A few months ago I had a car full of small children. We were headed to a tailgate party and they were singing. One of the songs they sang went something like this:
If I had a little box to put the devil in. I'd take him out and stomp his face and put him back again.
I don't know that these are the correct words to the song, but this is how the children were singing it. Right now, I want to take Satan out of that box and stomp his face.
As I shared earlier in the week, God has opened a some huge doors for us lately. It is becoming more evident that He is at work because Satan has shown up! I know that Satan doesn't bother us when there is no threat to him. Please pray for us because he is trying hard right now.
Boy, I wish I had that box. I'd give him a good stomping and send him right back to that box.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Tomorrow, tomorrow
Tomorrow, Tomorrow, we see him tomorrow. It's only a day away.
We get to go visit our Reese tomorrow for the first time. It is a little overwhelming to think that Monday we will be parents.
I am not promising pictures, though I will be taking some. We may not be able to post pictures while he is still a foster child, but trust as soon as possible, I will post them.
Pray for us. This ride is moving fast.
Tomorrow, tomorrow. It's only a day away.
We get to go visit our Reese tomorrow for the first time. It is a little overwhelming to think that Monday we will be parents.
I am not promising pictures, though I will be taking some. We may not be able to post pictures while he is still a foster child, but trust as soon as possible, I will post them.
Pray for us. This ride is moving fast.
Tomorrow, tomorrow. It's only a day away.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Out of the Box
We are getting closer everyday to bringing Reese home. I am excited and nervous. It is really hard for me to not feel like I am in control. Guess what, my little box is about to be rocked. I don't think that I feel like I'm in control for the next 18 years.
With that said, today's post will be on a much lighter note. Brooke sent me an email today with this survey attached. I thought I would post it here. I am going to change the directions a little and answer the questions about myself. I am including the original instructions in case you want to cut & paste and pass it on.
Instructions: Okay, this one is different - this is funny. YOU fill in the blanks about ME and send it back to ME. But FIRST, send a blank one out to all your friends, including me, so we can return the favor to you. Be honest. They're really SCARY to get back. It only takes a few minutes,so just do it! First send (forward) this survey to everyone you know to see how well he or she knows you. Second, hit 'reply' and fill this survey out about the person who sent it to you and send it back to them.
Where did we meet?
Take a stab at my middle name? Drennon
Do I smoke? No
Do I have lots of friends, lots of acquaintances, or small number of close friends? a lot of acquaintances with a small number close friends
Color of my eyes? Blue
How many siblings do I have? 3 (half brother, half sister, step sister)
What's one of my favorite things to do? Shop and making crafts
What's my favorite type music? praise and worship
What's my favorite sport? Basketball
What's my favorite color? Purple and silver
Am I shy or outgoing? Shy
Am I a rebel or do I follow the rules? Rules follower all the way
Any special talents? Dancing (tap, jazz, & swing)
What is my favorite family vacation spot? Charleston
If I could take the kids anywhere on vacation, where would I choose? Southern California
If you and I were stranded on a deserted island, what is one thing I would bring? camera
With that said, today's post will be on a much lighter note. Brooke sent me an email today with this survey attached. I thought I would post it here. I am going to change the directions a little and answer the questions about myself. I am including the original instructions in case you want to cut & paste and pass it on.
Instructions: Okay, this one is different - this is funny. YOU fill in the blanks about ME and send it back to ME. But FIRST, send a blank one out to all your friends, including me, so we can return the favor to you. Be honest. They're really SCARY to get back. It only takes a few minutes,so just do it! First send (forward) this survey to everyone you know to see how well he or she knows you. Second, hit 'reply' and fill this survey out about the person who sent it to you and send it back to them.
Where did we meet?
