Hide Your Trees- (Santa Thief)

Get In Shape Girl!

Like every other little girl in 80's I was a fan of Get In Shape Girl. Unfortunately, I haven't held on to that obsession. A few weeks away from 32 and I am in the worst shape of my life. It is so hard for me to get motivated to exercise on my own. However, I went to the Y last week for an orientation and have another appointment next week to check in with a trainer on my progress. Today marked day #3 of exercise. I am hoping that I can stay motivated! If not I may have to pull out that old Teen Steam video. That could get ugly!

Chocolate: the aftermath

This is what happens when the chocolate is gone!

Chocolate!

I found this line of chocolate bars in the grocery store this weekend. Due to his dairy allergies, Reese has not been able to eat chocolate. He got his first taste on Saturday. Sunday I made a video of him enjoying the chocolate. As much as he loves the chocolate bars, he won't be getting them very often. They cost $1.77 each!

And then there was none

You may have noticed that my posts have become few and far between. There are a few reasons for that: 1. I am now the mother of a two year old, enough said! 2. My computer crashed last month and I still don't have it back.

There are posts coming. Hopefully tonight!

SAY YES

We said yes and our lives are forever changed! It breaks my heart to think my precious child could have been longing for a hug good night and thinking that he would never have a family. There is a child waiting for a home, your home. Are you willing to say YES!

Great Mommy video

More Friday Fun

Who knew Happy Birthday was so funny. I turned the camera on him and this is what happened!

Friday night fun

Mommy and Reese had a little fun with Daddy's mac while he is away at a Lock-In!

I am Second

Occasionally I get interested in a season of American Idol. Jason Castro is a former contestant that I really liked. I liked his voice, but there was something else I just couldn't put my finger on that drew me to him. Well, today I got my answer. Someone shared this video on Facebook and after watching it everything made sense. Jason's tender and humble demeanor is most likely due to his relationship with Christ. What a cool guy! Not only he is a cool guy, this video is part of an even cooler campaign and worth checking out.

I am a mess!

Why is it that we as women (and Christians in general) feel like we have to be so perfect? I struggle with this constantly. I am a perfectionist and beat myself up when I don't meet my own standards. So many times, my standards have no foundation in Christ, but in my own need to "look" good.

Unfortunately, this attitude often takes over our churches as well. Someone that I follow on Twitter posted a link to this article. It was MORE than worth the read!


� Building A Messy Church Buzzard Blog

Foster or Adopt Picture Gallery Night

If you or anyone you know would like info about foster care or adopting check out this event. It is host by local teen who was adopted from foster care herself. Come out and support her and consider giving a child a forever home!

Foster or Adopt Picture Gallery Night

Jesus Loves Me

Bedtime Dancing

Don't forget to vote

Tuesday is primary voting here in SC. Please go out and vote!!!! Don't just vote, educate yourself. This is an important election. When choosing your state level candidates, please consider (or ask them if you don't know) where they stand on reforming the foster care system. Are they going to stand by the Governor's new law to expedite the adoption process. How are they going to help these children and the families caring for them.

There are thousands of children in this state affected by this everyday. Just this week our family has been greatly affected by this.

Vote and stand up for those that can't stand for themselves!

Tough Day

I am not a crier, but yesterday was one of those days. I woke up 2 hours before the alarm went off and had a lot on my mind. Met with my student and to say it was a rough session is an understatement. Left the session to drive to a graduation luncheon in Simpsonville. While in route I got a call from Reese's case worker. Somethings have happened with the case and we most likely will not be going to court next week and have no indication as to when we will. This is the third time since the fall that we have thought we were going to court and it didn't happen.

There is still a chance that it will happen, but at this point I am not counting on it. Please pray for us! Pray that things will move on and that we will be at peace about the situation.

Learning to pray

Every night before bed we read read Reese a Bible story and pray. Usually we pray and he listens and says AMEN. One night earlier in the week Bryan wasn't home at bedtime. I decided to see if Reese would pray. I asked him what he wanted to thank Jesus for and he babbled for a minute. Then, I prayed a simple prayer and let him repeat after me. It was so sweet to hear him pray. We have continued this each night this week. Each time when asked what he is thankful for, we have prompted him. We may say, "what about Nana or your friends?" He would then say a few things and we would pray. Tonight we asked him and surprisingly, he quickly spoke up. The first thing he said was "Joy" and he seemed so happy and proud of himself.

