Crazy Week

This has been a weird week. A weird month, really. So I'll tell it in pictures.

Here's a recent picture of Grace. She's still an amazing and cute baby. She's been having a rough time lately, which we thought was acid reflux, but it hasn't been getting much better on medication. Well, I might have found the culprit today. As unbelievable as this sounds, I think she's getting 2 bottom teeth. I'll feel stupid if I'm wrong, but I've showed 2 people and they both agree with me. One of my friends said she knew someone whose baby got teeth at 2 or 3 months old. I don't know if I'm just seeing things. How strange would that be to have a 2 month old with teeth?! No other news on her. She hasn't seen her mom in 2 weeks and no visits are scheduled yet.


This is Kilee. She is 13 months old and is the foster daughter of our friends Becca and Nick. They also had a baby girl who was 7 weeks old -- exactly a week older than Grace. On Sunday afternoon the baby died from SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). Until the State is finished with the investigation, they have to remove all other foster children. So we've been doing respite for Kilee this week. The investigation still isn't finished, so we'll have her at least through this weekend and maybe into next week. She's a really good baby and is adorable. Unfortunately, we have to be present when Nick and Becca spend time with her so it's taken some juggling of schedules. Really we've just been having them over at our house almost all day until they put Kilee down for bed at night. They've had her since she was 6 weeks old and are going to adopt her soon, so it's been very rough not to have her with them.


Yes, this is Jordyn. We have started communicating with his Grandma, who is open to us keeping a relationship with Jordyn. So we had a "date" today. I took him to story time at the library, lunch at McDonald's (and the playland of course!), and then played at our house in the afternoon. It was good to see him. He recognized us immediately. It really wasn't as difficult or sad as I thought it would be, until I had to drop him off to Grandma and he clung to me and cried when I handed him over. He also looks healthier and happier than I expected. Thank goodness. You can tell Grandma dotes on him.






This last picture is for Deb's sake. On the left is a picture of me as a baby and on the right is Deb's daughter, Avery. Uncanny resemblance, huh? I told Deb that she loves me so much she had a daughter who looks like me! :)

Well that's enough for now. Please keep our friends Nick & Becca in your prayers as they grieve the loss of their foster daughter.

Praises

My parents were in town this week at a local campground, so we got to spend a few days with them. It was very nice, and Grace was very spoiled by Grandma. I think she was held for 3 days straight! Nothing new on Grace right now. She had one more visit with mom, who was pretty frazzled because Grace has been very cranky and at time inconsolable due to acid reflux. She's now on medication and it should start to take effect in the next few days. I can't believe how big she is growing. She is 9 1/2 pounds now. She is also more alert and will focus on your face. She has smiled at me a few times now, which always makes my heart melt.

Now for the praise report . . . . God answered prayer for our family in a HUGE way this week. Miles started working for a friend from church who owns a hardwood flooring company. So even though I miss him now that he's gone all day, he is earning money. He was also hired by a company in Seattle to do some technical writing for them. He can do that from home, and will be starting within the next few weeks. But best of all, Miles sold 2 aerial photography systems this week!!! After almost 5 months of no activity in the business in terms of sales, he sold 2 on consecutive days. God is so amazing!! This money is going to carry us through for a few months, and it will also give Miles revenue to do more marketing for the business so he can in turn sell more systems. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us.

Oh, and on a totally unrelated note, will you all pray for the family of Christian recording artist Steven Curtis Chapman (SCC)? I don't know if you have heard about the tragedy that struck their family this week. Their youngest adopted daughter from China (Maria -- 5 years old) was run over in the driveway by one of the teenage Chapman boys and she died later that night. Go to www.stevencurtischapman.com to read the story, see a video of Maria, and to send a note of encouragement to the Chapman family. I feel like I know this family because SCC has been one of my favorite Christian artists since I was in high school. I've been to every single concert of his and his music has had a profound impact on my life. Just pray for this family, and that God will use this tragedy to heighten their ministry opportunities.

