HAIR

Here are some pictures of Amilia's hair-do's over the last few months. It is getting so much longer, and I am able to do lots more with it. BUT I HAVE A LOT TO LEARN. African hair is very dry and brittle. It needs the natural oils of the scalp, so I only wash her hair every two weeks. Styling in braids and twists can encourage hair growth. I have also learned that hair is a symbol of status in the black community. All this is very new, and very interesting!

Sing a new Song

It is hard for me to put into words the wonderful experience I have had over the last six weeks. But here goes a try at it.

God has been so real and close. I go to bed at night, excited about the next day thinking, "I can't wait to see what God has in store for me tomorrow." It seems my soul longs to be with him. In the last six weeks, I have written 7 songs. Never before have I had such a passion for writing music. I have been experiencing so much of God, and I think writing music is a way of applying these spiritual truths to my life. I now understand personally what the psalmist meant when he wrote, "sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things." (psalm 98:1)

When reading and studying the Bible, the words are fresh to me. (Even though I may have read them many times.) Specifically I have been pondering a scripture found in Ephesians 3:19
... and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

What does it mean to be filled to the measure of ALL the fullness of God?? That is the question I couldn't get out of my mind. After studying the Bible, and praying about it, I wrote the following song.


Fullness

God was pleased to have his fullness dwell
Within the one, sent ahead to for tell
of a new covenant, a blood poured out
that saves lives, from sin and doubt
he was... filled to the measure, of the fullness of God

The fullness of God, he died and rose again
He left his presence, in the hearts of men
When I seek the one, who died on the tree
All of God's fullness, can be found in me
I can be ... filled to the measure , of the fullness of God

Now we are his Body, his fullness today
Filled with his spirit, in every which way
The body of Christ, upon this earth
A Kingdom within, of eternal worth
We can be.. filled to the measure, of the fullness of God

Seek the Lord, Abide with Him
Seek the Lord, Abide with Him
Seek the Lord, Abide with Him
to be ... filled to the measure, of the fullness of God



Thanks for letting me share what God has been doing in my life.

Fall Pictures

Minnesota in the fall.... beautiful, breathtaking.... a little bit of heaven. These pictures where taken at Grandpa and Grandma Bailey's house.

What a Mommy can do in 20 minutes.....

I should have awoke to the radio.... I should have taken a shower the night before.....I should have packed Isaac's lunch yesterday....

These are the thoughts racing through my head at 7:40 when I awoke to sammy's voice. THE BUS WOULD BE HERE IN TWO MINUTES.... THE RACE IS ON....

Obviously, there was no chance to get Isaac to the bus stop on time, so that gave me 20 minutes to get out the door and to school. I ran upstairs got Isaac's and Lincoln's clothes out, and while they got dressed woke up Amilia, changed and dressed her. Then down stairs to figure out breakfast- two rounds of waffles in the toaster would be quick. Amilia sat in her chair and while I got started. Isaac and Lincoln made there way downstairs to the table. Sammy still wasn't changed, but found his way downstairs to the table for breakfast. While the kids were eating, I jumped in the shower. Yesterday I had the flu, and was feeling so gross. I HAD to shower!!!! My soaking wet tangled hair was covered with a stocking hat, and I quick threw on some clothes. Once out of the shower I gave the kids a one minute warning and laid out the coats and boots. Isaac finished up, washed his face, brushed his teeth and was ready to go. Lincoln also was quick to be ready by the door. Sam was not about to move that quick, he was insistent on finishing his waffle. So I gave him some extra time while I got Amilia ready. By then he was finished, but still in pj's and a soaking wet diaper. I didn't have time to change him, so on went the rain boots and coat. Our usual routine is to watch Barney after breakfast, so he was headed that way. He was not about to head to the car on his own, so I had to carry him kicking and screaming out to the car. On the way out I hit his head on the door frame- oops! Amilia was left in the entry screaming- and SHE CAN SCREAM!!! Out at the car I realized Amilia's carseat hadn't been refastened since it was taken out the day before. hummmmm... Ok.... Isaac, you sit in amilia's seat, Lincoln in Isaac's, Sammy in Lincoln's and Amilia in Sammys.
We arrive at the school to see the principle close the side door - Isaac is tardy!! In I ran to the office, and Isaac to his class.....

As if that wasn't crazy enough.... Lincoln had to be back at the same school in 15 minutes for preschool- We headed home to change Sammy, and get Lincoln's school stuff. On the way out the door to school for the SECOND TIME of the morning.. I picked up Amilia and she stunk!!! So after a one very messy diaper, Lincoln was also 5 minutes late for school.

