Thursday, July 31, 2014

Introducing Guten Co AKA You Should Give My Sister Your Money

You may recall that I have a sister named Sarah.  No?   Well, this is Sarah:






And I have never been more proud of her in my LIFE than I am right now.  She and her childhood friend, Molly, have worked so hard over the past six months to turn their artistic talent into a real business: Guten Co.   CLICK HERE right now. Do it. Did you click it? 

Read all about it.  Browse through their products. Like them on Facebook.  Follow them on Instagram. Pin them on that Pinterest thing some of y'all seem to like.  And best of all, buy something.  You won't be disappointed!   I sure wasn't...




Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Get Me To The Court On Time

So...court...

The hearing was originally set for 9 am (and by that I mean it was set to happen at some point in the morning's line up, as opposed to the afternoon's) across town.  Trent and I dropped the kids off at daycare and decided to use the interim time for a breakfast date at Cracker Barrel which is right by the juvenile center where family court happens.   While waiting for our eggs, biscuits, etc, I got a text from the social worker:

"Today's hearing has been pushed back to 1:30 to accommodate one of the attorneys."

Can't say I was surprised.  Word on the street is that this is pretty typical for things to get pushed around at a moment's notice.   We finished our breakfast date and went back across town to work. Tax returns, youth ministry, blah blah blah, back across town to court.

The judge called another case first, but someone was not present that needed to be.  Then he called another case, but someone was still filling out some paperwork or something.  Then he called our case. The social worker took the stand, gave her report and answered questions from all three attorneys (representing CPS/Texas, the children, the mom).    The kids' mom also took the stand and answered questions.  CPS was given some tasks.  The judge set the next hearing for December.  And we were dismissed. The whole thing lasted not even half an hour.  Remember from this post, that foster parents are always welcome to attend court hearings, but rarely required to.  We did not have any official role in the hearing. We were simply observers.

Also the kids' attorney wore a periwinkle blazer.  The man just keeps raising himself higher and higher in our esteem...

We didn't really learn anything we didn't already know from the Permanency Conference last week or from correspondence with the social worker and kids' attorney.  And we didn't really get any definitive sense of which direction this is going.  You'd think that six months into a case it would be clear, but no.  I think the hearing in December is where the judge will say either "We will reunify the children with their mom, start working on that transition" or "We move to terminate parental rights, start looking for a permanent alternative".   The overall goal is to have this case wrapped up one direction or the other by early February, a year from when the kids were first brought into care.

So there you have it.  A super vague update on how court goes. I wasn't surprised by the lack of answers at this point and was pretty sure that would be the result of today.  "Here's where things stand, see you in four months. Ok bye."

After the hearing, Trent skidaddled back to his teenagers.  I could've gone back to work for a couple hours but knew I wouldn't be productive so I decided to take care of a few upcoming birthday party related errands.  As I left the hearing, the gravity of this entire situation once again began to settle heavy onto my heart, as it periodically does.

My heart aches for this woman.  She's trying to be a mother to these children and I'm the random lady who gets to in the meantime.  I'm the stranger who sat in the courtroom and watched her answer attorneys' tough questions then drove to the grocery store to order cakes for her children's birthday party which she cannot attend.  The juxtaposition of my afternoon left me flipping through the cake catalog with tears in my eyes.

The one emotion that has risen to the surface the most lately is not worry or disgust or anger. It's sadness. 

How did we all get here?

How did this young mother end up in such a situation?

How could she have been supported and all this prevented?

Who failed her along the way?

I don't know...

So for now it's courtrooms and attorneys, tough questions and few answers.

...Onward...

Monday, July 28, 2014

Takeaways & Tidbits Lately Vol. 6

We Need Feminism by Rachel Held Evans

----------

Foster Care: Why The Church Can Stop Outsourcing Child Welfare by Jason Johnson

----------

You have a whole different voice when you talk to your kids.  Like super happy.  Kind of like when people tell pregnant ladies or newlyweds "you're glowing".  Your voice glows.

