THE THREE T'S

Brief Update

2009-05-11T15:22:00.000-07:00

So, I am finally writing another post on this blog. I think that I may not be posting too many more on this site and try to stick to my other one now. It's harder than I thought to keep up with two and I think that everyone who reads this one (all 3 of you!! j/k) doesn't ever look at the other one. I really would love the support on my other blog, too, so those two of you that are followers on this site, I would love for you to follow my journey on the other site as well. And please do share my sites with anyone you know that could be encouraged by my writings. Anyhow, back to the update.

A couple of weeks ago, we moved to a new place. We are still trying to get adjusted to this place which is a little bit difficult right now. There are definite positives and negatives about being here but I won't go in to too much detail about that since we may not be here as long as we originally planned.

In addition I was bamboozeled in to coaching Tyler's Upward soccer team this season. At first I was SO hesistant but now I am so glad that I signed up. The kids on my team are so awesome and they are improving every week! Here is our team picture with Tyler's individual picture.

There has not really been that much exciting stuff - just mostly busyness. However, please keep us in your prayers with the adoption process. It is very draining and often times discouraging.

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day and have a blessed week. Check out my other site to see My First Mother's Day.

It's been SO long....

2009-04-28T19:44:00.001-07:00

since I have written a post!! For a long time my internet has been acting up and I have not been able to write any posts. Blah! But now that everything is up and running, hopefully I will be able to update everyone on what's been going on (not that it's THAT exciting) and hopefully keep up with the posting.

Look for an update soon!

Newsboys Concert

2009-03-20T22:55:00.000-07:00

So, tonight I was able to go to a Newsboys concert at my church! It was AWESOME! Recently the lead singer of the Newsboys, Peter Fuller, stepped down and over the past few weeks has been integrating a new lead singer in to the band. Can you believe that is the former lead singer of DC Talk, Michael Tait?!?!? Well, tonight was so amazing to hear the Newsboys with Michael Tait as the lead singer! And it was also cool because they played Newsboys songs and DC Talk songs. It was like seeing TWO concerts in one night! And everyone loved the show.

Unfortunately, I was a LAME-O once again and I forgot my camera. I have been forgetting that A LOT lately! Grr.. And there were some great pics to be taken. Well, during part of one of the songs, the drummers platform was raised and while he was doing his solo, the platform tilted forward and started spinning. It was great! Lucky for me, lots of other people have recorded it at other concerts so I'm just gonna show you what they captured. Same thing as our show.

Newsboys Drummer in Concert

In addition to that, this concert was so AMAZING because the TRUTH was spoken throughout the whole concert! I'm really going to have to start using some of these concerts as a ministry to my unbelieving friends. The music is GREAT which can attract an unbeliever, but then once they are there, they will hear God's truths!! Wonderful!!!

This may have been one of my favorite concerts ever!! Although I still think the Barlow Girls concerts were pretty great, too. They also made sure to preach God's truths throughout their concerts. I love to see these artists using their talent to reach people for God's Kingdom! AMEN!!!

Only A Christian Entertainer...

2009-03-15T23:38:00.000-07:00

would think to put himself inside of a balloon to make kids laugh!! :-) We had this great entertainer at our Upward Basketball Award Night. He was hilarious. I just want to leave you with this video to show you what we saw. This is not the exact footage from our award night on Friday but it is the exact same thing that he did for us except for the toilet paper. Enjoy!

**Edited: I finally figured out how to post a YouTube video! Yay Me!**

For some reason I just can't seem to figure out how to post videos from You Tube. I must be a lame-o but please do check out the video and please feel free to share how to post videos from You Tube as well. I hope you all have a great start to your week. :-)

Continuance

2009-03-08T10:01:00.000-07:00

So, we had our court date for Tyler's birth parents' rights to be terminated. Well, it didn't happen. :-( Blah. They had a continuance. This is pretty ridiculous. Well, then on Thursday we had a meeting with all the social workers involved with our case and basically THEY asked for a continuance. I was pretty upset. They gave us this list of reasons why they had a continuance and it was SO discouraging. Basically, they have this list of things that they want us to do in order for us to move forward, including changing our therapist. This DOES NOT make me happy because our therapist is a pastor at a church and he has been making so much progress with Tyler and he keeps the center on what God wants. I don't want to change therapists but they say we have to or else we can not move forward with adoption. Some other things that they want Taylor and I to do is go to counseling ourselves so that we can discuss our frustrations with having Tyler here and the frustrations with going through this process. That, I do think is a good idea but I think that we could have still moved forward and got in to therapy at the same time. I'm just so frustrated with this whole situation and it seems pretty ridiculous that they would bring us this far and now I feel like they are just tearing us down. They had some other things to say - some valid and some not- which I don't really care to post just because I don't feel like re-hashing all of their put-downs all over again. So, from here our next court date is not until June 30, 2009. So, please pray for us as we continue this ridiculous process.

Being A Single Mom

2009-02-28T10:37:00.000-08:00

So, Taylor has officially been in Texas for two weeks. I have gotten just a small dose of what it would be like to be a single mom. I must say that I am truly exhausted. I never get a break. And I know that I will deal with it because it is only for two weeks. To me that seems like a really long time but in reality it's not. I am definitely left in awe of anyone who is a single parent. That is just such a HUGE responsibility and committment. I, at least, got to do with a 9-year old who I could send to school and who could keep himself occupied with LEGOs. For those parents that have younger children who need constant attention, I am thoroughly impressed. I don't know what I would do if I had to be a single paretn.

I just wanted to say that I have much admiration for ALL the wonderful single parents out there and also that I can't wait for Taylor to come home tomorrow so I can actually have a moment of a break. Single parents are AMAZING!!

A Journey To Share

2009-02-25T08:26:00.001-08:00

I just wanted to let you all know that I have decided to change my lifestyle a bit and get healthier. I guess I should just say "get healthy" as I am not one of the healthiest people I know. Anyhow, I have started another blog that will be about my journey to a healthier me. It is called A Journey To Share. Please feel free to check it whenever you want. Please leave comments or share the site with other people you know as I can use all the encouragement that I can get in order to stay healthy. I am a bit of a junk food junkie and I need all the help I can get in moderating that. Check out my site!

I WIN

2009-02-21T18:10:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!
I just wanted to share that I just won a contest on my friend, Bobbi's blog. It's called N Her Shoes. She is always writing healthy lifestyle choices. I always find her blog to be encouraging. So, she's always having contests for free give aways and I actually won one for some laundry detergent, called WIN. So, as you can see, I "WIN"!! Anyhow, I just thought I'd share a little about her blog. And anyone can enter her contests. She alwasy cool goodies to give away, usually having to do with health and exercise. So, check out her blog!!

Some Random Things For the Past Month

2009-02-20T08:35:00.000-08:00

Well, it has been a while since I have posted. There have been many ups and downs in the past month or so, that I don't know where to start.

As you all know, Tyler has been acting up A LOT in the past month and half. He got in trouble majorly at school one day (the day before my birthday) and since then has been acting up non-stop just refusing to do his consequences. In the last post you read about the police coming because of his tantrums. In addition to that Tyler has been stealing some stuff and lying A LOT. Tyler tried to get out of his homework so he told me that he threw it away. He didn't think that I would make him go get it but... I did. And he actually started digging through the trash can as if to prove it to me which I don't understand cause he would have to tell me the truth once he was at the bottom. But he went through the trash can. Here is a picture of this:

As you can see, he's already almost to the bottom and STILL has not admitted that he is lying.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I was able to do a couple of babysitting jobs. This is a picture of one of the boys that I baby sat. His name is Jacob. He was so cute and SO good. He cried a little when his dad walked out the door but then he was absolutely fine for the rest of the day.

In addition, we've had some interesting weather in the past couple of weeks. I've noticed in the most when I take Tyler to school.

When you look to the north, you see this, snowy mountains:
And when you look to the south, you see this, rolling green hills:I just thought that was kind of cool to share just because it seemed interesting to me to look at both of the things on the same day. Yeah, it's these little things that keep me going everyday. :-)

Sorry about the next few parts of this post because I think it's just going to me jumping from random subject to random subject. They all seem important to me but there is no rhyme or reason to them. So, bear with me.

