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!!!

Announcing...

Our baby boy. His name is Patsakorn. It means "powerful man". Joel says powerful man of God. I got the call today driving down the road. I was so excited that I had to pull over. Marissa at Holt said that might be a good idea. He was born January 27, 2007. He will be 8 months old this month. We are in love with him already. He lives with a foster family in a farming community outside of Bangkok. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone that has supported us in our adoption adventure. We have been overwhelmed by the show of love and support our community has given us. How Great Is Our God!!!! I will go into detail later but let me just say that receiving information from Pataskorn's referral proves that the Lord's hand has been on him from day one. I just can't describe to you our elation...

Tagged

I have been tagged by a couple of blog friends and have found a minute to play.



G - Gwin is my middle name. My dad is Roy Gwin, my daughter is Kara Gwin, and I am Tracy Gwin. My grandmother gave my poor dad a girl's name. He has been ridiculed through life. She said that she saw it somewhere and liked it. Kara feels very special to be named after her Mommy and Roro.



W - Whippet. As you can read from the previous post it has been a hard week on my poor whippet. We just love Jocy. Kara's likes to dress her up.



I - International Adoption - I thought I knew a lot before but WOW have my eyes been opened the last few months. I'm crazy about international adoption.



N - New baby boy! (I started this post this morning and now I am finishing it up a mother of 3) I can't belive it. I am just elated.

Baby's First Toy

Look what I found! Will and I went to Sam's tonight to pick up my contacts. As we were going down the toy isle we saw this adorable stuffed animal. Now, I am not a fan of stuffed animals but this one is special. It's about two feet tall and it is sturdy enough for small children to climb on. Plus, it's an elephant. That's Thailand's national animal. We plan on decorating the baby's room in elephants.

This week has been so tough. I really feel like we are so close to getting the call. Each day gets harder and harder. By buying this toy it makes adopting more real. I remember going through the same feelings with Kara and Will. It was agony month after month waiting to see if I was pregnant. Hopefully, in a few short days...

Jocy Hit a Car

Yep, Jocy hit a car today. Will was playing outside and he saw it. He ran in and said "Jocy got in the street". They next thing I know this shook up young guy drove up in our driveway in a really nice Acura. He said that Jocy was running from our yard and ran right into him. He lives in Florida. I felt bad for him b/c he drove his parents Acura up here for a job interview. Jocy hit it pretty good. She scratched it all down the side and made a huge dent in the back door. There was even a pink collar mark on the door. Thankfully, Jocy is fine. She has a couple of scrapes but that's all. I love her dearly and would be so upset if something happened to her. We are going to be more diligent about keeping her in the backyard. Jocy is my baby. She loves me and has to know where I am at all times. She sleeps in our bed under the covers at my feet. She's a whippet and is fast as lightning. Now, how much is going to cost to fix the door?

Look Who Caught a Fish!

Busy

We have been so busy for the last month. I don't know if I am coming or going. I had a melt down last night with lots of tears. It was almost cleansing and now I feel better. I am going to have to give up some things. It's too much on my family.

I am starting a new Bible study tomorrow. It's "Believing God" by Beth Moore. I took it last year at another church in town but I believe I need a refresher course. With my business I have put my fellowship w/ Christ on the back burner. I am dry and weary. Lord, send your rain!

I will post some things as I have time. It's September and every day I hope to get the phone call from Holt. If the caller ID has an area code from out of town I get goose bumps. Good grief. WAITING IS THE WORST!!!!