My husband and I recently made one of the best decisions we've ever made - we decided to become foster parents!
There are alot of steps one has to go through to become foster parents but we can assure you that on this side of it, for us, it has been well worth everything.
It's time for honesty here, we didn't know what to expect.
Here's what we found. All children love to run, jump, play, watch tv, get hugs and kisses, tickles, bubbles, baths, go outside, and friends.
If you can provide love and provide basic needs for a child then you may well be on your way to become a foster parent.
Did you know some children need a single foster parent? Did you know you don't have to be a home owner? Did you know you can decide how many children you can keep in your home? Did you know that you can decide the age range and gender that you feel you would be best to have live with you for a while?
Did you know there is a need for respite foster parents who can babysit for other foster parents or keep a child or children overnight if the foster families have to go somewhere?
There are alot of options for someone interested in being a foster parent. You will be provided a monthly stipend per child to help purchase groceries, etc. that would provide for your foster child's daily needs and living expenses.
This is not a way to make a living, it IS a way to help a child.
One more thing I want to leave you with...
It is FREE to become a foster parent.
The only cost you may incur is during the process of gathering your paperwork, fingerprints, doctor physical etc. But that cost is VERY minimal (approx. $50.00, but I believe I'm over stating the cost there). But the process itself where you are interacting with the Social Worker is FREE! Your classes are FREE! If you can keep a child in your home but can't drive the child to visits etc., a social worker can do that!
If you've been thinking about fostering or adopting, I'd highly recommend signing up as a foster parent who does respite care and then decide if you want to move into more full time.
God bless you as you pray about what is best for you and your family.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Happy Mother's Day!
For many women who are mom's, today is a day they expect to be treated like royalty. Spoiled, lavished attention upon, great gifts, well, you get the idea. =-)
However, for me, it's a day of reflection. On Mother's Day, I celebrate being the Mom to 3 fabulous kiddo's who I would never of had this privilege of knowing, much less be their Mom, without 3 other women, making the greatest sacrifice in their lives - letting their baby go.
So, every Mother's Day, yes, I do celebrate this time but I also celebrate these other women who gave me the opportunity to share this title with them. My heart swells with love and gratitude to these 3 amazing women. How I wish they could know how thankful I am for the gift they each gave me.
There's an adoption poem that I would like to share with you.
Legacy of An Adoptive Child
Once there were two women who never knew each other.
One you do not remember, the other you call mother.
Two different lives, shaped to make your one...
One became your guiding star, the other became your sun.
The first gave you life and the second taught you to live it.
The first gave you a need for love, and the second was there to give it.
One gave you a nationality, the other gave you a name.
One gave you a seed of talent, the other gave you an aim.
One gave you emotions, the other calmed your fears.
One saw your first sweet smile, the other dried your tears.
One gave you up ... that's all she could do.
The other prayed for a child and God led her straight to you.
And now you ask me, through your fears,
the age old question unanswered throughout the years...
Heredity or environment, which are you the product of?
Neither, my darling neither.
Just two different kinds of love.
~ Author Unknown ~
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Center of an EF1 & EF4 Tornado And We Made It! Praise God!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011, we woke up to a rainy day. It wasn't one of those refreshing gentle rains, it was a yucky, messy rain, the type that seems to bring up dirt onto the side walks instead of blooms of flowers.
That morning proved to be filled with tornado siren after tornado siren. Just when I thought we needed to pick the kids up from school, the storm seemed to pass and then there went the siren again.
I had just called my husband to ask him to come home because I just had a funny feeling that we were really in for a super storm when he told me he couldn't leave because they were under the threat of a tornado!
That's when we got the message from school that all the kids were being sent home, because it was being reported our area had a HUGE tornado heading our way!
My husband finally was able to get away and got home just as the kids got home. We immediately went to the 'tornado closet' and my husband proceeded to bring in all the candles and flashlights he could find. Good thing because we didn't know that about an hour later we would lose power for 5 DAYS!
As the day came to an end and the power was gone, we went onto our back porch and surveyed the damage to our neighborhood. We were shocked by what we found. Several of our neighbors had downed trees, one neighbor had a huge tree put a hole in the roof of their brand new home and all we lost was our butterfly bush, well maybe the word 'lost' is a bit strong, it's still trying to hang in there.
It would be the next day when we spoke to family outside our area when we learned exactly how terrible the storms had been and that's when we decided to go to Florida.
Just today, we learned from one of our neighbors that we had been directly in between an EF1 tornado and an EF4 tornado. It was a miracle everyone in our neighborhood (as far as we know) made it through okay!
God is sooo good!
Our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by those terrible tornado's.
That morning proved to be filled with tornado siren after tornado siren. Just when I thought we needed to pick the kids up from school, the storm seemed to pass and then there went the siren again.
I had just called my husband to ask him to come home because I just had a funny feeling that we were really in for a super storm when he told me he couldn't leave because they were under the threat of a tornado!
That's when we got the message from school that all the kids were being sent home, because it was being reported our area had a HUGE tornado heading our way!
My husband finally was able to get away and got home just as the kids got home. We immediately went to the 'tornado closet' and my husband proceeded to bring in all the candles and flashlights he could find. Good thing because we didn't know that about an hour later we would lose power for 5 DAYS!
As the day came to an end and the power was gone, we went onto our back porch and surveyed the damage to our neighborhood. We were shocked by what we found. Several of our neighbors had downed trees, one neighbor had a huge tree put a hole in the roof of their brand new home and all we lost was our butterfly bush, well maybe the word 'lost' is a bit strong, it's still trying to hang in there.
It would be the next day when we spoke to family outside our area when we learned exactly how terrible the storms had been and that's when we decided to go to Florida.
Just today, we learned from one of our neighbors that we had been directly in between an EF1 tornado and an EF4 tornado. It was a miracle everyone in our neighborhood (as far as we know) made it through okay!
God is sooo good!
This is a picture of our neighbor's back yard.
Our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by those terrible tornado's.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)