Well, this is it.
My last post. Maybe for good on this blog.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Monday, April 15, 2013
Two Month Update
But God's grace. He never gives us more than we can handle.
There's a song on the radio recently that says, "This is gonna make you stronger." If you want to hear it, you can go here -
YouTube Mandisa - Stronger
God gives us the strength we need at the time we need it.
And God gave an 8 year old boy courage to leave everything familiar and start a new life with a new family away from his birth siblings. He gave a couple in their 50's courage to take in a boy they barely knew. He gave two children raised in a Christian home enough trust to want to help a boy "from the world".
At times, that 8 year old boy wished that he could run back to the familiar. At times, the couple wondered what they had gotten themselves into. At times, the two children wanted to "send him back".
But, then God's grace comes in again. The boy becomes more comfortable. The couple finds new strength and encouragement. The children learn how to relate to each other better.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
He's Here!
One week ago today, we had just gotten home with our boy. It really seemed so natural. We had a good ride home. He slept part of the time.
When we got home Hannah and Josiah were there to greet us and welcome their new brother. It was late, so we got him ready for bed, said prayers and tucked him in.
The week has been a whirlwind of getting him registered for school, paperwork, meetings with Bethany Christian Services, appointments with doctors, and just adjusting.
In the midst of all of the hard work or parenting a child from hard places, we have had time for fun - a sleeping bag party in the den, personalizing a wall in the room he shares with Josiah, and getting his first pet (a fire-belly toad).
There's also been some shopping done for clothes and shoes.
Pray for him and our family as we try to rebuild the trust that has been lost. To some extent he trusts us and is glad that he is here, but there is still a lot of anxiety in his life. He goes back and forth from feeling a part of the family to feeling an outcast. We pray that he will find stability here.
When we got home Hannah and Josiah were there to greet us and welcome their new brother. It was late, so we got him ready for bed, said prayers and tucked him in.
The week has been a whirlwind of getting him registered for school, paperwork, meetings with Bethany Christian Services, appointments with doctors, and just adjusting.
In the midst of all of the hard work or parenting a child from hard places, we have had time for fun - a sleeping bag party in the den, personalizing a wall in the room he shares with Josiah, and getting his first pet (a fire-belly toad).
There's also been some shopping done for clothes and shoes.
Pray for him and our family as we try to rebuild the trust that has been lost. To some extent he trusts us and is glad that he is here, but there is still a lot of anxiety in his life. He goes back and forth from feeling a part of the family to feeling an outcast. We pray that he will find stability here.
Friday, February 1, 2013
A New Plan
It's been a month since my last post.
On Wednesday of this week, we got a call from our adoption specialist at Bethany. She had news that we had been waiting for, but weren't expecting this soon, if ever.
The State has made the decision to split the sibling group. Three of them are being adopted by their foster parents. One is going to a group home. One is available for us to adopt.
We had told them that in the event that they did a split, we would consider the younger two. I figured it was unlikely that we would get the 3 year old since he and his sister are very much loved by their foster parents (who have graciously taken in one of the other boys as well). Maybe there was a slight chance for the 8 year old, but I had turned it totally over to God, because it had hurt so much when we took him back that chilly day in December to what I considered a dismal existance.
On Wednesday of this week, we got a call from our adoption specialist at Bethany. She had news that we had been waiting for, but weren't expecting this soon, if ever.
The State has made the decision to split the sibling group. Three of them are being adopted by their foster parents. One is going to a group home. One is available for us to adopt.
We had told them that in the event that they did a split, we would consider the younger two. I figured it was unlikely that we would get the 3 year old since he and his sister are very much loved by their foster parents (who have graciously taken in one of the other boys as well). Maybe there was a slight chance for the 8 year old, but I had turned it totally over to God, because it had hurt so much when we took him back that chilly day in December to what I considered a dismal existance.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Change of Plans?
The children came for their second weekend stay at our home on the 14th. We did fun things with them like ride bikes, and gave them some gifts that were donated. We also went to a party that Bethany Christian Services had for children in foster care.
I wish I could say that things went better this time than last. Some things did. I had everyone bathed and in bed by 9:30. We were able to do our devotional and light our Hannukah candles. No one was seriously hurt, although one fell from his bike and got some scrapes on his shoulder. Mealtimes were a bit more orderly.
