A NEW CASE WORKER

I finally heard from the new case worker this week, in regards to my prior posts. I gave him a brief detail of what has happened so far and let him know a little about myself. He has been gone since the case was given to him and doesn't know anything about it. He did tell me just to be patient with the system and that he would call me as soon as he more information.

I have been so busy I haven't even had time to check on the kids, and I feel bad about that. I tried to call them once a few days ago and no one answered from either of the homes, so I just moved on. Hearing from the case worker made me feel a little better knowing someone was still paying attention to them and that he was taking me more serious than the temporary one, so it helped to remind me that God was still in control and would do things on his time.

They had ran my back ground check, and got all the information they needed, but funny thing is they hadn't been able to do my fingerprint check because they didn't have an address to reach me. I had faxed them my information 2 weeks ago from work, and they just contacted me 2 days ago to say they didn't have an address. If they had looked closely to my application they would have seen that I work in the "system" also and they could have easily gotten the information they needed. Leave it to the "system" to not figure that one out. Its almost as funny as having to have another background check and finger printing done when I work in the same system they do, except one is state and one is local. Why can't we all just work together and try to all get along. LOL LOL LOL!!!!

The case worker did seem to care about what would happen from here on out, and I was told by other's that he really cares about the children he works with, so hopefully this has a happier ending than the other options that I know are out there.

A TOUGH DAY

I had no idea how tough the next few days would be, but I would soon learn! You don't know how tough something like this can be on your emotions until you go through it.

I took time off Wednesday morning to appear at the court date for these children, knowing ahead of time that my appearance may not be needed. However, it didn't matter, these children needed someone to be present that was stable, and who knew and cared for them.

I was the first one there, and shortly afterward, the mother showed up. She was released Monday pending her next court date, and I had no idea how it would turn out there. Shortly after, the case worker brought in the kids. The oldest one kept to himself, because he knew the reality of the situation, and the younger ones cried and stuck close to mom. She of course acted as though nothing had even happened. She cried and tried to make the best of it, but I'm sure knowing I was there didn't help things. I could see through it all, and I know from her point of view, I was very much a threat to her world.

Sad to say, the system doesn't make any sense to me. The case worker spoke to mom a few days prior to this and mom told her she knew someone else who might be able to take in all the kids and keep them in one home. What I don't get is how a mother who can't take care of her own children gets the right to choose someone else to take care of them. Not family, just someone she knows who lives in her neighborhood.

I know that I'm not in control of what happens, I am dependent on God to make any moves He chooses to make, but it didn't make me any less angry at the system. Here I am, the only one sitting here with these kids inside Juvenile hall, and reality is, I mean nothing to the system. I'm just a person who cares, but that doesn't matter to anyone, except the kids, me and God.

I stayed the whole morning waiting for these kids to get through this part of the day. The mom had time with her lawyer, the kids had time with theirs and I waited patiently so these kids had someone sitting in the room with them at all times. I wanted so desperately to be any where but here, because that place is not friendly at all. Even the receptionist was mean to everyone.

At one point the case worker told me they were trying to place these kids with the person closest to their home because that is what the lawyer thought was best. I was told ahead of time that the case worker wasn't on my side or the kids and I got to see that first hand. I know the neighborhood they live in, God placed me there to live for a period of time, and most everyone living in that neighborhood is in the same boat, none of it good.

As we sat in court for all of maybe 3 minutes, the lawyers talked and the judge said it was best to place them closer to home so as not to disrupt their school functions. No one even asked me if I would make sure they would get back and forth to school. I live almost 25 miles from them, and whether they know it or not, if I needed to be up at 3 in the morning to make sure they got to school and kept up with their routine, I would do it. I care that much for these kids. Now its a waiting game to see what happens from here.

I stayed until the case worker walked these kids out the door before I went to work. When I got back a co-worker came up to me and asked me how it went and tears started to fall. I kept myself in check but it was so hard. These kids and their family don't understand how much it takes to do this, and I felt for them. I think everyone was worn out from all of this, and no one wanted me to talk about it any more. The sad fact though, is if you miss even a minute in something like this and your not doing everything you can to help, the system just pulls you in and pretty soon your just a name at some home where occasionally someone checks up to make sure the foster parents are still doing their job. I don't want these kids to end up that way.

Who knows if the mom will even do any time, even though the case warrents it. It could be that she is released, does some rehab, and the kids go right back into the routine they knew all along.

I did my best to put it aside after Wednesday. I tried to talk to the older sister who lives elsewhere, and she didn't respond, so I just figure at this point, its in God's hands and He will do what He know's is best for them. All I can do is pray that they end up in the hands of someone who cares!!

The one thing that allows me to just sit and wait is knowing God is in control. He will watch out for them wherever they go.

NO TIME continuation

Once I got that call Friday night, I spent the next 2 hours calling people I knew and trying to make contacts with anyone who could help me out. I was amazed at how much information I collected in those 2 hours. I even had contacts to reach the both sets of foster parents. I couldn'g go to sleep though after that, so I sent out a prayer request to anyone I knew who might respond. It was closer to 4 before I got to sleep. And of course, the sun came up and with that, I was awake again.

