LAUREEN...

We have not been members of the Saskatchewan Caribbean Association for too long but we have already become close with several of the people in the group. One of the woman we have connected with is a sweet and loving soul; she was generous enough to pass along a precious doll for Asha. The doll was handmade and it was given as a gift to her girls when they were little. This doll has already become a permanent fixture in our home and has melted the hearts of those around her.

We named the doll Laureen, after the kind woman who gave her to us. Laureen wanted to have a new festive outfit for the holidays, so Nana Balaberda took her shopping for the perfect outfit. Each place we went this year, Laureen cheerfully came along with us dressed in her best clothes. We can't wait for next year when we will get to see Asha dragging Laureen around herself.

Thank you Laureen for blessing us with such a special gift. We will treasure it forever!

CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR...

Even though Asha wasn't here this Christmas, we celebrated as though she were. Thank you so much to everyone who blessed Asha this year with your love and many gifts. Next year she will have slobbery kisses for you all!

NEW PICTURES...

We were truly BLESSED this Christmas!

We envisioned that Christmas would be difficult this year without our new baby girl. But, although we did not have Asha home for Christmas, we had the next best thing! The foster family was able to use the camera we mailed them and emailed us new pictures of our daughter. We received them on Christmas Eve - what an amazing gift. Seeing more pictures of Asha was something we wanted more than anything else in this world! What a truly amazing present we received.

We have attached the pictures for you to see our little bundle of joy! Make sure you check out her chubbiness! She is obviously eating well.

Much love and blessings to you and yours this holiday season.

ASHA TELLIN' STORIES...

We have called The Ottley's several times throughout the last couple of weeks. Everytime we called to talk to Asha, she had JUST had some "tea" - what they call the bottle - and had been put down for a nap. They do not have her on a specific schedule for nap times but each time we have called lately (different times), we always get told she is sleeping! Today, we finally got to talk to our little girl and was she ever making noise. If you listen very carefully, the foster mother Lynda tells us that she is upset because she brought her inside and she doesn't like to be inside. She loves being out in the sun! Make sure before you listen to the clip that you turn down the music player on the left side of this page.

THE PARISIEN'S NEW CHRISTMAS TRADITION...

Family is all about traditions and for us being that our little girl is going to be home soon, we wanted to start our own Christmas tradition. We decided to make sugar cookies and to honour Asha we made some of the cookies with a St. Vincent flair. Keep in mind, this is our first attempt at these, so they are not perfect but let us tell you...they sure taste yummy! Here are some cookies we made in the St. Vincent national colors.

Our foster family, The Ottley's, refer to us as being plain skinned and call themselves brown skinned. So we made this bear just for The Ottley's because he...you guessed it, is brown skinned!!!

Daddy wanted to decorate cookies to look like Asha helped to make them. Which cookie do you think Asha would have made?

NOT HOME FOR CHRISTMAS...

We have been ready for Christmas for quite some time already. Our tree is decorated, stockings hung, gifts all wrapped and under the tree and the baking is completed. Although we are ready for Christmas in that sense, we will never be ready for the sadness we feel this holiday season.

To us Christmas means the birth of Jesus Christ but it is also a time for children. And for us, our most special and important gift is not going to be here this Christmas. It will be Asha's very first Christmas and she will be away from home, away from her Daddy and Mommy. More than anything, this time of the year makes us miss her that much more. We are trying to look to the future, to next year when she will be with us and will have her FIRST Christmas home with her family. We try to imagine what she will be like at Christmas next year with the lights and the gifts and the treats and the snow! Especially the snow! What a shock that will be for her!

So during this time, although our hearts ache to hold our little girl in our arms, we hold on to the dream of how wonderful Christmas will be next year. 2009 WILL BE the best year of our lives!!!

ASHER'S BIG FLIGHT...

We wanted to send off a package to our little girl with some things to keep her busy until we could come to bring her home. The first thing we knew we wanted to send to our daughter was a teddy bear for her to cuddle, so we went to the Build-a-Bear Workshop and made her a bear we named Asher. We also put a recording of our voices inside Asher's paw, telling Asha how much we love her. So as Asha grows during her wait for her Daddy and Mommy, she can hear how much we miss and love her every night before she goes to sleep. Asher has a big heart and we know that he will give Asha all the love and hugs that she needs.