My friend Kristin

----------

Me: Alrighty, ready to go home?  Whew, you smell!
Daycare teacher:  Oh, let me change him real quick before you go.
A few minutes later...
Daycare teacher: He had a lot of dirt and rocks in his diaper...

He is alllllll boy, that's fo sho.

----------

At a restaurant where Sister was smiling at two elderly ladies at another table.

Lady: She's so pretty. Look at that hair.  Which one of you do the curls come from?
[Beat]
Me: Oh, uh, him.  [Points to Trent]  He just shaves his head now.

What was I supposed to say?? "Oh, her curls came from neither of us, we didn't give birth to her..."  It was some nice stranger we'll never see again.  And it wasn't entirely a lie.  Trent does did indeed have curly hair.

----------

After a particularly rough day in parenting land:

Trent: You need to take more breaks, babe.  Go get drinks with Kristin or go read at Starbucks or...
Me, in tears: ...go to Target...
Trent: You want to go to Target?
Me, even more tears: Yeah, I just really, really want to go to Target...
Trent: Well then, by golly, let's get you to Target.

I am happy to report that I later that week spent literally two hours wandering around in Target and it was glorious.

Friday, July 25, 2014

Permanency Conferences Be Like Whoa...

As I mentioned in this post, Trent and I attended a Permanency Conference (PC) this week as part of our kids' CPS case.

Here is what PCs are like:


Ok, I'm sure not all of them.  But this one at least was like...whoa...  I got over my jitters about sitting in a room with the kids' biological family just in time to begin wishing I could melt into the floor and disappear.

After very brief introductions (we can now say we have truly met their mom), Trent and I answered the moderator's questions for a whole four minutes or so about the kids' health, routine, well-being, etc, in our home.  We didn't say another word except "Yes" about half an hour later to the question "If the children cannot return home, would you be willing to adopt them?"   That was the extent of our participation.  I spent most of the meeting picking at my nail polish or staring at my lap as grim details were brought to light, tough questions were asked and some heated discussion took place. And there we were, two strangers sitting there hearing every single bit of it.  Part of me wanted to somehow vanish and let this family have their privacy during this intense meeting.   But the thing is...all semblance of privacy is shattered when CPS intervenes in your life and you end up having to hash out your history, failures and struggles in front of complete strangers.

Negatives from this meeting...

We lost a bit of faith in the kids' social worker, who is also the mom's social worker.  She's a sweet young woman but I think is a little naive about where all this is going.   She seems to think of Mom's service plan as a checklist..."do this, do that, get your kids back"...when there's a whole lot more involved than just those things.  We went into this meeting with a very chirpy, rosy view of where this was all going, based on the social worker, and were blindsided by how the meeting went.   Unfortunately, I think Mom was relying on chirpy social worker as well and thought she was doing awesome, then was also blindsided.  This makes me hurt for her.

Positives from this meeting...
We have a better knowledge of the big picture in this case and learned a lot of details that we did not previously know.  Some blanks about the kids' past were filled in.

We gained even more trust in the kids' attorney, which we already had plenty of to start with.  One of the kindest men you'll ever meet, but he means business when it comes to protecting children.

Questions about the kids themselves were answered in a happy, back and forth manner by us and Mom, with mutual smiles and laughter about certain quirks the kids have, things they are learning, etc.  We compared notes with her for a few moments about Sister having trouble keeping formula and food down when she was younger.

After the meeting, despite the tension during, we got to tell Mom what wonderful, sweet kids she has and she sincerely thanked us for taking care of them during this time.  This woman oozes with love for her children.

And to top it all off...
The meeting ended at 4, Trent and I stayed for a few more minutes to talk to the kids' attorney, per his request, then we had a bit of time to get over our shell shock and process what had just taken place before fetching the kids from daycare.  Head home, get dinner going, doorbell rings.

