The "Sprinkle"

Today's post is likely to be a smattering of different thoughts, if you will. The first being more of an informational update than the rest. Just minutes ago, we received an email from Embassy telling us that they have scheduled a birth mom interview for March 21st. I don't know when that means that we will travel, but most likely soon after. That feels like a long way away from now, but with this extra time, maybe we can eradicate all existing fighting, whining and crying amongst the two cherubs here, so that Maci Meeraf can join a sweet and peaceful family. Woah . . . OK. . . . back to reality. Anyway, hopefully, we'll be traveling the week after her interview?

Changing gears, now. A week ago Sunday, something monumental happened in this whole adoption world for me. It was a baby shower (or "sprinkle" as my friend Erin named it). I know these happen all the time and they are cute and fun and cheery times, but this one was big for me. I was even hesitant about it, because everyone has done so much for me already. But here is how it all went down in my eyes. As soon as I pulled up, I could tell there was a party to be had, with balloons, a big "M" on the door made of tissue paper roses and it didn't stop there. As I entered the house, the hostesses were all wearing shirts with Africa on them. That was even a story in itself. The long of the short of it, was that Erin came across this website a couple days prior to the shower and a neighbor of hers that doesn't even know me, ended up buying the shirts (and shirts for our 3 kids with the same logo) at the last minute! What a blessing she was, because on top of making the shower even more special, it just so happens that the lady who made the shirts was doing it as a fundraiser for her adoption from ET and she is with my same agency. That was just a fun little twist. Anywho . . . everything was done up to the nines, with bookmarks, the best strawberry cake in the world, pendant flags with Maci's name on it, super cute name tags and the list goes on. Erin kept saying in her slightly southern twang, even though she is from Colorado, "GIRRRRRRRL, it's just paper!" But it wasn't just paper. It was an all out celebration of Maci. Up to this point, when people have said, "Congratulations, that is so exciting that you are bringing home Maci, " I have replied, even sometimes out loud, "Yeah, but we still don't know about Negusu." During this shower, I didn't even think about Negusu and I consider that a good thing. It was so fun to know that I could be sooooooo excited about bringing home Maci, even without Negusu. I just can't wait to bring her home!!!! So, thank you to all who made the shower such a turning point for me and Maci. I can never thank you enough. Speaking of thank yous, maybe this post can stand in lieu of all the thank you notes I need to write. Just kidding - they should be trickling in. However, if you don't get one before we travel to ET, then still know that I am eternally grateful for that shower and for the sweet notes and gift cards:)

I'm all in the mood to write now and I have so much more to talk about, but I'll leave this post as is and try to attach the video that we showed at the shower. The first slides are of pictures of trips that I have taken that has led us to adopt overseas. The very first picture was taken when I was in 8th grade, in Mexico, and was seared into my brain as the very first view of extreme poverty.

Give Me an E . . .

Give me a M, give me a B, give me an A, give me 2 S's and a Y. What does that spell? EMBASSY! We were submitted to embassy today, which feels like a big deal to me. So, now that embassy has it in their hot little hands, they can decide to take our case in a couple different directions. We should know in a couple weeks what path our case will take. The most desirable option would be for them to say, "come on over and bring your little one home." The next, and most likely option would be that embassy would choose to interview Meraf's birth mom, which would likely add an extra 3 to 5 weeks. The third and least desirable option would be that our case would have some sort of unknown extenuating circumstances that would stall out the process for awhile. Obviously, we are rooting for the first option. This all really might happen, people!

In the meantime, I am trying to prepare our kids for Meraf's arrival. Spencer seems down with it all, but Leah keeps saying, "I want Magusu." However, the other day she did say that she would pass her old shoes to Meraf (she's so thoughtful, huh?) and she also said that she wanted Meraf to have a "pink on pink" bedspread. I feel like that is progress, right?

Speaking of bedspreads, my sister-in-law really outdid herself on this one. In the mail today, arrived the most incredible quilts for Leah's and Meraf's beds, in addition to a little mini quilty blanket to take with me to pick her up. I seriously felt like someone on the Ellen show that just won a new car. I love them THAT much. They have the same fabrics, but they are both a little different. And then the topper, is that she told me the she and another lady prayed over the quilts and for the girls as they made them. Don't think I didn't have a little tear in my eye when she told me that. It is all starting to feel so real now and I'm ready!