Life of the Party!

So our little doodle bug is not only a huge hit with us, our family and friends but everywhere we go!

I went to a bridal shower on Sunday and took her with me and random people gwaked at her for a while and one lady even sat down and said "Who's baby is that?... I'm gonna hold her." and proceeded to remove her from the arms of a family member!

She began daycare yesterday and when I picked her up everyone in sight told me just how precious she is(like I don't know). Her teacher said that everyone kept coming into the room wanting to love on her and hold her. They were amazed at how laid back and alert she is. So thrilled to have her in such a great daycare! My neice and nephew went there 6 years ago and the first thing they did when we walked in was asked how they are doing and how my mom is... so comforting to know that the children they care for make a lasting impression on them; shows that it's more than just a job for them.

Last night @ bed time she spit up once and then slept for 4 hours and after eatting @ 2:30 she spit up once more then slept 4 more hours. Such a huge improvement since for the past 2 weeks she has spit up several times and is fussy for a couple of hours before getting good rest. I don't want to jinx this but we are definatley going to try to repeat last night tonight.

Friday= Doodle Bug day!

I'm taking tomorrow off to spend time with my little doodle bug! I love just hanging out with her! I need to get some house work done but she likes to hang out in the kitchen with me so that shouldn't be too much of a problem! She has already learned how to make fresh apple bread, chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies... I'm sure there were some non-sweets that we made together but for some reason those things aren't memorable to me! We have been talking about it and I'm pretty sure that she wants to go to culinary school and work as a pastry chef at the family bakery when she grows up... no matter where her forever home is she will always be a part of our family!

On another note, she has been spitting up a bit more these days but it is def. way worse and kind of slimy when she is in bed... what's up with that? I think it might be part of why she has been fussy at bed time but when we pick her up she is just as happy as can be and doesn't act like she feels bad. My sinuses have been acting crazy and I have major drainage when I lay down so maybe she is dealing with some of the same?

Shaun's dad is leaving on Saturday to go on a mission trip. He and other members of Black Oak Heights Baptist Church will be serving the Lord in Nicaragua! Pray for safety as they travel and that the Lord is softening the hearts of those who will hear the Good News!

...

Some days you have to seek comfort in knowing that you are right where God wants you to be...

Some days you have to grin and bear it...

Some days you have to sing...

Some days you have to sleep...

Some days you have to cry...

Some days you have to laugh...

Every day all you can do is try...

No sweeter sound...

Right now I am listeninig to our little angle cry her self to sleep. She's full, dry and warm and so very tired! We are trying to get her used to falling asleep in her own bed; the first week or so bed time was a cinch but now she cries and fights sleep! (it really stresses Dad out but I have learned to tune it out) I'm a fan of letting her cry for a bit because I don't want to get to a point where she refuses to sleep in her on bed but at the same time if she is screaming the whole time she is in her bed she might begin to think that her room is a horrible place... oh what to do!?!

The good thing is when she wakes up in the middle of the night for a feeding she goes right back to sleep with no problem! She is still sleeping for 3 to 4 hour streches and we are alternating nights getting up with her since we are both working. (I am blessed with such a woderful husband)

We are slowly but surely getting used to our new life as (foster)parents! We have been out to dinner a few times and shopping several times and every time S has been so laid back!

It's amazing how much we love her... with wreckless abandon! I could never imagine not loving any child in our home with my whole heart but I love with parts of me that I didn't know that I had!

We are so amazed at how God is working in our lives through this little girl and can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for our future!

Please pray for her birth mom, that the Lord will make Himself known in her life and that she will surrender to Him and that He will restore her to His intention for her life!

My blog ate my update…

So sorry that I am so bad at updating this thing! I really want to do a better job at this so that I can look back and see all the frustration and the joy that it has brought us!

So I guess it’s pretty obvious that we were finally approved as foster parents! We got the call on May 25, 2010, while we were on vacation, letting us know that we were finally approved. That Friday as we were packing up to head home from Floridia we got a call from placement about a little boy that we had to decline because we were 9 hours away from home.

Needless to say when we got home we went crazy washing clothes and linens for the nursery. Fast forward to June 9, when we got a call for a sibling group. We declined this placement because we really felt that our first placement should be 1 child since we had never had a child in our home. That night I was talking to a friend who reminded me to pray and make sure that that decision was not one made in fear because if so it wasn’t from the Lord. I prayed about it felt at peace, knowing that the next call was for the child God intended to be placed in our home.

The very next day, June 10, 2010 @ 1:30p.m. I received a call from the placement caseworker who started the call by saying “it’s me again, one of these days I am going to call and you are going to say yes” without her giving me any details about the child or situation I said “today is the day” when my phone rang and I saw that it wad DCS my heart jumped for joy because I knew that this was God’s intention for us, who we had been waiting for!

I was told of a 2 week old little girl who was 5 lbs 4 oz. I was told that she was born into a not so great situation but by the grace of God it seemed that she was healthy.

I rushed home to sterilize bottles, never would we have dreamed of our first placement being such a young child!