It was our FAD worker (our social worker, not the kids), there for an unannounced visit.

You may think this was an inconvenience after a stressful afternoon to have another CPS person in our home.  You would be wrong.  I opened the door and basically said "oh are we ever glad to see you."   You see, our FAD worker is there for us.  Yes, she's supposed to make sure our house is up to standards, medicine locked up, etc etc.  Yeah.  But she's also free counseling.   She is in no way officially connected to the kids' case and is simply there to make sure we are a) following the rules and b) not going insane.

She knew we had the PC that afternoon and came over that day on purpose to make sure we were alright (and to fulfill her monthly visit requirement).   Dear, sweet lady.  We proceeded to vomit our feelings at her, volleying back and forth between me and Trent.  She was ready for it though.  She encouraged us, bugged her eyes out along with us as we told her some of the stuff going on in this case, jiggled our gun safe and medicine cabinet locks and went on her merry way.  She also said she might come to the hearing next week with/for us.  What a gal.

In conclusion...

Text from a friend after the meeting: "Aghhhhhhh I can't imagine how y'all handle this.  I think I would just cry all the time."
Me:  You can't see the foot of thick skin that has grown on me since February...

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Update On Our Kids' CPS Case

I'm sitting at Starbucks by myself.  Trent made me come here.  Turns out I'm a lot like my mother in that I go, go, go and do, do, do and surrounding loved ones have to say "lady, take a break. For real."  So here I am.

Ok, our kids' CPS case.  What's going on?  If you're hoping for actual details of why they came into care, the state of their parents, what said parents are supposed to do to get them back, how they are doing with that, etc, sorry.  That's waaaaay too confidential for the interwebs.  But I can update you on some logistical steps that are coming up in the case and then check back after they have happened to update you on how things like Permanency Conferences and court hearings go.  And those are indeed what are coming up.

Permanency Conference
This week we will attend a Permanency Conference at the CPS office.  This is viewed as a "team meeting" of sorts and includes the foster parents, biological parent(s), CPS social worker and that worker's supervisor.  I'm not entirely sure if attorneys are present, but I kind of think they just stick with official court hearings.  According to the invitation letter we received, "the purpose of a Permanency Conference is to discuss the child(ren)'s safety and well being and the plan to achieve permanency for the child(ren) in the most efficient and effective way.  The conference will focus on the family's strengths and their desires to protect their child(ren) within their family by sharing the responsibility for the child(ren)'s safety."   Permanency means either reunification with their parent(s) or adoption, either way, just not sitting in foster care anymore.

You know about as much of what to expect as we do.  (Unless, of course, you are a veteran foster parent who has attended one of these meetings.)  Our plan is to show up and shut up until we are called upon to speak.   Should be interesting.   I'm pretty sure our role at the meeting will be to contribute information about the day to day well being of the children, how they are doing, what they are learning, how their health is, how they behave after parent visits, etc.   If the children in the case are old enough, they are encouraged to attend and participate in this meeting as well.  But ours are lil babies so they'll keep toodling around at daycare.  Overall, should be very interesting since we are expected to be a participant in this meeting, unlike the court hearing coming up.

Court Hearing
Next week there will be an official court hearing for this case.  Foster parents are always invited to attend hearings, but are rarely required to, unless they are needed to testify about the well being of the children or information that the children have told them that relates to the case.  Considering neither of our kids talk and the social worker and attorney ad litem can sufficiently chime in on the kids' well being in this situation, we will not be called upon or even acknowledged.  We didn't attend the first two hearings, partly because we were scared and overwhelmed by our new placement, partly because we were just busy juggling parenting and tax season and partly because not a whole lot was known at those earlier dates, so we wouldn't have gleaned much from attending. But now, we've been in this for almost half a year, so we'd rather have first hand knowledge of how things are goin' down instead of a social worker report.  Plus, we're not scared anymore.