We ended up sending the package by UPS and it will hopefully get to St. Vincent by Tuesday this week. It has made us that much more excited to be able to track Asher's journey to find his best friend. Asher wanted to try on Asha's onesie before we sent it. Isn't he adorable and don't you think this onesie will look adorable on Miss Asha?

If you haven't already done so, pause the music on this page (bottom right hand side) and check out the video from Asher himself which is posted below. For a tiny bear, he sure does have a lot to say!

WE TALKED TO OUR DAUGHTER...

On Thursday November 27th we finally got news of the foster parents contact information! They are a lovely couple who have been foster parents for almost ten years. They live out in the country in a small village in the centre of St. Vincent; they both are Godly people and they have a true love for children in need. After speaking with both of them for only a short time, we felt so at ease knowing that God had placed Asha in their care. They both have a wonderful sense of humour and we know she will be loved, nurtured, cuddled and played with. Praise God!!!

We would like to share with all of you what they told us about Asha. We have written down these facts in the dialect they use (how they speak). This is what they told us:

* We have Asha wit us since she was only six days old.
* Asha is growin’ well for her age. She is 12 pounds already; only takin’ four ounces of da milk – she has a small stomach.
* Yo little gurl be a happy bebe. She like to be oudside and is a hand baby; she like ta be in my arms. Only trouble is when I put her down she start ta cry.
* Ah, she bein' noisy now, wants me to pick her up (he laughed then). You don't need ta worry, she be in a good home and she da only bebe here, so she be spoiled!
* (You could hear Asha crying.) Your bebe is cryin’ now cause she need her nappie changed.
* Here, say hello ta ya daddady…(Asha makes cooing sound)…did ya hear her, did ya hear her? She said hallo!
* Da people you know be jealous cause Asha is so cute…everyone will want a piece ah her.

It was truly amazing to talk to them but even more amazing to hear our little girl coo and giggle in the background!!!

Please continue to pray that going through the embassy in Trinidad for Asha’s visa, is a quick and smooth process so that we can bring our precious girl home as fast as possible.

PRAYER REQUEST...

To our family and friends:

We are writing today with heavy hearts and desperately need your prayers.

It looks like we are not going to bring home Asha as soon as we thought. We thought that with a January court date we would be bringing her home in February or March. But with the way the Immigration process works it can take anywhere from 8 - 10 months. It will be a few months longer than we originally thought. The wait is going to be tough so we need help to keep our minds off the wait and focused on the day when we can bring our little girl home.

We have been blessed greatly and never expected to get 'the call' so quickly. Please pray that the second half of our journey to adoption runs just as quickly and smoothly. It is difficult to express in words the love we feel for someone who we have never met, and it is even more difficult to go through each day missing the fact that we can not snuggle and hold our little girl yet. Please continue to pray for peace on our hearts during this time.

Love always,

Scott and Desiree

A HEARTFELT THANK YOU...

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to those who attended our fundraiser/steak night on November 20th, as well as those who donated but were not able to attend. The evening was a huge success and everyone's enormous generosity was a great blessing to our family. Know that by you contributing, you have helped us to bring our precious little girl home!

SAY HELLO TO OUR NEW DAUGHTER ASHA MIKAELA NYAH PARISIEN...

Yesterday, November 7, 2008 was truly the best day of our lives! Look at this perfect face! How can you not love her? The second we saw this little one, we knew that this was the baby that God had chosen for us. We had thought the wait for the call to tell us we had a baby waiting would be anywhere from one to three years - we never thought we'd get the call with a referral only 2 months and 17 days later. We are truly blessed!

We have given her the name of Asha Mikaela Nyah. Asha is African and means 'life', Mikaela is Hebrew which means 'who is like God' and Nyah is African and means 'purpose'. We can't wait for all of you to meet her!

The next step in our journey is to wait for all of the legal court procedures to be completed and processed which they hope to have done in January 2009. After this time, we will be notified that we can finally come and pick up our daughter. We are hoping and praying to be able to go pick her up in St. Vincent as early as February. Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers!

Scott, Desiree and Asha Parisien

BLESSING FROM A NEW FRIEND...

