So, if anyone has any choking issues or find yourself unable to breathe, give me a call! Greg and I are officially CPR certified. I have always wanted to learn CPR but never stopped and did it. Now I am completely prepared to perform the Heimlich Maneuver, so need to fear eating dinner at my house :)
It also looks like I am TB free so far. Always a good thing.
The CPR course included a first-aid "class". By the way, don't put butter on burns. Oh yes, I am so wise and full of information now, you'll all be calling me for my invaluable help with all your kids. Not! However I did learn that making a paste from baking soda and water will take the burn out of an insect bite. So will chewed tobacco, according to our instructor :)
My papers are written. I worked on one until 1 AM and woke up again at 6 AM to continue. I will confess: I finished it this afternoon at work. I know! I'm bad!
But I'm so glad to be done I don't care! I will turn them in at 5:30 and 7:00 then go home and do nothing.
It was really stressful but I'm glad we got all the classes done this month.
Of course now this frees up my schedule to get the house home study ready as well as a million other things.
If anyone loves yard sales we are having one at our church this Saturday. All proceeds go to missionaries. It's Sublett Road Baptist, in Arlington at the corner of Kelly Elliott and Sublett. If you can't find it let me know. I think our youth are also doing a car wash.
I'm also trying to brainstorm ideas for making new foster kids feel more comfortable and at home with us. One family gave me the idea of framing a photo of each kid on the wall as soon as you can. We also have some ladies at our church that can embroider names on fabric and I was thinking maybe personalized pillows would be cool, that the kids can take with them. A foster family that I worshipped with in Weatherford made garden stones with each child's hand print in them with their name. You can get kits at Michaels. I definitely think that is an awesome idea. And maybe signs for the bedroom door with their name on it. What else? I'm willing to try just about anything to help make the transition smoother for these kids.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Just One More To Go....and My Exam is OVER-sorta...
We had another class tonight. It was supposed to run from 6-10. However the teacher did not show for some reason, so the foster recruiter taught instead and did a great job. It turns out that she was a foster group Mom and has fostered over 300 kids in her day. I had no idea! What an unspoken hero. Oh, and she kept almost all teenage girls. Very brave!
Tonights class was a "management" class to teach us how to keep our cool when our kids make us crazy :) We got into groups, read scenarios and answered as a group how we would respond. It was interesting, especially with Joyce, the foster recruiter I referred to above, supplementing each scenario with a crazy story from her own experiences. Very enlightening AND amusing.
I took my grammar exam today... as usual I studied most on stuff that was not on the test. I honestly have no idea how I did. Fortunately this teacher gives partial credit or I'd have dropped this class long ago. Now I have a take-home essay to complete.
Tommorrow night is our last night of class... CPR certification and a TB test (wish me luck:)
Tonights class was a "management" class to teach us how to keep our cool when our kids make us crazy :) We got into groups, read scenarios and answered as a group how we would respond. It was interesting, especially with Joyce, the foster recruiter I referred to above, supplementing each scenario with a crazy story from her own experiences. Very enlightening AND amusing.
I took my grammar exam today... as usual I studied most on stuff that was not on the test. I honestly have no idea how I did. Fortunately this teacher gives partial credit or I'd have dropped this class long ago. Now I have a take-home essay to complete.
Tommorrow night is our last night of class... CPR certification and a TB test (wish me luck:)
Sunday, April 27, 2008
PRIDE #4 is History!
We completed PRIDE #4, "Pre-Service" training yesterday. ALL DAY yesterday :) Basically they walked us through our foster agreements. Then we learned about abuse... Shaken Baby Syndrome, SIDS, Sexual Abuse, etc. Needless to say it was not fun stuff.
An estimated 80% of children in foster care have been sexually abused. I am still trying to wrap my mind around that unspeakable horror.
As I have said in past posts, we have met many amazing people so far along the journey. Another couple, Martin and Holly, have been in all our PRIDE classes so far. They are a young couple who've been married one year longer than us. Yesterday Holly and Martin pulled Greg and I aside and wanted to share a dream Holly had about us. I know many people scoff at the importance/significance of dreams but I can show you many times God used dreams or visions to make Himself heard in the Bible. Anyway, in Holly's dream Greg was jumping up and down like a kid (nothing new there) and I was sitting calmly at a table concentrating on something. She said when she woke up she began to ask God to reveal any importance from this dream to her. Holly said that she began to feel that she was supposed to share with us that we are matched perfectly and that our personalities and parenting styles would compliment each other. I was very impressed that she would share and really felt like it was more confirmation from the Holy Spirit. Since we have been so stressed lately it was very encouraging to hear the Lord speaking to us through someone.
