Happy Birthday Dylan Korkem Casacalenda

Today is Dylan's 1st birthday and it started off a little tough! He's one year old today and we weren't able to celebrate it together and that was really HARD!!!
As I was taking pictures of Dylan's room to put on the blog I got a call from Galina from the adoption agency and she said we received the LOI-Letter of invitation to go to Kazakhstan.....I was FREAKING Out!!! She had to repeat it because I did not understand. Then I asked her, "so when do we leave"?? She said maybe the end of next week or the beginning of the week after!!!! Wow, I started crying and I told her it was Dylan's Birthday and she was also surprised and happy!!! So I called Fil and he came running home 30 minutes later and we went to the agency to bring our Passport so she can start requesting our visas right away!!! What an Emotional Day!!!!

We will be in Kazakhstan for about 2 months....that's right 2 MONTHS!!!! But once we go to court and the decision is made, Dylan will come and live with us until ALL His Paperwork is Completed and We CAN Finally Bring Him HOME!!!

Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes and Thank you so much for remembering Dylan's 1st birthday!!!

Fil wrote:
To our loving boy Dylan,

We would like to wish you a very HAPPY 1ST B-DAY!!!! I know that you know we are thinking of you every day and can't wait
for you to be here with us.

It has been very difficult for us to know that your in your country Kazakhstan and we are here in Montreal, we want you to
know that we LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!! We can reassure you that once this is all done you will realize that we as parents have done everything in our power but because of the adoption system we can't make this faster. We have to bite our tongue and move along.

We wish we would have been there with you on this very special birthday. We are so glad that you are OUR SON!!!!

A baby is a little bit of heaven on earth.

A baby is a miracle sent from above,
a tiny package all wrapped up in love,
with ten tiny fingers and ten tiny toes,
and sweet little cheeks and a cute button nose.

Babies touch the world with love.

"My precious little baby
We have loved you from the start
You are a tiny miracle
Laying closely to our hearts."

SO HAPPY SWEET 1ST BIRTHDAY TO OUR DYLAN!!!

LOVE ALWAYS YOUR MOM AND DAD!!!
XOXOXXXXOOO

Happy Birthday Dylan!!!

January 28, 2010.


Happy Birthday form the HEART Cause
that's where all great wishes start.





It's your birthday
Just have fun
Because its your birthday
Your very first one

To the world, you may be one person.
But to us, you are the world.

Thinking of you with love on your birthday and
wishing you everything that brings you happiness today and always.

This is just the first of many birthday's to come.


HAPPY ONE, HONEY BUN!!!!


Wishing you all the best in the year to come.
May your days be filled with sunshine and beautiful colors.
And may your nights be filled with comforting dreams and wishes to come.


Although we can't wish you a happy birthday in person;
we will spend the whole day with happy thoughts of you.

Happy New Year

January 1st, 2009

We're back, a little behind on updating the blog. Busy running around updating documents for trip #2 and renewed my passport in 24 hrs. Trying to catch up with everyone and still not finished doing our rounds visiting everyone!!! It's nice to be back and see everyone, including Sonny but something is missing! The last day in Kazakhstan was extremely hard and saying good-bye to Dylan was one of the hardest things to do in my life. The 1st and last day at the orphanage are 2 days that will mark me for the rest of my life.

The trip back home went well but it was LONG!!! The train ride was slow but comfortable. We came across more Corruption on the train when an officer came in our cabin to check our documents. He spoke to us in Russian but we didn't understand one word that he said. He gave sign to Fil to follow him in another room and as he was holding our passports he asked Fil for money and Fil actually bargained with him and gave him less than what he asked for. When Fil came back in the cabin he said, "I had to give him money" I said. "WHAT"??? I took whatever money we had and I hid it in a very feminine place. It wasn't much money that Fil gave him but it's the principle of this corrupted land!!

On another note---> Happy New Year to all our wonderful friends and family and thanks for all your support!!! We are impatiently waiting for trip # 2 to go back, go to court so that Dylan officially becomes ours forever and bring him home where he belongs. I wish you all Health, Peace and Happiness!!!

Happy Birthday Amalia Avino!!!

December 26, 2009

Last blog before we go say bye to Dylan and get on our 10hr train ride!!!

See you all in Canada!!
Mary & Fil!!!

Happy Birthday Amalia and have a great day!!

Christmas day and what a GIFT!!!

