In case you’ve missed the news — we have two foster boys in our home now.
They’re such a joy.
For their protection we won’t be publishing any photos and such publicly online and for now, we’ll simply refer to them online as N (the oldest) and M (the youngest).
And oh how quickly life can change….
It’s been a challenge – but an absolute blessing as well.
Earlier this week I shared a Tweet from a friend in Austin:
PRAYER: RT @eloranicole @tiffsoutherland: friend who was adopting from Haiti-met child-going this week 2 get her-found out child was killed
It was a hard Tweet to read (and share).
Essentially, this friend of a friend of a friend were in the process of adopting a little girl from Haiti. They were set to go to Haiti this week and pick her up – but discovered the girl had died in the earthquake.
Continue reading Orphans and the tragedy in Haiti
I’ve really been impressed and appreciative of all the things Jason Kovacs does. It’s been great getting to know him and his ministry over the last several months via his blogs and Twitter (@jasonkovacs).
Last week, Jason shared a great post on what he learned from the story of Hannah (1 Samuel 1) and her husband in Scripture…
Hannah taught me that it is natural for a woman to desire to have children. Woman all around the world can relate to her. My wife painfully longed to be a mother. Initially I didn’t know what to do with her emotional response to not being pregnant. To me it seemed so disproportionate to how I felt…. I felt like Hannah’s husband, who said to her: “why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?†That approach didn’t work in Hannah’s day and it still doesn’t work today.
I ditto that statement. I will never fully understand the pain and sadness that Laurie feels as we struggle with our infertility. Yes, my heart hurts because we haven’t been able to get pregnant — but my desire is no where near that of Laurie’s.
Continue reading Dealing with the pain of infertility
As part of our foster care certification process, we’ve been asked to read three books and write book reports on them. I know! Book reports?!
It’s not really that bad. They basically want to find out what we’ve learned from said books. As simple as it may be, or as complex as it may be.
In the book I’m trying to finish up now, “Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew,” the author shares some of the special needs adopted children may have.
As I read this list, I thought — how true to life this is for everyone else as well.
Imagine if we each understood and realized these needs as our needs as well.
What would that do to your psyche?
How would it change you today if you realized that your life narrative began before you were born and that your life is not a mistake?
What would that do to your spirit and soul to realize that YOU have intrinsic, immutable value as a human being?
I hope it excites you like it excites me!
And then take it one step further….
How would it change your attitude today if you believed that about everyone else around you?
(Texas Department of Family and Protective Services – DFPS)
In FY 2007, the average number of children removed per month was 1,327. For fiscal year 2008, the average was 1,191 per month.
Continue reading Texas foster care statistics
Laurie and I are getting excited as our expectancy grows, just counting down the days till we hope to have our foster-parent certification, followed by more waiting till we get the call that we have a foster child waiting for us.
Over the Thanksgiving break we did a little shopping and purchased a brand new crib/toddler bed for our expected little one.