I took Friday off with no trouble, my Boss never mentioned it again. I finished a research paper. If anyone wants to proof read it for me let me know! Today and most of tomorrow I will finish studying for my grammar test. If you guys could pray for me at 3 PM I would really appreciate and covet those prayers!
I am beginning to think that the stress of "becoming" a parent pales in comparison of grammar exams.... :)
OH! We found out another cool piece of info: caucasian children 6 and older, Minority children 2 and older, and Special Needs children are eligible to receive monthly support, continued Medicaid coverage AND free college tuition through a Texas state college AFTER their adoption is finalized. This is supposed to be an incentive to help adopt out hard age groups. Although my first instinct was that we shouldn't "sponge" off the system... I began to realize that any money we might receive could help supplement our income while I was in school, and anything else could be saved for the kids' college needs: books, dorms, etc. Or help pay for private school if I decide to keep working. Not to mention that Medicaid would cover expensive essentials like braces... either way, we're paying for it out of our tax dollars. If the state is going to give this money away, we are going to accept it to help our kids get a top notch education.
I'm going to study now. I'm glad this will all be over Wednesday. I'm already beginning to slip into "I don't care" mode!
An estimated 80% of children in foster care have been sexually abused. I am still trying to wrap my mind around that unspeakable horror.
As I have said in past posts, we have met many amazing people so far along the journey. Another couple, Martin and Holly, have been in all our PRIDE classes so far. They are a young couple who've been married one year longer than us. Yesterday Holly and Martin pulled Greg and I aside and wanted to share a dream Holly had about us. I know many people scoff at the importance/significance of dreams but I can show you many times God used dreams or visions to make Himself heard in the Bible. Anyway, in Holly's dream Greg was jumping up and down like a kid (nothing new there) and I was sitting calmly at a table concentrating on something. She said when she woke up she began to ask God to reveal any importance from this dream to her. Holly said that she began to feel that she was supposed to share with us that we are matched perfectly and that our personalities and parenting styles would compliment each other. I was very impressed that she would share and really felt like it was more confirmation from the Holy Spirit. Since we have been so stressed lately it was very encouraging to hear the Lord speaking to us through someone.
I took Friday off with no trouble, my Boss never mentioned it again. I finished a research paper. If anyone wants to proof read it for me let me know! Today and most of tomorrow I will finish studying for my grammar test. If you guys could pray for me at 3 PM I would really appreciate and covet those prayers!
I am beginning to think that the stress of "becoming" a parent pales in comparison of grammar exams.... :)
OH! We found out another cool piece of info: caucasian children 6 and older, Minority children 2 and older, and Special Needs children are eligible to receive monthly support, continued Medicaid coverage AND free college tuition through a Texas state college AFTER their adoption is finalized. This is supposed to be an incentive to help adopt out hard age groups. Although my first instinct was that we shouldn't "sponge" off the system... I began to realize that any money we might receive could help supplement our income while I was in school, and anything else could be saved for the kids' college needs: books, dorms, etc. Or help pay for private school if I decide to keep working. Not to mention that Medicaid would cover expensive essentials like braces... either way, we're paying for it out of our tax dollars. If the state is going to give this money away, we are going to accept it to help our kids get a top notch education.
I'm going to study now. I'm glad this will all be over Wednesday. I'm already beginning to slip into "I don't care" mode!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
3 Down....3 To Go!
Last night we took a PRIDE class called PMAB. Please don't ask me what that stands for. Basically the class taught us what to do when a child confronts us verbally or physically. Basically you are not allowed to spank a foster child, or use any force against them unless you are putting them in a hold. And, say you're in Target and your foster child is screaming at the tops of his or her lungs, while lying on the floor, if that child is 5 or older you are not allowed to pick them up and carry them out. We also learned some techniques for getting out of an argument when you've told the child no and they won't give up. All in all it was very interesting and we got some creative ideas we never would have thought of.
We learned some moves to protect ourselves in the case that a child attacks us physically. I got really good at practicing my chokehold on Greg :) We met a family that fosters full-time and has 12 boys in their home. They assured us that being attacked physically is common. That was just what I wanted to hear - NOT! :) Oh well. They have been fostering for 5 years and have used other agencies. They said this one is the best so far, which assured us more than ever that we are in the right place.We are coming into contact with so many courageous, selfless and amazing people on this journey.
