Help!

Hello Friends,

The other day, I mentioned our new journey and how we just may have some children staying in our home soon. Well, we attended our second I.M.P.A.C.T. class yesterday and learned a lot! We also realized that taking in foster children means we will need to keep some items available for when the need arises.

Our coordinator explained that we may get children ranging in age from 1 day old up to 12 years old. There may be times we get a sibling group with an infant and also 1 or 2 older siblings. So here is the deal: we have to have furniture and many other things accessible for a variety of ages. Here is where you come in!

Maybe you have some of these items and could donate them to us. I promise to put them to good use caring for orphans and little ones who have struggling families. If you cannot donate the items, maybe you have them and could sell them for a very low price. If so, please let us know!

Furniture/Car Safety:

• Crib/bassinet
• Car seat
• Booster seat
• Bunk beds (hoping to find one with a full bed/futon on bottom and twin on top; we already have mattresses)
• High chair
• Changing table

Miscellaneous Household:

• Baby monitors
• Baby bottles (glass if possible)
• Baby gates (need 4)
• mattress pads/crib liners
• sheets for crib/bassinet
• toddler/baby toys
• bibs
• baby blankets
• burp cloths
• Diaper can
• Diaper bag

We would also really like to accumulate clothing in various baby/child sizes. If you have anything you would like to ship us we will gladly pay the shipping. Thanks in advance for your help and support!

As soon as I get the time, I plan on registering at Wal-Mart and Kids-r-Us just so people have an idea of what we are looking for. We look forward to seeing God use His Church (not just us) as we endeavor to care for children who need His love.

He Clothes the Birds

Green paint. My favorite color for a home.
Large, open kitchen. All appliances for just $125.
Quaint spaces.
Sunken garden jet tub. I've wanted one for years.
Whimsical wooded lot. Perfect for laughing children and big dogs.
Earnest money turned in.
Contract executed.
Underwriting file complete.
Appraisal submitted.
Appraiser changes her mind.
Changes the appraisal to reflect a different type of property.
No loan. Requirements for house not met.
We keep renting.

BUT GOD is still faithful.
He is quiet today.
I can't hear Him whispering creativity to my heart.
I cry a lot.

How many day dream debuts did the master bedroom make in my mind?
How many times did I redecorate the hallways, bedrooms, and kitchen?

"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?"

- Jesus  

I.M.P.A.C.T.

Tonight Jonah and I start a new little journey. Well, actually the journey began in our hearts several years ago while we were still courting. I remember laying in a field on our backs, looking up at puffy white clouds and a blue sky, both of us dreaming about the future and speaking about what it might look like. We discussed having 8 kids (lol, NEVER going to happen), buying a cute house, hiking all the time, never falling out of love....we poured out our hearts talking about orphans, America, kids in America who need families. We talked about fostering.

Today must be "the future". After being house parents for 6 months this past Spring, Jonah and I cannot stop thinking about what part we are supposed to play in the lives of children who don't have a family. We cuddle in bed at night and whisper about "the boys", the ones we had to leave at the childrens' home because our season there was up. We tear up as we discuss what their futures may hold and who they might become one day. We reinvent programs and make plans for the group home every night.

A couple nights ago, upon returning from church, we ran into the police, well actually 4 police officers. We were going up the steps with a little girl who we have been taking to church with us, thinking we were taking her back to her grandmother to get ready for bed, but the police were in their "apartment" (if you can call a 10x10 bedroom with a closet an apartment) searching the room. We had to leave her there, despite her asking to please come home with us. The fear in her eyes scared me. What must be going through her mind? 8 years old and the police are searching through your most private possessions. We got home and the police came by to speak with us about 30 minutes later. Allegations of abuse had been made. Could she stay with us if neccessary? Of course.

We haven't seen her since Sunday night. She does not come running to our house as soon as we get home. She does not peer out the window when we walk our dog. She does not laugh and call us Crazy Jonah and Miss Sarah. She does not come over hungry and eat our PB&Js. She does not jump on our beds. We haven't seen her since the police left her in that room with her grandma.

At home, I cry. I ask my husband what we are supposed to do. I blame the government. I blame the Church. I question God. I wrestle with guilt as I eat and live and feel comfortable and safe.

Tonight we begin classes to become foster parents. I am not sure if this is just to remedy our own shame at living so joyfully. I am not sure if we can really help any children. I am not sure I can be a good mother. I am not sure that I can wake up at 2am and care for a sick little one. I am not sure we have the money. I am not sure we are worthy.

Autumn Apples!

As a girl, my elementary schools in New York and Pennsylvania took us apple picking each year. Early Fall is one of the best times for joy-filled walks in an orchard. I remember with delight the crisp air and smile on my face as we raced off the buses and into the orchard! I would bite the first apple I could find and savor the sweet, enchanting fruit. Eve and I must be related.

Anyway, everyone knows that apples are one of the very best fruits for cooking! I like them with just about anything. I even cook apples in stews!

Below you will find the simplest applesauce recipe (and it all gets made in your crock pot)! I have been using it for years and it is so wholesome and tasty.

Spiced Applesauce

• 10 medium-sized cooking apples
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/8 cup brown sugar or 1/4 cup regular sugar
• 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 Tablespoon ground cloves

Peel, core & slice apples into 6 pieces each. Place in crockpot. Add your water and brown sugar, and then add your spices. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 3 1/2 hours. Once cooked, your applesauce may need a little mashing with a fork or potato masher....then, smile and divulge.

Keurig in my cup!

Recently, I decided to forego washing my hair (but that story is for another day)! This morning I wanted to share my recent success in completely eliminating processed, store bought coffee creamers from my coffee regime. I feel a great sense of pride in this victory as I have pretty much been addicted to coffee since my mom first put her stainless steel Puerto Rican coffee pot on our stove when I was 10 years old! Cafe con leche is more important than food in my book!

Anyway, for the past week and a half I have played with several variations of homemade flavored creamers....and they work! Oh my goodness they are delicious! Enough bragging, I know you are ready to concoct your own milky delightfulness!

Pumpkin Spice Creamer

1 Cup Whole Milk                   4 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 Cup Heavy Cream                1 1/2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon (or 3 cinnamon sticks)
3 Tablespoons pureed pumpkin (you can use canned if you want)
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract     1 Teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice (I use McCormick)

Whisk together all ingredients except vanilla extract. Pour into a sauce pan and heat on medium low until the mixture begins to let off steam. Then pour it all through a stainless steel strainer or a mesh sieve. Use a funnel to pour it into a glass bottle, and refridgerate.

Anna's Peppermint Mocha
(in honor of my good friend, who usually waits all year for her holiday favorite)

1 Cup Whole Milk                   4 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 Cup Heavy Cream              3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract    1 Teaspoon Peppermint Extract

Whisk together all ingredients except vanilla and peppermint extracts. Pour into a sauce pan and heat on medium low until the mixture begins to let off steam. Then pour it all through a stainless steel strainer or a mesh sieve. Use a funnel to pour it into a glass bottle, and refridgerate.



I hope you like these as much as I do!