Thankful

Thanksgiving 2011-

*  Our house had just been moved to it's new location and was sitting empty, still not hooked up to electricity or water.  We were living with my parents waiting for the chance to finish the repairs and move back in.
*  The kids ended up going with my mother to my aunt's house to eat, while Loren and I stayed to work on the house, getting the living room painted and some boxes unpacked.  We had a turkey sandwich for dinner.
*  We were waiting for our Travel Authorization to go to China and get Quinn, and we had no idea when that would be granted, so we were rushing to get moved into the house.

No chance to cook for my family, no chance to get out the Special Dishes, and no chance to repeat the traditions that I had been taught.  The whole day felt very incomplete.

We were in limbo.

Thanksgiving 2012-

So this year, I threw a traditional Thanksgiving for 11 people, with turkey AND ham, homebaked pies, and we used the Special Dishes. 

And after getting the house cleaned, kids bathed and dressed, food fixed and table set, I was more than just a little tired, but also I had a great feeling of accomplishment.  And of connection to my kids. 

Because years from now, they will reminisce about their childhoods, and remember how they felt on days like this.  And I want them to remember the feeling of family, of tradition, and of the love that went into putting on a feast like that. 

Missing all of our adult boys, but we still managed to fill a table :-)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Random hits and misses

This week has been full of admistrative paperwork and there are days when I think I need a secretary.  However, if the funds were there, ya all know that I would choose a cook over a secretary ANY DAY! ,  So until I win the lottery, I guess I'm stuck with my part time secretary job.

Having all sorts of fun deciphering insurance requirements for Quinn's surgery, and contacting Shriners to find out what preauthorizations and such are needed. The people at Shriners are so helpful and caring that I can't wait to meet them and just give them a big squeeze!  Nicest phone personalities on the planet.  I got all my questions answered for Quinn's upcoming appointment, and even a room on-site to rent while we are there.  Consider this a HIT.

 Then they called back to tell me that Quinn isn't scheduled for surgery yet (WHAT??) and that our upcoming appointment is only a pre-consultation.  (How many preconsulations do ya need?  Apparently, more than one. Can't wait to drive 6 hours one way just so another surgeon can look at the bump on Quinn's back.  I was told by Sanfords Spina Bifida team that this was for surgery because they did all the pre-op testing, not a consultation appointment.  Count this a MISS)

Finished painting the rental house (SWEET!) and now I wait for the Real Estate Genies to come and promote my house to the level of liveable and hopefully it will sell.  I have prayed to have this house off of my hands for so many years that I'm not real optimistic that this will happen soon.  So far, all the people that have either wanted to rent it or buy it haven't had the funds to even begin the process, which speaks volumes to the impossibility for many people to own their own house.  This old house is listed cheaper than most new cars, and yet, many people who are willing to live in an old house cannot afford to do even that.  So Genies- DO YOUR STUFF!  I'm calling this a HIT because I'm doing the happy dance to be done with paint stained hands.

Tanner's therapist called to let me know that he's not making any progress, so he's going to recommend halting therapy.  So far, in all the years that I've been trying to find "professionals" to help Tanner, I have rarely found any who have been very helpful. They "claim" to be trained to help people who have mental challenges, and yet, they call me because they can't get him to clean his room...or he won't sit still during work hours...or he is only working at 80% instead of 100%.  Seriously??  I thought all of these "professionals" were trained in understanding how people with autism and cognitive delays behave, and yet they keep calling his mommy because they can't get him to do it right?   I have been fighting for this kid for the last 22 years, and it looks as if I will have to continue to fight.  I am weary of this battle.  Miss.

Then to top off all this fun news, our CW calls and tells me that the States Attorney is going to let our foster children's mother have furloughs for visits with the kids, after having a No Contact motion in place for the last 6 months.  Great.  Bring on the crazy behaviors once the kids start these visits.  This is a big MISS.

So this was my week.  I don't intend to keep score, because I think I have more checks in the MISS column than I do in the HIT one.  Here's to next week and hoping that my Pollyanna personality will kick in, because then I can play the Happy Game and everything will be peachy.  :-)

Orphan Sunday Recap

I'm always amazed to watch God impress an idea on someone and see how that idea grows and stretches and is soon touching others in positive ways.

Last week it occured to me that Nov 4th was Orphan Sunday, and I remembered how last year I vowed to do something to recognize it.  Last year at this time, we were living with my parents because our house was being moved AND we were getting ready to head to China to meet Quinn. I just didn't have the time or resources to get anything prepared.  So I scrambled this week to get something ready to show our church family. 

Sunday we had worked it out with Pastor Steve that Loren would show a video that I found on YouTube to promote Orphan Sunday and I would say the Prayers that are listed on the Orphan Sunday website.  I also spent almost 4 hours (grin) making posters to put up in the narthex. (I gotta admit, that was just plain fun- I need to add more art opportunities in our homeschooling!)

Here is the video that we showed:

The video is powerful and I hope it made an impact on our congregation, but considering most of the folks there on Sunday were over 70 years old, I don't think it inspired anyone there to adopt.  However, I'm hoping that it made them aware of the orphan crisis and maybe they will support other families who do choose to adopt.  If nothing else, it makes them sensitive to the feelings of the children that we foster and adopt and bring into the church family.  

A second interesting thread in regards to this presentation- I called Pastor Mark in Irene to borrow their digital projector and had a lovely discussion explaining Orphan Sunday to him.  He is an awesome pastor with a real heart for children, and he was enthralled to learn about this promotion, and he confessed that he and his wife support a child through World Vision. 

Any-who, I found out that he ended up preaching on Orphan care on Sunday- something that he hadn't planned on doing!!  My good friend, Sara, also spoke to the congregation at that church about the importance of adoption, as she is adopted and is a firm supporter of adoption. She also found out that her other church preached on Orphan Sunday as well due to her influence, so that makes 3 church families that were touched by the message on Sunday. 

The word is getting out to the rural towns in this area, and even though we are small in numbers, I believe that together we will all make a difference in the lives of children.  I can't wait to see what God does with this, now that we have planted the seed in these three churches.  :-)