...this time??? We have our fourth house showing tomorrow! This time it's one who saw the house either online or a drive by and called my realtor to go see it tomorrow. They're not working with a realtor themselves. Hmmm.... we'll see... prayers!!!

(The other three have all loved the house, but either didn't like the location or found one just after that they liked a little bit more, but at least I know it shows well and people like what they see... just need the one God has called to live here!)

Braeden has been reading and writing and spelling like CRAZY the past few months. He spells everything he can think of and wonder about, reads signs and books and anything he sees, and is just loving words! Tonight he wrote a story! (Transcribed EXACTLY how he wrote it...)

ONe apoN a tiM tHErE was a FaMiy
ANd tHERE was to BoYs ANd girls tHere
(picture of a small house)
a HouM saF ANd soud

AWWWwwww...

The other week (I’ve been so bad lately with blogging!!!), our church took an alabaster offering.

We attend a Nazarene church here, and this info is from their website…

The Alabaster Offering provides funds for property and buildings around the world. Eighty percent of the money is used in world mission areas, and twenty percent goes to multicultural congregations in the United States and Canada. Alabaster funds help provide land for most Work & Witness projects. The entire offering goes toward the construction of churches, schools, medical facilities, and homes for missionaries and national workers.

Kids are given a small cardboard Alabaster box and are encouraged to fill it with money to go to this offering. Braeden and Olivia came home and proceeded to EMPTY their piggy banks. Granted they didn’t have a TON, as they had recently emptied most of their money out to donate to a Project Hopeful adoption fund, but they had accumulated a bit, and it ALL went into their box! They have such amazing hearts for others! I love to see how these hearts grow and expand as they learn more and more about God, HIS love, the needs of others, etc. We have a 1, 2, 3 Penguins tape we purchased once at a thrift store about being a seed of discontent. It’s now one of Braeden’s favorites and whenever he hears someone complaining he says, “You don’t want to be a seed, do you?” It’s so funny!

I pray that their hearts continue to be blessed by God. To see others, others who may be unnoticed by the masses, others who are God’s children as surely as we are, others who need love.

Did you know it was International Pi Day??? LOL, me either, but as we have some generous grandparents who love to "take us out" on their dime, they will find any number of "excuses." And today being International Pi Day, what better way to celebrate than to have some PIE!? :)

We headed to Baker's Square and had a delicious lunch and the kids each got a slice of pie! Fabulous! :)

Have you ever heard of Safe Families??? I know until a week or so ago I hadn't, which I thought rather surprising since I've been doing foster care for almost 8 years now.

Safe Families is not run through the state. It is a volunteer program wherein parents can place their children for one day to thirty days, depending upon the situation, to help them. It could be a parent who is going into the hospital and has no help, a homeless situation, etc. For families who volunteer, there is no monetary help. But, what an amazing witness. What an incredible way to be there for others. To allow families to stay in tact if at all possible before getting in the system. To be God's hands and feet and heart in this world. I'm ready to sign up, BUT since we MAY still be moving in the next few months, I'm going to wait. There is a chapter in the area we're hoping to move to, and while I wouldn't be able to take a young child and pay day care, etc, I certainly could help with a younger school age child. I would love to be able to do this!

With moving, it's still in HIS hands. We're having an open house at the end of the month. While I know these never sell houses, more a way for the neighbors to get a glimpse! :), my realtor wants it, and you never know. With the state budget in edcuation being what it is and owing so much to schools already, I know teaching jobs will be at a premium. While I'm in special ed which does help, if they have a choice between me, who has taught ten years and would get some experience and upper level standing on a pay scale, or someone right out of college, they may not be in a position of taking someone who would cost more, pure and simple. But I know IF districts will be hiring for next year it will most likely happen in the next couple months, so it could be a crazy busy time, or it could be God preparing us to stay another year and see what happens.

Next weekend will be a "makeover" of sorts for me. I'm splurging a little with some of my tax refund. With my focus on getting healthy just over the past year now, I'm finally going to get my hair cut, colored, my eyebrows done, and today I got a new pair of glasses which should come in around that time. On that Monday, March 22 I'm getting a tattoo! I've thought about it for a while, and decided that if I were to hit my 75 pound mark of losing weight, that that would be my "mark" to myself to show what I've accomplished. I'm just shy of that right now, and was at 70.4 lbs on Tuesday. There is a family who is having a tattoo day as an adoption fund raiser on the 22nd, so I decided to go ahead and take the plunge! I'm thinking of getting an ichthys (Christian fish) on the back of my right shoulder. I love the imagery of Christians drawing one half of the fish to find other Christians at a time of unlawfulness in being a Christian. If you have any great images, send them my way!!! :) I'll try to have pictures, but we'll see... :)