Once Upon A Time, I Had a Lovely Toddler Shower

     Ten days ago, some dear and lovely ladies, and one special person in particular, put on the most wonderful toddler shower to celebrate Holden.  I smile every time I think about it.  I just can't get over how honored I felt that these women came together to celebrate my precious little boy.  Even more surprising is the fact that although none of us have a definite date on when he might come home, they wanted to celebrate him nevertheless. 

    If you keep reading, you'll discover that we are one glorious step closer to bringing him home.  More on that later...

FIRST, I have to tell you about this splendid shower.
   
  I walked in to Christina's house, and it smelled magnificent.  She made Indian food!  I know, RIGHT?!  I can't believe she would take the time and effort to plan an Indian menu to honor Holden.  Indian food is not easy to make, believe me, I've tried!  I've got to get her chicken curry and lentil curry recipes, because they were DELICIOUS!  She also had a coconut-lime drink that was to-die-for, and Lisa brought key lime pie dessert cups - they were so cute and yummy! 
     Plus also, one advantage to adopting is that you can still have alcohol... just sayin'... it's a nice little bonus when you're at an event and the hostess makes the most delicious mixed drink on the planet.  I'm not an alkie or anything, but it's nice to have a little thing or two to rub in the faces of those ladies who have actual due dates for their babies...(jealous much?  naaaahh, not me!)...I mean... I still have normal-sized, non-puffy size 6 feet, so... who can complain about an elephant-length gestation with those little perks?  (FYI: an elephant's gestation is 22 months.  Chris and I applied to adopt with Holt in November of 2010.  So bringing Holden home in September would equal an elephant's gestation... looks like we're giving birth to an extremely overdue, ginormous elephant baby then!) 
      Back to the shower, which was amazing, and also included among its guests, one aforementioned pregnant lady with a due date coming very soon... so excited for you Jackie!  Also, I'm very impressed that you made it through an afternoon of Indian smells.  That takes skill when you're pregnant! 

     When I turned around, I saw this hanging from the mantle:

     Is this not the most adorable pennant you've ever seen?!  The vibrant colors will go perfectly with Holden's brightly colored room... can't wait to finish the room so I can really show this pennant off.  I love the pennant trend that's been going strong for a while now.  Pennants scream happiness and parties and celebration, so their use in baby and children's rooms is perfect.  It's such a fun way to say, "we're so overjoyed that you're here." 

     I got such fun gifts too: like this bath boat with fishing pole... even Chris had fun with this one! 

He was not as big a fan of the music set... but I promised to hide it away when he comes home from work.

We're all convinced Holden will be chasing Gus around the house trying fix him up and/or shove him into this tiny kennel that came with his vet kit.

And this happy, giddy, bowling set is just too fun

Love this little shirt set...adorbs!  I'm such a sucker for preppy little boy clothes. 

Lisa, the commanding officer's wife, gave this sippy cup as part of her gift.  How special is that?!  I love it! 

    We got tons of other cute and/or useful items.  Thank you so much, everyone!  Overall, I'm just overwhelmed by the support Chris and I have received from his squadron and the spouses.  When we first mentioned the adoption to the guys in the squadron, we thought for sure the response we'd get was, "Are you serious?  This is the Marine Corps.  You don't have time to skip all over the globe adopting orphans."  Instead, we've received nothing but encouragement, excitement, and overwhelming support to bring Holden home.  We feel so grateful to be part of this squadron.  We've made so many wonderful friends, and it really does feel like a family.  The military is pretty unique that way.  You may have to live far from home but you develop such close friendships and a network of support that becomes your second family.  We are so incredibly blessed to have our Marine Corps family.  When the wait seems like forever, it's encouraging to know there are so many friends who have come alongside us, waiting and laboring with us to bring Holden home. 

     Speaking of bringing Holden home, I have some news to share!  Remember that little stamp of approval we needed from the ARC/SARA committee at the state-level?  Guess what?!?  We got it today!!  This extra step really had me stressed out.  It could have easily stretched into months of waiting.  Last night I couldn't sleep.  I stayed up praying about this situation, so discouraged at the timeline of things and wondering when we might have news.  I can't get over the fact that at the very moments I was praying for progress and encouragement, God was answering my prayers with an approval meeting in India!  Now, our papers really do go to CARA.  The wait for their NOC should be 4-6 weeks... but no guarantees.  After the NOC, we wait for our actual court date in India.  Either way, another check box is complete.  We are one step closer to bringing Holden home.  Let's just pray India doesn't add any more steps, and that the last 2 big steps come amazingly fast. 

Alright? 

Alright. 

Yut.