THEN...... Sammy, Amilia, and I headed to the vet to pick up Belle. She had surgery yesterday on her ear. This is her second surgery on the ear in two months. I looked at the ear when I got home and..... The surgery didn't work, her ear is still swollen. She has another appointment tomorrow morning.

I am thankful...
I am thankful I didn't yell at my kids this morning...
I am thankful......

The coveted family picture

I was reminded a few days ago- "A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS."
We'll try again another day:)

Sammy's introduction to the potty!!

******Rules to follow******
(for mommy and daddy Bailey)
don't expect to get anything else done
roll up the rugs
have plenty of m&m's on hand
washer must be running at all times
have plenty of rags and cleaner in every room
throw a poopy party- complete with a poopy present
be very excited about every little drop of pee
expect to find "presents around the house"
DON'T GIVE UP

Lincoln's First Day of Pre-School

Lincoln has been anxious for this day. Last year when Isaac rode the bus to speech, Lincoln stated he was six, and it was time for him to ride the bus. So, if he was six last year, that puts him this year as an eight year old going to pre-school. He ran up to the school door, showed me where his class was, and that was that. He was VERY VERY ready to go to pre-school. Here are some cute pics!

Off to school

So this is what it feels like to have my first born off to school. I woke Isaac at 7 this morning. He usually sleeps until 8!! But he woke with a shot, excited that today was Kindergarten. The WHOLE family hopped in the car, and we headed to Rockridge. It is a quaint little school, nestled under hawks ridge and is just for Kindergarten and First grade. Mrs. Baker met him at the door, he hung his coat up, put his gym shoes away, and found his seat. And that was that! He was definently ready for school. As we were walking up to the school he said, "Can I walk in the door by myself?" He is enrolled in the all day Kindergarten, from 8:05- 2:45. He will be so exhausted these first few weeks.
Lincoln is at a loss this morning. He has asked me to play trains with him a dozen times. Isaac and Lincoln got to be excellent playmates this summer. Lincoln will be off to pre-school next week at the same little school. He will go Tues, Wed, and Thurs, mornings. I will blog next week with Lincoln's school pictures.

It all began with....

TWO- individuals who came together as one.
A POST about the two of us.

Last night, Nathanael and I drove to the cities for his 10 year high school reunion. My parents came over from the cabin and generously offered to watch all four kids. We don't often get so dressed up, so we snapped a quick picture before walking out the door.

So... when becoming a parent you become selfless, but you don't want to loss yourself. You may ask, what have these selves been up to lately? Through the chaos of four children, surprisingly we have had some wonderful time together as a couple. We spend time chatting on the couch, having friends and family over, watching movies. It seems our relationship has a renewed sense of humor, which is a MUST in our crazy house.
Nathanael was recently promoted to foreman of his shop. This means he continues to work on cars, but also is the leader and trainer in the back of the shop. Every Thursday morning he meets with a group of good friends for breakfast and accountability. He also has been running the sound equipment at church a couple of times a month. This is something Nathanael loves to do, and does and excellent job.

My sanity lately has been grounded by a few activities- baking and music. I have gotten into homemade breads- yummy!!! Two weeks ago I bought a new guitar, and I should have it any day. I play piano and guitar often, the kids love it. Writing music also is a great creative outlet for me. There is just something special about singing and playing a song no one else knows - especially as a praise to my heavenly father.
So that's the TWO of us lately- catch you at the next blog.

Amilia's ONE

It's hard to believe that yesterday, August 16, Amilia turned one. Since we have only had her for 3 months, it seemed so strange. We have a quiet day at home. We grilled dinner and had strawberry shortcake. Amilia would have NOTHING to do with her cake. No fun messes to take pictures of- oh well, we already have plenty of those. She is cruising along furniture, and crawling very fast.
Our hard wood floors are finished, but our kitchen is still under constuction. That project has been put on hold because some friends of ours gave us a nice wooden playground. So we have been landscaping our backyard to make room for it. It is now up and completed. We had a HUGE load of wood chips dumped in our driveway. The boys had LOTS of fun climbing and slidding down that. YES- slidding down a pile of woodchips!! Can you say- SPLINTERS IN THEIR CUT LITTLE BOTTOMS!!!

