3 weeks until court

That seems either very soon, or very far away, depending on how I look at it. If I think of all the things I want to get done before we leave for Ethiopia and bring home a baby, it seems really soon. But, when I actually think about our baby boy, I wish we were on a plane already!

Prayer requests for this week are:

• Wisdom for Joseph as to when/how to purchase our flight tickets
• That all the paperwork that is in process right now would be completed on time and correctly for our court date
• That if any relatives are summoned to court, they would be able to appear at court
• That we would pass court on the 11th and be able to travel on the 16th

Sometime before the end of the month, we will receive an update on our son, which is quite exciting and I can't wait to see new pictures of him!

The Romance of Thrift

It's been a good week for baby supplies. Last week I woke up one morning and looked out our window to see a wooden, white, high chair next to our dumpster. It's very cute but needs a bit of work on the tray.

I also decided to feel like a hippie and order some hemp/cotton fleece to make diapers out of. I think I'm most excited about this - it satisfies all kinds of things - my love of making reusable things, creativity, practicality, and thrift.

Then after coming home from church on Easter Sunday, I saw a solid wood dresser, four drawers tall and perfect size to double as a changing table. The back is in bad shape and it's missing some handles, but that's it! So, I got out my sander and started sanding away. There's nothing quite like using power tools and being covered in dust. If we could just add the smell of manure I'd be right at home (I miss rural Wisconsin). I'm still trying to decide to paint or stain it - either way, it won't happen today - it's raining outside and we live in an apartment.

G.K. Chesterton, by the way, wrote a great chapter about "The Romance of Thrift" in "What's Wrong With the World." I absolutely love it and I'll give you a teaser, but you should read all of his section on Feminism. You download it for free at project Gutenberg.

"Thrift is the really romantic thing; economy is more romantic than extravagance. Heaven knows I for one speak disinterestedly in the matter; for I cannot clearly remember saving a half-penny ever since I was born. But the thing is true; economy, properly understood, is the more poetic. Thrift is poetic because it is creative; waste is unpoetic because it is waste. It is prosaic to throw money away, because it is prosaic to throw anything away; it is negative; it is a confession of indifference, that is, it is a confession of failure. The most prosaic thing about the house is the dustbin, and the one great objection to the new fastidious and aesthetic homestead is simply that in such a moral menage the dustbin must be bigger than the house. If a man could undertake to make use of all things in his dustbin he would be a broader genius than Shakespeare. When science began to use by-products; when science found that colors could be made out of coaltar, she made her greatest and perhaps her only claim on the real respect of the human soul. Now the aim of the good woman is to use the by-products, or, in other words, to rummage in the dustbin."

Baby Shower Friday April 24th

All of our faithful (women) readers who would like to attend a baby shower for our son, Joseph Tate, is welcome to come to Heather Ummel's for an open house on Friday, April 24th from 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. I'm quite looking forward to a celebration of our baby and if you don't have a gift, come anyway! It will be lots of fun!

If you do want to bring a gift, I've registered at Target and Amazon.com. There will also be a collection envelope for a group gift of an IKEA crib. Tate - as we will call him, will be about 9 months old when we bring him home, so buy clothes either 9 months or 12 months. He is a little on the small size for American babies, but you should be safe with either of those.

And don't worry, we'll have another welcome home party to introduce him to you all!

32 days until court!

Not that I'm counting or anything :-)

May 11th can't come soon enough. Please do keep praying that all of our paperwork goes smoothly from here on out and that we do pass court on the 11th. Why wouldn't we pass court? Things like wrong names on paperwork, the electricity goes out in the capital city, a relative is summoned and doesn't show up, the judge is sick, a key signature is missing, court was overbooked and they didn't make it to our case, and on and on . . . you get the idea. With all of those things so clearly out of my control, I am being forced to prayer more often. It is a much better solution than worrying, which accomplishes nothing. So, I'm thankful for all the unknowns because it is driving me Christ and depending on Him. It would be quite encouraging to know that there are others praying for us as well.

In case you missed a previous post, if we DO pass court on the 11th, we will likely be leaving on the 16th, but may not receive the absolute "yes we are ready for you to come" until the 15th. That seems a wee bit stressful and scary to me, but thankfully I have a husband who is quite comfortable with last minute travel and decisions. So, he is handling all the flight/travel arrangements and I'm handling the packing, paperwork, and being ready for a baby when we get home.

Vaccinnations!

I've never been so happy to get shots in my life! We had our travel appointment this morning and that means we are one BIG step closer to actually traveling.

We each got a shot for yellow fever, polio, hepatitis A & B, and tentanus. We also got malaria pills (not the ones that give you crazy dreams) and typhoid pills and emergency pills in case we get a BAD case of 'runny tummy.'

We also have our tentative travel dates - May 16 - 30th. We are planning on going a week early to see all kinds of stuff in the country (thus all the vaccines) and then spending the 24th - 30th finishing adoption stuff in the capital.

Happy Birthday Joseph!

It's Joseph Tate Bayly VI's birthday today, so wish him a happy one. He caught up to me and now we're both feeling kind of old at 27 - that's nearly 30! Oh well, bring on the children - they'll keep us young.

In honor of the beginning of Joseph's 27th year, I thought I'd post 27 things you may not know about him and that I do, oddly enough, love him for! I've known him for 25 years, so not all of these are necessarily recent.

1. He has a special place in his heart for conspiracy theories, especially one that involves a reptilian race descended from the "Lords of the lands of the blazing rockets."
2. He once stuck a twizzler up his nose and pulled it out his mouth. He also did a similar trick with a small metal ball and panicked when it got lost in his sinus cavity - no worries - it eventually came out.
3. He is the most patient teacher I've ever had.
4. His favorite sports are soccer, ultimate frisbee, and rock climbing.
5. He grew up without watching TV, so if you ever make reference to a television show from the 80's or 90's, he won't know it.
6. His college major was Computer Science and Ancient Mediterranean Studies.
7. I like listening to him preach more than anyone else (no offense, Dad).
8. He made me think it was cool to pick my nose.
   
9. He has mad floor mopping and sweeping abilities.
10. His favorite dessert is baklava.
11. He really loves the harpsichord.
12. He learned Rachmaninoff's Prelude in c# minor
13. One of his favorite past-times is tree climbing.
14. Brian Regan is his favorite comedian.
15. His day job is working for Broad Reach Recordings.
16. His favorite poet is Shel Silverstein.
17. He knows how to knit.
18. One time he thought he broke his neck after doing summersaults down a sand dune.
19. He's a great driver and has had LOTS of practice.
    
20. He's never broken a bone in his body or had surgery.
21. He was born breech on this day in Beverly, MA.
22. He likes The Postal Service (the band, that is).
23. He's the greatest husband in the world.
24. He's pretty good at picking locks.
25. He nearly aced the SAT, really.
26. Anything he takes apart, he can put back together.
27. He loves to whistle.