My New Favorite Movie

I have had two wonderful days. Yesterday, my mom, her cousin, Jackie, and I went out all day. We shopped at the Collierville mall, at lunch at P.J. Changs, and saw "P.S. I Love You." It was such a wonderful story. I love Hillary Swank, Kathy Bates (who is from Memphis), and Harry Connick, Jr. There were also a couple of actors that are a "tall drinks of water." Evidently they are famous but I did not know them. Molly Smith was a producer on this movie and her father is Fred Smith (the founder of FedEx which is headquartered in Memphis). She was on a local news show talking about the movie. Fred Smith owns the production company.

Tonight the kids are spending the night with my parents. Joel and I went to eat at a new Thai reastaurant in town. It was very very nice. The owner spoke with us for a while and brought out some curries for me to taste. I loved the red curry. Afterwards I drug Joel to "P.S. I Love You." He wasn't wild about the idea but I think he was glad he went. I cried for the second time.

P.S. I Love You made me appreciate Joel. I have been with him since I was 21 and sometimes (OK, a lot) take him for granted. He is a good man. Loves me. Loves our kids. He loves the Lord and wants to please Him. He is honest, caring, sincere, tender hearted, compassionate. He is laid back and has no worries. Life is bright for Joel and he loves every minute of his day. He is strong and athletic. He tries to take care of himself. He puts me and the kids first. He gives of his time to church. He works a camp in the summer for foster kids. He is a hard worker, self starter. Successful in his busines. My list can go on and on. I love him so much. I cannot imagine a life without him. I need him. He is apart of me like a limb or vital organ. Yes, we have our issues and problems but I don't want anyone else to share my life with. Joel, you are perfect for me and I am so glad that God put us together. What a WONDERFUL 2008 we are going to have. I can't wait!!!

Chrismas Programs

Will was in 3 this year! One at church (preschoolers rang bells) and two from the preschools that he attends. His Tues. and Thurs. school had their program early in Dec. The kids had matching sweatshirts that they painted their hand prints into trees. It was very organized and practiced.

Now, his MWF morning school was another story. Not sure if any of you have heard of "Irish Travelers" (sometimes called gypsies) but they live in Memphis near us. The Baptist school that William goes to has a slew of them. You have not lived until you attend a program with them in attendance. They doll up and I mean DOLL UP their kids. They are generally loud and unruly. The director was chasing around kids in the choir loft during the program. I didn't realize that there were that many in his school. We might not send him back. When he started school they were not registered yet. They travel until Oct/Nov. I think they are in Texas but not sure. Will's school will hold spots for them and I guess their Catholic school won't. They drop out of school early and their marriages are arranged. The girls are usually very young and the men are older. It is definitely a different world. They drip in diamonds, jewels, furs, etc. They drive spanking brand new vehicles - usually Lexus, Cadillac, Acura, Infiniti, etc. They live in house trailers and I have heard that they are decked out with even chandeliers. They pay for everything in cash and I have been told that they don't have social security cards. How can that be after 9/11?

How did I get off on this tangent? Anyway, I am proud of my kids and love seeing them on stage.

Kara was also in the one at church. The name of the program was "In the Country."

Merry Christmas

As it always is for everyone, Christmas was busy this year. We try very hard to keep the reason for the season evident. We read and do a little activity called "What God Wants For Christmas". The children open a different box every night to reveal the story of Christmas. On the last night the final box has a mirror in it, this is because God wants YOU for Christmas. We also read a Golden Book about Christ's birth.

This year we did something extra fun for Christmas. Joel and I want Kara and Will (and soon Seth) to understand that it is better to give then to receive. I read someone's blog and they gave me the idea. We bought plastic wise men from Walmart and attached a note to them. The note said:

"The wise men have begun their journey to Bethlehem: They are a little lost and are stopping at your house for the night.

Please enjoy their company. They will move on tomorrow.
OR
For a $10.00 donation we will tell them there is no room in the inn and remove them.
For another $15.00 donation we will drop them off at your friend's or family's house.
And for $5.00 more we will drop them off never to return.

All proceeds will go to help Kara and Will give a gift that GROWS INTO HOPE. Thank you for participating in the fun."

We attached a flyer that we printed off of the Holt Website. The money will go to help families in Southeast Asia stay together by buying thing things like livestock, sewing machines, and fruit stands.

