You Are Good

I think the words of this song say it all......

YOU ARE GOOD ~ Point of Grace

When the sun starts to rise and I open my eyes
You are good, so good
In the heat of the day with each stone that I lay
You are good, so good

With every breath I take in
I'll tell You I'm grateful again
When the moon rises high before each kiss goodnight
You are good

When the road starts to turn around each bend I've learned
You are good, so good
And when somebody's hand holds me up, helps me stand
You are so good

With every breath I take in
I'll tell You I'm grateful again
'Cause it's more than enough just to know I am loved
And you are good

So how can I thank You
And what can I bring
What can a poor man lay at the feet of a king
So I'll sing you a love song
It's all that I have
To tell You I'm grateful
For holding my life in Your hands

When it's dark and it's cold and I can't feel my soul
You are still good
When the world has gone gray and the rain's here to stay
You are still good

With every breath I take in
I'll tell you I'm grateful again
And the storm may swell even then it is well
You are good

So how can I thank You
And what can I bring
What can a poor man lay at the feet of a king
So I'll sing you a love song
It's all that I have
To tell You I'm grateful
For holding my life in Your hands

First Match

Michael & I finally received our first match this week. So many emotions ran through us when we received the email with all the details on the children. For privacy reasons, I won't divulge the particulars of the children's case, but it was heartbreaking to say the least. But here is a little I can share.

3 boys (yes, 3!) under the age of 3! 3 year old, 2 year old and 7 month old. Initially, I was thinking...ok....what's one more?!

Parental rights have NOT been terminated, which meant that there was still a legal risk. This could mean that one of the birth parents could receive the children back into their care and/or a family member could still come forward and want to raise the children in their home. If we were to take them into our home, we would be their foster parents with the HOPES that the parental rights would be terminated and the children could be adopted.

All 3 boys had severe abuse and subsequently, quite a few deep emotional, physical and some medical issues.

Based on these facts, we did not feel that this was the best match for us. Now...that was not immediately decided. Michael & I prayed about it, really seeking the Lord. While it wasn't ideal for us initially, we've remained open to what God would have us do. After much prayer, we felt strongly that these were not the children that we were supposed to call our own.

It was also not an easy decision. I distinctly remember some great advice that I received from a fellow foster care adoptive mom about 6 months ago. She said, if I could give you one piece of advice, outside of seeking God's will, remember your criteria, and stick to it, because you came up with that criteria when you were not emotionally involved. Once you read these kids' stories, all of a sudden you want to throw your criteria out the window, rescue each and every one of them, and most likely take on more than you felt you could handle. BOY WAS SHE RIGHT! Immediately my heart broke for these little boys. I wanted to rush to Dallas to get them and bring them home. Of course we'll take them! Of course, we can do this! Sure, it's more than what we can handle, but maybe that's just the way it's going to be...and so on. There is also this fear that if you say "no" that you'll get a big red "X" on your file or what if another child doesn't come along that fits our criteria. All of those feelings and emotions run through me. BUT GOD!

But God......oh how I can't imagine going through this without the Lord. We are so completely under His leading, His timing, His ways. There are huge issues and questions that have to be dealt with and answered when it comes to adoption, and especially that of foster care adoption with children older than a newborn. But God....knows how it will all work out and when it does, we will rejoice! We will rejoice knowing that He had all of our days ordained before we even knew what was going on. We will rejoice because we will have a testimony to share of how He worked in ways unimaginable.

It was hard to say no to the 3 little boys, but by saying no, we were trusting in God's YES! Walking by faith sure is hard....but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Bye Bye Gracie

Well, the challenge did not go as planned. Chopper just could not handle having Gracie (or any other dog for that matter) in the house. I guess since he's been the only one for 4 years, he just couldn't handle the stress. Chopper was very lethargic and almost paralyzed with fear. He refused to come out of his room, was always hiding and didn't even want to be around Michael (whom he loves). So, I had to make the dreaded call back to Penny and let her know that it just wasn't going to work out. I packed up Gracie's things and loaded her in the car. She is a perfect "car" dog....just laid there and looked at me.

I was very sad to see her go, as she definitely became more attached to me (and I, to her). I hated to give her back, as she was truly the sweetest pup I've ever been around. But in the end, it just wasn't going to work out. It's amazing how quickly you can become attached in such a short amount of time.

I hope that Gracie can find a new home soon. If any of you in the Houston area are looking for a GREAT dog, let me know and I'll put you in touch with Penny.

New Addition.....

and no...it's not what you think (I WISH!!!)

As they say, keep living while you're waiting...and that's what we're doing. As most of you know, we have a 4 yr. old lab mix, Chopper. Chopper is still very much "puppy" and has lots of energy (aka HYPER). We have been working with him and have debated on whether or not we should keep him. Now, before everyone starts bombarding this post with notes about "how dare you give away your dog, etc..." this is not the forum for it. The concern was whether or not the hyper-ness of the dog would cause issues with the kiddos when they come home. However, we did not want to let Choppper go. Everyone kept telling us that having a 2nd dog would help with calming Chopper down by giving him a playmate.

We have been looking for an older dog ~ I did NOT want to go through puppy-hood again. Been there...done that. Michael has always wanted a boxer. So on Sunday, I went to Craig's List to see what might be out there. 30 minutes later, we were driving across town to look at a dog that had been rescued and was at a local shelter. An hour later, Gracie was brought home!

