Fostering - It's a Vivas Thing!

Dec 19 2012

The Little Things…

It’s the little things in life that create joy…

Like when my newly adopted son grabs my hand for the first time, just because he wants to hold my hand…and tells me that he is so glad to have me for his mom. (Yes, there were a few hidden tears…)

Like the joy on the Drama Queens face when I state, “Guess who’s coming to town this weekend?” …and she jumps for joy screaming, “Aunt Tracie, Aunt Tracie!”

Like, the fact that Aunt Tracie and I have such a close relationship, that I obviously have a “look” that spells out her name on my face that my kids instantly recognize as the “Tracie” look….

Like the Smart One helping his youngest newest siblings with their homework, just because…even though he’s been very sick for three days now.

Like…spending 5 minutes talking to my soon-to-be daughter…what a blessing she is!

It’s the little things that bring joy…

Anyone else feel that way?

Oct 25 2012

Adoption Day!

We waited a long time for today; it’s been over 10 long years. There were times when we gave up. And then, God would bring them back. There’s a story to tell…another day.

Today, I want to share with you the joy of our adoption.

They were so excited...waiting to go in and get this thing over with!

"Miss Cathy" our very dear friend...thank you for being there for us!

"MIss Elaina"....God placed you here for a reason...to bring these children home, no matter the cost to you. Forever we are grateful!

Taking pictures helped with the waiting!

Standing before the Judge, waiting to start! (Comical Moment: Our son lets the judge know he is matching today!)

Attorney explaining to the judge why we are asking to adopt...almost there!

This is the point where I lose it... Cathy and Elaina cry along with me!

Thank you, Cathy, for capturing the moment!

While they pick out gifts from the judge...

They're smiling...because "no one can ever take them away from us again"

It is with the deepest, heartfelt gratitude, that we thank you all. Thank you for praying for us throughout the years. For holding us when we lost them again and again…and for rejoicing with us each time we got them back. I can’t imagine going through this without our “prayer warriors.”

For those of you who share “Thankful Thursday” with me…this is mine! (I love you, sisters!)

It’s sinking in…it’s real…I guess we’d better figure out how to add some more rooms to this house!

Romans 12:12

Rejoice in Hope

Be Patient in Tribulation

Be Faithful in Prayer

May 03 2010

That Just Gets My Goat!

You know, I'd like to just say some people are plain…er…well….not very smart.

And mean!

And well….missing out.

We have a large family. We are BLESSED to have a large family. My hubby and I CHOSE to have a large family. We ENJOY having a multitude of kids!

For those of you who don't; that's OK. It's not my business how many children you want. Or have.

Frankly, I cannot count the times over the past several years where I have been in public with my children and some random stranger thinks it is OK to lecture me on my irresponsibilities to the world for having more children than the normal 2.5! (And can some please tell me how it is possible for one to have 2.5 children anyway?!)

I have gone into a grocery store where someone has literally counted my children as we walk in. Yes, counted them! I had five children at the time. I mean, yes, it is a large family, but so unbelievable? Really?

Another time while shopping at Costco, I had a man lecture me, IN FRONT OF MY CHILDREN, on how sorry he felt for me because I had too many children. Sir, I feel sorry for you; for you will never know the blessing you have missed out on by condemning those with children instead of enjoying the unconditional love that they might have for you.

I had another lady tell me one time (in yet another grocery store) that I had no business having so many children and using the government to pay my way through. Um…excuse me, but we weren't using the government for anything, thank you very much!

We have raised our children on our own with no assistance for 22 years, thank you very much! But today, oh my word!

Yes, economic times are tough. In addition to our own five children, we are once again also raising extras. That's what families do; we take care of one another. Yes, my husband lost his job 6 months ago. Yes, we lost our health insurance along with it. And yes, for the first time ever in our lives, we are receiving food stamps and medicaid. And I refuse to be embarrassed by it. And praise God for it, because with my recent health issues, I don't know how we would have ever paid the medical bills.

And so today, I had to spend some time in that wonderful place we all call *the Welfare Department.*

And spent more than enough time in line.

And as if that wasn't enough, I had to sit and listen to people complain about how *those* people continue to have children just so they can take advantage of the system. How *those* people shouldn't be allowed to have children any more. How *those* people should have to have their tubes tied. How *those* people need to stop watching so much porn. (I promise you, I did not make this one up!)

And then, I had to listen to how *responsible* they were; because they made sure to only have one child. And *they* are not taking advantage of the system, because after all, *they* only have one. And the other didn't have any. So, may I ask, why were you there this morning, if you only had to take care of yourself and no children? (Of course, I just kept my mouth shut, faced forward, and prayed they would stop talking soon.)

I needed an attitude adjustment before I ever went into that building today. It only got worse.

