1 Week Left!!!

First off MY PARENTS PASSED COURT!!!!!!!! We are thrilled! There is a catch though. Their agency told them not to celebrate yet because some families are technically passing court but then they will have an outstanding requirement and until the requirement is met they can't get an embassy appointment or travel. SO...we have to wait until Wednesday when the decree will be issued to find out if the judge had everything he needed. There will definitely be an update on Wednesday as soon as we know along with pictures of my brothers (because I am confident our prayers were answered)!! They were also told to expect to travel the 17th which means they will be leaving a few days after we get home. Aaaahhh!!! This is so exciting!!

So what do you do in between the passing court phone call and boarding the plane??? I won't write out my entire to do list because it would take you an hour to read but here is a sampling:

1) Take the 5 different lists I already had and consolidate them into 1, 6 paged typed list :)

2) Delegate all the yucky stuff to Brian (not intentionally, it just so happens that all the yucky stuff involves his job) - getting Elias added to our insurance, filing out forms, getting his time off, filing out more forms, making sure we get paid, etc.

3) Roll the final slew of pennies from our coin drive a year ago... 4) Pick up What To Expect Babies 1st Year after it sat on the bookshelf for a year

5) Cook a bunch of casseroles and freeze them. Mostly just because I've lost my mind.

6) Plan at least one date!

7) Collect DONATIONS

8) Make the baby's 1st Dr.'s appointment - Friday the 13th!

9) Go to 10 different stores 10 different times to buy things we "need." This includes feeling the need to use all the $5 off Similac coupons I have been collecting for the last 4 months. Woah this stuff is expensive - especially when you buy 2 months supply in 2 days "just so we have it." Brian likes to laugh at me about this one. You would think I would be preparing to recover for a C-section the way I am stocking up like we are never going to be able to run an errand EVER again.

10) Make piles, pack, unpack, make new piles, repeat.

11) Get the car serviced - again note the mindset of never being able to run an errand again. This is not a road trip yet I wanted my tires worked on, my brakes fixed, an oil change and a tune up before we left. Really, I'm losing my mind.

12) Plan a "sprinkle" for my Mom because I don't want to miss it! A sprinkle is a shower for kids after #1. I will post pictures on Monday :)

13) Practice with the Moby wrap. I think it will come in handy with our 18 lb. hunk of love. Yes, a 6 month old who weighs at least 18 lbs. (he was last weighed 3 weeks ago so I am thinking it might be closer to 19 lbs.) Woah!

14) Wash bottles. Sterilize nipples, teethers, pacifers, etc.15) Baby laundry!!!!I wanted to document all of our firsts! I had Brian take a picture of the first load of baby laundry. I was too chicken to ask the cashier at Target if I could take a picture of my first purchases of formula and diapers. Maybe that is best. That might be a little bit overboard. Hopefully I won't look back and mark that down as a life long regret. :)

16) Pack all of the baby's clothes, blankets, and wipes into the smaller duffle bag which will be my carry on. We think between our carry-ons and personal item carry-ons we will only use 1 of our 4 bags for our family of THREE and can use the other 3 bags for donations.

17) Finish this stage of the adoption paperwork. Yes, there is more. And no it will not be done once we get home. Actually we will be doing adoption paperwork for the next 18 years. Ugh!

18) Rearrange my entire house. We have already reorganized and cleaned out every cupboard and drawer in our kitchen. The bathroom and closets are next! Again, losing my mind.

19) Keep doing crazy things to stay super busy so the next WEEK flies by!

20) Whew!

I will leave you with a wonderful memory! This is me calling Brian to tell him we passed court and ELIAS IS OURS!

YAY! ONE WEEK! ONE WEEK! ONE WEEK! YAY! Guess what??? ONE WEEK!!!