thanks for walking this journey with us

I just want to say thank you to all of you who are walking this journey with us. There have been so many wonderful, kind, generous comments and actions over the last year as we've walked this road to our child. We're so close! I just wanted to mention a few recent wonderful things (and look back on a few) to say thanks so much for the support:

• My dad wants to come with us to pick-up our little one! How cool is that?! It means the world to me that he might get to spend some time where his grandchild lived.
• Hunter's parents are going to take care of Lucy for a good chunk of the time we're gone. So will several of you :) (sorry I didn't ask and confirm all that yet). It takes a village to raise a child and it takes a village to go get a child too. So, thanks so much for helping out with our other little one while we're away.
• My aunt Sandy gave us a card congratulating us on our adoption approval and a beautiful engraved cross that says "For this child I have prayed" 1 Samuel 1:27. I almost held it together.
• My sister KayLeigh and her boyfriend Neil gave us a book about the Babies of the World. Each page has 2 adorable babies from various countries. On the last page it has a Rwandan child (obviously our favorite page) Lucy calls the book her brother-sister book :). They also gave us an African cd (so good!) and this really cool wall hanging for the kids' room

• One of our best friends, Carly, pretty much tells me every day how much she loves our kid and how she can't wait until they're home.
• Friends of ours have offered to give us their MANY frequent flyer miles to use for our trip. We're not exactly sure if we'll be able to do it (since our travel plans will probably be complicated with the need to adjust last minute) but we are so thankful for the extremely generous and thoughtful offer! We love how many people are using their gifts, creativity and treasures to welcome this child into our home!
• Remember the Yard Sale?! So much time and effort by friends and so much money raised to help us and to donate to the orphanage!!!
• One of our best friends here is going to come over and help me get the room ready. Once the room is ready I'm probably going to become an (even more frequent) emotional wreck. Well, I know one person is going to help already...but I'm probably going to ask for more help. I'm not so good at home organization stuff.
• Every single comment or note we've received about our child makes my day. Seriously. I know it is awkward or weird trying to connect to a kid that's so far away, but all the efforts mean the world to us. It is pretty much a guarantee that I'll cry if you ask me about or talk about our child or tell me you've prayed for him/her. Thanks for including him/her in your life already!
• 2 of our best (yes, best) friends in Richmond want to throw a party to celebrate this little one. We're leaning towards a sort of last minute referral party (where we'll keep everything a secret until the party and then share pictures, name, etc.) Yes, I know, the chances of me being able to keep ANYTHING a secret are really slim...but I can try! We've thought about gifts for the orphanage instead of our kiddo... but we're not sure about the best things to donate, etc. If anyone has any ideas of what to do--let us know!
• God gave us our Rwandan approval the day before my birthday. On a Saturday no less! It was such a surprise and then I got to spend the morning with lots of great friends. It was one of the best days of my life. No exaggeration.

Thanks again to each of you who have loved us and walked this with us. I know we're going to get really busy soon with final preparations and I don't want to miss a chance to thank you and recount some of God's many blessings along this road. We're so, so grateful for each of you and we can't wait to introduce you to our sweet child.