[x] I am wide awake at 6:42 AM, munching on my favorite toast and waiting for the other 4/5 of this house to rise and shine. It is another gray and rainy day in Chicagoland. I had a sleep filled with endless dreams of things I can't quite recall. I do, however, remember a dream involving the Blackhawks winning game 7. Here's to hoping I'm a prophet. ;)

God, I love hockey so.

[x] So happy I received one of my *ahem* many free drink coupons from Starbucks in yesterday's mail. I'm not tired, but I am in the mood for coffee. After my two older littles head out to their academic pursuits, I have a serious feeling that K. and I will be taking LF out for a coffee date with us (to clarify: the coffee is for us, not her ;).

[x] The rest of this month--as well as most of next month--are easy-breezy as far as K.'s work schedule goes. For the few of you who aren't on Twitter, Sunshine's potential placement date is 5/17--exactly three weeks from today. Seeing as how we're not novices in adoption, I still do maintain a healthy dose of caution. A LOT can happen in three weeks. Therefore, we're not "outing" the news just yet, as previously mentioned (okay, as previously mentioned about a hundred times ;). K. and I made a long term plan, starting around the back-to-school time in August. It will enable him to be home a bit more, and for me to have a lot of one on one time with LF. I am SO excited about this! Not only is she our last baby, she is the baby. I've really tried to soak her up. And at this rate, if she asks me for a pony when she's, say, five, I'd probably put one in the backyard for her. Listen, people...speaking from personal experience, being the baby of the family is the way to go. ;)

[x] Beauty has snack day today and she is SO pumped. This girl loves being the one to bring in the snack--even more so than she loves show and tell (and that's saying a lot). If you haven't seen her lately (i.e., we're not fbook friends), her hair is about thirty feet long. I am perpetually jealous. Of all my children, really. Beauty's hair is incredible, Bear's lips are perfectly heart shaped and adorable, and LF has eyelashes that could blow you away--literally (they're *that* long). Want, want, want! It's crazy to watch the kids grow before my very eyes. All parents know exactly what I'm talking about. It's nothing you can really explain or describe until you're there--in the moment--watching your child grow. Bear is more of a kid than a preschooler; I still look back at pictures of him from his first year and see that chubby baby with those green (now brown, like his mama) eyes and huge smile. Beauty went from a roly poly one year old to a long haired, dark eyed slender four year old. For a kid that can pack it in like she can, I'm perpetually surprised she's not heavier--a lot heavier. LF went from baby to toddler and she is so full of light and love and laughter. I love that crossover from babyhood to toddlerhood; the changes are so deep and immense as personalities begin to blossom.

Damn. I'm really nostalgic and mushy today. Goodness! I just love these kids so much, I do. <3

Be that as it may, I can't wait to see Sunshine grow and change before my eyes. I am so ready for her to come home--and join and complete our family.  I am anxious, nervous, excited, hopeful--everything wrapped into one. Please keep your fingers crossed for us. I can't believe we're so close to welcoming Sunshine into our family. It just gives me butterflies.

[x] Since my last entry, I've given up reading blogs about adoption. Listen, I don't claim to be the perfect adoptive parent. I'm not. I know I'm not, and I would never claim otherwise. But I do try to always honor and respect our commitment to LF's first mom. And not because I have to or because it's the right thing to do, but because I love her like family, and I want to do so. She entrusted us with the most important person in her world. What else do I need to say? She took a leap of faith with us--I can barely wrap my mind around that, even now. I am not perfect, but I will always try my best. Reading about APs who "give up" or "skip out"...it just makes me feel so insanely murderous. So yeah, no more blog reading for me for some time. Thankfully, I'm always reading something on either Septo-Optic Dysplasia or developmental delays. Throw in my new information hunts on CP and SBS and I should be set to avoid blogs about adoption for some time now.

[x] Okay, it's now 7:30 and I've gotta get a move on. Time to make some breakfast for the four pieces of my heart and start on corralling them out of their warm, toasty beds. :) <3