We've moved into our new house!

Well, we've finally moved! I haven't been online in a while and I haven't written any posts because a)I haven't had internet access for almost two weeks and b)I simply haven't had time to write! The good news is that I haven't had much time to think about the adoption or the wait for the referral either.

We drove from Montreal to sign the papers for the house mid-week. Of course, we went to go take a look at our new house right away, as soon as we got the keys! The pervious owners left the house quite clean, and in good condition...so we were very happy. The next day, we opened the door for the painters. We went over the instructions for the wall colors with them one more time, answered last minute questions that they had...and then drove up north, to pack up our house. We took down the curtains, did some laundry and packed a couple of boxes with things that we wanted to bring down ourselves. We made sure the fridge was emptied and cleaned out, and that all the garbage cans were emptied. The rest of our stuff was packed by the movers the next day. It went very quickly and smoothly. They even started loading the moving truck that same day! We slept at a hotel that night, and learned of Michael Jackson's death when we watched the news.

They finished packing up our things the next day. We drove back to our new house, and met up with my mom, my sister, my brother, his wife and their two kids. They drove all the way from Montreal to come and see the house, and to have dinner with us! This was greatly appreciated :0)
As usual, my mom has a great eye for color and for detail, she's an artist and she's wonderful with interior decorating...she gave us some great ideas for our new house.

On Sunday, we spent the day cleaning the house; mopping the floors and cleaning out the kitchen and bathroom cupboards. Of course, it rained on monday morning, and the movers going in and out with their muddy boots dirtied the floors in no time...but, that's normal! It's all a part of the joy of moving. At least it didn't rain while they moved our furniture and boxes into the house. That is, our mattresses and furniture didn't get all wet. I got a call for a job interview as well, so in the middle of all of this...I had to leave for the interview! Unfortunately, the job wasn't quite what I had hoped, I'm overqualified for the position...so, I didn't take it. I'm happy that I'm already getting interviews though! The job hunt continues...

We had a lovely surprise on moving day! Tangie - someone whom I met online a few months ago, and who is also in the process of adopting from the Philippines with her husband Michel - just happens to live in our new neighbourhood! And did I mention that they plan to name their child Rafael(e)? I don't know, I don't usually believe in these things, but it kind of seems like our lives were destined to cross paths... Anyway, Tangie was very sweet and thoughtful (and probably curious to meet us, just like we were to meet her!) and she dropped by with a gift basket filled with fruit, some cookies and a card to welcome us to the neighbourhood. She said she decided to do her "Desperate Housewife" act, which really made me laugh!! Raph and I were very touched by this gesture...we don't have any friends or family in the area, so it was really nice to be welcomed like that! Not to mention that we were really looking forward to meeting her, so it was a very nice surprise :0) She seems like a very kind, generous, warm and genuine sort of person. I am looking forward to getting together with her again and meeting her husband soon!

Raph's parents came with his sister and her boyfriend to give us a hand with the move. They helped unpack boxes, put up curtains and paintings, run errands...
Raph's dad helped him make shelves and clean out the garage. It was great to have some extra helping hands! Things go much faster and get done quicker when there are more people helping out. I have to admit that although we were very happy and grateful for all of the help his family gave us, we were also happy to finally have the house to ourselves. It's nice to be alone just the two of us, in our own things. It's been a few months now that we've been apart, running around to get things done for the move. Of course, moving is pretty stressful...Raph and I are both pretty exhausted. We still have a lot of work to do on the house...like the kitchen, and painting the walls in the basement. Still, most of the work is done...all of the boxes are unpacked, and we're pretty much settled into our new house. I'll post some pictures of our new house soon. We accomplished a lot in two weeks!! Raph still has two weeks of vacation left this summer...I think it's important that he takes a break this time and has a real vacation this summer, rather than spending the two weeks working on the house.

So, it's been a busy two weeks! Keeping busy is good, it keeps me from spending too much time in that dark place, wondering and worrying about the adoption. Soon the move will be behind us, all of the hard work on the house will be done and the fall will begin...that's when the wait will get more difficult! So, I have to find myself a job by the beginning of September. I know now that what everyone has been saying to me all along is very true...keeping busy is really the best thing you can do during the wait!!