Meet Lucy!

I feel like I need to use this blog to provide opportunities to you readers who may want to help kids with significant needs overseas from your own home.

Meet beautiful Lucy.

Lucy is the newest addition to the Mattaw Children's Village in Kitale, Kenya. She was rescued just a few days ago.

She is thought to be around 3 yrs of age.

Lucy has a medical bill that needs to be paid. Would any of you want to cover expenses for her?

There was another child in the hospital for 10 days and the bill came to roughly $100 that has already been covered, so it shouldn't be much at all, as she was in the hospital for just a few days.

If you feel lead, email mattaw@yahoo.com

Life as a Social Worker. . .

At times, when I am asked "what do you do for a living" and I tell them, I get a variety of looks.

Smiles.
Scowles.
Confusion.

Statements like "oh, you're one of 'those people'"

I love what I do. But, like most things, it has its setbacks.

Like today.

Please pray for a family that is heavy on my heart today that is in court for Termination of Parental Rights (or TPR).

As much as I love keeping kiddos safe and stabilizing them in foster homes after enduring trauma in their home, my heart aches for families that are about to be "legally" broken.

It's a tough balance. Working with families who have not been able to provide nurturing environments for their kids, but finding JOY in watching their kids blossom when they ARE put in stable enviornments. Or, the JOY of seeing kids go back home to their family that is whole again.

As I posted earlier, "the least of these" are as far away as your backyard. Consider becoming a foster parent in your local community!

Uganda update

A big part of the reason why I started to blog, besides to just sit and ramble on about various details of my life, was to bring awareness of things going on in... AFRICA!

On Tuesday, April 28th, Steffany, Amanda, Ann, Kim, Debbie, Brandi, and Ria, are traveling to Uganda through May 6th. Their mission? To identify and visit care points that are in desperate need of sponsorship. These gals will bring back a group of kids that have been laid on their heart to sponsor and get their local church/business/friends to work together to get these orphanages and child-headed households sponsored.

How precious it is to impact a child from across the globe! This is all done through Children's HopeChest.

Pray about it-get involved. If this is something that tugs at your heartstrings, check back with me in a couple weeks. I have asked Brandi to identify an orphanage on my behalf and though I will not be going on this trip, I really want to see the blogging community dive deep and impact Ugandan Children in a way that has never yet been seen.

Many of you know that my heart beats for the least of these-specifically in Africa. I talk about it a lot, I read about it a lot. Though I know that it is something that God has instilled in me, I am patiently waiting for what it is He is going to use me for in this-if it is here in the US or across International borders.

I believe that God doesn't suggest that we do something to minister to the "least of these" but rather commands us to serve them.

To hold an orphan in your arms, to stare into the eyes of a child that has been abused, neglected, tossed aside like a peace of trash is an amazing experience. What is even more amazing is when you watch her/him turn her heart to love Christ. To see a once broken child become whole is an awesome thing.

Search your heart and ask God what you can be doing for "the least of these".

Update on Stellan

Come on you prayer warriors! Stellan is in surgery and we need to shower this family in prayer. Click on the button to the right of this post and get the update.

PRAYER WORKS!!

Encouraging Discipline

As most of you know, I work full time as a case manager for children in treatment foster care homes. I place kids with special needs in specially trained homes as they wait to be reunified with their family or adopted...ha-that is such a poor summary.

Anyways, I have the priveledge of knowing families in our community at such a deep level. I also get so many creative ideas in ways to discipline children at a variety of ages. You think that from all the "life experience" I get living vicariously through my foster parents, I'd be able to tackle most of the problems I run into at home with my own kids-who aren't considered to have "special needs" (though, I beg to differ some days).

Ha. Did I just say that? Did I not just post a few days ago about my 2 yr old spraying everything in sight when he is in a not-so-pleasant mood?

Not that I am an expert in discipline, because, me, living by the grace of God, I have a lot of work to do.

Wouldn't this be a perfect post for a NOT ME MONDAY!?!?! Yeah, I thought so.

Anyways, here are just the latest of the creative ways some parents are dealing with difficult behavior:
1) Noooo arguing! = automatic priveledge taken away (i.e. if you say kids can play outside for 30 minutes and they whine "awww how about 40" the time is automatically deducted 5 minutes)

2) "Jewel" System = Kids earn their own color "jewels" (or colored stones found in mesh bags at craft stores) for doing something that is asked of them the first time. They earn double jewels if they come upon something that needs to be done (such as emptying the dishwasher) and do it without being asked. The point is to catch kids doing great things! Once a month have a service project that is worth 10 jewels when completed (hey, make it cleaning the dog poo from the yard). Then once a month the "appreciation station" is opened up and your kiddos can purchase toys, pop, or various rewards from the station you have purchased ahead of time with their jewels. When a service project is completed, this allows the appreciation station to be open for 1 day at "1/2 price".

My son has tends to have the desire to hang out with older kids, if possible. Thus having him exposed to things that I'm not so fond of. We have found that ensuring that B understands why we say no to certain movies or TV shows is so important...especially when we are training him to be a boy/man who loves God. I see B struggling with why other moms and dads allow their kids to do things when we say no.

Ah, the process begins! Not that it hasn't been for sometime, but now, "just because" isn't working.

How thankful I am to know that I am not perfect yet, I am continually being refined by my Savior, striving to be all He has made me to be-in a wife, a daughter, His daughter, and a mother.

Let us encourage eachother as we raise our children to love God. We are not perfect, however, I'm sure we can gain wisdom and crazy ideas from eachother.

Oh, and for some REALLY fun family time ideas, specifically geared towards verse memorization, check out Michelle's blog!

Doing the boogie!!!!

Wow-what a good week. I mean, ya it's been tough in a lot of ways, but how sweet it is to know that when a storm is rocking your world (or a flood or relationship or work crisis or whatever it may be) that there is ALWAYS refuge in Christ.

Thank you for praying for me! I've been carried through this week and I know I'll need to be carried more in the future, but for now, I'm back on my game and have some GREAT stories to share and fun fun FUN things I've found that I can't wait to show all of you.

But first. I have to say. Ahem. I am pleased to announce......

My favorite 4 yr old is turning five in a couple weeks (wow, big gasp..time goes by so fast)

and what better way to celebrate, than to

Splish ~ Splash~at SEA WORLD!!!!!

I will take many photos to show you as I am almost guaranteed to have some funny moments with my dramatic little guy. We are soooooooooooooooo excited. Just B and I.

I couldn't resist.

I had an offer from a co worker of some really cheap tickets and I could not say no. So, the last week of April, B and I will fully enjoy a day at the beach, Sea World and maybe some time at the Kennedy Space Center. We're going to throw life at the wind and do whatever we feel like for 5 days.

Did I mention taht we are excited!?!?!? Have you been to Orlando? If so, I'd LOVE some pointers and tips on how to make it down there cuz personally, I have never been.

I'm doing the boogie!

Having joy in the pains of life.

I'm going through a really hard time right now. It's painful. I have a lot of unanswered questions and feel as though I need answers NOW, though that is not possible.

I feel weak, but not defeated.

So, can I ask? Will you just pray for me? I can't even spell out what it is I need this moment, this day.

I am learning a lot in this process I am going through. I just struggle with where to draw the line.

I think I may lie in the arms of Jesus for a few days and trust that He will carry me through.

What does bring me hope, and keeps twinkling in the back of my mind, is that I can know and have joy that this, in the end, will glorify Jesus.

Why does life have to ache so much?