MORE PICTURES OF OUR PRINCESS...

Asha turns 6 months old on Monday February 2, 2009! Happy Birthday sweet girl! So to celebrate her turning the BIG 6 MONTHS, the foster family sent us more pictures. These were taken today. Is she ever a charmer!

WHERE ARE WE IN THIS JOURNEY TO CREATE OUR FOREVER FAMILY...

This week we were given a set of steps from our agency that must be followed before we can go to pick little Asha up. Those that are in green are the ones that have been completed. You can see that we have already gone through the majority of these steps.

* Dossier is submitted to the Adoption Board of St. Vincent for approval to match a child proposal
* Wait for child to become known to Adoption Board
* Child put into foster care - notification to Canada that a child for a specific family has been identified and put into care
* Referral documentation sent to Canada - hospital medical and record, with brief social history or Adoption Board medical and social history record, photo, birth date...sometimes adoptive families are asked to name the child if they are newborn or have not yet been named
* Family accepts child - sends formal acceptance and Canadian Immigration forms for the child
* Forms are sent to Canadian Immigration in Trinidad for medical forms to be released back to Ms. Cato (our lawyer)
* Medical and labs redone by designated Immigration doctor and are then forwarded to Trindad for review
* Medical approval is communicated to lawyer - she then books a court hearing
* Adoption court hearing takes place; several days later the lawyer signs on family’s behalf and decree is released
* Lawyer applies for child’s new birth certificate and passport
* Lawyer sends adoption decree, passport, birth certificate onto Trinidad for child’s visa to be finalized - this is done by courier
* Trinidad reviews the file and issued visa for the child - couriers documents back to our lawyer.
* Family makes plans to arrive into the country about the same time as the child’s visa will arrive - they spend about 7-14 days in country and go home with new family member

The lengthiest process of all is having to wait for all of the Immigration medical to be completed and the paperwork exchange between Trinidad and St. Vincent. We need prayer that this process occurs quickly without any hold ups - after the medical is finished, the final steps occur quite quickly. We are praying and hoping that we will be able to go and travel by May. The more prayers, the better!!! Please help us bring Asha home through your continued prayers for us.

We will repost this list as steps are completed in the process.

GETTING READY FOR ASHA...

In our hearts, we have been getting ready to be parents for well over five years already. Now that our dream to be a Daddy and Mommy is finally coming true, we knew that it was time to get the necessities needed for our little girl Asha.

The one thing we knew we needed most was a crib. But when it came time to go and look for a crib, we couldn't find anything that would even partially work for us. All of the cribs were too high on the sides which meant that it was impossible for me to even be able to go and get Asha out of the crib. We did find a couple of websites that specialized in making cribs that were for mothers or fathers who had disabilities, but they were all so expensive. A friend we know told us about one of his friends who was in wheelchair and that she had a custom made crib that her father in law made for her. We contacted this other "wheelchair mom" and sure enough, she no longer needed the crib.

We found a crib and it was going to be perfect!!! We went to go and pick it up from her and her husband and they gave us the crib as a gift. She just wanted the crib to go to good hands and to be used by another "wheelchair mom". Wow! What a blessing that was to us!

So, today we went to my parents home so that my Dad and Scott could set up the crib to see if any alterations needed to be made. Because we didn't have Asha to test out the crib, we had the next best thing...Laureen. We can't wait to see what our precious daughter will look like in the crib.

We will never forget the generous people who gave us this gift and those who have helped us every step of the way throughout our adoption process.

ASHA'S FIRST TASTE OF "REAL" FOOD...

We talked to Asha's foster mom today. She gave us some insight as to what our daughter is like when it comes to food. She said that she L-O-V-E-S food and try to take it away from her and she gets MAD! We already know she is going to be quite the opinionated and determined young lady.

Asha is just over five and a half months now which means it's just about time to start her on food other than formula. Some start their babies on rice cereal, others with potatoes, carrots, bananas or squash. Today we found out that St. Vincent is a little different in that area.

So, you must be thinking, tell me already - what is the food Asha ate first?

A piece of orange!!! And she enjoyed it so much that she sucked all the juice out so all that was left was the skin of the orange...and when it was all finished, what did she do? She got MAD and cried for more...funny girl!

ANOTHER PACKAGE...

If you have read our blog, you know that we sent Asha a package right before Christmas. The most precious gift in the package was a bear we made for her at the Build-a-Bear Workshop. We found it really difficult to HAVE to be selective on what we sent to her, but UPS is quite expensive for shipping and so we just didn't have much room in a small box.

We have had the opportunity to meet many wonderful people since the start of this adoption process. One of the people we've met, referred us to a couple that she is friends with. The couple adopted their children from St. Vincent over a decade ago and now they are finally going back to the country to show their children where they were born. They recently contacted us and asked if we would like for them to go visit Asha and they also offered to bring a package for her. This was a enormous blessing for us. This is what we included in the package:

* A cute jean dress
* A couple of toy rattles/teethers
* Soft play toy that has shapes with different sounds and colors
* A special butterfly that makes different sounds
* Some Aveeno baby lotion for her skin
* Dove soap - the foster family said St. Vincent ran out and that it works the best for their dark skin because it is moisturizing
* A CD that Desiree's Mom and Dad made for Christmas that plays nursery rhymes; it was custom made with ASHA's name in it

Scott wanted to be silly and tried to see how Asha's outfit would look on him. Obviously, it was not his size!

