Finally...A Look Ahead.

The past few weeks have been purely packed.  Not one spare moment in any given day to slow down or even hardly to breathe.  I am only able to sit at the compter right now to type this post because I woke up unable to sleep tonight...my mind swirling with the many plates currently spinning in the air.  Thankfully, God has graciously prompted me to protect my early morning quiet times with Him to keep me grounded and give me strength and wisdom as I tackle each day's To-Do list.  Were it not for that, I might be needing some strong medication about now! 

Let's see...how to even begin to tell you what's happening here.  Just like my to-do lists, I think I need to tackle this blog post issue-by-issue:

Lilly's Next Surgery
Lilly and I head to Philadelphia again this weekend for her first VEPTR expansion surgery next Tuesday.  I hate to say it, but with everything else going on (that you will soon read about), this has seemed like a minor blip on the horizon.  Now that it's almost time to go, however, I am thinking ahead to the hospital stay and the surgery itself.  This one is a MUCH more minor procedure than her big surgery in February.  Tom will stay back with the older two kids as they complete their FINAL week of school.  Lilly will have a pre op consult with Dr. Campbell on Monday, then on Tuesday he will go in to lengthen the 3 rods she now has in her back so as to keep up with her growth.  I am eager to see how much she has grown since her last surgery and how much this surgery will add to her height.  The expansion surgeries typically involve a quick one-night hospital stay, much less pain, and a much quicker recovery. 

The House Hunt
We are hopeful that her recovery will indeed be quick and fairly painless so Lilly can hang out in NJ with Grammy and Pop Pop and her aunts and uncles and cousins while Tom and I do some house hunting.  Tom is going to fly up to meet us later in the week following surgery so that we can then head south to Northern VA for some house hunting in preparation for our PCS this summer to the DC area.  We have a realtor sending us listings in the Vienna/Falls Church area, and we have been busy looking at floor plans and photos, plotting them on a map, comparing area schools, looking into swim teams, etc.  We are hoping to find something suitable and affordable during our quick house hunting whirlwind weekend.  We are excited to see our good friends the Tomatz's who moved to DC from FL last summer...Heather has been helping me look into the various neighborhoods we are considering. 

The House Rental
Meanwhile, after much thought, discusssion, and prayer, we have decided to hang onto our Florida home and rent it out.  So we have been busy reseaerching FL landlord-tenant law, preparing the house for "showing," and screening potential tenants.  God has blessed us with a family that we know from Lilly's preschool who are interested in renting our home, possibly for as long as 4 years.  I am now working on drawing up the lease and getting things finalized. 

Getting the house ready...wish I could always keep it so clean!

And, last, but absolutely NOT least...

The Adoption
Our paperchase is coming along really quickly.  It is amazing what having a photo of your child does to your motivation level and sense of urgency in completing dossier compilation (not to mention the previous experience of having done it once and knowing better how to acquire all the necessary components to the dossier...).  Our agency has been awesome, fully on board with our goal of getting our dossier to China before our big move this summer, so that the move will not complicate the approval process too much.  As far as it depends on me, the paperwork is moving at lightning speed, and all but 2 of the required dossier documents are already in various stages of the notarization-certification-authentication process.  Most of them are already submitted for authentication at the Chinese consulate in Houston.  Our social worker is coming later today (hopefulyl after I get some sleep!) for our home study, which is the last puzzle piece needed to apply for our immigration approval for Isabel.  Once we have our immigration approval from the USCIS, our dossier can go to China.  Just yesterday I put Isabel's first care package into the mail--some candy to share, a little doll, a little puppy, some hair barrettes and bows, and a little photo album of our family--immediate and extended--with labels in Chinese.  The arrival of this care package will be the first notification to the orphange and to Isabel that she has a family waiting for her.  Her birthday is coming, so I plan to send another care package soon with a birthday-party-in-a-box complete with disposable camera so the caregivers can snap some photos of her enjoying birthday treats with her little friends. 

First care package to Isabel

Our agency is hopeful that we may be able to travel sometime later this fall to meet and bring Isabel home.  Oh, how I hope so!  Just enough time to get ourselves settled in our new location, get the kids settled in their new schools, and investigate what options there are in that area for Isabel's educational needs when she arrives.  Then, hopefully and Lord willing, we can bring her home before the holidays and begin the new adventure of bonding and attachment.

And, because I'm insane and obsessed, a few things percolating in my mind
Because running and exercise in general are part of my overall mental health, I am also looking ahead at upcoming race opportunities...maybe the Marine Corps Marathon in October, maybe the Philadelphia marathon in November.  Each of these races has a charity group that I would love to run for--Love Without Boundaries and the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House.  We'll see how the timing of our China trip shapes up and whether fitting one of these into my calendar might work.  Then there is also the Nation's Triathlon in Washington, DC on September 11th, which sounds amazing to me, but my wise man (resisting the urge to shake his head and roll his eyes at his hopeless wife) has already said "not this year..."  He's right...maybe 2012 for that one!