House shopping...

Well, we went out house shopping last night. We really liked this house! Very open floor plan. 2-story home with 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, and 2700 sf. Huge kitchen, huge walk-in pantry and a huge utility room off of that, all the bedrooms are a decent size, the master suite is awesome 16x25 with his and her walk-in closets, dual sinks in the master bath with a huge garden tub, separate shower, and nice sized closet...it even has a little den to put our computers in the master suite. There are 2 separate living areas...one we'd make into a playroom...and a beautiful fireplace.

The ironic thing...the people that live here now are currently a foster family and they have 4 or 5 children placed with them. Their last name is Huff...ours is Hoffman. Too weird! But very cool. The house was built in 2004. The house just dropped in price. We're in the process of getting another good faith estimate from another lender that our realtor works with. She said it's a good idea to get 2-3 estimates to make sure that nobody is way overcharging us on fees. So, that's what we will do.

Abba, we would love to get into this house!

Help me to trust in Your perfect timing...

Abba, please help me to put all my trust in You and Your perfect timing. I so need to practice patience, yet I feel the stresses of everything that needs to be done over the next couple of weeks if we're going to have a real chance at adopting Bonnie.

Well, I heard back from our caseworker. She said that we just need to keep pushing to get our documents in and she's going to try to expedite our home study so that we have a chance at Bonnie. She said that once a child's picture is already on the website, they've already begun collecting home study reports and if they feature her on the news, that's only going to bring in more. She told us to just keep the documents coming forward that they need and to schedule the appointments that we need for the home study as soon as possible...fingerprintings, phsyicals, background checks, and she told us to let our references know not to sit on getting their papers back in so that we can get our home study completed. She said someone would be calling us this week to schedule that...but we just need to make sure that we pick a date that we're likely to have all the documents that we need. Andy has asked me to wait until after next week as they're moving for work. I have to have time to get us in for our physicals and we still have to make an appointment for the fingerprinting to be done...and we have to get the cats in for the vaccinations as well. Not to mention, we still have to figure out how to get our background checks from MI and IL. So, I'm thinking that our home study isn't going to be able to be done for another 2-3 weeks anyway. She said that once the home study is done, she'll try to expedite the report so that we can fax that in for Bonnie. She said that it just depends on the timing of when Bonnie's case worker decides that they have enough home study reports to find a good fit for her. I feel like so much has just dropped on me...I can feel the pressure building...but yet I also realize that some of this is totally out of my control...I just have to do the best that I can and hope that we still have a chance at adopting her in the end of things. I have to trust that God's timing is perfect and that He knows what is best for not only us, but for Bonnie too.

I plan on getting our application turned in tomorrow along with our affadavits to get our criminal checks here done and then we have to call and make an appointment to get our fingerprinting done once the criminal check results are back....

Some things to stand on...

We've really got some wonderful friends. Keep that positive support coming and keep praying for us that we'll be able to adopt Bonnie. It does my soul good to read the verses and support that you all have been sending. Keep it coming!

Something to share from a friend that I'm really trying to stand on...

"Just remember that if God means her to be with your family you have nothing to worry about. :) " and I need to remember how very true that is.

I'm also going to keep referring back to this verse that someone gave me ""Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." - Psalm 27:14 ."

Thank you so very much for all your support and please continue to keep us in your prayers that we'll be able to adopt her. I love you guys!

Praise the Lord!

Hi Abba, thank you so much for giving us some more time. I can see Your Hand working in this now. Thank you for hearing our prayers and for listening to us.

