It is Official!

It is official!  

The case worker came over this morning and opened our foster home!  It seriously took her from 8:50 to 9:20.  It went great.  She was so sweet and very encouraging.

She said she was heading back to the office to enter us in the computer and make it official.  Now our name and phone number will be on the list of available foster homes.  The case worker told us we are definitely going to have to learn the word no.  Ha!  She said there is no telling how many phone calls we will get.  Ready or not......here we go! 

And, I am absolutely worn out!  I think I was stressing about everything way more than I even realized, and now that I have relaxed I am tired!  I fell asleep tonight sitting up on the couch during the TV show I wait all week to watch.  That's not like me at all.  

On that note, I am headed to bed!

Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers!

Rae 

We Have A Date!

The case worker is coming on Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. to officially open our home!  I am so excited I can't stand it!  She is still trying to get one last signature, which is what has delayed everything.  But she is determined to have it by Thursday morning!  That's one of the many reasons I like her.  She even thanked me for being so patient.  I told her I definitely did not feel like I had been very patient and felt like I had bugged her to death!  Ha!  

And, I wanted to write something else while I am thinking about it.  I was thinking the other day about how unbelievably blessed Joe and I are.  Not one time in this process has one friend or family member or church family member expressed that they do not approve of us wanting to be foster parents.  (They may have thought it, but they have never said anything to us.  That's all that matters!  Ha!)  I totally realize that Joe and I being foster parents will not only just affect us.  It will affect everyone we come in contact with.  Hopefully in an awesome way, but I realize their could be some undesired outcomes, also.  But, we have received nothing but blessings.  All of our friends, church family, and family have welcomed our future foster children with open arms.  How blessed are we???  We don't ever have to worry about if our future foster children will be accepted in our family, with our friends and their children, or at our church.  Everyone has just been great and I wanted to say thank you!  Thank you for your blessing and especially your prayers!  

I know I have mentioned that I teach the preschool class on Wednesday nights at church.  I have 7 girls and 1 boy.  (The little guy is a new development and I often feel bad for him.  At least he is smart enough to do exactly what those girls tell him!  Ha!)  During our story time last Wednesday I sat them down and explained that Mr. Joe and I are going to be foster parents.  I explained it the best I could to 3, 4, and 5 year olds.  They asked tons of questions and by the time we were done I am pretty sure they had the best grasp of the situation that they could.  I asked them if they were going to be nice to the foster kids that I bring to church with me.  One of the little girls responses was, "Of course, Mrs. Rae.  I'm always nice to little babies."  I explained that we may not have a little baby.  That we may have a big kid like her.  Her response, "Oh. Well....yeah.  I'll be nice because they are your foster kids."  Ha!  She had to really think about it!  I love the honesty of preschoolers!  

They always say their prayers after story time.  They usually each say their own prayer that they come up with all on their own.  (Prayer time takes a while sometimes, and I often have to bite my tongue so I don't laugh, but it is my favorite!)  One little girl's prayer on Wednesday night was "Father, Thank you for Mrs. Rae.  Thank you for making her be a foster parent.  And please give her the most wonderful kids ever!"  Is that not the sweetest thing you have ever read!?!  At 3 years-old, I'm pretty sure she gets it. 

So thank you again to everyone for being so excited for us.  And for praying for us.  You have no idea how much we appreciate it!

Happy Valentine's Day!

 Our first baby's world is about the change.  And bless her heart, she doesn't even have a clue!

Rae

No News

I am trying very hard to not be impatient or get discouraged, but this waiting game is not fun!  Our FBI background check came back.  Now we are just waiting for the case worker to come and officially open our home.  I know she is a busy busy lady, but I am ready!  :)

I found this on Pinterest, and I hope that once we get foster children in our home I can remember all of these things!

A Child’s Ten Commandments to Parents

1. My hands are small; please don’t expect perfection whenever I make a bed, draw a picture, or throw a ball. My legs are short; please slow down so that I can keep up with you.


2. My eyes have not seen the world as yours have; please let me explore safely: don’t restrict me unnecessarily.


3. Housework will always be there. I’m only little such a short time—please take time to explain things to me about this wonderful world, and do so willingly.


4. My feelings are tender; please be sensitive to my needs; don’t nag me all day long. (You wouldn’t want to be nagged for your inquisitiveness.) Treat me as you would like to be treated.


5. I am a special gift from God; please treasure me as God intended you to do, holding me accountable for my actions, giving me guidelines to live by, and disciplining me in a loving manner.


6. I need your encouragement, but not your praise, to grow. Please go easy on the criticism; remember you can criticize the things I do without criticizing me.


7. Please give me the freedom to make decisions concerning myself. Permit me to fail, so that I can learn from my mistakes. Then someday I’ll be prepared to make the kind of decisions life requires of me.


8. Please don’t do things over for me. Somehow that makes me feel that my efforts didn’t quite measure up to your expectations. I know it’s hard, but please don’t try to compare me with my brother or my sister.


9. Please don’t be afraid to leave for a weekend together. Kids need vacations from parents, just as parents need vacations from kids. Besides, it’s a great way to show us kids that your marriage is very special.


10. Please take me to Sunday school and church regularly, setting a good example for me to follow. I enjoy learning more about God.


**A Child’s Ten Commandments to Parents, by Dr. Kevin Leman


Hopefully I'll have an update on Monday!



Rae


Happy 7th Birthday, Percie!

Sunday, February 5, was Percie's 7th birthday!

Hopefully (sooner than later) Percie will no longer be our only baby, so we decided to make this birthday extra special!

We got her a birthday cookie from Just Dogs.

She loved it!  (It was pretty hard.  Well, very hard!  Ha!  I had to break it apart with a hammer so she could eat it!)

We went to Petco and Petsmart. She got a new birthday elephant!

She loves it!  (Almost as much as her toy birthday cake we got her last year.  It is her favorite!)

She also got a new tag for her collar because she had almost totally scratched her name off of the old one.  (Her new one is really cute!  I should have taken a picture of it.)  And she got a new chuck it because she loves to play ball!

I wish I had more to report on the progress of our foster home, but I do not.  It is just a waiting game.  I promise as soon as I know the date and time the case worker is coming to officially open our home, I will update!

I did add some new baskets to the changing table.  What do you think?

And notice what is now next to the changing table...I bought a trash can!  Ha!

And I made this wreath for the door.

I'm hoping for news soon!

Rae

Impatient

Impatience is a characteristic I'm pretty sure I was born with!  Ha!  But really, its not my favorite thing about myself and I fight it a lot.  When we went to have our finger prints scanned on Friday, we were told it could be 2 days to 2 weeks before we get the results back.  Today makes one week, so we have obviously passed the 2 day mark.  I think I did pretty good until today.  Today I have been obsessivly checking my email waiting to hear from the case worker.  :)

I did email her and make sure one last time (poor lady) that our FBI background check is the absolute final thing she is waiting on to be able to come out and officially open our home as a foster home.  Of course, she assured me that the FBI check is absolutely all she is waiting on and she would be in contact as soon as she gets the results. 

I don't know if I can make it another week!  Ha!  Well, I mean I really don't want to have to wait another week.  But, it seems like everything during this process has taken the max amount of time.  Of course that is no fault of anyone.  It just happens. 

And in other news, I think the mustang is gonna have to go.  :(  We attempted installing car seats just to see, and well, its just not going to work.  I contacted our favorite car salesman today and he is going to help us find something that will work well for us.  I am determined to have a fun car!  This one just might not be a convertable and it will have a little more room. 

I think Joe and I are going to go drive a few things this weekend to help us decide what we want. 

From mustang to mommy mobile.....oh my.

Rae