A matrix of photo`s of my family, Sasha & I

Time flies when you are having fun . . .

Wow!! It has been just over a year since my last blog entry. Time definitely flies when you are having fun . . . and Sasha and I sure have been having loads of fun!! Sasha started walking at 15 months old and was running by 17 months old. She loves singing, dancing and being outside. I took a decision early last year to sell my fabulous flat on the 3rd floor and rather buy a house with a little garden. I put my flat on the market in May and my house hunting began. If you have ever sold and bought property before you will know that it is quite a balancing act. I sold my flat in September and had to be out by 30 November 2012, but bought a townhouse in October with a big garden. We are only moving into the house in 2 weeks time as there are tenants whose lease only expires the end of February. In the mean time we are living with my parents,Nanna and Grandpa. The end of 2012 was filled with packing and sorting and packing and sorting. I had enjoyed living in the flat for nearly 13 years but look forward to something bigger with a garden. Sasha went to Daycare First Friends while I was at school last year. In December we went to Wilderness and stayed in a the same forest hut we did the year before for Christmas and for Sasha`s 2nd birthday. We had a fantastic time. When school started in January Sasha started going to a little playschool called Munchkins. She is the youngest, but has settled in so well. At this point we are busy potty training!! We will hopefully be nappy free before winter. The ongoing wait and constant reminder in the back of my mind, however, has been for the Adoption Order. I tried to contact the registrar Pretoria myself but could not get through to anybody!! Eventually the social worker at Child Welfare said she would see what she could do! Today I went to fetch my post at my sold flat from the kind new owner who is collecting it for me and there is was . . . The Adoption Order . . . So now I can change the name that is on her birth certificate. Soon it will read Sasha Alive Theunissen.

Adoption Finalised in Wynberg Magistrates Court

Wow!! It is hard to believe my last blog entry was over 5 months ago. Time flies when you are having fun. September, October, November, December . . . We went to Wilderness and stayed in a wooden forest cabin for Sasha`s first Christmas. We came home to Cape Town just in time for her first birthday on the 4th of January!! At the same time Sasha started to crawl more and more. She can also say new words all the time . . . Mama, baba, light, map and backpack (from Dora Explorer). She can clap her hands and shows 1 finger when you ask her how old she is. On the 6th of February Sasha`s adoption was finalised in Wynberg Magistrates Court. Now, all I am waiting for is the final adoption order before I can have her name officially changed to Sasha Alive Theunissen.

Sasha is 8 months old today.

Today is 4 months since I got the call. Sasha was 4 months old then. She is 8 months old today which means that I have known her for half her life today :-) She definitely knows who her Mommy is. She gets so excited when she sees me :-) She is the cutest angel ever.

Wynberg Children`s Court

Sasha & I appeared in Wynberg Children`s Court this morning as part of the adoption process. The paperwork now heads to Pretoria so that her adoption can be registered. Once registered I will receive an Adoption Order which names me as her legal guardian :-) Only then can I change her name at home affairs.

Next & last court appearance . . .

My next and last court appearance is on Friday 5th August at 10am. I assume everything will go well. Sasha is already so part of our lives . . . like she has always been here. Once I have signed the paperwork and it is stamped and signed by a magistrate it is sent to Joberg where it is registered. It can take a few months to get the final adoption order back. Once I have receieved that I may then go to Home Affairs to have her name changed from the one on her ID at present into the names I have chosen to give her.

A hundred years from now . . .

"A hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much money I had in the bank...but the world may be a better place because I made a difference in the life of a child."