"Dude, I got hit by a truck"

If you know Bobbie, it would make sense that that was one of the first coherent sentences she said to me yesterday.

Bobbie was doing so great today, it was SO good to see her. She was up out of bed for a short time, it is all so amazing.

She is so annoyed that she got hit by a truck...lots of people would have lots of different feelings about getting hit by a truck but Bobbie is just annoyed. :)

I got to talk to her lots and she hurts...a lot...but she is doing SOOO good compared to how she should be doing...it is amazing.

Every time I get news it is good news and it is such a relief. Such a relief.


Thank you for all the prayers...God has brought us all thru so much...He is right there with Bobbie.

where do you even start...

well, david is in bed, ben and kobe are out in the kitchen and I am tired.

ben just talked to dave...bobbie's last blood test came back and her hemglobin went back up which is GREAT news...it makes surgery less likely.

Ben, along with several of dave's friends have moved everything from the house in oxford to the new house. now we just have to put everything away.

today i sat with bobbie for a while by myself while she slept. i just kept staring at her nose and lips because they have the least trama to them that shows.

every prayer i have prayed has been answered:

on the way to the hospital:

"Lord, please don't take my sister" - He answered.

Since then we have prayed for continual healing...He is there with her...healing her.

She is in so much pain. When they did an ultra sound to check out some of her organs they saw the baby-flipping around, perfectly fine.

God is so good.

Bobbie is as stubborn as ever, trying to take as little pain medication as possible. I know it is just the mom in her wanting to protect her baby.

she told her nurse she is having a girl (still too early to confirm by ultra sound) and that she is going to name her Madalyn. It is going to be one of the most joyous occations of my life to see my sister give birth to her second child...two people we almost lost.

when bad things happen we only have one choice...to look for God...and trust me...HE has not left Bobbie's side since that Truck even touch their front yard.

Pray with us...Praise God for HIS protection...HE is so good.

Our last class...

...was this past Wednesday and I am excited to be done!

Mainly what we went over was money stuff.  What you get paid-what the state will send you for other things, ect.   Not very interesting, but good to know.

I ended up sitting next to a girl - probably pretty close in age to myself - who used to be a foster child.  I believe she actually turned 18 in foster care.  She was there with her past Foster Mom going thru the class so she too could become a foster parent.  I thought that was pretty neat.

Ideally you would have ALL your paper work done by the last class...we had ALMOST all of it done...we still have to go get those stupid TB tests...but it takes a while for the finger printing to come back so I think if we have our TB tests done in the next couple weeks we will not be holding anything up.

After they get our finger printing back they will schedule a home study date for us.  On Wednesday we were told that two weeks ago the state changed all the guide lines of what needs to be addressed during a home study so instead of having a 2 hour meeting our "teacher" informed us it will be more like a 4 hour meeting and instead of having to write up a 11 page home study (her job-not ours) it will be more like 22 pages.  Sounds like fun, huh?

So, that is where we are and what we have going on.  We are going to hurry up so the waiting can begin.

In the mean time I will be re painting a lot.  I have gotten it in my head that our master bedroom, the living room and the "new kid's" room all need to be re painted and re decorated.  I am pretty excited to start all of that. :)

I hope all of you have a great Labour Day Weekend, and we will see most of you soon!

Dakota...everybody loves a new baby!

Snyder Babies...

Caleb the day after he was born....

Dakota the day she was born....
You guys are pretty lucky :)

Kobe had a great day-I think he really liked it...we talked about it on the way home and when Kobe was walking in the house he told me "Thanks for letting me go to school, Mom" *smile*

He's the best :)

Kobe's 1st morning of 1st Grade!

Gosh, where did the summer go?  How is he already back in school...time just goes too quick.

Last night we started to get ready for bed (at least Kobe ready for bed) SUPER early!  I was doing videos so Ben made dinner, got Kobe's bath going, got all of Kobe's clothes ready for this morning, packed his lunch, read Kobe a story and put him to bed.  

Kobe slept pretty good and was up early enough to see Ben this morning.  He was in a good mood which made me happy!

And I just got a call that Amanda had the baby and she is healthy and everyone is doing good :)

7 lbs 11 oz. - 19 in. (I think) and looks like Amanda...how awesome...congrats you guys!

This story is too funny...

Go read it...click here

OK, enough about Foster Care!

This is a shot of Kobe last night at Meijer.  We stopped there after his School's open house.

The open house started at 7 pm and we got to see his 1st Grade Class Room and I got to meet his teacher Mrs. Carpenter (Alyssa, you probably worked with her too because she said she has been there 22 years :)).

Kobe is in class with lots of kids that were from his last class.  Isabella, Gabriella, Gabe, and some kids he knows from church that he has never been in class with before, Zach & Clayton.  Kobe's friend Griffin is in the other 1st grade class.  Kobe was kinda bummed out about that.  I think it will free him up to make other friends.  I also noticed his friend Aiden was not on either list.  Kobe was bummed about that too...but I might have just missed him on the other list.

