NEEDING SOME HELP

Okay, as if that isn't COMPLETELY obvious. This is about something other than my mental state, however.

I've spent 12 years with this thought/drive/idea pounding away in my brain, and after all the "where are we going to be living next month" has fizzled away (after 10 short years) and we have our own place- I'm ready to get this plan off the ground. Just don't know where to go next.

For the past 10 years we've lived with most of our stuff in storage, so we kept buying clothes that we probably already had (but couldn't get to because they were in storage). Needless to say, we have a TON of kids clothes. And this is AFTER having sorted through them 10-15 times. I've saved the nicest ones hoping to open a "Foster Closet". A place where parents who receive a child/children at the spur of the moment or in the middle of the night, can come and find some clothing that will tide them over until they are able to get the money to purchase them something. I also wanted a place where they could borrow things like: high chairs, car seats, playpens, etc. so they wouldn't have to use their own money for a child that might stay a day, or might stay a year. I have longed to be a foster parent, but that just isn't in the cards for us yet. We are hoping that the Lord will prepare the way for us so that we can share our home, until then, I will do all that I can.

I have no idea how I would go about starting a not-for profit group, of if that's what this is really called. A great friend of mine is helping and has the same sincere drive I have. She has been blessed to be a foster parent and I have seen her, as well as other friends, struggle to find clothes at the last minute. There have even been children that come to homes that have to have all of their clothing and belonging they brought with them burned because of the meth and other drugs that have so permeated their clothing. This is NOT a child's fault, and they should NOT have to wear ill-fitting, holey, stained, old-fasioned clothes just because their parents lack commen sense.

Please help me find a way to make this possible. Pass this on to whoever you may know who might know someone to help. I am merely an instrument in the hands of the Lord, but I am not enough. I need someone to share in my passion that has some idea of what I need to do next.

God bless, and feel free to contact me through e-mail as well.

Sincerely,

Tanya
sthepworth@yahoo.com

Keeper of the Spork

Overheard at Grandma's house (apparently there are different rules while on vacation):

Aidan: Kate you have to sit at the little table!

Kate: Why?

Aidan: Because I have the spork!

Kate: I don't want to sit at the little table!

Aidan: Well, when I have the spork you have to sit at the little table. And I have the spork.

Kate: What?!

Aidan: Everyone knows when I have the spork you have to sit at the little table. And you know what I have? THE SPORK!


huh?

On being over-protective

I keep ending up in this same conversation with several of my friends when the topic inevitably rolls around to my homeschooling my kids. "Well, don't you think you're being over-protective. They need to be exposed to other kids, their different language, values, beliefs, etc. You must not believe that you've actually INSTILLED those values you talk so much about, if you're not even willing to let them PROVE to you that they can stick to them." Okay, that's not the direct conversation, but a large portion of it is true, and the rest is exactly what she was thinking. I know, I'm a professional mind reader- just ask my kids.

I've been thinking a lot about it, and this is the best scenario that I've come up with. I'm still working on it, so maybe it won't pan out as well written, as it sounded in my head:

When we're pregnant, we have this wonderful life growing inside of us. We do everything we can to protect that life: eat right, excercise, avoid harmful substances- ANYTHING we can do to ensure that this little being knows that we are doing our very best to give him/her the best life they deserve. While some people may get tired of being pregnant around month 6 or 7 they stick with it. Why? Well, mostly because it's not an option, but let me give you a "what if". What if it was an option? We know that there is this wonderful modern world of medicine that gives this baby upward of 80-90% chance of turning out just fine. We've done our part, put our time in, and when things looked like they could hold their own well enough, we quit hoping that all we did was good enough for a good outcome. Do we do that? Not if we're in our right mind we don't!

That's kind of how I feel about the whole "over-protective" subject. Yes, I could have let my kids continue to go to public school and be exposed to the things that are being forced into their faces, jammed into their ears, and imprinted on their minds. Hey! I would LOVE to have the daytime all to myself! But, I want to give them EVERY MOMENT I CAN to surround them with the love, values, beliefs, virtues and all things Godly that I can. Every day, every hour that baby is in the womb helps it grow a little bit stronger. Is there a time when you can't keep them like that any longer? Absolutely, just like birth. And when that time comes, I will know that I did everything possible within my being to arm them with a sense of who they are and what they stand for. There is a reason these kids were saved for the last days. They are being raised to become kings and queens and to fight with all their might. I doubt there has ever been a king who thought they were taught too much about how to prepare for battle and lead a nation. I venture to say there were many who wish their Mother's had taught them even one day more.

:::Off my soapbox now:::

Disclaimer: Do I believe everyone should homeschool? Not even a little bit. It's right for our family, though. Don't question my intentions or you'll see Mother Bear.