Fires, Tantrums and rafts

Fire on the Palm Jumeriah yesterday.Fires on constructions sites seem to be happening more and more here in Dubai. Happily, this time, no-one was seriously hurt.



No news still Nepal and to be honest, it is getting harder and harder to deal with the waiting and the unknown time-scale.

We have 'met' a lady who adopted her son (and is now waiting to complete the adoption of her daughter) from the same orphanage (Sagarmatha Childrens Home) and she told me that she tries to 'surrender to what will be'.



I think this is beautiful and it has become my mantra now as well.
Gosh, don't I sound saintly and serene?
Truth is, not VERy far below the surface of both of us is a child that is seriously on the brink of having a major melt-down!!












You know the sort of the thing - shoes and socks off in the department store, screaming, laying on the floor - until someone damn well gives in and gives us what we want!!!!!!!!!




Ashamed to admit ............ I've done this ........ in my early years, you understand ......... to Por Por (my Chinese granny) ........ can't remember if it worked or not actually.



In the meantime we keep going with normal life (whatever that exactly is here) and try not to get too wierd.

Think in our society we are brought up to believe that you can make pretty much anything happen if you want it to if you are prepared to put the hard work in, try hard enough etc etc - so 'surrendering to what will be' is quite a concept to embrace.

Remind me some time to share with you my comparison between the process of international adoption and being on a raft in the middle of the ocean.

Reading blogs of others who have weathered the storms and waves and paddled furiously, felt like giving up - is a real comfort and inspiration - seeing their kids, helps keep you focussed.

Actually the best blog I've ever read (actually I've only been reading blogs in about the last 2 months so it is true that my sample size isn't huge) and I cannot recommend highly enough is:

http://www.conorgrennan.net/

Actually I think it has just stopped being one of the Bootsnall travel website blogs to a full-on website. Anyway, this guy is amazing, doing amazing stuff and HILARIOUS!!

I hope that next time we are in Kathmandu, we can go and see him and meet some of the kids he writes about - feel like I know some of them now.

Anyway, let's see whether this posting will actually work today. Last night I beavered away for hours and then the whole thing disappeared - let me tell you, saintly words did not spring forth from my lips.

ta-ra for now

Introducing a rather Special Someone!

Most of you will know by now that for about the last 18 months Chris and I have been trying to adopt a child from Nepal.

After a pretty long journey, though not as long as many we know, on 24 November, we received our Referral. It came in email form and in the subject line it said 'You have a son'!!!!

here is the first image we had of our baby:

(oops sorry, will rotate it next time!!)

Anyway, on the morning of 1st Jan 2007, we flew out on Air Arabia from Sharjah Airport direct to Kathmandu Airport.

Sadly we knew that we would have to make this trip to sign papers etc etc and get the chance to meet him but not be able to bring him home as we need to wait for a court date at the Nepal end to officially complete the adoption.

Won't bore you with the details of the trips to British Embassy, Department of Children/Women and Welfare (or something) and doctors - but we did manage to start to get to know Nepal.

A truely fascinating country so poor and yet so rich! Despite alot of difficulties, we both felt there was such an energy and positivity amongst the people we met that was very inspiring.

Their attitude towards driving is a an awesome example of Buddhist thought - there is a calm belief that all will get where they need to be, everything in Life changes and therefore no need to get too het up about what is happening at this instant - all will get to where they need to be by being patient and 'being in the present'!!

Anyway enough of that.

On to the Sargamatha Childrens Home (www.childrennepal.org.np)

The moment of meeting Baby (sorry still no name although NO shortage of nicknames, poor kid) was not the emotion charged that many adoptive parents have reported. He was actually fast asleep and I think I said something like "So THIS is where you are, we've been looking everywhere for you!"

Chris went to play football with the older boys downstairs.

It wasn't long though until the ladies looking after him woke him up for a feed and I got to give it to him!

His birthday is 24 September and he was just over 3 months when we met him.

He is absolutely adorable and positively squeezable and very cuddly - although he was a bit poorly on this first day with a nasty cough.

Poor little boy had just been woken up and was clearly feeling fairly grotty but then ..............................................

...................................he met Chris and

he thought he was the funniest thing he's ever seen:

We could bang on for hours and hours about him and have rapidly become the dreaded Baby Bores!!

Sadly we did have to leave him behind and we said our goodbyes on 5th Jan. We prepared ourselves for this and the initial parting was not too painful though, oddly, our house feels rather empty now - strange as he's never been here.

HOpefully, we will travel to see him in March/April time and then we hope it won't be too much longer to wait to bring him home.

We'll keep you updated!!