But overall, we were left with the hard realization that we could not move forward with this many kids. It was just going to be too much. As much as we wanted it to work, we saw that I would not have the time to give each one the attention they needed to change some of their behaviors. Most of my time was spent with the two youngest as they navigated to me. Theron helped tremendously with the others, but what would I do when he's not here?
We were very sad as we took the children back to their foster parents as planned, knowing that we probably would not see them again. We have had to tell our adoption specialist at Bethany, the case worker, the foster parents, and their therapist that we cannot move forward.
We can only pray now that God has a better plan for these 5.
I wish I could say that things went better this time than last. Some things did. I had everyone bathed and in bed by 9:30. We were able to do our devotional and light our Hannukah candles. No one was seriously hurt, although one fell from his bike and got some scrapes on his shoulder. Mealtimes were a bit more orderly.
But overall, we were left with the hard realization that we could not move forward with this many kids. It was just going to be too much. As much as we wanted it to work, we saw that I would not have the time to give each one the attention they needed to change some of their behaviors. Most of my time was spent with the two youngest as they navigated to me. Theron helped tremendously with the others, but what would I do when he's not here?
We were very sad as we took the children back to their foster parents as planned, knowing that we probably would not see them again. We have had to tell our adoption specialist at Bethany, the case worker, the foster parents, and their therapist that we cannot move forward.
We can only pray now that God has a better plan for these 5.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Welcoming Them In
Last weekend was our first time having the 5 with us for the weekend.
It started with a bang or should I say a bump. Before the case worker had even left the house and while I was talking to our adoption specialist from Bethany with my back to him, the 3 year old fell at the bottom of the stairs going from the kitchen to the den and hit his eyebrow on the corner of the end table.
It was determined that he should have stitches, so off we go!
Later, I was told that I handled myself well in that situation. I am just so thankful that it was not any worse than 3 stitches and once it was over, the little guy was up and at 'em again without a worry.
We have since moved the offending table to a safer spot and put corner guards on it.
He seems to handle the stairs well, but his big sister mentioned that he likes to jump from the last step at his foster home and perhaps being unfamiliar with our home, did that, thus resulting in his mishap.
But for the rest of the weekend I was over-diligent and cautious about his activity around the stairs. We made him hold a hand or go down on his bottom every time.
Little ones need a hand to hold anyway.
It started with a bang or should I say a bump. Before the case worker had even left the house and while I was talking to our adoption specialist from Bethany with my back to him, the 3 year old fell at the bottom of the stairs going from the kitchen to the den and hit his eyebrow on the corner of the end table.
It was determined that he should have stitches, so off we go!
Later, I was told that I handled myself well in that situation. I am just so thankful that it was not any worse than 3 stitches and once it was over, the little guy was up and at 'em again without a worry.
We have since moved the offending table to a safer spot and put corner guards on it.
He seems to handle the stairs well, but his big sister mentioned that he likes to jump from the last step at his foster home and perhaps being unfamiliar with our home, did that, thus resulting in his mishap.
But for the rest of the weekend I was over-diligent and cautious about his activity around the stairs. We made him hold a hand or go down on his bottom every time.
Little ones need a hand to hold anyway.
I must say that our first visit with them in our home was a time of learning and adjusting. But these trials only make us stronger and pull us together as a family. When we are weak, He is strong.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Our First Two Visits
Other than coughing, everyone is well now. We were thankful that we were able to make our first visit on Saturday November 24th.
We met the children and one of their workers at ChikfilA in NW GA. We also met one of the foster dads. Everyone had a snack before we loaded up the van with seven kids and Ms. Dianne, who came to supervise our visit. She had gotten us tickets for the Creative Discoveries Museum. That was our first stop.
It became apparent that we needed to appoint a buddy system with an adult over each group of two or three. It worked well and we kept everyone together better that way. The museum had a lot to offer and it was fun to watch the kids enjoy the different activities. They interacted well with each other and responded well when corrected.
When it was time to go get lunch, they were sad to have to leave, but moved on anyway. We returned to ChikfilA for lunch and then decided to go to a civil war museum. We had decided ahead of time to get them each an inexpensive souveneir of the day, so they each picked out something from the gift shop that was in the price range that we set. That turned out to be the thing most of them like best about their day.
Afterwards, we let them run around outside the museum. There was a big open field where they could get all of their energy out, before we said goodbye to them.
Ms. Dianne felt the visit went really well.
