Lots of Stuff

There has been lots of "stuff" happening in the short time since I last updated. My TB test came back negative so that's good news! I attended First Aid and CPR training and passed my test. It really wasn't a very good class if you ask me. We only got to go through the entire round of CPR on a mannequin once... which I didn't feel was enough if you really need to use this at some point in your life. I have all three of my reference letters to turn in, and I have several babysitter forms from people to turn in. I still have more babysitter forms to get to people and I just found out that anyone who might teach one of my kids in Sunday School will have to fill out a babysitter form and get a TB test. That's a lot of people! I feel bad asking all of these people to do that, but I feel like I have to abide by the rules too, so I guess I'll be making an announcement at church Sunday. I guess the most disheartening thing has happened is that the county health inspector came out Tuesday to test the well water and check the septic tank. I won't get the results from the well water test for two weeks, but the septic tank did not pass inspection. Papaw built it himself and installed it and everything over 30 years ago which was before you had to have permits and all that jazz. So... I have to have an entire new septic system... lines and all! I honestly don't know how I'm going to afford that, but God has brought me this far through the process so I know that He will provide. It doesn't mean I'm not still discouraged because I am, but I don't know what else to do other than to turn it over to God. I just wish he'd let me in on the answer so I didn't worry and fret over it! I still feel like there are so many obstacles standing in the way of all of this.

I did have one other positive thing happen last week. I bought a crib! Since I'm going to have a wide age range of kiddos, I needed to have one just in case. I found it on Craigslist for $75 and it's in great shape. It also came with the mattress. Once the lady selling it found out I was fostering she threw in the bedding and bumper pads as well. It turns out that she and her husband are foster parents as well in Benton County! They have fostered 8 children and just adopted a sibling group of 3! 2 boys and a girl ages 3, 2 and 1! So... they are getting out of foster parenting since they have 3 toddlers and 3 older children at home. She was very sweet though and told me to call if I ever had questions or needed to talk to someone who's been through it before. It's amazing how God brings people across our paths! Well... I know this has been a long posting but there's been a lot going on lately. I'm going to wind this down for now and finish up my homework for tomorrow.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow I attend CPR and First Aid training so I can become certified by the American Heart Association. That's one thing to cross off of my still large list of things to do. I went and had my physical today and a TB test. I'll get the results of the TB test on Monday. My cholesterol was a little high, and my white blood cell count was slightly elevated, but other than that my physical turned out ok. So there's two more things to mark off my list. The Health Department will be out Tuesday to test the well water and inspect the septic tank. It's all starting to come together... slowly but surely! There still seems like a long list of stuff to do, but at least I'm starting to get to mark some stuff off! I'm a little behind in my homework so I need to get that caught up this week. I have to do session 6 on discipline. We have to write down how we were disciplined when we were younger and tell if it worked or didn't work. How we felt about it then, how we feel about it now. Then session 7 is a three page questionnaire about how you see a child fitting into your family. Foster only, adopt only or foster to adopt. I'm doing foster to adopt. I really hope that some day I can adopt and have my own family. I've always wanted to be a mom and they don't have to have my blood running through their veins to be my kids! Well... guess I'll sign off for now. Have a great weekend!

Homework

Well... tomorrow is foster parenting class again and I haven't done my homework yet. Nothing like waiting until the last minute! I have class every Thursday from 6 to 9pm. And two Satruday classes... we did two lessons this past Saturday and I think a week from this coming Saturday we will be doing our CPR and First Aid certifications. There is so much I still have to do in order to get ready for my home visit. I bought two new smoke detectors last week and just need to get them put up. I still need to get a fire extinguisher for the kitchen, a lock box for my medication and a lock box for any kitchen knives. And there's more, but I won't bore you with all of the details. I will mention two major things that I need, so please keep an eye out for these and if you find any at a decent price, just holler at me! I need a twin size bed (mattress and box springs) with the metal frame, and I need a crib and crib mattress. I have decided to take in a wide age range of children, so I might get an infant or a teenager at some point and time and I want to be prepared.

There are a lot of things that they require of you before you can foster a child. You know sometimes you hear those horrible stories about foster kids being abused in their foster home and seeing all of the stuff that I've had to go through this far in order to be a foster parent, really makes me wonder how anybody could slip through the system and do that to a child. I think either, they had people lie for them or someone didn't do their job very well in checking these people out!

I guess I should get off of here and get started on my homework since I have two lessons worth to do! Please continue to pray as I travel down this path.