We all sat watching the news waiting for them to feature little Bonnie. They showed a clip of the upcoming segment and it was for a little boy. I immediately went to the website and saw that they had moved her to February 5. Part of me got mad as of this afternoon she was the featured child. I called my Mom and told her to turn the tape off...and told her that they changed her date. She said "Jessica, we've all been praying..God is working in this...don't be mad...start praising Him...He's given you more time to get your papers in before others are interested in her too." I told her that I just wanted to see her in person....playing, talking, and just being herself. I know I need to be more patient and my Mom is right...now we have more time to get our papers turned in. I told her that I was just jealous that she got to see the little commercial clip of her and I didn't. Anyway, now I'm feeling better about things and plan on working on our application and references today to get that turned in over the next couple of days. God does have His hand in this and I need to focus on patience and thank you Erin for what you said to me yesterday...I keep going back to read it as I so need that reminder when I start getting panicky. I don't know how it's possible to look at a child that you don't even know yet and feel so close to that child and already feel love for them. Well, yes, I do...I went through this when I was pregnant. :-) Anyway, Mom said to me "Jess, He doesn't have to put her on tv to find a family for her if He already has one picked out.... I immediately teared up and I said I would use my feelings for determination to get all of our stuff turned in as quickly as I can. He did bide us more time for this precious little girl.

The house search is on...

Abba, please guide us to a good, safe, neighborhood and to a great house that is a good fit for us. We've been debating on whether to move or not, but we really want a chance to find a big enough home to fit ourselves and the foster/adoptive children that we are meant to have as well. And while we don't mind the little house that we're in now, we want and need something bigger. We've been doing some house searching and talking to our mortgage lady and we think that we can continue our plan to pay off our debts and still manage to buy a home in our price range. So, we have an appt with our realtor to look at some homes that we've seen online tomorrow night. I'm excited!

The pressure is on...

Abba, please let us be able to adopt this precious little girl, Bonnie.

My Mom called me this evening to let me know that she saw a glimpse of Bonnie on tv. One of the local news stations is featuring a child up for adoption every Monday and little Bonnie is going to be featured tomorrow night. I was so jealous that she got a glimpse of her. I so cannot wait for tomorrow night. Mom said that when she realized who she was she started bouncing up and down on the couch saying "that's our Bonnie...that's our Bonnie." We've had the channel on all evening hoping to catch another glimpse of her, but we'll definitely be watching with our eyes glued tomorrow night. When they put up her video on the news online, I'll let you guys all see her. I've sat here with tears in my eyes all night praying that she'll be able to be ours. Part of me is panicky that others will be interested in her now too, but I keep telling myself that they're going to have to be home study ready and all too to be able to have a chance at adopting her and the state will have a meeting to determine who they think she'll be better placed with. So, if anything this is our push to get our work done on our end as soon as possible and in the mean time, pray, pray, pray, and pray some more. Keep us in your prayers if you will. :-)

Four...

Four jobs I've had in my life..
1. McDonalds (crew and manager)
2. Handy Andy (cashier and front end supervisor)
3. Cracker Barrel (gift shop clerk)
4. Home Depot (cashier and back-up head cashier)

Four movies I would watch over and over...
1. Titanic
2. While You Were Sleeping
3. Sleepless in Seattle
4. anything Disney

Four places I have lived...
1. MI -- Dutton, Wayland, Jenison
2. IL -- Chicago, Hanover Park
3. Back to MI -- Lowell
4. TX -- Waxahachie

Four shows I love to watch...
1. CSI
2. Law & Order
3. Ugly Betty
4. What About Brian

Four places I have been on vacation...
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Mackinac Island, MI
4. soon to be Phoenix, AZ in March

Four websites I visit daily...
1. ebay
2. my foster-to-adopt board
3. www.blogger.com
4. my friends blogs

Four of my favorite foods...
1. baked potatoes
2. pizza
3. spaghetti
4. chicken nuggets and fries

Four places I would rather be right now...
1. in my hubby's arms
2. visiting friends
3. somewhere tropical
4. camping

Four friends I am tagging...
1. Sarah
2. Vicki
3. Jenn
4. Christine

Little Bonnie

Abba, I can't believe that our foster-to-adopt training is over tomorrow. Now begins the push to get all of our documents and applications and all that turned in so that they can do our criminal checks and we can get our fingerprinting done. Then, we have to have fire and health inspections on our house, the cats vaccinations have to be updated, our physicals need to be done, our references have to be checked, and then our home study has to be completed. She said that we could expect a placement as early as March.

