Waiting, Waiting and More Waiting

I realized that we are long overdue on an update. So without further ado....

The update is…there really isn’t much to update. We are still waiting.

We have been on the waitlist for 21 months now. It has been 10 months since were matched, 7 since the revocation and we are sitting at number 17 (officially) on the waitlist. We started around number 57 and in that time, we have been matched twice, met one birth mother, and had to make two decisions regarding whether our profile would be shown to a potential birth mother (we declined both times). We haven’t moved up (or down?) the waitlist in 2 months and it can be and is discouraging.  It isn't as if we are waiting for a random number to be called or to get to #1 (I hope we don’t make it to #1)…we are waiting for a birth mom/birthparents to choose us. To like us.  It can be horribly hard to place this kind of hope in a stranger, to like you enough off a set of pictures and write ups and references and think you are “qualified” to parent their child.  I am discouraged and frustrated but know that this is part of the process and we knew this going in. Still. It is hard to not imagine what this Christmas *should* have been like this year.

I am the pessimistic one, which I know isn't really a surprise!  I told Mick that if we are still on the list at the two year mark, which is in February, we will be getting another puppy. I figure that if we have another puppy who needs to go out in the middle of the night and dealing with the training and busyness of a dog, we will get matched with a newborn and our hands will be stressfully busier! Call it Murphy’s Law. I’m putting all my hope in crazy Murphy!

We had started our international paperwork but have decided to put that on hold. We have completed the international home study and reference checks and are awaiting final approval from the Alberta Government. The next step after we get approved would be to sign the contract and start to collect our dossier documents for our Manitoba agency. We have to use two agencies as our Alberta agency doesn't facilitate international adoptions so we have to double up.  (Also, see link for information on what is a dossier and what goes into it http://international.adoption.com/foreign/dossier.html) However, we have decided to put this next step on hold. While we knew that adoption, both domestic and international, were not inexpensive, we were shocked at the amount of the first payment installment (think…a decent used car). And we just don’t have that kind of money lying around, while still having a few fees to pay once matched in regards to the domestic. So…we are on hold - for the time being.

So we continue to wait and make plans and hope that we’ll have to cancel those plans because we’ll have a kidlet by that time. Both Mick and I have part time jobs to try to pay down our debt load and still save for adoption expenses and the loss of income during a parental leave all while trying to have some sort of a life. Juggling our schedules and being an adult is hard work!   

So in the meantime, I’m perusing dog breeds on Pinterest and picking out puppy names :) Anything to kill the time, right? 

What Went Wrong

Please excuse us while we jump around a bit in the timeline. Some of these posts were prior to baby arriving...

WHAT WENT WRONG??????

This had to be a mistake, some bad dream that I was in the middle of. Someone playing a very cruel joke on Crystal and I. I was expecting to wake up at any moment and have all this pain I was feeling gone and for us to be holding our little girl. Deep down I knew this was happening but still a part of me was hoping for that last minute reprieve, you know where the Warden stops the execution right before the injection happens. How do we go from the elation of having our baby in our arms the day before? To leaving the hospital the way we came, just the 2 of us.

April 26th was not like any other day. From conversations Crystal had with Courtney the day before we knew this day very well could end with us having a baby. So we were preparing and getting ready for that. 3:30am we get the call from Courtney, "I'm in labour, can you come pick me up?" Crystal and I were out the door and on our way before 4am. And all of us were at the hospital by 4:30am. Around 12:30pm I got the text from Crystal saying "She is here!" The feeling I felt was indescribable, I couldn't believe that the moment was here and then Crystal sent a picture. She was beautiful, she was perfect, she was ours, or so we thought.

Before I continue I need to take this time and give my wife the credit she deserves. Crystal stayed with Courtney from when we arrived at the hospital until we went home the next day. The strength that she showed through this time was unbelievable and I love her so much for it.