The way court hearings work (in our county at least) is that you show up at 9 am and wait for your case to be called.  There's no real order or schedule. That scene from Angels In The Outfield where they're sitting bored in the courthouse is accurate. So, we asked off work and shall bring a book to read while we wait. Court hearings include biological parent(s), the CPS social worker (who, we recently found out, usually represents both the children and the parents, which we feel is a conflict of interest but you know, crazy system), the attorneys who represent CPS, the parents and the children (at least they all have their own attorney), and of course, the judge.   If the children in the case are old enough, they'll usually attend, especially if their direct input or opinion about their situation would be helpful to the case.

We're 6 months into this placement, so at this court hearing, their mom's progress will be evaluated and there will be more indication of which direction this is going.

And on a lighter note...Birthdays!!!
In a few days, we will have a 2 year old and two weeks later we will have a 1 year old.  Their visit with their mom each of those weeks will be moved from Monday to their actual birthday so she can see them on their birthday.  I'm super glad that worked out.  We're going to have a little party for them at our house and...I gotta figure out what I'm supposed to take to daycare!  Do you send cupcakes for a 1 year old?  How about just some little favors for her "friends"?

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Can We Talk About Parent Visits Again?

So, I've met her.  Our kids' mom, that is.  And by meet her I mean I have handed a son, daughter or diaper bag directly to her on several different occasions with a smile on my face, then quickly exited the CPS office so they can have their visit.

She doesn't acknowledge me.   She's busy happily greeting her kids.

I don't acknowledge her.  I'm busy being an awkward, flustered, shy foster mom who doesn't know what to say.

"Hi, I'm Anna."  That would be a good start, wouldn't it?

But, let's back up.  You may be wondering, "what happened to parent visits being like covert drug deals but with babies, where you met a social worker in a loading zone to hand off the kids and you didn't even go in the building?"  Well, first of all, I was scared before and I decided to get over it.  I also felt bad watching the social worker or assistant lug two kids and a diaper bag in through the back door of the CPS building all by herself while my perfectly good arms hung by my sides.  I also decided that if I was in their mom's position, I would be very grateful to see the face of the person caring for my kids.

So, one day I offered to help take the kids all the way inside and the nice assistant lady said on the way in that their mom wasn't there yet.   Except she was.  She arrived from the front while we came in the back and suddenly I found myself handing Brother straight into her arms.  Ack!  And so it began.  This strange exchange each week between two women, both with the title of mama, both in love with the same babies, neither knowing how to interact with the other.

Remember when Brother used to get really upset at the end of visits?  He doesn't anymore.  He often hollers "yaaaay" when we pull into the CPS parking lot and at one visit he was walking in on his own, saw his mama and raaaan to her with a big, goofy grin.  When it's time to leave, he is subdued and quiet, but not upset.

Apparently all the inner turmoil got transferred to me.   After I hand the kids over to their mom and skidaddle my foster booty out of their way, I go back to my car which is parked backwards and illegally in the loading zone behind the building.  And I sit for a minute. Sometimes I cry a little.  I take deep breaths and try to calm down my flabbergasted soul.

Part of me spins through things I could have said to her in the moment to introduce myself, to set her at ease, to be warm and friendly.  Hindsight is 20/20.  And yet I never say any of those things the next time.

Part of me recognizes that this is not natural and wishes it didn't have to be this way.  She's the woman who birthed these kids and she gets to see them for one hour a week, whereas I'm a woman who was randomly selected to care for them for the other 167 hours.  This shouldn't be the way it goes.  And yet...

Part of me is jealous.  Honestly, seeing her, seeing Brother run to her, hearing that the visit went well...they're all reminders that the kids might leave us and go back to her for good, which my head knows is the goal, but my heart struggles with.

