Wordless Wednesday

**Blue Baby Boy Burrito Edition**

Welcome Gabriel Raymond!

DH posting from the hospital...

T - 1

Tomorrow is the day. If all goes according to plan, God-willing, our littlest son will greet the rest of the world. He and I are already well acquainted as he is quite the kicker, roller, and tumbler. I am thankful to finally see this little one face to face, but a little apprehensive about the c-section and recovery.

Unfortunately, everyone around here is feeling pretty lousy. Not sure if the travelers brought back a bug or we were all just worn out. Juju was up most of the night with a fever. She, Bear, Banana, and Joseph have a little cough. Now dh seems to also be down for the count. He came home at lunch (achy and tired) to give me a chance to get to confession before tomorrow's surgery and decided he felt bad enough to stay and nap. He and Joseph are finally napping soundly.

Needless to say, no sleep last night, the anxiety and anxiousness of tomorrow's events, and the last minute preparations have left me pretty wiped out. When all this excitement ends, I just hope there is a brief time to catch our breath.

Blessed

I am so blessed. Really, I don't need to say anymore than that, but I suppose that wouldn't be much of a blog post would it?

During dh's trip to China some moms from our homeschooling group decided to get together for a mom's night/shower for me. I remember being so overwhelmed at the generosity and thoughtfulness of friends at a shower for Juliana. I came home telling dh how fortunate and blessed we are to have such amazing friends and family. This shower brought even more of the same feelings. We are just so blessed. It is humbling and inspiring to see so many families praying for us, and helping us in so many ways. It has made this process so much more bearable.

Countless friends have offered kind words of support, assurances of prayers, beautiful gifts, delicious meals, child care, and offers of so much more. Not only do we get the joy of bringing home two new little boys, we feel so much more intensely the love and support of friends and family. The kindness and thoughtfulness of so many people has on so many occasions brought tears to my eyes (not that it is hard to do that) and I am so incredibly thankful. I, again, cannot seem to find adequate words to thank you all for the many, many ways you have been part of this journey to our sons. I am so thankful there are God's rewards in heaven because I just feel incapable of returning the many kindnesses shown us.

Like I said, we are truly and incredibly blessed.

There's No Place Like Home...

The travelers have returned safely, albeit quite tired. It is so amazing to have everyone under one roof. It is our first day back in the grind. Dh had to return to work today. He will have more time off next week after the arrival of baby boy 2. It is not even 9 AM and I am already ready for a nap :) Four diaper changes (we add a newborn to that mix next week), breakfast prep and clean-up, playing, trying to get in a little school, and catching up the laundry. Life is going to be busy for awhile and I feel incredibly blessed that it is.
Dh, Banana, and Joseph arrived in the late afternoon on Sunday and after such a long trip, they were all exhausted. Poor Joseph couldn't keep his eyes open and fell asleep after only a few hours. Everyone was in bed quite early, except me. I just couldn't help myself, once dh was sleeping I kept going to check on the little guy and even looked in on my sleeping girls a few times. It is so nice to have them all together.
Joseph has had some trouble with jet lag. The first night he was up for hours in the middle of the night. I tried to comfort him, but he wanted dh who was quite tired from his trip. Poor dh was pretty tired again yesterday. We spent a relatively quiet day at home (as quiet as can be expected when you have two almost two year old toddlers, a three year old, and two older girls excited to see their dad and play with their new brother). We only ventured out to celebrate Mass as a family. We were blessed to have our first Mass together with Juliana be Christmas morning, and yesterday we were equally blessed to have the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul to celebrate Joseph's arrival, and we did indeed feast.
Last night, Joseph slept much better. He was only up for a short time early in the night. Unfortunately, the jet lag has caught up with dh and Banana. Apparently Banana was up at 3 AM, and she was shortly joined by her sister Bear (who claims she didn't miss Banana too much and yet gets up at these crazy hours to play with her). Dh was up at 4 AM. I can't imagine how he is going to make it through the work day. I am sure it will be another early night for us.
Joseph is such a cutie. He is quiet and likes to watch the girls. He is constantly looking for something new to examine. It took him some time to warm up to me, but with dh back at work he has had little choice. My heart melted today when I extended my hand to him and he grabbed it and walked around the house with me.

The girls are enjoying playing with him. Bear in particular seems to have developed quite a bond with him. She is a little more rough and tumble with him. Banana is my amazing helper. I know I will be relying on her more than ever. Bophie is Bophie. She enjoys having the extra commotion so she can play a little more on her own. As expected, Juju is having the hardest time adjusting. She is very sweet to Joseph, she constantly calls him "baby." It seems odd to hear this as he is just as big as she is. She is perhaps a little taller, but has more fine features. Joseph is more solid and his hands and feet are definitely quite a bit larger than hers. In a short time, after finally being well-fed, I expect he will outgrow her. Each time we change Joseph's diaper, Juju has to have hers changed. If he gets a hug, she is right behind looking for one as well. If he gets socks, she needs new socks. He gets tickled, she shows us her belly for a tickle. I expect this will last a short time as well.

I am quite proud of myself for getting out such a long post. I have been up and down from this seat more than a dozen times so I apologize if it seems disjointed. I imagine this will be typical of my posts (assuming I get the chance to post) for at least a few months. I also am sad there are not more (and better) pictures to add. The camera batteries were dead when dh arrived home and so we still don't have a good family shot. Come to think of it, there still isn't even one picture of Joseph and me. I suppose this is the plight of a fifth child :)

Thank you again for all the prayers, kind words, and support. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. Now only one more countdown. Baby arrives in three days...

It's The Final Countdown

2 days till Joseph...
7 days till baby boy...

This morning was my final OB check-up for little baby boy. Since I am scheduled for a c-section and don't tend to go early, these check-ups are usually fairly quick and painless. Blood pressure checks, the dreaded scale, and listening for the heartbeat. Since dh has been in China, I have just taken the three little girls with me. They do pretty well and it is typically not a long time so a snack will bribe them.

Today, I pushed my luck. We got up early to make it to Mass. Then we went for breakfast, then a few errands, then to the appointment. My quick and easy appointment turned out to be quite a bit longer than expected. My doctor decided because of some inconsistencies in baby's movements, it was a good idea to do a non stress test. This was my first test of this kind so I didn't know what to expect. Turns out it was well over half an hour of being strapped to a monitor with three little girls, including an almost two-year-old and a three-year-old, at nap time in a teeny-tiny exam room with what felt like paper-thin walls. The girls were pretty well behaved, but I would not, by any means, call that a NON-stress test. It was to me the epitome of stress :) At least I have peace of mind knowing baby boy is doing just fine.

I suppose that stress has to be put in perspective as well. With less than two days until dh returns, all four of my "I cannot deal with this while dh is gone" list items have managed to be averted. The list?

1. NO labor
2. NO stomach bugs
3. NO car trouble
4. NO major household appliances/electronics troubles

So far, so good.

Please pray for my travelers this weekend. They will be leaving tonight and have almost two days of long flights, long layovers, and a toddler who doesn't like flying.

Joseph's Red Couch Photos

For those not in the China adoption community, I explained the red couch photos here.