The evening of the 26th, we had now been at the hospital for over 15hours. Our social worker was there and we were just hanging out in the room getting to know our baby. Around 6pm the social worker could tell that something was "off" with Courtney so she asked Crystal and I to go get some coffee so she could talk and see what is up. At this point our minds started to wander, what is going on? Is she changing her mind? Why do we need to leave? We were panicking a bit. After about an hour we got the OK from Jerri (Social Worker) that we could come back to the room, as we arrived Jerri said that everything was good, Courtney took that time to grieve the loss that was about to happen and did everything that she was supposed to do. In our minds and Jerri's mind everything was text book, we would be taking the baby home tomorrow once Courtney has signed the paper work. So I went home. I had been up for a while and I was fading fast. The 2 ladies that had been through so much more than I had mocked me for being tired, but I knew that I wanted to be refreshed and ready to go for the next day as it was going to be awesome. Courtney wanted us to be at the hospital overnight to start bonding with baby as soon as possible. She knew those first few hours and moments were priceless so even though it felt awkward, Crystal stayed at the hospital, overnight, "sleeping" on a not so comfortable chair. Again the strength she had... Unbelievable.

About 11pm that night, I got a text from Crystal saying that Courtney said she could go home if she wanted, Crystal said no way and decided to stay. Looking back now she thinks this point in the night might have been a crucial time that changed our lives.

Saturday. April 27th. I woke up to a wonderful text message with a picture of a very beautiful little girl. What a way to wake up. Today was going to be a good day. I made my way to the hospital to pick up our baby and take her home, little did I know at that time I wouldn't be. When I arrived I met Crystal in the hall as Courtney's family was in the room with her. Jerri arrived about 45minutes after I did and decided to go talk to Courtney. We decided to head back to the room and as we did Jerri stopped us and asked us to come out to the hallway as she wanted to talk to us. We could tell something was not right. Just outside the doors Crystal looks at Jerri and says "she is keeping her isn't she?" Jerri just stared at us and said "I'm so sorry, I don't know what happened."

That moment those words came out of Jerri's mouth was one of the worst moments I have ever experienced. Crystal and I as a couple have had to deal with some loss and grief together but nothing as personal as the loss of a child. It was devastating. Here we were in a hallway at the hospital crying our eyes out because our worst fear had just been realized. Automatically we start thinking, What Happened? What went wrong? Why is she doing this? All these questions we know we probably would never get answers too but still WHY? Why us? What happened? Was it her family? Did they talk her into keeping her baby? Was it something we did in the last 2 days? We probably would never know, all we knew was now we had to tell everyone. Our first calls were to our parents. I remember calling my dad and him asking me if I was kidding, my response "do you think I would f**king kid about something like that?" Yeah emotions were running a little high at that point.

So it was done. Crystal and I gathered our stuff and left the hospital, just the 2 of us. Probably one of the worst drives home we have ever had, to go along with one of the worst days in our lives. One of the things that hurt the most about this situation is that I never got to see our girl on the 27th. The last time I saw her was 9pm the night before. Sometimes I think this was a good thing because then it would make it easier, but let me tell you, I was smitten from that very first picture Crystal sent me a mere few minutes after she was born. That girl already had her "dad" wrapped around her finger and she wasn't even a day old. Even now as I write this I am getting teary (which at work can be awkward) but knowing that there was nothing we did and nothing we could have done has helped heal. Crystal and I have grown a lot since then, we have become stronger, my love for her has grown stronger seeing her strength and weakness through this. As hard as this was, we know exactly "What Went Wrong". Courtney didn't realize the emotions and love she carried for that little girl, and fell in love with her as much as we did when she was born and who can blame Courtney... She was perfect.

Until Next Time!

Where Are We Now?

Please excuse us while we jump around a bit on posting. We are trying to keep this blog current while also filling in the gaps! 

My initial knee jerk reaction in the day or two after Courtney decided to parent, was that I couldn't and wouldn't do this again.  My heart was in pieces and I didn't think I could handle going through all of the steps again. I dreaded receiving another matching phone call. I dreaded having to tell our family and close friends again for I knew what they would be thinking...as we were going to be thinking it too. "What if this one doesn't work out either". I didn't think I was strong enough to handle what felt like another personal rejection.

We were going to take some time "on hold" on the list (which just means that our profile is not shown to prospective birth parents) and mend our wounds. 