Part of me just marvels that we have found ourselves in this crazy situation.  Frankly, it's just really weird sometimes.  A lot to take in.  But we're rollin' with the punches as best we can.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Foster Parent Playlist

Perhaps this is a little unconventional, and may not appeal to all, but here goes.  Music is important to me and can move me immensely, so of course it has played a part in this foster journey of ours.  Songs that I'd already heard before or that are new to me have come across on the radio or roll around in my Google Play list and I stop singing along, choked up by the realization of how much the words apply to us, our situation, the little ones in our care, the struggle, the hurt, the redemption, the possibility.  

And so, I give you my Foster Parent Playlist, with just a few excerpts of lyrics that really shake up my heart.

Hero by Connersvine

Someday every sun that shines in your life
Could turn to a sad shade of gray
And in this eclipse I will come to your side
And stand there with you in the rain

But I'll never be a bullet proof shield around you
I couldn't be the armor you need
But I'll never be the one to choose anybody over you
This promise is free

But I couldn't be more or a whole lot less
No I couldn't be the dark while your sleep
And I can't climb a mountain to call down the rains
On the fire that conspires at your peace

But I'll be your hero now
I'll be the guard of your honor somehow
I'll show you love laid down
I'll be your hero now


Won't Let Go by Rascal Flatts

I will stand by you
I will help you through
When you've done all you can do
And you can't cope
I will dry your eyes
I will fight your fight
I will hold you tight
And I won't let go


Home by Phillip Phillips

Hold on to me as we go
As we roll down this unfamiliar road
Although this wave is stringing us along
Just know you're not alone
Cause I'm gonna make this place your home

Settle down, it'll all be clear
Don't pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be found
Just know you're not alone
Cause I'm gonna make this place your home


Glass by Thompson Square

I'll let you look inside me
Through the stains and through the cracks
And in the darkness of this moment
You'll see the good and bad
But try not to judge me
Cause we've walked down different paths
I promised you Together
So I won't take that back

We may shine, we may shatter
We may be picking up the pieces here on after
We are fragile, we are human
We are shaped by the light we let through us
We break fast
We are glass


Hey Brother by Avicii
(Especially since we call our kids Brother and Sister)

Hey brother, there's an endless road to re-discover
Hey sister, do you still believe in love I wonder
Oh, if the sky comes falling down for you
There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do


Better Than A Hallelujah by Amy Grant

We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a hallelujah sometimes


Compass by Lady Antebellum
(What I'll be singing often if our kids go home to their mom)

You wanna give up cause it's dark
We're really not that far apart

So let you heart, sweetheart
Be your compass when you're lost
And you should follow it wherever it may go
When it's all said and done
You can walk instead of run
Cause no matter what 
You'll never be alone

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Sometimes This Foster Mama Needs An Attitude Adjustment

Email from our social worker:

RCCL asked for your paperwork so they can do an inspection.  Didn't say when.  Let me know if someone contacts you.

They will check the kids' rooms, fire extinguisher, guns stored locked unloaded and ammo locked separate, medications locked.  Medication logs filled out, etc. Please look over the attached checklist to prepare you for the inspection and you will do fine. 

RCCL = Residential Childcare Licensing.  They don't really care what kids are in our care or what's going on in their CPS case, they just want to make sure we're following the rules, which are many, and have the appropriate paperwork handy to show them, which is much.   After receiving the above email, I suddenly felt terribly disorganized and decided to get some new binders and dividers on the way home from work to finally store all our paperwork and documentation properly, one for each child and one for us.   I cannot tell you the relief I felt once everything was happily hole punched and sorted.


But I discovered something while reviewing RCCL's checklist and sorting through medicine logs specifically that made my heart drop: we have never once recorded a dose of Tylenol on a medicine log for the duration of the five months we've had Brother and Sister.  Not once.  And we were supposed to.  There's even a whole back page on the medicine log form for "PRN and Non-prescription Medicine".

Insert mild panic.

Insert fantasies about RCCL looking through our logs and saying "Where's the Tylenol?? Don't tell me you've have two babies for five months and never given them Tylenol..." while tapping his/her foot in consternation.

