Harrison's first photoshoot

So I am going to have a son!

I will post the pictures from the ultrasound soon. He is a cutie! I will also tell you the story about how I reacted when I saw the picture of the "peepee".

Jen

Ally

So far I have not been impressed with the Foster Care system. It is almost like the caseworkers drop off a child in your care and then don't fill you in on anything! That is hard because it is important that we know the progress of the parent, and whether or not the parent is doing what they should be doing. We are supposed to get a visit every week for the first month that we have the child. I have only met Aleena's caseworker twice and have had her for two months.
Ally - the almost 3 year old was brought to us with the notion that we would be able to adopt her. Well her dad who just found out about her 3 months ago, wants to have full custody of her. I and my husband are very torn. We want what will be the best for her, but are not sure about this sudden transition. I pray that this is the best for her and everyone involved. Well after waiting a couple weeks to find out when she would be going to live with her dad, I called the caseworker. I found out that she may be leaving us on Monday .  .  . like THIS Monday, 4 days away! Either then or on the 22nd of this month. I hate that we don't get information when it would be convenient, we have to go after it ourselves.

Also for those who asked about fostering. . . after all this great news:)

Every state has a different board rate for children of different ages. In Florida we get 13-14$ a day for each child under the age of 6 (I think, it may be older). You get a 15$ clothing allowance, one time deal. If there are items that you need to get, like a double stroller, they will give you a walmart gift card if they feel it is necessary. At Christmas they bring the kids a couple presents. You meet about 4-5 different people that need to come and meet and monitor the child's behavior, temperament, needs, safety, etc. People like the guardian ad litum, a behaviorist, caseworker, PI, doctors. In Florida they have a program that is called 4C's and they will cover daycare, but if you only work part time they only cover a portion. There are certain daycares that they will cover, others they won't. But again that is in Florida. The children are put on medicare/caid (I never remember which one). In Florida there are certain doctors that take the medicare, some that won't it all depends.

But the kids are sweet and you are giving them a place to live and some love until they are able to go home. It is hard though, I am not gonna lie, my 3 year old is a 3 year old, and is very disobedient. I'll tell you this is the age when you know that there is a sin nature, it is like everything that you want them to do, they do the opposite! I think that Ally is in timeout more that the normal child. Very defiant little one! She is getting me ready for this lovely stage with my own baby, that I get to meet in 70 days!

Anyways I am a little emotional and frustrated, cause I am going to miss this little booger!

Did Jesus have a sense of humor?

Very interesting. Check this out
Funny or not?

Poor house

It finally happened. I realized that Erick and I are poor and it is about to get worse. What is scary though, is that we have 2 kids living with us and a baby coming in April. (yes we get 13$ a day for the foster babes, but diapers and clothes are not cheap or easy to stay away from). I am really praying that God will show Erick a great job, one perferably with health insurance, since what I am carrying will run out in May.

So I am also looking for another job. Something from the home would be great. SAHM would be perfect but doesn't pay too much. I am looking into tutoring as well as online teaching. I know that God has something better for me, something that I am going to be able to juggle and stay at home with the kids.

Could you pray that I would remain patient until He leads something to us. I am getting very nervous and I don't want money or the lack of money to take my eyes off of HIM! I know that I am beginning a new season in my life, one of mommyhood, and I want to enjoy it. Not fret continuously because of income.

Jen

Okay, here is a peaceful post

My favorite devotional is "Streams in the Desert" byt L.B. Cowman. Today was a great devotional and I wanted to share it.

"He will have to fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord." Psalms 112:7

Martin Luther's wife wrote "I would never have known the meaning of various psalms, come to appreciate certain difficulties, or known the inner workings of the soul; I would never had understood the practice of the Christian life and work, if God had never brought affliction into my life."

"Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; as as thy days, so shall they strength be." Deut. 33:25

Alexander Maclaren said "Each of us may be sure that if God sends us over rocky paths, He will provide us with sturdy shoes. He will never send us on any journey with equipping us well. "

How does this apply to you? I know that it calms my heart of worry of the unknown.

Blessings and Peace today my friends!

Jen

Where does the time go, and why can't I get anything done!?!