So, in addition to all of this, I have started going to school to become a Medical Assistant. But first I have to take these ridiculous pre-requisites. I could pass every test without ever going to class or reading the material. But it's good because I have started and there's no stress with it.

As of last night at midnight, Tyler finally finished his final assignment from his consequences (which started on Jan. 12). That is how stubborn Tyler is. He refused for such a long time and amazingly I didn't 'give in. But I do see lots of changes in Tyler (and myself) since this all began. I actually do feel like he is going to try to make a better effort to make the right choices. So, I am so thankful that this battle is completely over. Now, we can have some fun together again. Woo hoo!!

Taylor left for Texas on Sunday (Feb. 15) to help his brother with his business. He is going to be gone for two weeks. That's a REALLY long time. :-( Well, on Tuesday (Feb. 17), I had to call Taylor and tell him that his truck was stolen right out of our car port in our apartment complex!!! Can you believe it?? Amazingly (by God) the truck was found the next day. So, it is at a tow yard. However, since Taylor is out of town, and the truck is registered under his name, then I couldn't get his truck without a notarized letter from Taylor saying it is okay for me to pick up his truck. Ridiculous! And on top of that I have to pay the tow yard to get the truck back!! Not even sure exactly how much that will be.... but I'm sure it will put a dent in the money that we already don't have. So, I finally got the letter from Taylor yesterday after the Police Traffic Office was closed so now I can go get the truck today. I'm kind of scared of this because I don't know if it's okay or if all of Taylor's tools are still inside. So, that I will be doing today. But definitely, Thank You GOD for getting it back!!

Another praise is that I have a job now. It is a part time job in Redlands, shipping small parts for a vintage car shop type of Business. They kind of make re-wiring systems for old cars. It seems pretty cool. I won't be doing any of the re-wiring. And the boss seems really great and he's working around my school and my family. Amazing!!!

And as far as the adoption is concerned, all of our stuff in this phase is complete. There is a court date on March 2nd for the termination of parental rights for Tyler's birth mother. Please pray for that day because it may (or may not) be a rough day for Tyler. Then after that date, I'm not totally sure what else we will have to do.

I think that is all for now. I will try to keep this more update so that I don't have to try to think of everything all in one post because I'm sure that I forgot something. Anyhow, thank you all for your support and prayers.

2 AM Visitors

2009-01-19T10:48:00.000-08:00

That's right! At about 2am we received a knock at our door. Who could possibly knocking on our door at two in the morning!?!?!?! Well, believe it or not, it was the Redlands Police Department! Someone in our apartment complex called the police because there was a HUGE disturbance coming from our apartment. What was that disturbance, you ask? Well, that would be a little 9-year old boy that goes by the name of Tyler.

So, here's the story....
If you can believe it, this ALL started on Monday morning. I dropped Tyler off at school at 7:40am (school starts at 7:45am) and Tyler did not finally get to his class until almost 8:30am!! What was Tyler doing during this whole time, you may be asking? Well, he went throughout the campus running in and out of other teachers' classes, he lied to pretty much everyone he came across that morning, he pushed a kid down on the way to the cafeteria, he went and disturbed the librarian, was seen briefly going in to the custodian's closet, and when his teacher caught up with him finally he was in the nurse's office with an ice pack on his wrist "claiming" that his wrist was hurting (totally a lie). And that is the short version of that morning. As a result of this morning, Tyler has had a massive amount of homework. Included in the homework assignments were about eight apology letters that Tyler had to write for everyone that he disrupted that morning. Well, all week Tyler has been absolutely refusing to write these apology letters. So, when we got to the weekend, he has not been able to do anything except sit at his desk writing his letters. The only time he was allowed to come out of his room was to eat meals or go to the bathroom. He had this plan that he would just sit there not working until about 7pm every night and hope that he could just ask to go to sleep and and then he would be done with it. Well, every night (since Friday) we have told him that he can not go to sleep until he finishes the letter that he was working on. Well, that's when the screaming would start. He would scream and yell and tantrum that we would just eventually let him go to sleep. On Friday night, he was so loud that people were actually yelling at him through the window to "Shut Up!!". He fought it until about 10:30 that night and then wrote his letter. On Saturday we didn't hear anything from the neighbors even though he was just as loud. This time he fought it until about midnight before writing his letter. Then last night (Sunday) Tyler battled until 2am. And the ONLY reason he stopped at that time was because the police knocked on our door. I guess the neighbors skipped telling him to "Shut up" and just went straight to calling the police. But for the rest of the time he did not make a noise and just finished his letter. So, that is pretty much how our night went. The sad part is that all the screaming and crying was absolutely fake. I video taped it but have debated about putting it on my blog because it's pretty sad how far he will go to get what he wants. So, PLEASE keep us in your prayers! We NEED it!!

Is There A Moose In Your Marriage?

2009-01-16T08:17:00.001-08:00

That probably sounds pretty weird, doesn't it? Did she really write "a moose"? Yes I did! "Is There A Moose In Your Marriage?" is the title of a book that I have started reading. It was given to me by one of the ladies in my Bible Study group this past Wednesday. I just started reading it last night and I already see why God has impressed it upon her heart to give this book to me - the short version.... I'm selfish in my marriage! I've only read through the first chapter and I already have that feeling that i DO NOT want to keep reading this book. Why? Because it is convicting!!!! I'm pretty scared of the chapters to come. Here are the chapter titles just so that you have an idea of what I am in store for:

PART 1: A Wife's Role
Chapter 1: Given By God
Chapter 2: Choices

PART 2: Laying The Foundation
Chapter 3: Forgiveness
Chapter 4: Abiding in Christ

PART 3: The Job Description
Chapter 5: Order in the Home
Chapter 6: Godly Behavior
Chapter 7: Holy Beauty

PART 4: Family Relationships
Chapter 8: Reclaiming Your Priorities

PART 5: The Motiviation
Chapter 9: Marriage is a Ministry

PART 6: The Results
Chapter 10: Triumphs and Testimonies
Chapter 11: A Speechless Husband Speaks

So, I am in PART 1, Chapter 1. A wife's role given by God. That already sounds pretty brutal, right? Well, I would say that I am not fulfilling my role that God has given me. God's job description of a wife is to be a helper. Being a helper is not supposed to be something we DO; It's supposed to be who we ARE. "The Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.' " Genesis 2:18. How do you feel knowing that you are called to be a helper to your husband? My selfish flesh says "Why do I have to be a helper to him. Why can't he be a helper to me?!?!?!?" See! I told you guys that I am selfish! It's so sad, isn't it? Some of you thought I was this person that is alwsys wanting to serve and help others and today I am shattering that image and letting you all know now that I am a SELFISH person. (Some of you already knew that). But a very interesting thing is that I DO like to help people. When people call me and tell me they need help doing something, I am almost always ready to help if it is at all in my ability. But sometimes when Taylor, MY OWN HUSBAND, asks me to do something (that is usually really simple), the first thought that goes through my head is "Why can't you do it?" And then I begrudginly do it for him but keep track in my head and compare the difference of how many times I have helped him and how many times he has helped me. How horrible am I?!?!?!? (Feel free to answer how horrible I am). Well, this book is about the road blocks (the moose) in your marriage. In chapter one it talks about how if the wife (ME!!!) has not embraced her (MY) role as the helper, then she (ME again!!!) IS the road block in her marriage. "Would your husband say that because of you, your life is more pleasant and bearable? OR Would your husband shy away from making even the simplest requests fearing your reaction?" My husband would more than likely be in the second category. I am not AT ALL writing to convict any of you in your marriage as I have seen you all be servants and helpers to your husbands. This is purely sharing my convictions from reading this book so far. I am re-learning my role as a wife and God has called us wives to be a helper to our husbands.
"What a challenge....
What a privelage...
WHAT A CREATOR!!!!"

