the little northern journey

2008-09-21T19:39:00.000-07:00

Kaden was so excited to be going golfing with dada, grammie, Gibby, Aunt Carol and Uncle Dean. I was there but mostly for the photo opps!

kaden loved the beach this summer but still shyed from the water! he could have spent hours playing in the sand!

our first attempt to toilet train- a little social story about peeing was more for entertainment value than educational!

2008-09-21T19:17:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been over a year since I've written about Kaden! Focusing on the present isn't enough! Just looking at pictures of Kaden makes me realize just how much he's grown and how cute he was with the chubby cheeks! He's now over 38 inches- when I measured at 2 1/2 years- this should mean that he'll be 6'2" as an adult! He's a tall kid as it is and is very determined when he wants something! There's definately a balancing act between encouraging independence and wanting to squash those boundary buttons that keep getting pushed!

Here's the boy in August of 2008 at 2 1/2!

2007-08-13T19:08:00.000-07:00

Kaden is spending this summer exercising his curiousity and his legs! He loves animals and things with wheels, especially my car!

Like my tattoo?

Kaden loves to sit behind the steering wheel and press every available button. Here he is checking out my CD collection, thankfully there are no originals in the case!

2007-04-22T20:04:00.000-07:00

We've had a long winter of building up Kaden's immune system and I think he's pulled through fairly well! Brian and I, on the other hand had our systems tested, again and again!

Kaden continues to delight us with the typical baby stuff like talking and walking! He still thinks that crawling gets him places faster than walking. He loves books and music and he's got a pretty good throwing arm! As you can see from the pics he's a mover and a shaker and loves a new adventure!

Judging by the yogurt explosion, I guess the time to give Kaden independence with his spoon skills is NOT in the car! We are all learning together and enjoying him immensely!

Kaden is now letting me put gear on his head for dress up opportunities and Brian continues to go along with my need to do things with a theme! Easter at Karen's was celebrated with a 'biker' theme and we had as much fun hunting down the clothing options as we did hunting down the eggs!

2007-04-22T19:45:00.000-07:00

Hello again! Time flies by and I try to keep taking pictures of the 'firsts' that are happening on a daily basis. Updating the blog is another challenge! Here is Kaden in March '06 and we were celebrating the end of the time frame for reversing the initial adoption decision. It took us a year of paperwork etc. to finalize the adoption, and on March 2nd, 2007 we had that opportunity to celebrate in court and sign the papers! We were very thankful to Linda and Jimmy who had to sign the consent forms again, a year later when paperwork went missing!

Here's a few shots of Kaden celebrating St. Paddy's day with his grand aunties! He absolutely loves the accordian!

2007-01-28T08:56:00.000-08:00

We have had an eventful year with much to celebrate! 2 days before Kaden had his first birthday, he had tubes put in his ears as he was getting too many ear infections. Then, on the big day, we had our first storm with schools canceled. Kaden had his daycare party the next day with lots of treats!

Then he was toasted 2 more times, once with friends at the Farmer's Market, and one more time with family! Cousin Shane even played piano as we sang "happy birthday" to our sweet boy! A good time was had by all and Kaden, I think, got the idea that he is very much loved by many many people!

2007-01-28T08:39:00.000-08:00

Christmas came very quickly for us this year with many firsts to experience. First there was the reality that Kaden hates hats so in order for costume momma to get him dressed up in the festive moment, she had to sneak the santa hat on while he was sleeping! He did however, agree to wear the red seal skin vest for our first family picture taking event!

Here Kaden receives a treat from Santa at his daycare Christmas concert. His group did a little play with costume hats, but as you can tell by the picture, his did not stay on.
Christmas was quiet yet full of good food and lots of packages for Kaden to open. Despite the beautiful toys and clothes he received, his favorite seemed to be the new canister vaccuum cleaner! Pictured here is Kaden's cousin Carissa, Auntie Carol, daddy, mommy, and Gibby. Missing are Grammy (taking the picture) and uncle Dean (poor guy had the flu on Christmas day!)

