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Showing posts from April, 2015

Looking Back

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I'm bed-ridden this week, with a pinched nerve, so I've been reading past blogs and looking at pictures. This quote really stood out to me. I posted it 6 months before getting Hannah, our first foster child, and now adopted daughter. I am so thankful we followed God into the unknown. More than the blessing of 4 more children, we drew closer to Him and know Him better now than ever. Praise You Father! 1 month before foster parent certification was final. "Ultimately, I have just as little control over my own life and what will happen to me. Isn't the easiest thing at this point to start living in a guarded, safe, controlled way? To stop taking risks and to be ruled by our fears of what could happen? Turning inward is one way to respond; the other is to acknowledge our lack of control and reach out for God's help. If life were stable, I'd never need God's help. Since it's not, I reach out for Him regularly. I am thankful for the unknowns and that I

An Unexpected Phone Call

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About a week ago, we got a phone call from DHS about 8:30 pm. To remind everyone, our home has been closed for over 6 months now. I knew that even with us closing, there were always going to be opportunities with kinship placements that might happen just because of the people we have relationships with now. It wasn't kinship, but our region was in a bind. They had a sibling group of 3 sleeping in the office for the second night in a row because there were no open homes. The supervisor suggested us since we had "recently" closed and I assume because all of DHS knows that we don't say no when they call. Seth and I took a few minutes to talk about it and offered to take one child. We got everything ready, 6 of our 7 children were already asleep, so I just talked to my oldest son about what had happened and that we were going to take a 1 year old for a little bit. He was hesitant and surprisingly upset that we were going to separate the 1 year old from her sibli

Saying goodbye to Facebook

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As a foster parent for 3+ years, Facebook was my much needed support group, ministry tool and orphan advocacy platform. I believe that it served it's purpose and God has been laying on my heart since we closed our home, that it was time to officially end it. Recently, when I asked my kids what my favorite thing was, one of the top things they said was, "Checking your Facebook." So not cool. I refuse to be one of those parents who can't stop looking at their phone or checking "likes" on posted pictures of their kids who are growing up right before their eyes. I will not look back 10 years from now and regret the impact of technology on my relationship with Christ, my marriage or my parenting. Facebook and other social media outlets are addictive for many people. This was how I successfully broke my addiction and regained my focus. How to deactivate your account and lessen the temptation to return: Post a goodbye message, admitting that Facebook has b