We are down to the final countdown! Sometimes it feels like our move is coming quickly and sometimes it feels like it is taking forever!We have someone coming on Monday to do a “packout assessment”- basically they determine how much stuff we have, how many boxes they need and how many days it will take. It is so nice having someone pack but truly we end up doing so much of it before they arrive because everything has to be in categories of a small air shipment to DC temp housing, Bern and storage.  When we finish the Foreign Service it will be fun to say “take it all to our home!”

Sept 1-3 we will have our pack out! Once the pack out is over we will have about a week in our apt with our suitcases of clothes and the embassy couch, beds, etc. It will be pretty empty!!!

5 weeks from yesterday (Sept 11th)  we fly to Houston, followed by Oregon, Ft Worth and then on to our cross country road trip to DC with a stop to visit our dear friends in Louisville!

On the 15th of Oct Seth will take the plunge into learning German! And we will be living close to family and friends! We will have about 10 weeks to get ready for our second little guy to arrive!

In the meantime, I have been working on big sorting projects to prevent us from making a move with so many things we don’t need. Unfortunately, I think I am using my nesting energy on this end of things. I hope I have some energy left to prepare for the baby when we arrive in DC!

You can continue to pray for the quick sale of our car. As well as health and energy as we wrap up our final weeks here. We are so anxious to be with family and friends for a time of being rejuvinated before starting yet another adventure.  Thank you for your prayers and encouragement!!

Our first move…Dallas to DC. Pregnant with Jackson. We have added Jackson and soon another. Moved from DC to Bogota, soon Bogota to DC, then DC to Bern. All in 4 yrs!

On Thursday we celebrated Jackson’s actual birthday and then yesterday we had a party with friends.

On Thursday, Seth got to take the day off using some comp time he had built up from the 4th of July  that he has to use before we leave so that was a HUGE treat. Jackson started his day by falling/jumping out of his crib.  I guess it was his first 2 yr milestone! For breakfast he got to open the birthday box and found a chocolate sprinkles doughnut from Dunkin Donuts!!

(the birthday box is a family tradition in our house where we put something special inside and the birthday person gets to open it at breakfast on their birthday)

The rest of the day we spent going to the doctor for Jackson’s well-check, we went to a neighbors pool to swim and Jackson got to open a few gifts from his cousins and from us!  Another highlight was talking to grandparents and cousins! It was so nice to see family. We especially miss our families when we are celebrating special family events from a distance! Skype helps! 

Jackson’s gift from us was a Fisher-Price boom box with a microphone. He jumped right in!

One tired birthday boy!!!

Yesterday we celebrated with friends! We had lots of yummy “American food” and Jackson enjoyed playing with his friends. All day when people would ask Jackson how old he was he kept saying 4! He knows he’s 2 so

I think he thought it was funny!

we filled Jackson’s water table with raw pasta, rice and beans and the kids dug for little farm animals.

for lunch we had sloppy joe’s , bakes beans, veggies and chips with dips and fruit salad. We had mini bagel pizzas for the kiddos! Since we can’t get baked beans here everyone congregated and tooked multiple helpings of baked beans!

Barnyard cake!

getting some help with blowing candle out!

Jackson did a great job saying thank you to his friends but after he opened his last gift I said, “Jackson, say thank you” and he looked at the gift giver and kind of growled and funny exasperated “thank you”

Happy Birthday, Jack! We love you tons!

(PS- we have decided on a name for our new little boy…..stay posted for pictures and for his name!!!)

We went to a new doctor today since we had such a difficult timing getting into our original doctor. When we arrived we realized the new doctor would not be able to do an ultrasound on site. But in order to check the hematomas we needed him to take a look! So he got us in to the ultrasound clinic across the street.

We were delighted to learn that the hematomas have gone away completely! Praise the Lord! And that the fibroid mass is still there but far enough from the baby that it shouldn’t cause any risk. Before the ultrasound was done the doctor said he could not guarantee that the baby would not “abort” as he said in his limited English at this point (16 weeks). This is why we have been so concerned. So once we got the word that things were okay Seth said “now you are pregnant, we can get excited!!”

The only other “unusual” thing that the radiologist spotted almost instantly was a little boy part! Yep, it’s a BOY! Jackson is going to have a little brother. We are so excited but still spinning a bit imagining a house with so many boys!  I think I have earned myself lots of girls nights outs by having another little boy!

So, pretty soon I will be diving back into Jackson’s baby clothes to see what survived his use and what needs to be replaced!  We haven’t decided on a name but will update you as soon as we decide! We have it narrowed down so it shouldn’t be too long!

Here are a few photos of our little guy…..DISCLAIMER: for those of you that are traumatized by the new generation sharing sonogram pictures of babies please skip the next section. It does include pictures of a naked baby and a womb.

-We are down to crunch time with the 4th of July…you can be praying for Seth that he will feel like everything is in order and that it all goes off without a hitch! His stress level is high but he is handling it like a pro. He did pray last night that it would be over soon though! 5,000 people is a lot to feed and entertain! As of the 5th he will be available for any party planning needs you might have..for a fee of course!

-We have a CRV that needs a new owner! Please pray that it sells quickly and that we can get a good price so that we can buy a car in the US.

-I finished working last week which is a huge relief! It was great timing for my patients to leave for the summer. I have still had morning sickness and some days all day sickness so it was about time to stop pushing it! Pray that my morning sickness goes away so that I can keep up with our energetic boy!

-Jackson is having quite a few tantrums these days! Pray for patience and that we will be the best parents we can be! The combo of morning sickness and the terrible 2’s is tough!

-Today I had to talk to our maid about letting her go. We have had a lot of this since we arrived. Anyhow, Sonia our original maid that left for maternity leave has offered to come back for our final 2 months. I can use her for a day or 2 a week for doctors appts and basic cleaning and not have someone in our home all of the time. It is a happy thing for our family but pray that this maid finds a job quickly and that we can get transitioned for our last couple of crazy months!  I know having a maid is weird to almost all of you but it is expected here so we are actually bucking the norm by only wanting someone to help minimally. I am ready to buck the system!   It has been a luxury but truely I am someone that enjoys having my home and my space so I would rather do more and have peace!

When we announced that I am pregnant we mentioned that I have 2 hematomas.  I am continuing to try to take it easy, no exercise etc. We have had some complications with the doctor here and last week had to switch doctors. Our next appt is the 17th of July so we are  praying that between now and then we will see major improvements with the hematomas and if possible that they would be gone completely. This has added a lot of stress to this pregnancy as you can imagine. Pray for peace as we wait! On the 17th we are also hoping to find out if it is a boy or girl! I think that will help me move into the big excitement phase!!

That’s about it from here! Hope you are all well!