We found this little girl online that is already up for adoption. Our hearts keep being drawn back to her and she's not that much younger than Deidra. Her name is Bonnie and she's 4 and her birthday is in April. I'd love to have her here with us by then and I pray that she'll be able to become a part of our family. I pray for healing for her and that we can adopt her. I'll know more once our home study is done and our paperwork is faxed over for her. I'd appreciate prayers though for her healing with the abuse that she's been through and that we'll be adopt this precious little girl.

Her picture is already plastered on my mom's refrigerator and we all think about her a lot. We pray for her every night in Deidra's bedtime prayers and she's already engrained on all of our hearts. She just seems like she'd fit in here so well.

An Update on Deidra and the Clothing Drama

Someone asked me if some of the kids had been teasing Deidra at school about her clothes. I don't think anyone has been teasing her. She just has her views on what = pretty and what doesn't. She's very fussy about her clothes. She's not a big jeans fan either and sometimes she'll wear her fuzzy pants from Old Navy and sometimes she won't. She prefers dresses and skirts, but she's got to have clean stuff for church as well and she's grown in the last couple of months and I won't let her wear the skirts that are too short for her now. She doesn't need to have her butt hanging out. That's where the problem came in yesterday. That and with her getting over being sick and how cold it's been here lately I wanted her to be dressed warm.

She came home from school yesterday and I sat her down on the couch on my lap and we had a good talk about everything that had happened that morning. I explained to her that I didn't have a problem with her picking out her own clothes as long as she looked respectable for school and nothing was showing that shouldn't be and that she needed to be dressed appropriately for the weather. I also explained to her that if she couldn't pick her clothes out in a reasonable time frame that I would be doing it for her and she would lose her chance of picking out her own clothes for that day. I explained to her that because of her behavior that morning, there was some discipline that needed to take place. I told her that I had taken her videos from the library back to the library, she was going to go without being able to watch tv for a few hours after school, and she was going to help me do up her laundry. I told her the fits with the clothes and stuff had to stop. I told her that from now on, she's just going to have to pick an outfit, if she can't do that in a reasonable amount of time (that's also what caused such the fuss yesterday as she made us late to leave because she kept changing her mind), I was picking them out for her and that's what she would wear. She did pretty well with her punishment after school and I let her bring her Punky Brewster DVD to my Mom's last night to watch an episode or two for being good about everything. I also told her that I was going to do some spring cleaning in her closet and remove the stuff that is now too small and that will help the problem of her grabbing clothes that no longer fit.

She got up this morning to go to school and had an outfit picked out in a couple of minutes and was really good about everything. She even asked "Does this mean that I can watch tv after school now?" So, I think that I got through to her yesterday. She did come home and change her clothes, but when I made her help do her laundry I think that helped her to understand some too. At first she thought sorting the clothes was fun and she thought putting them in the washer with the soap and laundry detergent was fun, but when I made her help put them away she didn't like that part of it. I told her that is the part of doing laundry that I hate too, but if she was going to keep adding clothes to the mix by having to change her clothes all of the time then she was going to have to help me do that. So, she knows what the consequences are.

Any advice?

Abba, please guide me in a way to curb this behavior with her. I don't know what else to try and do.

