Isabella Grace White was born in Cabell-Huntington hospital West Virginia September 11, 2008, at 10:56pm, weight 8lb 4oz, 20-1/2" long.
Whoever said that having a baby was going to change us forever was right! At the time of this writing, she was a month old and it's been a memorable month of changes. We have taken on new names (Mama and Daddy) and the Shrewsbury Grandparents are choosing their grandparent names. Mama is getting skilled at reading Bella's cries and we're all changing diapers. If anyone is wondering about our new sleeping schedule, I would say, "What sleeping schedule?"
On the birthday, we were surrounded by family, loved ones, and one of the assisting doctors is one of Alicia's best friends. We called my parents when labor began and they made it from Georgia to West Virginia by the time the baby decided to come. Isabella's birthday has forever redeemed the significance of "9-11" for us into a joyful day.
Check our blog for pictures of the baby, http://brettandalicia.blogspot.com/, plus there's a facebook link to more.
Mama has recovered well and has jumped into mothering with everything she's got... she's a great mom. We will be in West Virginia a little while longer to finish up some of the initial doctor's visits. Plus, we are awaiting the bureaucracy of the government agencies who issue birth certificates, social security cards, and passports-- which will be necessary to have before we go back to Ukraine.
We have been thankful for the family time we've had since we've been on our home leave. We've got to be here for both Doug and Carrie's birthday, plus in-country for for my mom's, and brother and sister's birthdays. We have scheduled catch-all holidays to celebrate with both sets of families before we head back.
Before this bulletin gets to you, God willing we will have already returned to Ukraine. We are in for a big change with the baby and with moving to Sumy. We do not yet know exactly where we will be living, and we will be looking for places in the cold of a Ukrainian November. All of our house goods are in storage in Kyiv and we have to ship much of the baby's stuff. We will be met with the warmth from the church there in Sumy, so we are not worried.
Do you know what's going on in Ukraine?
One of the effects of being involved in missions is that we all have a more serious interest in international news that effects the people we know. I encourage you to watch out for news items on Ukraine. The way I keep up with it is by having a google search emailed to me. That way, every time a news article comes out with "Ukraine" in the title, it is sent to me. You can also set it up to come to your "news-reader" program.
News items relating to Ukraine: The Georgia conflict, the Somali hijacking, the dissolution of Ukrainian parliament, the fourth election in five years, the effect of the world economy on the people of Ukraine, the NATO bid for Georgia/Ukraine. Ukraine was mentioned seven times in the first presidential debate.
Rethinking media:
We are transitioning out of our learning stage and getting into our ministry stage in our work in Ukriane. One change we will make that at first seems counter-intuitive is to not write so much about the ministry that's going on in the field. Why? Just think if you are ministering to someone in your community and they find out you are blogging about them. How is that going to affect your relationship? It's the same thing with us in Ukriane. We don't want to damage the ministry by advertising it. I'm sure you can understand this. But this leaves you wondering about what is happening in the field. You may contact us or any members of the board, or better yet, come see for yourself. We are still considering a more prudent way of reporting.
With this recession hitting us full force, we are especially grateful for your giving at this time.