2006-11-15T18:05:00.000-08:00

Here are a few updated shots of Kaden keeping me busy before I went back to work!
I think I should send in the shot of Kaden in the Toronto Maple Leafs shirt with the Labatt's blue bottle "how to raise an all-Canadian baby!" (sorry Habs fans)

Kaden is seen in his high chair finally able to wear the beautiful seal skin slippers that Lorna gave him!

It was quite a feat to get Kaden to not be afraid of water, so a picture of him smiling in the tub is quite an accomplishment!

The last shot is how I found him one day while I was chatting on the phone (obviously not within view of him!) Isn't he great to help with the dishes!

2006-11-15T17:55:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how the time has flown this fall! Kaden will be 10 months this weekend and he's grown so much, not just in weight, but in personality! He is a very social being with a contagious smile and sparkling eyes (not that we're biased!)

This fall, he visited his first pumkin patch as well as attempt to gather apples at a local apple orchard. I think he's decided that the apples taste better than the pumpkins!

2006-08-29T17:37:00.000-07:00

Kaden's trip to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland was the highlight of the summer. Not only did he go on 3 ferry trips, but he got to meet some new people as well as see others he hadn't seen since he was 2 weeks old! Kiara Janes and Noah Zinck are 2 of the first friends he's made that he got to visit with. While in NL, we had the chance to meet other families who've adopted Inuit children. They have organized yearly gatherings to get the kids and parents together, and graciously let us crash the party. It was great to learn about the children and hear the parent's stories. We hope to see them again some day! Here's a picture of several of the kids showing off their craftiness. Brian is seen here with some of the people we worked and socialized with in Iqaluit.

2006-08-19T15:03:00.000-07:00

Kaden has grown much stonger with age. He loves to stand and can now pull himself up in his crib to standing position! He's also sitting well on his own and eating everything within arms reach! The jolly jumper is amazing for his legs as he could bounce for hours it seems! He's seen here pole dancing with grammy Betty!

2006-08-19T14:48:00.000-07:00

This summer has been busy with getting out to enjoy the beautiful weather and go to the beach. Kaden does NOT like the water, but sure does like the sand!

2006-07-04T19:15:00.000-07:00

Kaden also got to spend time with the Irish side of family including Grand Aunties Charlotte, Marg and Pat and cousins Rose, Liz and Karen. Kaden saw his first pool and hot tub at Liz's house when we visited, but he was not in the mood for a swim! Scott, however, showed us how to enjoy both as he was wet the whole visit!

Nanna Ada had lots of fun playing with Kaden during the visit. If it wasn't for the fact that he's over 20 pounds, I'd never have seen him!

We also had the chance to meet with some friends! Wende and Steph were in Toronto from Iqaluit for a very special event! We also met up with Claire and Paul Holt and little Rachel and Michaela for a quick visit. We'll see them later this summer in Halifax!

All in all, it was a great, but busy visit to the big city. Kaden minded the heat, but the malls were air conditioned, so he managed to survive the heat and mommy's constant shopping! He even survived a 2 day road trip from Toronto to PEI!

Here daddy is celebrating Kaden's return home. Both Kaden and I needed a few days to catch up on sleep!

2006-07-04T18:59:00.000-07:00

Kaden had lots of fun in Toronto meeting his Maltese relatives! Nanu (grandfather) Norma andMichael met Kaden at the air port upon arrival.

Kaden also met his auntie Joyce and cousins Aaron (high school graduate), Amy, and Aaden (kindergarten graduate). Auntie Dorothy and her boyfriend Dave, thought he was pretty cute when they met him. It was great for him to meet more family members. They didn't pinch his cheeks too much!

2006-06-11T11:05:00.000-07:00

Kaden has been busy these days, concentrating on growing. Here he is at his first wedding shower as the "stripper"! The bride-to-be was delighted with his dance moves!! He's almost 5 months here! Keep posted for the Toronto adventure pictures coming soon...

