Holiday Hangover

28 days... and counting...We took our tree down yesterday. I also put away most of the holiday decorations. I really had only planned to deal with the tree, but when I got all the boxes and bins out I figured that I might as well go the whole way. It feels good to have it back to "normal"--it is certainly less vacuuming. I can never get rid of all the fake tree needles. They are everywhere!

Jeff and I made our first trip to Labor and Delivery early on Sunday morning. I was having small, but very steady contractions. Dr. Faulk said that it would be best to take some medication to hold them off for another week. I frankly don't think that I could have survived the holidays without some kind of medication. I am in so much pain through my back that I can hardly move as it is--the contractions only make it virtually impossible to get out of bed. I had very steady contractions, until this morning. I haven't had to take any medication yet today. I've had a few contractions, but just mostly when I stand up or sit down. They aren't as strong nor as constant.

We have decided to try to get a care package together for Lachlan. Mike is headed to Hong Kong in the morning and he said that he would mail it from there for us. It is very short notice, but we are hoping that we can pull it together this afternoon. We're going to send a couple of disposable cameras to see if we can't get some more recent photographs. To be honest, we don't even know if we will get them back before Jeff heads over there, but it might be worth it. Perhaps, he can just pick it up. I'm also going to send her a small blanket, a book and some pictures of our family/extended family. It's not much, but maybe she'll see that we are waiting for her. Jeff and I are both concerned about her health and we are praying that she will be okay until we get there. We have also decided that Jeff will travel as early in February as possible. We were going to wait until the end of the month or maybe even March, but we have changed our minds. We are crossing our fingers that we will receive our travel approval this week. They did finally tell us to get our visa applications started--so we will be working on that this weekend.

The picture I've posted is of the Christmas presents we gave Grandma and Grandpa Judd. They each got a sweatshirt with Chinese characters "maternal grandmother" and "maternal grandfather".

Back in the Saddle

The irony of the situation is that last year we were just starting our "new" blog. Despite the disasters and triumphs of 2006 we are nonetheless moving forward--all be it more slowly for me because I literally am the size of a 200-pound gorilla (see photo for more detail). These are the last days of our old lives...these are the days we are going to look back on and say "remember how much free time we had when we didn't have children?" We are looking forward to what lies ahead, but we're not ignorant of the fact that we have greatly enjoyed our non-parenting years.

And here we are...35 days until delivery (Jeff says, Blast Off...although I don't really like the sound of that). I'm nearly crippled from making 30 bibs--some for me and some for the church humanitarian project. It is almost the last thing on my to-do list. I've even washed Jack's bedding and his tiny onesies. I was going to wash all of his new clothing, but a more experienced mother told me it was a waste of time and frankly, I really wanted to believe her. My car seat finally arrived, although neither one of us has a clue how to put it into the car. This is going to be Jeff's job to figure it out--mostly because it is freezing cold outside and the stupid thing is so big and bulky that it is just useless for me to even try to maneuver it in the back seat of the car. I can barely get in and out of the front seat while holding my purse!

Many of you have been asking about when Jeff will be travelling to China for Lachlan...we are predicting the end of February. We should be hearing that we have been cleared for travel very soon, but because of Jack's arrival we have decided that it would be best to wait for the dust to settle. We were able to contact some other families who adopted from the same orphanage in September. Their daughters are all doing very well and we are hoping that we too, will be able to make a fairly smooth transition. I am hoping that she will be able to sit up on her own and/or crawl...that would be a very good sign.

Reality Check: Yesterday I tried to clip the cat's claws. I haven't done it in a while and I found it more than difficult to sit on the floor and hold a writhing animal still when you have a belly that extends beyond your own knees. Poor Ernst got the worst of it, I trimmed one a bit too short and it bled badly. Of course, I didn't realize he was bleeding until he had proceeded to walk all over Lachlan's room. I had to dab out the blood stains with hydrogen peroxide to salvage new items.