We had a lot of fun in the PMAB class... we haven't done a lot on our own lately so coming to these classes has been a chance to just hang out together. It was funny because on our way there last night I asked Greg if he had noticed that there is never any prayer at any of the classes. Even when they fed us Saturday lunch, no one gathered us together for prayer. Well at the end of our class last night our teacher closed us out in prayer. Now that's what I'm talking about!
I would like to apologize for all the "Venting" I've been doing... however I'm just trying to be honest. I guess I can't hide the fact that deep down, I'm a crybaby :) I'm hoping other people interested in fostering to adopt will find this blog and get a realistic idea of what the process is like. I would also like people to read through the lines... and see that even though I am constantly freaking out, the end results show that God was always in control.
We learned some moves to protect ourselves in the case that a child attacks us physically. I got really good at practicing my chokehold on Greg :) We met a family that fosters full-time and has 12 boys in their home. They assured us that being attacked physically is common. That was just what I wanted to hear - NOT! :) Oh well. They have been fostering for 5 years and have used other agencies. They said this one is the best so far, which assured us more than ever that we are in the right place.We are coming into contact with so many courageous, selfless and amazing people on this journey.
We had a lot of fun in the PMAB class... we haven't done a lot on our own lately so coming to these classes has been a chance to just hang out together. It was funny because on our way there last night I asked Greg if he had noticed that there is never any prayer at any of the classes. Even when they fed us Saturday lunch, no one gathered us together for prayer. Well at the end of our class last night our teacher closed us out in prayer. Now that's what I'm talking about!
I would like to apologize for all the "Venting" I've been doing... however I'm just trying to be honest. I guess I can't hide the fact that deep down, I'm a crybaby :) I'm hoping other people interested in fostering to adopt will find this blog and get a realistic idea of what the process is like. I would also like people to read through the lines... and see that even though I am constantly freaking out, the end results show that God was always in control.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Another Class Down
We went to the "Medicine" class last night. Although it was less about medicine and more about mental disorders. That's fine, if any of my kids are on meds you'd better believe I will be an expert on that medication :)
Going to this class was interesting... Greg and I ended up having a meltdown Sunday evening. We were trying to look at our finances AFTER I quit my job and it was not pretty. Then Greg was looking at his sales for this month, which are not pretty after missing so many appointments for these classes and being sick. We ended up fighting and really not speaking until Monday afternoon. A few other things happened to escalate things but this is the short version. It was a little ironic actually because I had been talking to my adoption hero friend Rachel about keeping your marriage together during adoption Sunday afternoon at lunch. Satan must've been hanging out at Cici's that day :)
Anyway, I woke up that morning deciding that we needed to put these classes off until June (the next time they're offered). Obviously my marriage is more important and must come first. It was a VERY bad morning. As I was packing my lunch before work I came across a picture of D, G & S on the fridge which caused a small breakdown. I had another small breakdown (and blessing) when my adoption hero friend Rachel wrote me that her 5 year old Liberian boy is praying for my kids to come home. How sweet is that? However, as you can tell by the title of this blog, the adoption training goes on! I decided to call Greg before I contacted the agency. When he called we made up and I asked him if he wanted to put off the classes and he said no. I love my husband!
So all was well until I emailed my teacher asking if I could drop off a digital recorder for her to record class last night. Ordinarily I wouldn't ask but we were reviewing for our final test. She said no. Then I started freaking out again. Talk about faith of a mustard seed, sometimes I wonder just how small my faith is.
I talked to Greg at 4:30 and he was in downtown Dallas on his way to an appointment. Our class started at 6. Another breakdown :) So I get home around 5 and start praying, "Lord, PLEASE tell me I didn't miss my final review for nothing....". Not even 5 minutes later Greg calls and says he is on his way home. Evidently the customer couldn't pass the credit check. Now I'm saying God gave these people bad credit, but hey it did work to my advantage :)
I do have another prayer request (always some drama in my life lately). I gave my boss a list of dates I wanted off a month ago. They include this Friday and next Monday so that I can catch up on studying for my test Monday. Plus I need to take my test early in the day Monday since I have another adoption class that evening. My boss called me into his office today and wanted to know why I wanted each day off. I told him about this Friday and Monday and he questioned why I needed all of Friday to study. I assured him it was necessary. At that point I wasn't amused so I told him I didn't remember why I wanted the rest of the dates off. He told me to come back when I did. Thank goodness I had to leave for lunch then or I might be sending you this message from the unemployment line :) I guess my question is: Does he have a right to ask me WHAT my vacation is for? I have never had to state a reason for asking for vacation time at any other company, I just requested the time off. If they could give it to me, great, if not, I'd deal with it. Now a leave of absence or sick time, sure, they deserve an explanation. But should I have to JUSTIFY asking for vacation days? Oh, and I was just asking for single days off, not a week at a time. So let me know if I am wrong on this or not. I don't know what I'm going to do if he tells me no for Friday. For the sake of my sanity I am counting on having that time to study. I really need to pass this test or I'll be in summer school all of July.
