Life as Foster Parent

Baby E had trouble sleeping last night, so Holly stayed up to try and comfort her while I tried to sleep. When I awoke this morning, I found Holly and E. lying fast asleep on the floor in the baby room. E. was wrapped in her blanket and Holly was wrapped in her sleeping bag. I tried to get the camera before they woke up, but our meowing cats spoiled the moment before I could snap the shot.

When we signed up to be Foster Parents we knew it was going to be emotional, but you never really know anything until you have experienced it first hand. Well, we got our first dose of Foster Parenting today at 2:00 when DHS (Department of Human Services) called and said that the judge ordered DHS to return E. to her family. We had a doctors appointment scheduled for her at 2:30, so E's case worker met us at the clinic to pick her up. We fed her a bottle, gave her kisses, prayed for her and said our good byes. It is amazing how much love you can feel for a baby only after 24 hours.

Baby E.

God brought Baby E. into our lives today. She is a very sweet and beautiful baby and we feel very blessed to have her in our home. Because our blog is public, we will have to keep things pretty generic, but we look forward to sharing our foster parenting journey with you.

Finally Foster Parents

Yesterday we officially became certified as foster parents. We were made aware of this in two very real ways: we received a certificate in the mail, and we received a phone call from our caseworker asking us if we would be willing to take two little brothers (ages 1 and 7) who had been taken from their home that day due to extremely unsanitary living conditions. Robert received the call and left me a message while I was teaching. We waited for the next few hours to hear if we would really be bringing these two little boys into our home. At about 5:00 Robert received another phone call letting him know that a grandma had been found in a nearby county and had been approved to take the boys. So the call yesterday was a bit of a false alarm, but it was also a very real indicator that we may be welcoming children into our home at any moment. Please pray for the little boys who were removed from their home yesterday. And also, that God would help us prepare ourselves for the first child / children that we welcome into our home.

Fall is Here!

After a long, warm summer, Friday evening brought stormy gray skies and the wonderful smell of damp earth and rain. I absolutely love the fall, so the abrubt change was a delightful surprise. September, October, and November are my favorite months of the year; I love the coziness of the weather, the pumpkins, the way the world becomes a palette of hues of golds and reds, and how homes and stores begin to smell of cinnamon, apples, and spice. I love wearing skirts and tights, finally having a justifiable need for coffee or tea throughout the day, and a good reason to bake seasonal breads... and eat them. Oh, there is so much to love about fall!

Classes begin today. I have several first-year Spanish classes this term, and although I enjoy teaching the advanced grammar and linguistics of second-year Spanish, there are benefits to having trainable, malleable students who are new to foreign-language learning.

In addition to new classes, Robert and I are preparing our home and hearts for a very new life this year! Our caseworker has completed two of our three required homestudies, and we hope to have the final walk-through this week. Then, she has to write a report, have her supervisor authorize it, and we will be officially certified as foster parents. It could all happen as early as the end of September, so we could very likely have a child (or two) in our home by October. We now have two bedrooms prepared for little ones; a nursery for babies, and a bunk-room for older kids. We have decided to be open to taking children 8 and younger, although surprisingly, our caseworker told us they are having a difficult time finding homes for babies and young children right now (most likely due to families being unable to afford child care if both parents are working). So while we may end up with a couple of school-aged kids, it's also very likely we'll end up with a newborn or two. Please pray that we will make the transition into instant parenthood as gracefully as possible, and that whatever children are placed with us will adjust to our home, our schedules, and most importantly to living with a new family.

Ben and Mary

Me and Mary

Mary and Ben

Getting ready to ride the tube

Ben and Mary on the tube

Me and Mary on the boat

A funny picture of Ben, Mary, and my dad

Awww

A whole new meaning to "wind-blown"

Mary enjoying her favorite pale ale on tap at Deschutes Brewery

Ben's excited about beer!

The girls at Nancy P's Bakery

Ben, Mary, and Amber almost to the top of Smith Rock

Uncle Bob and Chase - in matching orange shirts:)

Holly and Jack

Trevor, Bethany and Jack at the summit

Mary on the way down

Monkey Face

Cooling off in the river

Ben and Mary came to visit for a few days and we tried to pack in as much Central Oregon fun as possible! They arrived Thursday evening - after hitting a piece of metal, getting a flat tire, and hanging out in the middle of nowhere for 2 hours waiting for a tow truck. On Friday we went to Lake Billy Chinook with my dad and he took us out on his new boat, Draggin' Flies. Dad pulled us on their "tube" behind the boat and did his best to fling us off. We each took a few rides and the final ride (Mary/me) was pretty intense! Dad pulled us for about 30 minutes (with Ben keeping a careful eye on us in case we flew off), and kept going faster and faster. By the end it was like trying to stay on a bucking bronco, but Mary and I held our own and never came off! Saturday we hiked Smith Rock (about 4.5 miles) with friends from church. It was a gorgeous day, although a little too hot and sunny at the beginning of the hike! I nearly fainted on the way up, but on the way down the backside of the mountain we were mostly in the shade and found a nice river to jump into to cool off. Sunday Ben and Mary joined us at church and Mary and I played a harmonica / violin duet. Our time with the Giudices is never long enough, but we sure enjoy our time with them and look forward to our next visit!