Down to Two

"The Girls" left today. It was going to happen but then extenuating circumstances caused it to happen faster. Please pray for us that some things that were said will all blow over and that we will come out on the side of victory.

Sometimes foster care is a great way to know you are being the Hands and Feet of Jesus, and other times it just stinks. But then, I guess Jesus found himself in some stinky situations too and still kept doing what He knew He had to do.

Her Legacy

The lovely lady in the lei is my Great Grandmother, Dorothy Frances Allison Marsh. The photo was taken at her 90th birthday party last year. I think she looks pretty amazing for turning 90. As a matter of fact, she was amazing!

Grandma passed away in May after a 3 1/2 week bout with pneumonia. She was sick for a little while, but because she's always been strong and stubborn she didn't tell anyone or go to the doctor. By the time my Aunts figured out something was up she had to be admitted to the ICU. She fought really hard, and we all prayed really hard (we weren't ready to let her go) but I guess Jesus was ready to have her home with Him. I wish He could have waited just a bit longer but I know she is so overjoyed to be in His presence.

My Great-Grandmother was what I like to call "feisty". She wasn't afraid to tell you the truth even if you might not want to hear it. Believe me, she told it to me a few times. When I was a kid I was afraid of her-I thought she was mean. What I didn't realize then, as the great granddaughter who lived three states away and only saw her in the summer, was that she knew what her rules were and made sure you knew them too. She also knew what the Bible said about how you should live and she wanted her children to follow that Way. She loved ALL her children and grandchildren tremendously! And that was a lot of love to be spread between 10 children, 20 grandchildren, 26 great grandchildren, and eventually 12 great-great grandchildren. As I grew into an adult I realized Grandma's love had been steady throughout the years and am now so glad I had the last few years to see her more often than just the summers.

Grandma's legacy began when she was about 6 years old. That was when she gave her life to Jesus and as far as I know she was faithful to Him for the next 85 years. WOW! To be able to say you served Jesus for 85 years! That blows my mind. She grew up and attended Belvoir Assembly of God in Marshal, VA right up until the end. One of the neatest things I learned from her as an adult is that the land for the church was given by her Father or Grandfather, I've forgotten which. That was so interesting to me because I've read so many pioneer story books and they usually always mention how Mr. So and So gave the land for the church to be built in the community. Now, I can say that I have that kind of story in my history.

I have fond memories of attending that church with her and my Grandmother, her daughter, when I was a little girl. Singing hymns from the old hymn books, having church suppers outside in the summer under the trees. I lost a ring outside that church as a young girl. I still wonder if it's there somewhere laying under that tree, just waiting for another little girl to find it some day. My children can even say that they attended the old Belvoir church with their Great Great Grandma. She was so proud to show them off-her first two Great Greats. Thinking of those days brings a smile to my face but a tear to my eyes.

There are so many more wonderful memories of Grandma that I have. Playing in her basement every summer with cousins, the socks/underwear that we always got at Christmas, then when I was older the towels she sewed for our kitchens. I cherish those towels now. She loved making ceramics, a hobby she picked up about 20 years ago and shared with my Grandmother, Frances. How she worked so hard all her life. First as a clerk at a downtown five and dime, then as a lunch lady at the local public schools. After retiring from each of those she then "took care of an old lady", her words! I loved how she considered this lady to be "old" when in actuality she was only about 10 years older than Grandma herself. She made the most wonderful fried apples, and no matter how I try I have never been able to duplicate them. She always made sure to make them when she knew I was coming.

She prayed relentlessly for her family to be saved and I know that I am an answer to those prayers. I am going to miss her so much. But, I am so proud to count myself as part of her legacy.

Things I Ponder: 6-14-09 Frank and the Crank

Some things I really have wondered about a couple nursery/silly rhymes ever since I was small. Yes, this is how my brain works from time to time. My husband thinks I might be slightly crazy, he might be slightly right.

• Why did poor Frank get a Spank just for turning a Crank?
• What did this Crank do?
• Why would he want to turn the crank in the first place?
• And why make up a rhyme about a guy named Frank who turned a Crank and got a Spank anyway?

Poor Frank!