Mrs. Carpenter seems general soft spoken but direct and no nonsense...we will see how things go as the year progresses.

I can't believe he starts on MONDAY!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Wouldn't you know it...

Thursday (yesterday) I took Kobe to the Water Pad to play.  We have SO enjoyed having it so close to our house.

Anyway, Kobe and I went in and I sat down on the far bench (that gets sprayed a little) and Kobe started playing.  Then this lady comes in with 4 kids.  One 13 year old mixed child, One 10 year old white chubby child, and 2 little chubby white kids.  I looked at them and something (well, not something, God) told me these were foster kids.  The lady, who is a mid 30's over weight blonde with only 5 lower teeth comes and sits next to me on the bench and the kids go off to play.  I am watching them trying to figure out if they were her kids or not.  The littlest one (the only girl) looked so much like her I thought that one had to be hers so maybe only the oldest two were either hers or foster kids.

I wanted to ask her SOOOO bad if they were adopted or foster kids or what the deal was but I just thought it would be rude.  We started chit chatting and I noticed that all of them had wrist bands on and asked about them.  She said they were here with a group for some type of activity.  

OK.  

I am still trying to think of questions to ask that will tell me if these kids are hers or not.  After quite a bit of chit chat I noticed on her shirt were pictures of the 2 youngest ones when they were little.  I asked "Who is on your shirt?" She answered, "Those two" pointing to the youngest two with her.  "They are foster kids".  "Oh, are you their foster Mom?"  I asked.  "To which she relies, "No, they are my kids.  They were in foster care for the past 16 months (all the kids) and I just got them back."  In side I am a little shocked.  God had told me they were foster kids, I just didn't realize that I was looking at Foster kids that had been reunited with their Mom.

So, I went on to tell her I have been taking classes to become a foster parent as well.  Then she tells me that the group they are with are all the foster families and staff of the agency that has been helping her and her kids.  Only God would have me come to the Water Pad right while this was going on.  

So I asked, "Is there any advice you could give me, like how I could help parents of kids that I am fostering?"  She didn't really say much on her end but she gestured to her 13 year old son and said "He could tell you better than I could."  So, I asked him.  Here is how he answered me.

"Treat all the kids in your house equally.  Don't make them sleep in an attic and don't only buy them one outfit of their own."

He went on to describe to me the room he stayed in while he was in foster care, how the foster parents favored certain children and also told me how bad he tried to be so he could get out of there.

Interesting, huh.

Then he went to play.  His Mom then told me "They took them away for the stupidest reason.  The electric got turned off.  And because of that the kept them for 16 months."

"I had to find a house and stuff and even after that I had to wait 3 more months to get them back."

Here I am staring into my future...in my head thinking "I still don't know if you should have them back."  Looking at the kids and seeing that, especially the older two, are glad to be back with Mom.

Then she told me that the foster parents that took care of the younger two were great people that still come and visit the kids and she likes them.

After I left the park I was still amazed at what an important meeting I had today that taught me so much.  It made me see things from the Bio Parent's side.  Not that I think I understand it, or that I think she has her act together, but it was just eye opening to SEE it.  HEAR it.  STARE at it.

You never know what you will be getting into when you start any journey through unknown territory...but you can see that you are on the right path when you look for God in it.

Tonight's class...

I guess I have to start with the waiting room.  When I got to the agency the waiting room was empty.  I wasn't that early so i was a little weirded out.  But, shortly after I got there it filled up.  First, there was Foster Mom #1 with 4 boys all around the age of 4 years old.  Then the mom of two of those boys showed up for her visit.  She was SO excited to see the boys and they were excited to see her.  

Then entered Foster Mom #2.  She had two boys and a girl with her.  (here are my guesses on ages) Boy #1 4-5 years old.  Girl 3 years old.  Boy #2 2 years old.  We will come back to them.

Then came in Foster Mom #3.  She is foster mom to the baby sister of the two boys that were already visiting with their mom.  She was probably around 6 mo. old.  Mom was very excited to see her too.  I am not good at guessing adult ages...but mom wasn't that old.  She brought snacks for her kids and chatted with them.  At one point she asked the oldest if they had seen their dad yet.  He shook his head no.

By now the Mom of Foster Mom #2's kids has come in.  She isn't as excited to see the kids as the first mom, but seems happy enough.  She is well dressed and has lots of tattoos.  Her little girl wants her to pick her up so she does.  She has a bag of toy for them to "take home with them".

The doors open for me to walk back to the classroom...   

We had a guest speaker tonight.  The man who spoke to us is the man that will call us if there is a child they want to see if we will take.

He was a man about my Dad's age (late 40's-early 50's).  He had on motorcycle boots and carried around a Harley Davison Mug of coffee.  He had a salt and pepper mullet and beard.  He looked comfortable...like his personality would be comfortable...and it was.

He was generally soft spoken and talked at a pace that let his words sink in.  

