Changes...

Let me just say at the get-go...I am less than, well, organized. And I am a procrastinator.

And I am NESTING!

So, even though we have known for the last 15 months that we would be bringing home Joel, I just decided YESTERDAY to rearrange all of the rooms, moving everyone around. The girls are moving to the loft (unconventional, I know, but we are out of bedrooms and they are excited about it!), the big boys are moving to what used to be the girls' room, and the "babies" (Joshua and Joel) are moving into what used to be the big boys' room. I had planned for all 4 boys to share a room, but I really think this arrangement will work out better. My house is upside down now, but I am hoping we will finish up this weekend.

We have had a baby crib in our room for almost all of the last 12 years. We usually keep babies in our room for the first couple of years, then move them in with an older sibling. By the time each child (so far) has been ready to move, there has usually been another baby in our room. Not this time, though. Joshua is moving out of our room, and there is not a little one moving in. I am really not sure whether to put a happy or a sad face after that statement, but I am glad that he is excited about sharing a room with Joel! I am hoping that I can keep it positive and not have an ugly cry when we carry the crib out. I am less-than-spectacular when it comes to change. I have worn the same green jacket since I was in 8th grade. Seriously. :)

In other news, I bought a car seat for Joel. Every seat in our Suburban will be full when he comes home, and 5 of our 6 children will still be in some type of car seat. Josie is still too small (yes, even at 9 1/2 years old) for a regular seat belt, so I have been searching for options for a booster seat that we can use in the back with 3 across. I think I found something that will work well, but it took some time and research to find it. I remember when Jonathan was born, I was so determined to keep my little Honda station wagon (remember - I don't like change). I measured and remeasured, and shoved and buckled, and googled, trying to find a way to fit 3 carseats across that backseat. It was more narrow than a standard seat, and we eventually surrendured and bought a Suburban. We find ourselves in that same situation now, with our backseat being more narrow than the middle seat, but now there is a vest on the market that is a "wearable" booster seat. I am pretty sure it would probably be considered much less-than-cool in some circles. It's a good thing she doesn't seem to notice or care, I guess.

Thank you all for keeping up with our journey. We are in the last weeks and are just so happy to be marking off the days until we hold our little boy again!

Need shoes...will travel!

We are getting ready for a special little trip in the not-too-distant future! On our last trip, I handled things in my classic Joy style. Which basically means that I completely procrastinated and packed everything at the last minute with sick kids all around me. Seriously, I was holding a bucket under the chin of one child right up until the day before we left, and I was giving breathing treatments to 3 children every 4 hours until I handed them over to my sister (sorry about that, sis!). In the midst of that chaos, I had clothes, shoes, papers, schoolbooks, etc. all around us. I am hoping to do better this time!

I have been asked several times over the last few weeks if there is anything that we need for our trip, or anything that we could take with us for the children in the orphanage. Honestly, we (Jeremy and I) don't need anything because so many loving, generous people have given so much that we now have all of the funds that we anticipate needing for travel. I have purchased toys for the orphanage and gifts for the caregivers. There is, however, one more thing that I would LOVE to take with me -- Shoes.

I noticed before we traveled on our first trip that the shoes our little man wore in each picture were pretty worn. When we were visiting, he wore sweet little bedroom slippers every day that had a lamb on the toes. He loved looking at his shoes! So, an idea was born. I will be collecting new shoes for the orphanage. I would love for them to be the little leather type that Target sells in the baby department (Ministar is the Target brand, Robeez is the more expensive brand that Stride Rite sells). I chose these particular shoes for a few reasons:

1. They are sized 0-6 months, 6-12 months, 12-18 months, 18-24 months. They fit a wider range foot than shoes that are specifically sized.

2. They are easier to pack than harder-soled shoes, and they weigh less. We are limited in the amount of luggage that we can take, but I think I can fit plenty of this type in our suitcase all around our things.

3. Joel lives in an orphanage for children with special needs. He is one of the older children there, at age 7. Most children there are under 5, and many of them have significant medical needs. These are smaller children, and so many of them are not mobile. These particular shoes have cute pictures on them, so that would give the children something interesting to look at when laying in their cribs or playing on the floor.

4. They are fairly inexpensive. You can buy the ministar brand at Target for $12.99/pair. The ones at Stride Rite are about $40/pair. I have used both brands through the years, and the Target ones are absolutely fine. The only benefit I have noticed with the Robees brand is that they come in larger sizes (probably to fit up to about a 4T). If you particularly want to donate Robeez ones, that will be fine, but the Target ones will definitely be useful.

Here is a link to Target's website: http://www.target.com/s?keywords=miniwear+shoes&searchNodeID=1038576|1287991011&ref=sr_bx_1_1&x=0&y=0

If you would like to donate a pair (or a few) to the orphanage, please let me know and we can arrange a way for me to get them from you! I need all shoes by Sunday, May 8.

Thank you so much!