bags are nearly packed

Chris and I were so humbled by all of your kind comments yesterday. I never know how things can come across online – thank you for so much encouragement yesterday. I was in shock with how many of you left comments sharing your personal stories related to cleft lips and cleft palates. Thank you for sharing those, deepest thanks. I will treasure those for a lifetime.

2 days left at home. Oh my word – two days left at home!

My husband is amazing. This month has been crazy busy for him at work. He has put in so many extra hours at work and has a lot of weight on his shoulders. In the middle of a very busy season at work, he has been working hard at home too. For nearly a month, every free moment he has been working out in the studio with my dad. He has pulled a lot of very late nights and never complains. And to top off a lot at work and building an add-on, he has an emotionally unstable wife to deal with…goodness he is a good man.

Sanding down bowling lanes late at night….very late at night.

My new counters. Chris, my dad and my grandpa have put in so many hours all to make a special place for our family…for me. I’ve got great men in my life.

 I’ve got the bags nearly packed. Another load or two (or 6) of laundry and we’ll be good to go. As I was filling the suitcases, there are a few things I wanted to share….because they are so cute and they make me smile.

Well, the first is two fold. I wanted to take some pictures of the boys and FireCracker to share with our Little One. She is pretty young, but maybe she’ll be interested in the new faces before she meets two of them when we come home. Instead of doing prints, I did a mini accordion album from Mpix. It is small, closes magnetically and is pretty durable.

While I was making one for Little One, I also made some for the grandparents (and great grandparent’s) with pictures of all 5 kids. Grandparents Day is September 9th and I usually try to do some type of photo gift. We get back on September 7th, so I decided to give gifts a little early this year in case I am too tired to function come Grandparent’s Day. Part of why I wanted to share these with you is they are on sale tomorrow for 50% off. So, pick out 12 pictures today, upload them to mpix.com and you’ve got Grandparent’s Day gifts already done. Surprise Grandparents! I meant to give them to you at the football game last Saturday and forgot…total spoiler seeing them on my blog today 🙂

I have some incredible friends ‘in real life’ and so many I have met through my blog or instagram. Sweet new and old friends have sent many goodies to take with us for Little One and some fun things for the two that are staying home. Packing has been a lot of fun! Jenny (aka Skippee) sent us so many thoughtful gifts related to the Chinese culture and language. She doesn’t have an etsy shop up yet, but hopefully soon. The girls also got more snapping clips from Lulu & ChaCha. Little One doesn’t have much hair right now, so I’m thinking these small headbands are going to look pretty cute on her little head.

So many cute outfits c/o Tea Collection. I’m pretty sure I squealed when the box arrived and I pulled out these tiny outfits. She is going to be one stylish little miss.

FireCracker ADORES matching. I am not a matchy matchy girl, but my daughter is very much one. Her favorite things for her sister are things that match her own. Needless to say, when she’s been given gifts that match or coordinate with one for her little sister – she is over the moon. The coordinating clips and headbands from My Little Dear were a big hit. We have a very special guide going with us to our daughter’s orphanage and I really want something fun to take as a gift. I knew right away I wanted one of Storey & Pip’s (used to be called Tweet Baby Designs) flower canvas totes to fill with other items. Along with the tote I’ve got some cute chomping necklaces for Little One and hairclips for when her hair grows!

All that looks so much cuter spread out for photos. Now it is mixed in with a bunch of other stuff. I’ll be like a walking etsy store when I land in China!

Just a little note to let you know I set the dates for the next SnapShop. It will be October 14th – November 4th. For those unfamiliar with my SnapShop workshop, here is a little blurb:

SnapShops were born out of a desire to enable others not only to grasp the basics of photography with a dslr camera, but also learn how to capture the beauty in their every days. The online workshop is for beginners, not professionals. It lasts 3 weeks, is entirely online, and self-paced. If you are interested in learning more about your dslr camera, I invite you to visit the SnapShop website for more information.  I would be honored to help you go from knowing how to just take a picture to beautifully capturing the moments of your life.

Click here to go to the SnapShop website. There you can find out more information and how to sign up!

The next SnapShop will be October 14-28, 2012. Class size is limited.

You can also visit A is for Albuterol for a chance to win a spot in the October course….and you get the chance to support mom and blogger Lindsey as she blogs around the clock on September 1st to raise awareness and funds for the Global Links Nebualizer Campaign.

I am working on finishing up this month’s Incubator Project update before we leave. I hope to post it later today.