Joy is his babysitter. He loves Joy and often mentions her. He paused for a moment and then smiled and said, "Lily". Lily is our Worship Pastor's daughter and one of the children that Reese plays with during the week. Reese LOVES to talk about Lily. She is the first of his friends that he called by name. He usually talks about Lily and giggles. He followed Lily with Lou Lou, Zoe, Jace, and Lou Lou. Ironically, today is Lou Lou's birthday. I am not sure that he knew or understood that, but something made him think that she needed a little extra today.

No matter how wild he may be, these sweet moments are what ring in my mind. These moments and the moments where he is singing are the most precious things in the world. It is such a blessing to see the Lord already working in his heart.

I have tried for months to get him to learn Jesus Loves Me. He knows the words to most all of the Veggie Tales songs and loves to sing them. He sings all the time (my favorite sound!), but he wouldn't try Jesus Loves Me. Tonight at the dinner table he randomly started singing "the Bible tales me so". When we realized what he was singing we started singing with him and he sang most of the song. This followed by his prayer requests were just another confirmation to me of the HUGE responsibility we have as parents.

Everything we do speaks volumes to them even when we think they are not paying attention. Thank you Lord that I can step out of the way and let you do the leading. I sure couldn't do it on my own.

Thank you!

As you may know, May is National Foster Care Month. If you follow me by way of this blog, twitter, or Facebook then you know I have tried all month to encourage people to consider foster care. Most of the information that I have shared has been about foster kids and some about foster parents. One thing that I don't want to overlook is the foster care staff. Our Social Service employees take on the task everyday of advocating for these "voiceless" children. The foster care workers give of themselves not only to the children, but to the foster families also.

Thank you for what you do! Much like ministry, I know that it is nearly impossible to walk away at 5pm and not think about the hurting kids. Thank you for standing up for kids even when the system doesn't. Thank you for advocating for change in the system. Thank you for loving our kids and thank you for giving of yourself.

I know you don't get thanked near enough. All too often you hear our complaints and concerns rather than our praise for your time and energy. Yes, not every one loves their job and gives 100%, but for those of you that do, I thank you!

Adoption Update

It has been a while since I have talked about our adoption status. The main reason for that is because we have been in the "hurry-up and wait" stage. It looks like our patience may be paying off! As of right now, we have a hearing schedule for June 8th.

Yes, that is 9 days away!!! This hearing is to terminate the birth mother's rights. We have been waiting on this for a long time. This is a huge step in our process toward finalization. After this hearing there is a period of up to 90 days for paperwork, etc. to be completed. After that the birth mother will no longer be involved and we will begin the waiting game for finalization. I am not sure exactly how long that will take. It is possible that it could only be a couple of months.

We are not necessarily concerned about the wait at that point, because the BM no longer has the right to request visitation. Of course, the sooner the better!

Please join us in praying about this next step. We ask that you pray that the hearing will happen and that the judge would complete the paperwork quickly. There is the potential that the BM could relinquish her rights that day (this would cut out some of the paperwork and therefore possibly speed things up) though we don't anticipate this. Also, we ask that you pray that we would be able to get our finalization hearing scheduled quickly.

Reese's 2nd birthday is three weeks from today. What an incredible gift it would be to have the TPR over with by that date. December will be our 2nd family anniversary. Again, what a blessing it would be to finalize by then.

Thank you for praying with us!

Problems Foster Kids Face

This article brings to light just one of the many problems that foster kids face. It also shows how foster kids can thrive a citizens and advocates when being empowered by a loving family. It's time to stand up for foster kids rights!

MinnPost - D.C. Dispatches: Minnesota girl tells senators of school problems foster kids face

Foster Care - The Toughest Job You'll Ever Love (short)

National Foster Care Month

On Mother's Day, May 9th, consider this: 123,000 kids are waiting in U.S. foster care for a permanent and loving family to call their own.

Consider becoming a mom or a mom again this mother's day. Give an awesome kid the gift of a mom!

Worth Re-tweeting

This morning, I was reading my twitter page and came across this tweet: "Remembering when I first was engaged to Walker. He introduced me to one of his friends, who said,'Nice to finally meet you. We've prayed for you for years.' All teary again at the memory!!" from @Missyneedsanap

I too became a little teary just reading that. (Becoming a mom has brought the weepiness out of me. However, I am still not a crier!) What an awesome greeting and blessing. That is the way to start a marriage. I find myself praying for Reese's future friends and bride, though not nearly enough. It is never too early to bring blessings on your child and those that will be such a big influence in their lives.

My little fella isn't even 2 yet, but I know God has an incredible group of people out there for him if he will be faithful to follow Christ's leading. One thing I have to remember... it must be Christ's leading. I can't make his decisions for him. I must let him make his choices and learn from those choices. I can, however, model good choices for him and continue to ask God's blessings on his sweet little life.

