It's a.....

I haven't posted much the past several months because I've been tired and have had other things occupying my brain. About 5 months ago, we found out that I'm pregnant! My due date is toward the end of October so I'm more than halfway there.

We are, of course, very excited about the baby that will be coming into our family soon. We get lots of questions all the time- - here are the answers. :-)

Yes, we are excited.
Yes, we're still adopting. Our decision to add to our family through adoption is independent of us having/not having biological children.
Yes, we were surprised, and at the same time, no we were not surprised.
Yes, I'm feeling well.
Yes, Elias is really excited. Then Elias always pipes up and says, "I can't wait to have TWO "babies" come into our family!" So then I respond...
No, I'm not having twins- we're adopting as well.
Yes, we're finding out what we're having.
No, we don't have a name yet. (And if we did I wouldn't tell you).

It's been an adjustment to be expecting a baby by birth after expecting our next Ethiopian child for so long now. Adoption is so up and down with twists and turns and heartache and so many unknowns. With pregnancy, I can pick up a hundred books at my local library or look at thousands and thousands of websites that tell me exactly what my baby is doing today, how I may feel or look, and give me pages upon pages of suggestions, remedies and opinions on how to handle any bit of uncomfortable feeling, ache, or pain.

It's amazing really the illusion of "control" all this information creates. No wonder people are afraid to adopt! For us it's been fun to experience the polarities of both experiences at the same time.

Now, on with the title of this post. We found out recently what we're having and decided to surprise Elias and the grandmas with a homemade cake announcing the gender. It was fun to celebrate together in this way!

GIRL!