I recently began corresponding with a new friend who is in the process of adopting from St. Vincent and the Grenadines. She said something to me today that will forever stay in my heart; it was something that I truly needed to hear at this exact moment in our journey. More than she probably even realizes, she blessed me richly and the way I had been looking at our adoption journey has since changed. She said:

'Seeing the 1st smile or hearing mama for the 1st time or seeing the child take their 1st step….I thought I needed to be there for all of that. I also thought I needed to get pregnant so I could feel the unconditional love growing inside me! You know what…I really don’t have the desire anymore for that beginning stage. Those feeling that I felt I needed…the 1st smile, the 1st time I hear mama, the 1st step….we will still get to experience all of that! Everything that my son does for US will be the 1st! I have never held my son or looked into his eyes but the amount of love I have for him amazes me! He may not have been growing inside me…but he most certainly has been growing.'

Desiree

FASHION SENSE OR FASHION NONSENSE?

Any guesses as to why Scott bought this shirt?

HOLLAND???

I recently was watching a DVD about the transition that one must go through from infertility to adoption. Although this poem more specifically was written from a parent having to face that their child was born with a disability, the theme of the poem still holds true for one who has dealt with infertility - each must go through the same path of loss, grief and then finally acceptance. It speaks straight to my heart each time I read it; if anything it gives me a little glimpse of hope and reassures me that although things are not how I originally planned for them to be, in the end Holland can be just as wonderful and special of a place to visit.

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WELCOME TO HOLLAND
By Emily Perl Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this...When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting. After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland." "Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy." But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay. The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place. So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met. It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around...and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills...and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts. But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy...and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned." And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away...because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss. But...if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things...about Holland.

OUR FIRST PURCHASE...

So it's been a month and one week since all of our documents were in St. Vincent; some days it feels longer than others. It's difficult to remember that we have only just begun the process. We are trying to remain optomistic and positive but it's still hard.

All of the information we have read says that when you are missing your baby and feeling blue, that you should buy your little one a present. In the past there was really never any guarantee nor did we know for sure that we would ever get the opportunity to be parents...now being able to actually go out and purchase items for our baby makes it all seem that much more real.

Below you can see the very first thing we bought for our baby from their Momma and Dadda. We call him Vincy the monkey and he sleeps in the tree in our bedroom waiting for the arrival of his new best friend.

THE FUNDRAISER...

A fundraiser is being put on to help support Scott & Desiree Parisien, as they prepare to create a forever family through the process of international adoption, from a little known country in the Caribbean called St. Vincent & the Grenadines. The cost of international adoption can be difficult to bear, so we would like to help the Parisien’s raise the money needed to travel to pick up and bring home their beautiful little boy or girl.

To facilitate this we are planning an exciting, activity packed Steak Night on Thursday November 20th, 2008 at The Odeon. Doors open at 6pm, supper at 7pm with entertainment throughout the night. Tickets will be only $20.00 per person, which includes your choice of Steak, Chicken or Vegetarian, and there are child tickets available for only $8.00.

Not only does the night come with a great dinner, but we will also have loads of fun and entertainment, including but not limited to:

* Saskatoon Caribbean Steel Drum Band
* Saskatoon Caribbean Dancers
* Live Music Performances
* Live Auction big ticket items
* Silent Auction Items (great Christmas gifts)
* 50/50 draws, raffles, door prizes

Plus, you will get the chance to meet with Scott & Desiree and show your support, while learning all about the culture and birth country of their future child, which the travel business refers to as “The Hidden Jewels of the Caribbean.”

Our hope is to raise enough money so that Scott & Desiree can enjoy their trip to meet and bring home their baby, without any worries as to how they will pay for everything involved in completing their forever family... which will be approximately $10,000.00.

To get your tickets or for more information, please email openarms@sasktel.net, or call Paul or Tanya at 978-7359. Tickets are sure to go fast, so we hope to hear from you soon!

REALLY GREAT FRIENDS...

SO...we met Paul and Tanya a few months ago when we moved into our new home - they had moved into theirs a few months earlier. Paul and Desiree instantly bonded and would meet in the parking lot and have conversations for hours on end. It took Tanya and Scott a little while longer than Paul and Desiree to connect, but now the four of us have grown quite close. It's now to the point where we'll go to get the mail, we'll see Paul and Tanya, and two hours later we'll eventually make it home. We have got to know them and have learned a lot from them, but nothing could prepare us for how great these two people would be and how much we would be blessed by having them in our lives.