It is hard to imagine him walking out my front door with a group of teenagers and even harder to imagine him walking out that door with a ring in his hand. There is no doubt in my mind that God is preparing him for that and preparing those other kids as well. What an incredible blessing we can give that young lady someday if we, as parents, will be faithful to pray for her.

The Body Shop to the Rescue!

I have EXTREMELY sensitive, dry skin. For a couple of years I had been using The Body Shop's skin care products. A couple of months ago I was running low and decided that I would take the opportunity to try something new. I bought the Rare Minerals cleaner thinking that I wanted to also try the Bare Minerals line of makeup. I had been trying the ULTA minerals with no luck.

My skin did not take well to the Rare Minerals, so I went into ULTA and had one of the ladies test Studio Gear on me. Within a couple of hours my face had totally broken out and was VERY red. I tried some of Reese's baby cream on my face to help with the dryness. Bad idea!!! It immediately burned and made my face even redder. For a couple of days my entire face was very red (like I had burned myself) and covered in bumps. On top of that the skin was flaking due to the dryness.

I bought a couple of cheap things at Wal-Mart and they too reeked havoc on my skin. Rather than keep torturing my skin and being in pain, I headed to the mall. The Body Shop to the rescue! As soon as I got home, I opened up my gift set of Aloe Calming products and went through the steps. I kid you not, within minutes my skin was soft, the redness was gone, and the flakes were gone! My husband even noticed the difference.

What was I thinking? Why did I ever stray? This stuff is like a miracle in a bottle for my skin.

Not only do I like the fact that this stuff works, I love that it is cruelty free, and they use Fair Trade ingredients. The Body Shop is a must for men and women's beauty aids. I don't typically wear makeup (I don't like it and it generally irritates my skin), but I even bought some of their makeup and love the way it feels and looks also with no irritation.

Try The Body Shop, I promise you won't be disappointed!

Report: Foster Kids Face Tough Times After Age 18 : NPR

Please consider being a foster parent! Don't just give them a place to sleep, be a family for them and teach them as if they are your own. This does not have to happen!

Report: Foster Kids Face Tough Times After Age 18 : NPR

Thanks for the junk!

In The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren says that God never wastes a hurt. As ironic as it sounds I become more and more thankful for this everyday.

Growing up I had a fairly rough home life. I had to grow up really quickly and be my own parent most of the time. Unfortunately, some of the adults in my life didn't know how to be adults and made many bad decisions of which I often felt the consequences.

On the outside it looked like I had it all together. I was a happy kid and teenager, never rebellious or out of control. My extended family made sure that I had nice clothes, a car, a job, and a house to sleep in. They also made every effort to let me participate in the activities that my friends did (church camp, dance classes and competitions, sports). Most people never knew how poor we really were and what exactly went on at home. For the most part, I blended in at my affluent high school.

Last night Bryan called me just before I got home and asked how far away I was. About a mile from home, I pulled in the driveway just minutes before one of our students. The student had called Bryan earlier upset and needing to talk to someone. Not wanting to leave any room for question or speculation, he wanted to make sure that I was there too.

Wow, I blown away to hear the student's story. I had no idea what was going on in this kids life. Bryan was aware of the situation and had been talking with the student for a while about things. This kid is a strong leader in our group, well put together, good at school, sold out to Christ, and loves to serve. A popular kid, you would never guess what was going on behind that smile and sweet disposition.

My heart broke and I began to cry (I am not a crier). I couldn't help but think of my own teenage years. So many of the things going on were similar to situations I had dealt with in my own life and family as a high school and college student. Anyone would feel sorry for this kid, but I could completely understand what was going on inside. I had been there. Though it was probably 15 years ago when I dealt with those issues, it felt like it was happening all over again.

We didn't have a lot of answers, but we prayed and I let the student in on some of what I had been through. If nothing else, the student left knowing that they had found someone who would listen, understand, and help however possible.

God reminded me of that chapter from The Purpose Driven Life and that all those hurts in my life weren't a waste. You can't truly understand someone until you've been there. He also reminded me of what a huge responsibility we have as parents. Every decision we make not only affects us, but our children also. Exodus 34:6-7 makes it clear that our families will have to pay for our choices.

Thank you God that you don't waste those experiences. I couldn't be who I am today without those moments and I wouldn't have the opportunity to love teenagers with those hurts. It seems odd to be thankful for the junk in your life, but I wouldn't change one thing. Thanks for the junk!

How not to make people feel welcome

We were invited to attend a special service at another church this past weekend. Due to services at our own church Bryan was not able to go, so Reese and I went alone. Let's just say it was not the most pleasant experience. I hope that I do not offend those that invited us, but I learned a lesson that needs to be passed on.

