Just a little peek into foster parenting this evening. The foster care agency we work with has a wonderful service for parents called respite. There is the regular give-foster-parents-a-break respite and there is give-the-actual-parents-a-break respite. We gave a sweet single mama a break this weekend. I love this service because it is so needed. In some cases it is child abuse prevention. I think some of us (me) take for granted the blessing of having a support system; church community, great friends, family members. Not everyone has a good support system in her life. Not everyone has a sweet husband who comes home ready to help out and connect with each member of the family, who, by the hand of God, is able to provide everything his family needs. Not everyone gets "me" time to refuel so she can be a better parent. Not everyone has the means to put a healthy dinner on the table and dress her babies fitting for the weather each day. Not everyone had a good example in her parents of how to gently lead her young. Not everyone has the ability to enroll her kids in theater, music lessons or sports activities. Not everyone has someone to turn to for encouraging words. I am so blessed! I have often taken my blessings for granted, sometimes claiming them as rights.
Some women are parenting their children in the best way they can with very little resources. Loss of a job loss of a home. No safe family or trustworthy friends to take care of her kids so she have a break, just a little break to do the wash alone, to look into getting a couch from His Helping Hands, to look for a new job, a new place to live...
The past 2 weekends we've done respite for single moms. Sweet, loving, hardworking moms. It was hard for them to leave their kids in a stranger's care. The other foster mom and I stayed and visited with them, trying to relieve their worries, asking for advice on what works best for their children, telling them we'll take good care of them.
This time I took two darlings home. My children played with them. I read and sang to them, bathed and fed them. Prayed for them. David joked with and tickled them. We had a great time. Last night the tornado sirens went off so we all went down to the basement. This was a bad storm and the older son was afraid for his mom. He prayed for her and asked me several times if she was safe. She called to be sure we had a basement. The older son talked to her and said, "Please, please, please mom take care of yourself." So concerned. Today we picked flowers for their mom. We met her at the agency, sweet reunion. The other foster mom and I hung around for a little while just watching and visiting, not wanting to leave. It's amazing how quickly you can attach to children. I admire their mom. She is strong. I will continue to pray for her and all her children. I went home thinking of all the excess I have and about how needs and wants get all mixed up and how I don't really need all that I have. I'm asking God how He wants me to respond to this time of being face to face with someone who has need, real need. I want to live in the abundance of following in Jesus' footsteps, not in the abundance of this world. Jesus brings peace and joy and purpose, abundant life. Teach me Lord, change me, make me like you.
Summer 2012
Mikaela, Natalie, David, Jordan, Tobi and Aaron - our family in the wheat field up the road
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Welcome to the Wright Family Blog! We are David, Tobi, Jordan, Aaron, Mikaela and Natalie Wright. I named our blog Come and See based on this verse: "Come and see what God has done, how awesome His works in man's behalf!" Looking back over our lives I can see over and over how God has cared for us and drawn us, taught us and shaped us. He's stretched us and has given us rest. He leads, provides for us and heals us. He gives us joy and peace and purpose every single day! Oh how He loves us, all of us! It is so good to be His child! This blog is one way for me to tell of His goodness and His sovereignty in our lives. He is our gentle, loving, strong and mighty Father and best friend. He is all we need. It occurred to me, not long ago, that I talk to people more about what I want or wish, than what I've been given. More pray requests than praise. That's just crazy because I am so abundantly blessed by God so I'm trying to change that.
My name is Tobi and I will be the one posting about our family and our God-given adventures. I have to admit that this is new territory for me but I'm looking forward to recording what God is doing in our lives and hearing from you. These are a few of my favorite things: reading, time with family and friends, taking pictures, trying new recipes, being outside. And I am crazy about kids. Love being with kids! I taught first-graders for several years and now I fully enjoy being a stay-at-home mama.
David is my godly, handsome, amazing husband and their gentle, fun, amazing dad. He is Vice President of his architecture firm and has built his business on prayer, hard work, commitment, and integrity. He has his private pilot's license (which gets him home sooner some days), loves to read and enjoys golf, hunting and fishing. He makes a point to connect with each of us every day. I appreciate that about him. I have to add that God has given him a huge portion of patience! He leads our family well.
Jordan David is our first born. Jordan is 18 and is in the Air National Guard. He is currently at Tech School on an Air Force Base. He's doing very well and he loves it. He's the first to leave the nest and this mama is missing her boy! Thank you Lord for Skype! Jordan walks with Jesus and is so teachable and kind. He has faced many challenges with courage and perseverance. Jordan loves to read, watch movies, and work out. Oh, and eat! He is the healthiest 18 year old I know. Jordan hopes to go to KU soon and have a career in the film industry. Right now he's getting up at 4something in the morning and studying his brains out.