Just the other day they announced that they wanted to throw us a fundraiser to help us raise money for our big trip to go pick up our baby and bring him or her home. They had been discussing this for quite some time without us knowing. It's hard to explain the feeling you get when someone you've basically just met offers such a selfless, caring and unbelievable gesture of kindness - we are truly honoured to call them friends. We have already become an Uncle and Aunt to their little girl Tess and can't wait for them to be an Uncle and Aunt to our little one. Paul and Tanya probably have no idea how their thoughtfulness truly brightened our world at a time that we needed it most.

Further information on the fundraiser will be announced soon. Watch for more details!

IS IT POSSIBLE...

Today I have been thinking a lot about what our child will be like...

Will God bless us with a little boy or a girl? What will he or she look like? What will their hair look like, their eyes or their smile? Will they hate carrots like I did when I was a baby? Will they do silly things like Scott and I still do to this day? What kind of person will they become? What will be their hopes and dreams?

I am left to ponder and wonder, how can I truly love someone so much that I don't know, someone who is most likely not even born yet? I ache for this precious gift; a baby that I have not yet had the chance to hold and rock in my arms.

Today I came across a scripture that spoke to my soul. It says:

"I pray that your inward eyes may be illumined; so that you may know what is the hope to which God calls you." -Ephesians 1:18

I KNOW that the Lord has called us to adopt and through His will I am truly comforted.

Desiree

A POEM BY SCOTT...

We started out happy. Ecstatic. Elated.
In those very early days where we met and we dated.
We couldn't believe we found what they call,
Eternal soul mates, forever and all.

We dated, got engaged and eventually married,
We promised each other's hearts would be carried.
And everything went according to plan,
Until I held that horrible letter in my hand.

"You can't produce a child"; the words cut like a knife.
And I hated what those very words did to my wife.
We had plans and dreams which were supposed to come true,
And without a little baby we didn't know what to do.

So we picked up our dreams, back off of the ground,
And pursued other options until we had found,
A clinical way to still have our little one,
But that course ran out after five years and some.

It just wasn't God's plan, he had different thoughts,
For there were children that needed parents, and lots.
So we put biology to rest, and took faith in our flight,
And were led down a road shined upon by God's light.

And although we never knew what any of that meant,
We stared ahead at a little island called St. Vincent.
The little piece of land where our baby will come from,
Who will call me their Dad and call Desiree their Mum.

We will fly over there and bring them back to this place,
Where so many loved ones can't wait to see their face.
Needless to say we're pleased with this road God created,
And once again we're happy. Ecstatic. Elated.

FOLKFEST 2008...

This year the Caribbean Pavilion's theme was PARROTS

of the CARIBBEAN which took place August 14, 15 and 16!

It was a fun filled weekend that allowed us to transport ourselves to the festive and exotic atmosphere of the Caribbean. The music had us dancing to the sweet, exotic rhythms of the Steel Band, African, Caribbean, Latin and Limbo dancers and performers. The food was spicy and included curried and jerk chicken, beef patties, festival, roti, all served from an authentic setting in the islands.

We were fortunate enough to volunteer both Friday and Saturday evening and even had some of our family and friends volunteer as well. Scott welcomed people into the pavilion with his best Caribbean accent (everyone was laughing at him which only encouraged him more) and Desiree worked with the children making Caribbean masks as well as doing a variety of other activities. We ended up creating sunny memories as we celebrated the Islands and the arrival of our child! It only made us that much more excited to get our little one...

AN AMAZING SONG ABOUT INFERTILITY...

Strange thing happened...We were getting ready for bed last night when this song came on the galaxy music station. It brought tears to our eyes because we could both identify what Lady Saw was singing - we loved it so much that we thought we would post it here. We have also included the words below to follow along. We hope you'll find it as touching as we did.



Verse 1: Infertility is a word that a lot of people are ashamed to mention, a lot of people are so illiterate when it come to that word. They act as if it's a crime if you can't have a child. But I don't think so, I don't have a child, I may one day. But in the mean time I am going to share all my love.

Chorus: Not having a child don't make me any less than a woman, you see I got so much love to give, to so much unwanted kids, you can say all you want about me trying and ruin my reputation, ah still got so much love to give to so much unwanted kids, listen to my song.