Our friends and community were very generous. The wise men visited several homes that we did not even know. That was extra fun as we "snuck" the men into yards and plugged them up. After visiting around 14 homes we raised a total of $300. The kids loved it and I think they "got it". We plan on making our fundraiser a yearly tradition.

Saturday night my parents treated the entire family to the Broadway musical "White Christmas" at the Orpheum. We had a great time. My kids were on the verge of boredom with all of the dialogue but they loved the dancing and costumes. Will kept asking loudly "when's Frosty coming out"?

We almost didn't see it as Mom had the date wrong. Our tickets were actually for Friday night. The Orpheum was kind enough to find us good seats anyway. Nothing hurt, nothing lost. We just have more ammunition now to tease mom!!
Downtown is beautiful this time of year. Nothing like Christmas in Memphis with temperatures in the 70's.

At Last

Finally, we received an update on Seth. Sorry for the boring details but I want to have an easy reference point to look at. The outfit and book that he has in his hands are from us. That means a lot. Yes, we realize that this update is 3 months old. We just try to do the best with what we are given. Our sweet boy is exactly 10 months today.

7 months
Weight - 17. 63 lbs or 8 kg
Height - 26.77 inches or 68 cm.
Head circ. - 16.92 inches or 43 cm.
Patsakorn is healthy. He has gained 2 kg. and 7 cm. from his last report. He takes 4 bottles of 4 oz. milk in a daytime and takes 2 bottles at night. He takes additional food twice a day. He eats everything and likes to eat solid food. He goes to bed at 8:00 p.m. and wakes up in the morning at 5:30 a.m. He takes a nap 2-3 times a day about 1/2 - 1 hour at 9:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 4:00 p.m. He has good hygiene and takes a tablet of fluorine 0.25 mg daily.

The boy got 3rd dose of DPT-OPV and Heptavax B on August 8, 2007.

Patsakorn or "Pat" develops well for age. He can get himself into a sitting position. He can crawl well. He crawls upstairs but not downstairs. He can pull himself to standing position while holding on to a solid object. He is an active and cheerful child. He recognizes face of foster mother and is not fearful of strangers. He allows strangers to cuddle. He like to be held and cuddles (an answer to prayer!) he recognizes is own name is "Pat". He can pick up two blocks and hold one in each hand. He bangs 2 objects together held in hands. He can pick up a raisin using ends of thumb and index finger. He can transfer an object from hand to hand. He reaches and grasps for objects.

Everyone in this family is doing well. Their grandson who is the major breadwinner of the family is very caring and responsible. The home is quite quiet during the daytime as their grandson and his wife go to work and their children go to school Mon. - Fri. However, the family becomes very lively in the evening and at weekend when everybody is home. Pat is well loved by all family members. The social worker has informed the foster family of the news on Pat having a family who applied to adopt him. The foster family is very happy knowing that Pat will be in a permanent family soon, but a little sad that he will be leaving them.

Psalm 100

Psalm 100:1 A Psalm of thanksgiving. Shout for joy to the LORD, all you lands!

Psa 100:2 Serve the LORD with gladness. Come before his presence with singing.

Psa 100:3 Know that the LORD, he is God. It is he who has made us, and we are his. We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Psa 100:4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, Into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, and bless his name.

Psa 100:5 For the LORD is good. His lovingkindness endures forever, His faithfulness to all generations.

Happy Thanksgiving

I have not posted in a while. I love to blog but have been so busy lately.

*I would like to thank Joel's college friend, Shona, for the adorable present. It came on a great day. The longer we wait for updates the more it seems like it is not real. The blanket is beautiful and will match his room perfectly. I will take it to Thailand with us. It is our first gift not from family.

* We leave for Branson tomorrow and I am SO excited. The kids are beside themselves. We spend Thanksgiving with my family on vacation every year. We will eat Thanksgiving dinner at Big Cedar Lodge and go to Silver Dollar City that night. It is supposed to be VERY cold! We are packing hats, gloves, thermal underwear, etc. We are going to eat dinner tomorrow night with the missionary that takes our church group to Thailand each year. Joel and Greg love them dearly. They are bringing their grown adopted Thai daughter, Na, with them. We will have lots to talk about!! This year we are taking a dinner cruise on the Branson Belle. I think the kids will really like it. We won't even talk about the shopping that we do. The condos that we stay at have an indoor pool so the kids can swim. There is also an indoor water park that we might go to.

