Our Family Faith Walk: No Baby Yet :)

I just wanted to pop in and update the blog, because I follow a lot of blogs and find myself getting antsy when they haven't been updated in awhile! So even though there is really no news, I felt you all deserved to know that there is no news. ;)

We are keeping very busy and are anxiously awaiting the birth of the baby! He or she is due in exactly ONE month, though there is a strong possibility of an earlier birthday. :) We just returned from a wonderful family vacation up north in Minnesota, visiting family and doing a lot of fishing! It was so nice to get out of this incredibly hot weather and enjoy wearing a sweatshirt now and again! I am also very busy helping my sister plan her upcoming wedding, and I go back to work tomorrow which will definitely help fill the hours while we wait for yet another life changing phone call that our birth mom is in labor!

One very fun thing that I got to do was take Eisley shopping for the baby's going home outfit. We will probably venture out to a few more stores before we make a final decision, but we found an adorable outfit for a both a boy and a girl, since we don't know what we are having! I kept the receipts so we can take back the gender that our baby isn't haha!

It is really interesting to me how different the 36 week mark is when you are pregnant versus when you are adopting! I remember being absolutely consumed with the fact that my babies could be born at any moment, and granted I was carrying 14 pounds of wiggly baby at that point so it was pretty hard to forget, but this time I often have to remind myself that our baby could come at any time! Josh was planning a trip with some friends for a few weeks from now and we both almost forgot that the baby might and will probably be born by then! It makes me realize how very different this experience will be, caring for a newborn that I didn't give birth to. Hopefully I will have a lot more energy this go round! I know I will have a lot more help with my two big kids to assist me!

Jake and Eisley are over the moon excited for the arrival of this little one. We have had to be diligent about gently reminding them that this baby's birth mother might change her mind, and that it would be okay if she did, even though we would be very disappointed. It is a fine line we are walking between preparing them for a new baby in the next couple of weeks and preparing them for the possibility of a lot more waiting if "Kim" changes her mind.

I am so excited for the arrival of this little one, but at times I am also gripped with fears that this baby might have major health and developmental issues, that "Kim" might change her mind, that I won't immediately attach to this baby the way I did to Jake, Eisley, and Lily. I know they are valid fears, which is why they are all the more scary. I would appreciate so much your prayers for those things!

As far as fundraising goes, WOW we are SO CLOSE to our goal!!! We are fully confident, as we have been from the beginning, that God will provide every penny that is needed for this adoption. We can't wait to reach that goal!

Thank you again so much for your continued prayers and encouragement. We have come such a long way, but this is really only the beginning of our adoption faith walk when you think about it! We haven't even adopted this baby yet! We can't wait to share the rest of our journey with you, and we are so thankful for your support and love.

Please be praying for the mother of this baby. Please pray for the health of the baby. Please pray that God will bring this baby in His own perfect timing, and that everything will go incredibly smoothly! Please pray that our family will immediately bond and fall in love with this child, and that we will be equipped to handle anything that comes our way! Please pray for God to prepare our hearts for what comes next on this journey!

I will keep you posted! Just for fun, here are a few pics from our recent vacay! ;)