New Blog Topic

Well... I have redesigned my page, changed the title and am going to be posting about something that is very near and dear to my heart. Children. I am in the process of becoming a foster parent. I am currently taking my training classes. The class that I have this Thursday will mark the halfway point of my classes. I have to say, these classes are not easy. The very first class we had, I was so overwhelmed when I left, I wasn't sure if I was up for this or not. But I have continued the classes and am glad that I have. There are so many needs out there and if I can help even one child, then it will all be worth it. As I continue with my classes I will post more about what I'm learning. There are a lot of rules that you have to abide by as a foster parent. Sometimes I don't know how I'm going to remember them all! This blog is really just a quick introduction to let you know what I'm going to be posting about and to let you know that I need all of the prayers that I can get! I wanted to add a short clip so that you can see the main reason I have chosen to do this.

Honestly

Honestly... life kinda sucks sometimes. I'm sure most of you know that already, but I needed to get it out of my system. So, there you have it, Tanya's great musings about life.

Heaven

Well... Most of you probably know that Mamaw is in Heaven now. Hanging out with Jesus and Papaw and her parents and brothers and sisters too. I'm all cried out right now. This past week has been a roller coaster ride, and I'm ready to get off of it! I'm am past the point of being tired. I don't even know what you'd call it. I had to fly back a day early because Mamaw got very sick and the doctors didn't think she'd make it through the night. Well... she fooled them. I went straight to the hospital from the airport, got there about 10pm. I got to say hi to her before she went back to sleep. Mom and I stayed the night with Mamaw that night. And Wednesday, she was awake most of the day talking with us and even laughing with us. Then Thursday and Friday she really started going downhill. She passed away Friday night with us at her bedside holding her hands.

I'm going to miss her so much. I think I'm still a little numb. I just can't quite believe it. I'm just exhausted so I'm going to go ahead and sign off for tonight. Thank you so much for praying for my Mamaw. She's at peace now and is so happy. Please continue to pray for us, because we are going to have a hard time learning to live without her by our sides.

Random Stuff

I'm in snowy Cleveland tonight. It's actually kinda nice to be back traveling again. I'll be here until Wednesday, and then who knows when I'll be back after that. Work is a little slow right now, but hopefully things will pick up soon.
I spent the evening with Mamaw yesterday. I knew I wouldn't get to see her for a few days, so I wanted to spend as much time as possible with her. She seemed in better spirits. I talked to my mom after my flight landed to check on how Mamaw was doing today and if mom had talked to the doctor. Mamaw is severely malnourished. Based on some scale, he said that 3.2 is severely malnourished and Mamaw's is a 2.0. He said that if she pulls through this, she will have a very long road of recovery ahead of her. We're doing our best to get her to eat, but only wants to eat sweet stuff or only a few bites of this or that and then she says she's full. I honestly don't know if she's going to get better this time or not. God may take her home to be with Him. Only He knows when her time will come. All that I can do is turn her over to Him and pray that she does not suffer whether she gets better or she goes home to be with her Lord. If you think about it, when you say your prayers, please lift up one for my Mamaw.
I would also like to ask for your prayers as well. Honestly, this couldn't come at a worse time, but I feel very strongly that God has called me to do this and I am going to be obedient. I really feel that God is calling me to be a foster parent. This all came about after having coffee with my pastor. I have always felt that my calling in life had something to do with children. I have just had it in my head that I was supposed to have children or maybe adopt children. Well... at 36, it was becoming plain to me that God didn't want me to have biological children, which is fine by me, I'm all for adoption. But my pastor asked me if I'd ever thought about being a foster parent. I honestly never had. He mentioned that with Tiffany and Jasmin living with me, and me helping out with Jasmin as much as I have. Maybe I'd make a good foster parent. I decided I would really have to think and pray about that. Well I did. And it was as though a light bulb finally went on... This is what He wants me to do. I have actually helped 3 friends raise their children, one of them was sick for several months after her daughter was born, so her daughter lived with me until she was able to care for her again. Another was going through marital problems, and I would watch her son a lot for her while she tried to get things straightened out at home and then helping with Jasmin. So, I feel like God has been grooming me to be a foster parent for a while now and I didn't even know it! I know that it will all work out. The timing, and everything else will fall into place. I have a home visit from DHS scheduled for March 17th. They will come and do a home inspection and let me know if there is anything house wise that I need to do. They will also give me "the big application" to fill out that will be sent to Little Rock. It will be put into the database and it will be what will match a potential foster child with me. I really liked what they had to say when I went to the initial inquiry meeting. They don't find matches for their foster parents. They find matching foster parents for their kids.
Well... there you have it. A lot going on right now, but nothing too tough for God. I will keep you posted on everything.

Thanks for all of the prayers for my grandma. I really appreciate them!

