Surreal....

So I am sitting here on this Sunday night, surrounded by to-do lists, piles of official papers and a veritable mountain of donations and personal items to pack, and I can hardly that we leave this week!!! As that reality began to sink in, I thought that I had better post one last blog before we leave.  I am not sure that I will be able to post much until we return, as time and internet connections will probably be commodities, but I do truly  hope that we will be able to blog at least once to say, "We are the proud parents of 3 beautiful children!"
This whole week seems quite surreal.  I actually paused before printing off the packing checklist and thought, "Is it really time to use this?!"  We began this journey just over a year ago and at the time, the thought of waiting one year seemed like forever.  But just like so many things in life, that year has flown by! There have definitely been slow moments, but that is exactly what they were...moments.  I hope that the next couple months of waiting will be remembered in the same way, as mere blinks of an eye, when we finally have Elizabeth in our home.  
We are just praising God for the blessing of anticipating another child in our home.  More laughter and giggles, more hair bows, shoes and frilly dresses, more arguments and whining, more bedtime hugs, and more opportunities to realize the love that God has for me as his child.  And in all this expectation, I have found that I truly miss a little girl that I have yet to meet.  I hear her laughter and giggles when Addie and Ian are being silly.  I feel her absence when we have family jumps on the trampoline. And I wish I could hold her little hand when I am ushering the kids through the parking lot at the store. All of these things will happen in God's perfect timing, I know, I just pray He gives me peace beyond understanding and grace as we walk through the next several months. 
I also want to thank everyone who is helping us as we prepare to leave.  Thank you for watching the house, the dogs, taking us to and from the airport and praying for our safe journeys as we travel to meet Elizabeth.  We are beyond blessed to have such wonderful and attentive friends and family.  I hope that upon our return we have excellent news and pictures to post of our sweet little Elle! God Bless you all.
Now I am going to crawl back into the middle of the pile I escaped from and get ready to "leave on a jet plane!"