Choked up

I just made my last (hopefully) list of a few little things to pick up before we leave. Amazing. This is actually happening! I've been 100% healthy, not even a cold, for more than a year, but yesterday morning woke up with pain in my chest and throat. Oh boy. It got worse throughout the day, but last night I was able to sleep like a rock for more than 8 hours, so I'm hoping the rest will knock out whatever that bug is. For any of you who've been praying that I can sleep: thank you. It's working.
Yesterday, as promised, Pattie and Carolee came over to pack. I thought they were going to be lending me a hand, but they whipped out their special packing tape and scissors and before I knew it, it was all done. I'd barely lent them a hand. I was amazed. Really. After they left, I got all choked up, overwhelmed by the generosity of our friends and so thankful...

As I was writing that sentence Pattie called, telling us that she's tracked down an infant car-seat from a lady we both know at our church to use for the few days we're in L.A. before heading back up to Portland (where we have a car-seat). Yay!

Again, choked up. You notice what's on Carolee's hat? The words "Great Love." Yes ma'am that's right: you do love well.

Also yesterday, Ian and Amanda came by in the morning to bring more baby gear and treats from Porto's Bakery, one of my favorite places around here. How wonderful. They've also lent us their red moby wrap, which I love and will be taking with us on the trip.

This morning right after I woke up, our dear Lily called from our bed in Portland. Our nephew Matt is house/cat sitting from his headquarters in the basement, and Lily came as well to add her help to loving our furry babies while we're gone. I'm blessed beyond measure to know that we have two of our loved-ones staying in our Portland house and that our sweet neighbor Linda agreed to come over every now and then to give skittish Buddy some love too (she's his favorite person in the world).

It's all coming together, and we feel so thankful for our community of friends. Five minutes ago, Susan poked her head in this room to say those most magical words of all: Hey, you want some coffee?

Choked up.

Alright, Mister, we're coming to getcha. You've got an army of good people ready to welcome you home with great love!