So, we hit a small bump in the road at the Texas Secretary of State's office. I haven't want to write about it so I've been putting off blogging. Hopefully it won't be a big delay.
{this quote has been kicking my butt the past few days.}
Sean 's plane lands in two hours and forty nine minutes. Not that I'm counting or anything. There's nothing like being home alone with a couple of sick kids to make you really miss your man. 
Jen of Jen & Jeff's Baby Blog tagged me. I don't typically do these things but who could say no to Jen!
Today, our dossier should be arriving in the fantastic city of Austin, Texas. (it was there we became the Paben 2)
This morning has felt a little surreal. I'm not sure if there is such a thing as adoption hormones, but if there are - mine have hit without abandon. 
Today was sweet Eva-bear's first day of school. She was pretty sad when it was time for Sean, Oliver & I to say good-bye. She was mostly just deeply offended that she had been seated between two boys. Come pick-up time she was smiling and laughing. All in all, she took it like a champ. I, on the other hand, did not. My heart feels smooshed and crushed and bashed and bruised and pummeled and purpled and utterly ruined. I understand at a cognitive level that parenting is all about letting go, from the moment they leave the womb, we begin that forever journey of letting go. And yet, in just one day in the midst of a million days of letting go, this day feels particularly harsh. 
I'm not sure what you all have been up to but we have been pretty excited about the Olympics over in our household. Even our 2 and 3 years old keep insisting each evening that they get to watch a little off the "0-wimp-picks" before bedtime. I haven't seen many Thai athletes competing and wondered who I may have missed. This morning when I scanned the medal earners I came across Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon of Thailand. She has one the sole gold medal for Thailand at The Beijing games. Prapawadee won the weightlifting gold medal in the women's 53 kilogram category, setting an Olympic record.
"In order to maintain some semblance of social cohesion the Thais try to keep their cool and avoid arguments. One should endeavor to live harmoniously with one's neighbors and follow the Buddhist middle path that urges followers to avoid extremes. Getting angry or telling people off is unlikely to solve anything - in Thailand anyway. Anger is disruptive and they regard people who go around making a fuss and picking quarrels as hotheaded - or, to translate literally from Thai, "hothearted" (jai ron). The best advice is "keep your cool" and smile benignly, however frustrated or annoyed you feel."
My Love and I are heading out of town to celebrate my 31 years of life and our six years of marriage. We are super excited for our long-overdue-kid-less-weekend-away! Hope your weekend is filled with lots of hugs & kisses.
"Thais like to have fun; they like parties, gossip, going to the movies, taking trips, and eating out together. Wherever you go in Thailand you will hear the word sanuk being used - the Thai word for fun. Is Bangkok sanuk? Was a certain film sanuk? Was a party you attended sanuk? Even occasions like funerals, which Westerners regard as serious affairs, ought to be fun in Thai eyes. And the same with work. The Thais do not draw a sharp distinction between work and pleasure in the same way as Westerners do.
My Dad sent me the sweetest early birthday present this past week. It's from a site that I hadn't heard of called A Greater Gift. He found it as he was searching the web for a fair trade item from Thailand that he though I might like. And he was right, I do! Not only is this bag really beautiful, but the fact that it is helping someone in Thailand earn a good and fair wage makes the gift even sweeter. Eva thinks so too. She has barely let the bag leave her shoulder since its arrival.
"Thai self-confidence is reflected in their smart appearance. Cleanliness is important, and Thais think nothing of having several showers a day. They make a point of being well-dressed, with clothes that are always spotless and neatly pressed. The Thai word for dirty, sokaprok, expressed disgust.
I've recently joined up with the Red Letters campaign. It is a group focused on both awareness and action. Some of the primary focuses are orphan care, poverty, HIV and adoption. I am now an 'adoption journalist' for this project. That sounds pretty fancy but all it really means is that my blog is posted on their page of adoption journals, listed under Thailand {their 1st! - come on Thailand peeps!} and I post their blog badge at the end of my posts. For anyone that is interested in these issues or wants to help bring awareness about these things or even just wants to find more adoptions journeys to follow, this is a great site to check out.
Most of you have probably heard about the death of Steven Curtis Champan's youngest daughter, Maria. The Chapman family has adopted three little girls from China in addition to the three biological children that they have. They are huge adoption advocates and an inspiration to many. This morning was their first interview since Maria's death. If you missed it you can watch it on Steven's website. They will also be on Larry King Live for the full hour tomorrow night, August 7th 9pm ET/ 6pm PT on CNN. They are such a beautiful family and a great picture of faith when it counts.
So, I am officially crazy. 
I bought this book (the First Adventures of Incredible You) for my daughter, Eva, sometime last year and I was really excited about how it turned out. When ordering the book you answer all sorts of questions about where you live, different family members or friends, etc... (for example one questions asks for your, or your child's, favorite sports team...) Then when you receive the book, all these little details are woven into the story. Eva loves it! 
"Because Thailand has never been under foreign rule, the Thais hold their heads high and regard people from other nations as their equals. They come across as self-confident, and proud of their country, but never arrogant. They learn from an early age that Thailand is 'Buddha's own country.' They have savored independence for centuries and are very thankful for this."
"...Sitha is 50 years old and lives in a small village on Cambodia's Mekong River about 15 miles north of the capital city of Phnom Penh. A widow, Sitha has four daughters, three of whom are married and one who lives with her at home.
I stole this picture from my friend Mindy's brand spankin' new blog, Eikyo. Man, that is just how I feel. Our (first) home study social worker said that our (first) home study should be done in a week, two weeks tops. Well, it will be two weeks tomorrow. We can't schedule our (second) home study until our (second) home study social worker has our (first) home study in hand. Confused yet?
"The Thais are respectful people. Children are brought up to respect their elders and to defer to authority. If a person has a higher rank then you in society, he or she is worthy of respect, and a good employee acknowledges the superiority of his boss and does not contradict him. Students respect their teachers and would not dare to argue with them or even ask them questions. One of the ways the Thais demonstrate respect is to press their palms gracefully together, fingers pointing upwards if in prayer, and incline their the head forward in salutation. This is known as the wai. It is normal for people to wai when they see a superior, and the recipient of the wai will wai back. The greater the difference in in rank, the lower the head is inclined and the higher the wai should be. The inferior should always initiate the wai."
I have been trying to work out the kinks - and I think I finally have this subscription thing figured out. If you had previously subscribed to the Paben 5, you may want to do it again now. I'm not sure if any old subscriptions will still be working as I have switched to a different service. 
I want to do more then merely exist, walk through the motions, let each day arrive and depart at it's own leisure. I want to act. I want to be intentional. I want to help alter my little corner of this earth. I want to learn to love. And you know what? I REALLY suck at loving. I am far too selfish and too tired and too easily annoyed to love well. I am scared, along with perhaps, most of the rest of the world, and not very brave at all. And I can easily look at myself and feel discouraged or some days, disgusted. But today I just feel encouraged. I did in fact love a little bit better this week than last. I did care about someone else more then myself. I even felt a little bit brave. 
"Metropolitan Bangkok is an enormous sprawling city of approximately 10 million people that has expanded rapidly over the past forty years. All other Thai cities are minnows in comparison. It accounts for more than half of the national total of telephones and cars - and this is why the city's traffic jams are so notorious. 