Insert confession email to our social worker, which began this exchange:
SW: For kids this age, document everything. Start from now on.
Me:  Can we play dumb, newbie foster parents?
SW:  STOP STRESSING!!
Me:  It's what I DO...it's in my BLOOD...
SW:  I appreciate you.

Also, insert...frustration, annoyance and a few less than graceful thoughts like "we gotta log freakin Tylenol?!" and "what's next, documenting when they poop?!"

You see...

Sometimes I just want to parent.  

Sometimes I just want to take Brother for a haircut when he needs one instead of waiting days or longer for his social worker to contact his mom for permission.

Sometimes I just want to give our babies Tylenol without worrying about writing it down and wondering if "Uh...I think her teeth hurt" is an adequate "reason for administering".

Sometimes I just want to take my own medicine without traipsing to the kitchen first to fetch the bathroom medicine cabinet keys.

Sometimes I just want to go on a date with my husband and leave the kids with any ole teenager we trust instead of hoping one of our only two CPS approved babysitters is available.

Sometimes I just want to turn off the part of my brain that must be hyper vigilant about outlet covers, cleaning supplies, paperwork, keys and locks.

Sometimes I just want to let our house be our house without a revolving door of social workers, inspectors, an attorney and, at the beginning of this placement, policemen.

BUT...

That's not the way this goes.  That's not what we signed up for.  We knew that going in and we know that now.  Being a cranky pants doesn't do any good.

BUT...

This blog is an outlet for me, a place to inform and a place for keepin' it real, the good, the bad and the ugly, including foster mama temper tantrums.  So, bleh.

Onward.

Friday, July 11, 2014

Currently

Digesting a delicious burrito bowl from Chipotle and

Appreciating this quote on the bag it came in



Chillin' at a coffee shop with a good friend and our computers



Amazed at how much my college's campus has changed.  Like, they've moved roads and smashed buildings and built new ones.

Psyching myself out for a week of parenting alone while Trent is at camp next week

Wearing pigtails because why not?

Monday, July 7, 2014

In Which I Realize How Weird This Foster/Adopt Decision Is

"So, is it you or Trent that isn't able to have kids?"
-someone I've been acquainted with for years

"I don't mean to be nosy, but are you going this route because you can't have your own kids?"
-someone I had just met

"Sooo...who are these little ones?"
-confused cousins who saw us at Mawmaw's birthday party in February toting two kids after seeing us at Christmas with none

"Oooh, so she's your foster baby, she's not your baby.  I was wondering where the blue eyes came from."
-Nurse at doctor's office (in response to which I wanted to punch her and say "she is too my baby!!", but I politely refrained)

"Remember that time we got kids at the beginning of tax season and had no earthly idea what we were doing?  We were crazy.  Not as crazy as the State of Texas for giving them to us!"
-Trent

Trent and I are weird.  We already realize that.  We've never been much for blindly pursuing the norm in life and have turned expectations on their head on more than one occasion, beginning with getting married when we had barely even made it into our twenties.  We've blazed our own trail and as one of my sisters once said, "Y'all are writing a very interesting story."

So of course when it came to the "well I guess we're supposed to have a baby soon" time in our life, we balked and went a completely different, crazy, unexpected direction.

Duh.  Because we're cool like that.  Or certifiably nuts.  You pick.

We have realized that, while there are plenty of people out there who are or have been foster parents, there seem to be very few who do so as a first choice in parenting.   Most folks that feel a pull towards it have "their own" children first and then intend to foster when those kids have grown up a bit.  They do it this way because it's right for them or because it's the norm and the fact that there could be another order or way about it doesn't cross their mind.  You get married, you have babies. That's the way it typically goes.  And if you sadly find out you can't have babies, then you turn to fostering or adopting.

This is why we have gotten so many confused looks and questions or assumptions about the state of our reproductive organs.