*Will's class had a Thanksgiving feast today at school. They all dressed up as either pilgrims or Indians. They all chose Indians. Will wore his costume from Halloween and the kids gathered around him. He was the man this morning!

*Kara took humongous chocolate chip cookies for her class. They get to have a special snack but no party.

* We got our Christmas decorations down this week and my house looks like a bomb went off. I am going coo coo. We will have to get it together before we leave. Joel has been a lot of help and has done all of the laundry.

* Joel went deer hunting yesterday for the first time since we have been married. 14 years. He and Alan went to Grenada. No deer to show for it. Seems like a lot of money and time for no meat.

* We sang "Away in a Manger" the other night at home and I started crying. All that I could think of was Seth. It is going to be hard on me this Christmas. We went to a dinner at church Sunday night and a young girl at the table next to me had a baby. He was 2 months younger than Seth. Joel played with him and I loved on him. I couldn't help but get tears in my eyes. I guess I grieve for missing Seth's first year. Babies are the sweetest.

* Mom, Jamie, and I went to Mistletoe Market in Jackson, MS a couple of weekends ago. It was a blast!! I have never been to anything like it before. It is put on by their Junior League and it was really wonderfully done. Every boutique in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas were there (I think). We bought some awesome one of a kind things. There were authors selling their books, artists selling paintings, pottery. Lots of food for sale. There were even 2 cowboys selling honey butter. Believe it or not they were going like hot cakes. I bought some honey jelly that I am going to take to Seth's foster mother. It was made in Indianola, MS. Living at the top of the state I never hear about the neat things Mississippi has to offer. I guess it is because all of our TV, newspaper, etc. comes out of Memphis.

* I have started a new Beth Moore study. It's called "Stepping Up." We are learning about the Psalms of Ascent. Just what I need right now. Psalm 121:1&2 - "I lift my eyes unto the Mountains, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth."

I have much more to catch up on but will have to do it later.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. I hope you enjoy your holiday. I know we will. There is so much to give thanks for this year. We are truly blessed.

Pumpkin Dip

Serve on bagels, graham crackers, toast, etc. I am making it for the MOPS meeting tomorrow.

Pumpkin Dip
1 - 8 oz. cream cheese
1 - can pumpkin
1 - cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp lemon or orange zest

The Bee Movie

We went to see the Bee movie Sunday evening. It was cute and had a good message. God created us to work. Don't mean to get on my soap box but there seems to be a lot of 18 and older folks who don't seem to want to work or go to school. They just want to live off of the parents. I worry about their future and I wonder - where are these kids hopes, dreams, and futures? I will get off of the soap box now.

This family gives "The Bee Movie" two thumbs up!

Our Goodies from Thailand

Joel had a suit made last year and the store keeps your size for up to 5 years. Greg got him 3 more shirts and the sleeves are monogrammed. Joel also wanted a Thai Coca-Cola shirt. I love these wood carvings. I am going to hang them in either the gathering room or living room.

These are pencil drawings that I am going to frame in Seth's Room

Jamie picked out the perfect colors. I am going to use this blue and lime green for Seth's room

Here's one of two Thai outfits that Aunt Jamie and Uncle Greg brought back. Seth has one too.

The black dress is Kara's it is so cute on her. Seth also has a new king shirt. I love it!

A big thank you to Greg and Jamie for your thoughtfulness!

1 little 2 little (soon to be) 3 little Indians

Before they got into their costumes

First picture of the night at my grandmother's house

Kara, KC, Will, and the Bebe - fun was had by all...

Jessica the Hippo

Please don't tell my family that you have seen this video. They will be wanting their own "Hippopotamus for Christmas"!

Room Mother Joys

I love being Kara's room mother. My mom was for me and now I get to carry on the tradition. So far I have done it every year. I was paid a great compliment this summer. A second grade teacher came up to me and said that the other teachers told her that she should want Kara in her class b/c I am such a good parent to the class. It really made me feel good. Tomorrow at school we can bring a snack and drink to the kids. It is not actually considered a party so we can't stay. I found a cute magazine with all kinds of Halloween ideas.