Verse 2: I may not know the joy of giving birth, may not experience the pain and all the hurt, but I know how it feels to lose a child, and if pain is pain then I am hurting inside. If infertility makes me less than a girl, what would you say to many women in this world. Would you tell them have faith, would you tell them be strong or would you tell them that they're less than a woman?

Verse 3: I would give anything to have a child of my own but in the meantime let me share my happy home with the less fortunate, take away some of the stress from a child who has never known love and happiness. Miscarriages remind me of baby carriages, of broken hearts, short flings, failed marriages, the pain never go away, we try to keep them at bay. Oh I wish if my baby could have stayed.

Verse 4: Some people have kids and wish them never did, some kids grew up hating the life weh them live, some have it easy, some have it hard, some mothers abandon dem pickney like dawg. But wanti wanti dem can't get it and getti getti get and run weh lef eeh. Me nuh have none so you know me will take eeh me have a lot of love so send me little Becky Ann.

Verse 5: You see, what I am saying is this song is dedicated to all the females who have been trying to have children but never succeed. Some have miscarriage just like myself, but you know what, don't give up, have faith, one day you may just succeed. You know what I'm saying, and don't feel you are less than a woman because you don't have a child 'cause once you give you love to other children that come. You know what I'm saying.

OFF TO THE COUNTRY...

So last Thursday, we found out that our documents from Foreign Affairs were returned back to CAFAC after completion. We checked our e-mail today and this was a message we had:

Hi Scott and Desiree,

I am pleased to tell you that I am mailing your dossier to St. Vincent today. Yay!!!

Have a great day!!!

Cori Corscadden
Administrative Assistant
CAFAC Agency

Needless to say, we are BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS! It finally feels like something is happening and that we WILL be parents soon. Keep the prayers going that our baby will come to us soon and that there will be no delays in St. Vincent!

Scott and Desiree

SVG PROMOTIONAL VIDEO FROM YOU TUBE...

Here is a video that shows you a little about St. Vincent and the Grenadines and what you can expect to see and do in this beautiful, lush country. We hope you enjoy the journey!

CARISASK...

We recently joined the Saskatoon Caribbean Association with the hope to get an opportunity to connect with other's from the Caribbean culture.

One of the yearly events that the Association takes part in, is a festival held once a year in Regina, Saskatchewan called Carisask. This year it took place on July 26th in Wascana Park. Carisask is a fun filled day full of dancing, steel drum bands and wonderful food. We were fortunate to have a beautiful, warm, sunny day.

It began with a parade, similar to the one you would see in St. Vincent during Carnival which they call Vincy Mas - a day celebrating that the crops have all come in and that the workers may finally rest.

The flag pictured above is the flag of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The meaning of the flag is this: the blue symbolizes the water, the green stands for the land and the vegetation and the gold is for the warmth of the sun and the people. The green "V" in the centre of the flag symbolizes all of the small islands of the Grenadines as well as St. Vincent. Desiree got so overwhelmed with thoughts of our baby to be when she saw the flag, that she got just a little teary eyed - nothing new with her though...she's always a suck!

Here are some other pictures we took from that day:

The musical art of steel drums first originated in the Caribbean. Saskatoon has it's own Steel Drum Band which Scott plans to join with our little one. Here's a video of their performance that day for you to enjoy...

OUR FIRST POST...

We started this blog a little late as we've already completed numerous stages in our adoption journey. This journey began in May 2008. So far we have:

• completed our home study with a social worker
• put together our adoption dossier (this is all of the paper work needed)
• been fully accepted and approved by our Provincial Authority to adopt
• paid our agency fees (our agency is CAFAC) in full and half of the country's fees
• been fully approved by Canadian Immigration to sponsor a child into Canada
• sent off our documents to be notarized by Foreign Affairs

This has all been quite a daunting process but we have moved through it quite quickly and without any speed bumps along the way. We hope that the rest of the process moves along just as quickly and easily.

So the next step is to receive our documents back from Foreign Affairs which will then be sent to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, where the real waiting game begins. It is here that we wait for the phone call to tell us that we have a baby. We will then have to wait another six months until the adoption process can be finalized and we can go pick up our little Vincy.

The rest of this process with the waiting is going to be extremely difficult on us and we ask that you pray for us to have patience and for everything to run smoothly and quickly. We don't know yet who the child is that God has chosen for us - boy or girl - but we ask that you also pray for our "baby to be's" birth mother and father, whoever they may be.