Deidra is driving me bonkers with her fashions and having to look pretty. Looking pretty to her is skirts and dresses. I've tried getting her to pick out clothes the night before (she always changes her mind and wants something else come morning). Anyway, this morning she didn't want the clothes I had picked out for her and we were late getting ready as Andy never called to wake me up. She threw a fit. I told her she had 2 minutes then to get herself up and pick something out of her closet. She stood there staring into her closet and finally picked a Halloween shirt and a skirt that totally didn't match. So, I told her that she wasn't wearing a skirt or a dress today and she wasn't wearing a Halloween shirt as it was going on Valentine's day. She wouldn't pick anything else, so I picked an outfit for her to wear. No sooner did I get it on her and went to grab her shoes then she was out of it. She went and hid in our walk-in closet and put her Halloween shirt back on along with her skirt. It's not warm enough for the skirt she was trying to wear and I desperately need to do her laundry. So, I grabbed the closest outfit that I could find and told her that she had lost her chances at getting herself dressed and I got her into the clothes I had picked. She was screaming nonstop at me to the point of making herself puke that she was ugly in those clothes and wasn't going to school where everyone could look at her like that. I told her that she didn't look ugly at all, but she needed to calm down as we were late. She tried to take off on me again to tear herself out of her clothes, but I grabbed her and we got her coat and shoes on. I marched her out to the car and into her carseat and she proceeded to keep screaming at me. I told her that she needed to get herself calmed down or privileges were going to start being taken away. All she kept screaming at me was that I made her look ugly in what she had on and she wasn't walking through the gym that way so everyone could look at her. I told her that if she didn't calm herself down that was only going to draw more attention to herself. I wound up telling her that she lost the privelege of watching the videos she got from the library last night and I was going to take them back to the library today. That got her attention for a little while and she started to calm down. Then, when it was her turn to get out of the car, she started up again. Now, she's grounded from tv after school. I was so embarrassed that she wouldn't get out of the car and when she finally did she wouldn't go in the gym. She stood there reaching for me and telling me how ugly she looked and she wouldn't budge from the curb. One of the teachers had to come and get her. I pulled up further to let the other parents get to the curb to unload their children and I sat and watched to see if she was going to calm down or not. The teacher waved at me and told me she'd be ok. So, I left.

She's always coming home from school and putting her dresses on or changing her clothes 2-3 times a day once she's home. She's always playing with jewelry and painting her nails and such. I've had to talk with her a few times about how much she was changing her clothes though as it was doing nothing but creating more and more laundry for me to try and stay on top of. She doesn't do that so much anymore, but I never expected to get this much attitude over clothing from a 6-year-old. She's got a whole closet full of stuff that she refuses to wear. I won't go clothing shopping for her without me now, but even some stuff she picks in the store barely gets worn as she doesn't want that outfit when I go to put it on her.

I'm almost debating making her start doing her own laundry and having to put it away to see if that will curb her behavior. I'm so tired of fighting with her every morning about what she's going to wear. I don't remember giving my Mom a hard time about clothes when I was her age.

It broke my heart to hear her calling herself ugly over something that I made her wear. I thought she looked adorable. But yet, I can't have her fighting with me like this either. She hasn't given me this hard of a time in quite awhile. We just need to nip this in the bud now, so it doesn't continue to escalate.

100th Day of School

Abba, I'm so proud of my daughter. They celebrated the 100th day of school yesterday. She came home from school saying that she had a surprise for me and made me shut my eyes while she got it out of her backpack. She's had perfect attendance for all the days of school so far, so she got a certificate to bring home, she got a treasure from the office, and she got a free kid's meal at Chik-Fil-A and she got her picture taken for the yearbook with both of the principal's. She thought that was the coolest thing. I was so very proud of her and she's doing great in school too. She's doing a lot of the tasks that they don't have to know until the end of the school year already and it makes me smile so big to hear her read books to me.

We went to the library yesterday to get some more books to read for her read-a-thon (she made it to 50 and gets to go to the office for a prize today and once she gets to 100 books she gets a free ticket to Six Flags) and she's too funny. She loves to get books about the body and look at them and have me read them to her. We just finished an X-Ray one where she learned about all the bones and systems of the body. Well, yesterday she picked a book out on the lungs and we read that last night. She says "I love these books, Mom, I just want to be smart." Nothing wrong with that at all...she soaks the info right up too. I just pray that she keeps up this love for education throughout the rest of her schooling.

Sponge Bob Square Girl

Deidra got her Sponge Bob Squarepants pajamas from Uncle Jimmie for her birthday this year...Grandma got her Sponge Bob slippers for Christmas so we just had to snap a picture of her in all of her Sponge Bob gear. :-)

Deidra and Grandma

Reading Twas The Night Before Christmas.

Deidra was so upset...

after we opened our Christmas gifts to have to go to bed....granted it was close to 3 am. We had to snap a picture!

My most special and treasured Christmas gift...