These little spiders looked cute to me and somewhat simple. Well, after about 3 hours I now know that is not true. But, I feel like they are well worth the time and effort. I started out by adding Snickers pieces to the cake batter. It is all melted and gooey inside. Then I iced the cupcake with chocolate icing. Next came the sprinkles. I had to half marshmallows for the eyes. I put icing on M&M's to make the eyes and nose. The hardest part was cutting the Twizzlers in small pieces and using a toothpick to to make the spider legs.

Strep and no Pep

Joel is sick again. I guess the 4 year old antibiotics he used for two days didn't do the trick. I wonder why. :-) He is going this afternoon to get a penicillin shot from a doctor that Joel has insured.

My brother called today and Seth's package is safely on its way to Holt Sahathai. They even called the agency before they mailed it. The first package I mailed from here (which was lighter than this one) cost $22. Greg used the hotel mail service and still only paid $7. Woo hoo, that is a ton cheaper than shipping it from here and no customs to worry about. I sent a small list of things that I would like from Thailand and Jamie has gotten almost all of the items on my list. They bought the newly released DVD "Meet the Robinson's" in Burma for $2. Seth has a new King shirt. I will send it in December. Kara really wanted a dress from Thailand and they got her one.

I am blue this week about our investment predicament. I will blog about it later. We are being affected by the national real estate crisis. I know that God is in control - we will see this through - He is my Jehovah Jireh, my provider.

We are waiting, waiting, waiting for an update. I can't wait to see a new picture of Patsakorn. I hope he doesn't look too old. I want him to stay little until we get there.

Girls

First, let me say that we are all well. KC is spending the weekend with us. We are so glad to have her. Her parents are in Thailand on the mission trip with our church. I went to get her today after school and she will stay until Sunday night. She and Kara get along so well. They have been playing together since they were babies. I don't have to referee and they play independently. Tonight they have had the tent in the living room, played cheetah and Indian and have had a tea party. We went to dinner with my parents and they sang to the top of their lungs in the car. What a treat for Kara to have a playmate for two nights!

Sick House - Why I'm a Germ A Phob

It all started about 3 weeks ago. When we were camping William came down with 5th disease. He had a low grade fever, stuffy head, and later broke out into a rash. This only lasted about 3 or 4 days. He has never really recovered, he has goose egg lymph nodes, snores, and more ornery than normal. :-) After two kids I have learned to not go to the doctor unless absolutely necessary. They won't give you anything unless its bacterial and you usually bring home a different illness then what you brought in. I caved and finally took him in Monday. It was just a sinus infection and she gave us an antibiotic and Nasonex.

My mother in law came in to visit this past weekend and came down with strep throat. She stayed upstairs in the game room and tried to keep away. Joel came home early yesterday with symptoms of strep throat. He is still in the bed tonight. We borrowed antibiotics from my parents. The expiration date is 2003 so I hoping they still work. Don't laugh, I know how ridiculous this sounds.

My girlfriend's in Thailand so I took 2 of her 4 kids to the doctor Tuesday for strep throat. I told the pediatrician that I liked her so much that I had to bring more kids in just so that I can see her.

This morning at 5 a.m. I woke up with severe pain. I thought it was a urinary tract infection. After looking online and talking to friends I knew that I had to get an antibiotic. Heavens!! When it rains it pours. I went to the doctor and I told him my symptoms. I also told him about Joel so he checked my throat. Guess what. Yep, it was red. So he gave me 2 medicines by mouth and a penicillin shot just in case for the strep. That was nice. I told him that the Momma can't get sick. He agreed. He have me a script for a $4 prescription from Walmart. Evidently there's a whole list of generics at Walmart that are only $4. I paid $62 for Will's antibiotic at Walgreen's. Don't get me started on insurance. I'm married to an insurance agent but I'm telling you health insurance in America is immoral.

The only one in the house not on antibiotics is Kara. I keep asking how she feels and I'm watching for symptoms.

Enough of my belly aching. We have a pumpkin painting party Saturday night. I have to get busy DISINFECTING!

