Good old Mondays!!!

Monday! I’ve been having a hard time to like Monday’s lately but somehow, this Monday was awesome. I woke up remembering my dream. I dreamt of my 2 dogs that passed away a few years ago. Gucci and Chubbs. They were Chinese Sharpei. I loved them so much. I cannot compare them to Sam and George because they don’t have the same character at all. Sam and George are always by my side. They always have to be a few feet away from me. Gucci and Chubbs. They were always happy to see us but after a few minutes, they wanted their space. They were so loyal dogs. I miss them very much. When I woke up this morning, I felt that they were with me last night in my dream. It was really comforting.

I got to work and decided to clean my workspace a second time to try and find my Immigration papers. I was at the last pill of paper thinking it was not there and all of a sudden, I pulled it out. I was so happy! The girl beside me did not understand why I was so happy to have found that document. I immediately ran to the scanner to scan a copy to my email and did a paper copy as well. My morning started off so good!

At lunch time, I posted an add on kijiji for house cleaner. I need someone to clean the house next door that we have for rental this summer. I have put my foot down and said that I was not cleaning anything in that house. I tried to get local people and nobody was interested because it’s on Sundays. After a few hours that my add was posted, I received 3 replies. I think I found the right match. They are 2 ladies going back to school and they wanted a part time job for the summer. They didn’t want to do it on Sunday’s but guess what... Money Talks!!! So I will be meeting them sometimes this week for a short interview. She seemed really nice on the phone. So 2nd great thing happening on a Monday!

Got home from work and even cooked a nice veggie lasagna. Cooking on a Monday, that’s usually not happening.

My husband then arrived and said he just loved the great meal. He usually visualize that he is eating meat lasagna LOL! He is always complementing on what I do. I love him so much. So for the past few months’ I’ve been bugging him to put plastic on 2 holes in our walking closet. Its suppose to be 2 cubby holes to store stuff and have a door but it’s not finished and I hate the smell of insulation... I always say that it smells like a barn. He’s always telling me to remind him tomorrow and he will do it but then he gets caught up doing something else. So today, I decided to bring it up a supper time. Without telling me, he got up and went to put some plastic to cover the holes. When I got up I thanked him and asked him at the same time if he removed my shoes before he screwed the boards and plastic. Well as you can imagine, I will not be putting on my fancy pink shoes this summer! I will not try and undo his work because ... well just because. I guess another great thing happened on this great Monday, I will be able to go buy another pair of shoes. I can still see them but just won't be able to wear them.

I really like myself today...

I’m going to say it like it is… The only adoption paper work that I was told not to LOSE is our Immigration papers we received. Guess what I can’t find? I have copies and backup of all my adoption paper work except... Immigration paperwork.

I am praying to my angels since yesterday to find the brown envelop that I received it in. I cleaned out all our mail from every corner of the house yesterday and did not find it. I checked at work and my bags... nothing.

So what to do next... do I call Immigration Canada and tell them that I lost my client Id and files that I was not suppose to lose? You tell me.

Adoption news from GLA

On my way home from work today, I stopped at the mailbox and by my surprise, there was a letter from GLA. As soon as I got home, I opened it and found all kinds of pictures on an 8 page newsletter.

In the news letter, they had:

• Pictures of the children that left after the earthquake and are now home with their Forever Families.
• Pictures of volunteers and found ours in the page!!! It brought back so many memories.
• Pictures of “Children Here for Adoption”!!! I was so excited to see those words. As soon as I scanned the pictures, I saw my little princess, Wislande. There she was with her big smile. It says on the picture that she was born on June 9th, 2009. Nadége , a little baby girl that we were able to see when we were there is available as well for adoption.
• In the Adoption news section, Dixie stated “Starting June 15, I will be proposing children again to families on our waiting list. Waiting until June will give the Haitian government 6 months to get up and running.”

 June 15th is my Birthday so it’s going to be a positive start on the referrals!!! There is approximately 20 files waiting on the list for children and 10 children are currently available. By the time Dixie is back from Europe, I’m sure there will be more for adoption.

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This Saturday, we are having a collection fundraiser for GLA in my hometown Cap-Pelé. I already have my trunk full and part of our garage so I’m sure we will be able to fill out the container that will be leaving Halifax in June.

Cleaning or Gardeing???

So I officially gave up cleaning my house. Well actually, my step-daughter was cleaning ever week for me and she now has a job for the summer so she won’t be able to come... and she will have her own money so she told me she will have to stop. What to do now? I hate cleaning so I decided to start gardening and that will be my excuse to hire someone else to clean my house because I just don’t have time to do everything. I hope it works LOL!