Andy and I went to a craft show with my Mom in a neighboring city the first weekend in Dec. A lady was selling these and I so wanted one. We didn't have the money at the time, but I told Andy how pretty I thought they were. When I wasn't looking and was on the other side of the craft fair, Andy went back and asked the lady for her business card. He wound up going to her shop to get me one the week before Christmas. I was so surpised when I opened it on Christmas that I almost started crying. It's very special to me and I just love it. The picture really doesn't do it justice, but I just wanted to share. I just think the little leaves and rosebuds inside it are so pretty and if you look at one of the little leaves in just the right way, it looks like a little cherub blowing a kiss.

Deidra and her Pixel Chix

She had been asking for the mall for Christmas as we gave her one of the houses and the car for her birthday. She loves these things!

Our Family Picture

Here we are all ready to go to Christmas Eve mass on Christmas Eve. :-)

Christmas Tree Pics

Here we are in front of our tree.

Darn weather...

Abba...please let the class rescheduled time work out for us for the Saturday thing. I pray that we'll be given enough notice so that I can get the time off of work to be able to attend the class so we don't have to wait for the next class to start up in March to be able to go. I pray too that it won't conflict with the weekend that Andy needs to be at work to help them move.

Amy (the social worker who's teaching our foster/adopt classes) just called to say they were cancelling tonight's class due to the weather and they were going to go ahead and cancel this Saturday's class too. She said that we'd just make up tonight's class next week on Tuesday and as far as the Saturday class they'd let us know which Saturday they choose to reschedule on. Andy's worried as he has to be at work one weekend in February as they're moving buildings. I'm worried as I didn't ask for the time off in Feb...so hopefully it will all work out.

I guess tonight's class being cancelled is a good thing though as my brother's football banquet is tonight and so my Mom will get to go now. It was supposed to be last Sunday, but they cancelled due to the weather and rescheduled for tonight. Jimmie was upset that Mom wasn't going to be able to go, but she said that she had already committed to watching Deidra so she felt that she needed to do that first. So, he'll be happy to know that she can go now. I'm still sick too so now I can just take more time to stay down and not worry about having to go to class.

I think we'll be moving a little sooner than we thought...

as much as we don't want to have to move all of our stuff again. I was sitting on the couch with Deidra when I saw this long stream of trucks come up by our house and at first I didn't think much of it. Then, I saw a bunch of people dressed in black walk by and I saw the neighbors across the street come out of their house. I got up and opened up the blinds more to see that the people were all people from DEA and they surrounded the house that is kitty corner from us. They had their weapons drawn and everything. I panicked a little bit and called Andy to tell him what was going on. His response "how come all the fun stuff happens when I am gone? We need to watch Dallas SWAT." The sherriff walked around and told all of us neighbors who were watching to stay in our houses and close the doors. I watched the DEA make entrance into the home...a few minutes later they left and patroled our street on foot. The neighbor across the street tried to leave to go to work and they wouldn't let her leave. Then, they went and got in their vehicles really quick and went on the other street that intersects with ours and patroled with their weapons drawn still. Since we live on the corner, I continued to watch what they were doing...a few minutes later they got in their vehicles again and drove to the end of our street and I can no longer see what is going on. I told Andy that I know that any of this stuff can happen on any street that you live on, but I no longer feel very safe in this neighborhood. He agreed with me...so I think we'll be looking to move sooner than we thought.

Abba, please help and guide us to make the best decision for our family and help us find a nice and safe place to live.

Snow Day

Hi Abba. Thanks for keeping Andy safe on the way in to work this morning. What normally takes him 45 minutes to an hour to drive wound up taking him almost 3 hours. I'm just glad that he made it in safely. Please help Deidra and I to feel better too.

