Foster2Forever

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The Color of Their Skin

My dad, born in the 1930’s, grew up during the most racially tense time in the South.  He witnessed the injustice, but still had his own prejudices.  In 1971, due to the physical locations that caused “natural segregation” of white & black neighborhood schools, the courts mandated that school districts in Texas must integrate schools regardless of location.

When my Daddy found out that his little girl was going to be bused across town “to go to school with a bunch of n*****s”, he initiated a “white flight” and quickly moved his family across the street to a white rural school.

I would not see a black person until I was in the seventh grade.

I never understood the prejudice I witnessed around me. I despise the N-word, even among African-Americans.

Today, we celebrate the short life of an incredible man that changed the course of history. His vision is still inspiring! His dream…

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

 Listen to his incredible speech in its entirety.

I live in the rural South, and it saddens me to still see prejudice around me.

My dream is that the “content of character” is the only thing that matters.

My dream is that judgments will not be made based on simply the color pigment of skin.

My dream is that my two little children will one day live in a nation where interracial families are the norm.

My dream is for our nation to become color-blind!

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Disease Takes No Holidays! RSV Strikes Again!

A belated Merry Christmas to you!  We hope your holiday was merrier than ours.  It had to be…

what-is-rsv-symptoms

Our Lil Bit had RSV this weekend & didn't feel well. I entered this photo in the IHeartFaces holiday challenge.

For those of you who don’t follow Foster2Forever on Facebook or Twitter…

Our 2-year-old, Lil Bit, is in day care – a breeding ground for illness.  On Friday, I noticed that, although happy to be playing at home with his family, he was coughing quite a bit.  It wasn’t until late afternoon that I realized — he had a fever!  A low-grade fever of less than 100 degrees F (For my Aussie readers that’s about 37.7 C). But I knew I had to get him to a doctor FAST!

I glanced at the clock. It’s 5:02 p.m.

“Dog gone it!!!“

I called the doctor’s office anyway.

“Our office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. If this is an emergency, call 9-1-1.”

We were praying he didn’t get worse. Ibuprofen controlled the fever through most of the night; however, in the morning, he still had the fever and was coughing incessantly.

We were praying we wouldn’t be spending Christmas Eve in the Emergency Room.

I called our family medical clinic that has Saturday hours. Maybe, just maybe, they will be open on Christmas Eve.

“Good morning, how may I help you?”

Hallelujah! Our family physician was the doctor on duty this Christmas Eve morning.

Dr. Meyer diagnosed our Lil Bit with RSV, prescribed a steroid, prayed for him, and sent us HOME.  We are blessed!

What is RSV?

RSV stands for Respiratory Syncytial Virus.  In adults and older children, it’s basically a cold; however, in infants, it is a very serious virus that usually requires hospitalization.  The virus causes an overabundance of mucus, which adults and older children can cough up; however, for an infant, it can cause respiratory problems and low oxygen levels.  You can read more details about what is RSV and its symptoms at Christian Mama’s Guide.

Our History with RSV

We are not strangers to this virus. This is Lil Bit’s third bout with RSV:

  1. Our Lil Bit was only 5 months old when he was first hospitalized for RSV.  During this hospital stay, we were given the paperwork for Lil Bit’s removal from our home and placement with a distant relative.  My heart wept as I was saying my goodbyes for this little angel struggling to breathe.  This is when we made that life-changing decision to intervene in the familial placement and fight for custody.
  2. One year later in February of this year, at 17 months old, our Lil Bit was diagnosed with a common cold on a Friday, and then by Monday, was hospitalized for RSV that had developed into pneumonia.  (Lesson: Doctors can misdiagnose RSV with serious consequences)
  3. At 2-1/2 years old, our Lil Bit still struggled through RSV; however, we are thankful that his breathing wasn’t affected, and that we didn’t have to celebrate our Christmas in the hospital. Thank you, Lord, for your blessings!

And if Lil Bit contracting RSV isn’t bad enough – Now, Stinkpot has a horrible cough, runny nose and fever.  And I’m getting a course cough and tightness in my chest…OUCH!

Happy New Year, Everyone!

Have any of your little ones had RSV?

IHeartFaces.com

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4 Surprising Gifts You Can’t Give Your Foster Kids

It’s Cyber Monday! That means great shopping deals!  The Children’s Place is having 30% site-wide with free shipping. And at my favorite store The Body Shop, you can buy 3 items for $30 with free shipping!

However, foster parents have to be careful when buying gifts for children in foster care.  Depending on the rules where you live, there maybe some items that are surprisingly “outlawed” by regulations.

4. Accordion Safety Gates


Not that this is really a gift, per se, but it is definitely on the “naughty list” if you live in Texas and have infants in foster care. (40 TAC 749.1813)

3. Baby Walkers


Again for homes with infants, foster parents in Texas cannot use the old-fashioned mobile baby walkers for infants. (40 TAC 749.1813)

“Baby walkers present a hazard due to risk of falls down stairs, steps, and tipping over thresholds or carpet edges. They provide infants accessibility to potentially hot surfaces, containers of hot liquids such as coffee, dangling appliance cords, poisonous plants or hazardous substances and buckets, toilets or other containers of water.”