2006-05-21T12:31:00.000-07:00

HI All!
Our camera is on the blink, so we have not taken any pictures lately. I'm working on something.

All is well. Kaden just turned 4 months and weighs 17.3 pounds! Everyone is shocked when we tell them his age! He loves to stand, especially on my chest and look down at me and drool! Drooling is big right now and he's grumpy at times with sensitive gums. He loves to suck on wet face cloths!

The weather here has been very warm and this has posed a problem for Kaden. He is a walking furnace and gets easily overheated in his car seat. I have to carry an extra set of clothing for when he sweats profusely, and we have a cotton hand towel between he and the car seat to keep him cooler. It will be quite a challenge to keep him cool at the beach this summer!

We are heading to Toronto in June to meet more family members, especially his Maltese grandfather (Nanu) and his aunties and 11 year old uncle! I plan to have some type of camera available for this event!

So thanks for your patience! I will have pictures in June to show you how much he's grown since Easter!

Rachel, Brian and Kaden

2006-04-17T17:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter everyone! The flowers are beginning to pop out and the easter bunny was busy hiding eggs for Karen's annual Easter car rally and hunt! Kaden had a great time as did I (any excuse to wear a costume or prop!) Kaden has just turned 3 months and is a healthy, happy, wiggling boy! We are blessed that he is healthy and off the baby weight and height charts! Thank goodness he has lots of clothes as he's growing out of them and only getting to wear some items once or twice! He's even sleeping longer during the night time, although not straight through yet. Life is so much better when the birds are out and the flowers are in bloom!

2006-04-09T16:26:00.000-07:00

It's been an adjustment for the cats to have someone else compete for our attention. Dexter (black and white) and Max have graciously allowed Kaden to take up part of their crib and basinette! (Don't worry, these pictures are staged)

Max likes to sleep near Kaden on the couch. It's like he's watching out for him. They come in his room with me during the night for feedings and Max watches us from the crib. Dexter usually goes underneath. The old tinfoil ball trick usually gets them out the room so I can close the door once he's fed and changed.

Life is fairly calm these days. The weather is getting warmer and Kaden's eczema has cleared up from his cheeks. I'll be taking more pictures to keep everyone updated on spring in PEI! We're hoping the Easter bunny will hop on by to meet Kaden!

2006-03-16T18:22:00.000-08:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day all! Kaden was getting ready for the big event a little early by dressing up with his Nana Ada and Grammy Betty. What's that they say about the fruit not falling far from the tree?

Kaden will get his initiation to the big green celebration today. Maybe he'll get to kiss the blarney stone or win a prize for smallest leprechaun!

2006-03-10T05:49:00.000-08:00

Kadenwill be 8 weeks on Tuesday. Just wanted to show how much he's filled in! He weighed in at 12.3 pounds last week compared to the 7 pounds he weighed at 1 week! As my doctor said "that's one well fed baby!"

His legs are very strong as is his grip, especially when he's trying to avoid the bathtub! Leanne, I think you might be on to something!

2006-03-09T18:31:00.000-08:00

Well Kaden, it's time the truth be known. Your mother loves to dress up, your father puts up with your mother trying to dress him up, and now it's your turn!

Welcome to our family Kaden! You are now officially an island boy! (I'll pay for the psychotherapy when you get older!)

Tell me this isn't cute!!

2006-03-09T18:21:00.000-08:00

This has been a celebratory week as we are now able to truly introduce Kaden as "our son". We are fortunate to have so many friends and family to celebrate with who all love Kaden as we do!

I don't think I saw Kaden for more than 2 minutes the night we celebrated at Carolyn's house! Lots of snuggling with Kaden that night!

2006-02-27T19:31:00.000-08:00

This week Kaden met 2 former Nunavut residents. Trish in the white used to be the Librarian at Artic College in Iqaluit and lived beside Gabrielle, the famed videographer for Kaden's journey. She recently moved to Charlottetown and is getting used to "the island way". She and I bumped into each other at a curling event this past fall- she recognized me as working at Rannva's seal skin apparel shop!