I went over to the home and tried to find out where the animals were and wether or not I could be of any help in taking care of them. After hours of searching for the dog who is part wild and a runner, I gave up, hot and tired, and moved on to do some personal work.

I knew a business close by who sells used furniture, so I thought I would check his shop to see if he had any pictures/frames for me to buy. I hit the jackpot when I went in there, and ended up with about 10 pictures to take home. Plus I sold a mirror next door in an antique shop and came out with a few extra dollars that would become a birthday gift for one of the kids in foster care. I love how God works.

I went back out one more time to try and find the dog and still nothing, so I called the foster parents and set up times to go see the kids. I didn't know how long the day would be, but I managed to get in time with both sets of the kids and made sure all was ok with everyone. The older one I spent a long period of time with, explaining to him what would happen and what he should expect, and allowed him to just understand the seriousness of the whole thing. He is in a home by himself and the younger ones in another, so the whole situation is very hard. It was close to 9 that night when I finally got home. Of course I still had stuff to do at my house, so it was late again before I got to sleep.

After church the next day, back to town I went. I spent the afternoon putting together Easter baskets for all of the kids and making sure the one who's birthday was coming up the next week had a gift and was acknowledged. Then I called up the families again, and delivered the first 2 baskets directly to the younger ones. They really enjoyed the gifts and the being noticed by someone they knew. The 3rd basket I left on the doorstep of the other family. I gave the older boy a Bible, because I knew he didn't have time to get his when they left the house. He told me later how grateful he was to get one from me. I knew how important it would be and was glad he was happy with it.

I still had to go pick up my son from the airport about 8 oclock that night, and we went back over once again to try and catch this wild dog. He was in the yard and I thought it would be easy to get him in my vehicle and keep going....Boy was I wrong. To put it mildy, I was all covered in mud and a half out later, had to let the dog go, because he gave me a warning bite, and I just gave up and let him lose. The dog won, and we left to go get groceries and go home. It was about 11 when we got there and I had to work in the morning. God has a sense of humor....that much I do know.

More of the story later....






Things have been extremely busy for me lately, in ways that I would never have thought of even 6 months ago....More so, I would never have been able to handle some of the things that have come up lately, had they happened 6 months ago. God has been stretching me in more ways than I can even comprehend lately, and had I not gone through all of my trials last year, I don't think I would have been prepared for the new challenges in my life.

My title of "No Time" seems very appropriate and ties in with my last post. I bought a new camera a few weeks ago, and have been anxiously waiting for it to get here. Finally after 3 days of trying, UPS was able to deliver it, after I signed a slip giving them permission to deliver it to my neighbors house. The thing is, I have this new camera and a box full of stuff to go with it, and I don't even have time to think about opening up the stuff to look at it, much less check out how things work. I thought last weekend that I would be able to go out and enjoy the sunny weather and take some photos with my other camera, however, God had different plans.

My son was gone on Spring break, and so far, I had not been able to enjoy even a moment of this time. I had been sick for half of the week, and very busy the other days that I had. Finally Friday came around and I was looking forward to going out Saturday to play in the sun, when I got an unexpected phone call that would change things for not only the weekend, but perhaps for an unexpected amount of time.

My son has a friend that I have been somewhat of a "surrogate/foster" parent to, for almost as many years as we have lived in Spokane. I care very deeply for him and as a mother would do anything to help him and his siblings. So when I picked up the phone and his voice was on there I knew there was something wrong. Immediately I went into "mother mode" once he told me that he and his siblings had been placed in the "foster care" system that morning.

There is nothing that will get your adrenaline pumping faster than when one of your kids are hurting, have been hurt by someone else, or are placed in some kind of danger. As a mother, I immediately started down a road to finding out how I could help these kids, especially knowing that there was no one else in the immediate position to help them.....

To be continued....later today or ?????

NO TIME

Things have been extremely busy for me lately, in ways that I would never have thought of even 6 months ago....More so, I would never have been able to handle some of the things that have come up lately, had they happened 6 months ago.

God has been stretching me in more ways than I can even comprehend lately, and had I not gone through all of my trials last year, I don't think I would have been prepared for the new challenges in my life.

My title of "No Time" seems very appropriate and ties in with my last post. I bought a new camera a few weeks ago, and have been anxiously waiting for it to get here. Finally after 3 days of trying, UPS was able to deliver it, after I signed a slip giving them permission to deliver it to my neighbors house. The thing is, I have this new camera and a box full of stuff to go with it, and I don't even have time to think about opening up the stuff to look at it, much less check out how things work.

I thought last weekend that I would be able to go out and enjoy the sunny weather and take some photos with my other camera, however, God had different plans.

My son was gone on Spring break, and so far, I had not been able to enjoy even a moment of this time. I had been sick for half of the week, and very busy the other days that I had. Finally Friday came around and I was looking forward to going out Saturday to play in the sun, when I got an unexpected phone call that would change things for not only the weekend, but perhaps for an unexpected amount of time.