Hmm... better bust out with my new favorite verse:
"O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you" -Psalm 84:12
Going to this class was interesting... Greg and I ended up having a meltdown Sunday evening. We were trying to look at our finances AFTER I quit my job and it was not pretty. Then Greg was looking at his sales for this month, which are not pretty after missing so many appointments for these classes and being sick. We ended up fighting and really not speaking until Monday afternoon. A few other things happened to escalate things but this is the short version. It was a little ironic actually because I had been talking to my adoption hero friend Rachel about keeping your marriage together during adoption Sunday afternoon at lunch. Satan must've been hanging out at Cici's that day :)
Anyway, I woke up that morning deciding that we needed to put these classes off until June (the next time they're offered). Obviously my marriage is more important and must come first. It was a VERY bad morning. As I was packing my lunch before work I came across a picture of D, G & S on the fridge which caused a small breakdown. I had another small breakdown (and blessing) when my adoption hero friend Rachel wrote me that her 5 year old Liberian boy is praying for my kids to come home. How sweet is that? However, as you can tell by the title of this blog, the adoption training goes on! I decided to call Greg before I contacted the agency. When he called we made up and I asked him if he wanted to put off the classes and he said no. I love my husband!
So all was well until I emailed my teacher asking if I could drop off a digital recorder for her to record class last night. Ordinarily I wouldn't ask but we were reviewing for our final test. She said no. Then I started freaking out again. Talk about faith of a mustard seed, sometimes I wonder just how small my faith is.
I talked to Greg at 4:30 and he was in downtown Dallas on his way to an appointment. Our class started at 6. Another breakdown :) So I get home around 5 and start praying, "Lord, PLEASE tell me I didn't miss my final review for nothing....". Not even 5 minutes later Greg calls and says he is on his way home. Evidently the customer couldn't pass the credit check. Now I'm saying God gave these people bad credit, but hey it did work to my advantage :)
I do have another prayer request (always some drama in my life lately). I gave my boss a list of dates I wanted off a month ago. They include this Friday and next Monday so that I can catch up on studying for my test Monday. Plus I need to take my test early in the day Monday since I have another adoption class that evening. My boss called me into his office today and wanted to know why I wanted each day off. I told him about this Friday and Monday and he questioned why I needed all of Friday to study. I assured him it was necessary. At that point I wasn't amused so I told him I didn't remember why I wanted the rest of the dates off. He told me to come back when I did. Thank goodness I had to leave for lunch then or I might be sending you this message from the unemployment line :) I guess my question is: Does he have a right to ask me WHAT my vacation is for? I have never had to state a reason for asking for vacation time at any other company, I just requested the time off. If they could give it to me, great, if not, I'd deal with it. Now a leave of absence or sick time, sure, they deserve an explanation. But should I have to JUSTIFY asking for vacation days? Oh, and I was just asking for single days off, not a week at a time. So let me know if I am wrong on this or not. I don't know what I'm going to do if he tells me no for Friday. For the sake of my sanity I am counting on having that time to study. I really need to pass this test or I'll be in summer school all of July.
Hmm... better bust out with my new favorite verse:
"O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you" -Psalm 84:12
Saturday, April 19, 2008
So Tired...
Well we took our first adoption class today. It went well and we met a lot of really nice couples. We also got a LOT of information and feel like we're in overdrive!
More than ever I am concerned that we may not have the full story on D, G & S. We heard more stories of CPS misleading people about kids' histories and behaviors. However, I didn't realize that most CPS caseworkers in Texas have over 100 kids on their caseload. No wonder the burnout rate is so high... it's already an emotionally crippling job without more work than 3 people could handle.
As we are licensed we will stay open to all options in case precious D, G & S don't work out or are adopted by someone else. Greg and I will be praying about how to fill out our paper work in these next two weeks. At this point if we foster-to-adopt it will have to be school aged children so that I can finish school and student teach. We do know that we are not concerned about gender or ethnicity.
We also heard an incredible story of a family that adopted a 17 year old. I glanced back at him to find him watching me and we were both crying. There are so many ways God can use us in this journey and we can't wait to find out how!
