Busy, Busy, Busy

I have so much to do.  The reality that I'm about to be mom to TWO girls, is beginning to sink in, and with it the knowledge that I am NOWHERE near being ready for this.  I feel as though I'm in those last few weeks of my pregnancy, and I'm suddenly realizing that my baby bag isn't even packed!  The word "panic" comes to mind.  I feel like there are so many things to do, and the clock is ticking.

For starters, we don't have a will!  I'm sure there's a lot of people running around out there without wills, but hubs and I really want to have one in place before we travel to China.  We just want to have things in order in case anything happens to us while we're gone.  The one's really important to us; it's at the top of my list!

I need gifts!!  It's traditional to give gifts in China.  We need to have about 8-10 ready to hand out to various people while we are there, and I have NO IDEA what to get.  I really want to get them something local, made here in Austin.  Since BBQ from the County Line isn't an option, I'm not sure what to get.  It also needs to be small so that it can easily fit in our luggage.  Any ideas??

My parents will be staying with Juliet while we are gone.  I need to type out some "sub notes" for my mom.  I realized the other day that although she knows where some things are, she doesn't know where everything is.  She'll not only be caring for our daughter, but our kitties, garden and house too!

There are so many more things.  I'm not even sure where to start!  We do have some stuff done though.  We got our visa applications in this week, and we're hoping to get our passports and visas back next week.  We've been rearranging furniture so that hubs can keep his desk and work area.  We've also been getting the girls' room ready.  Over the weekend, my parents came over, bringing my grandmothers van.  Hubs and I headed to IKEA.  The girls' room doesn't have a closet, as it was originally a family room that we converted to a bedroom.  As a solution, we decided to buy wardrobes.  We found two very cute ones at IKEA.  In addition, we found a woodworker to build the girls' bunk beds.  They turned out very nicely!

I absolutely adore the white furniture with the purple walls!  It's so girly and cute.   

Alas, this is ALL we have ready.  I don't even have any clothing for Liesel yet.  I haven't done any shopping for her because we didn't have any current info on her height and weight.  However, this past week, we received her updated stats.  We used a care package service called Red Thread China to donate some jammies and socks to Liesel's orphanage.  As a result, they sent us some new pictures and stats.  We were pleased to find that she now weighs 30 lbs. and is 37 in. tall (that's just 5 lbs. heavier and 2 inches taller than Juliet!).  We also found that she and Juliet have about the same sized feet, which should make shoes easy.  After seeing her new stats, we think she'll be wearing size 3T.  James and I have a date night coming up in a couple of weeks.  We're planning to go to dinner and then go shopping for clothes and bedding for Liesel.  I'm really looking forward to this date!  Here are a few of the new photos of our Chinese princess.  

So many toys for her to enjoy!

I love seeing such a beautiful outdoor environment for her!

She's so beautiful!

Have you ever seen the movie, "What About Bob?"  That's me right now, baby-stepping away!  Up until now, I always felt like we had tons of time to get ready.  Now it seems that we may not!  If everything goes according to schedule, we could be in China in just a month!  Although that is the best-case scenario, it's still really scary!  Please remember us in prayer as we get ready to go from a family of three to a family of four!