Aaron Hudson is 16. He is funny and intelligent and hates getting up in the morning. He is the first one I call on for help on the computer. So thankful for his skills! He is a sophomore in High School and we both hate his homework! Don't get me started. He has an insatiable sweet tooth so the cookie jar is often empty. Aaron is a talented anime' artist. He works on each drawing until it's perfect. He's also a good beat boxer, makes my lips numb just listening to him practice.
Mikaela Faith is 13 and is in the 7th grade. She is 4 minutes older than her twin, Natalie. Mikaela loves being a teen. She loves friends, her cell phone, Facebook and her hair is important to her. She is compassionate and funny. Mikaela is also an artist. We have several of her canvas paintings on our dining room wall. Mikaela enjoys choir and her voice is improving all the time. I love hearing her sing around the house. She enjoys people but likes her alone time. She is responsible and enjoys working in the yard. Yay!
Natalie Grace is, of course, 13 and in the 7th grade. My only strawberry blonde. Natalie is giving and kind. As soon as she receives her allowance she's making plans to buy something for someone else. She is friendly and quick to forgive (the name Grace is fitting). She loves to be with people. Natalie enjoys gymnastics and singing. She's amazing at Just Dance (Wii). She loves to bake so we share the kitchen. On the computer she is a fashion designer and watches make-up and hair tutorials. When all the cousins are together, Natalie is the one organizing fun activities for the younger ones.
So David and I have been married 21 loving years and have 4 wonderful biological kids. Our current adventure is ADOPTION! Yes and I am so excited! It's been on my heart for sooo long and we are finally doing it! We hope to adopt 2 children, somewhere between 2 and 7 years old, from Ethiopia! It's been a long, gradual, unfolding journey. We've needed the time it's taken to get here. We've needed the training/growing time and we know there's more of that to come.
It all started with a little seed that God put in my heart as a new teacher. I've always enjoyed being with children so becoming a teacher was an easy career choice. I taught in a low-income area of town. Many of the children moved around a lot and their home lives were challenging. Not to say that they had bad parents, just that life is tougher for some than for others. Coming to school with many unmet needs makes it hard to learn and relate to others well. Some of my students came to school dirty or with an empty stomach. They didn't always have coats or even a bed to sleep on. Sometimes Mom went jail during the night so my student stayed at the Children's Home and missed a few days of school. My heart broke for many of them. There were a few I wished I could just take home and keep. I loved on them and prayed for them and gave them snacks.
David and I talked about adopting before we got married. We talked about waiting until after we had biological kids. I didn't care where the child came from. I just knew that I wanted to give at least one child a loving family. So we had 4 kids and the desire was still strong. At that point it was about the timing and the avenue. We decided to do foster care to see if that could lead to adoption. We went through the process and became a foster family 3 years ago. We have done long term fostering but mostly PPC, Police Protective Custody. We have LOVED it! I will discreetly share some of our foster family stories. There is a great need for good foster families. Maybe our stories will help answer some questions about foster care or light a fire in a few of you to check into it for your family. Many, many children have come into our home and have been loved on. We do our best to make them feel safe and welcome. Our kids have played with the children in our care and God has stretched them and grown compassion in their hearts. But we haven't adopted through foster care.
The past year God has burdened my heart for orphans in Africa.The more I learn the more I find myself face down on the floor crying out to God on their behalf. David and I have talked and prayed and prayed and talked. We said yes to God and now we are here. In the process of adopting! God has always, faithfully provided all we need for each thing He has called us to and we know He will come through on this. He loves orphans and has good plans for their lives too. He has blessed us abundantly and asks us to bless two little ones who need a family and I am so glad! Getting to be a part of what God is doing is always a priviledge. We know it will be challenging to raise a child with a hard past, parenting is hard. We know that we will have to be fully dependent on Him but that is a good place to be.
Oh my, how I've gone on and on. I hope that I have made some sense. I've probably left out some important details. I promise my posts won't always be so long. Thank you for listening to my heart. This was fun!
My name is Tobi and I will be the one posting about our family and our God-given adventures. I have to admit that this is new territory for me but I'm looking forward to recording what God is doing in our lives and hearing from you. These are a few of my favorite things: reading, time with family and friends, taking pictures, trying new recipes, being outside. And I am crazy about kids. Love being with kids! I taught first-graders for several years and now I fully enjoy being a stay-at-home mama.
David is my godly, handsome, amazing husband and their gentle, fun, amazing dad. He is Vice President of his architecture firm and has built his business on prayer, hard work, commitment, and integrity. He has his private pilot's license (which gets him home sooner some days), loves to read and enjoys golf, hunting and fishing. He makes a point to connect with each of us every day. I appreciate that about him. I have to add that God has given him a huge portion of patience! He leads our family well.