My house has been such a pig sty ever since these little girls have began residing with us! I can't vaccuum, definitely can't mop. All I have been getting done is swiffereing, but that only seems to move the dirt around, not get rid of it. I clean something up and turn around and a little hands moving it again! Ahh I need a day off just to clean with out the munchkins around!
But I guess that I am finally to the point of understanding how a SAHM is always saying, please excuse the mess. Because even if I wasn't working and had the kids at home, nothing would get done like I would want it. So I am feeling your frustration SAHMs and non SAHMs.

Jen

Being a sick mom is HARD

I think that when you are a sick mom, you are going to be sick for a while! For instance, I am not getting enough sleep. This is happening actually not because the girls keep waking me up, but because I can't stop coughing in bed. I even elevated my head. Next it is hard to be sick, because if you are sick the little ones will probably get sick, and when they are sick they pass it back to you. I wish I could keep a mask on my 2 year old, becuase she does not keep her germies to her self. She coughs, she sneezes, and she pulls her boogies out to share. Yuck! I think that I should lysol everything, but everytime I smell it, I think of hospitals. I need a good natural spray.
And lastly it is hard to be a sick mom, because you don't have time to go to the doctor, and nothing could be harder than taking 2 young kids in with you to see the doctor.

Anyways I took the afternoon off yesterday from work as well as left early today from school so I went to the doctor and I sleep for a good few hours today! I am praying I will be better in no time!

Jen

Time outs for a 2 1/2 year old are a joke

Not that I want to spank, but I just feel sometimes that a pat to the butt would do a better job keeping a little girl in bed, than threating her with a time out when she is already in bed. I think that this has been one of the most challenging parts of fostering. Ally gets put into time out, no joke, about 15x a day. She goes there cries, when we ask her that she needs to listen to mommy and daddy, she says owkay; in her cute little voice. Then not even a minute later she is looking back at us and will do the same bad behavior, like taking a toy from Lena, or standing in the chair. When I was a kid if my parents threatened me with "do you want a spanking!!!???!!!" I would immediately stop, think, and probably change my action. (I was actually a very strong willed child and would say yea spank me, but there would be times that my butt was raw and I would say no, not very often though)
Anyways all that to say, not that I want to hit or hurt the kids, but a spanking threat works better than a time out threat. They do not work on Ally. I try to use positive reinforcement, but there is a communication barrier, she is 2, and I can't really use the words that would work. I have learned that saying "No, Stop, and Bad girl" are only being repeated and that makes me not so happy. Any advice??
Also how do you make a 9 month stop biting?? She is leaving marks on me, almost drawing blood, no kidding! I have tried to put something in her mouth, I have even tapped her on her lips and said no no bad, but she smiles at me and tries to go after my finger.She is a little piranha

okay enough blabbing, I am thankful that I have these two little girls to try to raise and give a foundation to.
(By the way that is not my 2 year old, I am not allowed to post pictures) If you do want to see some pics, let me know and I will get you some pics.

Jen

J-Term, Environmental Science

 We are doing a J-term this year, which means two weeks are spent teaching one class. I am teaching an Environmental science class. I decided that the best way to do this class would be to go on a bunch of field trips. Florida has soo many places and animals. Some of the places we have gone are: Shark Valley, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Sanibel Beach, and Ding Darling. I used these trips to hone in on my photo taking skills. Here are some of my favorites. A couple should be opened to see the animals closer!

The best of both worlds, the worst of both worlds.

I tell you what, there are days that I go nuts having a 9 month old, but think I could have a 2 yr old and be happy. But then the next day could be vise versa, love the 9 month old and think that I was crazy getting the 2 yr old. Like today we went to Walmart to get another booster seat because we are tired of switching it for the 2 yr old. Well at this age everything is "MINE MINE MINE!" Oh it drives me insane! Then the 9 month old is just chillen taking everything in and loving it.
But then at dinner time the 2 yr old is eating like a champ! But the 9 month will throw her food all over the place and then cry because she is hungry.
And at night! Oh my the 2 yr old is great sleeps the majority of the night, but we still have yet (after a month and a half) of figuring out how to get the little 9 month to sleep through the night and not wake up screaming! She used to wake up happy in the morning, but know she freaks out! I don't know if this is normal for a foster child who is maybe going though late separation or if this is just normal for a baby? Well whatever it is I would love for it to come to an end.
And lastly my 2 yr old is having accident after accident at daycare. She is potty trained but I have no idea what is going on. The other day she had 5 accidents, she came home wearing someone elses clothes, and little boy underwear! She knows how to ask to go potty, I don't know if this is a lack of attention or what but it is really  worrying me, plus it is giving me an extra load of laundry a week. When I ask her why she didn't tell anyone, she says "'cause, i nono"

Update about the adoption. Things are still going well, we will hopefully be finding out what we are having in another week. Since the mom had a car accident she has not been able to get to the doctor, she has to wait until her mom can take her. Which I understand, but man do I want to know what we are getting in just a few more months! My friend Steph keeps reminding me that I could have 3 at the same time! Ahhh at this point in time I think I would go crazy, especially if a newborn is added to the mix. Talk about NO SLEEP!