We met with our social worker about 3 days after leaving the hospital. We felt we needed some closure. We found out that we were, in fact, already back on the list. I wasn't sure how I felt about that but after a good chat with our social worker and her encouragement, we decided to let the process run it's course and wait and see. We could be waiting 3 months, we could be waiting another year.  Our social worker, Jerri, knows that we are going to be a bit more gun-shy the next time around and that is understandable. Our agency is great and will work with us, providing us all the support we need. 

My friend asked me if we could do it all over again the same way, with the 3 months notice and the getting to know birth mom through emails, attending doctor visits, being in the delivery room, holding baby first, spending the night in the hospital....and having potentially the same outcome, would we? Would I? Could I? Could I put myself through that again? 

After some thought....I realized that I would. In a heartbeat. 

That's how I know that this process, while not for everyone...is what we have to do to build our family and we'll do it over again as many times as we have to. And it will make me stronger and make us stronger together. After all, this was probably the first "together" tragedy that Mick and I have had to face. And we survived. 

Having those months to get to know Courtney made it less awkward and we honestly felt that we could have  had an open adoption plan that would work for both of us. I felt like I had made a connection to her, which in part, made the revocation that much harder but in the end we choose to believe that Courtney made the only decision she could. I loved being apart of the birth and being able to hold baby first, was priceless to me. I'd do it again.  

So...where are we now? 

On the wait list, we are officially number 22 but with 3 couples "on hold" in front of us, we are technically #19. They are on hold, waiting for the birth of their kidlet so I will keep my fingers crossed for them, that they get to go home with their babe and live happily ever after. 

We know the numbers mean very little as a birth mom can pick someone from anywhere on the list (after all, we were #34 when Courtney picked us!) but the smaller the number, the bigger the anticipation grows. 

We have also decided to double up on our adoption chances. I've always wanted to pursue an international adoption and we knew that we would eventually but it seems that the "eventually" is now. We have started the paperwork and process for applying for an international child(ren). We have been "approved" by the government to pursue an Ethiopia and now we just have to jump through our local agency hoops and a get approval from a coordinating agency in Manitoba as well. We are excited and nervous about this option as the wait time is longer (approx 4 years) and the financial side will be (very) stressful. We know that doing this process now, while we wait for a domestic adoption, makes the most sense to (hopefully!) shorten our waiting time in the long run. 

So that is where we are at. We are doing well. We are forging ahead. Sometimes we catch ourselves imagining what she would have been doing and how she would have fit into our lives, but I think for the most part, we've reached acceptance with the situation. She was never meant to be ours and so we'll continue to wait and think about and dream for the child(ren) that will one day be ours. Officially.

It's A Girl!

We met with "our" birth mom, Courtney, on January 30th. I was a nervous wreck all week, never mind almost not being able to function on the actual day. This wasn't a "regular" meeting, this was a meeting that would potentially alter our lives as we knew it.

We went back and forth between..

"Oh gosh, what if she picks us" and "oh gosh, what if she doesn't pick us". We couldn't imagine our lives with either scenario.

We met with Courtney at the agency. It was awkward and uncomfortable and scary. She was intense with lots of questions for us, putting us on the hot seat. She watched us. Studied our moves and how we interacted. She even told the social worker after the meeting, that she liked the way we watched each other as we talked, that I seemed more reserved and less confident, that she liked that Mick was emotional and she could tell he wanted to be a dad. As there was some question as to the race of the baby, she was even concerned that we lacked African American friends!  We had no concerns about her family history, medical history or past. She seemed like the perfect fit for us, perfect on paper and the best case scenario. After 2 hours of questions and answers and getting a feel for each other, she told the social worker that she didn't need to think about it, we were the couple.

And just like that...my mind and heart were racing. There was very little emotion involved. No hugs, no tears...just pure shock. We exchanged emails and went on our way.

Oh my gosh. We were having a baby girl. I was over the moon. We couldn't believe and even talked about how the timing was perfect. My parents were coming into town from Manitoba that weekend for my grandpa's birthday and we couldn't wait to share our news. They were completely in the dark...we didn't even mention to them that we were matched or had a meeting with a potential birth mom. The saddest part for me about not have a traditional pregnancy was that there was a loss of "excitement" and a big announcement. Everything was so logical and paper-based. I wanted to share this news and not in an email or phone call. Only in-person would do!