Jordan David is our first born. Jordan is 18 and is in the Air National Guard. He is currently at Tech School on an Air Force Base. He's doing very well and he loves it. He's the first to leave the nest and this mama is missing her boy! Thank you Lord for Skype! Jordan walks with Jesus and is so teachable and kind. He has faced many challenges with courage and perseverance. Jordan loves to read, watch movies, and work out. Oh, and eat! He is the healthiest 18 year old I know. Jordan hopes to go to KU soon and have a career in the film industry. Right now he's getting up at 4something in the morning and studying his brains out.
Aaron Hudson is 16. He is funny and intelligent and hates getting up in the morning. He is the first one I call on for help on the computer. So thankful for his skills! He is a sophomore in High School and we both hate his homework! Don't get me started. He has an insatiable sweet tooth so the cookie jar is often empty. Aaron is a talented anime' artist. He works on each drawing until it's perfect. He's also a good beat boxer, makes my lips numb just listening to him practice.
Mikaela Faith is 13 and is in the 7th grade. She is 4 minutes older than her twin, Natalie. Mikaela loves being a teen. She loves friends, her cell phone, Facebook and her hair is important to her. She is compassionate and funny. Mikaela is also an artist. We have several of her canvas paintings on our dining room wall. Mikaela enjoys choir and her voice is improving all the time. I love hearing her sing around the house. She enjoys people but likes her alone time. She is responsible and enjoys working in the yard. Yay!
Natalie Grace is, of course, 13 and in the 7th grade. My only strawberry blonde. Natalie is giving and kind. As soon as she receives her allowance she's making plans to buy something for someone else. She is friendly and quick to forgive (the name Grace is fitting). She loves to be with people. Natalie enjoys gymnastics and singing. She's amazing at Just Dance (Wii). She loves to bake so we share the kitchen. On the computer she is a fashion designer and watches make-up and hair tutorials. When all the cousins are together, Natalie is the one organizing fun activities for the younger ones.
So David and I have been married 21 loving years and have 4 wonderful biological kids. Our current adventure is ADOPTION! Yes and I am so excited! It's been on my heart for sooo long and we are finally doing it! We hope to adopt 2 children, somewhere between 2 and 7 years old, from Ethiopia! It's been a long, gradual, unfolding journey. We've needed the time it's taken to get here. We've needed the training/growing time and we know there's more of that to come.
It all started with a little seed that God put in my heart as a new teacher. I've always enjoyed being with children so becoming a teacher was an easy career choice. I taught in a low-income area of town. Many of the children moved around a lot and their home lives were challenging. Not to say that they had bad parents, just that life is tougher for some than for others. Coming to school with many unmet needs makes it hard to learn and relate to others well. Some of my students came to school dirty or with an empty stomach. They didn't always have coats or even a bed to sleep on. Sometimes Mom went jail during the night so my student stayed at the Children's Home and missed a few days of school. My heart broke for many of them. There were a few I wished I could just take home and keep. I loved on them and prayed for them and gave them snacks.
David and I talked about adopting before we got married. We talked about waiting until after we had biological kids. I didn't care where the child came from. I just knew that I wanted to give at least one child a loving family. So we had 4 kids and the desire was still strong. At that point it was about the timing and the avenue. We decided to do foster care to see if that could lead to adoption. We went through the process and became a foster family 3 years ago. We have done long term fostering but mostly PPC, Police Protective Custody. We have LOVED it! I will discreetly share some of our foster family stories. There is a great need for good foster families. Maybe our stories will help answer some questions about foster care or light a fire in a few of you to check into it for your family. Many, many children have come into our home and have been loved on. We do our best to make them feel safe and welcome. Our kids have played with the children in our care and God has stretched them and grown compassion in their hearts. But we haven't adopted through foster care.
The past year God has burdened my heart for orphans in Africa.The more I learn the more I find myself face down on the floor crying out to God on their behalf. David and I have talked and prayed and prayed and talked. We said yes to God and now we are here. In the process of adopting! God has always, faithfully provided all we need for each thing He has called us to and we know He will come through on this. He loves orphans and has good plans for their lives too. He has blessed us abundantly and asks us to bless two little ones who need a family and I am so glad! Getting to be a part of what God is doing is always a priviledge. We know it will be challenging to raise a child with a hard past, parenting is hard. We know that we will have to be fully dependent on Him but that is a good place to be.
Oh my, how I've gone on and on. I hope that I have made some sense. I've probably left out some important details. I promise my posts won't always be so long. Thank you for listening to my heart. This was fun!
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