Blessings,
Terecita

My Birthday

2009-01-14T14:27:00.001-08:00

So, yesterday was my birthday. Most of this day was pretty rough until my little birthday gathering. In the morning Tyler was having a huge fit because he was tired in the morning and didn't want to get up. That was a result of him having TONS of homework because of his HORRIBLE behavior at school on Monday. Then during the day Taylor and I did a lot of running around meeting with social workers and such. Then after school, Tyler and I went to his therapy session, where Tyler was absolutely disrespectful to me and his therapist. Then after therapy Tyler was having a huge attitude refusing to do his homework (massive amounts leftover from Monday and still continuing today). So, I then had to make Tyler take a shower SUPER early and sit through our basketball practice (I'm his coach for Upward Basketball at Immanuel Baptist Church) in his pajamas just doing his homework and not participating in his practice. After we got home from practice (6:15) I had Tyler eat and then go straight to bed (6:30). He cried and screamed for a little while but thankfully stopped before any of my friends came over for my birthday game night party.

So, then that's when my birthday gets better. I had a few friends come over which included Ms. Grace, Ms. Veronica, Mr. & Mrs. Becker, and Mr. & Mrs. McCormick. Now, if it was not for these people coming over, I really would have had one of my worst birthdays. I was extremely upset with Tyler and I almost cancelled the party but once they showed up I felt much better. We played this game that is basically mix between Pictionary and Telephone. We shall it Pictephone. Anyhow, it was hilarious. You basically start out with everyone writing a phrase or saying or whatever. Everyone passes their stack of papers to the left and then you have to draw what the phrase that the other person wrote. Then the next person has to interpret your drawing and write the phrase that they think that you drew. And then so on and so on. Here a couple of pictures that were drawn. The first one is supposed to be "Born in the U.S.A." and the second one is supposed to be "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water." They got pretty funny after a while.

This picture was interpreted as "I'm having a baby"

This picture was interpreted as "Don't throw out the baby with the bath tub water" "(Good Job Matt!!)

Here are some pics of us at the party (more like a small gathering) We had a good time and my friends being there really made my birthday good.

Me and Bobbi. She's awesome! As a matter of fact I wouldn't even have this picture if she didn't bring her camera cause I was a lame-o and only took a couple of pics. She is one of the most amazing people I know and I truly feel blessed to know her.

Here is Mr. and Mrs. Becker (Beth and Derek). Derek was working really hard on the Pictephone game. Everyone thought it was hilarious.

This is Grace & Veronica. Grace and I have been celebrating birthdays together for 11 years!! Mine is Jan. 13 (yesterday) and hers in Jan. 14 (today). All three of us went to high school together but I did not hang out with Veronica until after high school as we became friends through Grace. Man I was totally missing out on her friendship in high school. She is SO cool and everything is always funny to her so she thought this game was HILARIOUS!!!

Everyone was so gracious with their gifts. I truly am blessed. This was from my hubby. He made this flower arrangement for me. I hope it doesn't die cause I'm not too good with taking care of plants.

So, that was my birthday. We almost played a game of Cut-Throat Uno (mostly for Grace because she is so competitive and Pictephone is not a game where somebody acutally wins) but everybody had to get up early so we talked for a bit and called it a night. I kinda wanted to hang out more but when I got up this morning I was definitely thankful that I didn't stay up any later than I did. So, all in all, I had a truly blessed birthday! Thank you to everyone that made that happen!!

Tyler's Birthday

2009-01-07T13:47:00.000-08:00

So, yesterday (Jan. 6) was Tyler's birthday. We decided to have a little get together in honor of it. We weren't sure if we were going to do it at first (at least not actually on the 6th) because it was a school night and the absolute earliest that we could do it was 6:30 because we had our first basketball practice that did not end until 6:00pm. So, we had to rush back and get everything together before anyone else showed up. But everything turned out fine. My parents told me that they would barbecue some hamburgers and hot dogs and bring them over so that i wouldn't have to worry about making/getting any food. And we had chips and sodas... and of course a birthday cake, which I made! :-) Here are a couple of pics from the party. I would have took more but the batteries in my camera died very early in the evening. (** Sidenote: Do not buy batteries from the 99 cent store. They don't last for very long. **)

Here's a pic of the cake that I made. You would not believe how much it hurts your hands when you write on someone's cake!!
Here's a couple of the presents I wrapped. Just wanted to share that cause sometimes I love to wrap presents (when they are perfect squares or rectangles - NO odd shapes) more than gift bags.
Here's a couple of gifts that Tyler got. The first one is a scarf that my mom made for him which I thought was pretty cool. The second one is a "Learn to Speak Spanish Kit" - Can you believe that he actually asked for this for Christmas? The third one is a NERF crossbow (I was definitely not thrilled to see that when he opened it) that he probably won't ever get to use because he has not learned yet not to point it at people. He also got some clothes, a soccer ball, a football, a Lakers jersey, some books, a board game and a few other things. I got all the boring stuff since I knew other people were getting the toys and stuff.
And this is a picture of our friend's daughter, Jasmine. She's 2 years old. All the kids were playing in Tyler's room and when we called them all to eat, somehow she got left behind. Well, while she was by herself she got in to Tyler's markers and did this to her face. :-)

And that's a glimpse of Tyler's birthday! Have a great day everyone! :-)

Picnic in the Park

2009-01-05T08:53:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had a family day and decided to have a picnic at Sylvan Park. Only in California would you think to have a picnic in January! :-) We just got a $5 pizza from Little Caesar's and some chips and had some good family time. We played horseshoes, frisbee, and soccer. Anyhow, here are a few pics of the family at the park. Enjoy!

This is just a view of the park. This is one our favorite parks to go to.

Here's some of the three of us.

2008 Christmas Family Photo

2008-12-24T11:36:00.001-08:00

I was supposed to send this picture out with Christmas cards this year but somehow Christmas came here before I knew it. So, instead I post this pic up here for you guys. Not quite the same as mailing out cards. But hopefully next year I will do a better job.

This was the one we were going to send out.

This is just us goofing around a litte. :-)

Have a MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!!!!

I'm A Landscaper!! (Sort of)

2008-12-08T17:37:00.000-08:00

So, since I am currently label "unemployed", Taylor has recruited me as a landscaper. I really just mow lawns. The first day working with him was this past Thursday and then I helped him today. I must say that when I stopped working at FedEx I was not sad to not be doing physical labor anymore. But lucky for me, summer is OVER! I do not myself out there in the hot summer days. Ugh!! So, I'm writing this cause I'm so proud that I have been able to do this but I should be giving Taylor so much recognition cause he does this EVERYDAY - even in the summer. Ugh!! Anyhow, I took some pics today of two of the lawns that I mowed and a pic of me with the blower and a pic of me and Taylor at the back of the trailer at the end of the day. Enjoy!

This one is so nice cause it's so green. It makes itself look pretty but I mowed it! Yay me! Actually, about 2 years ago, Taylor and I laid this grass (sod) down. So, I guess I've had it in me all along. :-)

This one is next door to the other. It's a pretty cool yard but there's so many little leaves. All the grass you see I mowed

Here is me with the mower. I'm smiling for the picture but who knows if I was smiling at all when I was working.

And now Taylor and I at the end of the day. I even have the earplugs just like Taylor always has. :-)

I think this may be one of our first blogs in a LONG time that did not have to do with Tyler. Hopefully there will be many more to come. :-) My dad has agreed to watch Tyler one night of the week so that Taylor and I can hang out. We have not hung out just the two of us since Tyler got here (That's 4 Months!!!). Yay for DAD!! :-)

A Change In Tyler's Room

2008-12-05T07:55:00.000-08:00

So, I have decided to decorate Tyler's room a little bit. Tyler told me that he didn't like the plain white walls because it reminded him of his dad's house. And since we don't really want him to think about that, I decided to decorate his room a little. I asked for some of his input and then I got to work on it while he was at school. He didn't know that I had started working on it so it was a surprise when he got home. He was really excited when he saw it and he said that he really liked it. He also said that it doens't look like his dad's house anymore. So, here are some pics of what I did. It's not super fancy but it definitely makes the room feel different. And I had NO idea how hard it would be to non-permanently decorate it since we live in an apartment. Here it is. Let me know what you guys think. :-)

This is the best before picture that I could find. I didn't think to take a picture before hand. (Lame) But you can still see that the walls are bare.

