Surviving and Thriving in Bethabara Farms

The little one had an appointment with his pediatrician today and had gained a pound since he was weighed Monday evening! It was so sweet, 2 doctors and at least four nurses came in to see him because they'd been so worried about him. Three of the nurses burst into tears when they heard his progress. One nurse looked at him and said to him, "thank you for reminding me why I work in Pediatrics". He's already making quite the impact on this big world. I'm so thankful I get to know him for this time.

I'm taking care of a tiny, little baby boy who was born about two months ago and only gained 1 oz. since birth. He is really adorable and is eating very well (4oz every 2-3 hours). I was worried that he might have reflux or something that would make it difficult to keep his formula down but no sign of that so far. Apparently children normally grow at a rate of about 30 g (1 ounce)/day in early infancy (birth to 3 months) and this then slows to about 20 g/day from 3-6 months and to only 12-15 g/day in later infancy (6 - 12 months). Older children grow even more slowly, with toddlers (1-3 years) growing, at about 8 g/day, and preschool age children at about 6g/day. Please pray for strength for this sweet baby.

Jayden has taken it upon himself to make sure my house is safe and uncluttered...

Since being licensed to do foster care, I've been moved to pray for the children and their families. Due to my work schedule, I haven't been able to accept the situations presented to me so far but I know that prayer is the most important thing I can do anyway.... I found this list today and wanted to share it... Foster Care Prayer Requests Pray for the children entering foster care today, that they find an appropriate, kind and loving foster family to care for them until their birth families or relatives are able to do so. Pray for the sibling groups of children entering foster care today, that they will be placed together in one foster home. Pray for all the foster children in care, that their first foster home is also their last foster home, as multiple placements rob children of stability and love which is required to build the self-esteem needed to grow into responsible, caring adults. Pray that more singles, couples and families become foster parents. More experienced a...

November is National Adoption Month. Every year, our Children's Court opens on a Saturday to finalize as many adoptions as possible to bring awareness to the need for foster and adoptive parents in the United States. Right now, there are over 500,000 kids in foster care in the U.S. Some of those kids will be reunited with their biological parents but others will need adoptive families. In the United States, there are currently 129,000 children in foster care waiting for adoptive families. In New Mexico, we currently have 350ish kids waiting for forever families. Today, we finalized 5 adoptions through our agency and 42 adoptions in the county. They are all incredibly important and reason to celebrate but one was especially close to my heart. One was a preteen who I have been working with for about a year and half. In that time, she was devastated by saying goodbye to her biological mother, disappointed by a family member who turned out to be an inappropriate placement option...

I will receive my foster care license on Wednesday. I don't know how long it will take for a child to actually be placed in my home. I am relying on God's impeccable timing and trusting that He will use every minute to prepare me for my next steps in this journey. I want to purge everything that would not be "child friendly" from my life and my home because I want my home to be a sanctuary of warmth, safety and security. Since I received the copy of my homestudy last week, I've been caught in a thought process that surprised me. Of course, I'm nervous and excited but mainly I've felt moved to pray. Pray for the state of our world, pray for our NEW PRESIDENT, pray for my friends and family, Pray for myself but above all---Pray for the little boy or girl out there who is in a less than optimal situation. There are approximately 500,000 kids in foster care in any one time in this country. Estimates are that three times that number are being abused/negle...