Daniel, Part Two

Email to Daniel, from Haley; March 16, 2011

Hi Daniel!

No it's not every day you find a new family member is it?!? And I found 5! Have you told anyone else yet? Everyone I've shared with has been very excited for all of us.

You have my permission to grill my husband Nick a bit if you need some practice screening boyfriends, except for the part about being in the garage...that's just a bit too scary for me :)

I do love to read! I used to read 5 books a week when I was about your age, now I read less, but still love it. Thanks for the recommendations, I'll have to see if I can find some of them!

I loved reading about your interests, thanks for sharing! God is #1 on my list too. I'm so thankful we have that in common. It took me until I was about 16 to really accept Him into my life, so I'm extremely happy that you've already done that. Do you have any favourite Bible verses or stories?

I used to read a lot of fantasy/sci fi too, but I haven't lately. I read a lot of non-fiction Christian books and also books about adoption. My favourite fiction authors are John Grisham and Jodi Picoult; I also read a lot of CS Lewis when I was younger.

I love music too! I listen to all sorts of music, but I especially love worship music. Matt Maher is awesome! I actually got to meet him; he has come to a conference in Edmonton that Nick and I both volunteer at. It's called Break Forth, and it's an awesome Christian event. Maybe sometime you guys can come up for it.

I'm not really "sporty" either, although I did promise Nick that I would play softball this summer...so I guess I'll still have to practice playing catch with him :) Do you like to watch any sports? I heard you had a special visit to see the grey cup! How was that?

I like being outside too. I used to be in army cadets and we did a lot of orienteering things like camping and target practice, don't tell Nick... but between you and me, I can start a fire faster (and in the rain!). Do you get badges in scouts? What kinds of things do you do at scouts? Your Dad told me you were on a trip with them last weekend. Sounds like fun!

I have seen a picture of your dog! He looks like a great furry friend. Have you seen a picture of mine? Her name is Lucy and she's kind of a princess dog. She doesn't like to go outside when it's cold or wet, but she does love walks! How old is your dog? Lucy is 5 but still acts like a puppy sometimes.

Thanks for your email! I look forward to meeting you 'face to face' on skype soon!

Blessings,
Haley
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The day I received the email from Daniel was monumental. I literally expected to come to the end of my life (many years from now...) never having experienced what it's like to have a brother. Yes I have three great brothers-in-law, but it's not the same. Nick has a strong bond with his siblings. And no matter how close I've become with them, it's different. I know I'm an 'in-law' and while I'm warmly accepted into the family, I'm an addition. It's most clear when we take family photos; There's always the one photo where the 'in-laws' step aside to let the original family have their photo taken. I realize I am floundering at trying to explain this, let me just say that if you're not living this, you won't understand.

A Big Sister

Email to my new family, from Haley; Subject: "A Big Sister"; March 14, 2011

Linda - It sounds like you married an amazing husband and father. I know we all have some baggage in the past, but not everyone inherits a 27 year old. Thank you for being supportive of this whole situation and thank you especially for letting me share Kevin. I don't want to disrupt any family dynamic intentionally, but I know that things will probably be a bit different now. I hope that's ok with you. I hope I can be a great addition :)

Daniel- It must be great to be an older brother. I know you've got some serious responsibilities on your shoulders. Soon you'll have to fend off future suitors for not just one but two sisters. You get to be the 'man' of the house when your Dad's away. And you have two sisters who may have ganged up on you to force you to play house or let them cut your hair...I'm sorry that I don't balance out the boys side for you :) But at least you don't have to screen my boyfriends, I'm already married! Seriously though, what a great honour I'll have if you allow me the privilege of being your big sister. I always wanted a brother to show me how to do some boy stuff like playing video games or someone to play catch with. I also need someone who can recommend some great books...I go through a couple most weeks! I hope you can help me out with some of that!

Amy and Sarah - I saw your pictures and you are both so beautiful! I am so excited to have sisters! If you're ok with me joining your family as your big sister, I think we may have some great late-night chats, spa dates, watch Anne of Green Gables with giant boxes of kleenex and maybe you're past the barbie stage...but I still have a box of barbies that haven't seen sisters play together yet.

I'm so looking forward to meeting you all and discovering what you actually like to do instead of guessing!

With great expectations,
Haley

Give and Take

First we swapped photos. Then we swapped basic life info.

So more about me...I grew up in a very small town in Alberta. My parents weren't able to have bio kids, so they were thrilled to adopt me. They are now retired to BC. I'm an only child. They visit us often and always ask about future grandkids :)

I met Camille in 2005, and we had a brief relationship for about 4-5 months. (...)

I moved to Edmonton for university and met Nick. So here we stayed!

Blessings,
Haley

...

Hi Haley,

It nice to learn a bit more about you. Small towns probably have equal amounts of positive and negative aspects as far as growing up goes.

I grew up in Edmonton a few km from where Camille lived (sad to hear your contact with her was maybe not the best timing). I suppose the best way to describe me would be an average latch key kid from a single parent family; a little tougher of an upbringing than I would want for my kids, but there's no doubt its helped me be a better adult. I've been very fortunate to have been with the same company for 21 years, and have had many different roles in various divisions across Western Canada. Right now I am leading the continuous improvement efforts for the company across North America, it's a bit of travel, but it's a lot of fun and very challenging!

Thank you for contacting me (us), its nice to get to know you and learn about who you are.

Have a terrific day!

Kevin

As much info as I write, that's what I get back. It seems so hard to share much in the emails because I'm still holding back, still trying to protect myself.