Oh man do I love these two little guys we have staying with us! They are so much fun and silly and goofy! They are very affectionate and always wanting hugs and kisses and high fives! They love the praise and attention for things when they have done something right. Just seeing the smile on their face when we tell them we are proud of them or seeing the excitement in his eyes when he writes letters of the alphabet correctly or tell us when he needs to go potty and has not had an accident!
This parenting stuff is hard business though. I knew it would be hard regardless but with foster care I feel there are so many more variables. You are caring for someone else's kids, most times kids you haven't had with you since birth, you don't know a lot of their history and etc. You don't know how long these kids are going to be with you. You want them to enjoy living with you and feeling safe and comfortable and filling their bellies with food and teaching them new things. But at the same time you want to teach them structure and how to behave appropriately and say please and thank you and have a concern for others. I am constantly asking myself is this something I should shrug off as typical kid behavior or something we need to talk with them about or something they need a time out for. At times Aaron and I find ourselves discussing this right after they have just done something wrong and we just look at each other and end up winging it!
I never realized how selfless you have to be as a mom, or should I say how selfish I was before we had kids running around. Now I hardly ever get to start/finish a task without being interrupted, hardly ever getting to eat a meal that stays hot the whole time, knowing that I should let them help me do certain tasks because its good for them to learn and good for them to want to help even though it would be much faster if I just did it myself. Patience is a virtue my friends!
There are some days when I get tired of having to go and talk to a child for the 3rd, 4th, 5th and so on time about how we need to be nice and listen and obey. I need to seize those parenting/teaching moments right when they happen rather than waiting until I throw that last load of clothes in, finish vacuuming or folding laundry.
We've been reading them some bible stories and talking about God with them and explaining to them who God is. The other night the one boy said, (before their bedtime story) "Can we read the God book tonight?" It just made my heart melt. We were having them learn a memory verse last week and just hearing them remember it and say it was so sweet! I know they are young but I pray these things stick with them. I pray they will learn to love the Lord and follow His Son.
I want to make sure I spend time with them, not just meeting their basic physical needs but all their other needs too, emotional, social, intellectual, and cultural needs. Teaching them, playing with them and just being there for them. They are only young for such a short time and its time we can't get back and if they go home I want to make sure I gave them plenty of love and attention!
So these last few months have been amazing, exhausting, fun, challenging, and rewarding. I'm so thankful that God led us to foster care. It's had its frustrations and challenges and I'm sure there will be many more obstacles ahead but knowing that we were allowed the chance to provide these kids with a safe haven during a time of confusion and trauma makes me so thankful!
For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11
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