I think that I have forgot to say that I love that Erick and I are doing this. I love the little girls that he has placed in our house at this time. They need extra love and care, they have been through so much, especially the 2 year old. Her old room used to be a closet, in a hotel. The bag of clothes she came with were mostly her moms clothes. So granted I think that Erick and I have gone alittle over board and have spoiled the little ones. I am sorry if I come off sounding like I am complaining. I mean I am, but I honestly didn't know that kids were THIS intense! (Go ahead my mommy friends laugh) but you didn't get your kids when they were already set in their ways and wo knows what their parents did or didn't do for them.
The baby was actually a drug baby and is still having withdrawls at night. She was on methadone until she was 5 months old :(
Anyhow thank you all for your prayers and for your support. Also remind me that there will be good normal nights and day. . . because there will be, right??

Jen

So what has been going on in the life of the Sessions you maybe asking yourself . . .

Well let me fill you all in. We are so so so busy! Ahh we have 2 little girls now. Our names for them are, Lena and Ally. We went from zero kids to a 9 month and a 2 yr old in one month! We are yet to be adjusted, but we are working on it. We are still working on our sleeping habits. We have one that sleeps great, Ally the 2 year old, only that she wakes up way too early, like 6am every morning. (Okay well she woke up at 8;30 today, which worried us, but she was in her room talking to her babydolls). But little Lena does not go to bed before 9, (last night it was 10:30 but we started at 8!) and she goes through this crazy fussy, screaming, and very over tired game which drives us crazy! She will then wake up at least once wanting a bottle. I have been trying to give her a bottle with oatmeal, even tried a protein powder to fill her belly, but nothing so far!
Anyways I seriously do not have time to get on line to write or even think about checking other blogs. But we are about to a more normal state, I start school on Monday and we will be having the girls in a preschool/daycare, and it will hopefully wear their little butts out! Alright well we will hopefully be going on a date to the movies tomorrow to see the long awaited Blindside (I hope it is still in theaters ;)

I can't post pictures, I am sorry! I wish I could, this thing would be covered with cutie little babes!

Peace out!
Jen (the ultimately tired momma)

Just wanted to share this picture

More pictures from our Thanksgiving

My sweet friend Valerie got the pictures from when I was in Georgia for Thanksgiving. I think that sometimes you need to have some great pictures taken of you and the one that you love. Sometimes it is easy to forget how cute your love can look!

Merry Christmas friends!

Baby Ticker

I decided to put up a baby ticker so we could keep track as to what the development of the baby is. Also so I can see where the birthmom is in her process. I can't believe that she is almost into her 3rd trimester! That makes it seem like the baby will be here in no time!

Wow Life has been busy!

Sorry I haven't had the chance to sit down and blog, because at the moment I am a mommy of two little ones! I have in my care a two year old little boy as well as an 8 month old little girl. I will post pictures but will not be able to talk a lot about this cuties. (Security reasons)
But I would have to say that the hardest part of my instant family has to be the lack of schedule. I don't know the napping schedule, or what they like to eat!
I am already attached to these little ones but need some sleep!

When I get another moment I will try to get some pictures up for you

Pictures of the Nativity family

Look at how precious "Baby Jesus" is. Isn't she a doll.
Here are my wonderful husband and my friend Jen. (Jesus is her little girl)
I can't wait until Erick is a dad. He is going to be wonderful and his children are going to love him!

Living Christmas Tree . . . Opening night is tomorrow!

This year Erick and I are doing the Living Christmas Tree again. I really enjoy being apart of this ministry. I never thought that I would be involved in a Christmas play. Granted I am an understudy this year filing in for an angel and maybe Mary. But my favorite part of the tree is the friends that I get to hang out with, as well as the new friends I meet! (Jen P ;) ) So I am sure that I will be posting some pictures soon with the fun times that I am having back stage. I can't wait to show you the Jesus that we have this year she is a precious little sweetheart. It is funny, though, how baby Jesus is normally played by a baby girl.