Our second visit was on December 1st. This time we were on our own without the aid of Ms. Dianne. I felt like I was planning for a vacation. I made a picnic lunch, so we could save money. Sorry, ChikfilA. I researched places to go in the area and geocaches to find. We planned to take Little Lady and introduce her to the kids on neutral territory. I researched animal hospitals in the area in case we needed to board here temporarily. A lot of prep work went into the day.
We picked the kids up at their foster homes, so we met the foster parents this time. They were excited to show us their rooms. Then we headed for a park. Before we got there, the youngest had to make a pit stop. McDonald's was chosen and Theron took the boys in. The girls and I stayed in the car. They came back with a "snack" - burgers that they bought with their own money they had gotten from their foster dad.
When we arrived at the park, it was quite rustic, but they had a carousel ride that you don't see much nowadays. The kids all gravitated to that and went for a spin, while I prepared the table for lunch. And, of course, with so many kids I was not without a helper.
We all sat down for lunch, Theron prayed and then swatted gnats away from us. I couldn't believe it was warm enough for pests to join our picnic in December.
After eating, we crunched through leaves on our way to a geocache which was never found. The terrain was hilly and rugged. Roots and rocks hidden under the leaves on the hidden path made going slow. We grew discouraged and had to retreat for refreshment and more spinning.
When we left the park, everyone helped clean up. On the trip back, some grumpiness began, probably due to the tiredness of the passengers and the temperature inside the van. But when we dropped the kids off, they seemed in good spirits and gave us each a hug.
Lady did very well. Several of the kids got to walk her and pet her, but she was not at the point where she would let them hold her.
I took a lot of pictures which hopefully I can share with you some day. Some of you may get to meet them this weekend when they come to our home for a visit.
We met the children and one of their workers at ChikfilA in NW GA. We also met one of the foster dads. Everyone had a snack before we loaded up the van with seven kids and Ms. Dianne, who came to supervise our visit. She had gotten us tickets for the Creative Discoveries Museum. That was our first stop.
It became apparent that we needed to appoint a buddy system with an adult over each group of two or three. It worked well and we kept everyone together better that way. The museum had a lot to offer and it was fun to watch the kids enjoy the different activities. They interacted well with each other and responded well when corrected.
When it was time to go get lunch, they were sad to have to leave, but moved on anyway. We returned to ChikfilA for lunch and then decided to go to a civil war museum. We had decided ahead of time to get them each an inexpensive souveneir of the day, so they each picked out something from the gift shop that was in the price range that we set. That turned out to be the thing most of them like best about their day.
Afterwards, we let them run around outside the museum. There was a big open field where they could get all of their energy out, before we said goodbye to them.
Ms. Dianne felt the visit went really well.
Our second visit was on December 1st. This time we were on our own without the aid of Ms. Dianne. I felt like I was planning for a vacation. I made a picnic lunch, so we could save money. Sorry, ChikfilA. I researched places to go in the area and geocaches to find. We planned to take Little Lady and introduce her to the kids on neutral territory. I researched animal hospitals in the area in case we needed to board here temporarily. A lot of prep work went into the day.
We picked the kids up at their foster homes, so we met the foster parents this time. They were excited to show us their rooms. Then we headed for a park. Before we got there, the youngest had to make a pit stop. McDonald's was chosen and Theron took the boys in. The girls and I stayed in the car. They came back with a "snack" - burgers that they bought with their own money they had gotten from their foster dad.
When we arrived at the park, it was quite rustic, but they had a carousel ride that you don't see much nowadays. The kids all gravitated to that and went for a spin, while I prepared the table for lunch. And, of course, with so many kids I was not without a helper.
We all sat down for lunch, Theron prayed and then swatted gnats away from us. I couldn't believe it was warm enough for pests to join our picnic in December.
After eating, we crunched through leaves on our way to a geocache which was never found. The terrain was hilly and rugged. Roots and rocks hidden under the leaves on the hidden path made going slow. We grew discouraged and had to retreat for refreshment and more spinning.
When we left the park, everyone helped clean up. On the trip back, some grumpiness began, probably due to the tiredness of the passengers and the temperature inside the van. But when we dropped the kids off, they seemed in good spirits and gave us each a hug.
Lady did very well. Several of the kids got to walk her and pet her, but she was not at the point where she would let them hold her.
I took a lot of pictures which hopefully I can share with you some day. Some of you may get to meet them this weekend when they come to our home for a visit.
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