When we arrived, there was a man standing at the front door. A couple of families walked in before us and the man spoke to those people as they entered. After dragging my 21 month old and his bag of toys up the steps the man simply looked at us. Nothing pleasant, just a look. He did not open the door, he did not welcome us. I had the bag of toys in tow because there was no nursery. No nursery... this was strange to me being that this is a fairly large traditional church.

I don't know if you have ever tried to sit in church with a VERY active 21 month old little boy, but I know that I won't again and it didn't last very long. During the music we managed to remove all the hymnals and Bibles from the pew along with the offering envelopes. He ate all the snacks that I had brought (I felt a little uncomfortable even offering him snacks in this setting) and threw all the crayons. He figured out that the tile floor under the pews was sloped and that the crayons would roll down it. So much for the brand new box of crayons. It also didn't take long before he realized he could fit under the pew.

At that point I realized I was in over my head and we went into the lobby. We were joined in the lobby by a mom with an infant (maybe 3 or 4 months) who was also visiting. Reese quickly moved to the steps that lead to the balcony and the climbing commenced. He was not hurting anything and was being quiet. Soon the man from the front door joined us in the lobby. He seemed to be inspecting what we were doing and he loomed around with his stern face for quite some time. Again, he never smiled or spoke to us or the other mother in the lobby. It wasn't long before a dad and little girl joined us. This man was friendly and asked us our names and tried to get his daughter to play with Reese. Apparently they were regular attenders of the church. Soon the stern man reappeared and he began to talk with the nice gentleman.

Over the course of the service we were joined by two more women and two more children. That brings the total children to 5. These were visitors also. The stern man kept appearing in the lobby glaring at all of us never speaking to anyone except the church member.

At first I thought he must be disapproving of the fact that I appeared to be a single mother. Then I wondered if his attitude was because my child is bi-racial. Since he knew nothing about me the possibility of the erroneous judgement calls made me angry. It made me even angrier when he was so callous to the other visitors that had gathered around.

Near the end of the service the man opened the front door to check the weather and a rough looking gentleman was walking up the steps. He wasn't dressed nice or even clean and you could smell the smoke on him from yards away. I expected this man to get the same treatment I had gotten. Boy was I surprised when the stern man held the door for him and somewhat greeted him. They were apparently familiar with one another.

When the service was over I returned to the sanctuary to gather our things. Hardly anyone from the church even spoke to me except the people that invited me. There were many people there that I know and they did not speak. The guests that had come to lead the service were the friendliest people there and I already knew these people.

For a few moments I stood beside the pastor and his wife. I was waiting to speak to the family that had invited us. Neither of them spoke to us either, although they did smile and seem pleasant. Once I got to speak to the family we had come with I pointed out the stern man and asked who he was. I was quite shocked to hear that he is the associate pastor.

I learned some sure fire ways to turn people away from a church that night. 1. Offer no nursery so that you alienate a whole demographic of people. 2. Make those who don't know you have no nursery and bring small children feel ashamed and uncomfortable for showing up for church. 3. Make no effort to speak to new people. 4. Have an intimidating and unfriendly staff.

All I can say about this experience is that I am glad that I did not go there looking for a new church. If you are looking for a church, I would be glad to give you the names of a couple that will welcome you with open arms children or not!

Adoption Update

Our monthly home visit was last Friday. I realize that I never filled you in on what happened at our February visit, so this will update you on both months.

Our March 25th TPR date was thrown out. We think that this is due to the fact that our case was lumped together with another one against the same birth mother. The other child in the case has a known father and it appears that the father may have asked for time to work on getting his child back. There is no connection between Reese and this man, so this does not affect us other than slowing down our time line. (We don't know for sure that this is what changed the date, but with the info we have this is our best guess.)

Our adoption worker is/was pregnant and left on maternity leave this month (I am not sure if she has had the baby yet). Due to where we are in the process, we got a new case worker rather than a substitute. This was our first month with our new worker. In February, both ladies worked with us to make a smooth transition. Our new case worker was leaving us to go and sign adoption agreements with another family and said that she hoped to be doing that with us soon! After TPR that will be our next step. That means that foster care is out of the case and we are officially waiting for a finalization date.

The new TPR date is tentatively set for June 8th. Please pray for that date. Pray that we would go to court on that date and that the birth mother would choose to relinquish that date. If she chooses to relinquish (rather than the judge order her to be terminated) we can finalize almost immediately as this will cut out most of the paperwork we will have to wait for otherwise. We have no doubt that the judge will terminate her rights, but there is an appeal period we have to wait through among other things. There would be a minimum of 90 days after termination that we would have to wait. Realistically, it would probably be at least 120+ days.

