What I'm Thinking...

The thoughts that are currently running through my head...

• How thankful I was to be home for Thanksgiving!  I wasn't expecting it at all and I definitely didn't take it for granted (especially since my husband had the day off!).  Even if at one point during dinner, I teared up at the thought of our little girl eating mush in an orphanage instead of here with warm food, family, and so. much. love.
• We found out that her actual birthday is November 6.  I think they had it confused with November 10 because that was the day her birth mother signed all of the paperwork.  The more I think about it, the more I am amazed at how intentionally God was working in our lives.  Our daughter was born on November 6 (the night I had prayed specifically about God's will for us to adopt), Orphan Sunday was on November 7, we turned in our paperwork on November 9, which was the same day our daughter's birth mother signed the paperwork in Russia.  The timing of it all will never cease to amaze me.
• The last two days have been crazy.  We had to re-apply for visas and then I accidentally mailed the copy of our old visa instead.  I feel like I'm pregnant because I just keep doing things like this and it's killing me.  Thankfully I was able to attach our new visas in an email and all is well.  I was hoping the next day would be better, but Casey spilled hot chocolate on himself at church (he grabbed the cup before I could add cold water) and ended up with second degree burns on his chest.  It was horrifying watching him scream for so long, but he eventually fell asleep in my arms.  Of course, Adam was out of town too.  It was all too much honestly and I couldn't help but cry with him as we waited for the doctor.  Thankfully, he will be okay... I just have to put an antibiotic on his wound and keep it covered for two weeks.  Totally scary and stressful though!
• We are a few days away from heading back to Russia.  I am sooooooo excited to see our sweet girl.  I am sooooooo nervous for court.  I've heard the Russian judges can be a little... okay a lot intimidating.  I've heard that it can take hours.  I've heard that I may need to have some Russian recipes memorized in order to show him that we are going to implement her culture into our lives.   I've heard that the adoption can be delayed if we say something the judge doesn't like.  My heart beats faster just thinking about it.  Please say a prayer for us on December 5!
• If everything goes well in court, we only have ten days until Gotcha Day!  The day where our little girl is ours forever!  Russia has a mandated ten day period after court before you can bring your child home, hence the third trip to Russia.  :)  Still hoping and praying we make it home and bring our family together just in time for Christmas.