Night you all! Busy day tomorrow.

Jen

Valerie's Photo Shoot in Downtown Lawrenceville

I have an inner flower child!

I love the old buildings and the FALL! Georgia is really one of the most beautiful places on Earth
I love this picture! But I think that I am finally looking older . . . which I am not sure I like :(
This is my buddy from college Valerie . . . I love this crazy sister in Christ.
We thought that this was so interesting. We wanted to sign up for the snowflake tea as well!
We have been keeping in touch for the last 9 years!
Me and my love enjoying a little piece of fall.

Talked with the bitrhmom!

It was funny I felt like I was talking to myself, similar voice and same awkward laugh. Strange but I felt better knowing she was just as nervous as I was. But everything is still on schedule, which also makes me feel better!

Something cool though, she is going to get a 4-D ultrasound done and is going to have the sex of the baby found out for us, then she is going to have it taped and me and my family are going to have a little party and all find out together! I can't wait.

So all is good and we are so excited!!'

Jen

Hopefully tonight is the night!!

At 7pm there is a scheduled phone call to talk to the birthmom. I just hope that my larygitis/sniffling/coughing won't be a hindrance. I better start drinking my hot green tea to sooth out the vocal chords. But I am not nervous at the moment, I think that after 2 fake out calls I am ready to really talk to her tonight!

But to update a little bit, Erick and I returned from Georgia last night after spending a lovely week with our friends. It was perfect weather, the friends were amazing, and the scenery was oh so breath-taking. I will download some picures when I can find where my camera is hiding.

So be ready! My friend Valerie conducted a photo shoot and the pictures are sure to be awesome!

Jen
(sorry if this is all over the place Iam a little congested and medicated :) )

We met with the birthmom's mom

We still have not gotten the chance to communicate with the birthmom, but Erick and I were able to meet her mom. After the meeting we felt very reassured that God is still in control and that God still has a plan for us.


We also found out last night that God decided that it was time for out friend Avery to go home to be with Him. We are all shocked because he was a young guy. It really goes to show you that we do not know the time or day when we will leave this Earth. You also can not put off spending time with people you haven't seen in a long time. You don't want to have any regrets. So we need to live a life every day that shows Jesus Christ to the people we are around. Avery did that, when you were in his presence you left knowing that this man knows the Lord and loves the Lord. We need to uplift his family, his wife Joy. I am ready to see how the Lord works in all of this confusion. We don't know the Lords plan, but He has one.


Jen

So what happened?

The agency forgot to call us. I guess they had a high risk birthmom that they had to find new housing for, and the phone call was forgotten. So tonight... will be the call.
I am glad to know that it wasn't the birthmom calling off the call. So now I have to wait again until 9pm.

Gives some of you more time to lift us up in prayer.

Jennifer

Trying to pass some time

As I am writing this post I am awaiting a three way call from the adoption agency and the birth mom. It is thirty minutes past the time that they were supposed to call. I have never had butterflies like the ones that I have had all day. I keep thinking, whoa I am about to talk to the mom that is willing to give me her baby for the rest of my life. Isn't that unreal. Then I think "oh crap what am I going to say to her?" I mean I hate talking on the phone anyways. It just has always been something that I have never gotten into. I mean I hate to even order pizza.

How am I going to react? Is there going to be an overflow of emotions? Am I going to start crying? Is she going to start crying? If she did I would definitely lose it, I would probably try to talk her into keeping her baby just so that she wouldn't be sad anymore.

The thing is, if they don't call I can understand that. I won't be mad, I just really don't want to go through another day of waiting to talk to her, and imagining what to say to her, and what she is going to say to me.

Sooo... I was hoping that as I was typing this the phone would ring, I would freak out and then type phone is ringing and leave you hanging. But no the phone has not rang. So if you read this pray for a good conversation, and pray that I can make it through the plague of butterflies that entangle my intestines in anticipation!

Jen

I told the faculty today!

Mr Rider allowed me to share with the group how the Lord is working in my life (and Erick).