He was there to tell us how they are contacted by people about kids that may need foster homes, what happens when the children are taken, where they go that night, how the next day the kids, family, attorney and social worker all go to court, and then, they are brought to the agency to be met by him and us, the foster parent.

He explained how scary it is to be 4 years old and be taken in the middle of the evening by a person you don't know and a few police officers.  How you get into a police car and are taken to the house of someone you don't know and are shown where you are going to sleep and are expected to sleep there (24 hr. emergency foster care).  How when you get up in the morning you have to eat breakfast and then the lady that took you last night comes back to take you to the court house.  He described how, while at the court house, you will see mommy and daddy but you won't be able to sit with them, talk to them or hug them.  Then, after a long day at the court house, you will be put in a car and taken to another place you have never been before(the agency).  Then you will meet ANOTHER person (foster parent) you have never seen before and listen to them and another person (him) talk about lots of things you don't understand.  Then, you will have to get in the car with the foster parent and go to ANOTHER house you have never been to before... 

Half way thru I am about to cry.  When you really stop to think about what these kids are going thru just in the span of 24 hours you realize how scary this must be for them.  It's not fair, they didn't do anything wrong-but I am sure to them it feels like they are being punished.  Even when they are being saved.

Every time I think of it I pray that God will build a bond between me and what ever child comes into our home starting right now...before we even meet.  I ask God to do this because of how scared these kids are going to be.  Because of how not fair all of this is for them.  Because I want them to feel safe.  I ask God to build a bond between us that won't make any sense...because I know HE can.

____________________________________________________________________

I just wanted to take a minute and tell Brook thank you from kobe for the 2 additions to his Mac-Donald's Star Wars set.  Brook gave Kobe two new toys and I thought that was so sweet of her.  Thanks Brook!

And, thank you Cindy for watching Kobe during our classes.  You are ALWAYS there for us and we really appreciate it!

time goes really quick around here!

I have our third class this evening!

Ben got his finger printing done today!

Kobe starts school on Monday!  :(

Where is the summer going????

What happens when you ask God and He answers...

July 9, 2008

 

Yesterday Ally called me and asked if I wanted to go with her to the Family Alternatives Facility because she had to drop off some paper work.  Of course I answered YES!  So, today Kobe and I met Ally at her house (which is about 3 minutes from our house) and we went to Alternatives, which is right on the way to Kobe’s school from our house!  At least this will be semi convenient Praise the Lord!  I signed up for the classes today for Ben and I and what a huge blessing that was.  Their classes are on Wednesday nights for 4 weeks!  This will work out well with Ben’s schedule and give us a little extra family tine for the month of August.  How perfect.  Praise God for the help!

Today as we walked out of the building Kobe was walking out singing “We’re going to be Foster Parents – We’re going to be Foster Parents…”  So adorable J

 

They also gave me all the paper work that needs to be filled out so I could get a head start on it.  Awesome.  I am SO excited!!!!

 

 

 

 

July 14, 2008

 

Wow, I can’t believe it is already July 14, 2008.  We had Amanda’s 2^nd Baby Shower yesterday and that was fun.  There have been a couple things I have been thinking about lately when it comes to foster care-adoption vs having your own kids.

 

1.     I may never name another child again.

 

And that kinda stinks because I had come up with a girl’s name and a boy’s name I wanted to use.  I had decided I wanted 2 boys and a girl and that worked out so perfectly in my mind.  It will be interesting to see what happens J

 

2.    Baby Showers and foster care don’t go together.

 

 

You know, I NEVER had a baby shower.  Someone decided to come 3 weeks early and messed up those plans J

And as for foster care, it is so long before you know for sure if your child is really yours for good it would be weird (and heart breaking) to have a baby shower and then have the baby go home to someone else.

No more baby showers for me.

 

3.    One thing foster care and pregnancies do have in common is people saying rude things to you.

 

 

Amanda was telling me about the insensitive things people had said to her about her having kids so close together, how hard it would be, ect. And I can relate to that.  Recently I ran into an old friends parents and told them about our plans to Foster Parent and she went on to tell me about her friend’s horror story with Foster Parenting.  I know in a way they feel like they “need to worn me” but it puts me in a weird place because God told us to do it-so what choice do I have?  There is no reason to be worried or scared about it because it is what we are supposed to do.  End of story.

 

 

David's 1st Birthday Party!

Bobbie decided to have the theme be "Cars" because David likes anything with wheels.

Here is the cake I made him...

I had to get a cute shot of my Kobe...
Opening presents...

Kobe & Michael...they are such good buddies right now:)

Love his little face!
Yes, he played with a card most of the time Bobbie was opening presents.

David ACTUALLY looking at one of his gifts...
LOL



He wasn't too sure about this cake thing...
Isn't it cute?  I made it :)


Dad trying to help him get into it...

Eventually he did...


Ben took these pictures, all while David was trying to feed him the lovely cake :)

Little lips...

He had a really great Birthday party, got lots of new clothes, some toys and a great bike!

Happy 1st birthday David!