GIFT FROM A FRIEND...

This blanket was given to us by a special friend named Denise. What makes it even that much more special is the fact that she made it JUST FOR ASHA and each row that she crocheted, she prayed and thought of our daughter!

We can't wait to see you warm and cozy in the blanket Asha! Until you are home, Mom will promise to keep the blanket safe and warm for you. We miss you baby girl!

A COURT DATE WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN THE NEAR FUTURE...

We are truly grateful and appreciate all of the support we have received. All of you are so excited and want to know when we can finally bring Asha home to Canada. Many of you probably aren't too familiar with how the whole process works when adopting from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, so we thought we'd take the time to fill you in.

When you adopt from SVG, before your child is "officially" named as YOURS, certain guidelines must first be followed. After your child referral, an adoption board in St. Vincent must meet to sign papers to approve that we may in fact adopt and bring home a child from their country, to Canada. We spoke to our lawyer in St. Vincent and she said that the meeting is just a formality and that she expected the board to meet by the end of January. After the adoption board has met, our lawyer requests a court day. We found out today from our agency CAFAC that our lawyer in St. Vincent will be calling them with an official court date on Monday! Court is not the same here as it is there. In St. Vincent, court is primarily a time to authorize our paperwork with the stamp of approval from their government. With court being completed, that means we are one more step closer to bringing our little peanut home!

After court, the speediness of the process rests in the hands of immigration which is through the country of Trinidad. Many ask why we can't just bring her home after court. Well, in order to get approval to bring her to Canada, we need to wait for immigration to issue Asha an exit visa and her Canadian citizenship first. This can often be the most time consuming part of the whole process. We are hoping that immigration does not lose our paperwork and that her documents are processed through sooner than later. We have heard as well that by having a member of parliament contact the embassy in Trinidad, it can and has sped up the process. We have been in contact with our MP for our area and now just need to pray that things go smoothly from here on out.

So, hopefully Monday we will know the day of court and then it will all come down to immigration. Since we first saw Asha, we have known that she was ours and that she was chosen just for us by God. It drives us crazy to think that by next month we could technically be with her if we moved to St. Vincent for a couple months before her paperwork is processed through immigration. Either that or we could take a quick trip, pack her in our suitcase and fly right back...well we can dream...

Will keep you posted.

S. and D.

PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE...REALLY IT IS!!!

Before we received our referral to adopt Asha, we had been used of waiting and having things not happen in OUR timing. We tried to have children on our own for just about six years. I can't say we ever got used to waiting and trying to become parents, but the wait was tolerated more easily over time. I guess we just got more patient or got accustomed to seeing our infertility treatments as being a part of our lives, what we needed to go through to become parents. What eventually gave us comfort was knowing that things would happen in God's timing. Days would go by, then weeks and months and when we weren't getting pregnant, I think we still had the outlook that at least we were doing SOMETHING - still reaching for our dream to parent, doing whatever we could. We at least felt in control! Looking back on that time in our lives I can see that we weren't the ones really in control at all. God was in the driver's seat all along, guiding us on the path He had planned for us. It is crazy to look back and think now that the plan all along was for us to go through the pain of infertility so that we could become the strong and compassionate people we are today, to be able to be the wonderful Mom and Dad that I know we will be.

The other night I was thinking...what if God said to me - "Desiree, I have the power to make you pregnant now but you would have to give up Asha and she would have to go with another family. What do you want me to do?" Without even a seconds hesitation, I know in my heart that I would choose Asha. She is already a part of my heart and soul...she is my little girl and without her I would be truly lost. To be able to see how I have changed so much over only a few years shocks me - going from a place of desperation with not being able to have my own biological child to a place of peace in knowing that my destiny all along was to be a Mom to Asha. Because of Asha I can now celebrate Mother's Day without tears of sadness but tears of joy because I AM A MOTHER...I have always been a Mother but Asha has made it "official".

Since we got our referral and have found out that we have a precious baby girl and that we are officially parents, the days, weeks and months go by so slowly. Days seem like weeks and weeks seem like months. The time drags along. I imagine it is because I KNOW she is out there. She is getting bigger and bigger as time goes on and I am not there to see her change and grow. It makes me sad knowing that there are so many things I am missing. Like her sitting on her own and crawling...she is already rocking this week on her hands and knees to try to crawl! She is making silly sounds and is mimicking everything you do! I have never met her in person but she gives me such joy and hearing her on the phone makes my chest heavy. She is the most beautiful gift we could have ever been given and yet she is so far away.

So today, more than anything else, what I am needing most is prayer (except for Asha of course...need her home most of all). Pray specifically for patience. Patience that the next four or five months go by quickly so that we can bring her home to her forever family. I find myself overly consumed with the fact that she is not here instead of focusing on the fact that she will be here soon. Please pray for me that I may feel comfort in this time of waiting and longing. Also pray for Asha, her foster parents Godrick and Lynda, for the country of St. Vincent, for our paperwork through Immigration in Trinidad and for the birth mother, whose heart must ache with the decision to place her daughter up for adoption. She had enough courage and strength to make the decision to place Asha with a family who can care for all her needs and because of that, we have so much love and respect for her. Thank you also to everyone who has been praying for us already and who has been following along side us in our journey to parenthood. We feel blessed and honored to have so many supportive friends and family.