Here's the first after picture. Tyler wanted his name above his bed so I did it with stars. Each star has one letter of his name on it. Tyler thought of having the ribbons hanging from each corner of the room. And I suggested the blue strip around the room. He agreed but I don't think he fully understood it until he saw it. And he really liked it. It looks like it's painted but it's A LOT of construction paper taped around the whole room. Above the blue line on the right are 3 quotes that I thought he would like. And below the blue line and to the left of the bed is something on good listening techniques cause he needs to work on his listening.

These two things are right next to his door. The top one is a little thing about character - "Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions...etc until you get to character." The bottom one is a picture that I colored for him and it has a bible verse on it. And the dry-erase board was already there.
And finally, this is Tyler's name on his door. I tried to make it so that it seems like the letters come off the door. I forgot to use the flash on this picture but it actually looks better than the one with the flash because in this one you can't see the tape.

So, I hope you enjoyed the tour of Tyler's room. Oh! I forgot to take a picture of this but we also put paper all over his closet door and we call it the "Wall of Frustration" and Tyler can color, scribble, write, draw, or whatever on it when he's frustrated as long as the writing is always on the paper and he never writes inappropriate stuff on it. So far, he's already used it once. Let me know what you guys think. And if you have any suggestions, please feel free to share because we are trying to decide if we need to add anything else. Other than the blue strip and the ribbons there really isn't anything else on the other walls. So, bring on some suggestions. :-)

Some more "Firsts" for Tyler...

2008-11-25T13:41:00.000-08:00

So, on Sunday we drove down to San Diego and Tyler got to experience the beach for the first time. He got excited as soon as he saw the water while we were in the car. We didn't really plan on swimming due to the water being pretty cold. We kind of just rolled up our pants and went in knee high and we played a little bit of tag in the water. Unfortunately, that resulted in Tyler face planting in the water :-). I guess he was use to running in the water... but it was pretty funny. And he wasn't phased by it and he just kept playing. Here are some pics of us at the beach.

Can you see his excitement? (I know... it's kind of dark shadow over his face)

This is before he face planted. :-) We had a lot of fun. :-)

All three of us before we left with coastline behind us. It was a nice day at the beach. :-)

Us with our friends (newly engaged friends!!), Jon and Emily, who were so kind as to take care of us in San Diego. They ALWAYS are such great hosts when we go down there. :-)

So, Tyler's other first was yesterday. Not that anyone really wants this kind of first, but he had his first surgery yesterday for his hernia. It was only about an hour and everything went absolutely smoothly. Although he woke up from the anesthesia just crying. He said he wasn't in pain. So, I think he just didn't like the feeling of being under the anesthesia and still feeling out of it when he woke up. He woke up stunned that it was over already. But... he stopped crying as soon as they gave him a popsicle. Here are sine pics from surgery day.

I just thought he looked so cute in his hospital gown! :-) He looked so tiny when he was walking around in it.

This is obviously before the surgery since he's still smiling. Afterwards it was the opposite.

And here's a picture of his lovely little war wound!

So, there are Tyler's firsts this week. Hope you enjoyed as we did... not that the surgery was enjoyable! Thank you all for your prayers. Please keep it up as they help us get through each day.

Surgery

2008-11-21T21:51:00.000-08:00

For those of you that were not aware, Tyler was found to have a minor hernia at his phyical in the beginning of October. It took a long time but his surgery is officially going to happen this coming Monday, November 24th. We have to check in at the hospital at 7:15am. This hospital kept postponing and rescheduling the surgery which was very frustrating. But now it is official and I will be glad to get it over with. The surgery is supposed to be a fairly simple surgery but we would still appreciate your prayers. Tyler absolutely HATES hospitals, doctors, dentists, etc. So, please pray for the day to go smoothly from the beginning. Tyler is glad to be getting the surgery done with but I know he's very nervous. I hope they give him his anesthesia with a mask and NOT a shot so that he does not flip out. If it is a shot, that will be a battle in itself. So, please pray for all aspects of the surgery day to go smoothly. Thank you SO much!! :-)

Halloween Pics

2008-11-02T20:48:00.000-08:00

So, on Halloween we went to our church's Hallelujah Party (For those of you that go/went to Immanuel or Trinity, it is just like Harvest Festival or Halloween Happenin'.) We tried to do a bit of a theme of "Cowboys and Indian" - Can you guess who was the indian? Well, Tyler absolutely loved his costume. He wants to wear the boots and the hat everyday. And for my costume, I actually had from a couple of years ago when I worked at the Boys and Girls Club. I drew up what I wanted, bought the material, and my mom was so kind as to make the costume for me. At first Taylor wasn't going to go so we don't have a lot of pics of him in his costume but we have plenty of Tyler. Here are a few pics of us in our costumes:

He was totally in to being a cowboy!

Here a few of Tyler and me just goofing around:

Here's a pic of me and Taylor. He was not really in to the pics and unfortunately did not get a pic of Taylor & Tyler together. Too bad cause that would have been cute.

So, those were our Halloween costumes. I think I had more fun dressing Tyler up than anything else. Maybe we will have to remember to take many random pics throughout this month since Tyler will be off track and home from school all the way until December 1st. I'm not even sure yet what to do with that. So, far it has been good so I hope it continues that way. Thank you all for your support.

And just a reminder that Tyler is tentatively scheduled for surgery on November 14th for his hernia (basically waiting for court approval for anesthesia). So, if you remember to pray for him as he goes through this. He half scared and half wanting to get it done. Until, next time, have a wonderful day, night, week, and month!

Tyler's Siblings

2008-10-29T21:38:00.001-07:00

So, yesterday, we flew to Sacramento and back in one day. When this trip was first planned I didn't think it sounded so bad but when we got back home we were completely exhausted (at least I know I was.) I actually didn't even make it to the bed and passed out on the couch. I don't even remember the last time that I was so tired. But, it was definitely well worth the trip. We flew out to Sacramento to see Tyler's brother (Dillon) and sister (Laney). Dillon is 10 yrs old and Laney is only 5. It was Tyler's second time being on airplane. His first time was about 5 months ago with his social worker the first time that he flew out to visit his siblings.We actually met them in Auburn, which is about an hour away from the Sacramento Airport. We met that at the most beautiful park ever! It was so nice out there we contimplated the thought of moving there someday! Interesting, huh? Well, anyhow, the visit went really well with his siblings. Tyler played more with Dillon than Laney but I guess that would be expected. Here are some pictures of our trip and of Tyler with his siblings:

All three of us before we took off from Ontario.
The flight attendant was kind enough to take our picture. :-)

Tyler, Dillon, and Laney. Of course Tyler couldn't but do a weird smile.

Tyler and Laney. Isn't she just too cute???
But for some reason she didn't really want to smile. Probably cause this was taken as we were about to leave.

Tyler and Dillon. They are kind of opposites. Dillon is way more mellow than Tyler.

And this was the last hug before we left. I just thought this picture was pretty cool.

Also, I would like to add that we received the paperwork to start the adoption process today and we would greatly appreciate your continued prayer through this process. Tyler knows that we received the adoption paperwork and he also very excited. He's telling us that he is ready to be adopted and he is okay with not seeing his birth mother once that is finalized. (But I do think that feeling wavers whenver he sees her.) So, we thank you so much for all of your support and continued prayers.

