive parents and myself are meeting with the Province to discuss some of the major issues concerning international adoption on PEI. This is a very critical meeting and it affects our personal adoption process as well as MANY others on PEI. Please pray for positive results and for open hearts with all the Provincial representatives!

You can listen to our interviews to learn more about the issues we are having and what we want from the Province at...

CBC TV:
http://www.cbc.ca/pei Look to the right hand side and you will see Listen/Watch/Discuss. click on Watch CBC News: Compass and then click on the top link that says Latest CBC News: Compass Newscast. We are the second story so you only have to watch for 2 minutes before our story comes on. :-)

CBC Radio:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2007/10/01/interational-adoption.html
Click on the right hand side where it says Audio.

How ironic that today, on the day of our big meeting with the Province, our homestudy and dossier is going to the Province for approval! We are excited about this but I'm very nervous about our whole adoption process and whether it will go smoothly or not!

Tammy