Can’t this happen when little ones start walking?  Use stationary items, such as an activity center instead.

2. Baby Bungee Jumpers

“Baby bungee jumpers present a hazard due to increased risk of injury to the child as a result of spinning, swinging, or bumping into walls.” (40 TAC 749.1813)

It’s pretty obvious that other kids in foster homes were swinging babies into walls, causing them injuries.

1. Trampolines

And the #1 surprising gift you can’t give a foster child is a trampoline.

“Trampolines may not be used as play or recreational equipment.” (40 TAC 749.3039)

It’s too bad since jumping is a great way for kids to expel some of that ADHD energy. And sleep better at night!


So how about a bounce house?  I’ve seen these numerous times at State-sponsored foster care events with children in foster care jumping their way to the stars!!!

What gifts are on the “naughty list” where you live?

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Homemade Dinosaur Halloween Costumes

I love Halloween! I love dressing up with the kids and going trick-or-treating, even though begging our neighbors for candy isn’t the best lesson for our kids!  On this spooky evening of goblins and ghouls, our normally, quiet, sleepy subdivision morphs into a HUGE Mardi Gras-like carnival.  Pumpkins, skeletons, cobwebs, and even bounce houses line our streets.  Trick-or-treaters even parade through our subdivision on hay rides! Cars have to dodge families walking through the streets going from house to house. We believe our entire city shows up in our neighborhood on Halloween night!

So when Costume Discounters invited me to review their kids Halloween costumes, I was thrilled! Given our Halloween costume theme for this year, I knew Lil Bit’s Robin costume would be difficult to find and Costume Discounters had it in stock!

My first concern was size. With the costume sized as 2T-4T, I was concerned it would be too large for our 2-year-old.  Fortunately, we had Stinkpot’s costume from last year in that size, and found that it will work well for our Lil Bit that is not too little now.

When I first saw the price of $19.97, I was astounded that the price for a child’s costume could be that much. I remember as a kid in the early 1970s when $5 was an expensive costume.  However, when I took a trip to Target and the local party store, I saw that the prices at Costume Discounters are competitive.

The costume arrived within a few days of my order.

The Robin costume is officially licensed by DC Comics. The fabric is a thin polyester which will work well for our warm Texas Halloweens. The costume comes with a black mask and detachable cape.

I will be ordering Stinkpot’s Batman costume from Costume Discounters along with my Catwoman accessories. The jury is still out on whether FosterDad will join us trick-or-treating as the Joker.

PBS CHILDREN’S SHOW DINOSAUR TRAIN :

Did you realize that in the PBS show Dinosaur Train, that young T-Rex, Buddy, is adopted by the Pteranodon family? A preschool show about adoption? The show’s main theme isn’t adoption, but Buddy only refers to Mrs. Pteranodon as MOM! A great lesson in that a family doesn’t have to all look alike.

Check out this video!

The next lines in the theme song are:

But dear old Mrs. Pteranodon said:

“Oh, this is your family, and I’m your mom,
you may be different, but we’re all creatures,
all dinosaurs have different features…”

Our boys enjoy watching Dinosaur Train and we’re excited about –>

DIY HOMEMADE DINOSAUR HALLOWEEN COSTUME PATTERN!

Dinosaur Train Costume – Buddy  

Here is a do-it-yourself costume for Buddy, kids’ favorite T-Rex!  Jim Henson’s Creature Shop have created this Buddy costume that can be made at home!  This colorful Halloween costume can be made for toddlers ages 3-4, and children between the ages of 4-6.  There is also a No-Sew option!


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EASTER RESURRECTION COOKIES RECIPE


These cookies are to be made the evening before Easter to demonstrate the story of Christ’s resurrection. Our family will be making these together for the first time this year.

You will need:

  • 1c. whole pecans,
  • 1 tsp. vinegar,
  • 3 egg whites,
  • pinch salt,
  • 1c. sugar,
  • zipper baggie,
  • wooden spoon,
  • tape,
  • Bible

Preheat oven to 300 BEFORE BEGINNING.

Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces.
Explain that after Jesus was arrested He was beaten by the Roman soldiers.
Read John 19:1-3.

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl.
Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink.
Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life.
Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life.
Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child’s hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl.
Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus’ followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.
Read Luke 23:27.

So far the ingredients are not very appetizing.

Add 1 c. sugar.
Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know this and how to belong to Him.
Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed.
Explain that the color white represents the purity in God’s eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus.
Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet.
Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus’ body was laid.
Read Matt. 27:57-60.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF.

Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door.
Explain that Jesus’ tomb was sealed.
Read Matt.27:65-66.

GO TO BED!
Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight Jesus’ followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.
Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie.

Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow!
On the first Easter, Jesus’ followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty!
Read Matt. 28:1-9

Enjoy!
Have a great weekend celebrating the resurrection of Christ!

HAPPY EASTER!!!

I’m Clever

Sway