I think every school in the 7 counties that the Texas News station we listen to covers are closed today. Of course, I watched the schools scroll across the bottom for a half an hour and they never updated Waxahachie to the list so I thought they were going to be open. I called Andy to ask him to continue to listen to the reports and if he heard anything to let me know as I needed to get Deidra up. He told me to check an online site first and there it was "Waxahachie ISD Closed Wednesday." The list of closings are so crazy long. Andy called me a half an hour early to give me some extra time and he was stuck in traffic moving at a snails pace. It took him an hour just to make it to the Dallas Zoo. Traffic is moving at about 5 mph. They definitely do not know how to drive in this stuff down here. Deidra and I have been sick so we'll just do some relaxing today. It's a good thing I have the day off of work today or I would have been calling in again. Who ever would have thought we'd have snow days in Texas? I'm ready for the Texas freeze to be over though. If D and I weren't already sick, it would be a good day to have some snow fun and build a snowman.

The Sickies

Abba, please help us all to feel better soon.

We have all been so sick. Deidra got sick on Friday night with a high fever and sore throat. Strep has been going around in her classroom. She continued to run a fever up until last night. I came down with a bad cold starting Saturday that I just can't seem to kick. I called in to work today as I could barely stand up without falling over as I was so dizzy. I put D back in school this morning as her fever broke last night. I've just been laying around trying to fall asleep. The school nurse just called...D is crying saying that her ear hurts. So, now it looks like I'm going to have to make her a doctor appt and I can barely move myself. I just left a message for Andy saying that I may need him to come home. He was sick yesterday too, but he seems to be better today. We have training tonight too...I'm hoping that I'll be ok with going tonight.

My sweet husband...

Dear Abba, thank you so much for my wonderful husband. We've had our share of ups and downs, but we've always been very committed to one another. We've learned from our mistakes and went on to happier times. I was just thinking the other day that ever since our argument about not doing anything for my birthday and all...my Mom took him out for some time out and they went out to a local pub (she doesn't drink...but she took him there for him because she knew that he likes to have his glass of beer) and then she took him the long way home cruising to Michael Jackson's Thriller album. He came home so happy and he was so different. He wound up totally spoiling me on my birthday and I told my Mom that I didn't know what she had talked about with him, but it worked. She said they didn't talk about anything major...she just let him enjoy himself and they had fun. I made a promise to myself that day that I was going to work harder on showing him how much I appreciate him and love him and that I was going to work on my attitude with things that we didn't always see eye to eye on...I was going to work on becoming more submissive and letting him truly be the head of the household. I was just thinking the other day how ever since I started this...we have not had one argument...sure there's been silly little things that I've let go...but we haven't been fighting about anything. He spoils me to death and I spoil him with affection and we're totally content and happy. He's been so supportive of me and what I want out of our life together and I couldn't love him more. Thank you for my wonderful husband and I pray for many blessings for him today and every day. Thank you, Abba, for bringing him into my life. He's a wonderful husband and a wonderful father and while I know that love is really an action word...I think I've fallen head over heals in love with him again lately. I'm so blessed to have him in my life.

I've got the butterflies...

Abba, I think I've got a case of the butterflies. I keep hearing foster care stuff on the internet groups and I'm letting the unknowns make me all nervous. Andy keeps telling me just to calm down, but I'm too excited about it all...I've got a zillion things running through my mind...although the homestudy is making me nervous just to start thinking about it. lol. I can't wait for that part of it to be over. hee hee. I am excited about our first training class that is coming up this Saturday though. I can't wait until we get our first placement.

St. Joseph

I thought he would be fitting for me this week given our new venture. What a loving thing He did for Mary and for Jesus!


St. Joseph
Feastday: March 19, May 1
Patron of the Universal Church
Everything we know about the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus comes from Scripture and that has seemed too little for those who made up legends about him.
We know he was a carpenter, a working man, for the skeptical Nazarenes ask about Jesus, "Is this not the carpenter's son?" (Matthew 13:55). He wasn't rich for when he took Jesus to the Temple to be circumcised and Mary to be purified he offered the sacrifice of two turtledoves or a pair of pigeons, allowed only for those who could not afford a lamb (Luke 2:24).