A Rough Week

2008-10-22T12:21:00.000-07:00

So, we are barely halfway through Wednesday and we already had a rough week. There is so much going on with Tyler right now - both physically and mentally. Let me give you a little dose of what is going on:

Monday: On Monday afternoon, Tyler had a one-hour monitored visit with his birth mother. When I first picked him up from his visit, he seemed to be perfectly fine just like he usually is after his visits. But once he got home something else happened. He started working on his homework and as he started to get frustrated he started to get upset. Suddenly he started telling us "You guys hate me and you don't want me here!" That led to him have a serious tantrum and packing his bags. He literally packed up all of his clothes, books, toys, hygiene items, etc and told us "I'm leaving and I'm going to be a homeless hobo." He threw all of his papers all over the room and was ready to leave. When we told him "We care too much about you to just let you leave. Something can happen to you out there." He said didn't care. When we would not allow for him to leave, he became assaultive. He even started saying he hates God and that he wanted to go to hell. This incident lasted for about two and a half or three hours or so. Once Tyler stopped and realixed that he didn't want to go anywhere, he then began to panic because he thought that they would start hitting him. When we told him that we wouldn't do that, he just responded with "That's what my dad use to do so that's what you will do!" We just kept telling him that we love him and that we forgive him. It then took him another 45 minutes just to realize that we were not going to hurt him and that we forgive him. But after he was able to calm down, he started to clean up his mess (which he didn't finish before he went to bed). Then we prayed together and he asked God to forgive for everything that he had done that night.

After talking to him the next day, he explained that he acted that way because his mom hurt his feelings. At first he couldn't express how she hurt his feelings but then we had him write it in his journal and then talk about what he wrote. That was kind of pushing his emotions (which made him a little bit upset) but he was able to talk more about what made him upset. Believe it or not, Tyler tried to tell his mom about Jesus. He asked her if she knows Jesus and she actually said "Yes". During the visit Tyler prayed with her and he said "Thank you Jesus for dying on the cross for us." When he said that, his mother said "What does that mean?" After talking to Tyler more, he said that he was upset because he didn't believe her when she said that she knows Jesus. Tyler's teacher and I discussed this a little more and we think that he can't understand how someone who says that they know Jesus could have treated him the way that his parents treated him. And that would make sense. Let's just say that when that night was over, we were exhausted.

I took a picture of his room, with all his bags filled with clothes and with some papers still on the floor. This is after he had some time to clean up:

Tuesday: Tuesday was a relatively decent day until Tyler went to bed. About ten minutes after he went to bed, he came back out saying that his stomach hurts. For those of you that don't know, Tyler has a hernia. Up until last night it was a painless hernia. He is going to need surgery but we are waiting for court appropval so that the hospital can give Tyler anesthesia. Originally the doctor was not too concerned about waiting because Tyler was not feeling too much pain and after examining Tyler, he saw that the hernia could be pushed back in. He said he usually concerned when it can't be pushed in. He said that we will know that it got worse if Tyler feels pain or starts throwing up. Well, last night it happened. Tyler really started to feel pain and at about ten last night he started throwing up. It was not good. I felt so bad for him that he was in so much pain and throwing up. That was a rough night for us because he couldn't go to sleep.

Wednesday (today): As of right now, Tyler is on the couch watching a movie (his third one today). I decided to keep him home from school considering that he has a hard time just walking around. So, he has been laying down all day to help ease the pain a little. There's nothing draining about this day, but it's just kind of sad that he has to lay in the house like this all day. This has been so hard for him because he usually is running around non stop. Here' s a pic of Tyler laying on the couch watching "Hook" which he loves:

So, this is our week so far. Please pray for us! It is going to be a long rest of the week. We love you all!

LEGOS

2008-09-29T08:25:00.000-07:00

LEGOS... Enough said, right?

Tyler's First Concert

2008-09-26T08:13:00.000-07:00

So, I took Tyler to his first concert last night and can you guess who we went to go see... BarlowGirl!

I don't know if that would be a weird first concert for an 8-year old boy but he absolutely loved it. He was rocking out! And I completely enjoyed it. The band is not only singing great songs but the speak the truth of the Lord. Their concerts are not just concerts... they are live testimonies of their relationship with God. They play songs they wrote, they play worship songs, they share about ministries that they are supporting, they read scriptures, they have an altar call those that want to give their lives to Christ and those that need prayer. I think that Tyler did not listen to the words to the songs too much since he was so busy being the air-guitarist for the band but he did recognize some songs he heard on the radio and he did sing along with the worship songs he knew. Overall, I think it was a great experience. Below are a couple of pictures of us at the concert and a video of Tyler rockin' out on the air guitar. I apologize as the video is kind of dark.

Our next concert is supposed be tonight in Irvine. We are suppsed to see Third Day, Jars of Clay, and Switchfoot. It all depends on his behavior and how much homework Tyler has. So, we shall see.... But an overall great first concert experience. Yay!!

I.E.P.

2008-09-25T15:11:00.000-07:00

Individual Education Plan... otherwise known as an I.E.P. This morning we had an I.E.P. meeting for Tyler. The purpose was to set up a solid foundation for Tyler and to set appropriate goals for him to reach academically and socially. While I was not really looking forward to the meeting, it actually turned out to be a wonderful experience. Tyler's previous I.E.P. experience through the Beaumont School District did not seem to go well. They seemed to think Tyler was crazy and they appeared to have given up on him. But when we went to this meeting this morning at his school, Bryn Mawr Elementary, in the Redlands School District, it was an absolutely pleasant experience. The I.E.P. Team (which consists of us, the social workers, the principal, Tyler's teacher, and a special education counselor) is all on the same page. They are completely supportive of keeping Tyler in his Special Day Class because the structure of the classroom is exactly what Tyler needs. Everyone was compassionate and understanding of his history. Everyone seems ready to do everything necessary to help him succeed. Everyone was positive and ready to move things forward for Tyler. This meeting was an absolute blessing! Praise God!

Soccer Mom

2008-09-07T14:12:00.000-07:00

Yup! I'm officially a soccer mom! I never really thought that would be me but I am! This past week we signed Tyler up for Upward Soccer at Immanuel Baptist Church. For those of you that don't know what Upward Soccer is, it is basically a youth soccer league with it's focus on Christ. I really think it is a great program. They do it for basketball, soccer, and cheerleading for boys & girls from Kindergarten to 5th grade. I love it. I actually helped coach the first season of Upward that they ever had at Immanuel (which, of course, was basketball) and I absolutely loved it. One of my best friends, Grace, and I coached together and we felt absolutely blessed to be a part of it. So, when Tyler said his favorite sport was soccer, we didn't want to pass it up. So, now Tyler is playing for Team Sparks, practicing every Thursday and playing a game every Saturday morning. During halftime, one of the pastors comes and does a short message for the kids. For our first game, we had Rob Signs, and he of course incorporated a magic trick with his message. And coincidentally, he chose Tyler to be his volunteer. I really love being a soccer mom! Here is some pics of Tyler for soccer:

This is Tyler just before we left for his first practice.

This is Tyler doing a goalie kick. (I guess that's what it's called. Not too sure) There are no goalies in this league, just an open net... Interesting

Very Handy

2008-09-04T08:34:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to share this little tid-bit because it has been so handy for me. I bought these little sandwich tupperware things to put Tyler's lunch in and I just really love them. I got the idea when my friend, Heather, came over with her kids and she had put their sandwiches in there. I thought they were just great and had to get a couple for Tyler's lunches. He's been putting a PB & J sandwich in there everyday for school and it fits in lunch box just right with his drink and fruit and chips. It's little things in life that can put a smile on your face. Sorry to bore you but I thought they were cool.

First Day of School

2008-09-02T20:18:00.000-07:00

So, the first day of school for Tyler has finally arrived. It has been long overdue for about two weeks now. For those of you that don't know, there was some serious confusion with the school district and his enrollment was put on hold. So, we all originally thought he was gonna go to school on August 13th but that got postponed until today (September 2nd). That's almost 3 weeks difference. It has been quite difficult but he finally got enrolled at Bryn Mawr Elementary School and it looks very promising. Taylor & I got to sit in the classroom to observe the teacher and students and we are very impressed. We are confident that this teacher will be able to handle Tyler's behavioral problems. So, first day of school was a big success. Here is a picture of Tyler before he left for his first day of school. He is wearing all new clothes that my good friend, Lori, was so gracious to buy for him. Thank you Lori!