My Goals

Courtney inspired me to post some goals that I'd like to see myself reach by the end of this year. I'm really good at having ideas or wanting to accomplish something but then it never actually happens. I just can't seem to find a way to make the idea become a concrete thing, or I get sidetracked by a hundred other things and never take the time to follow through. I really want to change that about myself and maybe listing some of them as goals right here for the world to see will hold me accountable.

Run a 5K

I have actually done this 3x's now and am planning to keep going. This has been a total God thing for me. I am learning so much about endurance, running the race and finishing strong even when I don't feel like I have anything left. It's actually scary sometimes, cause I just keep asking: "why am I learning this?" "Is there something coming that I'm gonna need this for?" I think it's tied into this whole adoption journey and the stress and bumps that come along with it.

I do want to get my time down though and that brings me to my next goal.

Run a 5k in 30 minutes or less.

My time in my first race was pretty good-mid 30's and since then it has been in the 40's. The second one was actually in the late 40's. ICK! I am hating that. I really want to get my time up to something more consistent and I want it to be less than 30. I have been at races and listened to the stats of others. There are women in their 40's who are getting better times than me! This makes me feel like a wimp, and I have never liked the idea that I am not as strong as someone else. Probably a complex developed from being small my whole life-but there it is, and I just don't think running three miles in over 40 minutes is very good. Gotta do better!

Eat healthy and more organic.

This is one that I share with Courtney. I really want us to eat better than we do and I would LOVE if we could eat organic. Unfortunately it is expensive to do this. We are on a tight food budget right now and eat a lot of pastas, chicken, and canned or frozen vegetables. We went to a friends house who had out some fresh fruit and the kids ate so much of it I was embarrassed. We just don't buy it much right now.

Another side to this is Rick's Rheumatoid Arthritis and Noah with his ADD. I firmly believe that a better diet and some natural products would be much more beneficial for both of them. I really want to find a way to improve our diets and see if it brings any benefit to them as well as the rest of us. We are growing some tomatoes, peppers, and herbs this year and maybe if they do well we will add more next year. It's a start.

Paint the boys' bedroom.

My poor boys have brown wood paneling in their bedroom and it is so dreary and dark in there. We have been talking about painting it since we moved in and have never done it. I am determined to finally get it done this summer. I just hate the thought of having to prime it and then paint it, plus I have never really painted a room in any house before so this is gonna be a new experience for me.

Any volunteers to come and help? Or ideas on how to streamline the process? :)

BRING LIZA HOME!

This is last on my list for now, but definitely not least in my mind. I want to get this little girl home with us as soon as possible. I am getting tired of waiting and hate to think of her there any extra days than she has to be. She is already 3 years old and every day brings her closer to 4 and the possibility of being transferred to an institution before we can get there for her. This is scary because once she's transferred there is no guarantee we will be able to adopt her from the institution. I really don't want to even think about that happening.

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There are probably more that I'm not thinking of now. Maybe this will be a continual list that I update from time to time.

Touched By Adoption

A bunch of the Reece's Rainbow ladies got together recently and ordered some cute silicon bracelets that say "Touched by Adoption". The plan is to sell them to raise money for our adoptions.



I'm selling mine for $3.50 each. Just donate through the paypal button on the sidebar. They come in Aqua, Blue, and Pink. The colors of Reece's Rainbow. They are sizes large and medium so let me know if you prefer one over the other.

This shows a little detail of the words in the bracelets. I am a horrible photographer and this was the best I could get :) Don't you love the little hand prints on the sides?

Things I Ponder: 6-2-09 Foster Care Issue

• if you're tired of being called a liar and a "stealer" why do you keep doing those things?
• why would you think it's ok to use the computer at someone else's house if you are not ALLOWED to use it? Period.
• why are you mad at the world when you are the one who got caught lying and stealing?!
• And how the heck do you discipline a kid for something this big when there's nothing left to take away from her?!!!
• And last, but not least! How did the SW who let these kids go back home to be messed up even worse four years ago become the SUPERVISOR of the whole department now??!!

Arrgggghhh!!!! Part of me is SO done with foster care right now. I am just ready to have my peaceful, quiet, much-less drama filled house back! We have learned a few things from the last nine months though.