By 4 p.m. I was at our home by myself with the most beautiful little girl I have ever seen! Of course I wasn’t home alone for long! Many friends and families stopped by to meet our big blessing in a tiny package!

Today Shelby is 4 weeks old, and has been with us for exactly 2 weeks! The past 2 weeks have been a blur but full of joy! When I am up at 3 am feeding this little girl I can’t help but praise God for her, there is no doubt in my mind that this is what He created me for!

Shelby is healthy and happy, she makes eye contact when we talk to her and coos and grunts in response to us! She eats well (about 3 oz every 2.5 hours) and loves her beauty sleep! She not a huge fan of bath time and hates being changed but she is learning to tolerate both! She likes when Nestle kisses her feet and puts up with our kisses! She has the cutest grin and makes the funniest sounds! We are in love!

Thanks to everyone who has loved on us and prayed for us while we waited on this little girl! Thanks for all of the things that you have provided to help us make our house a home for her! I said to someone the other day that she is going to be spoiled and they told me that there is no such thing as a spoiled child… just a well loved child!

Please pray that she will continue to develop normally! Pray for her as she gets ready to start daycare on 7/12/10! Pray that the cyst on her head will go away on it’s own!

Cold chills, wooowhooos, and hospital rooms

I have a really hard time keeping this blog updated… I don’t know that it matters much because who really reads this (I know, but the 3 of you don’t count because you know all of this before you read it here) but I do it for me. Sometimes I just bottle life (and emotions) and then feel really………….bloated! Seriously I could pop right now!

So here’s what’s new!

I was out of town for work last week… I was only in Pigeon Forge but it was nice to be out of the office. The first thing that I do when I stay anywhere other than my home is turn the air as high as it will go; after all I’m not paying that bill! (I saw that mental note you just made to never let me house sit for you) It was so cold that I had to use an ice scraper on the mirror after my shower… I love to sleep in the cold(as long as my feet stay warm) but I can never get comfy if Shaun isn’t near by so more than anything I just enjoyed having cold chills and sinking deeper into the covers and diving into the Word!

On Tuesday, while I was in Pigeon Forge I got a call from our DCS worker
WOOOOOO WHOOOOOOOO!!!!!…
she FINALLY finished writing our home study (it only took 2 months….) and of course despite telling me several times that she had everything she needed from us there was a form that we didn’t know about and two that had expired (we began this process in august and forms apparently go bad!) I was so excited after hanging up with her that I wanted to jump off the balcony into the little pigeon river but I’m kind of chubby and was afraid that I could jump out far enough to not land on the rocks! When I got back in on Thursday I completed and update the forms and our home study has now been submitted for approval. It has to get a few local signatures of approval and then a few in Nashville. We don’t know how long that will take but we are ok with that for now because next week we are going to the beach! Not really that excited about the actual beach because I’m not a fan of strangers dumping water on me (it’s always awkward trying to explain that I’m not a real whale!) but I do enjoy other things near the beach!

I know this is the most random post(don’t critique my grammar) but I was up late last night in a hospital room… that’s right… I was up late… in a hospital room… with our sweet friends who are about to give birth to their first child! Cade will be here today! I can’t wait to meet him and tell him how blessed he is to have such sweet, energetic, caring and inspiring parents! His life is a precious testimony to just how great our God is! So excited to see what God will do with this sweet child!

shut.up.and.watch

Frustrations with the process have multiplied… near unbearable at times.
I’m not good at waiting… silence for me is like torture!

Last Tuesday was 1 month from the date of our last home visit with DCS and we had heard nothing. I sent an email to our case worker to inquire about the status of our licensing and a few days later got a not so encouraging reply. Please pray for Laura and her co-workers @ DHS. I can’t imagine how difficult their job is because of the nature of their job but they are also overworked!

So here we are still waiting, mostly in silence! I have really been struggling with this. I want nothing more than children in our home and I know that God is going to bless us with children but I struggle with patience while we wait for his timing.

I have been praying about whether or not I should try to call other people or call more often to expedite the process and I found my answer… one of my most favorite passages of scripture is Exodus 14… there you find Moses leading the ever so doubtful Israelites out of Egypt and the Egyptians are in hot pursuit… the Israelites are convinced that Moses has lead them into the wilderness because who wants all those dead bodies in Egypt… It’s Moses’ response to their complaints that nails me to the floor…

Moses spoke to the people: "Don't be afraid. Stand firm and watch GOD …
GOD will fight the battle for you.
And you? You keep your mouths shut!”

Then Moses strikes the Red Sea with his staff and the Israelites make it across the dry river bed and turn and see the Egyptians wiped away by the collapsing walls of water.

I like to sum 14:14 up with a simple phrase… shut up and watch!
I know that God is going to bless us with children… I know that we are going to be foster parents… I know that it is all in his time… I sometimes forget that He doesn’t need my help (or complaints).

Please pray that I will not respond to silence in bitterness! I know that this period of waiting will only make it that much sweeter when we have children in our home.

Please pray that I will surrender my desire for control into the hands of my Heavenly Father, who will deliver me from the wilderness every.single.time!