I told them that for the last 3 1/2 year I have been limiting God. Telling him that I only wanted my own biological child, and that nothing else would be good enough for me! Ahh what was I thinking having this mind set?? I was telling God "Please don't bless me in ways that are better than my own measly thoughts. Please God let me sit and wallow in my self pity and my self worthlessness, constantly getting frustrated with my own desires that I can not fulfill on my own."
I kick myself to have gone through this for soooo long. At least it feels like so long. I pray that you are not limiting God in some avenue in your life. What you need to do is start to pray, Lord you know better than me, so please do your thing!
It may not happen right away but BAM when it happens you know that it is only from God, because no one could work the plans and put the right people together at the same time, place, and all have the same mindset!

GOD IS AMAZING! Don't forget that!

Our birthmother letter

We were asked by our agency to write a letter to our birthmother and I thought that some of you would like to read it,


Dear Jennifer,

My husband Erick and I wanted to quickly introduce ourselves, and get a couple pictures out to you before we have our first phone call. First of all, we can not truly express how thankful we are for this gift you are giving to our family. Since we are going to have the opportunity to talk, I wanted to tell you our story as to how we got to this point in our lives. I'll start with when Erick and I got married. Erick and I met in a church college and career group, and when Erick said that he first saw me he knew that he wasn't going to like me because I was wearing an Ohio State shirt (ironic :)). But actually 3 months after we met we were engaged, and 7 months later we were married! Erick and I have been married for 3 1/2 years, and since day one we have been trying to get pregnant. I actually did not work our first year of marriage because I thought that we would be pregnant right away. We understand that God often times has different plans for our life, and He doesn't always share these plans with us.

Believing that God is in control and that He must have something better for us, we felt it was time that I looked for a job. He opened the door to a great Christian Academy where I became the main science teacher, and I have been doing this for the last 2 1/2 years. If it was not for this job I would not have met my friend Sue. Sue and I started a group at our church called "Holding onto HOPE." This is a group for women who are infertile, where they can come together and learn to trust in God during this situation instead of turning from Him. We know how easy it is to feel that God is not there during infertility, and times of discomfort. During the year that we have had this group we have had many ladies come in and give their testimony about how God either opened their womb, or they adopted through Foster care, or just adopted through an agency.

During this time Erick and I had begun our process of going to an infertility doctor and we found out that unless we have an IVF (in-vitro fertilization - baby made in the lab and then placed in my belly) we would never get pregnant on our own. Having trust in God was the only thing that did not send me into a depression after finding out about that news. Knowing that there are children in the world that are already born, or about to be born that need a mom or dad, we started to look into adoption. Our search stopped abruptly because the financial aspect of it would not work for us. We then, seeing the need and understanding that there are millions of children in the foster care system that need a mom or dad to love on them until their parents can amend some of the mistakes that they made, we decided to sign up for our licensees. We are actually still in the process in which we are waiting for them (because our government believes that since my husband and I are young (27), we will skip town with the babies we watch?? Isn't that crazy) but we have decided that until we are blessed with our adopted baby we wanted to still help with the foster program.

In the time that we have been going through the foster drama, as I think of it :) , my friend Sue had been telling some people in the church about our group and how God is working through different scenarios like the hope of adopting through foster care. This is the part that began to rock our world! Sue met this couple, whom she told about Erick and I, wanting to adopt through foster care, and they asked why we were not adopting through an agency. She explained that it was because of finances, and they said that that should not be a hinderance, and they offered to PAY for the entire adoption for us! Wow thank you GOD. So a couple days after Sue talked to this family, Sue told me that I needed to start looking for an agency. I started looking at agencies that had the word Hope in them, and came across Hope for Families. Two days later Lynn and Ken Brown were at our house doing the home-study! The next day we learned about you! God's hand has been guiding us to this moment since the beginning of time, and it blows my mind to see how His plan is nothing that we could have orchestrated. So literally with in a week, I found out about this family and their financial contribution, found Hope for families, and then found out about you! Isn't God awesome!

We feel that the timing can not be any better either, the baby will be born near the end of the school year, which I will be able to take the rest of it off, and then I will have the whole summer off as well! The joy of being a teacher!. We know that this has got to be one of the hardest decisions you have ever had to make. . . EVER! And we are not taking that lightly. We just wanted to give you the HOPE that your baby will be entering into a family that has been waiting and praying for a miracle to happen. Not to mention all of our parents who have been eagerly waiting for a grandchild. So thank you Jennifer, thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Know that we are praying for you and hope that your current situation with your job and health will improve. We are also lifting your children and family up in prayer as well. I enclosed some pictures so you can put a face with a name, and when we talk you will be able to put a face with a voice.

