The final countdown!

Finally, I feel like we are nearing the end of this adoption process. And yet, this end really means a whole new beginning! And trust me.....I'll happily pass off this waiting game to hold my precious baby boy in my arms!

We had a busy weekend preparing for our trip this week. The four of us spent much of the day on Saturday shopping. And we did a little more shopping after church yesterday. Yesterday afternoon our house was full of loads of laundry, piles to toys to be packed, piles of clothes to be packed, piles of shoes to be packed, bags stuck all over the place and lists, lists, lists! It was fun, albeit a wee bit stressful. Where do the hours in a day go??? We just kept our focus on the reason for this controlled chaos and wholeheartedly forgot about the stress.

So today that leaves me with getting the house picked up and cleaned, a last minute shopping trip for snacks for the car, a trip to the ATM, a vet appointment for the cat, loading the car, running the dishwasher, installing Xavier's carseat and a bunch more items that I can't think of right now. But a long list doesn't discourage me, because every time I cross an item off my list means I am one chore closer to my boy. Minute by minute, hour by hour and I am going to make it!

We are leaving this afternoon after Mike gets home from work, which we are hoping is around 4:00, but any of you that know Mike and his efforts to get home early on any given day know that the real chance of that happening is, well, slim at best! No fault of his....he is just BUSY! We'll drive as far as our bodies tell us we can before we need to stop for the night somewhere along the way. And then we will arrive in Chicago sometime on Tuesday afternoon.

We appreciate your prayers for our safety as we make our journey North, as well as for Xavier's safe travels. If you can find it in your heart, I would like to request that you also keep Xavier's foster family in your prayers as well. Undoubtedly this will be a very difficult, tearful separation for both the foster family and for Xavier and I want to know that they will be covered in prayer. His foster family has been heavy on my heart since we learned that Xavier will be coming home this week. I only wish that my heart was half the size as this dear family's. As hard as I try, I just cannot wrap my mind around raising and loving a baby for over 9 months, only to have to be separated from him by thousands of miles, knowing that they may never see him again. I like to think of them as Xavier's earthly guardian angels.

Well, my list is staring me in the face and not getting any shorter, so I am going to bid my farewells and get on my way. I am going to guess that the next time I post on my blog I just might be holding my newest bundle of God's blessing! And you may just have to wait until we get home on Sunday for pictures, but I'll try. Really, I will!!! Have a great week.....I know I will!

Much love,
The Froehlich family of 4, almost 5!