This may be the most difficult thing I have ever done!

When we last visited 4boydads home( where a great time was had by all) we discussed with those in attendance our plan to become foster parents. Everyone was very supportive of our plan and thought it was a great idea. Much to my sadness my plan hasn't been met with such enthusiasm by all those I am acquainted with. It's kind of hard to deal with those who tell you that your hearts desire to serve the Lord in the capacity that he has called you to work in, is basically stupid. I am fully confident, on most days, that this is the plan that the Lord has for my life right now and I am going to do my best no matter what others may have to say about it.

Anyway, that wasn't what I wanted to talk about, I just needed to rant a little.

What I was planning on discussing here is the fact that after many weeks of classes, over 8 hours of a home evaluation, and answering more questions about myself than I ever want to answer again, we finally got called to take in some children. I checked with our social worker a couple of weeks ago and she said it could be soon or it could take a few more weeks to finish all of our paperwork so we were very surprised when they called. The first set of children they called about we couldn't take because they were older than we felt comfortable with. I figured it would be a few more weeks before they called again. But no, it was the next day. They called and asked if we could take a 6 month old and a 2 1/2 year old. We said sure. I must aplogize to my husband because when they called we were on our way to his birthday dinner. It of course had to be postponed--but we will go out again someday. So, we now have 6 children for a little while. I can't give any details of their case and I have no idea how long we will have them but I can say things are going fairly well. We have had to make some adjustments to our schedule, but not anything different than we did for our kids when they were 2. The older child can talk fairly well and proceeded to tell us everything that happened on the big day. That has been the hardest part. Having to try to explain things I don't even understand to a two year old and help him and my kids figure all of this out. The first night was very emotional for all of us. Part of me wondered what I was thinking when I signed up for this. But somewhere deep inside I know that I am doing the right thing. The responses from others have been very interesting. If you think people stare at you a lot when you have 4 kids, you should see the looks we get taking all six of them to the store or McDonalds. Some people that we know are very interested in the whole process, feel sorry for the kids and want to help. Others walk by and don't even acknowledge that they are there. I makes me wonder how many times I have done that. But for the most part people have been very encouraging, which is nice because I am very easily discouraged.
We have had them a week and today took them for their first visit with their parents. That was interesting. We observed the visit for a little while from a different room, just wanting to see how they all responded to each other. Apparantly I have led a very sheltered life. My eyes are being opened to the world around me though and I am extremely grateful to the Lord for all that he has given me, my home, my family, and my friends.

The Lord is continuing to show me that no matter what others may say or how tired and discouraged I may feel, I am doing the right thing. He is providing for our needs. We needed to get a dresser and bunk beds and went into a little panic the first time they called us because we didn't have them yet. The next day when I went to work my friend asked me if I wanted her son's old bedroom furniture, which included bunk beds, mattresses, a dresser and a bedside table. Very nice furniture, and just in time. The kids didn't have very many clothes when they came to us , but by the next afternoon had been given enough for us to start with.

I don't know if any of this even made any sense, my brain is going 500 ways at once these days. I will try to post more often to keep you up to date with all the goings on. Please pray for us if you think about it.