Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Adoptable Tuesdays: Diamond!

Father, these kids are YOUR kids. They were created perfect and beautiful, in your image. Work as only you can: Give them homes and give them love.  Heal their wounds and bind their hearts.  Give them a miracle.....

This week's featured child in foster care is Diamond! 

Diamond says she is smart, beautiful, intelligent, and well behaved. She loves to dance, shop, and hang out with friends. Diamond’s favorite class at school is Math, her favorite food is ice cream, and her colors of choice are blue and white. Diamond is dreaming of an adoptive family who will love her.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Make a Difference Mondays

So today I'm posting over here:

The Forgotten Initiative Blog: Make a Difference Mondays

Go check it out and see what God is doing through The Forgotten Initiative in our local community!

Friday, May 18, 2012

Why Not?

God is good.  God is sooooo good.

Can we talk about how super pumped I am that I've gotten to talk to multiple people in the last couple of days about whether they should foster/adopt?  Some of them are just curious, but some are seriously feeling the tug of God on their hearts.  Regardless of how far along they are in wrestling through it, I'm ecstatic to see people genuinely thinking about what it would look like in their life.

With that said, I've heard a ton of questions and concerns about how fostering/adopting a child would change everything (both good and bad).  Let's be honest for a minute..... Raising a kid is hard work.  Adopting or fostering a kid is hard work.  There are times when I think about how much easier and simpler my life was before I had a kid.  But it is SO worth it!  Anybody who has ever had a child of their own knows how rewarding and amazing being a parent is.  Adoption and fostering are no different.

Granted, not everyone is meant to be a foster or adoptive parent, but I don't want that to be your excuse.  Let's put aside the reasons why you SHOULDN'T adopt or foster a child that needs a loving home and then ask God to make the decision for us.

Reasons to Not Adopt or Foster a Child:
  1. I don't have/make enough money.
  2. I'm Single.
  3. My house isn't big enough.
  4. They might harm or be bad influences to my biological children.
  5. I'm done parenting.  My kids are grown up.
  6. I'm too old.
  7. I'm too young.
  8. We're trying to have biological children.
  9. We'll adopt after we have kids of our own.
  10. They have too many problems.
  11. It takes FOREVER.
  12. I need to get my life in order first.
Am I missing any? 

I'm just going to throw out there that we qualified for #'s 1,3,7,8,9,10,11,and 12 on that list.  God provided beautifully, just as He always promises that He will. 

I'm so glad that He didn't look at me when I was lost and forsaken and needing love and make a list of  reasons why He couldn't adopt me as His daughter.  Put your list away for a moment and ask; really ask Him why you shouldn't. 

Little Bits and Pieces

Lots and lots of stuff has been going on lately!  You already knew that of course....  Now that I don't have to think about school every night....or at all really.... I get to think about so many other things!

Like GRADUATION (whoot whoot!) 


And making sure my daughter doesn't fling food across my kitchen (I gave up on salvaging her clothes after she eats.)


And this A-MAZ-ING Frappucino maker Ryan got me for Mother's Day.


And Cheesin' it up for pictures (gosh I love pictures.....)


And prepping to share the truth with some awesome guys at St. Jacob's Lutheran Church in Chapin on Sunday night!

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Adoptable Tuesdays: Jay!

Father, these kids are YOUR kids. They were created perfect and beautiful, in your image. Work as only you can: Give them homes and give them love.  Heal their wounds and bind their hearts.  Give them a miracle......

I'm starting my first (and probably only) weekly themed blog post.  I'm happy to say that each Tuesday I will spend some time helping you get to know some of the foster children in South Carolina that are currently available for adoption.  Every week a different child will be featured.  The children listed have requested that DSS reach out and advertise for a family for them.  We've graciously been given permission from the South Carolina Heart Gallery to help in the hunt.  With that said, let's start off with some Stats for South Carolina's foster system.

There are 4854 children in foster care in SC
Children spend an average of 17 months in foster care
There are 3637 foster families licensed in SC
There are 688 foster children legally available for adoption
978 foster children are not legally adoptable
532 foster children were adopted in 2010 (71% were adopted by their foster parents)
Only 2/3 of foster children live in foster homes, the rest live in group care (Orphanages) and institutional settings.
Now you know.......

This week we're featuring Jay!

Jay’s enthusiasm for Science and Biology at school should help him reach his goal of becoming a pediatric nurse. For fun he enjoys playing basketball, baseball, and football. Jay’s favorite food is spaghetti, his favorite movie is The Green Hornet, and his favorite color is red. Jay dreams of joining a family that would provide him with a mom who can cook, a sports-minded dad, and an older brother or sister. He would also like to live in a house with a pool!


Thursday, May 10, 2012

Allowing Myself to Grieve, Finally

God has been opening up some wounds lately that I've never really dealt with.  There are two pretty good sized holes in my heart that never healed over.  Most of the time, I just skim over that part of our lives.  It was too painful to dwell on.  The facts are the same though, no matter how much I wish it never happened. 
We have had three children. 
We only have one now. 

I read this post and thought I would share.  It's less for you to read, and more for myself....

"I don’t know what caused her life to end here, but I do know she is in better hands. I know someday I will meet her, this child taught from the beginning by the most perfect parent; a child who has truly never breathed a moment outside His presence."
Read the whole post here:
http://www.rageagainsttheminivan.com/2012/05/what-i-want-you-to-know-coping-with.html

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Sometimes Crap Happens.....

I really enjoy writing and I love that I can use this blog to write about whatever I feel like.  The past two weeks have been kinda ridiculous, though, and writing has had to take a back seat to more important things. Prioritizing is key when your life is nutso like mine.  Priorities have been:
1. God
2. Husband
3. Child
4. School
5. Promises/other responsibilities
6. Blog

Sorry......but my relationship with the first three is pretty important.

Another reason I haven't posted a ton of awesome stuff lately is, well, life threw some crap at me.  Sometimes crap happens........

After all was said and done and I finally finished school/bridal/batchelorette parties/house selling madness, I apparently stressed myself out so much that I ended up in the ER monday night because of a migraine.  A couple of pain shots and a CT Scan later, and I was snoozing away in a cloud of drowsiness.  Tuesday morning proved to be just as crazy when Layla jumped off her changing table and busted her mouth open.  I don't even want to talk about how scary it was to look at her crying with blood streaming out of her mouth and all over her hands.  Turns out, the doc said we would have been in his office the next day regardless because she had an ear infection and thrush on her tongue. 

I seriously contemplated staying home from work and just hiding in my house today......