Brothers (part 2)

Another call came last week. 
Thursday at 8:00 am, to be exact.
It's amazing how one phone call can change EVERYTHING.

The DHS worker said there was a baby boy who needed placement.  A baby!  I told her I would talk it over with Scottie and call her back.  In a matter of moments, we had a critical decision to make.  We were both groggy and still sitting in the bed talking things over and praying (sounded something like..."God - what do we do??").  See, we were leaving the next day for a wedding in Mountain Home where we would both be singing and I would be playing the piano.  We also knew I would be in Hot Springs for a few days at the ARKCDA Convention.  We were trying to figure out how to make it work and I kept thinking about The CALL video where everyone was too busy to take a little girl.  I couldn't be that person!  I called my mom and she agreed to step in while I was away.  We could make it work!  I was excited to call DHS back and say yes!

I picked up baby M. later that day.  What a precious little boy!  He has the most amazing smile and is so, so happy.  We took him with us to the wedding where he charmed our friends and they fell in love with him instantly.  We have had to adjust to making bottles, changing diapers, baby food, spitting up, teething, diaper rash, rocking to sleep, etc. again.  It's been 8 years!!  But we have settled into our new routine with him and it has been so much fun!  Henry is an INCREDIBLE big brother.  He is so helpful and encouraging (he gave me a high five today and told me, "good job, mom!" after I was able to rock M. back to sleep after he woke up hungry from his nap!).  This little guy has captured our hearts!

We do not know what is ahead and we are waiting for word on his hearing.  We are praying for him and his family and enjoying him for as long as we have him! 

We are so blessed to be on this special journey.  We can't wait to see what God has in store.

Brothers

Henry and Rollie have a special relationship.  H has considered R his "brother" since he was a kitten!  They have a brotherly bond.



Even though H will annoy him (like any brother would), Rollie prefers to sleep in H's bed to anywhere else in the house.  R will burrow under H's covers and sleep all day in his bed.

Brotherly love knows no bounds!

Why We Do What We Do

The first time I saw this video was in church and it made me cry.  I cannot imagine being "too busy" to help a child in need.
http://vimeo.com/6576611

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."  James 1:27 (NIV)

Our Quiet House

Today our house is quiet. We took our girls to live with their grandma yesterday afternoon. It was very bittersweet. We enjoyed having them in our home for 9 days. We swam, played barbies and kitchen, ate at "Chick-A-Lay" twice (K's pronunciation) and I braved Wal-Mart with the crew by myself twice! They got to watch Henry play baseball, went to church, ate at MickyDonald's (again, K's pronunciation) and went to 2 swim parties. It was quite an adventure, to say the least! I'm happy K and L will be with family and will be able to visit with their mom. At the same time, I grew to love these little ones and desire nothing but the best for them. We saw them flourish during the short time they were in our house. We made a special point to love on them, encourage them and praise their good behavior and efforts. We all had moments of frustration, but we had a very good first experience with fostering. I have believed for some time God has called us to this unique ministry, but that was only confirmed after the last 9 days. It is my prayer that we will have a positive impact on the children who come through our home, no matter how long or short they stay. We will love them as our own for as long as we have them!


For now, our house is quiet. Henry and I are snuggling in the chair with Rollie waiting for blueberry muffins to cool enough to eat.


We will enjoy the quiet for now, but can't wait to see where our adventure takes us next!