On another note, we found out today that we each need 5 hours of supervised childcare within an agency foster or adoptive home. So we get to go watch someone else's kids for FIVE HOURS (when?? when will we fit this in?) while they evaluate us. While I can see the wisdom in this it feels like one more thing to add to our already overflowing plate.
Another thing we learned is during our home study Greg's guns will be an issue. Guns and ammo have to be locked in separate locations. (I guess if someone breaks into our home we'll just ask them to hold on while we unload both boxes and load the gun!) The agency suggests a gun safe or locked metal box. We decided today that we'll give Greg's shot gun to his parents to keep in their gun safe and buy TWO lock boxes for the handgun and ammo.
We will also need to finish our living room before the home study. For those who don't know, we bought a fixer upper and are still working on it. The house had wall-to-wall carpeting in the living room. We stained the concrete which leaves 5-1/2" of bare wood showing all around the walls where molding would normally be. You'd have to see it to understand. It's good though because this forces us to get back into house repair mode. And I'm going to talk to my Dad about finishing the mantel for our fireplace.
In summary:
We need to get physicals. $$
We need to take TB tests. $$
We need to get fingerprinted. $$
We need to have the city come inspect our home. $$
We need to child proof our home. $$
We need to gun proof our home. $$
We need to complete repairs on our home. $$
We need a fire extinguisher for our home. $$
Oh yeah, and we need to save money so I can quit my job in August. $$
Why did I think adopting through the state would be affordable? :)
And so I turn again to my new favorite scripture:
"Oh Lord Almighty, Blessed is the man who trusts in you"
Psalm 84:12
More than ever I am concerned that we may not have the full story on D, G & S. We heard more stories of CPS misleading people about kids' histories and behaviors. However, I didn't realize that most CPS caseworkers in Texas have over 100 kids on their caseload. No wonder the burnout rate is so high... it's already an emotionally crippling job without more work than 3 people could handle.
As we are licensed we will stay open to all options in case precious D, G & S don't work out or are adopted by someone else. Greg and I will be praying about how to fill out our paper work in these next two weeks. At this point if we foster-to-adopt it will have to be school aged children so that I can finish school and student teach. We do know that we are not concerned about gender or ethnicity.
We also heard an incredible story of a family that adopted a 17 year old. I glanced back at him to find him watching me and we were both crying. There are so many ways God can use us in this journey and we can't wait to find out how!
On another note, we found out today that we each need 5 hours of supervised childcare within an agency foster or adoptive home. So we get to go watch someone else's kids for FIVE HOURS (when?? when will we fit this in?) while they evaluate us. While I can see the wisdom in this it feels like one more thing to add to our already overflowing plate.
Another thing we learned is during our home study Greg's guns will be an issue. Guns and ammo have to be locked in separate locations. (I guess if someone breaks into our home we'll just ask them to hold on while we unload both boxes and load the gun!) The agency suggests a gun safe or locked metal box. We decided today that we'll give Greg's shot gun to his parents to keep in their gun safe and buy TWO lock boxes for the handgun and ammo.
We will also need to finish our living room before the home study. For those who don't know, we bought a fixer upper and are still working on it. The house had wall-to-wall carpeting in the living room. We stained the concrete which leaves 5-1/2" of bare wood showing all around the walls where molding would normally be. You'd have to see it to understand. It's good though because this forces us to get back into house repair mode. And I'm going to talk to my Dad about finishing the mantel for our fireplace.
In summary:
We need to get physicals. $$
We need to take TB tests. $$
We need to get fingerprinted. $$
We need to have the city come inspect our home. $$
We need to child proof our home. $$
We need to gun proof our home. $$
We need to complete repairs on our home. $$
We need a fire extinguisher for our home. $$
Oh yeah, and we need to save money so I can quit my job in August. $$
Why did I think adopting through the state would be affordable? :)
And so I turn again to my new favorite scripture:
"Oh Lord Almighty, Blessed is the man who trusts in you"
Psalm 84:12
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Test 4
Is passed. Barely. And I do mean barely. Okay, I'll just come out with it: I made a 70. And I was excited to get that, believe me. I am such an underachiever.
Thank you God! I couldn't have done it on my own.
Last but certainly not least is my comprehensive final on the 28th which is 40% of my grade.
Please keep praying!
Thank you God! I couldn't have done it on my own.
Last but certainly not least is my comprehensive final on the 28th which is 40% of my grade.
Please keep praying!
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