Nancy (above) used to teach in Pangnirtung where Kaden's parents live. In fact, Nancy taught and coached Jimmy for 2 years. What a small world! She told us that Jimmy is good at print making, so we hope to see some of his work that she has acquired. Jimmy is reportedly 6 feet tall and was a good basketball player! This excites both of us as we are basketball fans and are hoping that Kaden will have inherited some b-ball talents!

Kaden's maternal adoptive grandmother arrives tomorrow to meet him for the first time. It will be great to have a second pair of hands as I'm finding the days go by so quickly with little accomplished when Kaden's awake!

2006-02-20T19:30:00.000-08:00

They really are asleep! This is Brian after a full season of coaching Midget A girl's basketball. They had just won the provincial championshios and the coach was wooping it up in celebration (see below). We both are learning well the concept of sleep deprivation!

2006-02-20T19:24:00.000-08:00

Kaden loves this sheep's wool pillow. Peek a boo! I'm not publishing the naked bum shots on this pillow, so cute, but the nipple shot was far enough!

2006-02-20T19:21:00.000-08:00

This past week has been a quiet one, except for cupid visiting Kaden and making him wear this bib! Little does Kaden know how many costume outfits his mother will make him put on when it's not even Hallowe'en! Froggies and Frenchy's second hand clothes shops are the best for fun stuff like this, thanks to Carolyn!

2006-02-13T08:52:00.000-08:00

It was windy during the night, but died by the morning and Brian was able to stay home another day with us! Yay!

Lorna suggested that I focus the blog now on Kaden's PEI journey, his introduction to all things PEI! I will provide weekly updates of pictures and events (if there are any) to keep you updated on his progress.

He's hungry, I can hear him calling me!

2006-02-13T08:49:00.000-08:00

This is what Kaden was doing during his first experience with a snow storm. By PEI standards, it was pretty good at the height of it, but it didn't last long enough. I like them when they last 3 days! By Nunavut standards, it was a dusting of snow. Kaden loves to be warm!

2006-02-13T05:49:00.000-08:00

Dawn comes over almost daily to squeeze Kaden and bring him treats! The latest were little wooden whales she painted for his room!

2006-02-13T05:46:00.000-08:00

Kaden is getting lots of admirers come to his new home! Carolyn, Molly and Shane met us at the airport with balloons and signs! Stella dropped in to hold him and brought lunch! Grampy Roger couldn't wait to hold the "little blessing"!

2006-02-13T05:39:00.000-08:00

here are a few more pictures of the home coming! Grammy Betty wouldn't let go of Kaden once she got hold of him! I think she likes him!

2006-02-09T06:15:00.000-08:00

Watching sports together!

2006-02-09T06:13:00.000-08:00

Bonding at it's best!

2006-02-09T06:10:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures of Brian's first moments with Kaden. They spent much of that afternoon hanging out and getting to know each other!

2006-02-08T15:53:00.000-08:00

Our welcome home committee! Aunts, uncles, cousins and of course, Grammi Betty were all anxious to meet the little bundle of joy! (Brian was out assempbing the car seat!)

2006-02-08T15:46:00.000-08:00

Auntie Carol and cousin Carissa surprised us at the airport in Halifax!

2006-02-08T15:29:00.000-08:00

I managed to say goodbye to most people, but there were a few people that I didn't get to see before leaving which was hard.

I have so many people to thank who have supported our journey and lent a helping hand during our stay in Iqaluit. I will be in contact soon!

Here we are on our flight to Ottawa. Wonderful food as usual and extra space to lay Kaden down. My cousin MaryAnne met us at the airport and we spent the next day chatting and, of course, shopping!

2006-02-08T14:00:00.000-08:00

My last visit to the school and I was able to see a few more students and say goodbye to friends.

