Tidbits

We've been waiting four months now.  The good news is that by definition we're getting closer!  Maybe somewhere a child is growing, at this moment, who will be in our family forever.

Ever since we were certified in July the similarities and differences between how I cope with waiting and how my husband copes have become evident (though very predictable).  So far we've both done pretty well, but I have my moments where I need to talk and vent and proclaim fears so they can be put aside again until creeping back in, necessitating another "talk."  During one of these moments I expressed my myself, "I'm afraid we are going to wait for like three years!" at which point my husband countered with, "I'm just afraid we'll get a call before vacation!"  Of course we both would have embraced such a call, but the truth is I too am so VERY GRATEFUL we were able to take a vacation!  Over Thanksgiving only three vacation days bought us a contiguous week off, and with the support of our families who celebrated before and after the actual Thanksgiving break, for the first time in a long time we enjoyed the sensation of complete relaxation!  Our agenda was simple: 1) be together and not distracted and 2) have no agenda.  I had almost forgotten what that felt like and highly recommend it!  I must take note to remind myself of the importance of these type of moments for the two of us, especially when we are raising our children.

Relaxing via cruise ship to Mexico!   Ahhhh!

Beautiful turquoise waters of Cabo San Lucas

Fishing village near Puerto Vallarta

 My sister is a world adventurer, and I look forward to her telling tales of grand adventures to our children, maybe fueling their desires to explore the world around them!  In November she returned from a three week trip to Peru, having toured beautiful valleys and a country mixed with Catholic and Andean culture, including time spent serving the community aside a local village church.  She brought back a gift, reflective of her new experiences, for her future niece or nephew: an authentic Peruvian baby garment made of Alpaca fur, complete with beanie and finger puppet (the puppet may not by historically "authentic," but I really don't know :) ).  They are just too cute to not post!  Thank you Auntie J!

 

Peruvian baby sweater- a gift from Aunt

Alpaca finger puppet

Another perk of the possibility of a placement phone call is the motivation to prepare for Christmas ahead of time!  I was incredibly motivated to do most of our shopping, card printing, and decorating before we left for vacation (more likely driven by my need to control something than the phone call possibility, but still).  Now that we are back, the Christmas festivities are in full swing and its wonderful to feel caught up and have time to enjoy with less hustle and bustle, well at least less than usual.  I may try this approach in years to come!

One last tidbit: we've started talking about preparing more for the the actual arrival of our child.  It may sound silly that this even needs to be a conscious decision, but when preparing requires bringing down the walls that enable me to wait, its a bit harder to commit.  Don't worry, we've read some books, taken some classes, and know we will never feel fully prepared, so its not like the child's well being has been hanging on our decision to prepare more.  However, fear of getting excited is probably not a good reason to postpone figuring out how to put the car seat in the car.  More will follow on this topic, I am sure.

For now good night, and may God bless your time preparing for His Son at Christmas!