random advice for my boys...

... yes, you are an awesome dancer.  please remember that no matter how many of your buddies someday whine about it, they are the ones who look silly, standing against the wall with their hands in their pockets.  never stop dancing.

preparing for more...

i think you can never be fully prepared to be a parent.  it is a role that requires on the job training and will entail a set of job skills that will vary from child to child.  every little person that enters into your family will require different things than any other little person.  yet we do our best to learn and plan and, if we are smart, we brace ourselves for the very real fact that we may have to throw it all out the window and just roll with the punches while we regroup and gather a whole new set of information.  

that's kinda where i'm at on our road to fostering/adopting.  

last night was week 8 of 10 in our foster/adoption classes.  once we finish classes, the state will have 30 days to approve us and then we will start getting phone calls.  

i'm gathering information, reading books, asking a million questions in class and of others i know who have been down this path before us.  i'm walking myself through possible situations and trying to create a plan of attack.  and i'm trying to prepare myself for the unknown.  a daunting and rather intimidating thought.  

i'm also preparing our family.  Nick and i have begun to talk with the boys about the idea of other children staying with us, and possible becoming a part of our family forever.  we mention that they will have to share their toys, maybe their room.  they might have new seats at the table or places in the car.  and we will have to have extra patience with little ones who don't know the rules or don't understand words.  

i'm also trying to prepare our home for these special little ones.  all the meds and cleaners are moving to a cabinet with a keyed lock.  there is some painting i would like to get done in the bedrooms.  i have outlet covers for through out the house and i'm thinking of doing a few cabinet locks for places i really don't want little fingers in.  i've begun collecting twin bed sheets, sorting through hand me downs to be sure we have a bit of each size (boy and girl), and just waiting for a sale on mattresses and another carseat or two.  

then there is a list of little things that we will need to have on hand; toothbrushes, soaps and shampoos, diapers, socks, hairbrushes and hair ties, etc.  all the small personal care items that we take for granted that these kids most likely won't come with.  

if anyone see's a great sale or has some coupons they aren't going to use, let me know.  ;)

we are praying for wisdom and peace as we are preparing to add to our bunch of crazies!

it feels so close and yet, as they say, so very far away.

real life...

today... i started with grand intentions and a headache.  the headache is a better indication of how my day has gone.  

i will end today with foster care class, which always result in mental and emotional exhaustion.  i know it's coming and i'm praying for the strength to meet it with a humble heart and a dependance on my Lord.  

in the mean time, you will find me shoving dirty dishes in my oven and piling the clean, yet wrinkled mountain of laundry on my bed so that our wonderful friends, who are so beautifully willing to watch our children while we are at class, don't have to look at my chaotic mess.  

yes, this is real life today.  yet, God is teaching me more and more to depend upon Him and His strength. today, i should have started it leaning on Him a bit more.  

Psalm 28:7

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; 

My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped;

Therefore my heart exults, And with my song i shall thank Him." 

to be sensitive...

this boy.  

it has been such a joy to be his mommy.

to see him grow and learn.  

to watch as he understands sin and obedience.

yet, even as he matures, he still remains so... so... sensitive.  

sometimes it's a trial.  he is sensitive to tags and seams and buttons, and dressing for the day can bring a full blown melt down over something that "bothers."  he is sensitive to noise and his personal space and even the thought of entering a crowded room can send him into a panic.

yet sometimes, it's a blessing.  he is sensitive to the needs of little ones around him (excluding his little brother, unfortunately) and does all that he can to make them smile.  he is sometimes sensitive to adults and can pick up on someone who is sad or troubled and reaches out to them with hugs and love.  

i find myself, as i pray for this boy, asking that God would bring him to repentance and take that sensitive heart captive!  that He would mold it into a heart that, much like David, would strive to live to honor God, confessing sin and recognizing his need for God at all times.  i pray that the Lord will make this boy a man who takes special care with others and recognizes their needs and puts them above his own.  i ask my God, to make my Isaac sensitive to the Word, giving him a drive to work his whole life to honor and esteem the Creator of all above anything or anyone in this world.  

i pray that God makes Isaac sensitive to the Holy Spirit.

this little boy reminds me of my own need to be sensitive.  

to show great care with others.

to be diligent in reading the word.

to daily confess to God and weed out sin in my heart.

to take note of others in my life.

to show compassion.

to show patience.

to love.

praise the Lord for others that He puts in our lives to teach us.  

and may He give me the grace to teach this boy.

Proverbs 29:17

"Correct your son, and he will give you comfort;

He will also delight your soul."

comment comments...

so i heard today that some of you have tried commenting on my blog and they don't show up.  this made me sad, cuz i like to hear from you.  :(

so, after much googling, i've tried a couple of the trouble shooting suggestions.  hopefully, that fixes whatever the problem was.  but i won't know if it's working right unless you tell me.  so, next time you try and comment and it doesn't work, drop me an e-mail (found in my profile) or write on my facebook page.  that way i will know that i need to... well, i don't know what i will need to do.  but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

i hope to start hearing from more of you!