The Sky is Blue

Much going on here, as usual.  Michael's team won their first football game of the season, yeah!  William and Jack are getting into a good groove with football, lost their first game, but all in all they both played well.  They start school next week.  The little guys are getting adjusted to their routine.  Nick is loving K (again), he is in just the right place.  He is with kids who are his own age this year, and he is much more ready for K, than he was last year.   Victor is adjusting too, he is struggling a bit with behavioral stuff, but he is just going through something all around home & school, he'll get there. I am feeling ready for all the fun of fall.  I have limited my volunteering a little to give me more time to work.  I love this season, I love football, and cold weather (ha! cooler anyway), I love the holidays. I am trying hard to not get too involved at school, because I was soooo stretched last year, I really need to kee...

Testing comes in many forms.  I felt pulled into my role as a foster parent.  Not by the agency, the child, or anyone else, but by my God.  He gave me a heart for lost ones.  He is now calling me to be stronger than I thought I could be.  To be patient when I want to scream.  To smile when I want to cry. To hug, when I want to lock myself in a room.  He is calling me to stretch, to learn, to humble myself.  He is teaching me to lean on him, to reach out to my sisters in Christ for support, but to stand in the gap for this child no matter how I am feeling. Who knew it would be so hard some days, not I.  I have always been kind of a cliff jumper, not literally, that idea scares me to death, but figuratively. Change is exciting not scary.  Some people call it fearlessness, some people call it stupidity.  I guess it depends on your perspective.  I can see merits to both sides of that argument. Some days I feel fearless, and lots ...

Being conservative in a super liberal place like LA, is no easy road to walk.  I think that many people who live in metropolitan areas like LA, really believe that they are walking with the enlightened majority.  Sadly, I think many really believe that if you are conservative, you are living in the dark ages, or you must harbor hate for those with different lifestyles. This is a big country, and while some speak louder than others, it doesn't make them "right".  There is  a whole lot of United States of America, between NYC and Los Angeles, and people do not all share the same outlook on life. My husband and I were talking the other day, about a time in America, when it was ok to have difference of opinion.  When voicing your thoughts on an issue, may have made for a heated dinner discussion, but it didn't turn in to the ugliness that it does today. The name calling, the fear, and hate, and pushing around, that happens today.... is counter productive, a...

I got baptized yesterday, in the icy Pacific Ocean!  It was incredible.  Baptism is one of those things that I have known for a long time that I "should" do.  I have been walking with the Lord for years now, and   the public declaration of baptism, is part of the walk.  Something in my spirit cringes at being told what to do.  I have always had a rebellious spirit.  I have always cringed at authority (unless of course they were in agreement with what I wanted to do anyway). This was the last thing, that I was holding on to.  I am so glad I did.  I didn't expect the elation and joy I felt.  It was an incredible surprise!  Having friends who love me, and support me in my walk every day, were there cheering for me, it was awesome.

I don't think we really understood what we were walking in to.  My heart was heavy, I was feeling led to act on behalf of this child.  His story is not a happy one, and his future held (and still holds) many unknowns.  Jeff and I felt that we had an opportunity to intercede for him.  Our hope was that we could give him safety, security, a loving family environment, and discipline, for what ever amount of time that God would allow. In the beginning we really thought that he would be joining our family forever, but we knew there was a chance that it wouldn't work out that way.  When you are dealing with the government, and the Social Welfare system, you are truly in a powerless position.  What is best for the child is determined by a set of guidelines, and the discernment of a judge, and unfortunately those guidelines are influenced by many factors that have very little to do with the child's best interest. I came into this Foster Parent role feeling very p...

Living in Southern California is not typical Americana.  In fact, it is a bubble unto itself.  My children don't really know much else. The older ones have memories of Maryland, and certainly enjoy visits back east, but for all intents and purposes, they are SoCal boys.  We have been here for 9 years now. I will never forget the first few months here.  The shock of all of the excess. Being a "housewife" in our neighborhood was the norm, not the exception.  Only "housewife" here meant, "I don't work, I lunch, and shop, and have someone to clean my house, and another person to take care of my kids".  Mom's wear designer clothing and high heels to volunteer at school.  The carpool drop off line is a parade of luxury cars.  I'll never forget seeing two kindergartners dropped off in a Rolls.  I wondered if she had Pop Tarts squashed between the cushions in the back seat like I did. I remember walking my kids to school, wearing running shoes,...

I guess I should start by saying, we never set out to be foster parents.  Jeff and I both have a heart for kids who were dealt a bad hand.  Kids who parents do not, or can not, love, provide, and keep them safe. We adopted our son Nicholas from the foster care system.  We got certified as a fost/adopt family, with the intention of adopting a child currently in the system. That was the plan, but "best laid plans....". Nicholas was a gift from heaven.  Just born, just two days old.  His birth mom relinquished her rights at the hospital.  While the legal process was long, Nicholas was ours from the very beginning. We have loved him, nurtured him, and disciplined him since his very first days. He has been a blessing to us since day one. We are foster parents again, and this time is much different.  Our newest little guy was in the system, in foster care.  We knew him through a friend.  My heart was drawn to this kid right away.  I felt co...

I sit here trying to nail down a post idea.  I haven't written for so long, I feel like, wow! There is a lot to catch up on.  One thing that hasn't changed is Rhodes House madness. We moved in June.  We were in a california, mid century rancher, with a HUGE pool, in Woodland Hills.  We all loved that house. It was great for entertaining, great location, lots of concrete for skateboarding, playing hockey, and bouncing balls.....but, we were leasing it, and we didn't want to buy it (it was old, and in desperate need of updates & repairs, and it was overpriced) so..... we decided to move. I didn't think we would ever find the right house.  Amazingly, as things often work, the perfect house for us was out there.  Well perfect, except for the fact that it has no pool.  It is much bigger, has amazing character, is new and lovely. I have always wanted a house that looked like a Mill or a barn, I just didn't expect to find it in the San Fernando Valley. ...

I haven't touched this blog in a really long time. I haven't had much time for reflection.  It has been a year of change, and lots of it.  I went back to work this year.  I hadn't worked professionally since before our move to Los Angeles.  I have tried many "business opportunities" along the way in an effort to earn an income, and be home and available to my family as much as possible....and well, let's just say, I had little success. What ever it is that makes a person successful running a home based business, I do not have "it". So, I went back to my "roots", Training development and facilitation. Having been out of the business for a decade, my development skills were very outdated.  Software changes, the way training is done has changed, much of it being converted to self paced or webinar models vs. traditional classroom training.  I couldn't even find my writing samples. For heaven's sake, they were on floppy disc's some...