Monday, October 29, 2007

Where do babies come from?

conversation in the car:
6 yr old foster son; Mrs. D?
yes bubby?
did you see that sign?
you mean the hospital bill board about babies?
yes.
and, what's your question?
It says "tanner: where BABIES comes from"
Yes, and?
But you told your friend, it was a lie, babies come from DFACS.
MORALE OF THE STORY: Be careful, LITTLE PITCHERS HAVE BIG EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WAYYY MORE THAN WE GIVE THEM CREDIT FOR!
How ever it was funny and around this place it's true!

Saturday, October 27, 2007

I SAID NO!

I. SAID. NO....
TO DFACS! I'm not proud of myself. I've never told them that we can't take anymore children. But I realized after last week when they called for us to take in a sibling group of 3 & we told them we had no bed/care space for them. and they said "are you sure?" they neather have our best interest at heart (OVER LOADED, NEARING BREAKDOWN) Nor do they have the best interest of the kids. Who wants to double up in strange beds, with so many kids, ect? So my husband told them NO, since they called him on those kids.
But yesterday, they called me for a sibling grp of 2. Well if they want to sleep in the floor and ride on the roof, we can take them! She actually paused to think about this!! And then I said, I'm sorry, we really are over our "quota" anyway. and there is just no room. I SAID NO!
I'm so proud of myself! and my sanity patted me on the back!

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Is ANTHING easy about adopting from foster care?

Something, anything! ?
Why? WHY? does any and everything cause the whole system to grind to a halt?
This boy has been legally adoptable since 8/31/07. We have had him since 7/06. We've been foster parents for 3 years. There is nothing they don't know about us, our house, our pets or our septic tank(don't ask) At any given time there is at least 1 social worker/therapist in my house once a week.Dfacs has every shred of paperwork on us that's possible to have. Last week they said we may have a court date for the adoption by next week! yea, yea!
I get an email today that says our 18 yr old did'nt sign her finger print card! It'll be at least 6-8 weeks to have those processed, maybe a little longer since the "system" is backed up. OK, she didn't sign the card, I understand that. BUT, BUT it's not like she came to live with us yesterday, she's been around, oh, say for about 18 years and they've had these finger print cards since she turned 18 in MAY!
I wish I could rant and rave to someone who could make a difference in this thing we call the "system". Do you want to know WHY people go outside the country to adopt? WHY you can't get good foster families to stay? Why people literally give up trying adopt the kids you've placed with them?
We have to tell you every minute detail of our lives, marriage, families, right down to things we've never told a living soul and you "the system" maintain the right to not tell us a single thing to help us parent, love, bond or give these kids a family.
I wonder where foster care & foster to adopt will be in 10 years? Better than today? or nonexistant, because no one is capable or has the desire to deal with the system?

Monday, October 22, 2007

WHO WOULD YOU BE......

Who would you be if...
you could be a mix of your favorite blogs you read?? And Why?

I would be Perri, because she is smart and funny and sure looks like she can cook. And appears she has the patients of a saint and very inventive and FULL of energy(that I covet!)and knows what it's like to start a young family, when your not so young.
I would be thepioneerwoman because she lives on a ranch and take awsome pictures, tell a mean story, has a crazy since of humor and gets to look at cowboys all day !
I would be antique mommy because she is funny & real and knows what it's like to have a young'n, when your not!
I would be Joshilyn Jackson, Well, who wouldn't want to be? She's the best southern writer since my beloved Lewis Grizzard! and she's funny, and can write, she's real and not all uppity.
I would be Tnfarmgirl, cause really I am one. God, my husband and the military (not really in that order or maybe so) stuck me in this sub division with yard natzi. Anyway, back to Tnfarmgirl. They live off the land, in God's very own country, and she makes EVERYTHING! AND I am ever so jealous of her and her ability to do that.
and smockityfrock, boys does she evergy and creativity!
OK, I could probably go on forever.
But now it's your turn.......

Thursday, October 18, 2007

TAGGED...BY Heidi

Ok Heidi,
here goes. I've never been tagged before and I'm pretty boring to boot. So it will take me hours to figure out what to put down!
Jobs I've had:
1-waitress
2-bank teller in japan
3-accts receivable clerk
4-nurse

I have lived:
1-Cleveland, Tn
2-Indpls, In
3-Camp LeJune, NC
4-Okinawa, Japan
5-29 palms, CA & trust me, more places than I can count ...or remember at this point

Food I love:
1-REAL Japanese food
2-REAL Japanese food
3-hot wings
4-BLT salad

Websites I visit daily:
1-pioneer woman
2-perri
3-Heidi
4-Tnfarmgirl
5-rocksinmydryer
6-EBAY

Places I'd rather be:
1. Okinawa, Japan
2-Tellico Plains, Tn
3-almost any place other than where I am :(

Movies I love:
1-oh brother where art thou
2- the apostle
3-steel magnolias

TV shows I watch:
(Don't judge here)
1. Big Brother
2-SURVIVOR
3-CSI
4- pushing daisies--new favorite
It's a good thing books aren't on here. I read like a pig eats!
Thanks for the trip down memory lane Heidi, that was fun!

Sunday, October 07, 2007

mommies

I am convinced that the whole world is kept in it's orbit by the very hope,faith & love every mother has in HER child, to do and be and carry one every good and right "thing" we have taught and prayed for them. Without that hope and faith we mother's have, what would the world be like?

We Sit We wait We stew over THE system......

Why does the "system" keep children in longer than they need to be there? TPR was done August 31st. We've been foster parents for years. They have all the papers in the world they need. Plus we have been his foster parents for ohhhhhh say 15 months now. So they've been in our house at LEAST once a month for 15 months, so we must be at the least tolerable foster parents, good enough to raise him lo, these past 15 months. SO why in God's name is it taking so long to get the adop0tion hearing on court docket?
They wonder why good foster parents are hard to find. Why we get so upset or feedup with the whole thing. Am I missing something? Being too hard on them? Not giving them the time needed? paperwork HA? PLEASE, they know more about me than any entity on earth, maybe even my husband!
I get so tired of the" you"ll be hearing from me next week phone call" one of those at this point is 2 months old, still haven't heard from HER. The last one, bless her heart is only 3 weeks old. But tomorrow is Monday, maybe it will bring a phone call. HEY....I have nothing better to do than wait on our fate with DFACS. I'm making a big deal out of nothing.
Dang, I am starting to get too sarcastic. They are changing my very personality.
Maybe time to throw in that proverbial towel.
'