drat.

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.

Sean was out of town last week and will be traveling again this next week so we are taking off to my in-laws ranch for some much needed family time and then the kids & I will stay up there while Sean is gone. I am really excited to get away for a little bit. (read: I am ready to be wearing sweaters.)

Perhaps by the time we get back, things between Texas and I will be back on good terms, and our documents will be making their happy way to DC.

poetic rebuke

{this quote has been kicking my butt the past few days.}

"If your daily life seems poor, do not blame it;

blame yourself that you are not poet enough to call forth its riches;

for the Creator, there is no poverty."


-Rainer Maria Rilke

another list

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.

Here are today's top three things that I love about my husband:

1. He wants to talk it through. He wants to communicate so that our marriage can change and grow.

2. He is my partner. He is my helper. He has changed as many dirty diapers as I have.

3. He has excellent taste. And lots of opinions. It would drive me crazy to be with a man that didn't have a strong opinion. I would prefer for him to hate my dress or haircut or whatever, then not notice. I love my opinionated husband.

tagged

Jen of Jen & Jeff's Baby Blog tagged me. I don't typically do these things but who could say no to Jen!

So here goes... some interesting or unusual facts about me:

1. I spent a summer caring for a hawk named Skye. Poor Skye, I was REALLY underqualified for that job.

2. I am a homebody that loves to travel.

3. I have a deep love/hate relationship with personality tests as I love to understand myself and others better but am always bitter that I get scored as an extrovert when I am quite confident of that fact that I am an introvert.

4. There is something very appealing to me to living 'off the grid'. At the very least I would like to grow most of our food. I know - I have this inner hippie in there just trying to get out.

5. I am Irish, English, Dutch, Hungarian, German, and Jewish. I have also been a part of Catholic, Baptist, & Christian churches. Our second child was born in a Muslim nation and our third will be born in a Buddhist nation. I kind of wish I was a Quaker.

6. I long to live in North Carolina though I have never visited there before.

7. I think being a mom is the best job in the world. And again, a job I feel very unqualified for.

champagne dreams

I just received this from my friend (and economic & political advisor), Scott. I thought that it was really helpful in understanding the current financial crisis. This is for anyone out there who like me has a little trouble grasping all this.

nationwide tour

Today, our dossier should be arriving in the fantastic city of Austin, Texas. (it was there we became the Paben 2)

Upon arriving at the Secretary of State's office it will be signed and given the official State of Texas seal.

From there it is to make it's way back into our loving arms where we will make haste and have it on it's way once again. This time, destination Washington D.C. It feels risky sending important documents such as these to D.C. so close to the election. I try not to imagine any postal trucks being held hostage until one of the presidential candidates can prove how he is able to meet all of the desires of all the people.

Should said hostage situation not occur, our dossier will be delivered to a courier who will quickly walk (not run, trip or fall) until he has made his way to both the U.S. and Thai consulates. At each destination he will obtain both sign and seal. He will then walk carefully to the nearest FedEx office and send our dossier to it's final US stopover - the Holt International offices in Eugene, Oregon. Once Holt receives our fully signed & sealed dossier (and a large check from us) they ship it off to Thailand.

Then we are added to the waiting list.

Man-o-man does 9 months of pregnancy seem really short right now.

baby haze

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.

First, in the car on the way to drop Eva off at school we did our daily ritual of songs & prayers. Today we prayed for two of my friends that are trying to get pregnant through different fertility methods. I suddenly got all weepy and awed by the fact that God invites us to share in bringing forth life with Him. The emotions that swept over me felt reminiscent of the ones that arrived just after my babies were born. Beause God lets us share in all this, is why I was crying.

After leaving the school we went by Sean's work to pick up the last notarized document that we needed to send our dossier off on it's nationwide tour.

Fi-na-lly!

As I was driving to Mailboxes, Etc. to send it on it's way, I kept hitting red lights. Each time that I would come screeching to a halt, my arm would inadvertently cross over to the passenger side to cover the envelope holding all of our precious documents. I'm sure that my intention was to keep the papers from spilling out on the floor of the car, but I couldn't help but smile each time anyway. For the first time it felt as if there was something there of my coming child. Something that I could touch, protect from harm. In essence, something that I could mother.

I know that probably sounds strange, but that was why I couldn't stop smiling.