Seth's Christms Gifts

Greg and Jamie


Greg and Jamie (my brother and sister in law) left this morning for Thailand. They are traveling with a group of 13 from our church to an orphanage in Chiang Rai. This is where our adoption journey unofficially started. Joel went with the mission team last year. He came home so fired up and in love with the Thai people that it was contagious. Their journey is long, well over 24 hours. Hudson is being split between the grandmothers. Joel and I plan on going to the orphange when the adoption is over. My MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) group had 90 soccer balls donated from Nike. We also raised $100 for an ice cream and fruit party for the kids. Joel and I donated the ball pumps. I can't wait to see pictures.

They will travel to Bangkok first and then travel to Chiang Rai, and then come back to Bangkok on the way home. We sent Seth's Christmas gifts with them with hopes that they will have time to drop it off at the adoption agency's office. If not, maybe when they leave. Worst case they can mail it in country for us.

Here's what we sent:
1. Play mat with little alligator puppet attached (imagine that!)
2. Phone with rotary dial that can be pulled. My kids had never seen a phone like that before. Man, I'm old!
3. Elephant toy that rolls and makes noises. Peanuts swirl around in the middle.
4. Classic ring toy
5. Lavender baby wash and lotion. I love, love, love this scent. Hope foster mom does too.
6. Bag of mini Hersey chocolate bars for foster family
7. Here's the coolest one: teether keys (3) that had places on them to insert your pictures. One key was Joel and I, one was Kara, and one key had Will's picture in it. FYI - we found it at Marshall's and the name brand is Infantino. I hope he enjoys the toys.

Something really great happened Sunday afternoon. A relative of a relative came over to buy some flip flops. She brought her dil and grandson with her. The grandson has the exact birth date of Seth - January 27, 2007. So, so cool. I held him and loved on him. So sweet and cuddly. I told them that he can come over and play anytime! As wonderful it was it was also a little sad. I am missing this innocent time in Seth's life. I enjoyed my babies so much.

Well, now I have to sit on my hands to not send any more packages for a while. I might send a "happy" in December. I am thinking about laminated pictures from Kara and Will and a Build a Bear animal with our voices on it.

Zoo Boo

We went to Zoo Boo Saturday night. Greg (brother) and Jamie (sil) came with Hudson (nephew). The kids loved it and there were lots of cute costumes. We rode on a hay ride, saw a magic show, watched a ballet of "Peter and the Wolf", got a cool flashlight, ate free ice cream (well, it did cost $48 to get in even though we are members), enjoyed cool pumpkin carvings, and not to mention the animals that were available. I did see an owl that was just beautiful. They really are amazing creatures. Glad the kids loved it because it will our only year unless the price goes WAY down. Kara and Will are Indians this year. Will now has a headdress that looks way cool that he will wear on Halloween. He is actually riding a horse. It's kind of hard to see from the pictures.

Will's Words of Wisdom

Last night's prayer:
"Dear Jesus, thank you for monkeys, our hotel (mind you, we haven't stayed in one since May), and Seth... amen".

Tonight at the dinner table:
Will was turned around looking at the back of his chair and moved his index finger all around the wood bars and said "you go dis way and dis way and dis way to get to our Thai baby". It made Joel and I smile. He does get it. Kind of.

Land of Cotton

It's cotton picking time here in the south. As we were coming home from camping the tractors were humming as they were harvesting the cotton fields. We stopped and picked a few bolls to save for our trip to Thailand. I thought that we would bring it to the foster family to show them what we grow in our area. They are farmers too. Like I said before, I am not a country girl but I do like to watch the cotton crop. I like to see the huge bales of cotton in the fields that show the fruits of the farmer's labor. From what I understand this was a good year for cotton. Nice and dry. We live near the delta which has some of the richest soil in the world. The landscape is changing down in the delta (around 20 miles from here) as some farmers are switching their crops to corn. They are growing it for the ethanol - a corn based fuel. Here's a place to learn more about cotton. The National Cotton Council is in Memphis. When I was little my parents took me to the Cotton Carnival that was held downtown. The king and queen of cotton would arrive on a river boat. They had rides, food, etc. on the banks of the Mississippi River. It was exciting and something that I loved. Maybe that's why I love to watch the cotton fields.

The sun was bright and I couldn't get the kids to look at the camera

Look at What We Made!!