Take a stab at my middle name? Drennon
Do I smoke? No
Do I have lots of friends, lots of acquaintances, or small number of close friends? a lot of acquaintances with a small number close friends
Color of my eyes? Blue
How many siblings do I have? 3 (half brother, half sister, step sister)
What's one of my favorite things to do? Shop and making crafts
What's my favorite type music? praise and worship
What's my favorite sport? Basketball
What's my favorite color? Purple and silver
Am I shy or outgoing? Shy
Am I a rebel or do I follow the rules? Rules follower all the way
Any special talents? Dancing (tap, jazz, & swing)
What is my favorite family vacation spot? Charleston
If I could take the kids anywhere on vacation, where would I choose? Southern California
If you and I were stranded on a deserted island, what is one thing I would bring? camera
Monday, December 15, 2008
No Coincidence Here
God never ceases to amaze me! We got the long awaited call about our Little Buddy last week and now I can see His hand in answering another prayer. Over the weekend I contacted my parents and one of my sisters to let them know about Reese. This was a big step, because we are not really close to either of my parents or my siblings.
These strained relationships have been the subject of many prayers. I long to have a loving, healthy relationship with my parents. More so than that, I long to restore my relationship with my sister. She has held a very special place in my heart since the day she was born 22 years ago. For most of her teen years we were very close. The last few years have been different though.
Sunday afternoon, my phone rang and my sister's name was on the caller id. I quickly answered and hoped for the best. She began to ask a lot of questions about the baby. She seemed to know more information than I had shared with my family. I could hear her husband talking in the background and adding to her questions. After a minute or two of discussion, she told me that her sister-in-law is the foster mother to Reese.
Her sister-in-law had been talking to them about the baby leaving and she started putting the pieces together. The social worker had told the family that the baby would be going to a youth minister's family in Anderson County. I told my sister that we would be getting a six month old baby and it all fit together. My sister has spent a lot of time with the baby and had pictures that she shared with us. She and the foster parents were excited to know where he was going.
I have prayed for a long time about how to restore this relationship and this may be God's way of doing that. My sister seems to have grown attached to him. I was very concerned about my family's reaction to him. What a comfort to know that they already know and love him. I was concerned about feeling awkward dealing with strangers during the transition time. There are no strangers involved, so there is no need to feel awkward.
God is good and He is faithful! It is not often that I clearly see His hand in the midst of a situation. Usually I see these things when I look back. I have no doubt that I have seen it here! I am so excited to see how it all unfolds!
These strained relationships have been the subject of many prayers. I long to have a loving, healthy relationship with my parents. More so than that, I long to restore my relationship with my sister. She has held a very special place in my heart since the day she was born 22 years ago. For most of her teen years we were very close. The last few years have been different though.
Sunday afternoon, my phone rang and my sister's name was on the caller id. I quickly answered and hoped for the best. She began to ask a lot of questions about the baby. She seemed to know more information than I had shared with my family. I could hear her husband talking in the background and adding to her questions. After a minute or two of discussion, she told me that her sister-in-law is the foster mother to Reese.
Her sister-in-law had been talking to them about the baby leaving and she started putting the pieces together. The social worker had told the family that the baby would be going to a youth minister's family in Anderson County. I told my sister that we would be getting a six month old baby and it all fit together. My sister has spent a lot of time with the baby and had pictures that she shared with us. She and the foster parents were excited to know where he was going.
I have prayed for a long time about how to restore this relationship and this may be God's way of doing that. My sister seems to have grown attached to him. I was very concerned about my family's reaction to him. What a comfort to know that they already know and love him. I was concerned about feeling awkward dealing with strangers during the transition time. There are no strangers involved, so there is no need to feel awkward.
God is good and He is faithful! It is not often that I clearly see His hand in the midst of a situation. Usually I see these things when I look back. I have no doubt that I have seen it here! I am so excited to see how it all unfolds!
Saturday, December 13, 2008
My hands are full
So I have been really excited and a little nervous about bringing our baby home. He is 6 months old, so he is probably starting to move around on his on. He will soon be trying to walk and crawl. We have never experienced this before, so I don't know what things in my house will have to change. (Plenty, I'm sure!)
Something happened yesterday that proved to me that my hands are going to be full. We have had our Yorkie, Belle, since 2002. She is a great dog and has good manners. Occasionally she has an accident in the house, but otherwise we have no complaints. Bryan has started sneaking her food occasionally. I am not happy about this because I don't want her begging for food and I don't want to have to clean up the mess when her stomach gets upset. I guess she has learned the smells of the things she likes.
