On my field trip Friday I decided to ride with the mom who has adopted kids. She told me lots of new things about her adoptions and told me about a childrens' book she plans to give me when I get a baby. I put her daughter in a different vehicle with the girls who are her friends, so there were things she told me that she probably wouldn't have told me if her daughter was there. It was good for me to talk with her again. There's not too many people that have recently gone through the domestic infant adoption experience.

Today an elder at church asked my husband and me if we would be willing to serve as high school youth leaders. One of the three couples who are leaders is quitting, and they are looking for a replacement. The job would probably start in the fall.

We told him we would discuss it, but there really isn't any need to discuss it. Our minds are already made up.

First of all, we don't feel like we have the gift of working with teens. We just don't have the charisma and energy required for kids of that age. My husband worries about difficulities with discipline and his temper getting out of control. I get frustrated with the teens that are immature, and I don't want to deal with them.

There are other ministries in the church we would rather do. My husband has helped with the boys' club in the past and would rather help with that than with the high schoolers. I'm currently working with the 3rd-8th grade girls' club. I'm much more comfortable with that age group. If I became a youth leader I'd have to quit the girls' club.

The funny thing is that I recently decided that I would keep doing my work with the girls' club next year. There was a point where I thought I'd quit. With a possible baby on the way I wanted to be committed to less things. Now I think I'll keep doing it until I get a baby. It's best if I keep doing the things I've always done.

The issue of time is another thing to consider. The youth group will demand more of our time. Fund raisers and special events such as youth retreats and the annual convention need to be organized. We'd have to use up some of my husband's precious vacation time to attend the convention. That may take away from the time we have to visit my family. Also, the spring is a busy time at work for my husband, and he wouldn't be able to attend meetings during those months.

We realize that there is a need, but we don't feel like youth leadership is our calling. We know if another couple that has already declined the position, so I hope they can find someone soon who will do for the job.

My husband and I talked today about how we are expecting a pregnancy announcement from our sister-in-law pretty soon. We know that she and her husband won't be like another couple we know. This other couple waited to get pregnant again until his sister and husband's adoption from Guatemala came through. I wouldn't expect my sister-in-law to wait, but if she did she would get major "best sister-in-law in the world" points from me.

I was looking at baby names today. Social Security recently posted the top baby names of 2004, so I've been comparing them to those of 2003. While I was doing that my hubby told me that he thought maybe we could look at cribs again this summer. He talked about how hard it is to buy things when you don't even know for sure if you will get a baby. I agreed. I want a crib, but I don't. I hope we get one this summer becuase we really need one.