THREE DAYS!

Knowing today is going to be a busy day, I wanted to take a minute and post my 3 days to court date photo. I just had to use this picture today. Back when we were first waitlisted for our referral, I thought I would post a little countdown photo every Tuesday to mark each week of our waitlist time passing. This was the only one I actually did. At the point I posted this photo to mark 3 weeks on the waitlist, we were only expecting about a 12 or 13 week wait for a boy.

It's probably a good thing I didn't find the time to do it every week, because it would have been really tough about weeks 18 and 19. In fact, just a few weeks after I posted this photo back in early June, I purchased a coordinating Christmas outfit for baby Abe at the annual Patsy Aiken Warehouse Sale, I didn't want him to be left out of our fireplace photo! I e-bayed that outfit in early November when I realized he really wouldn't be joining us for Christmas. Wasn't it so cute?

Everytime I reflect on this amazing journey, I praise God for who He is and for the fact that he has just hammered home to me that HE is enough. Yes, I have struggled with frustration, anxiety, broken expectations, and even some grief during each twist and turn, but He has always been sufficient. He sustains me through every step of the way and I know that no matter what happens on Wednesday, he will still hold the Campbell family in the palm of his hand. And I mean all of us-- on both sides of the globe. Come on Wednesday!

Fiesta!

Last year the girls and I started a new Christmas tradition. Years ago I noticed that one of my favorite authors, Sally Clarkson, often mentioned a family tradition that she and her girls had shared for a number of years. Every year they hosted a Mother-Daughter Christmas Tea. I thought it was a neat idea and I filed it in the back of my mind. Last year, I decided it was the right time to try it in our home. So, we tweaked it as we're not tea drinkers and we hosted our first Christmas brunch. We had a great time and we decided to do it again this year. We trimmed the guest list down a little, because quite frankly I was overwhelmed last year. We decided to do a Mexican Christmas theme, and we had a great time.

Since I bought a new camera last night, here are some photos of our morning:

Here are some friends listening as I read our Mexican Christmas story book.

Here we are making a "creche" craft to go along with our story.

Elizabeth's finished product.

The line-up.  Everyone was waiting for their turn at bat with the pinata.

Lizzy's try at the pinata

We had to call on the mom's to get it done!  Ms. Linette finally sent it flying!

The garage floor scramble for pinata goodies.

Lily and her good friend Ashlyn showing off one of their pinata treats.

My three tired hostesses.

Camera tragedy

You'll be glad to know I've clawed my way out of funkland, at least for the moment. I decided yesterday that we would switch things up a bit for my mental health. So, the kids and I did a light load of "real" schoolwork and did a lot of home economics. The girls and I are hosting our annual Christmas brunch on Saturday and so we spent time making preparations for that. We don't stray from the books too often, so it was good for everyone to do something different.

Last night we worked on our gratirosisty projects. What is gratirosity? I'm so glad you asked. At church, the kids study virtues each month that coordinate with what they are learning. In November, their virtue was gratitude which we define as, "letting others know you see how they have helped you." This month is generosity. We define generosity as "making someone's day by giving something away." So, we've combined the two and we're using the phrase gratirosity! This means we are being generous to those whom we are grateful for. Okay, really we just made some cute little teacher gifts, but it sounds so much more intentional when you call it "The Gratirosity Project."

Anyway, in the midst of our creating, I sent one child after the camera so that I could capture the yards of grosgrain ribbon and the large amounts of flour and M and M's on film. But, alas, the camera is dead. I mean dead. We tried multiple sets of new batteries and it won't power on. AT ALL! I spent the latter part of last night trying to diagnose it's illness online and it looks like it's a common problem with this particular model. But, Sony will look at repairing it for $188!?! So, guess who then began reading camera reviews and is now changing her Christmas request to a new camera? You guessed it, Mama is going camera shopping today. There are very few earthly possessions that I would replace that swiftly- but my camera is one of them.

After all, I'm going to need it in 5, FIve, 5 days to capture our court date victory dance on film, right?

One Week

Well, here we are! I didn't know if it would ever come, but we're at the one week mark. Just one week from today we will find out something. We're hopeful and excited, but I must admit I have also found myself in a funk these last few days and it frustrates me.

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while know that I went through a real funk a few weeks before our referral. Funk is my pet name for that stage I go through where I cry for basically no reason, no one can do anything exactly right, and everywhere I look I see something that needs to be accomplished-making me feel overwhelmed. It is not fun, I don't like being in a funk- my family doesn't like my being in a funk. Boo for funks. But, try as I might, here I am dealing with one of my funks again.

Last night, as I was lying in bed, I was trying to figure out exactly what might have triggered this funk. I mean, it's the "most wonderful time of the year." I am looking forward to two weeks of my family being together for the holidays- one of my favorite things. I actually have already accomplished at least 75% of my Christmas preparations. I was really irritated by my bad attitude.

Then I realized. I am facing an enormous change. Hopefully, in one week I will begin preparations to travel to a developing nation. While there I will meet my son. I will bring him home. I have no idea what his personality will be like, how well he will adjust to our schedule, our foods, our family, or even how long it will take him to acknowledge that we are a part of his life? Will he let me hold him and hug him and kiss him right away? Or will it take weeks or months? How will my other children respond to this child? I mean right now they love him, pray for him, and are excited- but when the rubber meets the road, what will it be like? Will we be able to return to our school work in a few weeks and if we do, what will our schedule be like? Will we spend weeks fighting viruses and parasites like so many of our fellow adoptive families have?

