Erick's Reason 5.5

As a dad, it is always your hope to wrestle, fight, and just plain rough house with your son. If you were to wrestle with your son, it is great to pile on him and get physical. But if you were to do this with your daughter, you would be in big trouble if you accidentally hurt her and made her cry. It would be even more devestating if she was to accidentally hurt you and make you cry. It is okay if the sons beat up their dad, but never if the daughters do so.

So needless to say, I am very excited to put the hurting on little Harrison. I am going to put him in the figure four, back breaker, ddt, tombstone pile driver, suplex, walls of Jericho, sharpshooter, sleeper, half-nelson, full-nelson, and the infamous off the top rope "Jimmy Snuka Frogsplash!"

Oh Yeah Brother! I smell what the Rock is cooken!!!!



P.S. This post was not approved by the owner of this blog (a.k.a. My lovely wife Jennifer).

#5 - Easier to occupy

Little boys I have heard are easier to occupy than little girls. You can send little boys outside in a sand pile and they will be happy for a while! Give them a truck with the sand pile and hours of fun! Give them a ball and a place to throw with their dad . . . hours! Give them a video game . . . weeks of occupation. (Even though - I will not allow my kids to spend hours playing video games!) Did you know that the average kid only is outside for 7 minutes a day! No wonder America has pasty chubby kids! I know it is easy to occupy kids now a days with all the technology they can ever dream of. But I would love it if my boy was involved in every sport there is known to man!

No pasty white fat kids! ;)
Jen

#4 Boys are less expensive

First of all weddings! The groom's family doesn't have as many obligations. Praise the Lord, I don't know about you, but I was so excited when the wedding planning was over. Too many details make me have a headache!

Toys- boys can go outside and play in the dirt or climb in the park. While girls need dolls and doll clothes and kitchens and barbies! Give a boy some blocks and he will play destroyer of the castle. I know there are girlies out there that are happy with boy toys, but you get my point.

CLOTHES- need I say more

Shoes - Ditto

Make-up, bras, medicures, pedicures . . . the list can go on and on.

The only exception I will make to boys being more expensive in, would be food. But then again I know some little girls who have a wooden leg.

#3 No Drama

I am thankful that I will not have a Drama queen. I know that if I had a daughter that she would take after me and be full of drama, every situation, every injury, every mood change. I am glad that I don't have to deal with that. So many of you with boys are probably saying "just wait" boys can be just as dramatic, but I mean there won't be the cattyness that accompanies girls. 

I am praying for a laid back, go with the flow, kind of son. Not lazy, but one who doesn't freak out when something doesn't go his way.

As I am writing these different attributes that I want for my son, I am getting really really exctied and now even more anxious to meet this child of God! I could cry!

Jen 

#2.5 Man of God

I had another idea today so let's count it as 2.5, which is "Raising up a man of God."

I have purposed in my heart that this little boy is going to be strong, respectful, loving, leader of a man. He will understand that the word of God is more important than the air he breathes.I will daily pray this over the child and I will make sure that this little man will hold the doors open for everybody that is behind him, always say please and thank you, always ask for permission instead of thinking forgiveness is okay later. I know that this is going to be a fight many days, but I know that God will reward my nagging, I mean my persistence.

I also will give my son the secrets to being a wonderful husband, and friend. I will expect that he has respect for anyone, no matter age, size, color, gender, it doesn't matter. Everyone is important in the eyes of God and he will respect that. I am going to help him become the Man that he has the potential to be. Because potential is unlimited when you are in the hands and will of God.

I pray that one day I will want to be like my son!

Okay Harrison enjoy this time before your mamma gets a hold of you!

Jen

#2 Carry on the family name

Reason #2, having a little boy means that the family name will be carried on. I think that Erick has a couple cousins that will carry on the name, but I know for sure that we will.

Sessions:

English (of Norman origin): habitational name from Soissons in northern France, named for the Gaulish tribe who once inhabited the area, and whose name is recorded in Latin documents in the form Suessiones, of uncertain derivation.

My list

Following in the footsteps of Carly, I wanted to do something that will challenge me and yet be totally a waste of time. But I will start small and we will see what happens, so for the next 5 days I want to think of positive reasons for God blessing me with a little boy.

But beforeI start with #1 I have to tell you about when I found out I was adopting a little boy.
Me and my family wanted to find out together what we were adopting, so we decided that we would have a little party and have the ultrasound tech write in a card what we were having. I have to tell you I would have put a million bucks down that it was a girl, so I was all set for Evelyn Grace. Erick and I sat down and began to open the card together. Well the card was blue and said "Peek-a-boo Buckaroo " , well I didn't think much of it. When we open the card there was an ultrasound picture and I swear my eyes whet blurry and cross-eyed, I was in shock, I mean why was it pointing to a penis? I was not expecting to see that, and then Erick read that it was a boy, then it hit me, and then I said "a boy?" It finally hit me and then I started to cry. Not because I was upset or sad, I was just completely surprised. I had my Mammaw and friend Steph on the phone and I am sure they thought I was having a melt down. But I think what happened was my heart leaped for joy! I am sure if Erick told the story it would be different.

But because I am still getting used to the fact that we will have a little Harrison Sessions, I wanted to make this list. Again  I am very excited and anxious to meet Harrison, but having barely any boy things and a million girl items I feel like I have to start from scratch, but anyways onto the list. 

#1- Modesty

Being a high school teacher, the thing that aggravates me the most is when I have to do dress code check. Thankfully with a little boy I won't have to worry about cleavage, mini skirts, or bikinis! If anything, I will have to make sure Harry changes his underwear and socks regularly.

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