What does 5 days with 4 kids equal?
NEW HARDWOOD FLOORS!!!!
Back in May we had quite a hail storm here- golf ball size hail!! Our window trim had minor damage, but the insurance company sent us a major check!! After living with CARPET in the KITCHEN for three years we decided to use some of our insurance money and refinish our hard wood. Nathanael tore up carpet, 2 layers of linolum and pine hard wood before he got to the sub floor. Over the weekend Nathanael and I installed oak hardwood in the kitchen. Here are some pictures of our progress. The boys enjoyed sitting on the counter and watching Nathanael rip up the floor. We moved most of our furniture out to the garage, but the we weren't about to move the piano out of the house. It didn't make it around the corner to the living room, so it has taken up residence in the bathroom. HEE!!! HEE!!!

Sorry so long...

since I have blogged!!! I have heard that there are many of you that still check our blog often! We are definitely settling into life with four children. Amilia is doing so well. She has been battling a double ear infection since coming home. We just finished our second dose of Antibiotic and have a recheck next week. The boys are loving their new sister. Before traveling to Africa, I was worried about how they would adjust. Isaac would say often, "I just want is to be three boys, and mom and dad." Today he told me, "I love my new baby sister!" They are very sweet with her, and she has gotten used to the amount of action around the house. When we first came home, she would get freaked out by the noise and activity level, now she is joining right in!!! Nathanael and I are missing the sweet coos and talking we first heard from Amilia. Now she grunts and sounds just like Sammy!! (Sammy still grunts and doesn't say much, even though just turned two!!)

Tonight we had a photo shoot in the backyard!
We actually got some adorable pictures of them all together! It is quite a trick to get everyone to smile and look at the camera! Ages for these pictures- Isaac 5 1/2- Lincoln 4 1/2 -Sammy 2 - Amilia 9 months.

Amilia has adjusted so well. When in Africa she learned how to sit up by herself, and just yesterday she began to crawl on all fours!!! She doesn't go very far yet- but it will be soon enough. She is also doing a great job at feeding herself. She hadn't ever until arriving home, and now she is a pro!! She doesn't have any teeth yet - but she can gum a lot of it. It is taking some time to attach to us. Obviously, she prefers me to Nathanael, just because I am always with her. She is waking up in the middle of the night to eat, which she NEVER did at the care center! Needless to say, Nathanael and I are getting anxious for her to sleep through the night!!! The middle of the night feedings, and our American food has helped Amilia to gain 3 pounds since coming home!!! She is still tiny compared to other American babies, but we are happy with the progress!

Hope you enjoy the pictures!!!

Out of the fog.....

And into reality!!!
**** Note- I started this blog on Thursday night, but didn't get to posting it until Saturday-
Today was the first morning that I had all four children to myself. I told Nathanael, "I bet you are excited to get back to work!!! HEE HEE!!!" He said no, of course. At one point yesterday,
Amilia was crying because she was tired, Isaac was chasing after the cat who had gotten outside, Sammy was throwing a fit because he didn't want his boots on, and Lincoln.... hummm... I don't recall what he was up too. But at that point I was thinking, what have I gotten myself into!! Can I really handle all four? Well, I made it through day one, and we are all in one piece. Amilia has started to cry a bit more, especially when she is hungry and tired. She has learnded to cry when she is hungry, which is great thing!! For the first couple of days we didn't know when she was hungry because she never cried.
***** Now it is Saturday, and there is never a dull moment at the Bailey's.. Yesterday morning I took Amilia to the doctor for her one hour appointment. The boys stayed with grandma at home, which was a good thing. We arrived at 8:45, and didn't get home until 12:30. Amilia was very well taken care of, and that was evident to the doctor. Although, he did find a double ear infection and ringworm on her scalp. The ringworm sounds worse than it is. It is just a fungus and we put lotion on it for the next 6 weeks. Then She got 4 shots, and had to get 11 viles of blood drawn for extensive testing. Well, lets just say it is the worst experience that I have ever had at the doctor. They couldn't find a vein in her tiny arm- so after 1 hour and 15 minutes of crying, we finally called it quits. We only got 5 viles of blood drawn, and I have to go back in on Monday to finish. The poor thing had a fever and slept the rest of the day. What a welcome to America!!!

She's almost home!!!!

Well, it is hard to believe, but we finally made it home! Well- almost!!! We flew in last night, and stayed in White Bear Lake before heading home to Duluth. Nathanael, Amilia, and I have some wicked jet lag. I will post our trip in more detail later, but I wanted to post a picture of our newest addition. She is wonderful!!!

