Seriously, I’ll Be Back

On June 8, 2017 By debweeksIn Changes, Foster Care, UpgradesLeave a comment

It has been a whirlwind of activity for the past month.

Yes, tomorrow is the one month mark and it’s hard to believe we’ve had our foster daughters for one month already.

Both girls are doing well and beginning to settle in to life in the World of Weeks.

Baby Girl doesn’t have the best sleeping habits, but each week there is some improvement. Her favorite sleeping spot is my lap. Just look at those little feet.

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Big Sister is taking longer to warm up, which is to be expected. Not only has she experienced more, but she understands more. Slowly, we are reaching her though and she very much enjoys her time with Naomi and Lili.

The Texas foster care system, being different from the Illinois foster care system, has taken some time to get used to. I have 2-3 reports I need to complete on each of the girls every week. I thought I was to turn them in to the agency after each month they are with us, but just found out that I need to turn them in at the end of each month regardless. Oops!

Tomorrow, we will be adding two more little girls to our home for 9 days while their foster parents take a long-awaited vacation. Six girls ranging in age from 6 months – 10 years of age will most certainly mean a lot more chaos and laughter. However, we’re happy to help out another foster family for a few days.

We also purchased a bigger vehicle. The Suburban I have driven for the last 2 1/2 years just wasn’t providing enough space for all the car seats we need. Now I’m driving a 12-passenger Transit van.

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It’s a little bigger than we probably need, but the additional space is really nice, especially considering that I will be transporting additional children from time-to-time and a stroller that takes up quite a bit of room.

So life is a little busier and louder. Summer fun is in full swing and life goes on.

I’ll Be Back

On May 22, 2017May 22, 2017 By debweeksIn Uncategorized1 Comment

Sorry for the lack of posts, but I have a good reason 🙂

Almost two weeks ago, CPS came to our house with two little girls who we are now fostering. Our house went from a family of 4 to a family of 6 and one of those little ones is a 5-month-old baby. Needless-to-say, my computer time has become a bit more limited.

I’ll be back to provide updates and share more about life in the World of Weeks.

As Mother’s Day Approaches

On May 10, 2017May 8, 2017 By debweeksIn Grief, Holidays2 Comments

Those who are on Facebook are familiar with the little reminders that pop up on an almost daily basis. This time of the year, many are likely receiving reminders of Mother’s Day posts from years past.

For many, Mother’s Day isn’t all roses and breakfast in bed. It’s happiness and sadness intertwined.

Here is a memory that recently popped up on my Facebook page.

https://worldofweeks.com/2011/05/08/the-life-of-a-mother/

Busy, Busy, Busy

On May 8, 2017May 7, 2017 By debweeksIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

That’s what life has been over the last few days.

Blog posts will be coming though.

Yes, Very Different

On May 5, 2017May 4, 2017 By debweeksIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

A week ago, we officially became licensed foster parents. Since then we have gotten 4 calls about placements. For one reason or another, those placements didn’t work out, so we still don’t have any children in our care. However, we are averaging a call every other day at this point. Compare that to Illinois where weeks could go by without a call.

One big difference is the fact that we live in a highly populated area. Yet another contributing factor is that there is truly a shortage of foster homes. As such, we will likely continue to receive calls every 1-2 days until the right placement comes available.

While we are excited about adding a couple of children to our home, it is also very sad. We are thrilled to once again have the opportunity to make a positive difference in the life of children, but this is only occurring due to the fact that these children can’t stay with their biological families.

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May is National Foster Care month. If you’ve considered foster care as a possibility for your family, I encourage you to quit thinking about it and take some action. Contact a local agency and attend an informational meeting. Gather information from other foster parents.

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If you don’t feel like full-time foster care is right for you and your family, what about getting licensed to provide respite care. For a number of reasons, foster families need respite from time-to-time. Even one weekend a month could significantly help out a foster family who is in need of a little break.

Sometimes, foster families are going on vacation and the courts will not allow them to take their foster child(ren) with them. Would you be willing to help out a foster family by caring for their foster child(ren) during their vacation?

How about volunteering to help out a local agency by providing babysitting services for a day while foster parents sit in their required training classes.

If you know of a foster family in your neighborhood, you could offer to take the necessary training to give those foster parents a few hours of babysitting service so they could go out to dinner one evening.

Foster children need homes, but they also need loving, caring people in their lives.

Thanks for considering ways you can help.

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Fun Times

On May 1, 2017April 29, 2017 By debweeksIn Art, Mom Stuff, UncategorizedLeave a comment

We have now lived in Texas for 16 months. Living in an RV park was a temporary living situation and we knew that. As a result, I didn’t put a tremendous amount of effort into making any friends.

Then we moved to our new home. We’ve now been here almost 11 months. I’ve had the privilege of being part of a local homeschool group and getting to know many of the other moms (and some dads) in the group. Our group has been meeting weekly for quite some time. Our children have established some good friendships and the parents in the group have established friendships as well.

I’m guilty of not taking many breaks from my kids and as a homeschool mom who spends 24/7 with her kids, those breaks really are a necessity. My kids also need a break from me every once in awhile. So recently I suggested that the moms in our homeschool group plan an evening out. Many liked the idea and a few of us attended our first Mom’s Night Out.

We met for dinner and drinks, then walked to Painting With a Twist to create our masterpieces.

Here’s mine.

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An evening without our kids allowed us the opportunity to learn more about each other and we all left with better friendships. We also agreed that we needed to have a monthly Mom’s Night Out. That makes our evening out, a huge success.