Amazing August (this might be kinda long)

2008-08-14T19:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I have almost not written a new post for the whole month of August. It is not that there is nothing to write about, more that there is so much going on. There have been some ups and downs but thankfully more ups than downs.

August 1st - Well, my last post was on August 1st. It was the day that we told Tyler that we were going to be his foster parents. For more on that, look at the post before this one.

August 2nd - Let's start with my last day of work. August 2nd was officially my last day of work at Childhelp. I was filled with mixed emotions. I was happy to say that this was my last day knowing that the result would be that Tyler would be coming home with me within the next week, however as the day went on I started to get sad thinking about the fact that I will not be able to see my boys anymore. Many of the kids acted up during the longest 14-hour day that I have ever worked. But then towards the end of the shift, I think it really started to hit them that I wasn't coming back because they started to get really sentimental. They started talking about how much they are going to miss me and I almost cried because I really miss a few of them too. I actually miss more of them than I thought I would. But my staff made my last day very special. They bought me a card and everyone signed it and they bought a cake. It was pretty cool. Here is one of the pictures that one of the kids gave me as a Good-Bye card. It's from one of my primary residents, Christian. He is the only kid there that knows how to spell my name.He wrote: Terecita the Worker, Me the Kid.
Then he folded it up and on the outside it said. To: Terecita, From: Christian, I LOVE YOU! This was such an emotional day. I really had to work hard not to cry.

Another kid, Enrique did a cool card that I haven't had a chance to scan yet. But it has 3 parts to it on each section of the card. It goes like this:
Front of Card: "By Tiarctta. I will miss you the moste.
Wher are you"
Back of Card: "There you are."
Inside of Card: "Thats to far a waya. I will miss you."

I thought that card was pretty funny when I first read it. Some of the kids also gave pictures of themselves that they knew that i liked. It was amazing.

August 4th - This day I had scheduled for my friend, Heather, to come over with her two children so that we could have lunch together. In anticipation of not having a lot of time, I asked her if it would be okay to just make a frozen pizza with some fruit and she so kindly said yes. Well, when I was gonna go to the store on this morning to get the pizza, I walked out of my apartment to see that a gigantic tree branch had fallen on top of my car. Believe it or not, in this picture, my car is underneath this tree branch. The branch goes all the way from the front to the back of my car. It's pretty crazy.

When the tree branch was removed, my car had to be taken to a body shop for estimates and repairs. One bonus to this: I've been driving around a 2008 Chevy Colorado ever since this happened. Actually a nice truck and it gets pretty decent gas mileage...very interesting. My renter's insurance actually pays for the rental vehicle (Renter's Insurance...Definitely a must have if you rent an apartment or house...Just a side note).

August 5th - On this day we were able to schedule a day pass with Tyler so that we could hang out with him for a little bit before we actually got to take him home for good. There was two big reasons for this visit. One was to help Tyler get through the anxiety of waiting for the move. The other reason was so that my mom could meet Tyler before she left for the Philippines (she left on August 6th) for 3 weeks (and returns on the 28th). So, we took Tyler to our apartment so that he could see his room for the first time and we went out to lunch with my parents. It was a good time. Here are a couple of pics of us in Tyler's room on his first day of seeing his room.

August 7th - So, moving on through the week to Thursday... the day that we are expecting Tyler!! Now, while we are waiting for Tyler to arrive, I get a phone call from the insurance company stating "You're car has been declared a Total Loss." Basically, that means that the car is worth less than the cost of the repairs. So, just shortly before Tyler is scheduled to arrive, I receive the news that I am no longer going to have a car. At the same time I also find out that my car was previously declared a total loss and was salvaged, which means I can't get full value from the insurance company. Well, that was a lot to take in at that time but I pretty much had to put that in the back of my mind because we were about to welcome into our family an awesome boy..... So, moving on to the overwhelming Joy!

So, this very same day, we welcome Tyler into our home. It was a pretty crazy day of getting Tyler unpacked and settled and documenting all the items that he brought with him and signing some paperwork. There was lots of hugging and laughing and more hugging and rejoicing and more hugging! It truly was a blessed day!

Now, I am fully aware that I said to look for pics of this day but I am realizing now that we were so involved with welcoming Tyler and helping him get settled in to his first day that we didn't take any pictures of this day. I do however have a picture of him sleeping in his bed on his first night. I also have a pic of the first morning when Tyler crawled right in to bed next to Taylor. I tried to get up really quick to take a candid picture of this because I thought it was so adorable but Tyler was paying attention and smiled right as I took the picture.

August 9th - This day we had a little get together at the park where we invited some friends and family to come out and meet Tyler if they haven't already met him. Quite a few people came out and showered him with love and everyone welcomed him to our family and community of friends just as if we had birthed our own child. It was so awesome. Thank you to everyone that came out to meet Tyler and show their support on this day. And thank you to everyone who has also been praying for us, supporting, and writing references throughout the whole process. You have no idea how much it means to us!!

August 13th - This was the day that Tyler was supposed to start school at McKinley Elementary School but there was some mix up at the Redlands School District. So, ever since this day until now, Tyler has been at home with me and I have been trying to still give him educational work. I have been able to teach him to write in cursive, we've been working on his print writing, his reading, his math, and we have just started to tackle multiplication. In addition to educational stuff, Tyler also learned his first Bible verse during this week. And as of today he has memorized two and is working on his third one. This is a video of the first Bible verse that Tyler has learned.

"The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid." - Psalm 118:6

August 15th - This was an interesting day. The week before this day we had taken Tyler to the Summer movies in the park at Brookside Park in Redlands. At that time he met this kid, named Jonathan, and they decided they wanted to be friends. They met because Jonathan cut in front of us in line and then they started talking. Well, by the end of the night, we met his dad and swapped phone numbers. Well, now that brings us to August 15th. On this day they called and asked if we wanted to come to the movie in the park early because it was Jonathan's birthday and they were going to have a cake for him and stuff. So, we went and met them there. It was so crazy because this kid actually threw his party favor at Tyler, hit him, kicked him, and slapped his cheek and Tyler STILL calls him a friend....Talk about turning the other cheek. :-) And then the funny thing is that after Jonathan slaps Tyler in the face, Tyler responds with, "Wait, I'm gonna share Jesus with you." Taylor and I thought that was amazing. Jonathan didn't want to listen but Tyler sure tried. We were very proud of the effort.

August 17th - On this day Tyler got to sit in "Big Church" with us during the evening service. We weren't quite sure how well he would be able to sit through it but he did. It was pretty cool. He did everything that he saw others doing. He may not have understood why but when he saw us raising our hands to God, then he would raise his hands and when we would stand up, he would stand up. He loved singing praise songs and he was very excited when there was a song that he knew. Then during the message, he pretty much sat through it all without talking. Only a few times did he talk and it was just to point out something that the pastor has said that made him excited. And then at the end of the service, the pastor invites anyone up that needs prayer. Tyler went up there twice. First he went up to one person and asked them to read the Lord's Prayer to him in his Bible and then pray together. Then the second time he asked a different man if he would pray for us (his parents), that God would take care of us and that we would not take him back to Childhelp. We totally lit up when the man told us the reason that Tyler went up there was to pray for us. And then after the service, Tyler ran up and down the aisles collecting all the little plastic cups in the back of the chairs from communion. He seems so happy to serve.

