Fun Family Friday

Yesterday we took the day to celebrate Josiah's referral and enjoy time as a family. David has been working a lot this month, so for the past few weeks we planned to use his extra hours to spend the day doing something fun with Elizabeth.

We ended up choosing to go to a cute little Children's Museum. It's a bit smaller than we were expecting, but totally age appropriate for Elizabeth. They had a "town" area where they can pretend to cook and shop, and even put on a play. There was a dinosaur area and a cool treehouse. They also have a little backyard with sand tables and a running stream. She had a lot of fun! I think next time we might try the science center next door for a little more to do. Sidenote--I am so thankful to have a husband who CHOOSES (it was HIS idea) to spend his day off crawling through a museum designed for pre-schoolers, just because he knows it is something his daughter would love.

Then we went to have dinner. We've been looking for good Ethiopian restaurants near us, and this was a perfect way to celebrate Josiah! We tried to go to a new restaurant, but it didn't look like they were open. It did look good, so we'll have to try there again another day. (Maybe we'll call first next time ;-)) Amazingly, there is another very good Ethiopian restaurant only a couple miles away. We had a yummy dinner, a friendly waitress who was kind enough to pronouce things for us, and even found a possible way to purchase Teff*! We were so full...next time we'll have to take some home so we have room for dessert! All in all, it was a very good day!

*So the place we found is Teffco.com Apparently, after living with farmers in Ethiopia, the owner figured out that Teff could grow well in Idaho! They grow several types of teff, and it can be ordered as grains or as flour. I haven't decided what I think about buying teff grown in Idaho. There are positives and negatives on both sides.

It's Just an Ordinary Tuesday, Until...

Elizabeth and I are trying to watch a video online, but it keeps shutting the computer down. STUPID COMPUTER! (But I don’t say that because “stupid” is a bad word in our house.) The phone starts ringing. Well, at least that gives me something to do while I’m waiting for the computer to start up again. I jump up to get the phone. Who is this calling? I don't recognize the number, but I know the area code. Could it be K? (our social worker) It is! She must just calling to update us with information we had asked about a couple weeks ago.

“I have some good news for you,” she says. My breath catches...could this really be THE CALL? But it's too soon? I ask, “Is it REALLY good news?” She laughs and says YES! For a moment, I think I should ask her to wait, so I can call David to come home. But she goes on to tell me she has a referral for me for a little boy. And, oh, when we see his picture we are just going to love him. Then she shares all the details she has, reading off the referral page. She is sending an email with his picture RIGHT NOW, but is expecting another picture later. Unfortunately she would be out of the office until later tonight, so she'll send the other picture then. No big deal, I think. As long as we have one picture. (YEAH RIGHT! What was I thinking?)

As soon as I get off the phone, I call David at work. No answer, so I leave a message. "Call me back AS SOON AS YOU GET THIS!" I try calling again, thinking maybe he is avoiding the phone like he sometimes does. No answer. The whole time, I’m refreshing my email watching for THE email. I decide I won’t open it until he David gets home, but I want to make sure it is in the inbox. I try calling one last time. No answer! Okay...forget it. I'm not waiting for him! I'm opening it as soon as it gets here. But still no email. AGGGHHH! I decide to tell Elizabeth the news, even though I was going to wait to tell her and David together. I have to tell someone!

A few minutes later David calls back. I ask him if he could come home NOW! He says sure, but what is this about. Did we get a referral? "Just come HOME!" STILL no email! What is going on? Our SW is leaving the office. I wonder if I can call the other SW and have her email it to us. (It's only been 10 minutes!) Why is it taking so long for David to get here? I call my mom because I'm going crazy. Finally, David pulls up. Just as he arrives, the email appears in the inbox. (Who says God doesn’t have a sense of humor?) Apparently, David didn't catch my sense of urgency. He checks the mail. He drives up the driveway and goes to the bathroom. WHAT?

David comes out, and Elizabeth says, “I’m getting a brother!” Then she starts jumbling the facts together, though she amazingly remembers them ALL. Finally, after what has seemed like hours, at least to me, we sit down and see our sweet boy. Aww! He’s beautiful. We both comment on his eyes first. I say he looks like an Egyptian prince. David says we are in trouble when he grows up! I know it’s going to be a LONG wait until K gets home and sends us the other picture!!!

More from Elizabeth

E: Mommy, Jesus was buried in the tomb and then he bloomed, right?
M: Jesus bloomed?
E: Yeah
M: Do you mean He rose?
E: Yep

(I'm amazed at that connection :-))
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M: When your brother comes home, what are you go to teach him?
E: I'm going to teach him how to imagine he's a superhero!

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Standing under the electric hand dryer, she starts twirling with her arms above her head
"I'm doing air ballet!"

Name

We've decided we are going give our son the name Josiah!

We'll use his birth names as middle names. (In Ethiopia, people generally only have two names, a given name and then the father's first name is their last name.) This way, when he is older, he can have the choice of being called Josiah or his birth name. When we meet him and first bring him home, we are planning to use both names until he is comfortable with Josiah.

We also went to our closest Bethany office to sign the acceptance document for Josiah. It's being faxed up to the home office, and then the originals will be overnighted tomorrow! YEA!

It's A...

...BOY!

We received THE CALL today. We have a referral for an absolutely BEAUTIFUL boy. He is pre-school aged. I wish we could show you his picture because he is just precious! Let's just say, with eyes like that, we are in BIG trouble when he gets older ;-).

We were definitely not expecting to hear anything this early. I'll tell you about getting the call a little later. Right now my thoughts are too scattered to make any sense!

This girl plans ahead! ;-)

This is a conversation Elizabeth started while playing...

