3 WEEKS, BLESSED, BUSY and UPDATES!

So I wrote a post last Wednesday and waited to publish it until I uploaded pictures ... as you can see, that post never made it live. I never got the pics onto the computer... Well, in that post, I said court was 4 weeks. Now I can see that 3 weeks from tonight/tomorrow morning will be court for our boy ... that is amazing in all senses of the word.

I gave congrats to Matt & Monica and others who PASSED COURT and will be traveling soon. I also said that to tie into Matt/Monica and my confession post from a couple weeks ago ... I can totally see GOD knows what He's doing. If we passed court today, we'd be freaking out. Our house is a wreck; the nursery is completely empty ... we're scheduled to get carpet installed Thursday and there is A TON to do around here before carpet is installed.

That is why I haven't posted forever ... I have been busy around here trying to get ready for carpet install starting on Thursday. I'm close but still have some things to do (tear apart the home theatre system, move furniture, etc). It's close though ... thank the LORD because I'm not sure how much more my back could take. I also thought that for first-time parents (at least for us), God gave us a little more time to prepare and go overboard on things :). Many of the parents who have kiddos home already seem to get quick dates .... Thank you LORD for Your grace and mercy in my life.

So a week ago Monday night, Amber's work through her a surprise baby shower at Maple Street Grill. We are BIG fans of that place ... if you live around here, try it ... it's locally owned and GREAT food. I was in on it to get her there and she had NO idea. We've been fasting/praying on Wednesdays since our court date is on a Wednesday in Ethiopia and then been going out to eat on the 20th of each month in celebration for what GOD is going to do. So it played out perfectly on Monday the 20th. Her coworkers (and former coworkers) were so GENEROUS! They blessed us so much ... I have met most of them previously so it was good to see them again. Thank you guys SO much ... we are truly grateful for everything ... from all the presents to the dinner (I had blackened tuna steak and Amber had bacon-wrapped shrimp ... yum) to the dessert ... it was too much but THANK YOU!.

We've also heard from 2 families that got back from getting their kiddos this past weekend ... they both were able to hang out with our boy!

...i held and prayed over and love a bunch of the babies and one was your guy-i picked him up and sat with him on my lap and kissed and hugged him and told him all about his new room, window seat and everything and his big letter "s" on the cool chair rail, etc-then i prayed over him and told him you were trying to get to him as soon as you could!! he is a pleasant little guy who let me pick him right up.

I instant messaged with another family today ... some of her comments...

* he was rolling over
* i got a couple smiles outta him
* yes - he is SO serious but i tickled his belly a little and tickled his cheeks and he squeaked a couple out
* his special mothers LOVE him ... definitely one of their favorites
* be prepared because he's rolling over. i'm sure he'll be crawling in no time. he's a squirmy little one
* oh and another thing i wanted to tell you that the photo album u sent is hanging in his crib!

How amazing is that!?!?! Thank you families for those amazing updates, for loving on our boy and for praying for him! We are forever grateful! Please know that we are praying for you and your newest family member!

ok, some pics...

Amber opening her presents at the shower her coworkers had for her...

Amber opening our car seat her coworkers got us!

Amber opening up the jogging stroller I surprised her with :)

Everyone enjoying presents being opened ... thank you everybody!

Amber chatting with a couple coworkers. Since she moved into pediatrics, she doesn't get to see many of her 'old' coworkers much anymore

All the presents :)

ok, here's what has been keeping me busy the past couple weeks...

I tiled the entryway into the basement from the garage

I tiled under the stove ... didn't realize how heavy that thing was until my neighbor and I decided to move it ... thanks Scott for for the help!

The current disaster of our living room ... I have spent countless hours patching old vent holes in the floor that are nonfunctional and screwing the flooring down throughout the house. For those who own older homes, you know about squeaks ... and if it doesn't squeak now, it will soon. So I have hundreds, probably thousands of screws in the flooring in our house now ... and still not done :( I can't wait to get that carpet in :)

The latest pics of the nursery...completely empty!

Here has been our latest project for the nursery. This was definitely a family effort. When Amber had her shower in Indiana a few weeks ago, I hung out with her dad before we met up with my dad. I traced Africa onto a piece of wood ... I had to then go get Amber from the shower and while I was gone, her dad cut it out ... it took him 1.5 hrs! Amber then painted it over the weekend and I got the letters and heart glued on ... we love it and it's ready to go on the wall once we put the nursery together. Hopefully we'll be able to get the nursery put together quickly and be able to show you all soon!