Pyschotropic Medication Training

Done! Check another off the list. :) Two interesting tidbits: 1. Parsley interacts badly with Lithium. I found it interesting that an everyday common food could interact with drugs. It made me curious to know what other med/food interactions are out there. I mean aside from the obvious like caffeine/alcohol. 2. As part of our 'homework' we had to clean out our expired meds or those prescription meds we no longer have a use for. I had an entire plastic grocery bag full! I went from two shelves in my coffee cup medicine cupboard to a half of a shelf. Leaves a lot more room for the things that actually belong there.

Great Article

Visit the is link: http://www.millionsofmiles.com/2011/06/power-of-saying-yes-lessons-from.html and read about how saying "yes" can help your child feel secure.

Fingerprinting...

Can I just say that digital fingerprinting is SO cool?! My dear son (7yo)was along with us for the fingerprinting and he really thought it was neat to see the lines on our fingertips. I caught him studying his own. It was a great learning experience for him. Anyway, our fingerprinting is done. To date, here are the things that we are still lacking:
-CPR/First Aid
-Medication Training
-Restraint Training
-Fire/Health Inspection
-A few more classes
-TB testing (to be done 1 week before licensing)
I think those are the things we are missing. My ideal situation would be to have our license by the end of March but we will see what God has in store. :) Hubs is going away for some training (for work) this week, so everything will be on stand still until next week. I think we will resume foster care training Friday of next week. I am hoping our fingerprints are accepted because there was a lady in the fingerprinting office having to get reprinted...fingers crossed for no delays on that!

Strengthening

Just a quick post to say  that filling out the home study, foster profile etc. can really bring you closer as a couple. I feel like I am seeing a more intimate side of my husband. There's also a little re-kindling of attraction going on when I hear all the sweet things he said about me on the "spouse" part of the forms. Aaah, sweet love.

Timing It Right...

This weekend was fun. Or not. Bit of advice: If you start the foster care process and then your husband starts new training at work, be prepared for a high stress environment. Haha!
My husband and I were at odds this weekend about the speed/idea of our foster care training. Originally, we thought it would take 3-6 months to get licensed and that it would be a slow process. It just so happens that the agency we chose is quick moving, which is awesome in theory unless your husband does not deal well with being overwhelmed! So after a bit of freezing each other out discussion, we decided it would be best to slow waaaay down on the training, etc. I am happy to say, we are back on the same page now and still working toward our license. We get fingerprinted on Monday and then he is off to an out of town trip, more training for his job. Once he gets back we will resume the training process.

First.

Today is the day our newest chapter began. This evening we met with the main lady from our chosen foster care agency. I spent about eight hours cleaning house before she came because I did not know where/what she would be looking at (she saw nothing but our living room). I was so excited in the days leading up to this meeting but a few hours before she was to come my excitement turned to nervousness. My stomach was full of butterflies! I don't really know why, I think it was just the unexpected. Much to my relief, she was a really nice lady. After answering some of our questions, she immediately dove into training. We will be doing private training because of our schedule, just our family and her. It went smoothly. We were able to ask any question when it arose. It felt more like a conversation than "training." We did several hours tonight. She also left us with three training sessions to do online and three training DVDs. We are planning to do these this weekend and she will be back next Tuesday evening to continue our training. I asked her how long she thought it would take before we were licensed. Her answer? "It depends on how fast/slow you want to make this but you could be done in approximately one month." REALLY? We were floored. I had no idea it was going to be that soon. I was thinking 3-6 months. I am uber-excited, hubby on the other hand is uber-nervous. 
Proverbs 16:9 says, "the heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." My heart has led me to this place but God is definitely establishing our steps and our timing.

In the beginning...

I have been reading foster care blogs for over a year now. They have been such an education and encouragement as I waited for the "go ahead" from God to begin the foster care process. His timing is perfect and He chose now!  I want to share our journey with you in hopes that it may encourage, enlighten, and entertain. Because children are often called "fruit of the womb" I chose the name "Fruit of the Heart" because although these children will not be of my womb they are definitely in my heart.