Elizabeth (E): Mommy, is it okay if I ask C______ to marry me?
Mommy (M): Sure, but you have to wait until you are much older.
E: But where will he sleep?
M: (laughing) Well, when you get married, you usually share a bed.
E: Everyday? Like you get to keep them?
M: Yep. But that won't be until you are much much much older.
E: Like how old?
M: Well Daddy says 50.
E: That's way too long
M: You need to finish school first, then probably college, too.
E: How old do you need to be to go to college? Five?
M: Probably about 18.
E: Hmmm

A little later...

E: Ms. D_____ is going to have another son, so I can marry C_________ and then she can keep him (her other son) forever.

I just want to know...

...who God has for our family! I actually don't mind waiting a LITTLE bit for him/her/them to come home (I say that NOW!), but I want to know who is coming. Will there be one or two? Girls or boy? What ages? For one thing, I want to be able to pray more specifically. For another, I want to be able to choose names, and I don't feel we can properly do that until we see the children and know their given names. Third, I don't know how to prepare bedrooms, and the resulting rearranging of the rest of the house. I feel so unsettled because there are so many decisions that are waiting.

Mom Update

Thanks for your prayers! My mom's surgery went well--at least when they finally got to it :-) She said she's just had a little bit of pain, which is totally understandable. Not only did she have the surgery, but before that she had an EKG and after she had a Dr. appointment (kind of unrelated to the surgery). Unfortunately, the Dr. said things have actually gotten worse since her last visit. So there will probably more surgeries in her future. After all of that, they drove home three hours. Then she was wondering why she was so tired today! Please pray that my mom will take the time to get the rest she needs. She's definitely not one to sit around! My dad had to "order" her not to iron clothes today or go up and down the stairs. He even asked people to call to keep her busy and make sure she was following directions. :-)

Going Private

I've been debating this since starting our blog. On one hand, I don't want to stop posting pictures or editing life occurrences (although using pretend names could be fun ;-)). On the other hand, part of the whole reason we started the blog instead of using our Google group was so people wouldn't have to sign in.

In the end, caution is winning out. So, in one week, we are going private. If you would like to continue reading our blog, you can leave your email address in comments or email me at DLBaber@gmail.com

Thanks!

One more for the night.

Would you please keep my mom in prayer Monday? She is having surgery in the morning. She has already had several, and hopefully has only one more to go for a while. Thankfully, it's not TOO invasive, and she should be home tomorrow night.

"How Sweet it is...

...to be loved by you!" That's the song that was on the Father's Day card Elizabeth picked up for David. And how true it is! We are both very blessed to have such a wonderful guy in our lives. David works hard to make sure we are taken care of. He loves God and has a heart for missions and for children. He loves spending time with his family and is excited to bring home the children God has for us.

We are so blessed that our children will not just have a great dad, but an incredible Grandfather, great-grandfathers, and the legacy of many other Godly men who have been in our family.

Most of all, through grace, we have a Heavenly Father who is more than any of us can imagine!

Please visit if you have the chance!

It's not your typical Father's Day activity, but today we drove about an hour to see the World Vision Experience. Please, if you have the chance, visit the exhibit. It's free, self-paced, and you need about 20-30 min. per experience you see. (I went through two, and would have loved to see the others.) This is what the website says about it:

The World Vision Experience is an interactive, walk-through exhibit that will transport you into the heart of Africa--and the life of a child affected by the AIDS crisis. The exhibit combines a stirring audio tour with captivating photography to give you a whole new perspective on the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time.

We were not going to take Elizabeth in because there were some situations not being appropriate for children, but none of that was in the photos. It was all in the personal audio players, so she didn't hear it. We explained bits to her as we walked through. I know that she is not at point where she can understand it all, but I'm glad she was able to have a little more understanding of how children in other parts of the world live. David and I have been trying to learn a lot about HIV/AIDS, and this experience just really helps to bring the situations to life more than images on the t.v. or internet can.

Memories

Last night I stayed with Elizabeth for a little while before she went to sleep. We were talking about what it might be like when the child or children we adopt come to our house. Eventually Elizabeth asked me to tell her about when she was a baby. I feel guilty because I have been very bad about recording things. Information in her baby book is rather sparse. But then it makes me sad for other reasons. I can at least tell her about my memories from when she was born (or bor-en as she says), and I can work on writing these down. But I won’t have those memories for children we adopt. I can and will tell them about their adoptions and about their country. But they have a history before us…being adopted doesn’t wipe that out. And when they ask, there is so much I won’t be able to tell them.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today is my mom's 49th birthday! (She doesn't mind telling people her age because she looks SO young, no one believes her anyway ;-)) I thank God for my mom. She is a great Christian woman! Especially since Elizabeth was born, my mom has become one of my best friends. I'm grateful that she and Elizabeth have a very special bond, too. Happy Birthday, Mom!

Great News Day!

Today was a bit of a rough day with Elizabeth and myself (we were both tired and not going to sleep, David came home from work later than normal). But it has turned out to be a day of GREAT news!

Our dear friends found out that they were able to get the birth certificate for their son in Guatemala!!! Praying he will FINALLY be home in a few weeks!

...then TWO families with our agency received referrals for infants in Ethiopia today! This is MUCH sooner than we had been expecting.

Our God is SO Good!

The New Jerusalem

Revelation 21:1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

PRAISE BE TO GOD!

Sugar?

Mommy: It's raining! Are we going to melt when we get out of the car?
Elizabeth: No, Mommy. We won't melt
Mommy: But I thought you were made of sugar. Sugar melts
Elizabeth: I'm not made of sugar. I'm made of God!