August 18th thru August 21st - This was a bit more of a trying week for us. Tyler was getting pretty anxious and pretty stubborn. He knew that he should have been in school already and was getting upset because it hadn't happened yet. I must admit that I was getting pretty anxious about him starting school, too. This week he has been doing a lot of testing and being very stubborn. Pretty much attempting to refuse to do any assignments, attempting to refuse any foods that he does not like (ex. vegetables with dinner, tomatoes in sandwich, oatmeal in the morning, etc.). He has wasted a few days away just being rebellious. If you remember, please do pray for us as we go through this journey with him. And for any of you that are already parents, we welcome any advice that you may have to give. We do struggle a lot with the fact that he is already set in some ways that he didn't previously realize were wrong. But we do believe that he truly has the heart to want to change that. So, please pray for us as we truly learn patience ("long suffering"). :-)

August 24th - This was a very big day for us. Tyler made the decision to be baptized! For those that don't know, about a year into working at Childhelp, I was blessed to lead Tyler in a prayer to receive Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Tyler really seems to understand what that decision means. He does struggle everyday with thoughts that it is just too hard to do what is right - but we have all been there and are still there. But yesterday, Tyler made the decision to get baptized. We made sure that he also understood the importance of this and he was able to tell us the reason to get baptized. Now, whether he fully understands the words that he said is between him and God. But I think he has a pretty good idea of what it means. Here is a picture of the pastors praying over Tyler before they baptized him and then a picture of him coming up out of the water.
In addition to Tyler getting baptized yesterday (August 24th), Taylor also decided to get baptized again. He came to a realization that the first time that he was baptized he didn't fully understand the importance and meaning of what it was. So, he also felt led to get baptized. So, I have a picture of Taylor speaking with the pastors before being baptized but then my battery died to my camera when he was actually getting baptized... Bummer. Here's the picture of Taylor talking to the pastors.

So, I think that pretty much catches everyone up. I'm sure there are little things that I have left out here and there but I guess you get the idea of how the month of August has been going for us. And I'm pretty sure you're probably tired of reading about us now. But all in all, this month has had a few bumps in the road but mostly praises. YAY GOD!!

P.S. I started writing this all the way back on August 14th and never really finished it. That is why it says that it posted on August 14th. But I really posted it on August 25th. Kinda weird.

The Day Tyler Found Out!

2008-08-01T07:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon Taylor & I met with Tyler's social workers and his therapist. We brought him in so that we could tell him the good news. This is some video that we were able to shoot. Unfortunately we weren't quite prepared. I wanted to get the look on his face when he first walked in the room and saw that it was us but the camera didn't turn on fast enough. This is just a two-minute snip of what was an hour long gathering. But here it is:

Another wonderful thing that was missed on this video is Tyler did not forget to thank God!! He proclaimed that he had been asking God for this every night and he finally said yes. It was absolutely beautiful! We are happy and excited and overjoyed! Again we thank you for your continued support and prayers through this absolutely wonderful process!

In addition here are some pictures of us on the day we told Tyler the great news!! There aren't too many since we were too busy interacting. But his social worker also took pictures too so hopefully she will email those to us. Here are a couple:

This is our first family picture! We took this just outside the administrtion office at Childhelp.

This is Tyler yelling at the top his lungs. He's yelling "YAAAAAA!!!"

Still to come... Pictures of the day that Tyler gets to finally come home with us for good! Look for those after August 7th, the new date of his arrival!

IT'S ABSOLUTELY OFFICIAL!!!

2008-07-29T16:23:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are not aware we have been working towards becoming certified foster parents in order to foster (and eventually adopt) a boy from my work, named Tyler. He is 8 years old and he is amazing! He asks me every night to pray with him and read the Bible with him. He has asked me to lead him in a prayer to give his life to Jesus! Praise GOD!! He absolutely has a compassionate heart!

So, today we met with Tyler's social worker and it was an absolutely wonderful encounter! His social worker was 100% supportive of this whole process. So, at the end of our meeting we set a date for Tyler to move in with us and it is on August 9th!! Less than two weeks away!! We are so amazingly excited! God has really opened every door for us during this process. Thank you to all of you that have been praying for us during this process and thank you to those of you who were able to write us references. We so truly appreciate every bit of support that we have received thus far. But we will still need plenty of support and plenty of prayer as Tyler joins our family. So, please don't forget to keep us in your prayers!

Below are some pictures of Tyler. Enjoy!! :

Stay tuned for some pics of our first day together!!

Here are some more pics from Texas!

2008-07-24T23:00:00.000-07:00

This is Daniel and I in the back seat as Taylor is learning how to drive a stick shift. As you can see, we feel COMPLETELY secure back here. :-)

This is us with our new little nephew. His name is Niko. He was almost two months exactly when this picture was taken.

This picture was taken in the caverns. Rhiannon loved it because the tour guide called this part "Short man's Revenge" because for a section of the tour, the walk space was less than 5ft tall. For the majority of that section she could stand up straight!

From this angle, this building is supposed to look like an owl, which it kinda does. They told me that the building was built by the Masons.

Taylor loves this pic of him and Brandon conversating while in the middle of their game of pool.

We stayed up all night talking because it was Rhiannon's last day with us and as a result Brandon and Taylor can't make it through the rest of the day. :-) Actually instead of going to bed when Rhiannon got tired, they chose to continue to stay up and go fishing. So, when they got back this is what they did.

More Pics from Texas!!

2008-07-05T21:33:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pics from Texas. I still have plenty more and so does Taylor's sis, Rhiannon. I can't wait to see hers, too. Well, here are more:

Brandon, Taylor, & Daniel with the Colorado River in the background.

Brandon and Taylor coming in from fishing at Inks Lake.

The sun setting on Inks Lake.

At the shooting range.

Walking on water at this creek that they call "The Slab".

Taylor and Rhiannon in the caverns.

All of us at this restaurant, called Oasis. It has 5 stories!! It was right on the shore of a lake. Absolutely beautiful!

Well, now I'm pretty tired. So, I will have to start adding some more pictures on another day. Or perhaps I will add a little filmstrip of all the pics. Until then, God Bless!!

Back from Texas!

2008-07-04T22:36:00.000-07:00

So, Taylor and I returned from Texas on Tuesday afternoon. We were completely exhausted (and we still kind of are.) But all in all we would definitely say that the trip was well worth it. For those of you that don't know why we went out there, we went there to meet Taylor's birth mother (yes, he is adopted!!) and some blood brothers... and a sister... and a nephew and niece...and a cousin!! :-) Going in to this it could seem rather overwhelming. While Taylor was very gung-ho about this, I was very much more reserved about the whole trip. But it turned out to be a wonderful experience. There was so much to do and I'm sure we got only a taste of what Texas and this extension of family has to offer!! They kept us pretty busy. We went fishing, bowling, fishing, played pool, more fishing, went to the shooting range, more fishing, toured through some caverns, more fishing, went canoeing, and MORE fishing....Clearly they (Mostly Brandon) like fishing just as much as Taylor!! It was great! Below is some of the pictures of Taylor with his new extension of family:

This is Taylor with Brandon. Brandon is 25. Him and Taylor are full blood brothers. They have a lot of similar characteristics, both physical traits and personality traits. Everyone (including myself) has enjoyed watching them two together. Brandon let us stay at his place for most of the time in Texas (while we were in Kingsland). He was a great host! Him and Taylor instantly bonded.

This is one of Taylor and Daniel. Daniel is 22 and him and Taylor are half brothers. All the siblings have the same mom but different dads.

This is a picture of Taylor with Michael. Michael is 23. Him and Daniel have the same dad but they look nothing alike.

This is a picture of Taylor and Rhiannon. Rhiannon is 31. She is talking about coming out to California towards the end of August. That will be cool.

This is a picture of Taylor and his birth mother. Her name is Cheri.

This picture has all the siblings and their cousin, Jesse. Unfortunately, I don't think that I was able to get a picture of just Jesse and Taylor like I did everyone else. He let us stay at his place for the later part of the week while we were in Austin. He was really a great host. In this picture:
Back Row (L-R): Jesse, Brandon
Front Row (L-R): Daniel, Michael, Rhiannon, Taylor (Duh!!)

Well, for now that will be all the pictures that I will post. I will definitely be putting some more pics up later. There are SO many pics that it would be ridiculous to post them all on this page but in the couple of days we will be working towards getting some more good ones up on the page so you can see some of the things that we got to do in Texas. For now, I just wanted to introduce you to this extension of the family.

