Sad day for International Adoption in Canada

Yesterday, rumours were flying in the adoption community and much to our shock and dismay they tuned out to be true. There are only two agencies in Canada that are licensed to facilitate adoptions in Ethiopia. One of those agencies declared bankruptcy yesterday. Imagine Adoption was facilitating adoptions in Ethiopia, Ghana and Ecuador. We are with the other agency, CAFAC. We feel very fortunate to have chosen CAFAC as our agency, as this so easily could have been us.

To the over 400 families affected by this devastating situation, our hearts go out to you. We are thinking of you and your children in Ethiopia. We hope you get positive answers soon.

Here are some links to the media coverage of the story:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/adoption-agencys-bankruptcy-devastates-families/article1217223/

http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090714/CGY_adoption_agency_bankrupt_090714/20090714/?hub=CalgaryHome

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090714/adoption_bankrupt_090714/20090714/?hub=TorontoNewHome

Here is the information being provided by the bankruptcy trustee:

http://www.bdo.ca/extranets/imagineadoption/index.cfm

Hold on to your
Bright Star Dreams

Looking for support - working moms & stay at home dads

Homer and I have agreed that he will be a stay at home dad and I will return to work and be the "bread winner". I likely will be taking "only" 8 - 12 weeks off when we do leave to pick up our girls. I may take less time if everyone is settling in OK. I have not received a lot of support for this decision. The Dads that I work with all tell me how their wives had a hard time balancing their need to be with the children and their need for stimulating work. They do not talk about how soon after their children were home that they returned to work. The Moms that I work with keep telling me how men do not nurture in the same way as women. I argue that no two women nurture in the same way, but that does not seem to hit home.

What everyone fails to comprehend is that if I was a man and the main bread winner, it would be OK for me to return to work only 3 weeks (or less) after we become a family of four. Yes, I would love to take more time off, but that is not reality. Realistically, I am going to be home longer than many working dads would have been. One of us needs to work to pay the bills and it only makes sense that the person who has the higher more stable income should be the one. I am completely comfortable with this decision. Homer is going to be an awesome Dad. The girls and him are going to have so much fun together. And Homer is going to teach them so much. They are going to learn to follow their curiosity and will be given a classical education.

I know this is the right decision for our family. It was something Homer and I discussed before we were married almost 10 years ago. It was always part of our vision for our family. Apparently, I have a radical feminist view of a family. I have never considered myself to be a radical, but I guess there is a reason why I never feel like I fit in. I just wish I did not have to justify this decision to almost everyone I meet.

If there are others out there who have also taken on role reversal within the family, I would love to hear from you and how you have dealt with the critics. The closer we get to making this a reality, the more I am being told how I am going to regret this decision.

Believe in your
Bright Star Dreams

The Rose Garden Chez Chateau Bright Star

For those that are wondering -- no news. No good news, no bad news, just plain no news. To keep myself occupied I am attempting to hone my photography skills.

Homer and I have discovered that the Morden variety hardy roses seem to grow well in our hillside garden. Last summer we added 4 more to our garden and we are now enjoying the bouquet of colour in the garden. My favorite is the sunrise, although I think the Amorette may be a new contender. We also have a Prairie Dawn variety rose in our protected garden near our back deck. This is the last rose in the pictures below. This rose is full of blossoms all summer and even into the fall. It is absolutely spectacular when it is in full bloom.

Sunrise


Snow Beauty

Blush

Amorette

Fireglow

Prairie Dawn

Let your Bright Star Dreams blossom

Chateau Bright Star Sunday Garden Tour

We had one nice day this summer so far, so I took some photos of some of the things we have growing in our yard. Every day I take a walk through our garden to see what is blooming and what new treats we have popping up. Every day I spy something new. Here are some items that caught my interest on Saturday. I am not a photographer, nor do I have the photography gene that some in my family have, but I think I did an alright job.

Golden Moss Stonecrop (sedum)

Columbine


Miss Kim Lilac

Oriental Poppy

Morden Variety Hardy Rose

Grow your

Bright Star Dreams

We have walls!

Homer has been hard at work scheduling contractors, framing, preparing for the trades to arrive, waiting for deliveries and inspectors, cleaning and organizing. The rough plumbing is done, the furnace ducts have been moved, several new gas lines have been added, the electrical is done, the framing is done, the drywall is up, the taping is started, the flooring is ordered and scheduled to be installed. Taping will be finished this week and then painting will be started. Whew! The end is in sight now. Just one more week of drywall dust.

We may even get this and the girls room done before we leave for Ethiopia. When will that be, you ask? Right now your guess is as good as mine. Due to daily power outages in Addis, our agency has not been able to get through to their representatives in Ethiopia. so we don't know if we are officially waiting for a visa or if we are waiting for CIC in Nairobi to issue the medical request. I know I should be jumping up and down about this, but I don't think it would do any good and it may even make things move slower. I have been stressed about it absolutely - as a planner it is hard to sit on my hands and not plan. Believe me I have been sick about it, but I know that everyone is doing their best to move the process along. Jumping up and down will only make me feel worse, so I try to wait patiently for news this week.

Here are some pictures of the basement progress.

Bedroom

Bathroom

Rec Room

Rec Room

Build your

Bright Star Dreams

Big News at Chateau Bright Star - Dreams Do Come True!

Almost 3 years ago, Homer and I decided to pursue our dream to expand our family. In March of this year, our dreams were answered. We received news that a pair of sibling girls needed a family and they had been matched to us -- a couple of crazy canucks who needed a family too. We waited for two days to see their faces, and when we did, they took our breathe away. They were gorgeous. I'm not just saying that because I am their mom, they really are gorgeous. Since Homer and I don't consider ourselves to be card carrying members of the beautiful people society, we felt like we had just been dealt a royal flush. But there were more steps to go before everything was official, so we decided to hold our tongues (and blogs) until we knew for certain they would be joining our clan.

On May 29, the court officially decreed that we are parents to these breathtaking girls. We waited 6 days after the decision to find out the news. Our daughters T & M are ages 6 and 4 and are currently living in Ethiopia. We hope to travel by the end of the summer to bring them to their new home.

This journey has been an emotional one and more than once I have questioned whether we were doing the right thing for the children. I had one person this week tell me that our daughters will be so grateful to us. I explained that we are the ones that are grateful. Our daughters are the ones who are losing and have lost so much - their culture, their birth country, their language and so much more. And they have to move to a country where this happens in June. They did not choose for this to happen to them - we have made a selfish decision that we hope that they can accept. We are so grateful to have this opportunity. This person said the same thing to me the very next day. Some people just don't get it.

I had every intention of posting a picture or two today, but upon reflection have decided to not post pictures to the world wide web. Once the pictures are out there, I cannot take them back.

Hold on to your
Bright Star Dreams

Seriously - Is this Mother Natures Idea of a Joke?

Our back yard May 31, 2009

Our backyard today

Global warming huh?


I think our Saskatoon bushes got the worst of it - at least one of them has snapped down the center.

I'm dreaming of moving west...

Wishing you warm

Bright Star Dreams