Blog Comments - Keep Them Coming!

It's great when folks choose to comment on a blog post - I enjoy knowing people are reading, and it's also a lovely way of getting feedback and hearing about shared experiences. Thanks!

Hopefully Just a Blip...

Heading into the weekend, it seems a bit of turbulence in the Ghana orphanage world is going to create at least a small delay in adoption process in Canada and perhaps more broadly...for now, we will hope it is simply a small delay while some issues are resolved and investigated (which is important, so there is no blame to be laid). One never knows, though, what this may mean, so pray for these issues, including clarity and clear communication between involved parties, and an openness to resolution and efficient restoration of the system. Also pray for families waiting for referrals, and in particular those who have referrals already as these unknowns and delays can be so hard to bear.

The Waiting & Matching Process

Here's a link from our agency's website explaining some of the factors involved in matching a child and family, as well as some of the steps that happen before a referral can be given to a waiting family:

http://www.imagineadoption.ca/process_childplacementandmatching.html

We field regular questions about the length of the process, and when we "expect" news - there really isn't a timeframe, and this link helps explain why that is. We try not to expect anything, and will just be surprised & excited when our turn comes! If you have an urge to ask us a question about our adoption, feel free to inquire about things like the nursery, baby products, minivans, etc. - we can happily give you answers & opinions on those things, just not about adoption timeframes & updates.

Gladwyn

Happy will now be known as Gladwyn, a lovely name and a noun with both English (the name) and Latin (the noun, gladius) roots:

Gladwyn - name meaning "happy friend" (in honour of her original name, Happy)

Gladwyn - "sword grass" - used generally in regard to plants referred to as "sword lily" (including Gladiolus) and specifically to the Gladwyn Iris (iris foetidissima) - most Gladioli species are native to southern and tropical Africa, and the Gladwyn Iris grows in Europe & North Africa (so I managed to get my Africa connection in, too...)

And, both Gladiolus & the Gladwyn Iris are members of the iridaceae family, as is the Hesperantha Coccinea (evening flower) - see my May 6, 2008 Hesper post for more info on that naming adventure!

Thanks to the following sites (and more, and Google) for these research findings:
paghat.com
dictionary.net
wikipedia.com
babynamesonline.co.uk

And now, I think I am all "name-researched-out" for this week.

Remembering Gatsby

Today (April 11) marks the first anniversary of my lovely boy's death after two short weeks of illness last spring. I love this photo that captures his quiet nature - this won a 2nd place ribbon in a local fall fair a couple of years ago - thanks Gatsby! Our new foxhound girl really reminds me of Gatsby in some ways, with her lanky, muscular build and white fur with ticking...not to mention the soulful eyes. I could never replace my sweet boy, but it is a kind reminder to see pieces of him in other dogs.

Another Addition to the Family!

Here she is! Our beautiful new adoptee has arrived & is just what I imagined her to be. We were able to pick her up Good Friday instead of Saturday, which is great as we have the whole day with her today to help her settle in before our big day out Easter Sunday with church & family dinner. We met at a halfway point in a parking lot, and she was pretty shaky, but showed her curious side as well (it was fun to meet two of her friends who came to send her off, both large male coonhounds). After I opened the side van door to sit & sign paperwork, she decided to climb in & lie down on the dog bed all on her own, so that was that. She was quiet on the ride home, and pretty timid in the house and yard at first, but interested in exploring all the same. Cats weren't an issue on first meeting, which is good, and later on...

...she quite happily climbed on the couch - actually, she did that as soon as she came into the living room, where she spent the rest of the evening with us. Hesperantha seems pretty interested in her, and is quite an easy-going dog, although she has decided to make sure that Happy (new name to be determined soon) knows Hesper gets first dibs on laps & so on.

This morning, Happy is showing very encouraging signs of increased comfort. She has explored the yard thoroughly, and after being a little nervous with Hesper's rather enthusiastic efforts to initiate play, she decided to join in, as you can see! Hesper is hilarious - she just streaks up past other dogs, dashes in front of them, tears in circles around them...I think she will definitely enjoy having another young dog around who likes to play as well.

We will have to work with Happy on coming downstairs again once she gets up, as we've had to carry her down twice now...but that will come. She slept soundly on the dog bed beside me last night, and will take bits of food & treats from me - although the other dogs are making her a bit too nervous to focus on a whole meal at the moment. Anyway, she's gorgeous, and feels like our dog already. We look forward to getting to know her!

Irresistable...

Announcing our current adoption in progress...of a beautiful one year-old Penn-Marydel Foxhound who was surrendered to the Canadian Hound Rescue at 5 months of age. The plan is to meet her this Friday & bring her home! Hoping she & Hesperantha enjoy each other, as Hesper would like a playmate. We think she's quite stunning!

(Name to be announced)

Celebrity Adoption

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/04/03/madonna.reaction.adoption.malawi/index.html

With Madonna's latest adoption in the news, I wanted to post this link to an interview with an author and mom of internationally adopted children. She makes some important points about the need for children to be in families as early in life as possible, and that these needs are international - some parents are called to adopting from their home countries, and others from around the world. As well, she comments on the truth that international adoption is not the ultimate answer - it cannot reach most children in orphanages, and does not solve the social and economic issues leading to children being placed in orphanages, but it does meet the needs of those children who would otherwise not be growing up in families. She also comments on the negative press given to celebrities who choose to adopt internationally, and some of the assumptions made about the ethics and legality of these "celebrity adoptions" - and I agree so much - judging their choices only hurts the image of international adoption and perpetuates the belief that it is appropriate to comment on situations with which we have only a media-filtered awareness. Anyway, have a look at the interview, and see what you think!