A day or two ago Bryan ate chicken wings and put the bones in the trash. I was in the nursery working on somethings yesterday and heard something cracking. It sounded like teeth breaking. Bryan was asleep on the couch, so I began looking for the dog. I found her under the kitchen table eating one of Bryan's chicken bones. She had gotten the bone out of the trash and was living it up. I got her away from the bone and picked it up with a paper towel and threw it away. She kept migrating back to the trash and sniffing the bag (the bag was sitting in the floor).
We kept fussing at her to get her away from the trash and I gave her a treat thinking it would distract her. Boy was I wrong! When we left for the ball game we put her in her kennel and when we returned we let her out and started getting ready for bed. I came into the living room and saw Belle walking away from the trash can with the paper towel and chicken bone hanging out of her mouth. I took it away from her and put the trash bag where she couldn't get to it.
I will give her credit for being neat about it. She did not pull out a single other thing. Had she had enough time to eat the whole bone, we would have never known she had been in the trash. Thanks for using your manners Belle! Unfortunately, I think this is a small sign of the craziness to come.
Something happened yesterday that proved to me that my hands are going to be full. We have had our Yorkie, Belle, since 2002. She is a great dog and has good manners. Occasionally she has an accident in the house, but otherwise we have no complaints. Bryan has started sneaking her food occasionally. I am not happy about this because I don't want her begging for food and I don't want to have to clean up the mess when her stomach gets upset. I guess she has learned the smells of the things she likes.
A day or two ago Bryan ate chicken wings and put the bones in the trash. I was in the nursery working on somethings yesterday and heard something cracking. It sounded like teeth breaking. Bryan was asleep on the couch, so I began looking for the dog. I found her under the kitchen table eating one of Bryan's chicken bones. She had gotten the bone out of the trash and was living it up. I got her away from the bone and picked it up with a paper towel and threw it away. She kept migrating back to the trash and sniffing the bag (the bag was sitting in the floor).
We kept fussing at her to get her away from the trash and I gave her a treat thinking it would distract her. Boy was I wrong! When we left for the ball game we put her in her kennel and when we returned we let her out and started getting ready for bed. I came into the living room and saw Belle walking away from the trash can with the paper towel and chicken bone hanging out of her mouth. I took it away from her and put the trash bag where she couldn't get to it.
I will give her credit for being neat about it. She did not pull out a single other thing. Had she had enough time to eat the whole bone, we would have never known she had been in the trash. Thanks for using your manners Belle! Unfortunately, I think this is a small sign of the craziness to come.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Oh Happy Day!
It is official. As of December 22nd we will no longer be a family of two. We will be picking up our 6 month old baby boy from his foster parents on the 22nd. Santa is coming early!
It is funny to me how God works. He certainly has a sense of humor. If you are in the upstate of SC you most likely saw the news story about the newborn dropped off at a fire department in Spartanburg. When I saw this story Monday afternoon, something inside of me changed. I sincerely knew that DSS was going to call me to come get this child. I have not ever felt like that with any other local story. I didn't tell anyone and I went on about my normal day.
Tuesday morning I was wrapping presents. We had purchased a couple of things for the baby while they were on sale with the intention of putting them away until that time. As I sat there wrapping I couldn't get past the thought that I needed to wrap those baby items also. In my mind, I was thinking "just in case". Soon after that the noon news came on and the first story was about that baby. Again, I couldn't stop thinking that they were going to call me about this baby.
Within 5 minutes the phone rang. The caller ID said State of SC. I almost didn't answer. (Our mortgage is through the sate and we get recorded calls in reference to this around the time that it is due.) I realized that this was a different number than usual, an 864 number rather than 803. On the other end was a voice that I recognized as our family worker. She asked if I was sitting down and gave me the news. (She was actually calling about a different child, but none the less, God was preparing my heart for the call.)
I was completely overwhelmed and didn't know what to say. I couldn't think clearly. It was all so sudden. We have waited for so long for that call, that I guess I never really expected it to come. After a few phone calls back and forth, we made an appointment to come in and talk with them about the baby. Yesterday at 9:00am we met with a couple of ladies and they gave us a lot of information. Bryan and I talked, prayed, and talked with a few trusted friends. We talked a little more this morning and made the call.