Despite his humble work and means, Joseph came from a royal lineage. Luke and Matthew disagree some about the details of Joseph's genealogy but they both mark his descent from David, the greatest king of Israel (Matthew 1:1-16 and Luke 3:23-38). Indeed the angel who first tells Joseph about Jesus greets him as "son of David," a royal title used also for Jesus.
We know Joseph was a compassionate, caring man. When he discovered Mary was pregnant after they had been betrothed, he knew the child was not his but was as yet unaware that she was carrying the Son of God. He planned to divorce Mary according to the law but he was concerned for her suffering and safety. He knew that women accused to adultery could be stoned to death, so he decided to divorce her quietly and not expose her to shame or cruelty (Matthew 1:19-25).

We know Joseph was man of faith, obedient to whatever God asked of him without knowing the outcome. When the angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him the truth about the child Mary was carrying, Joseph immediately and without question or concern for gossip, took Mary as his wife. When the angel came again to tell him that his family was in danger, he immediately left everything he owned, all his family and friends, and fled to a strange country with his young wife and the baby. He waited in Egypt without question until the angel told him it was safe to go back (Matthew 2:13-23).

We know Joseph loved Jesus. His one concern was for the safety of this child entrusted to him. Not only did he leave his home to protect Jesus, but upon his return settled in the obscure town of Nazareth out of fear for his life. When Jesus stayed in the Temple we are told Joseph (along with Mary) searched with great anxiety for three days for him (Luke 2:48). We also know that Joseph treated Jesus as his own son for over and over the people of Nazareth say of Jesus, "Is this not the son of Joseph?" (Luke 4:22)

We know Joseph respected God. He followed God's commands in handling the situation with Mary and going to Jerusalem to have Jesus circumcised and Mary purified after Jesus' birth. We are told that he took his family to Jerusalem every year for Passover, something that could not have been easy for a working man.

Since Joseph does not appear in Jesus' public life, at his death, or resurrection, many historians believe Joseph probably had died before Jesus entered public ministry.
Joseph is the patron of the dying because, assuming he died before Jesus' public life, he died with Jesus and Mary close to him, the way we all would like to leave this earth.

Joseph is also patron of the universal Church, fathers, carpenters, and social justice.
We celebrate two feast days for Joseph: March 19 for Joseph the Husband of Mary and May 1 for Joseph the Worker.

There is much we wish we could know about Joseph -- where and when he was born, how he spent his days, when and how he died. But Scripture has left us with the most important knowledge: who he was -- "a righteous man" (Matthew 1:18).

In His Footsteps:
Joseph was foster father to Jesus. There are many children separated from families and parents who need foster parents. Please consider contacting your local Catholic Charities or Division of Family Services about becoming a foster parent.

Prayer:
Saint Joseph, patron of the universal Church, watch over the Church as carefully as you watched over Jesus, help protect it and guide it as you did with your adopted son. I also pray for your intercession while we embark on our own journey to foster-to-adopt. I pray for guidance, patience, lots of compassion, and lots of love to give these children while we try to give them the best home that we can give them and that they will be happy here with us. Amen

We had our foster-to-adopt orientation last night...

if anyone wants to read about it, I'm putting all the updates on my adoption blog www.hoffmanfamilyjourney.blogspot.com.

Hi Abba. We had our orientation last night and it went really well. I had only been expecting just a few couples to be there, but I bet there were about 50 people there. The coordinator had said that it was the biggest group that they've ever had. The people that run the agency seem so great and I look forward to getting to know the other couples while going through training this month. The whole process from start to finish takes about 2-3 months. We were looking through our packets and at some of the questionnaires that we have to fill out and some of the questions I had never even given any thought to before and I told Andy that some of these questions are so hard to answer as I had never really thought about it. They really do delve into all areas of your life. They want to know everything. I joked that if everyone had to do this just to have a baby, the populations would be so much smaller. But seriously, I do understand why they need to know this stuff...they need to know that these kids are in good, safe, and stable environments. I just pray for discernment for us when answering these questions as they aren't easy answer questions...you really do have to sit and think about some of them.

Our training starts this Saturday and we have a list of stuff that we need to get together and such and all the paperwork is going to keep us quite busy as well. Training is on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays once that gets going all this month. This Saturday is the first one. I'm excited and I think we've finally stumbled onto the right path. Things are going to start moving along now. :-)