2006-02-08T13:50:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay in sending pictures! I had to figure out a different way to send pics!

The day I left was a busy one with many last minute things to! Those that know me well are probably rolling their eyes right asbout now! I didn't get to meet Terri's brother in person to give him his honking Tim Horton's cofee, but I wanted to take a picture of the bar that Terri's dad worked at for many years and was named after him. Rory, Terri's bro, works there now.

2006-02-01T08:37:00.000-08:00

Not flesh of my flesh,

Nor bone of my bone,

But nevertheless, still my own.

Never forget for a single minute,

You weren't born under my heart,

But in it.

The consent to adopt papers have been signed. THus begins our journey home.

Keep watching for more shots of the last day in Iqaluit and the events along the way back to PEI.

2006-01-31T09:01:00.000-08:00

It's been wonderful to visit friends!

Rannva is still creating seal skin coats and accessories and doing well with it.

Ross had me over for a tasty roast beef dinner!

The 3 children helped their mom care for Kaden during his first few days in the world! Annie, the youngest, wanted to call him "Tootoo" perhaps like Jordan Tootoo, the hockey player. If Kaden's prominent calves are any indication, he'll definately be sports minded. And if Brian has any thing to do with it, Kaden will be involved in every sport, watching TSN with dad! Gabrielle and I take a break during a gathering at her place- good food, great childhood stories!

My time is short. I leave tomorrow back down south and will land in PEI on Friday! I can't wait!

2006-01-31T07:21:00.000-08:00

Here are a few more shots of Kaden, mostly asleep. I put the shot with me in it to represent one of the first times Kaden projectile vomited down my top!

2006-01-31T06:37:00.000-08:00

I had the chance to sit in on a sewing class held to teach traditional parka making. Wolf fur is being measured for making mittens.

Dorothy watches Kaden while her mom, Mary in the background, adjusts a woman's parka lining. The 2 girls are working on caribou hide to soften it for making inuit boots - kamuks. If you look closely at the girl on the right, you might recognize her as the star of the Snowwalker movie! They were gracious in allowing me to watch. At one point, Mary pulled out a frozen char from the freezer, and the women sat around cutting off pieces of frozen char to eat along with some frozen black berries and home made bannock. Many Inuit deep fry their bannock. Hard on the arteries, but tastes great!

2006-01-31T05:57:00.000-08:00

I visited the museum to see the latest northern exhibits and contemplate some carvings and jewelery for sale. It's the most reasonable place to purchase art aside from the restaurants. I also went to a market held every Saturday where I bumped into a few sewers, Mary and Ooleepeeka, I used to work with in our school sewing program. Saila Kipanik is the carver who made the whales and seal carvings on display in my living room. He does wonderful work and is known for his fluid tails. I picked up the knit hat for Kaden!

2006-01-30T13:11:00.000-08:00

Inuksuk High has changed as well as the students! A 32 camera surviellance system was put in place to increase security there!

Here are some school decorations - an Inuit drum for drum dancing; a caribou skin and a seal skin traditionally laid out for drying.

2006-01-30T10:11:00.000-08:00

While touring the school, I bumped into a few students who've accomplished alot since I last saw them! Lilly is in grade 12 now and actually Kaden's second cousin, and Akeeshoo is now in grade 11. Staying in school has been a challenge as many students drop out after grade 8 or 9.

Here is some artwork that the students have decorated the school with. Lots of talent here!

2006-01-30T10:00:00.000-08:00

It takes a lot of practice to get Kaden in and out of the amouti. There is actually a pouch behind the hood for him to rest. As you can see, he lies vertically against my back and travels with me like that. It's very warm in there for him, especially because I need to put extra blankets in there to support him because he's slipped on a few occassions onto his back! I just have to pull the hood up around my neck to protect him from the elements when outside.

Amouti's come in different styles according to the community. Men have their own versions as well seeing as this is the snuggly of the north!

2006-01-30T09:53:00.000-08:00

After visiting with some former staff, I made my way to the Inuktitut classroom where I knew Mary and Malaya would be to help me put the finishing touches on my amouti.