Mick and I had to pick up our dog from his parents house. We knew that there was NO WAY we could see them and not share. So we called them and asked them to meet us for coffee at his brothers house. Then we called his brother to say we were bored and wanted to come for coffee. We knew that they figured something was up but I wasn't going to give in before we saw them in person. We made a quick stop to Babies R Us and bought 2 small pink frames that announced:

It's A Girl!

Our families were obviously excited and over the moon for us. My mom, I think, was in the most shock as she didn't understand the "announcement" when she opened up the frame. She had to be told what it meant by my brother's fiance even after reading aloud the frame and the note that said "due May 2013". she just looked and stared and repeating it! There were many tears and hugs and celebratory drinks. We couldn't believe that in 3 months, our lives would be completely different.

We couldn't wait.

"We've Been Matched!"

We are sorry for the lack of posting lately. As most of you are aware, our life was turned upside down in the past few weeks. We started this blog as a way of not only updating our family and friends on our process but also as a record of our journey to build our family with adoption. We hope to one day show it to our children.  Please forgive us for backing up a few months to fill in the gaps...

3 words, 3 simple words that changed our lives for both good and bad, but 3 words none the less.

January 23rd 2013 seemed like any other day, we got up, we went to work and we did what we would normally do on a Wednesday. Everything seemed normal. We had just checked in with the adoption agency and found out that we were number 34 on the wait list and that our profile was out with a 2 birth moms, but the thought never crossed our minds that, at 34 on the list, we would be picked.
Let me quick give you a little background on the adoption process. When we first started and even before we were placed on the wait list we had to do a home study with a social worker from the agency. We knew that the home study had to be "updated" every year that we were on the list. We also knew that we would be having to do the "update" at anytime as it was coming up on a year.

So when I missed a call from an agency social worker, I didn't really think anything of it. I thought, "oh it's about time so they are probably calling to set something up for the update". Now when she also tried calling me on my work phone and left a message saying they would also be trying Crystal at work, then I started to panic a little bit. So I try calling her back and I get no answer, and its about to go to her voice mail when I get an email from Crystal: "Stop calling her, I am talking to her." My first thought was, well that was rude and my second thought was, who are you talking to? And how do you know I am calling someone?. So about 10 minutes later I get a phone call from Crystal asking if I was ok to talk right now, being the end of the day there wasn't a lot of people in the business centre so of course I could talk. Then Crystal said 3 words that almost made my heart stop...

"We've been matched."

I say's pardon? Crystal says that a birth mom has picked us and would like to meet us... I couldn't believe it, it was as if someone had punch me and taken all the wind out of my lungs. After all this planning and waiting and wondering if we would be ever be matched, here is the women I love telling me that a birth mom has chosen to meet us. I was beside myself, my face I am sure went flush, I started shaking, I was excited and nervous and scared all at once... But then Crystal tells me that she has chosen 2 couples ('BAM' knock out punch) but she would like to meet us first (he's up and ref doesn't make the 10 count). But before we meet her, we need to meet with the social worker to find out about the birth mom and make sure we feel she will be a good fit. Meeting set to meet social worker for January 24th at 9:30am. Holy crap how am I going to sleep now???

Little sleep was had, but that post may have to wait...

Until Next Time!!!

There's No Crying in Baseball...

One of the most iconic lines from one of the greatest baseball movies ever made... If you aren't sure what I am talking about please have a look at the video from the movie A League of their Own starring Tom Hanks and Geena Davis. Great movie! Now I am not here to review the movie but just use the line as a title for this blog post. Also the line "There's No Crying In Baseball." holds special meaning to me and my ball team... Right Jathina?

Baseball, there really is nothing better than getting to the field, lacing up your cleats, putting on your glove and heading out on to the field like a warrior hell bent on world domination... Well at least that's how I approach each game... Well that and to see who can drink the most beers while doing it. Being the captain of a beer league slow pitch team I am often faced with such decisions as, Who should bat where?, Will Tyler ever hit the cutoff man?, Will Doug ever make a catch in center? Is Dave too drunk to play?, Am I too drunk to play?, Is my whole team too drunk to play? If I have to ask the last question too many times, then I guess we are having a good time. And let's be honest having a good time is probably the best part of playing ball.