Next Friday we will have the opportunity to meet our Little Buddy! Although he won't be able to come home with us that day, I am looking forward to it. Don't worry, there will be plenty of pictures!
We plan to name him Reese. This won't be his legal name for now, but as soon as we can legally change it he will be Reese Holder. As for his story, we would like to keep that private for now. I am sure that you can understand.
It is funny to me how God works. He certainly has a sense of humor. If you are in the upstate of SC you most likely saw the news story about the newborn dropped off at a fire department in Spartanburg. When I saw this story Monday afternoon, something inside of me changed. I sincerely knew that DSS was going to call me to come get this child. I have not ever felt like that with any other local story. I didn't tell anyone and I went on about my normal day.
Tuesday morning I was wrapping presents. We had purchased a couple of things for the baby while they were on sale with the intention of putting them away until that time. As I sat there wrapping I couldn't get past the thought that I needed to wrap those baby items also. In my mind, I was thinking "just in case". Soon after that the noon news came on and the first story was about that baby. Again, I couldn't stop thinking that they were going to call me about this baby.
Within 5 minutes the phone rang. The caller ID said State of SC. I almost didn't answer. (Our mortgage is through the sate and we get recorded calls in reference to this around the time that it is due.) I realized that this was a different number than usual, an 864 number rather than 803. On the other end was a voice that I recognized as our family worker. She asked if I was sitting down and gave me the news. (She was actually calling about a different child, but none the less, God was preparing my heart for the call.)
I was completely overwhelmed and didn't know what to say. I couldn't think clearly. It was all so sudden. We have waited for so long for that call, that I guess I never really expected it to come. After a few phone calls back and forth, we made an appointment to come in and talk with them about the baby. Yesterday at 9:00am we met with a couple of ladies and they gave us a lot of information. Bryan and I talked, prayed, and talked with a few trusted friends. We talked a little more this morning and made the call.
Next Friday we will have the opportunity to meet our Little Buddy! Although he won't be able to come home with us that day, I am looking forward to it. Don't worry, there will be plenty of pictures!
We plan to name him Reese. This won't be his legal name for now, but as soon as we can legally change it he will be Reese Holder. As for his story, we would like to keep that private for now. I am sure that you can understand.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Family update
Tuesday:
Please continue to pray for my father-in-law. He is in a lot of pain and the doctors are concerned about infection and pneumonia. Bryan talked with a nurse today and they are not as optimistic as before. His right shoulder is crushed and his right knee is cracked. Initially they told us that these would be replaced, now they are saying that they may not be able to do that. This will limit his use of the joints. Weldon was very disappointed because he still works 50-60 hours a week and is always working on a project at one of our houses.
Thursday:
Bryan and I both visited Weldon today and he seemed to have accepted the idea of limited use of his joints. I showed him my arm, in an attempt to amuse him, because I have limited use of my right arm as well. This is due to crushing my elbow and having it reconstructed. He was having a hard time keeping his breathing at the pace that the nurses wanted it. Personally, I would have a hard time with that due to my asthma. Weldon has smoked for years, so this is constantly a problem. I got very frustrated with the monitor so I know he has to be completely fed up with it. We are afraid that he may have developed pneumonia now. Please pray!!!
Please continue to pray for my father-in-law. He is in a lot of pain and the doctors are concerned about infection and pneumonia. Bryan talked with a nurse today and they are not as optimistic as before. His right shoulder is crushed and his right knee is cracked. Initially they told us that these would be replaced, now they are saying that they may not be able to do that. This will limit his use of the joints. Weldon was very disappointed because he still works 50-60 hours a week and is always working on a project at one of our houses.
Thursday:
Bryan and I both visited Weldon today and he seemed to have accepted the idea of limited use of his joints. I showed him my arm, in an attempt to amuse him, because I have limited use of my right arm as well. This is due to crushing my elbow and having it reconstructed. He was having a hard time keeping his breathing at the pace that the nurses wanted it. Personally, I would have a hard time with that due to my asthma. Weldon has smoked for years, so this is constantly a problem. I got very frustrated with the monitor so I know he has to be completely fed up with it. We are afraid that he may have developed pneumonia now. Please pray!!!
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