2006-01-30T09:27:00.000-08:00

My next stop was to the high school where I used to work. The white building is one of the 3 elementary schools (gr. 1-4). There is a middle school (gr. 5-7) and one high school (gr. 8-12). Snow mobiles are commonly parked around town as well as komatiks, the sled pictured here that carries supplies or animal carcasses while hunting.

2006-01-28T19:37:00.000-08:00

One of my first ventures out was to the grocery stores. Northmart is the main store and it's like Walmart... you can by guns and beans all under one roof!

Here are some prices to compare with ours! Rhe orange juice sells for $8.99!

The other store, Arctic Ventures, has a grocery store on the main level, a Radio Shack, video rental shop and a mini Inuit book and souvenir shop. I like it better there because they sell President's Choice products! A recent strategy employed by the owner to detract youth from hanging out on the doorstep has been to loudly play opera music outside the building. It works!

2006-01-25T12:51:00.000-08:00

the last few days have been more quiet with getting used to a routine. Lots of sleeping, eating and changing poopy bums!

Check out the cute infant parka and seal skin boots (called kamuks).

I hope to get out in the next couple of days to take pictures of people and places around town! All is well here, but I'm getting the itch to move around town! I just have to figure out how to do it around feedings!

2006-01-24T08:38:00.000-08:00

It took Brian and I until Monday to decide on a name. We wanted a name with some meaning, and ideally an Inuit name. We vito'd many of the names each of us thought were appropriate. We asked Linda's family if the Inuit names we found on the internet had the same meaning as was listed, and they weren't even close. It must have been a different dialect of Inuktitut. We finally agreed upon Kaden, an Arabic origin, which means "companion". The official name is
Kaden Brian Amosee Gillis. Amosee was a name chosen by Linda's grandmother and came from a deceased elder in the community. This is a tradition of Inuit to name a child after someone from the community who has passed on. Gender is not an issue in terms of the name given that child, nor is it an issue among peers.

The baby boots were given to us from Rachel and Travis Hoffe, who bought them from a local woman selling them at the restaurant. It is common practice for Inuit to go around to each table selling carvings, jewellery and other crafts. It can actually get a bit competitive in terms of seeing something on display at another table and knowing that if those people bought it, you were out of luck. We used to strategically place ourselves near the entry way so we would be one of the first tables to be approached. That's shopping for you!

Rowan, sorry, but Kaden I guess is a Toronto Maple Leafs fan! He was wearing these socks when I met him. Aren't you proud Adrian and Jim?

2006-01-24T08:27:00.000-08:00

It's been great getting re-acquainted with people I haven't seen for a while! Stephanie is top left, PEI Lorna is top right, and Wende is bottom left. I can't wait to see more folks as it's been 2 years from seeing some people.

2006-01-24T07:01:00.000-08:00

This is how I spent much of the first two days - holding my nameless son and talking on the phone!

I honestly didn't see his eyes until day 2.

2006-01-23T19:28:00.000-08:00

Alexia (on the top with her daughter, Cassia) is a former student of Brian's and a part of this story. In September, we started spreading the word that we were hoping to adopt. It was Alexia who first reported a cousin in Pangnirtung who was pregnant. We never heard more from her. When she opened the door on Friday, it didn't take too long to make the connection!

Michele, holding Cassia, has been a huge support forLinda with both sons. She and her family, took our baby in when he was unexpectedly born 4 days before my arrival. She cared for him and provided a relaxing atmosphere for recouperation while waiting for our meeting. She is a guardian angel if I ever met one!

2006-01-23T19:13:00.000-08:00

Linda has displayed courage I have rarely seen. I am in awe of her strength in making her decision. She truly loves her son.

