Getting closer!

 Our son is due in just 13 weeks! Oh my goodness! When I think of all there is to do between now and then my heart jumps around with excitement, panic, worry, happiness, then I eat chocolate :)

I have spent the past week baking the perfect goodies to send to his birth parents and trying to come up with the perfect words to write in their Christmas card, which choosing in and of itself had me shaking in the card aisle in Target. Literally, my hands were shaking and my heart was pounding trying to choose the perfect one. I don't know if I did, but the package is mailed now so there is no turning back!

So in the next thirteen weeks we will celebrate Christmas (twice), undecorate the house, host Andy's amazing parents for a weekend, host another set of fantastic friends another weekend, I will host 2 wedding showers, visit tiny boy's birth parents (eek!), paint Josiah's room, get Josiah a fancy shirt and tie so he can walk down the aisle in Andy's brother, Adam's wedding, (still praying i can be there!) restock the new nursery with tiny diapers and diaper cream, get the bassinet ready to go, set up the swing (lifesaver when Josiah was tiny), pack a go bag, pack up baby necessities for a potential 2 week stay in a hotel with a newborn, lose the last 10-15lbs I can't seem to shed, and of course, keep up with all the day to day life.

While the above are things to DO they pale in comparison to what is going on in my mind. I swear I have pregnancy brain again. I may not be making a baby but I am most certainly expecting one! I have been forgetting the simplest things and finding myself struggling to stay present while planning for 2 months from now. What will our first meeting with our birth parents look like? Will they still like us? What do I say? What should I wear? Why does that even matter? Should we take a gift? What gift can we possibly give that would accurately portray what I want to say to them? And what about when he is born? Will we get to see him right away? Will all 4 of his parents be together at any point? Will his birth mom ask the court to let us take care of him immediately instead of going to respite care for a week or two? If she doesn't, how much will we gt to see him the first days of his life? So. Many. Questions.

So forgive me if my blogs are jumbled, I forget to return a phone call, or I just seem out of it. My brain is a hot mess right now! Haha! I ask for grace :)

I am loving the prep, loving the anticipation, loving the excitement, loving the little boy growing inside his other mother.

A quick thanks and plea for help

Whew! Where to start?

First off, thank you to everyone who has ordered a shirt so far! What a blessing you are. Seriously. I will take orders for one more week, so if you haven't ordered yet, make your way over to my Facebook page and comment your size on the shirt you want!

Secondly, and more importantly, there is a little girl in Congo right now who desperately needs your (our) help! This sweet 3 year old was whipped, beaten, burned and possibly poisoned because her extended family/caregivers believed she was a witch. She needs immediate medical attention beyond what she can receive where she is. You can read the details of her story at ABIcongo.blogspot.com. There are a couple of blog posts about her situation. Please, please, please read her story and contact Jenny Lotz at lotzfam@att.net if you can help. She needs a hospital willing to treat her at a free or reduced rate and/or a commitment of $100,000 in order to get a medical visa to be brought here.

Please pass this info on to anyone who may be able to help!

Third, there is news to share regarding forward steps with our adoption, but right now we need to focus on saving this sweet little girl's life. I will post again in a few days and update you all on our journey. Thank you for your prayers for us, our friends, and the sweet orphans, babies, and birth parents around the world. They are felt and appreciated greatly.