Happy Birthday Seth

You don't look like you have a twenty two year old...

At least that's what I tell myself when I look in the mirror. :)

Yes, it's hard to believe, but today, my firstborn is 22 years old. Can't believe that he's that old, can't believe that I am as old as I am either.

22 years ago today, Seth made his way into the world. I went in the hospital on Friday morning and he was born Sunday at 10:15 a.m. Can you say 56 hours of labor? FINALLY, Dr. Jones shuffled in on Sunday morning and said "why don't we get that thing out of there?" I was the first to agree. So, in just a matter of minutes, I was wheeled into the OR and had an 8 lb. 2 oz. baby before I knew it. We had decided on the name Seth, but had not decided on a middle name. The first time Pat held him, he said that I could name him what ever I wanted. So, Seth Patrick Hood it was.

Seth, you have been a joy and a blessing to our lives. We've grown up together, so to speak. We were so young when we had you and we've made our share of mistakes, but one thing has never changed, and that's our love for you. We are so very proud of you and what you are becoming. We can't wait to see what God has in store for your life. We love you and hope you had a very happy birthday!

Happy Birthday,
from the fam!

Thanks for reading everyone.

Thanks a Bunch!

Well, the poll has closed, the voting has ended and we are not one bit closer to deciding on a name. I am lobbying for a couple of names that were not even on the poll.

Thanks to all that voted and gave me their opinion. Sorry for those of you that told me what you DIDN'T like, because when we name her that name, I will tell her that you don't like it. :) Okay, maybe I won't, maybe I will have forgotten by then.

Maybe.

I'm still taking suggestions, looking into a few names, and getting generally frustrated by the whole thing.

No, our I171H is STILL not here, believe me, you would have read it by now if it had came. It has been almost 5 months since I filed our original request. What is up with that? Don't get me started on that one.

BTW, I have our Ethiopia blog up and running and will now, formally switch any updates etc. to that blog. You can find it at the link on the side or you can click here and go there. It's still a work in progress, but I am working on getting all the information in my notebook transferred to her blog. Enjoy reading yet another blog. I'll be posting on that blog a name, IF, we ever decide on one. So, hop on over and check it out. I think it looks great.

Oh, and our friends and fellow FBC staff member and wife, Chris and Dawn, were added to the Ethiopia waiting list TODAY! Hooray! They are in the process of adopting our baby girl's husband. :) I think arranged marriages are a great idea! We are both using the same agency and we are so excited about walking this journey along side of them. Who knows, maybe we can travel together. I worried about our daughter not having a connection to her country because there was no one else in the church that had adopted from Ethiopia. Jadyn has such a strong connection as there are so many families with girls adopted from China and I prayed and prayed for this baby to have a connection also. The day we announced to the church that we are adopting from Ethiopia, Chris and Dawn pulled me aside and said that they were ready to start the process of adoption and that felt God was leading them to adopt from Ethiopia. Mmmm, mmmmm, mmmmm, ain't God good? There is our baby girls connection to her country and her culture. This is only the beginning of great things to come. I just know it. Congratulations Chris and Dawn, we are very excited for you.

Help!

Okay, so we can't seem to decide on a name, so, I'm taking a poll.

You can cast your vote above on your favorite name for our African princess, or make a suggestion in the comments. We will not publicly criticize you name ideas - we'll save that for the privacy of our own home! :)

Here is the thoughts behind the names - because you know we can't do anything randomly or just because.

Eliana (Hebrew-God has answered) Kate (just like the name)
Remember that Jadyn is Hebrew for "God has heard" Smart, huh?

Emmye (again, just like the name-no meaning) Elizabeth (Consecrated to God - did not want this baby to have a name that meant absolutely nothing, so we agreed on Elizabeth - which is a great feat these days)

If we name her Eliana Kate - we will call her Ellie Kate

If we name her Emmye Elizabeth - we have several options on what we will call her. Emmye Beth being one of them.

If we name her Elizabeth Kate - we will call her either Lizzie Kate or Eliza Kate (and Alison, that's kind of like Aliza )

So, what do you think. Go ahead, cast your vote, but don't be offended if we don't use your favorite, we're like that you know! And, for the record, we are certainly open to suggestions. If you can come up with a name that we LOVE and AGREE on, then I'll do something very special - like monogram your underwear or something.

Sorry if you have already voted, I added the other name to the poll and had to remove the other one. So, you can revote if you want.

It's That Time of The Year!

Wow, it's hard to believe that it's time to get back into the swing of things and start back to school. We had a great summer, but as summer is quickly coming to a close, I have tried to spend time preparing Jadyn for her return to school. Well, as much as you can prepare a 2 year old. We have talked about it, or at least I have talked about it, Jadyn, not so much.

This past Monday was the big day. Actually, it was not quite as bad as what I had anticipated. She cried a little Monday morning but the other 3 days, no tears. She wasn't exactly thrilled about being there, but no tears nonetheless. She has been going through this very clingy stage, this I blame on Ted Koppel. Another post for another time. So, I was concerned that she would melt down when it came to leaving her at school. It seems as though I was wrong and I am VERY grateful for this. Here are a few pics from her big day. Doesn't she look like such a big girl? She is growing up too fast. Where does the time go?

Jadyn LOVES popsicles.  It's on of her very favorite summer time treats.  She has such fun eating them and the "Slow Melt" Popsicles are the greatest invention since sliced bread.

And, by the way, she wears her pearls with everything.  She's just not fully dressed without her pearls.

Enjoy the video of the cutest little Chinese girl ever!

Oh, and by the way, the outburst of "NO!" is Jadyn correcting the dog who, for whatever reason, attempted to sniff her popcicle paper. Samson walks a fine like around here and hardly a second goes by without some form of correction by Jadyn that is directed his way. Poor dog. Good thing he loves us.