She could relinquish at any time and does not have to wait until June. Please pray that she would realize what is best for her child and that the most loving thing is to make this easier so that we can all move on with our lives. We know that God is in control and that His hand is in all of this. We also know that he honors the prayers of his children, so please join us in praying!

I haven't disappeared, but my time has...

I know that I am really behind on blogging. For someone who is generally super organized and on top of things, my life has gotten a little overwhelming. My work schedule has been crazy and my little one has become more and more demanding of my time. He has given up his morning nap and is staying up later at night. All of that means that this Mom has very little down time or time to my self. My house is a DISASTER!!! I somewhat dread being in the house because it forces me to think about all that needs to be done (laundry, dishes, sweeping, mopping, scrubbing, etc.).

Reese thinks that if Mommy is awake and in the same location as him that she needs to be holding him. He wants all of my time and attention. Please don't think I am complaining, because I am not. I love holding him and snuggling with him. God is teaching me a lot, and I do mean A LOT!

I am learning how to let things go (for the moment) and to be ok with chaos (for a moment). My lists aren't getting checked off and that has to be ok for now. He needs my attention and I want to give it to him. No matter how frustrating it is at times, I have to stop checking my facebook, replying to emails, writing, cleaning, etc to spend those fleeting moments with him.

He will only be little once and he won't always think that Mommy's time is so valuable and precious. So, for now, please forgive me if you don't hear from me often. As much as I love writing, I have a greater purpose to serve. There is a little life that is being shaped by each moment that I devote to it and I am changing his world one little heartbeat at a time. May those moments be full of Jesus!

What is better than happiness

I always get excited to find other people that are passionate about adoption. Through friends and acquaintances, I have found many websites and blogs about adoption. Today I found a new one and it is definitely worth the read.

As parents we want the best for our children. What is "The Best"? I would hope that my idea of "the best" would look like Christ. This adoptive mom shares that hope and share it with her children. Please read her explanation to her children about her lack of concern for their happiness. It is well worth it! I don't want my kids to be happy!

I try not to talk about political issues too much. The two main reasons for this: 1. I usually need to do more research to make sure I know what I am talking about and 2. I don't want anyone to mistake my opinion as that of our ministry or our church.

However, I have to share this. Today I read an article about a law that is being proposed in our state (SC). It's not like we haven't had enough attention with actions of our Governor and recent comments made by our Lt. Gov. This new info is over the top. State Rep. Mike Pitts wants to ban the use of federal currency, paper money, in SC. His plan is that we go to only silver and gold coins. Though I understand his reasoning and agree that our current economic structure/national debt needs help, I can't help but ask, "what are you thinking?" Better yet is he thinking?

He even says in the article that he knows the bill won't pass. Why then sir are you wasting our time and money. There are plenty of things in our state that need reform and could use your time and energy. How about turning your attention to our education, welfare, or foster care systems?!?!

The Bible is clear that God intends for us to respect those in authority over us and that includes government officials. I do support our Governor and Lt. Governor and pray that God gives them wisdom and that they will follow His leading. It doesn't mean, however, that we are supposed to idly sit by and let them waste our time and money though. One of the privileges of being an American citizen is our right to vote and have our voice heard. We need to make sure that our voice is heard at election time and that we choose our leaders wisely.

My challenge to you (and my self) is to get more involved in the political process and make sure that we are supporting candidates that hold our same views and goals. Don't just go out on election day, do your homework! If I lived in Rep. Pitts district that choice would be a no brainer!

Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy

Silver Ring Thing

Marathon is hosting The Silver Ring Thing on Friday, March 5th. This is a live event that promotes abstinence. We are partnering with other churches in the area to offer this to as many students as possible in the Anderson, Pickens, and Greenville county areas. Being the host church, we are responsible for providing volunteers for the event (approximately 35) and host homes for the team putting on the event. Please consider helping us! If you would like to help, please contact me and I will make sure you are put to use. Volunteers are needed for registration, merchandise/ring sales, security, concessions, and ticket takers.

If you are willing to open up your home to the team members the guidelines are below. Housing will be needed for Thursday and Friday night. The team members are typically college students. If you are willing but don't meet all the guidelines let me know and we may be able to work out the details. Thanks for helping us make this happen for the students in our community.

Housing guidelines:

1. Each team member has his or her own bed
2. Minimum of 2 members of the same sex at each host home
3. No more than 15 min from the venue
4. Transportation to and from venue
5. Internet access available
6. Laundry access available
7. Opportunity to sleep in (time based on next event)