OR

In one week we could be delayed. Then I will set aside preparations for traveling. I will begin figuring out how to best dig in and move forward with life here. Not sure for how long or if it will be the only delay or the first of many.

AND

I realized that though my funk is not what I want and I need to control myself, it is not necessarily outlandish that I'm struggling with a funk again. So, I have decided to try using some of my classic funk fighting strategies which include but are not limited to: reading God's word often, praying my way through my "moments", apologizing to my children and husband frequently, reminding myself of what's really important, and assuring myself that God is sovereign and he already knows all the days written for me. So, off I go to face my day- wish me luck with my funk fighting!

Update!

We were so excited yesterday to receive an update on our little guy. We get these about once a month from our agency, and they always provide a little bit of comfort coupled with an urgency to get to him. This is what the text from this month's update said:

“N**** can walk! He took a few steps on his own while I was watching him, before falling into the arms of his caregiver. He's not a marathon runner, but it's a start. His confidence is very high, though he doesn't like being left alone on the floor for too long. With so much unknown, he seems much more comfortable in his bed, where he knows the surroundings, but rest assured that we make him get his exercise! His voice is coming along as well, and in addition to Mama and Dada, he can say "come" ("nay" in Amharic). He looks great, and seems to be really loving his environment. He has a huge room with only two other room-mates, so they have plenty of space to run around, that is when they start running!

Needless to say, we're excited to see that he's continuing to develop normally, though we are sad that we missed his first steps. I have to remind myself that there will be many steps that we'll be beside him, and that God's timing is perfect.

The biggest shocker was certainly the photo. They shaved his head. I don't mean they cut his hair, I mean they SHAVED his head. Slick bald, shiny, shaved! The kids and Ryan were so upset. I have to admit, I was a little taken aback, but I kept reassuring everyone that it would grow back and telling them to look at his cute cheeks instead. The kids were downright angry, but when I explained all the reasons why they might have decided to shave his head and I showed them our previous progression of photos and how quickly his hair had grown in each of those, they calmed down. They have decided that he will NEVER have his head shaved while in our care!

I wish I could share my photo of our HEALTHY (read chunky) boy here, but I suppose we'll just have to wait 8 more days for that, won't we? Have a great day!

Single Digits

Well, here at the Campbell Circus we have two countdowns going on. Of course, we have the annual countdown to Christmas. However, this year that has paled in comparison to our countdown to Courtdate! It's hard to believe that we're down to single digits, but, we are. NINE days, that's it NINE days! Needless to say, there is some nervous tension in the Campbell House.

Someone asked at church yesterday why we were nervous, we were sure to pass, weren't we? Well, yeah, probably, eventually, we are pretty sure to pass. But, there are often delays- not usually a few days of delays, they can turn into weeks of delays, months of delays, over a variety of little things. We don't want delays- at all! But, we do want God's timetable and we've already learned that sometimes means delays. So, we are waiting with hope and trying to take baby steps toward welcoming our 15 month old. But, I'm also trying to prepare myself for the possibility that he may be a 16 month old or an 18 month old or !?! Please pray for us as we continue to wait- the days seem to be getting lengthier and the anxiety comes in short and frequent bouts. I am answering the anxiety by whispering a prayer every time I feel anxious and I use scriptures like these to remind myself of what I know to be true.

 The LORD is my strength and my shield; 

my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. 

My heart leaps for joy 

and I will give thanks to him in song.

Psalm 28:7

I leave you with a photo of some of the cutest "stairsteps" I've ever seen in my life.  Every time I get a photo of all of them coordinating, I wonder if it's the last one of them I'll get.  I just don't know how much longer Abby will be willing to match or how much longer Isaac will be willing to wear green knit Christmas pants- he's already a little skeptical.  There's just one thing missing from this photo, and hopefully in 9 days, the courts will agree!

Surprise!

Yesterday the kids and I got dressed in our red and green and bopped out the door for a Happy Birthday Jesus party hosted by one of the moms in our co-op. I must admit I was a little irritated when I got the invite for a Tuesday morning at 9:30. We are usually schooling on Tuesday mornings at 9:30, but I knew the kids would enjoy the party and I felt obligated to attend. So, off we went to the church to participate in the festivities.

However, when we entered the "party" room at church, I noticed that the crowd was certainly not a "Happy Birthday Jesus" crowd. We had walked right into a surprise shower for our family. The children's ministry staff had invited all of the church employees to a shower during their normal weekly staff meeting time. So, we received a sweet surprise. The kids enjoyed helping with opening the gifts and we are delighted to say that we now have a good starter supply of diapers and wipes! The girls who planned the shower made each of the kids a little treat bag, but Isaac did lament on the way out, "I was really wishing it was a Christmas party."

We feel very loved. Everyone is getting excited about our trip. We are cautiously optimistic that we'll be celebrating a court success two weeks from tonight. We can't wait to introduce you all to our boy, who Isaac has affectionately nick-named Abey Baby.

Here I am with Jennifer, Daphne, and Sarah- the girls who pulled one over on me!

Our cute diaper cake made by Ms. Sarah. Also notice the diaper bag tag hanging in the background. Ms. Daphne was thoughtful enough to fill it out completely so that I wouldn't have to worry about it on our first Sunday at church. That's the sign of an experienced pre-school director!