Day 244

Thank goodness God has given me the ability to compartmentalize! Instead of thinking about that dear sweet baby boy who may or may not be in the hospital and wondering why the birthmother hasn't yet made a decision, I have decided to distract myself by writing lists. I love writing lists. I plan on not being depressed by working on this list until we hear from Bethany:

- Prepare the diaper bag in case we get a last minute call. This includes finding the perfect baby outfit to bring baby Van home in. I'm still looking. I'm leaning toward something with dinosaurs on it. ;)

- Finish the nursery. This one could take awhile to do.
>Dan has the first coat of paint done.
>I am working on a painting of an African sunset for the nursery.
>Dan needs to paint the crib, the bookcase, and we need to get our changing table
>I would love to get our glider and our safari rug before we have baby....those are a "we'll see" right now though....

- Buy and read through "What to Expect the First Years." Why not be prepared before baby comes!?

Day 243

I'm asking for prayers this morning around 10:30. That is when the birthmother who already had the baby boy will be looking at our profile. As much as I want this baby, I also want the baby God wants us to have. So pray specifically for God's will in this...and if you could send up a prayer for God to protect our hearts. For some reason my heart just aches to hold this little boy....
Thank you all.

Day 242

I'm so glad that I have my sweet nieces around to keep a smile on my face these days. On Thursday, when I found out about the birthmother who had the baby already, I got a text in the evening from my niece, Megan (using her mom's cell phone):

"This is Megan. I hope you get a baby. Bye Aunt Trisha, bye Uncle Unicorn (Dan's name, its a long story). Mmmmmwwwwwwwhahahaha."

I heard later from Kristen (Megan's mom) that after devotions every night, when asked what she wants to pray for, she says, "That Aunt Trisha and Uncle Unicorn get a baby."

So sweet.

Yesterday we had our family Christmas and Elise (Megan's younger sister) sat me down and talked to me about the merits of having a boy baby and a girl baby:

"If you have a boy you are going to have to deal with a lot of Star Wars. You just will. If you have a girl you will have to deal with Barbie."

I told her that I'm not a fan of playing Barbie....plus, Barbie wears WAY too much pink for my liking.

Elise replied, "Then you will have to have two girls so that they can play Barbie with each other and you won't have to play!"

I love it! These girls just crack me up. Ya gotta love them.

Dan, Megan, and Elise. As you can tell by the picture, Dan is 9, Megan is 7, and Elise is 28. :)

Day 239

No word from Bethany yet about the birthmother who looked at our profile on Monday. It can be anywhere from 2-3 days to 2-3 weeks. I will keep ya'll posted though. '

However, I did receive notice that there is ANOTHER birthmother who will be looking at our profile on Monday. This baby is a boy who was actually born November 29!!!

I know that God has the perfect baby for us...please pray for all of the above situations because only God know which one is right!!! Thank you!

Day 236

Well, another update!
We just got word that there is another birthmother who will be looking at our profile Dec. 1. She is due in February with a baby girl. Please pray both for the birthmother and for us. You can also add to your prayer request that there will not be any extra fees (legal) on top of this adoption should she pick us.
Thanks for your prayers! We'll keep you updated.

Day 236

I am so thankful for all the family and friends who showed their support to me this past weekend at my shower. You all will never know how much your support meant to me. It is so hard to feel like an expectant mom when there are no physical signs. But being showered with love and gifts for Baby Van brought me that much closer to the feeling. Nothing about this process is easy but to have people lavish Dan and I with love for the baby to come overwhelmed my heart. Surprisingly, (and thankfully) I didn't cry too much.

Below are some pictures from the shower. Enjoy!

My super-cute safari themed diaper cake made by Momo! How adorable is that!

So I could NOT think of the name of something and sounded completely mommy-dumb. Oh well, I'll learn!

My nieces were being very helpful.

The safari lampshade for my nursery!

Okay, did you know they had specific cleaners for nipples (for bottles)? I totally did not know that...but had a lot fun shouting "NIPPLE!!!" ;)

All sorts of stuff to keep Baby Van clean and healthy. If he is anything like all the other Van babies this stuff will come in very handy!!

Finally, we have my awesome diaper bag from Aaron and Sara. I can't wait to pack it up with stuff I will need for when we bring Baby Van home from the hospital!

Thank you again to everyone! We feel so loved! Someone asked me the other day when they heard I was having a shower if I was "expecting." Yes, I am expecting. I just don't know when my baby is coming. It could be within the hour, within the month or within 6 months. But now we are a little more prepared for Baby Van's arrival thanks to everyone who came to this shower. Thank you!

Day 217

Waiting sucks....
...sorry Aunt Deb....

No other "enlightened" thing to say....check back later for a more positive post....