Because on top of that, I had a lady in front of me and a man behind me….fighting over why she is running from him and how he is so possessive and about the domestic violence between them, and the foul language, etc…and the security guard did nothing to stop this. All while listening to the others venting on why people shouldn't be allowed to have large families.

I wanted to shout, "Really? Do you think I enjoy coming to this place to be around this for hours?"

I was finally able to walk out of there. And do you know what?

I am able to come home to a houseful of people that love me. I can get a free hug whenever I ask for one. There is always someone to cuddle with. There is always someone with a smile on their face just for me. There is always someone who wants to show me something wonderful that they can do. There is always someone that would love to spend some quality one on one if I ask.

I am BLESSED, indeed! Blessed with many children who are a reflection of the deep love that my husband and I have for one another. More importantly, I am blessed by a God who chose me to be a mother to these beautiful children.

Don't feel sorry for me…I mean, look at that sidebar to the right? Those are BEAUTIFUL, AMAZING children (and young men!

Just call me, Blessed!

Apr 15 2010

Bummer

I finally get to be part of my first ever Blog Party…and life happens and prevents me from enjoying the last two days. Oh well.

The past two weeks have pretty much been spent living the life of a foster parent and all the hoopla that comes with it. I think I may have made it out alive…I'll let you know later.

Then, the Drama Queen and her cousin had a little..er..accident. He's twice her size. She's a tomboy. They don't always use their brains when they are together. Yesterday, they apparently decided to mash them together. Her face is swollen and bruised. Big nose; big lips…I hear his forehead has black marks on it. That's what happens when you charge at one another and then collide; his forehead/her face.

And yet…she still couldn't understand why her Aunt would not let her play with her cousin today. After all, she only wanted to play a board game with him. She didn't get her way.

So she spent the day in her pajamas instead. What a funny child.

I've decided tomorrow I'm going to take it easy. I'm going to be lazy and veg with the Drama Queen while everyone is at school. We'll curl up with the last book of Kaya and just relax.

Yeah, I know…I've only just started doing things…and I am exhausted! I think I forgot that I'm supposed to slowly start doing things. Yes…well….anyway….

Apr 21 2009

Appliances and Repairmen

Ever feel like you spend your entire life waiting on repairmen? If it's not one thing, it's another! When does it stop?

I sometimes think it'd be easier if we didn't have all of these things that keep us going everyday.

If I didn't have cable, we wouldn't need the cable guy. On the other hand, if that was the case, I'd also have no internet and I wouldn't be able to write this blog!

If I didn't have a refrigerator, I wouldn't need the refrigerator repair man. On the other hand, I wouldn't have cold food, either. Hmmm.

If I didn't have a washing machine, I wouldn't need the washer repair man, but then again, I wouldn't have clean clothes either…UNLESS…nah, too much trouble to load up laundry for eight people and take it the the laundry mat.

And so…we have to have those repairmen in our lives…which is probably the reason I have spent better than TWENTY HOURS of my time lately, waiting on them…and really..who has time to wait that long?

Take my washing machine. It was washing clothes just fine, but it kept refilling with water. I'm pretty sure that isn't supposed to happen. So I call the friendly Sear's 800 number…and I fight my way through their automatic answering machine thing because heaven forbid you'd actually get a real person on the line to help you…but that's another blog for another day.

So I work my way through, get a four hour window wait…and wait. The repair guy finally shows up, an hour after he was supposed to even be there, and *fixes* the machine. How, you ask? Well, because apparently a sock, caught in the flap of the front loader, makes the machine take water back in. Now, I think I'm a pretty smart woman, but that sure seemed kind of off to me.However, the repair man is convinced that this is the problem, so he heads off to his repairman land and I have a temporary fix.

Nope…because the next time I go to wash the clothes, the machine is full of water again. I drain, I pretend to ignore it and I continue on. But then, I realize it isnt' going to go away, and I am…and the thought of coming home to a washing machine full of stinky water doesn't settle with me. So…I do the whole hour on the phone trying to get a repair man out to my house again thing.

This time the nice repair man says it's the water pump..and he plays with it and leaves. Ok.

So can someone please tell me why the washing machine is able to pump the water out of the machine, but not keep it out? I mean, it SEEMS like a pretty simple thing, but I guess I'm too simple. So when the machine fills up with water again, I get to make yet another phone call.

This time, I wait my four hours..and then some…and then some…and no one shows up. OK then. So, I get to make another phone call. Hmmm…they'll send out someone more responsible. So I wait another four hours…and this repairman is probably really not wanting to deal with me at this point…so he just replaces the water pump and calls it fixed. I do point out that the pump seems to be working, it's only later that the water comes back in, but he's the repair man who knows what he is doing, right?