My son has a friend that I have been somewhat of a "surrogate/foster" parent to, for almost as many years as we have lived in Spokane. I care very deeply for him and as a mother would do anything to help him and his siblings. So when I picked up the phone and his voice was on there I knew there was something wrong. Immediately I went into "mother mode" once he told me that he and his siblings had been placed in the "foster care" system that morning.

There is nothing that will get your adrenaline pumping faster than when one of your kids are hurting, have been hurt by someone else, or are placed in some kind of danger. As a mother, I immediately started down a road to finding out how I could help these kids, especially knowing that there was no one else in the immediate position to help them.....

To be continued....later today or ?????

A NEW CAMERA

I have waited a long time to purchase a new camera, and I finally saw one that fits my budget on E-Bay. I have never purchased anything online before, so that in itself was new for me. And to think that I would purchase my first camera on there, seems almost crazy. But once I saw it and checked it out on other sites, I decided this was a good place for me to start. I will be more excited once it get's delivered to my home and I can see for my self what I actually spent my money on. Being this was my first purchase online, its a little scary for me, and I hope my purchase lives up to my expectations.

The camera I got last year was a gift and I have enjoyed every minute of use with it, but ever since I got it, I have wanted to upgrade. I couldn't take the kind of pictures I really wanted to take, and I am hoping this new one will get me started in that direction. My next project is to find a zoom lenz for it. I have been looking for one already, but its hard to know which one to purchase, so I am taking my time in looking.

I couldn't get the photo to copy here so I am posting a link to the kind of camera I bought.

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=139&modelid=17316#ModelFeaturesAct

WITH SPRING, GOD BRINGS NEW LIFE

I have always enjoyed spring time, as new life breaks free from the frozen ground, new born animals are in the fields, and the colors are bright and fresh all around us. You can't miss the flowers blooming and the trees starting to bud new leaves, and the moods of the people around us start to change with the warm fresh air and sunshine that comes with the changing seasons.

This year seems to have brought to me a whole new outlook on spring. Before I enjoyed the changing seasons and couldn't wait for spring because I was tired of the cold, grey winters and I desperately wanted to get outside to do new things. But this year I am looking forward to spring for a whole new reason.....Photography!!

I had so much fun learning to use my digital camera last summer, and the photos I took as a beginner in this area were amazing. I have been waiting all winter for the season to be over with so I could get back outside to play with my camera. There are so many things I want to go see and I can't wait to see where God will lead me in regards to taking new pictures. I have never had something I enjoyed so much, and just the excitement of even thinking of doing it makes it harder to wait for spring to officially be here.

I recently put together my first layouts, and once I saw how well they turned out, I want to get some more done. The hard part is there is a lot of work involved in putting just a few layouts together. Even with technology, once you do the printing and adjusting and decide on the layout, find just the right frame and decide again if the layout will work, the time involved is tremendous. It took me almost a month to put together just a couple of displays, and I found out just how expensive it can get, so I don't know how soon it will happen.

I have been going to second hand stores and picking up frames that I think are in decent condition, since right now, I just want to put some together to show, not to sell. Once I see how that part goes, then I will pursue other directions, but for now, I am starting slow.

I have a store where I live that says I can put them up for display, and just put my business cards and an advertisement with them. The store is a furniture store and I think it will work out well for both of us, I just have to find the time and materials to put them together without spending alot of money to do so.

Once I saw the first few layouts, I started thinking of all the thousands of photos I have and just how many of them I could actually use. It's almost overwhelming to think about looking through all of them and then trying to decide on just a couple of them to put together.

It has given me more insight on what I might do this coming spring and summer though, because last year was just a trial period for me. Now I want to put more emphasis on what might really make a good picture for someone else to look at. There still is alot of trial in it, because I still don't know what that may include, but I have a better idea today than I did a year ago.

God has given us such a vast display of His handy work to enjoy, and how do you choose which part of that to share with others. I know what part excites me, and that is anything having to do with the country. I love the green trees, the mountains, the animals, the flowers, I could go on and on. There is so much beauty in this world to see that I often find myself not paying attention to what I am doing or where I am driving, because I am busy looking for that "next new thing" to take a picture of.

It's very distracting, but then it also causes me to stop and look at what God created with His hands for us to enjoy. The sad part is we as a whole are destroying it piece by piece and sometimes the beauty in front of us has to be viewed through all the stuff we've added to it, or through all that we've done to destroy it. It's hard to see it through the eyes of one who wants to only see the beauty....

Aside from my photograpy, God is also allowing this year to be a new season of change for me spiritually. God has taken all the hardships of the last year to mold me and change me, and I am now starting to see the fruit of His Labor in my life. I am seeing myself open up more and I believe that as I start to open up He is going to move me in places I would have never gone before. I'm excited about the changes I am already seeing in myself, and I look forward to what God has planned for me in this "New Season of Life".

MY FIRST DISPLAY