Lastly, I wanted to leave you with a verse, actually our Holding onto Hope verse. Psalms 71:14 "But as for me, I will hope continually, and will praise you more and more."

Sincerely,
Jennifer and Erick

Big decisions

Today I went and had a talk with my Head Administrator, and told him that Erick and I would not be able to go on the Senior trip to Greece and Turkey. I didn't put the dates of the trip together with the birth of the baby. The baby is due on the 1st of April, the trip starts on March 25 and goes through the 7th of April. I do not want to miss the birth of the baby or the first week of the baby! You can't get those days back, you know!
The birthmom's mother is in town, and I will be meeting with her in the next week or so.
I am still waiting to learn the sex of the baby!!! Ahh I can't wait.

Jen

Update

So the biological father has told his parents that they are putting the baby up for adoption, and they think that it is a good idea. I have been told that the grandparents can be one of the hardest obstacles when trying to adopt a baby. But both sets in this case are on board with the adoption, as well as the biological father! And the last thing that I heard was that the mother is still planning on the adoption. So things are slow but still working out . . . what should I expect God is in control. No worries. Keep praying for us!

Still waiting on some "bigger" news

What I have heard as of late, is that everything is still in the works. We are also still waiting to hear what the birth-mother is having. I am really praying for a girl... only because I have enough girl clothes to last until age 5, and I have just always wanted a girl first. But anyways just wanted to update with what I know.

Thank you all for your encouragement, God knows this is a time where a sweet positive word will go a long long way!

No news

I haven't heard any new news yet... so that is why I have not posted yet.


Well I actually did find out some news, but not about the adoption. I found out this week that I will more than likely be on birth control for the rest of my life, to suppress my endometrisis, and I was also told that the only way that I will be able to get pregnant, is if I have IVF done, which I won't. So I will never get pregnant.
My doctor actually said that I am doomed fertility wise. I don't like him right now.

Adoption update

We know that the birthmother's name is Jennifer, she is due the 1st of April. As far as I know she plans on having the baby down here. Wouldn't that be AMAZING! Pray that it would work out. This week she will be getting a call from my agency and they are going to "counsel her". Which is a great idea. They want to find out from her why she wants to do this and then she will begin to fill out the paperwork. So this time is a little bit uneasy because I am only hearing hearsay. BUT GOD IS AWESOME AND HE IS IN CONTROL!! And everything has already been so mind blowing, and I had nothing to do with it.

But when I find anything else out I will update again.

Jen

Wow God is at work and He is so faithful!

First of all we found an adoption agency! They are called Hope for Families. We found them last weekend, and they are a great Christian couple who are eager to help us. So we had our adoption homestudy this last week, and we are now approved to adopt. So the next step was to find a birthmother. Well the Lord totally took care of that, the birthmother pretty much found Erick and I! She knew my name before I knew hers. Her name is Jennifer...which is crazy! She is due in April. Which is going to be the perfect time, because I will then be able to have the whole summer to bond with the precious child that God has chosen for Erick and I. Wow blows my mind...All of this still has not sunk in.

Another blessing is that because the agency didn't have to find the birthmother for us, we are saving about 7500 dollars! God thank you!

Update on the foster care - we are still waiting for our paperwork to finish going through the state. I guess because we are younger than the normal foster parents, they are looking at every little detail... blahhh I am running out of patience with all of this. I just want to bring in a little baby to love and take care of for a while! So it may be a couple more weeks :(

I know have a lot of prayer requests:
-Pray that the birthmother will be healthy and that the baby will be safe in her womb.
-Pray that Erick and I will remember to daily be thankful for what the Lord is providing for us...there is a lot right now!
-Pray that our foster care papers will go through and that we will get our foster child soon to take care of.

Thank you friends,
Jen

The Journey Starts Now!

I am sure you all know the verse "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean no on your own understanding, but acknowledge Him in all your ways, and HE will direct your paths." This verse has been made real in my life this last week. As many of you know, Erick and I have been led to seek adoption through foster care. But the Lord has decided to open another door at this time and we feel that we are being led to begin the adoption process for a domestic adoption. We are still going to be foster parents.

The reason we didn't first seek the adoption route was because of financial reasons, but like I said God has opened a door and we are going to walk through it. We are going to be having our first homestudy this Wednesday! The agency that we are going with says that this process may take 6-10 months!

