Foster Update

   Well, there isn't very much to report about our journey towards foster care, but I know I have some friends and family who want to keep up, so here is where things stand... We are going through Justin's work to foster, so his work place is more or less becoming its own foster agency, and it has taken them much longer than they anticipated to get their ducks in a row to get started.  So, this time last year I was rushing around trying to finish up our paperwork so we could offer our home to a child in need, but as it stands we are still waiting for Justin's work to finish getting ready.  I'm a bit nervous about how much paperwork (and/or classes) we will have to re-do once they are ready... because it was kind of a ton of work... but we will face that when we get there.  They told us to check back in with them in January, so that's what we will do.
   While we felt very ready at Christmas time last year to foster, once Patrick got mobile and we decided to home school it is probably God's grace that fostering has been delayed, since I have been stretched very thin.  We will have to keep evaluating our situation to see if we can serve and love our four children plus an additional child once the light turns green to move forward.  I am so thankful for my mom and mother-in-law being close by, but still I'm not sure that we have enough community around us right now to be able to help and support.  Our church community is up in Atlanta, leaving us a bit isolated from helping hands, and I already know from caring for my current 4 kids how very important some encouragement can be.
   So, we will wait until the legal process is ready for us, and then we will take a good look at our ability to see if we can also move forward.  There will never be a perfect time when we have everything all together, because that never happens now does it?  I trust that eventually we will be able to welcome a foster child into our family.