Our Adventure

This week has been quite an adventure. To say the least. I always wondered where I would be when our first call came. It was Tuesday and Henry and I were at the car wash. Two little girls needed a home. Even though Scottie was out of town and we had several obligations over the course of the week, how could I possibly say no?? Wouldn't that be incredibly selfish of me? After all, this is why we signed on to be foster parents. These girls' world had just been turned upside down and they needed help. Of course I said 'yes, bring 'em over!'
They came later that evening and didn't have much with them. I bought them some pj's and a few things to get us through the next few days. These precious girls are so sweet! We have had a great time loving them and playing with them. We have spent quite a bit of time playing outside and went swimming yesterday for the first time. They loved it!! I wasn't sure how they would like it, but they did so well. They are even tolerating Maggie swimming with them really well! We have had a few moments here and there, but I think the girls are adjusting very well. Henry is a super big brother! But I knew he would be! He has such compassion and is very caring with little ones. He is pretty patient and loves helping them do things. He is having to learn to share ALL his stuff...something tough for an only child! It's a new adventure for all of us. Scottie has been so anxious to get home from Super Summer and meet the girls. It has been hard for him to be so far away knowing all that is going on here. He comes home today and we can't wait!
There have been several amazing blessings that have already come out of our adventure. A lot of people have stepped in and offered help. I have bought the girls several things, but we have had lots of stuff donated. An organization called Nothing In Return brought us a bunch of toys, clothes, snacks, soap, toothpaste and all kinds of goodies! A DHS worker came yesterday afternoon with a sack for each girl of brand new clothes from The Children's Place and we had a fashion show! They are thrilled to have new things. I really don't think they have had anything new before. We have a meal coming tonight through The CALL. We are so blessed!
Beyond that, I appreciate Henry more. The last few days have been a huge adjustment for all of us and he has been such a trooper. He has had to share me with 2 other people, something he has never had to do before! We snuggle and hang out when the girls are napping and after they go to bed. I am trying to be careful to spend one-on-one time with him when I can. I have also come to realize how spoiled I am. I have been really selfish with my time and I didn't even realize it until the girls came. I went anywhere I wanted, bought what I wanted, ate out whenever I wanted and didn't even think about it. I have been blessed beyond measure and took it for granted. Having two precious little ones come into my home with nothing has made me realize a lot of stuff. God is doing an amazing work in my life through these kids and their situation. I had no idea that would happen. I knew I would be helping out some kids who needed it, but I didn't know they would be helping me, too.
Please pray for K. and L. The first court hearing is next week and I will be attending to find out as much as I can about their situation. Pray for their family. My prayer is for reunification, but I want them to be in a healthy environment.
Thank you for your prayers!!

Baseball

This is Henry's first year to play baseball and it has been such a positive experience. His coaches have been wonderful and patient as he learns, and the players really work well together as a team. We are so glad we have had this experience this year.

We have traveled to Lincoln, Prairie Grove, Elkins and West Fork for games.

We had lots of games to make up because of a really rainy spring!

Henry's last game was this past Wednesday. They won 12-6! It was a great way to end a great season.
Tournament is this week and we are pumped!! The Fireballs are ready!!!!

What We've Been Up To

It's been a while since I've blogged. The end of the school year came so fast and we were so busy, this has taken a back seat for sure! I wanted to update on our journey into foster care/adoption. We officially began our journey on January 17th at an information meeting with the CALL. The first part of our journey ended yesterday with our "final" final walk-through with DHS yesterday. DHS wanted to come on April 30th for our final walk-through, but we were not in town that day. I didn't hear back from them for almost a month. They came on May 26th and found several things that I needed to change or do. The night they came, Kendra and I were in the process of painting the "foster" room and Scottie's gun cabinet was still in the room! Shameful! Our DHS worker said we would have to have the room set up before we would be put on the list to get a child. I hadn't been told this before or I would have had the room set up a long time ago!! We were also told to put key locks on our gates and shed and a chime on our back door (they were pretty concerned about our pool). In the garage we had to put away some things that were just out. We were also told there would be a safety plan for the pool, the gun cabinet (which is now in our bedroom...ugh) and Scottie's 4-wheeler. With the end of school, my final concerts, Henry's baseball games, church, etc. we decided to wait until I was out of school to finish everything and have DHS come back. It was a good decision.

Yesterday we were approved for 2 children, age 0-5, either sex.

Here are some pics of the room:

Our journey is just beginning. We know it will take a few days or so for our information to be processed and entered into the computer before we get a phone call. We have been praying for wisdom and discernment in as we enter into the next phase. There are lots of unknowns, but we know God has called us to this ministry. We were told yesterday by DHS that there are 130 children in foster care and only 28 foster homes. We are humbled and excited to part of this huge need. We cannot wait to see what God has in store for us!