some more pics

Poulsen gorgeous kids

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

WOW. I just can't believe how time flies.My last blog was back on Dec 1 08 and here i sit at the end of January wondering where the time has gone..So much has happened and never enough time to sit down and add to my blog page.



December was filled with last day at school in grade 5 for Jake and Tayn and Zian were attending kindy two days a week. We had Tayn and Zians xmas concerts in late December and what a treat that was...

Christmas this year was celebrated with Dave's family in Cairns and we visited for 5 days..had a lovely time and kids enjoyed being trully spoilt by them.Thanks to Kim for giving up her unit for us to stay in aorconditiong comfort.

Boxing day:
ZIANS 2nd BIRTHDAY.
We left Cairns in morning and travelled home to Townsville and celebrated with a DORA cake with Nanny and Grandad.
We will always celebrate Zians birthday with a cake within our own family on Boxing day, however she will always celebrate her FOREVER DAY 25th Feb with friends and extended family members. This will celebrate her day as us becoming her family and as she entres school she can then celebrate with school friends her birthday which she otherwise would never have due to christmas and families travelling.

New Years we celebrated at Rollinstone caravan park camping with friends and giving the kids the freedom of which comes with camping....This new year is to be our year.

My new years resolution is for it to be all about me...To make time for me to love me and to care for me.

School holiday just flew by and really diddnt achieve to much...

Last week of holidays my 2 girlfriends and myself took our selves camping without the husbands/partners for 3 nights and had a wonderful time.The husbands and 5 other families joined us on the friday of Australia day weekend..What a wonderful trip we had. We also celebrated Chinese New Year..
I had organised a family treasure hunt and some craft for chinese New year and for Australia day we did a thong throwing ,tug-o-war, played tee ball and did tattoos and hairspraying...We had a great time and kids had a blast.I think we counted 19 adults and 23 children.

Chinese New Year eve we came back to Townsville to Celebrate with ZIans adoption group and had a wonderful dinner at the Sun Doo restuarant. Zian wasnt to excited by chinese music or danging Lion.She gets quite distressed and does like anyone chinese talking to her...This i am unsure of what the issue for her is yet.

Jake and Tayn have started at a new school , Annandale Christian School and are both very happy with the change.Dave and i are so proud of them both for undertaking the change and giving it a really good go in their first week. Jake has already signed up for Chess program.. Zian wanted to stay in Tayns Pre-prep class and i had to pull her out crying...

So my weeks are going to fly past now with school runs and all afterschool activites....

Jake is doing chess tennis and soccer.Tayn is doing little sports stars tennis and soccer and Zian is doing swimming and hopefully dance....
Dave is back at work and busy as usual...

So this year keep posted as i hope to update more regular than end of last year..

MORE GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!

The North Queensland Intercountry Adoption Support Group has had some wonderful news this last week with 3 allocations. We have had the pleasure of Welcoming 2 allocations from CHINA.
Both children are from Gaozhou SWI and are both SN files....
Congratulation to both Sandra and Clay and Jim and Cheryl on your allocation.
I spent some time today with Sandra and Cheryl just talking about the China Process and travel. It seems like a lifetime ago however it was only 9 months ago that we travelled to Zian. It makes me feel so clucky again and so exited about the whole process from now to forever day.

It is just a wonderful time for both families....

On the home front Jake turned 10 yesterday and we went to dinner with Nanny and grandad at Sizzlers. Jake had a wonderful day and was spoilt as a result of double figure birthday.
All 3 kids are recovering from chest infections and Dave had the flu and of course i couldn't escape either with me going down with flu and chest infection. Feel lousy really!!!!!

Today we have decided we will spend Christmas in Cairns this year with David's family. We hope to be able to bring some joy to end of a miserable year for them, with all has happened up there.
We will have a family holiday and take kids to the crocodile farm water park and do some site seeing up that way....

We have decided we as a family will always celebrate Zians birthday on boxing day but will ask all friends and outside of inner family to help celebrate Zians forever Day 25th Feb as her party and gift day...Our reason for this is as she grows and goes to school she will never have the opportunity to share her birthday with school friends etc. Boxing day is always still Christmas.Just ask Elisha or Pat.With the recognizing of her Forever day brings a lovely reason for Zian to receive gifts and to have a party.

We are celebrating Zian's Intercountry support group Christmas party this Friday night....Is always wonderful to catch up with all the kids as they are growing so fast.
Saturday night we have a girlfriends Christmas party and i think we are then done.


Signing off Jo

GREAT NEWS TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today we finally received Zian's Australian birth certificate... We are so happy for Zian that in the years to come she will have this piece of paper that will allow her to have an identity of being born in China however recognized in Australia with Dave and i being her Mother and Father. It is exactly the same as Tayns reads from the Northern territory.
We would like to thank Carol from N.t Adoption for her work in helping me compile all necessary paperwork for the Attorney generals office to accept our request for Birth Certificate.
To date in Australia only 2 states recognize a Chinese born child through inter country adoption, with an Australian birth certificate... NOT HAPPY WITH THIS ISSUE -----
And again it is why we need 1 governing body at Federal level to over see All Inter country Adoption laws, legislation, time frames and costing of adoption.
We have this week starting on 17th for the first week ever in Australia launched ADOPTION AWARENESS WEEK, this will be a yearly event .The aim of awareness week is to make aoption more of a talked about and understood topic. To make adoption excepted.
www.adoptionawarenesweek.com.au

What a wonderful advancement in understanding families and their childrens journeys....

Zian looking Gorgeous

This photo is just so beautiful. A photographer Sarah Black in Melbourne took this pic of Zian at my brothers house. It was one of those moments. Zian wasnt in a photo shoot. Curtis Rohan and jay and peg were. We were visting and just there. Sarah just took a shot and this is the result...

SHARING SOME PICTURES

Zian wearing her eddible rings.Yummy!!
This is so cool -this bumping in to each other game

Zian and Mia at beach house playing Bumping Game

Happy Birthday Daddy.

Thanks Nathon for helping with toffee for cake!!!

Cousin Tiffany pushing us on swing at beach house

Playing Golf..EMMMNN

Taylah playing hairdresser to Zian.

Love the Do!!!

OOOO mummy

We had our third assesment from our asw this week, it is another step to being finialized in post placement of adoption wih QLD.

Only on more to go and we don't hear from them again.!!!!!!

Very Strange process really.China requires two repors with the first year and 2 sets of updated photos to accompany social workers report...

We just do what is asked of us and play the game with minimal fuss...

All is quiet around here whih is really nice.I have slowed down my pace of working as i need a little break.

Sue my girlfriend and i just spent the weekend in Melbourne.

We shopped, saw the stage production of Wicked which was fab and got kisses and cuddles from my nephews Curtis and Rohan..

Very quick trip but worth every minute of time spent....

And sooo unexpected but so cherished is My brother Jason and wife Peggy have asked david to be godfather to Rohan.Pics to be added as wont load up today.!!

I WANTED TO SHARE THIS WITH YOU

How to Dance in the Rain

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80's arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am. I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him.
I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry.
The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victi m of Alzheimer's Disease. As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late.

He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now. I was surprised, and asked him, 'And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?' He smiled as he patted my hand and said, 'She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is.' I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought,'That is the kind of love I want in my life.'
True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.
The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have. 'Life isn't about how to survive the storm, But how to dance in the rain.