I actually started weeding one of my flower beds yesterday but realized that I was not equipped with the right tools. Its suppose to be really nice this weekend so I might go buy lots of gardening tools, plants, and decorations and just start Gardening!!!!

This evening, I went to Home Hardware to buy bird feeders. My dad used to have all kinds of birdfeeders at home and every time we visited, I was fascinated by all the different birds. I’m going to try to attract them at my place now. I managed to put up 2 feeders so we’ll see if they come and eat.

Article on my trip to Haiti

Last week, my work wrote an article on my trip to Haiti. I thought I would share the story.

Sylvie Cormier’s life-changing trip to Haiti
A journey to lend a helping hand gives ACOA IT specialist a new outlook on life and renewed hope. Sylvie Cormier volunteers at God’s Littlest Angels, a Haitian orphanage.

When a devastating earthquake struck Haiti in January, Sylvie Cormier was particularly moved.

The young client support specialist with ACOA HO’s CIOD department, who developed a special attachment to the country during previous travels, was in the middle of an adoption process with an orphanage in Haiti, and the news really hit home.

Sylvie and her husband decided just over two years ago that they wanted to adopt internationally, and had their hearts set on Haiti. “At that time, we spoke with the province of NB, and they encouraged us to look at adopting from other countries where the process was going smoothly at that time, and we followed their advice. But when our initial adoption agency in Ghana went bankrupt, we knew the right thing to do was follow our gut feeling, and start a new process in Haiti,” Sylvie says.

“The adoption process is very arduous, and I had just gotten the news that our file had moved through another step, when the earthquake shook Haiti,” she remembers. “That’s when I decided I had to fight for my dreams, and do everything I could to help make a difference. When I put my mind to something, I give it my all.”

Sylvie decided to help out first-hand by going to the orphanage in Haiti where her new adoption Agency was working. The orphanage, located in Petionville, which is outside of the disaster zone remained intact, and is now making every effort to help the country get back on its feet.

“Those efforts I knew were taking place in Haiti really kept me going here in Canada. I felt so much for these people. I was glued to the television watching the news night after night, it was quite hard to focus on anything else, and there were mornings where I was physically ill with worry,” she shares.

“One morning, I was struggling to get out from under the covers when the phone rang. I answered and… It was Shawn Graham, the premier of New Brunswick. I realized that it was a wrong number, but took the opportunity to chat with him about my adoption file which was now tied up in reviews at the provincial levels,” she continues.

“Mr. Graham told me that he and his wife had thought of adopting prior to his political career. He was very empathetic, and put me in touch with someone with the provincial government. They were very helpful and after some discussions, I managed to make arrangements to deliver my file to the adoption agency in Haiti in person.”

With a contact on the ground, and news that her adoption file would keep moving, Sylvie got to work canvassing her community for donations she could bring to Haiti. With the help of doctors and pharmacies, she was able to collect medication that wasn’t available in Haiti because of the earthquake, as well as other much needed goods.

The campaign was so successful that she and her family (who went with her to volunteer in April) filled seven suitcases, along with $3,000 in donations, for Haiti Relief – and are organizing a collection on May 22nd in Cap Pelé, New-Brunswick and are aiming to ship another container out to the orphanage which will be distributing additional goods to needy families in Haiti at the end of the month. Contact Sylvie to find out how you can help!

“I was so glad that I could help out! The response was overwhelming. There were containers clearing customs while we were there so we didn’t get to make up kits to hand out, but the orphanage’s blog keeps me posted – I just found out that the container was released and they are now working on distributing packages,” she smiles.

Sylvie proudly hand delivers her voluminous adoption file to the orphanage in Haiti.

“What I really liked about my visit to Haiti was seeing first-hand all the work that the orphanage is doing in the Haitian community. The sense of community is very strong there. Now I know that the efforts I put in are really helping people.”

And her adoption file? “I gave it to the orphanage’s director in person. It was a wonderful feeling! I am in the system now, and know that my application is being processed. It’s truly a gift. There are so many children in the world who need loving parents, and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to do my part.”

Tent cities like this one still exist everywhere in Port au Prince, but Sylvie says that amidst the tragedy, Haitians are still cheerful and full of hope. Her adventure has left her with a new outlook on life.

Sylvie says: “You go to these countries and you think you are helping them, teaching them something, but I was the one who learned something. The way people live in Haiti is amazing. Through the tragedy, they are cheerful, they are hopeful. They live for the moment, and have faith that things will turn out in the end. It’s truly inspiring.”

