Update with S!

^" Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." James 1:2-3

This is my verse for the year. I just knew that this year was going to be hard but amazing and this is the verse He gave me to get through it. I honestly think of it daily especially when issues come up with S which seems to be daily. Being a foster parent is not what I had planned at all and its harder than I ever imagined but if we don't fight for her then who will?


This might be a long one so just be prepared. I haven't written an update in a while so here it goes!

       So life with S in our life has been a change for sure. She is not officially here yet but we see her about every other day or so. We recently had a DNOW at our church and she got to be apart of it which was really good to kind of open her eyes to the Lord and that church isn't just a routine, being a follower of Christ is a daily opportunity and choice. Andy and I have recently just realized like oh my word she came from poverty basically raising her self on the streets to being in a pastor's home. Big, huge change and to be honest she's doing better than I could hope for.
     We also had S here for Easter which was really fun. I kind of joked about it because getting her Easter basket ready was not what I am use to. For example, we had hot chips, pickles, pickled sausage etc in our basket haha. Made me laugh for sure. I love that life is so crazy right now and so not what I had "planned"

School: So the plan for school is to home school as soon as we can. Right now the kids are picking on her and she isn't able to concentrate like she needs to. We had a meeting today which went well in that she is no longer being "targeted" for having discipline problems. She is also on track and her grades are good enough that she won't have to continue school through the summer. The plan is for her teacher to come to our home twice a week to test her, see her progress, and help in her problem areas while I keep her on track and do whatever I need to do throughout the week. We go to speak to her doctor tomorrow to try and get a letter recommending that she be home schooled to help with nutrition and rest as well as her emotional well being.
Prayers: That we can get her home school started as soon as possible even if she is not living here full time yet. Also that bullying at school will stop (this "momma" is tired of seeing her cry).

Baby: So we went to the doctor last week and she is measuring well but she is still not eating enough. She has lost 3 lbs since she got pregnant which we all know is not that great. We go again on May 2nd for her next check up and ultrasound so hopefully we will find out what she's having. Which she is very ready for. S is praying for a girl by the way! She is now almost 18 weeks so we're getting to the half way point.
Prayers: Weight gain. Calm nerves (she gets very nervous every time we have an appt. as every 13 year old would if they had to go to the "girl doctor")

Andy and I: Today we finally got our resource worker. This is a big deal in that we now have someone on our side that can help with the process and someone to talk to and ask questions. Finding a nice human being in the state to deal with has been an all around challenge so I am incredibly thankful that we have a very kind resource worker. This is a huge blessing since she is the one that we are depending on to get us to the next point. For those of you who don't know, she is the person that keeps us informed of what paperwork we need to get done, where classes will be, getting us prepped for our home study, and whatever else needs to be done and when. The list of papers we have to get together is CRAZY! As well as 27 hours of classes that are only available an hour away. But I know that we can do this and I trust that the Lord will get us through. Also I start back to school on May 6th so I need to get as much done in the next couple of weeks as I can just so I don't have to completely stress out when nursing school starts taking over my life.
Prayers: We need things to move as fast as possible! We need classes to be available. We need paperwork to go smoothly. We also need to have a great relationship and attitude with everyone involved. I have to admit I get frustrated when 5 different people from all over MS are calling asking a million questions.

As you can tell the Lord is going to have to provide many things in order for this to get done in a timely manner. I know HE can do all things I'm just going to need help remembering that and staying patient is hard for me. Prayer is honestly the most important thing that anyone can do to help us right now. I've had many people ask what we need and what we're gonna have to buy for the baby and the truth is that babies need lots of things! So when the time gets closer we will make a list of needs for baby s. I am going to take her soon to register for necessities at Target or Wal-mart and when I do then I'll post it and if you want to help in that way it would be amazing. The only thing we HAVE to have for the home study is a crib so if anybody has one of knows of someone getting rid of theirs please let me know. Other than that we just need prayers and lots of them! Thanks so much for the support and it means so much to hear kind words of encouragement because this is anything but easy but I know it's part of His plan which makes it worth it.

Kristin