December 25th, 2009

Today is Christmas Day and what a delightful gift we received!!!
We went to the orphanage this morning for 10:00 and we picked up a nurse and a caregiver because since we were going to pick up Dylan and we have a mini bus, they came along as well to pick up 3 other children that were at the hospital. We got to the hospital for about 10:30 and the nurse and caregiver went in the hospital and they asked Irina, Fil and I to wait outside. About 1/2 an hour later the nurse, and 2 caregivers came running outside with 4 kids and one of them was Dylan!!!! So I grabbed one child, Fil grabbed Dylan and the caregivers came in the mini bus with 2 other children and we waited in the mini bus.
As soon as we sat in the mini bus and waited for the nurse to complete paperwork in the hospital I looked at the time and it was 11:02am (kazak time) which was 12:02am (Montreal time -->Christmas)!!! I looked at Fil and said it's Christmas in Canada and we finally got Dylan back from the hospital!!!
Is it a coincidence? Is it everyone back home praying for Dylan and giving him positive energy?? Whatever it was, it worked and it was a POWERFUL MOMENT!!
As Opera would say, it was an Ahhhh Moment!!!


I told Fil last Christmas while we were completing paperwork for the adoption and this I promise everybody is the very truth, I told him, "Fil next year will be a different christmas, you watch and see"!!!! Am I the powerful one??? I think I am!!!

We spent about 1/2 hr with Dylan at the orphanage, he seemed better but still had his cough, the other 3 kids that we picked up sounded even worse. Dylan had a little more energy than when we went to see him in the hospital this week and looked more himself!! We were so stressed being in the mini bus with all these sick kids, that have been abandoned by their parents that we didn't even wish Dylan a Merry Christmas!! We'll see him tomorrow morning before we catch the train.

MERRY CHRISTMAS DYLAN KORKEM CASACALENDA & EVERYONE BACK HOME, AND BUON NATALE IN ITALIA!!!

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Tonight we went for supper at a Korean restaurant with the german couple Ernie and katherine. It was a great supper and nice night out. Fil and I were then looking for a taxi to go home because it was very very dark and late and this guy in his car came next to us and said Taxi and we said yes and got in. I told Fil to drop us off at the corner because I did not want him to know where we lived. As we got out Fil and I both looked at each other and said, "this was not even a taxi" he didn't have any taxi sign or anything!! But we got home safe and sound and he doesn't know where we live!!!

December 24, 2009
10:00am
Today we won’t see Dylan again. It’s now 4 days that he’s been in the hospital, ALL BY HIMSELF!!!! Do you believe that a baby is left alone at the hospital all by himself???? I don’t understand that logic, it’s not right, but for now all we can do and all we can hope for is that he gets better!!

Fil and I are fighters and have never given up on our dream but this little guy is a fighter too and he’s been fighting all by himself since the 1st day he was born!!!
WE CAN’T WAIT TO LEAVE, NOT BECAUSE WE WANT TO LEAVE DYLAN BUT THE QUICKER WE LEAVE THE QUICKER WE COME BACK AND BRING HIM HOME WHERE HE BELONGS SO WE CAN SPOIL HIM, LOVE HIM AND GIVE HIM ALL THE CARE HE NEEDS AND DESERVES AND NEVER GO BY ANOTHER DAY ALL BY HIMSELF!!!!!

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It's now 9:00pm and Fil and I just had our Christmas Eve supper. Our roommates left this afternoon and are heading back to Canada, "bon voyages les amies" Our supper consisted of rice,peppers,carrots,cashews,raisins and shrimp with a tomato and cucumber salad with no oil because we ran out!!! The owner of the house brought us a christmas tree which was very nice of him considering nobody celebrates christmas here. However you find christmas decorations everywhere here but they decorate for New Year's Eve!! Some pictures are attached of our romantic supper just the 2 love birds..LOL!!!

We found out tonight that we'll be picking up Dylan from the hospital tomorrow and bring him back to the orphanage!!!! We really hope so, it will be the best x-mas gift ever!!!

Above are some pictures of our house. The lovely bed!!! Wow!!!

Happy Birthday Dr. Nick Casacalenda!!!!!!

December 24, 2009

Thank you for all your medical advice, for your words of wisdom, your support and encouragements throughout this difficult journey, Thanks for sharing your Beautiful, Positive and Intelligent Mind with us!!!
Have a great day and a fantastic birthday!!! xoxoxoxoxoxxo