Mother's Day

Miles blessed me with one of the most amazing Mother's Day gifts ever. He framed pictures of our current and past foster children, and then wrote me one of the most beautiful letters ever. It is something I'll cherish for a long, long time. These pictures are going on the wall right away. He didn't get the chance to frame 2 of the kid's pictures -- Shawn (the 15 year old we had first), and baby girl Tyler. But we'll get those done ASAP and add them to the collection. What a wonderful way to be honored today, to see all of the children God has blessed us with these last 2 years.

Grace

Here are some recent pics of Grace. She'll be a month old on the 13th. So hard to believe we've already had her a month. She is still such a good baby. She likes to cuddle, and is having more "awake" time as the weeks go on.

She has had 2 visits with mom now. I actually sat in on the last visit to help mom with Grace. Mom is very low-functioning and can't be in the room alone with the baby. The social worker observed us via closed circuit television, and took notes for the court report. It was quite an interesting experience, to say the least. I kept asking mom questions about how she feels about being a mom, what her life is like, etc. She likes to talk about herself so she just rambled on and on, with no consideration for what is "acceptable" to share. I even heard about the night Grace was conceived. I told the social worker later that I think I threw up in my mouth. Just kidding. But it was a lot of information to learn about her on the first meeting! What was interesting is that as she talked, she almost forgot she was holding Grace, and a few times I thought she was going to drop her. Mom got so caught up in talking about herself that she would relax her arms until Grace would start moving or whining, and then she'd say, "Oh," as if she totally forgot she was holding the baby. The social worker said that everything about mom, how she responds to the baby, what is going on in her life (transient lifestyle, etc.) is the same as it was with her first 2 children. Hopefully it's just a matter of time before mom agrees to voluntarily terminate her rights, and then we just have to hope that no relative of mom's or dad's steps forward and wants to take the baby.

We do have some really good friends who have just learned that they will be able to adopt their foster son. They've had him since birth and he's 10 months old now. I am so thrilled for them and can't wait to celebrate at his adoption party this summer. I know that one day we'll be hosting adoption parties of our own. I'm just thankful that we have people to walk this journey with us.

Crazy Days

I am in the midst of a very crazy two weeks. Today is Monday, and I'm already looking forward to Friday -- not this coming one, the next one! Last Friday I spent the day driving to Lewiston (2 1/2 hours south of us) to meet with 2 of the boys whom I am trying to get adopted, and doing a photo shoot with them and a professional photographer. Saturday I spent the entire day at a training for Royal Family Kids Camp. This is the camp for local foster kids that Miles and I volunteer for every summer. I am a part of the training team, so I had to be there all day, and it was a LONG day. Grace had a very rough night that night. I think being out of the house all day Saturday, and then being passed around while I was busy leading the training was just too much for her. I was up with her from 12:30-3:30a.m. and then from 5-6:30a.m. That afternoon, Miles & I left for Southern Idaho, while my mother-in-law came to stay with Grace. I had to do some work down in So. Idaho, and Miles decided that he'd make it more bearable for me by driving along with me. What a wonderful husband!! So we left Sunday afternoon, drove for 8 hours, and got to our hotel at 11:00p.m. At 8:00a.m. this morning I was at one social worker's office, spent 2 hours quickly copying paperwork from the kid's file, and then back in the car for a 2 1/2 hour drive to the next social workers office where I did the same thing for another kid! I'm now sitting in a hotel room in Twin Falls, Idaho. We're getting up at 6:00a.m. to drive the 9 hours home. Thank goodness Miles is driving!

I have a busy work week ahead of me, and then next Tuesday morning I leave again to fly to Columbus, Ohio for an adoption conference. I get back late next Thursday night and am hoping by then I'll be all caught up with my work and can crash. Pray for endurance for me!

Please keep praying for work for Miles. He is still trying to launch his aerial photography business, and we are both hoping that very soon that will take off and he'll make some sales. In the meantime, he's looking for work locally. Still no luck. We know that God sees our need, and am trusting Him to provide. It's just hard to understand the timing sometimes.

Nothing much new with Grace. She'll be having weekly visits with her mom. She had one already, which I observed via closed circuit television. This week I'll actually be in the room during the visit, helping mom to take care of Grace. Mom is very low functioning and still needs help with how to hold a baby, how to meet her needs, etc. I don't have any new pictures to post because I'm on the road and don't have my card reader. But trust me . . . she grows cuter every day!!