Until the water comes back into the washing machine again…this time with an error added to it. Now it won't even spin out the water anymore AND the water continues to come back in. So, we call the repair man again. He comes out and I'm not home, so my dear hubby gets to deal with him. Turns out there are three little socks in the flap again…so he states that is the problem, declares it fixed, and heads home. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, please tell me that didn't just happen!

Sure enough, the next day, the washer is full of water yet again. So, I call the friendly Sears man once again and try once again, to explain the problem and beg him to send someone out who can fix this once and for all. He promises to send someone out on Wednesday, between 8 and noon. Ok then…on Wednesday I wait…all day…and no one shows up. So I finally call them in the late afternoon, and they inform me that no, I had the wrong day. I don't THINK so! They say I'm supposed to have him on Saturday. I really don't think I'm crazy enough to mix up a Saturday and a Wednesday, especially when I'm just trying to wash my clothes!

So, Saturday the supposed good repairman shows up. I explain to him that I really don't think it's the socks, I don't think it's the pump and yet I get faulty errors and the water comes back in. He says he knows exactly what's wrong and will have it fixed in a jiffy. It's the valve system. It needs to be replaced. He says there was never anything wrong with the pump. (In the meantime, the icemaker in the freezer decides not to work anymore…I mean it makes ice, but you can't get it out. So I ask him if he can look at that, too, and he says that I have to call the Sears repair line and get a freezer guy out. Yeah, you've seen where that's gotten me!) So, he replaces the valve and goes back to repairman land.

On Tuesday, I come home to find a note on my door from Sears. It states that they are sorry to have missed me. Ok then…now they're coming out after the fact. On Wednesday, I get a call from the Sears repair phone and am informed that I missed my appointment. No, I don't think so. They tell me that my dear hubby has called them for an icemaker repair. Nope…that didn't happen either. We've both sworn off ever calling them again. We finally figure out that the nice repairman on Saturday must have put in an order for us after he left..only no one told us. 🙂 So, we reschedule the repair service for the icemaker today. (That's be Tuesday, almost a week later…cause they are busy afterall.)

And then….on Saturday, I'm informed that the washing machine is full of water again…and it isn't draining again…and it has an error again. No way, no how..I"m not making that phone call again! I really loathe calling that automatic Sears repair line trying to get a real person who can help you in person.

But this morning….I can't even get it to wash a load. The error starts right away. So now it's dead. And you can't turn it off, either..it's alive…and dead. You have to completely unplug it. So I make that dreaded phone call again…because at this point, I have to do laundry, I really don't have a choice anymore. And I go through the automatic phone repair thingy not understanding anything I say until it finally gives up and transfers me to a real human being. And she was actually a real human being. So I apologize up front and ask her to forgive me for sounding desparate and frustrated, but in fact, I am deparate and frustrated and all I really want to be able to do is some laundry.

She then states that the soonest appointment is Friday afternoon. But Ma'm, I can't be here on Friday, you see, because I have to be at the hospital all day for my little one's surgery. Ok, then, how about Saturday. Well you see, ma'm, I also can't be there on Saturday, because I have this training that I have to do; it's required by law, and so I just can't skip it. Well then, how about we make it for Monday afternoon. Well ma'm, that really isn't going to work for me either, you see, because I really need to do laundry before then.

She finally asks what will work for me. Really? You're asking me what works for me? Well, see, today would work out great since I already have to be here to get the refrigerator fixed. As a matter of fact, I think it'd be great if the repair man that is already going to be here could fix the washing machine, too. She replies that would be nice, unfortunately, he's not allowed to fix the washing machine. Ok then….well, how about tomorrow if they can't do today? That would work out great for me, you see, because I'll have someone here who can probably help during that four hours that I have to wait for the next repair man.

She says it's not possible. I proceed to beg…I mean really beg. I beg so much, I ask her if she could just get a supervisor and beg him like I'm begging her. She put me on hold…for quite a while…but when she came back, she said that they agreed to send someone out if I could be home between the hours of such and such tomorrow. Yes ma'm, I will be there, if you promise to send someone who will actually fix the washer!

Shortly after, the Mr. Repairman for the freezer shows up. He takes a look, and then states he's confused, because his notes state that the freezer is completely broken and won't freeze. Nope..but if that's what it takes to get a repair man out here, then I'll go with it…but in the meantime, can you make my ice maker work…and by the way…do you fix washing machines, too?

Alas, he tells me he's actually the air conditioner repair man who just happens to be fixing the freezer today. He knows how to fix the washer, but he'll get fired if he touches it. I try to bribe him and tell him I won't tell anyone if he won't, but he can't do it. He does fix the ice maker though. That's great, except I can't wash my clothes with an ice maker.

For other Sear's Fiasco stories, read these:

Appliances and Repairmen

A New Day

Sear's Repairmen & Goldfish

Sear's Repairmen & Goldfish, Part 2

DMV

Sear's Part 3