Genghis Khan

I am so upset and mad at my 13 1/2 year Pekignese, Genghis. This is not his first rodeo. He has done this one other time before I had Kara. I was doing the same as today when it happened. We have 2 houses still for sale in a subdivision and I went by tonight to lock up. Kara and I took both dogs. Joel and Will went to a football game with my dad. Locking up the first house was uneventful. At the second house Kara wanted to get out and go inside. She enjoys exploring the upstairs. Once we went inside we noticed that Jocy had gotten out. We just let her go inside with us. As we went back to the car Kara said "Momma, the car is locked." Genghis' paw is obviously the same size of the lock button on the door. He locked himself in the car with it running, lights on and Kara's movie playing. We worked for several minutes to try and get Genghis to push the button again. It was to no avail. Thank the Lord I had my phone in my pocket and not in the car. The extra set was in the car as well as the other spare that I keep in my wallet. Mom came and got us, took us to my house first to try and dig up another key. After calling Joel (which I hated to do) we went back to her house to get Joel's keys which he left in his car. Absolute ciaos. It all worked out but my nerve's are shot. And Genghis was glad to see us...

Visa Application

Joel and I had an appointment today at our local USCIS (immigration) office in Memphis. We submitted Seth's visa application. We received his legal documents Friday from Holt. They were really neat and special to me b/c they had his mother's signature on there. I think about her and how she must have felt signing the papers. The USCIS is very formal and official. We had to make an appointment to get in the door. They run your things through a scanning machine and you also walk through a metal detector. We could not bring in our phones. The good part was that there was no waiting. I brought my adoption folder which is about 5 inches thick. She asked for our 1-600A approval and our birth certificates & marriage license. Thank goodness I came prepared. It takes about 8 weeks to get an approval. I never thought about this before but the US doesn't let just anyone in the country. You can't just go to another country and bring a child back. They first want to make sure that you are financially able to provide for a child and that you are not a criminal. Secondly, the US wants to make sure that your child is actually an orphan. The US says that our idea of poverty is not the same definition in other parts of the world. When we get approval they will send his approval letter the the visa processing center and then have them cable it to the US Embassy in Thailand. We will pick it up when we travel to get Seth.

Camping

We went camping Friday at Blanchard Springs, Arkansas. It is a beautiful place with lots of moutains, trees, streams, and waterfalls. I have a lot of wonderful memories there as my parents have been taking me since I was a little girl. I loved being able to tell Kara what "mommy did when she was her age." It's a great place to get away and do nothing. We took the kid's bikes and they loved catching "critters" in the stream. It was hot, hot and very humid. The clothes we hung to dry never did dry from Friday to Sunday. It was in the 90's during the day. The funny part is that you can't go camping without a fire. So, on top of the hot weather we had the fire to add to the temperature. We went with my parents, my brother, his wife, and their son. My kids love it and we overall had a good time.

Seth's First Package

His first package was mailed off Thursday. I had been so overwhelmed about trying to decide what to pack my child half way around the world in a third world country. I just tried to tell myself that this is not going to be his only package and that I just needed to mail it. Here's what we sent:
1. Will's blue "lovie" that he never really used.
2. 2 books that make noise and have different fabrics.
3. A rattle that Kara picked out.
4. Sweet baby boy outfit in blue.
5. 3 t-shirts that Uncle Greg and Aunt Jamie bought at Old Navy
6. Lightweight pullover t- shirts including one yellow one that I labeled "Patsakorn's King Shirt."
7. Will's smocked gator outfit. I love it b/c it is smocked and Joel likes it b/c it's orange and has gator's on it. Oh how I hope and pray they take a picture of him in this outfit. He doesn't even have to wear it except for the pictures.

The reason we are sending so many shirts is that our information from Holt said that kid's in Thailand don't wear bottoms or diapers. Can you imagine? His foster home looks like they probably don't have electricity. Being from Mississippi I can understand country folks living simply. I myself am a suburban girl who likes big cities.

I will be sending toys with Greg and Jamie in the next couple of weeks when they leave for Thailand. My Holt friend, Sharon, said that toys are very expensive in Thailand. I think this is a great way for him to have some toys and we won't have to worry about customs.

Over the next few months as the waiting gets harder I think I will abide by the old saying "when the going gets tough the tough go shopping."

:-)

My Pet Peeve

This is my neighbor's house (which actually faces a different street), their fence, and their pile of junk. This is also the view from my front yard. Please click on the picture to get the full effect.