Well April 28th brings back the 3rd year of existence for the greatest sub-par team in the NSA Sunday Night East Division, Where My Pitches At? Ha, still makes me laugh saying that name. Where My Pitches At? or WMPA was a brain child I had while trying to find a league in which we could still have fun but be a little competitive as well. NSA seemed to be the perfect league for us. We may not be the best team out there, our record for the last 2 years is 13 - 26 - 1, but at least we go out and have fun doing it. One thing our team lacks is speed, while a lot of the teams we play have more Speedy Gonzales on their team, we have more Slowpoke Rodriguez's on ours...

I am still looking forward to one day getting ejected by the umpire, either when I am coaching or playing slowpitch... I assume that if that were to ever happen I would probably react like this guy...

  

This last sentence is mostly to see who from WMPA actually reads this blog... If we have a winning season this year, I will personally write a song about WMPA to the tune of The Simpsons Slowpitch Song from the episode Homer at the Bat. Just in case you don't know the song here is it.

Until Next Time...

Our Road to Adoption

When people hear we are adopting, they automatically assume it is because of infertility. Heck, even the adoption course we took as part of the application process, assumed that that was the primary reason as to why we were adopting.

While infertility is part of the reason, it isn't the WHOLE reason. Adoption is not our last resort, our final chance or our hail mary pass to build a family. It was our choice.

I was diagnosed with primary infertility at age 21. It wasn't a shock and no tears where shed at that time for what most people deem a "loss" or a "tragedy" for a woman. It didn't really affect me until it affected someone else...namely Mick.  I cried as I told him as I knew children were important to him. It was better for me to be up front and honest very early (like 3 dates!) into the relationship so he could run for the hills if he wanted. Luckily for me, he didn't and has been supportive since that awkward conversation.

I'm a huge fan of awkward conversations. Obviously.

We talked about our options from then on and adoption was something we were both interested in pursuing one day if our relationship came to that.  Even prior to Mick and before my diagnosis, I had realized that I was very interested in international, specifically African, adoption. That should come to no surprise to most of you! Mick had also pondered adoption prior to meeting me.

We moved to BC and thought, at the time, that BC would be where we stayed. We saw a fertility specialist there who told us our options after a battery of tests, which if childbirth is even twice as painful, I'm counting my blessings! We didn't like our options but at least we had some. We moved back to Calgary and saw specialists here, who told us the same news and same statistics.

I think we both knew after leaving the fertility clinic, that biological children would not be in our future. I don't even remember a serious conversation about looking into our fertility options. The cost, the less than 40% success rate, the stress every month, every cycle, every pee on  stick,...it wasn't worth it and we realized that having a biological child wasn't that important to us, that we wouldn't be willing to take the gamble. We could have saved and scrimped and begged the bank for a loan to pursue this. We could have made intimate requests of friends and family, we could have crossed our fingers and toes and prayed every night for a successful outcome and we might have gotten it, but being pregnant was not something I had to experience. It may sound strange, but I never really had a desire to experience pregnancy, so adoption made the most sense.

We never had a sit down conversation about when we would start the process, we just...started. After we bought a house, the timing felt right. We met with an agency, which we found after I did a google search and liked their website best. We got some information. We attended a foster/government adoption class. We discussed if we wanted our first child to be an international adoption. We selected domestic for our first kidlet and we jumped right in. Forms, payment, more forms, more money...and we were on our way.

Adoption was our choice. I don't feel the need to have to justify it to people who don't understand why we'd choose to parent "someone else's baby".  It isn't someone else's baby, it is MY baby and how he/she came to our family, is irrelevant. And yet, people assume that just because we chose to not undergo fertility treatment, that I'm sad with our choice, that it is our last resort.