So I will fill you in on when we get our Foster babies, and as the process of adopting our own baby comes as well!

Pray for us,
Jen and Erick

Some pictures of our place

Kitchen

Living room

Dining/living and front door.

The rest of the rooms have not been "perfected" like the baby room won't be shown until after the shower and I have the necessities. And the bedrooms were a mess...so later on those as well.

:)

We are still waiting on our baby

We submitted our information into the government and now we are waiting.... who knows how long this will take. They think it will be two to three weeks until we get a call. I am excited though, we have the baby room ready. We have the big things, like our crib, stroller, pack and play, high chair, car seats. We only need the necessities, like bottles, diapers, crib sheets, etc. But my shower is this weekend and I can't wait to experience it! Thanks to all my friends who will be sharing this exciting time with me, and for those who can't make it, I love you too!

Jen

Creation/ Evolution

The first week of school I always teach the students about the on going debate of Creation and Evolution. I find this to be the most important part of the school year. What the students believe about the origin of the universe is going to determine what they believe the rest of their lives about: Abortion, cloning, homosexuality, euthanasia, divorce, and many other topics. These students are the next generation and they are going to be making choices that could effect me when I am an old lady living in a nursing home. If the students do not learn the truth now, they may never understand what is the Christian way to believe.

I pray that the Lord uses me to speak truth into the lives of these lucky students who get the chance to have me as their science teacher!

Finally I am up and going again!

After being in our new place for 2 weeks, comcast finally came out!
School starts on the 19th, I am not sure what to think of this year. I pray that it is awesome and that it is the best one yet!

Erick and I finished our Fostering classes! So hopefully in 6 weeks we will have a little one in our house! Ahh I am getting nervous though...I mean I am going to be a mom. Pray for us. Also here is a little disclaimer...we found out that we are not able to talk about or tell the child's story, they have confidentiality. So I will post pictures, but I don't think I can say anything about them :(

I will take some pictures of our new place as soon as we get everything in its place.

Jen

Erick and I are moved in, but I do not have internet at my place yet...once I do I will post some pictures and update better.

But somethings that have happened :(

My laptop that i have ALLLLLLL of my pictures on (like from college to now...like 8 years of pictures) decided to crash...hard. And no I did not have anything backed up, so anyone who has not backed up their computer...do it, you never know when this is going to happen.

Second, I start school on Monday and I am really sad. My summer was not as creative or exciting as I wanted it to be, and I turned out working on my masters the whole time...not how I anticipated my days.

Third, I only have 2 weeks left of my foster classes, we will hopefully get a baby in September sometime!! Can't wait to write and post pictures of these little ones.

Fourth, did I mention my summer is over :(

Jen

Babies R Us Registry and other thoughts

Erick and I registered at Babies R Us! It is so exciting...but it was hard for me.
I always imagined that I would be going into the store to register...pregnant. Well as many of you know that that is not how it is working out, but Erick and I are hoping to have a Foster baby in a month, and we don't have anything. So register we must and baby show we will!
But anyhow I felt like every other woman who was in there, that was pregnant, was looking at me and was probably thinking "Well she sure is jumping the gun...she isn't even showing!" or "Why is she registering she isn't pregnant!" Also I assumed that I would know what I was having and have a cute themed room all picked out, but instead I am registering for neutral gender and age.
Don't get me wrong I am so excited, but these were not my plans. I didn't plan on suffering from infertility, I didn't plan on any of this. Which makes this an adventure because I don't know what to expect! And God has opened up doors to friendships that I would have never of had unless I did go through this. Like Steph and Jeff our MAPP buddies, and Heather and Dario...they are foster parents we met, we bought a stroller and a crib from them off craigslist.
So many of you will be getting a shower invitation in the mail in a couple weeks...I feel weird about this as well, which I wrote about a few weeks ago. But this may be the only chance for me to have a shower and I want to experience it!

Thanks friends for being supportive through this exciting adventure Erick and I are embarking on!

Jen

Cool things are happening!

