I'm Cleared!

It seems life has gone crazy lately...and I haven't even begun fostering yet! It all started about a week and a half ago. Since most of you already know the craziness that has been unfolding, I will not retell it all here.
I just want to thank all those who have been praying and ask for your continued prayers in those situations.

What I want to share, though, is this: in the midst of all that craziness I received a call from my new licensing worker. She informed me that my clearances (background check, etc) have passed and she was ready to schedule my Home Study! She spoke at a rate of a million miles per minute, but she seemed nice. By the end our phone call we had scheduled my Home Study for this Saturday, the 2nd.

I'm still not a 100% sure what to expect from this part of the process, but I pray that me, my home, and my pets all pass the test. I've lost all good time to prepare my house as I went home to be with family a week ago, was sick this entire past weekend, and well...now it is only a couple of days away. I would be panicking, but I just don't have the time or energy to do so. I'm going to have to clean what I can clean and leave the rest up to God!

I will be sure to update you after my Home Study on Saturday to let you know how it went. Until then, here are three directions where you can send your good thoughts and prayers:

1. Home Study: Although I don't really have time to panic, I'm still nervous. This is a huge part of the process of me becoming licensed. Pray that my licensing worker comes with a good dose of grace and that I can just be myself - not trying too hard to say or do the right thing. If this is indeed the path I'm supposed to be on, I trust God will take care of the details and it will all end up alright.
2. Child Care: I've mentioned the after-school program I'm hoping to use, but am still looking for other options for various situations. I've just begun researching individual child care providers a little over a week ago and seem to be lost in the process. Just not sure how to really find the best fit. Praying that I will receive some personal recommendation from those I know in the area and that I find the right person/people in time!
3. Me: Just that I can stay healthy, focused, and passionate.

Thanks!

A New Year's Update

Hello! Did everyone survive the holidays? Hope so! I started to type this blog last week, saying it was my first full week back to work, etc. Then, I got a kidney stone! Actually, I'm calling it a kidney "pebble." I've had a kidney stone before and this felt nothing like death at the end of the world! So, I'm still trying to catch up on life from the holidays, overtime at work, and being a bit ill. Sorry it has taken so long, I know many of you have been asking how things are going. Here is what has been happening.

The holidays were great, but fast this year. I wished you all a Merry Christmas before, so now I guess its time for a, albeit belated, Happy New Year! And what a NEW year it will be! New obviously being the key word here. It seems that everything will become new this year. A whole new life and way of doing things. Lots of firsts, changes, challenges, and hopefully joys as well. Come the end of March and I should be licensed to receive Foster Care placements. I’ll have a new routine, with new people, new responsibilities, new struggles, new fears, new joys, new fun, and new ways of doing just about everything.

I've had many people ask me, “So, are you excited, or nervous, or what?” My answer was “Yes!” I’m all of the above! I’m excited and scared to death at the same time. I know it will be hard. And not just the parenting part. There are so many rules and regulations to follow and someone always there looking over your shoulder to make sure you aren't screwing it up. On one hand that is scary and makes me uncomfortable in that I can't just parent and make the decisions that I feel are best. On the other hand, it might be good to have those guides and helps in my first attempt at parenting. I don't know. Hopefully it will be as painless as possible. But, back to the question. Yes, I am excited! Yes, I am nervous! Pretty much every emotion you can think of has come at some point. I just have to keep focused on why I'm doing this and trust that God will work out the details.

Another question I've gotten is, "So, where are you in the process?" Well, I'm in a waiting period right now. My application packet has been turned it, my initial meeting survived, fingerprints taken, and background check begun. Now, I sit and wait for training to begin. Had I done the mid-week training schedule, I would already be in training. I chose, however, to do the Saturday schedule and that will begin on February 9th. So, right now there isn't much for me to do...except pray. I've been doing a lot of that. I feel like God may be tiring of my "to-do" list, but I'm really going to need him to make this all workout.

So, that leads to the final topic - how you can pray. Here are things on my mind lately that might help you if you are praying for me.

1. Child Care! This is huge. Being a single-parent I'm going to need a lot of help! I've talked to a friend who has experience with the after-school program I was considering & says it is a great one. However, there are still a lot of other instances I will need child care. Please pray that I can find the right people to help fill this need.
2. Changes in Licensing Worker. I'm not sure the reasons why or what it means for me, but I have been assigned a new Licensing Worker. Please pray that she is kind, full of grace, and will be a great support to me during this part of the process.
3. "My" Child. I was considering a few days back how many people adopting wait for their child to be born. Me, I'm waiting for a child who already exists. And that child, if not in the system yet (or even if they are), may be in a really bad situation. It breaks my heart to imagine what they may be dealing with right now. I pray strength, hope, escape, and healing for them.
4. Me. Yeah, I've had a lot of up and down emotions lately about this and I just need to really get refocused and on-top of everything. The down time has had me mentally slacking off a bit on what still needs to be done before I get busy again with training, licensing, etc.
5. Home Study. This is to take place after my background check is complete, probably before I finish training. Its an in-depth interview and will make a big impact on how things move forward. Pray that I am able to just be me and that that is enough.

Ok, I think that is enough of an update for now. If you have any questions you are always welcomed to email me or message me on Facebook!