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother’s Day!

I want to wish all the mothers a happy mother’s day! There are so many kinds of mothers out there that we just can’t forget them. I would like to honour 2 special mothers on this beautiful day.

My Mom: for being there for me all my life. At the age of 32, I still need her as much as I did when I was young. She has given her 200% all her life to us and still is. She is loving, warm and carrying person. God has given me the best mother of all. I love her and I will always have her close to my heart.

Bernice: This wonderful mother has left us a few years ago. She however, left us with her beautiful daughters. I am very fortunate and blessed to be Nicole and Renée’s step-mom. She made the job so easy for me. They are the most well behaved and loving girls one could ever imagine.

Love you both very much xoxoxoxo

This is pictures of this years mothers day. My mom came to our place to have lobser with her sister, Nella and friends. Every Sunday, they go somewhere to eat and have fun. I am so fortunate to know that my mom is not staying home and doing nothing. She is enjoying her life!

Old childhood memories coming back to life after 20 years !!!!

Who would have known that old childhood games would come and hunt us 20 years later LOL



Well I don’t know if my dad is trying to be remembered on this weakened of Mothers day... but he is remembered alright. My husband and I don’t normally go out on dates, but today, we made a special occasion and decided to go for a HotStone massage. This was his birthday gift for February. We then went for a nice supper. We were on our way home and made a pit stop to Wal-Mart. I was in line at the cash and my cell rang. It was my mom. If you don’t know my mom, well I am nothing like her. When I tell stories, you know right away if it’s something good or bad. When you listen to her stories, you have to wait till the end to figure out if its life threatening or not... Anyways to go on with my story, my mom started by saying that she had to call 911 because she found a hand grenade while cleaning the leaves in the yard. She said there are 2 cop cars blocking both drive ways as we speak. The police officers had to drive to Gagetown (2 hr drive from Memramcook) to get the proper SWATT suites to enter the house and investigate the “hand grenade” She then explained to me that this all started early this week. She was cleaning in the yard and found this little brownish object bellow a tree. She took it in her hands and brought it inside. Never told anyone or even mentioned it to me on the phone. Today, my uncle came over to see my mom and she decided to show him the little treasure she found. When he saw that, he immediately told her what it was and told her to call the police right away. So they did. She then decided to call me after the fact. As soon as she told me the whole story, I explained to her that our dad used to bring us to a store in Memramcook called the “War Surplus”. We used to buy all kinds of war items and play war and ninjas. Growing up in the 80’s we did not play online games, we were the game LOL. We even had the camouflage makeup and the clothing. To my knowledge, we had GRENADES!!! When I told that to my mom, she was shocked. She did not believe me. She said that this particular grenade had the little pin on it. I did not remember if the ones we played with had the pin or not. I immediately called my brother in Edmonton to confirm our story and as soon as I told him he said, finally, I looked for that grenade for so long. I thought I had lost it in the woods. Well what a surprise!!! My dad mowed the lawn for the past 20 years and never did he come across the grenade. This is really funny now. My brother explained to me that at the WarSurpluse, they sell old war items. For example, the grenades that we had were used in war or at army bases for practices but they were all clean up and re-sold with the pin but nothing in it to explode. My mom drove back to the house to tell the story to the police, but they told her they still have to do a proper investigation. Only in Memramcook would you find that kind of excitement LOL! Around midnight, they called my mom to let her know it was safe to go back home. They found the whole beneath the grenade. So it was a real one, but just a souvenir! I’m sure that my dad is laughing right now. He always liked to tease and have fun. Well I guess he wanted to remind my mom of the good old days on this Mother’s Day Weekend!

NB vs Haiti !!! Its a no brainer

All I can say today is that I WANT TO BE IN HAITI! Today was very difficult to concentrate on anything else but Haiti. I read Dixie’s blog on the distribution to Kenscoff and I just want to be there. It’s no longer only about getting Kyanna home; it’s about going back to Haiti. I feel so honoured to have had the privilege of spending a week in a place that I can call home. It’s weird to say that because I’ve only spent 1 week there, but that how great the people at the orphanage and at the guest house made me feel. I’ve learned the importance of what life is all about. I just can’t seem to get that same feeling home. We are so much on a high pace life. I am trying to back off but I find myself stressing for the small stuff. I guess living in this part of the world, this is what we call being normal. I hope I can one day wake up and stop sweating the small stuff!!!


http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/andlifegoeson/

Tom posted an interesting article as well on adoptions. Its soooo true.... http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/2010/05/06/statistically-speaking-the-case-for-adoption-from-haiti/