Today was such a wonderful day and it added to my wonderful week. I enjoyed having Audrey here and I'm glad that Jenny and Freado got to have some time to themselves.

Some thoughts I had today were that I am so incredibly blessed. My family is healthy and happy and my church family is wonderful! I am surrounded by friends and I work with the best people in the business. I also thought about the fact that no matter how hard life gets God is always here. I want to always take the opportunities I am given and be an example for others.

I also thought about my trip to Florida that is coming up. I can hardly wait for my neice and nephew to see the white sand and the ocean! I'm probably more excited than they are. It's a huge bonus that my mom and my favorite aunt in the whole world are going too. I love my sister's kids so much! I feel like I waited so long to have what she had years ago with my children. I hope that I can be a good aunt and always be there for them.

Guess my brain was just full of happy thoughts today. Hope the trend continues. Night-night.

The night before senior year

Twas the night before school began

and all through the house

Not a creature was stirring

not even a mouse (I don't have mice)



The fees were all paid

and the clothing all bought

It wasn't his schedule against

which I fought



My baby was sleeping

with covers wrapped tight

Not even his head was

in view of my sight



As I stood by and watched

as he dreamed his sweet dreams

I wanted to hold him and

tell him just what today means



It's the very last first day

of his school-age career

I can not believe

how fast it appeared



How can I let go

when I've held on so long

I don't worry about him

It's myself that's not strong



I want him to find

all the best in the world

His hopes, his dreams,

even that cute little girl



Lord help me help him

when things just aren't right

But Lord help me also

to keep out of sight



For this is his year

he's almost a man

He no longer needs Momma

to hold onto his hand



I guess I'll be ready

for whatever he needs

But I won't be a pest...

Maybe, we'll see.

What I'm thinking about today

Yesterday we had our first Home Study for our Foster/Adopt program and it went well. Kevin and I have talked about lots of things during this process and the one thing that sticks out most may be the answer to a question we have been asked a lot. Why would we want to start over with kids when we are almost done? Jenny has her own life and John is a senior in high school now. Our answer is that we don't ever want to be "done". Whether it's helping children who have been thrown into a situation they didn't ask for, working towards Kevin's mission goal of an auto repair ministry, or whatever we feel that God wants us to do. We feel like there's so much we can still do. Bro. Frank taught an incredible class last Wednesday night that helped confirm the way we felt. We watched a video that asked "If you know you are going to die (and it will definitely happen to everyone) why would you live as if you weren't?" We feel that we need to do all we can until we can't anymore. I'll finish up with two of my favorite verses -
Proverbs 3:27 and Hebrews 13:2

Today I thought about things we talked about in Foster/Adopt training last night. The one thing that stuck out was that we are constantly asking our children to do something "right now". "Right now" could be in the middle of a video game (not knowing they are at their all-time highest level), in the middle of a phone conversation (could be, and probably is, important to them even if it's not to us), or just when they sat down to rest for a minute (yes, being a child is tiring too).

When we are asked to do one thing while we are in the process of doing another we sometimes get annoyed. We don't usually stop one task to tend to another unless it's an emergency. Funny how I sometimes thought what I asked my child to do was an "emergency" even though it wouldn't have been high on my to-do list. We wouldn't tell a co-worker to end a call "now" because we said so or stop typing a letter "now" because there is something more important we need them to do. I'm not saying I shouldn't have disciplined my children or required them to be respectful and attentive but I am saying that I should have given them the respect I usually saved for those outside my home.