The location of my neighbor's garbage is really on my nerves. They are the developers of our subdivision and my street is named after them. They put their trash piles across the street from my driveway for the city to pick up every week. Mind you, they don't put the junk next to their driveway, ohhhh noooo, they put it smack dab across from ours. This week has been the worst. Not to mention people stop by at all hours of the day and night to go through their piles. There was a FSBO sign in their yard, I wonder if they are moving? Not that I want them to move - just move the junk.

May I have a drum roll please??

We have decided a name for our sweet boy. It is Seth Patsakorn Sae-an G. Seth was Joel's parents second choice for his name. He really likes it and so do I. Seth means "appointed". Which he is. Now his name means "appointed powerful man." Seth was also Adam and Eve's 3rd son. I felt funny at first saying Seth but I am getting use to it. Seth, Seth, Seth. It is also 4 letters long which was one of my requirements as well as being biblical. Perfect. I wonder what his nickname is? So here we are: Joel, Tracy, Kara, Will and Seth.

Patsakorn's 1st Outfit

Well, the shopping has begun!! We are working (OK, I am working) on getting Patsakorn's care package together. Here's the list of things that I would like to include:

1. Will's blue "lovie"

2. Blue blanket

3. Board books and rattle (from Kara)

4. 2 outfits

5. A "King" yellow shirt

6. Picture album with pics of us, the kids, the dogs, house, etc.

7. Disposable camera

8. Pictures drawn by the kids and laminated

9. An introduction letter

Jen on the Holt board sent her baby a small tape recorder with a recording of them reading books and them telling her they loved her. How awesome! I am planning on doing that for my second package.

The great thing is that my church including my brother and sister-in-law will be leaving for Thailand in Oct. I plan on sending some things with them to mail once they get there. There is another couple at my church that will be leaving in Feb. I will send more things with them to mail.

I know that every step of the way was planned by God and He has taken care of the smallest of details.

What's in a Name?

We have been talking about our little "Popcorn" all day. We had a wonderful day watching Florida beat Ole Miss. We sat right smack in the middle of Ole Miss fans. There was the nicest couple sitting behind us and they helped restore some of my image of Ole Miss fans. Joel got some dirty looks but no direct comments as he cheered his beloved Gators on. It's a treat for him to see them play. He eats, drinks, and sleeps football.


OK, back to Patsakorn. When we received the meaning of his name it made me fall more in love with him. I knew that his American name must be as special. It is the hardest thing for me. Joel is OK with a couple of names. I like them too but am torn. Please comment and give me your opinion. Now, don't get your feelings hurt if we chose the opposite way. One name is very common and is 4 letters long. It is Hebrew for "appointed." I LOVE it. Patsakorn's name will mean "appointed powerful man". You can't get better than that. On the other hand the other name that we like is a family name. It means "warlike". It is Joel's middle name and it used to be common. It is also biblical. I am just not crazy about it. Besides, no child under the name of 10 has this name. What should I do? Joel doesn't care either way. I have that mommy guilt thinking that our adopted child doesn't have a family name. Will he read something into it? Will he feel left out? Kara's middle name is a family name and Will's first and middle is a family name. On the other hand, what if he hates it b/c it might be perceived as an old name by the time he's older? Decisions, decisions.

For those of you who can't get enough....

This is his first picture that was made when he was 10 days old. He weighed 5.69 lbs and was 20.08 inches long at birth. Now for you people that know the metric system he weighed 2,580 g. and was 51 cm. long. His birthdate is January 27, 2007

This begins his four week old pictures

This is one of my favorite pics of Patsakorn. Joel said it looks like he is doing a Thai dance. I just wish I was there to kiss him all over.

Mrs. Ting. Look at how neat and clean she is. In the picture below she has a bow in her hair. It's the little things that make me think how she tends to details.

Mrs. Ting is Patsakorn's foster mom. She's 72 and lives with her extended family of 7. She reminds me of my grandmother M. Patsakorn is their second foster child since 2005. They live in a small farming community on a waterway. They farm and live off the land and have lots of fruit trees near their house. It makes me smile to look at them together. Reassured that he is well taken care of.

I can send packages and among the first things will be some blue clothes!!!