Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Maybe...

...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!)
Monday, March 15, 2010

Our Author

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...

Zoo Trip

We LOVE going to the zoo! Especially when the weather is great, the sun is out, and it’s basically FREE since we have a membership! J








Alabaster

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.



Sunday, March 14, 2010

Happy International Pi Day!


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! :)
Saturday, March 13, 2010

Foster Care Alternative

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... :)

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About Me

I am a single mom to four amazing kids; each of whom just happen to have been adopted. The first three were adopted through foster care, and we just completed an international adoption from Haiti. Our family has grown through adoption and I am all the more blessed to know each of my children. I worship a mighty God, teach Special Ed, love bargains, and am inspired by Pinterest... come along with us for the ride!


Olivia - 14

Olivia - 14

Braeden - 11

Braeden - 11

Liam - 9

Liam - 9

Macy - 5

Macy - 5

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What you should know about HIV

-HIV can NOT be spread through casual/household contact. HIV is not spread through hugging, kissing, shaking hands, sharing toys, sneezing, coughing, sharing food, sharing drinks, bathing, swimming or any other casual way. It has been proven that HIV and AIDS can only be spread through sexual contact, birth, breastfeeding and blood to blood contact (such as sharing needles). - HIV is now considered a chronic but manageable disease. With treatment, people who are HIV+ can live indefinitely without developing AIDS and can live long and full lives. - People who are HIV+ deserve to be treated with love, respect, support and acceptance as all people do. Additional information on transmission of HIV can be found on the Center for Disease Control website: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources

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Orphan Crisis

• 147 million orphans in the world
• 50 million orphans in Africa 
• Every 14 seconds a child is orphaned by AIDS
• 16,000,000 have been orphaned by AIDS
• Every week, AIDS claims as many lives as American fatalities in the Vietnam War
• 854 million people do not have enough to eat
• Malnutrition is associated with the deaths of 5 million children under the age of five
• Every 2 seconds an orphan dies from malnutrition


Hence the title of my blog

Little Did I Know

Little did I know that the road would be so rocky
Little did I know that the trip would take so long
Little did I know that my heart could hurt so much
Little did I know that God is never wrong

Little did I know that love could be so powerful
Little did I know that a dream so far could go
Little did I know that God would place the right ones
Little did I know that my heart, so large, could grow

Little did I know that a dream has it’s own timing
Little did I know that this day would finally come
Little did I know that four souls would be sent to guide me
Little did I know that they would choose to call me mom

But God knew all along and He had a plan to follow
God knew all along that my dream would soon come true
God knew all along that we five should be together
God knew all along that I’d share it all with you