Gracie is a brindle boxer mix ~ mixed with what...we're not sure. She is a year and half, completely housetrained/crate trained, healthy and up to date on everything. She has been in a foster home for 6 months (the owner of the shelter) and they were very sad to give Gracie up, but they can't keep every dog that comes their way.

Gracie is by far the sweetest and calmest dog I've ever met. She is a lover and always following me and sitting on my feet. She loves Chopper. Chopper is terrified of Gracie. It's kinda funny to watch the 2 of them. He has definitely calmed down already, but I think it's more fear than anything. Hopefully he'll get more used to her and be happy that we brought someone new on to his turf. I think it's a good testing for what's to come!

Here are a few pics. The last one is a common sight- the standoff between Gracie & Chopper. Gracie waiting for Chopper to play....Chopper waiting for Gracie to move so that he can run somewhere and hide.

Best gift ever.....

Michael surprised me at Christmas with a gift certificate to a day at the spa. I was excited about it but honestly, I didn't really know what to expect. I've had my share of pedicures and massages before, but have never been treated to "day" of it. After 3 cancellations, due to my illnesses, I decided to take a vacation day yesterday and go to the spa.

I arrive at the Hawaiian Day Spa and was greeted by the sweetest lady. I immediately felt important and valued. I was shown to my private bathroom, where I was provided a very plush robe and slippers and given a key to lock up my possessions. (What....4 hours without my cell phone?! How ever will I manage??? ~ just fine, thank you!) Here are some images to express what I was able to experience (and no...these are not of me or the spa that I visited but they accurately document the services provided)

The calming music played throughout the spa brought this picture to mind.....think that's relaxing enough?!

My massage room looked just like this....very calm, inviting and relaxing. I had the best 1 hour massage ever...and I'm more than certain I fell asleep more than once (oops!)

Off to my Vitamin C /Oxygen facial.... I have never had a facial before ~ it was awesome! I think I looked 10 years younger when I left that room (that's a good feeling since my birthday is just around the corner, and I will no longer be closer to 30 than 40!) Again, with most certainty, I nodded off at least once :)

Once my facial was completed, I was ushered off to my own personal lunch nook to enjoy one of the best club sandwiches I've ever eaten. So good in fact, that Michael & I re-visited the bakery/restaurant for lunch today.

After my wonderful lunch, I was whisked off to the pedicure/manicure arena, where I was blessed to have my cracked heels and feet rejuvenated and beautified and colored with my favorite OPI color....chick flick cherry. Now, seriously, doesn't that name just scream Court!?! Except for the hair wrap, this seriously could've been me......I'm in heaven.....

After my pedicure, I was offered Champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries....yum yum!

Then one last addition....a little waxing....man did my "crews" brows need help!

I couldn't believe how wonderful the spa day had been. I also didn't realize how stressed I've been feeling. I walked out of the spa, completely relaxed, rejuvenated and feeling great...I mean...really great! I immediately called Michael and couldn't stop talking about how wonderful it was, every little detail. You could just tell from my hi-speed motor-mouthing that I was in good spirits. It seriously was one of the best gifts I've ever received. I told Michael that future gift buying for me just became really simple.....a day at the Hawaiian Day Spa.

Thanks, Sweets, for the great day of pampering. You truly made it possible for me to feel like a queen in the midst of all that is going on. I love you!

p.s. And after the spa, I went to the hair salon for a cut and highlights....talk about BEAUTIFY ME day :) I'll have to post a picture of that later.

Virus/Spammers

I have been blogging for almost 2 years and have not encountered viruses or spammers....until my most recent post. Therefore, I have turned on the "administrator must approve comments before posting" and word verification for the moment. Hopefully this won't be for long. I hate to do this to my faithful readers and commenters, but I don't want my computer (or yours) to get infected with a virus.... because someone had too much time on their hands to be productive!

Now....off to the original post I had planned to blog about :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm the envy of the office.....the only one to receive something for Valentine's Day. My sweets really out-did himself this year with 3 dozen long stem roses and a box of chocolates! (even though the florist sent over a vase that could possibly hold 1 dozen roses) We'll just have to re-arrange them tonight when we get home.

We're going to the Steven Curtis Chapman concert tonight, as an early birthday gift from my mom and dad. I love SCC and have seen him in concert at least a dozen times through the years. I know tonight's concert will be great ~ especially with all the sweet songs he's written for his wife and kiddos!

Regardless of where you are or what your situation is today ~ always remember that you are loved! You are cherished! You are a treasure to God! You are unique! And there is no one who can take your special place here on earth. Love you all!

Yep....we're rescheduled....again....

That's right...another reschedule....to next Monday at 2pm. We have the day off for President's Day, so we'll meet with Robyn that afternoon.

And we wonder why it's taking so long? Oh well.....

Rescheduled....

Robyn called this morning and had to reschedule her visit for Monday evening at 5pm...thanks for your continued prayers as we take each day along our journey.

Thursday visit....

Robyn will be coming by our house tomorrow (Thursday) evening to visit with us for a while. I believe that it's just one of her "required" visits, as she has to book so many "face-to-face" visits with the 2 of us. Please pray that the visit goes well and that we get some sort of update.

We'll let you know how it goes tomorrow. Stay tuned :)

Sharing the love....

In the midst of waiting, a crib gets worked in and the stuffed animals get some lovin' from 3 of the sweetest girls :)