Double digits….

Today is a very special birthday.  My middle child and only girl is 10 today.  Three years ago we made the decision to open our homes to a child in need.  We thought that we were doing something big.  Something to change this unknown childs life.   We were this stable family who could give so much.  We have been humbled by this child in ways we never could have imagined.  We weren’t at all aware of what this would mean to our home, our lives and our relationships.

It’s been 3 years since this firestorm entered our lives.  She came in with vacant, sad, troubled eyes and a too easy smile.  She was a frightened troubled girl who didn’t understand relationships, love or family dynamics.  She was unable to make friends and she was bullied almost every day.  She LOVED to be a victim and she spent the majority of her time trying to figure out how to get us to get rid of her.   The road for her has never been easy.  Today I looked at pictures of her when she first came.  Such a tiny little bird.  Smaller than she should have been and painfully skinny.

Today her path is so very different.  She rolls her eyes and sticks out her hip and gets mad at us.  She sings (horribly off key as if she were biologically related to me) at the top of her lungs to Miley Cyrus music played too loud in her room.  She has friends, good solid close friendships with children her own age.  She has a report card filled with A’s and a closet filled with clothes she’s made with her own two hands.  She’s got huge feet and her projected height has gone up 4 inches in 3 years.  She wears a training bra and sneaks lip gloss when she thinks I won’t notice.

She has BEGGED me to be on my blog for THREE years but because of legal issues I’ve never done it.  Now we are almost finished all the paper work and she is anxious for the ‘final’ decree.   So for her birthday I am dedicating my post to her.  She is my daughter in every sense of the world and she has changed me as a mother.   My daughter &  sons’ now have this mother and father they should because of a little wisp of a girl who came into our lives and turned it all upside down.  Happy Birthday Sweetie!

Waiting.

Monday is two weeks. We were told that the decision on the new job would take two weeks.  I am, without a doubt, the worst waiter in the whole world.  I hate waiting.  It’s the not knowing that is driving me nuts.  I realize that if I knew I’d be busy, stressed, crazy but at least I’d be doing something.  I would be doing, not planning.  Planning takes up my every waking moment.  The what if of it all is all consuming.  If I knew we were not going, I could let it go. I would be disappointed sure, but at least I could be sad and let it go.  If we ARE going then I could be BUSY.  I would be simplifying our lives for god’s sake.  I want to move in a very minimalistic way. I will be selling, donating and throwing away a LARGE amount of ‘things’ that we really don’t need.  I would be digitizing pictures and putting things in storage.  I would be going to government offices for passports for the kids and organizing school transfers.  I would be getting the house ready for sale. I would be calling people to tell them.  I would DOING.  I suck at waiting.

Driving on the other side of the road.

I’m obviously NOT doing well on keeping my mind off the overseas move.  One of the cool things about the Island is that they drive on the other side of the road.  So it got me thinking about what else is different…this is a slippery slope I tell you.

Cars.  If you move across the world you can’t buy the same damn car that you would buy if you were in Canada can you?  NO.  So that starts me looking at what type of cars are available over there…

Mitsubishi Grandis

Kia Carens - Now I found out its a Rondo so I don’t want it LOL

Suzuki Ignis

Toyota Vios

Hyundai Trajet

And then I started thinking about getting a Kitchenaid Mixer…which opened up the 220v can of worms…..

The Internet is a dangerous place.

I love crafting. I love to knit, sew, scrapbook.  I’ll try anything.  With our ‘big move’ coming up (12 days until we find out for sure and then I’ll blab!) I’ve really been thinking about what I’m going to do for the next 2 years and the one thing I promised myself I would try is QUILTING.  Oh dear.  Have you seen what’s out there?  Then I stumbled across something called SELVAGE sewing and I knew that I’m in big big trouble.

Moda Lissa and Vintage RicRac are what started it and it’s these bloggers I blame when it over takes my life and I can no longer spend time with my family and friends.

By the way I can no longer use quotation marks without immediately thinking of the “Blog” of “Unnecessary” Quotations.

I suck at waiting.

I’m going crazy. I SUCK at waiting.

13 days left.

ugh.

Change is coming.

Change a good thing.  Sometimes it doesn’t seem like a good thing but other times it’s a big huge fuzzy happy smile out there waiting for you.  We have change coming in our lives and it’s a biggy.

For years my dh and I have talked about moving overseas.  Just selling everything and moving.  We tried a few time in years past but couldn’t get what we wanted (a post at a military base as a teacher) and then Em was getting close to graduating and we promised we would stay in Canada to let him graduate with his friends.  Well June is right around the corner and Em is going to be a high school graduate. We finally decided that we are going. Yes. we’ll miss our family. Yes. we know there will be culture shock. Yes. most importantly Em is coming with us. and YES the government has to get off their asses and get N’s adoption finalized cause she is coming too.

In two weeks we are going to find out something huge.  Life changing huge. Holy crap I can’t believe it huge.  Spend all my time on the computer looking at different possibilities huge.  And let me just say….no snow.  Here’s a little hint…the view from one of the school provided housing…