Am I sad over not delivering a baby? Sometimes. But it isn't so much the biological part, but the experience part. I cried when I found out that I was going to be an aunt (both times!). I wasn't sure that we would ever get to do a big "We're Expecting!" announcement for family as adoptions generally don't allow you that kind of time. I cried bawled when we were on our way to hold my niece for the first time. I wasn't sure that I would ever hold my own 2 day old baby, that I would ever experience a newborn like that. Those emotions are still there. But I definitely don't cry over how we chose to build our family or the hand that was dealt to me. There is no pity party, so please don't feel sorry for us.

We chose adoption and we feel, in some ways, that adoption chose us. Our process and waiting as been smooth and drama free and heck...if I don't have to push out a Boisselle head, that is a plus in my book!

Spread the Word to End the Word

I know a lot of people use their blogs as a political outlet for spewing their beliefs in a matter of getting their points across. I never thought that this would be the way that we would use this blog, but I feel that this is one of those things that I can't help but write about. March 6th 2013 is the international day for the movement "Spread the Word to End the Word". The words in question are Retard or Retarded. Being involved in Special Olympics for 10+ years as a coach I have been able to see first hand the effect that this word has on people and the ignorance there is in the world surrounding it.

I can honestly say that I wasn't always one to help advocate for such a cause. In fact I was looking back through some old year books and noticed that in Junior High School (I believe grade 9) my favorite quote at the time was "Mental Retard". When I read this now I cringe and think about how uneducated I was. Of course some could argue that I was in Junior High and that I really didn't know better but that's no excuse. When I think about how many times I used that simple phrase when I was younger, I can only imagine the impact that it may have had on someone who was a little "different" then the rest of us. Did me saying those words lead to someone hating themselves? Did those 2 words have such an effect on someone that they stopped caring about anything and shunned themselves from the world? Even as I write this the thought of this possibility brings tears to my eyes as it was never my intention but it very well could have happened.

This brings me to today and all the ways I have heard these words being used... "That party was retarded" or "You are a retard" or just referring to everyday things that may be unbelievable or ridiculous as "retarded". Come on people we are all well educated, is there no word out there that we can use instead of the R-word in these situations? In fact I am pretty sure I just gave you 2. Words can be powerful things and with computers, social media and ever changing technology words such as "retard" or "retarded" seem to live a whole new life and meaning so why cant we seem to stop using a word that has so many negative connotations? We have done it with so many other words but this one seems to stay around.

Now I know what you are thinking "but what can I do?" Simple answer, stop using those words in your everyday conversation and bring attention to those that do use it and hopefully one by one people will stop using these words. Even if you are able to only change one person's perspective on using these words it will be a win because hopefully they can change one person as well... One of my most proudest moments came from my wife. About a year and a half ago she started a new job where these words were being used prolifically. Now most of her exposure to people with intellectual disabilities has been because of me so she really didn't have to stand up to it, but she did. She sent out an email to all her new co-workers and brought to their attention their use of these words. She got mixed responses but most positive and thanking her for saying something. It took a lot for her to reach out like this but that simple email has made a difference in her workplace.

I have seen the downside to this word but I have also seen what people with intellectual disabilities can do and the difference they make in peoples lives everyday. I would almost go as far to say that they changed my life. If I had never started volunteering with Special Olympics when I was 15, if I had never met some of those amazing people then I am sure I would be seeing the world in a whole different light. People often say that it must have felt good going and helping "those" people at Special Olympics and I would agree that yeah I loved helping all my friends and it felt good. But I didn't help them, they helped me. We're More Alike Than Different!

If you would like more information please go to www.r-word.org and if you feel so inclined take the pledge to end the Word.

I pledge and support the elimination of the derogatory use of the r-word from everyday speech and promote the acceptance and inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities.

I've taken my pledge, will you?

Until Next Time!

One Year Ago!!!

Wow, hard to believe that it has been a year already that we have officially been on the wait list for adoption... Seems like just months ago we were planning on finishing up the last things before submitting our profiles and officially being put on the wait list. Crazy how quickly time flies. While I sit here and write this I think back to what this past year has brought us and can't help but smile, cry and laugh at some of the great memories of the past year.

February not only started us on the path to adoption as we finally were placed on the wait list but it also brought sadness to our family with the passing of Crystal's grandpa. The same week that we were saddened by this loss we were over joyed with the final step in the adoption process and finally being put on the wait list. It's crazy how one week can bring so much joy and sorrow.