First of all Erick and I were shown an open door and it didn't close on us! Thank you Lord! We found a nice condo to rent! It allows dogs. It has plenty of space for a couple of Foster kids, and it is in perfect location for our jobs and family.
Second, I decided to look on Craigslist for different baby items and I have a cool story. As you know I found this Carseat on the side of the road, and now I am on a Chicco kick. So I was looking for a Chicco Stroller system and found a nice used one (stroller, carseat, and base) for 100 bucks! (Erin I would still LOVE to borrow your base) And the couple that I bought it from are ,get this, Foster parents! We are actually gonna meet for coffee sometime so we can hear the good, bad, and ugly side of Fostering. We are also getting a crib w/ mattress and a drawer underneath for 75, and possibly many other items, but his wife needs to get into town to let him know what he can sell.


So that is really cool! I am excited, the only bad thing is that I don't have anywhere to put this stuff until August 1. But hey I am ready to wait a couple more weeks.

Praise the Lord!
I can't wait to post pictures.

New background

I Feel that since school will be starting shortly...I actually make sure that I do not know how many days of freedom I have left...that would depress me. Anyways I wanted a new background, and depending on what gender child we could be fostering in less then 3 months :) I wanted to have a cute background to post pictures and things.

Jen

Closed doors or Open doors? Sad Job or happy Job?

There comes a time when we pray and we ask the Lord to show us His path by opening and closing doors. But sometimes it seems that all of the doors are open and we don't know which way to go, or it seems all the doors are closed and we are stuck in a hallway. I feel that way right now. It seems there are a ton of possibilities and then SLAM all the doors close. Then one seems to eek open again and SLAM. So I am so confused. I know that God has a purpose and place for me and Erick, but it just seems that everything lately doesn't want to work out, and it really is disheartening.
Examples being Erick's job...every other day seems like it is his last day...door getting ready to close, but then wait a huge sale was made we are okay for another couple days...then it gets super slow again, can't pay payroll...then another sale. It is an emotional roller coaster.
Our housing situation...find a great Short sale that should work out for us faster than normal....door opening...find out that the bank and the seller are still trying to figure something out...could take 3 months...door closing...Our friends find this cute nice condo for us to rent...door seems to open...everything seems great...until our friend tries to contact the other realtor and he is a nutcase and can't find the owners and says that we can have pets, but who really knows...door closing.
Sorry this is a depressing post, it is just that I was hoping to be settled before the school year started, and could have a place to take pictures of for my home study for my foster kids.

Lord...what are you trying to show/teach us? I hope it is not patience.

My friend Michele's little girl Nicole came to mind when I wrote this, a good while back she (nicole) was showing me the stories of Job, and she got really excited and did this cute sad face and showed me Job sad, but then you turn the page and Wham Happy Job and she gets all excited and even has a squeak in her voice when she says it. I feel like sad Jen right now and can't wait for the page in my life to turn so I can be happy Jen.

Thanks for reading.... :]

Trash Pickin'

The other day I was driving into my neighborhood, and noticed a lot of "trash" by this one neighbors house. Not really thinking much of it I kind of glanced over to see what was there. A second after I drove by I thought "Did I just see a carseat?" Well after a little internal war with myself I turned around and went back to the house. Now I was feeling very proud at the moment hoping no one would drive by seeing me take "trash" from the garbage. But after getting out of my car, and a quick glance at the carseat I grabbed it and threw it into my car. What a rush...I stole some "trash".
So I get home and do a little bit of research and find out that this carseat is worth 190$ brand new, it is in great shape (No unidentified stains or anything), and I would only need to buy a base for it. So here is the beginning of baby collection.

For my coupon clipping friends
Carseat= 190 (ok maybe 140 without base)
Trash pickin'= Free!!

Summers are fleeting

Especially when you are taking 4 graduate classes :( But two of them are done! Praise the Lord. I really anticipated having a great wonderful creative summer, but it has turned out being busy, boring, and not very eventful. (except for the multiple visits to see little Andrew Jack in the hospital, and my crazy Fostering classes!) Ahh I need to do something fun fun fun! Oh well I do have candle-light yoga to look forward to this Friday, and OH Yea Erick and I are going to see Cirque du soleil on Wednesday! I will try to get some picture of those events.

Pray for Erick and I we are actually in a deciding place right now. Erick is losing his job, and we don't know when the store will actually close. But he has an application into our church, and it would be great if he got that job. But we are also tettering between two places to live...we have an offer on a short sale...we are in the waiting process. But when Erick loses his job, we may not be able to get a loan. so then we are thinking about renting our place in Bonita again...we just don't know which way God is calling us. Please pray for us.

Thanks friends
Jen