Heading Home Tomorrow

Hey everyone

It still amazes me that with a click of a button, you all
can get this email half way accross the world. Today is Thursday, 5 pm our
time, 9 am for you all- we have a a great couple of days. We went to
the Crown hotel two nights ago for traditional cusine- injera and wot(stews and
large round flat pancakes). It was ok- but we have loved the food made
by the cooks at the guest house. The traditonal song and dance was
amazing!!

Amilia is doing so well. She slept through the night again, and is
always smiling and happy. She is know at the care center to always be happy
and contented!!! We are so thankful she is such an easy going baby. She
will fit right in with the chaos.

Everyone here is so nice!!! The driving is crazy- cars, goats, people, donkeys, horses, and cows share the streets. But we have not seen one accident. On the walk to the care center we pass the goats being slaughtered on the corner. It is amazing what you get used to so quickly. It doesn't bother us at all anymore. The food is all organic and fresh- delicious, but we have to be careful what we eat.

Our ride is here to take us back to the guest house, so the next time I
write, I will attach pictures of our Amilia- she is absolutly wonderful!!!
love you all, Anna

We're in Ethiopia!!!

Hello. This is Erin posting for Anna and Nathanael.

We arrived in Ethiopia and met Amilia yesterday. She is very beautiful, healthy, and thriving. We had her with us for about 3 hours. She is also extremely active and crawling already! We were happy that she didn't cry when we held her and that we were able to get her giggling. When we don't have her she is well taken care of by loving nannies at the care center.

Today we took an eight hour trip south to meet Amilia's birthfamily. We spoke with them for 1/2 an hour and took a couple of pictures. We are so thankful that we had this experience and will be able to share it with Amilia when she is older. The people of Ethiopia have been kind to us. We are amazed at how gracious everyone has been even though so many live in extreme poverty.

Back to Erin: At this point, Anna's phone minutes ran out. She was calling from a roof top. We cannot wait for them to come home and to finally meet precious Amilia. We know that you are all excited as well.

The boys are enjoying their time at Grandma and Grandpa's house. They are keeping us all very busy! My parents took them to the cabin this weekend. They will be going to Grandpa and Grandma Bailey's house on Tuesday.

The Storm... before the calm

Believe it or not, I am throughly looking forward to the day long journey to Amilia. Sittting on the plane sipping pop, reading books, and snoozing sounds wonderful to me. The last week has been a whirl-wind. Our packing list has gone from 4 pages to 1/2 page. The donations for the school in Ethiopia were bought and packed. OUr boys are ready to go!! (not with us of course, but to grandma and grandpas house) The paperwork is completed. Our house is somewhat clean. The last minute errnads have been made. The wash is caught up. Sheets are fresh. Our fridge is empty. (hum- that reminds me- what's for dinner- ????- how abount pancakes)
The picture posted here was just taken on monday. We are bringing it framed to the birth mother. It is crazy that everyone is smiling and looking at the camera- This has never happened before.
I am really starting to ache for Amilia- it is so close and I just want to hold her.
Thanks so much for your support and prayers! We love you all!

SO SOON....... IN MY ARMS

We just received our birth certificate for Amilia. This is the photo on it. She has hair now, and the most beautiful eyes! In two short days we will begin our journey to her. We also got an updated weight and height. 13.2 pounds and 25 inches. She is rolling over, and scooting!! I have got to get Isaac from school, but I will post more later today!

Travel Details

Hey everyone!!! The last two days have been a blur. We have so much to get done. We booked our flight today, but not without a little scare. We were put on a wiat list for our flight home- and didn't get a confirmed flight until today! We fly out of MSP on Thursday night at 6:50 and arrive in D.C. around ten. We will stay over night there, and then take a direct flight on Ethiopia Airlines Friday morning at 9:45. We will arrrive in Addis Ababa 8;15 am their time. We stop in Rome for fuel, but we don't get off the plane. Bummer!! I think they are 8 hours ahead of us. We we arrive at the airport, we will apply for our Visa's- and someone from the orphange will be their to pick us up. We will meet Amilia sometime on Saturday. On Sunday we get to travel to her birthland and possibly meet her birth mother and some other relatives. WOW!!!! Aside from meeting Amilia, this is what I am most excited for. I am not quite sure what we will be doing the rest of the week. One day we have to go to the Embassy and present some paperwork for Amilia's Visa. I think we will also go shopping sometime during the week. Amilia will be in our care from the beginning of the week on. They really bundle the babies there - even though it is very warm. Here are some pictures I found on-line-
Thanks everyone who has leaft comments- I love to know who is reading these posts!!