7 Quick Takes: The Big Announcement Edition

~ 1 ~

Major happy news! We will be welcoming not one but two new little ones to our family this year and couldn't be more excited about it!  I am pregnant and due mid-August.  Prayers for a healthy pregnancy and for "Abraham" to come home and start getting settled before the baby is born are much appreciated.  Getting him home before baby is a long shot, but it's possible with God!  Even if the baby comes before Abraham and we need to rush around getting a homestudy update at the last minute, we are just praying that Sean is not away on the pick-up trip while I'm giving birth. Yikes!

I am thankful that so far this has been my easiest pregnancy yet, with little to no morning sickness.  I've had more of a lack of appetite than full-blown nausea.  Luckily my sweet husband is a marvelous cook and has been making sure I eat well and finds foods that appeal to me.  What would I do without him?!  I have been tired as is normal for the first trimester, but getting to bed nice and early solves that problem.

~ 2 ~

Our dossier is in Abraham's country being authenticated!  We are getting closer and closer to receiving our official referral.  Can't wait!  When we get the referral we will also receive updated info and photos of the little guy.  It will feel like Christmas!

~ 3 ~

I have added some new items to our Etsy store, such as this cute "LOVE" dishcloth, an adorable bandana print blanket, some new ruffle scarves, and a listing for custom Bible covers.   More ready-made Bible covers coming soon too!  I have been neglecting the male population in my Etsy offerings and am excited to be working on some cool, masculine Bible covers at the moment.  I am learning how to crochet in plaid!  A great big thank you to my sweet friend Tabitha for the inspiration!

Guaranteed to make the dishwashing experience lovely.

~ 4 ~

This past Wednesday, Sean and I celebrated 15 years of knowing each other!  We met at the regional science fair in 11th grade back in 1999.  Yes, we are a real pair of nerds, but it was love at first sight... or at least love at first conversation.  We started talking and haven't stopped since! 

Snowball fight!

It is our family tradition for Sean to take the day off work so that we can have a fun family day together on this science fair anniversary. This year however, with the two adoption trips plus our baby's birth coming up, he is saving as much leave time as possible.  We were expecting a normal, business-as-usual kind of day this year.  Nothing really special.  But we just so happened to have a very rare (for central SC) snow day on our anniversary!  We got to spend the day together after all, snug and cozy in our warm house while the snow and ice came down throughout the day.  And because he was able to use his snow day for studying for his next actuarial exam (for which his company gives him paid study time), this unexpected time out of the office didn't count against his personal leave.  What a surprise gift from God!

~ 5 ~

We stumbled across a real gem of a book the other day.  During a recent library visit, one of our kids grabbed a cute picture book off the shelf and put it into our book bag to check out.  We enjoyed that book, The Other Goose by Judith Kerr, and saw a list of the author's other works.  Her book titled When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit caught our attention just because of its unusual title.  On a whim, I logged onto the library website and placed a hold on it.

And I'm so glad I did!  It is an autobiographical novel about a little girl named Anna, her brother Max, and their culturally Jewish parents who flee Germany as Hitler is about to come into power.  The author handled the serious nature of this time period and subject matter very well for children.  I was worried it would get too heavy or sad--and some parts were suspenseful--but nothing too scary or graphic for the little ones.  It was full of the children's adventures and misadventures as the family moved from one country to another in search of their new home.  At times even Sean and I were laughing tears! 

Highly, highly recommended for a read-aloud book that the whole family will enjoy.  I'm so happy to discover there are two more books in the series that follow Anna's and Max's adventures!

~ 6 ~

Thank you to all who participated in our "Got Adoption?" bumper sticker fundraiser!  The stickers have been printed and delivered to our house, and I will be shipping them out just as soon as we're able to get to the post office amidst all this snow and ice.  We only sold 9 stickers, unfortunately far from our goal of 100.  But every bit helps, and we are very thankful for each and every order we received.  We were able to place an order for 10 stickers, which left exactly one for us to put on our car too, yay!

~ 7 ~

Oh, and Happy St. Valentine's Day!  Because our anniversary lands two days earlier, we enjoy being rebels and celebrating our lovebird-day then instead of on Valentine's Day itself.  But to those who do celebrate the holiday, have a happy and blessed one!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!