This is why when people like Ashley and myself connect with each other, we are instant BFFs and send long emails flying back and forth because we understand each other and our desire to parent kids that are already out there in this world somewhere rather than make our own.

This is why my continual hunt for blogs by first-choice foster or adoptive parents produces few results, because most of them begin with "after a long struggle with infertility".

This is why at our local foster parent association the other day, I was the youngest foster parent in the room by decades.

I wish our choice was more normal...  

Not for our own sake. We're rock solid in this choice and will field the questions all day in order for someone to understand.  No, for the sake of the kids in the system.  For the sake of kids who are waiting.  For the sake of CPS which needs good foster families.  Take it outside the realm of fostering as well...for the sake of children in Uganda, Haiti, Cameroon, Kenya, Russia, Guatemala, you name the place, who are orphaned and in great need.

What if we were met with "ah cool, my friend so-and-so also went into fostering as a first choice" instead of "wait, what?"

What if we didn't have to spend so much time explaining the world of foster care and adoption, how it works, because more people already know how it works?

What if more people said "we're going to pursue adoption and then maybe have a baby someday after that" instead of "we might pursue adoption after our baby grows up a bit"?

What if, upon learning that someone is pursuing fostering or adoption as a first choice to build their family, people could easily take it at face value instead of letting their assumptions run wild about the capability of that someone's baby making bizzness?

What if more people who feel a call to fostering or adoption early on ask God the hard question "Do you mean now? First? Only?"  

Think of the kids that could be reached and loved.  Think of the situations that could become normal instead of strange.  Think of the ministries that could emerge.

I have hope.  A few decades ago, adopting a child was indeed most often the result of infertility, it was often kept a secret from the child and was almost viewed as a shameful last resort.  Now?  I'm married to a man who knew his entire life that he was adopted.  Adoption is a good thing now, an awesome thing.  And you know what?  Something is brewing.  Have you noticed the billboards for adoptuskids.org?  Or their radio ads saying "you don't have to be perfect to be a perfect parent"?  Have you seen the tv specials like A Home For The Holidays on CBS?  Have you bought a frosty at Wendy's to support the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption?

This is becoming a thing.  And it excites me to no end.  People are talking.  People are advocating.  People are pushing awareness.  The challenge is being issued.  

What will we do with it?

----------

I do not in ANY way wish to diminish the struggle and heartbreak of infertility or loss of a child.  Some people in my life have been through it, I have found many awesome adoption bloggers who have and I know many, many families out there have indeed turned to adoption out of necessity in order to grow their family.  I have the highest regard for these families and commend them for their strength and perseverance. 

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Takeaways & Tidbits Lately Vol. 5

Here's another example of the difference in our worldviews.  A family in my sister's neighborhood was recently stricken with a double tragedy, when both the young mother and her three-year-old son were diagnosed with cancer.  When Catherine told me about this, I could only say, shocked, "Dear God, that family needs grace."  She replied firmly, "That family needs casseroles," and then proceeded to organize the entire neighborhood into bringing that family dinner, in shifts, every single night, for an entire year.  I do not know if my sister fully recognizes that this is grace.

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

----------

Some of the hardest parts of parenting never change-like sleep deprivation, which, according to researchers at Queen's University in Ontario, can in some respects impair our judgment as much as being legally drunk.

All Joy And No Fun by Jennifer Senior
----------

Me: I'm gonna go take a nap...I mean, shower.  A nap would be nice.
Trent: It's only 9:00 am babe.

----------

Trent: Do you think I'll go to hell for pirating Veggie Tales videos?
Me: Yes.

----------

Me: So we're all set to meet Joey for lunch?
Trent: Yeah, I love that kid.
Me: He's not really a kid anymore.
Trent: Yeah, if the liquor stores consider him an adult, then it's time we should too.

----------

Me:  I'M NOT IN OUR HOUSE!!!!!!!
To my sister while running errands with the kids, after not setting foot outside our house for almost 40 straight hours...