File on its way...

So, we received word yesterday that Ottawa has sent our approval to our agency. Wooo Hoo. So, I believe our file is on its way to Ethiopia today. Now the wait (the long, torturous wait) begins. So, when we began to update our homestudy we were told 6-8 months to wait for our referral. Now, it is more like 8-12. That is OK though. As long as I know that in the end, our Amara will be home, I can deal with the next year.

Darryl and I celebrated with my mum last night. It was her birthday so we took her out for dinner. It was wonderful. Then we came home around 9 and we took Rex for a long walk. We got 15cm of snow yesterday so seeing little Rex try to get through the snow was funny. Plus it was a great workout for me. I wear my husband's construction boots because they weigh 10 pounds each and they protect my feet from sharp things (joke, i don't have appropriate footwear for the snow). By the end of the walk I couldn't feel my ass anymore. Great workout.

So, today is day 10 of not smoking. I am feeling a lot better. I suffered nose bleeds, headaches, night sweats, temper rages, and the list goes on. Darryl has quit too. I am very proud of both of us.

While in Cuba I read, There is No Me Without You. Great true story about a woman who runs an orphanage in Ethiopia. The book describes, in detail, the way that orphans feel about losing their bio parents. Reading this book, I thought, who the Hell do I think I am? Our Amara will have already lost two parents. I don't think I would be respecting her parents very much if we sat here in North America, on our high horses, smoking - when her parents would have made a choice for her not to have to watch them die. So, out of a deep respect for her bio parents and their choices and because, quite simply, we don't want to be smoking parents, we are now on day 10 without nicotine. I never want to smoke again.