Mamaw

Well Mamaw had her surgery and it has been all downhill from there. She hasn't been able to walk on her own since her surgery. Her doctor admitted her to the Rehab facility here in town. She has been there since a week after her surgery. It's so hard seeing her there. They have a machine that they use to help her stand and try to walk again. Monday, she passed out as they were standing her up. The next day, she did it again and they said that her blood pressure was 112/27! Once they sat her down it started to come back up again. The doctor decided to send her to the ER for some tests. So far all they've found is that she was dehydrated and her kidney's were having poor output, probably from the dehydration. So they admitted her and are still doing some testing. They are still trying to figure out why she went into surgery able to walk and function on her own and came out of surgery, not able to take care of herself. She had an MRI today, so hopefully we will know something soon. It's just very hard to watch her go through this. I've known that her health was deteriorating for some time, but I wasn't quite expecting this. I guess you never do. Please pray for my Mamaw and her doctors. That they will find out what is going on and will be able to treat it.

I have a lot more that I need to talk about, but the battery on my laptop is drained, so I will save it for another post. I'll just leave you with this... I finally know what God wants me to do with my life! I'm excited about it and I will fill you in as it things progress.

Tanya

Stuff

Mamaw went to the doctor today. He said that she needed surgery on her shoulder or she wouldn't regain the mobility of her arm back. He said the longer she waited, the worse it was going to get, so she's scheduled for surgery on Friday at noon. It will be here in town and is just a same day surgery.
Do you ever have those moments where a sight or a smell takes you back to being a kid? Yesterday we were driving near Fayetteville, and I noticed a huge mound of sand at this building site. It made me think of my Papaw. Papaw had every Tuesday off of work and every other Tuesday he would drive to Muskogee and pick up his sister from the nursing home (she'd had several strokes by her mid-40's) and they would spend the day together. Before I started school, and during breaks once I'd started school, I would go with him. At the beginning of summer, Papaw would load up a big empty box and a shovel in the trunk of his car. I always knew that once he did that, we'd be stopping by the sand mounds after we picked up Auntie Evelyn that week. We would go to this place between Muskogee and Tulsa and there were these huge mounds of sand. Papaw knew somebody that worked there I guess. He would get out the box and shovel and we would trek up these huge mounds of sand. I always liked to try to get to the top. And then we would put as much sand as we could carry into that box and load it back into the trunk. Then once we got home, we'd go put the fresh sand in my sandbox. I loved that sandbox and spent many, many hours playing in it when I was a kid. Sometimes Papaw would play in it with me. He was a great grandpa. He was always playing something with me, whether it was in the sandbox, hide and seek or just some silly board game. I still miss him alot.
Well... I won't keep going on and on about Papaw in this post. Maybe I'll write a little about him in my next few posts. I've never really written or talked about him much, but he's been a major influence in my life.

Papaw and Mamaw

Holidays are over

We had Jasmin's Christmas pictures taken at JC Penney's. They said that she was a natural and should be a baby model. I'm sure they tell everyone that, but I think she could do it! She's growing up so fast! She and her mom are going to be moving back home before too long. I'm really going to miss them. They've been staying with me since Jasmin was 4 months old and now she's 14 months old. I've been blessed to be able to be there during this part of her life. Her mom has promised that Jasmin can come spend the night with me sometimes and will be coming to visit often, so that makes it a little easier.

My Mamaw fell on Christmas day and then again the next week. She had to have an MRI on her shoulder. She's done some damage to the rotator cuff of her right shoulder. She goes to the doctor Monday to discuss options. I'm thinking that she may have to have surgery. Guess we'll find out on Monday. My brother went to the doctor today and is going to have a sleep study done in a few weeks. The doctor said that he has sleep apnea. He's gotten to where he'll fall asleep sitting up or even while he's talking to you! He fell out of bed 3 times in one week! I had to get the old lift out of the garage and use his sling to get him up out of the floor. We haven't had to use that lift in such a long time. It made me think of how far Josh has come. When he first came home from the hospital, the lift was the only way we could maneuver him around. He's really made a lot of progress. He hasn't been able to walk with his prosthetics for a while because he has a sore on one of his legs. Hopefully it will be healed up soon and he can get back to business.

I was able to spend the entire month of December at home. I've been working from home which is nice. I like getting to work in my PJ's if I want to! My contract with this customer is up soon, so hopefully another one will come up soon! There are several prospects, but so far no guarantees. Please pray that something else comes up for me. I guess this is one of the drawbacks to being a consultant. I do still have my part time contract though, and just found out this week that that client wants to extend my contract for a year! So I still have a few hours coming in.

Well... guess that's all that's going on in my world. I'd love to hear what's going on in your world!