The next big thing that happened was Scotland... Crystal's best friend Carmen was living in Scotland for a year and so we decided to pack our bags and go for a visit...NBD! Scotland was amazing and I would suggest to anyone that is thinking about going to go... The history in that country and the architecture that is still standing from 3 or 4 hundred years ago is incredible. We took a tour around Edinburgh and I remember the tour guide showing us a building and saying "now this is the new part of Edinburgh, most of it was built in the 1700's." I thought to myself (and most likely to Crystal) 'Damn, the 1700's is new? I think the oldest thing in Canada is the Banff Springs Hotel which was built in the late 1800's.' So their "new" stuff is still older then our old stuff. Amazing history there.... The only downside was the rain. So much rain...

Crystal and I in Scotland.

St Giles' Cathedral - Edinburgh

The summer also brought a whole new look to our backyard. We have lived in our house for just about 2 years now and we have finally got working on the backyard to get it all ready for fun in the sun type events. One of the many changes we made was digging up the old patio and getting Crystal's cousin Tyler to lay us a whole new patio... It turned out great, a little slippery, but still great. If you are interested in hiring them for any sort of concrete job, I would highly recommend them, the company's name is Tekton and you can check out their website here...
http://tektonsurfaces.vpweb.ca/default.html (Tyler if you get any referrals from people who found you on our website, I want a cut)

Before

After

Here are the before and after of our patio...











We also built a new shed (with the help of my dad) and a wonderful bar (with the help of a couple of friends). So many margarita's were consumed on this patio from the bar and so I would declare the summer of 2012 a complete success... The rest of the summer was spent playing slow pitch and simply just hanging out. Our backyard is finally getting to a place where we want to spend a lot of evenings out on the patio and believe me a lot of time was spent there...

At the beginning of October Crystal and I went to the wonderful world of LAS VEGAS!!! Vegas was experiencing higher then normal temperatures so this trip was all about laying by the pool with some delicious drinks in hand. Well ok that's not the only thing we did, but we did a lot of it. One of the best shows we went to on this trip was the Jabbawockeez, they were amazing. I would highly recommend anyone that likes dancing to check them out.


I suppose that brings us closer to the end of our journey through the past year... Crystal and I have experienced joy, sorrow and lots of sore backs and calloused hands in the past year but our house and our lives are coming together... Soon we will be ready to take on the next chapter of our life... Hopefully anyway.


Until next time!

Cakes

I have been on a baking kick lately, in that I love to bake cakes, just cakes...not cookies.  Actually, I love to decorate cakes...especially with buttercream. I love a good buttercream and am on the hunt for the perfect recipe. I could live without fondant or even royal icing but a creamy, smooth buttercream can make or break a cake. My husband is thrilled with this cake baking as he can eat the leftover buttercream straight out of the bowl, however, as a diabetic...having leftover cake and buttercream in the house is not good for my pancreas!

This past weekend, we celebrated my grandpa's 80th birthday. My parents made a whirlwind trip out from Manitoba and we spent Saturday afternoon with most of the family, eating, laughing, eating, talking and eating. Delish!

I offered to bake the cakes this year as it is good practice for my brother's wedding next year, in which they have asked me to make their wedding cake. This will be the second wedding cake I've done and I'm nervous but since I have over a year to practice, I'm sure I'll be practically a pro by then!

Baking the rounds. We did 4 different flavors and 9 rounds. 

Mixing the buttercream

Crumb coating the first cake

Smoothing the buttercream

I think I need a smaller tip

Finished!

Mmm...Vanilla & Red Velvet Rings with a white chocolate ganache and vanilla buttercream

Chocolate! 

My grandpa's birthday cake...the deer seemed fitting

Neapolitan with vanilla and strawberry mousse and chocolate buttercream

My mom enjoying her cake :) 

 Right now, this is just a fun hobby but we'll see where it goes. I was pretty excited to have signed up for a buttercream class through Chinook College but alas, it was cancelled last week as there was not enough people registered for it. So...I'll just keep practicing at home and maybe look into another course in the future. Maybe when life slows down a bit...HA!