This had to be the most emotional event of my life. The adrenolin was high preparing for the meeting, and the tears flowed when we all stood there and Linda put her son in my arms. Linda was supported at this meeting with her aunt, cousin, and friend, Michele. Rachel and Gabrielle were with me for support and to take pictures and video clips for Brian. I was a mess in my attempt to express my respect and gratitude for allowing us to raise her son.

2006-01-23T17:44:00.000-08:00

it's the big day, and I best be wearing my lucky socks! FirstAir has great meals, refills of tea galore, hot cookies later on and candies just before landing!

2006-01-23T17:36:00.000-08:00

no trees here! Just snow, ice and tundra. Rachel and Todd met me at the airport! Rachel is the person who called that fateful day and has been a wonderful support throughout!

Gabrielle and kids surprised me at the airport. She also has been a great source of support, keeping me in the loop of possible scenerios.

2006-01-23T16:56:00.000-08:00

Air Jazz can't be used to people flying north, lest they understand the need to cram as much stuff into a bag! Poundage changed from 70 lbs per bag to 50. The attendant overlooked the few extra pounds after hearing my journey, but was not able to change the $100 extra cost for an extra bag. Paying for carrying a baby car seat did not make sense, so Betty and I crammed what was in the 3d bag (minus a car seat) into the existing bags. We looked just like the picture about where my cousin MaryAnne and I are attempting the same thing after I remembered I needed to pick up just a few more things...

During my stop over in Halifax, I was able to hook up with Michelle Zinck (thanks to her dad) a teacher friend I met up north who adopted Noah (now 2). She was a great help in reassuring me that the process is different and she experienced the same thing. He's a cutie eh?

2006-01-23T16:53:00.000-08:00

For those of you who haven't seen these pics, Linda is the birth mom and this is Victor, baby's 14 month older brother!

2006-01-15T17:49:00.000-08:00

It all started with a phone call from Rachel Janes on Sunday December 2nd. I had 15 relatives over for brunch when the call came for me to write down a phone number of a young woman who wanted to give her baby up. I had to keep it a secret until all relatives left and we could collect our thoughts around what to say.

How awkward yet liberating to talk to someone directly about the possibility of caring for her child! I was very nervous! Everything went well and we spoke a few days later to give time to think of more questions to ask. We didn't talk again until after the new year.

Linda was due to come to Iqaluit on a Friday, January 6th, so I called that Monday to determine her status. Thursday night came and she still wasn't sure where she would stay once she got to Iqaluit. She hadn't seen a social worker yet either. We got a little nervous!

We heard from Linda the following Tuesday night. She was at a friend's house. It was then that we learned that Jimmy, the birth father, had reservations. The rollercoaster of emotions had begun its decent. We waited until Friday to give the birth parents time to talk and come to a decision. We didn't sleep well that week but we knew the prayers and positive energy were flowing in support of our journey! The adoption agent in Nunavut kicked into gear at this point.

Monday came and we were going to explode, hoping that no news was good news, and dreading making a call. Linda bet us to the phone call with good news that everything was a go and I could fly out on Thursday!! We had a great chat and the baby was kicking hard that night.

Tuesday January 17th was a great day of planning and shopping for we hadn't purchased anything, erring on the side of caution. And while I was blissfully shopping, I was oblivious of the flurry of activity going on both in Iqaluit and PEI!!

Our baby had been unexpectantly born on this day at 4:26 am after a 2 hour labour! No one knew how to contact either Brian or myself at work, so Rachel Janes thought to contact all my prayers out there on the internet in hopes that someone would contact us for her. Adrian Smith managed to get hold of Brian by halling him out of a basketball practice. Brian found out the news around 4:30 pm and I found out as I walked in the door of our house at 6:30 pm. Rachel had been to the hospital to provide us with proof of our gift.

Wednesday was a blur in that I can't remember what I did that day, but it was a painfully long day knowing that our baby was thousands of miles away and I wouldn't see him until Friday.

I am with him now in Iqaluit and a new journey has begun, well actually two.... Brian and I can't find a name we both like, or that suits our boy! What's up with us and names??

Stay tuned for more on our journey!