An Update on Dylan

2008-06-30T10:07:00.000-07:00

We just wanted to give you guys a brief update on Taylor's little brother, Dylan. We should have wrote this sooner but got caught in flying out to Texas (which we will write more about later). Anyhow, Dylan's surgery lasted 7 hours but everything went very smoothly. When the surgery was over he slept the rest of the night and then had to stay in the hospital for 5 days. We never saw him in the hospital because Taylor's mom suggested that we not go in there because of how Dylan was acting when people came to see him. And then we left for Texas at about 6:30 in the morning on Sunday, June 22, which is the day that Dylan came home from the hospital. But since we had already left early we didn't get to see him. So, now we are still in Texas and have not seen Dylan at all since the surgery. But Taylor's mom has been very good about giving us updates while we were here and Dylan has been doing very well in his recovery. He is in a lot of pain but everything is looking good. We really appreciate all of your prayers and we hope that you continue to pray for him as this will be a long and grueling recovery for both him and the family. Dylan is not a very good patient so he can be very draining. So please pray for both a good recovery and for strength for his family during this demanding time. Thank you all so much for your prayers!

PRAISE GOD!!!

2008-06-19T22:53:00.000-07:00

About a month ago we extended a request to lend a helping hand for a homeless couple that we have opened our home to. Well, as of yesterday they have acquired enough money to move back in to their home so that they no longer have to worry about living on the streets. God has so graciously provided the funds for them through so many different sources. For those of you that have been praying for this couple (Rick and Cassandra), please do keep them in their prayers as they still have quite a journey ahead of them. They now are able to move back in to their. But in order to keep it that way, they will need to acquire steady employment, especially since they have a baby girl on the way. So, please keep them in your prayers as they continue to work towards getting back on their feet. Thank you all for your support!!

An Unexpected Day At Work

2008-06-17T10:35:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday was an unexpected bad day at work. I went in to work thinking that it was going to be one of the best days of work for so many reasons.

1) One of our most time consuming children was being discharged and moving back with his parents.
2) Two residents were on home passes until next weekend.
3) Four residents were going on an outing for almost the whole day. So...
4) That only left FOUR residents behind with three staff!!

This could have very easily been one of the best and easiest days I've had since I've worked there. The staff were all ready to order pizza for our lunch and have cake in the afternoon. But that wonderful day immediately turned bad.

I was left in charge of some belongings to the resident (Billy) that was supposed to be discharged. My supervisor gave me his Game Boy, 5 games to his Game Boy, His Nintendo DS with one game, his mix max (kinda like an mp3), and his allowance ($103). Within a 3-hour period, someone stole everything but the GameBoy out of the staff office. I orginally thought some staff was playing some trick but it never showed back up. Then I thought that maybe a staff accidentally left the door unlocked and somehow, one of the residents got in to the office. So, I searched the whole cottage, every kid's drawers, closets, night stands, beds, cubbies, and I found nothing. When I finally called my supervisor to tell him what happened, he told me that I should have called as soon as I noticed that it was missing because he would have had the police come out. I wish I would have known that because I would have done that way earlier. So much time had gone by and someone could have easily slipped the stuff out of the cottage.

So, now at this point my suspicion is that a staff member off of my floor is the person that stole these things. I have been stressing about this ever since Saturday because I really hate to think that one of the people that I directly work with would actually do this. So, on Wednesday, I have to go back to work knowing that there is somebody there that I can no longer trust and somebody that obviously does not care about my future at this place or that I will probably have to pay for the missing items. At the same time, I am sure that the people in administration are probably thinking that they can no longer trust me. In addition to all of this, the child that was discharged does not have his stuff.

Anyhow, I really just had to vent about this because it has been turning my stomach all day today and yesterday. Please keep me in your prayers about this situation and especially if you remember me when I return to work tomorrow.

A Prayer Request

2008-06-04T10:34:00.000-07:00

Taylor has a younger brother, Dylan, who is going to be having surgery on June 17th. For those of you that don't know, Dylan has scoliosis and has had to wear a back brace everyday for 23 hours of the day. He was supposed to wear it until he stops growing. Well, now Dylan has an opportunity to no longer be required to wear that brace through this surgery. Dylan is very excited about this surgery so he doesn't have to wear the brace any more but there are high risks in this surgery. Dylan already has a heart problem which could greatly effect the surgery and the surgery itself is very dangerous. Dylan will have to get metal rods put into his back to help keep it straight. There is a chance that he may not survive the surgery. And then, if he does survive, this will be guaranteed to be a long, painful recovery. So, as the June 17 approaches, I ask that you all would remember Dylan in your prayers and please do pray for the surgery on the 17th that it will go smoothly and please for the family as this will be highly stressful.

Here is a picture of Dylan with Taylor. We went fishing at Jenks Lake and Dylan was actually the only one that caught a fish. He is wearing his full back brace in the picture but you probably can't really tell since it's under his shirt, He is the only one that caught one but he didn't want to touch it. :-)

Here's a picture of Dylan with three of his other brothers after having some familiy fun time in the front yard. From left to right is Davis, Jason, Bailey, and Dylan.

Truly Encouraged

2008-06-01T23:42:00.000-07:00

Tonight Taylor & I went to the evening service at the Packinghouse for the first time since we started attending there (2 years!!). We actually weren't even intending on going to attend the service but God works in amazing ways. We were actually thinking that we would just walk in at the tail end of the service and try to talk to the pastor but the service actually started later than we thought. Ha ha...God is so funny.

So, during the service, I really took home a lot that I could use with the children at my work. I didn't expect it but I learned a lot about the authority that all of us staff have over these children... which is absolutely none...unless they give it to us. It was crazy. I also learned a lesson or two on how easily we show them that we have no authority. So, hopefully I will be able to have a whole new attitude when I go in to work this week.

In addition, after service, we ran in to a wonderful friend that we haven't seen in such a long time, Roxi. We just got to have a cheerful and uplifting conversation with her. We talked about her leaving for a mission trip and how much we love being at this church and we just did a little bit of catching up. In addition Roxi, was full of praises for the pastor that spoke tonight. So, from there...

We then went to speak to the pastor for the evening services, Greg O., who was just so warm and welcoming. We had come to talk to him about the couple, Rick and Cassandra, that we wrote about earlier who are staying with us. We were asking for insight and possibly any resources that he could point us towards to help them. He was genuinely interested in helping. He has also only been a pastor at the Packinghouse for 10 months. Before that he and his family were missionaries in Hungary for 17 years!! And in Hungary, he worked with the homeless so I truly believe that God really is working for this couple. So, on Tuesday we are going to meet with Pastor Greg to work on some ways to get this couple back on their feet.

And even as we are making arrangements at the church, I am sure that any assistance that you can provide will also be well appreciate...but truly do only give as God leads. And even more importantly, if you remember this couple in your prayers, that would be tremendously beneficial!

When I say... "I am a Christian"

2008-05-28T23:19:00.000-07:00

When one of the kids at my work came back from a visit with his mom, he showed me this poem that she gave him by Maya Angelou. I really enjoyed the poem and wanted to share it with you guys. It's pretty cool. I love when these children are exposed to the love of god through many different sources. And the amazing and wonderful thing is that these boys hunger for Christ. They are always asking for me to read the Bible to them. They are always asking for Bible verses to be read. It's amazing. Please keep these children in your prayers. They need it daily. So, here is the poem. I hope you enjoy it:

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting, "I'm clean-livin'."
I'm whispering, "I was lost,
Now I'm found and forgiven."

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble
and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say..."I am a Christian"
I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak
And need His strength to carry on.

When I say..."I am a Christian"
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed
And need God to clean my mess.

When I say..."I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect.
My flaws are far to visible
But, God believes I am worth it.

When I say..."I am a Christian"
I still feel the sting of pain.
I have my share of heartaches
So I call upon His name.

When I say..."I am a Christian"
I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner,
Who received God's good grace, somehow.

~ Maya Angelou

Lend A Helping Hand

2008-05-26T16:39:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,
I just want to share a brief invitation, perhaps even a challenge, for all of you. Taylor & I recently met a homeless couple that we have been helping out. We actually met them through my father because he found them sleeping on the church grounds where he works. My dad then introduced them to Taylor who allowed the guy (Rick) to work with him almost everyday to earn some money. Anyhow, the couple is not married but they have a child on the way (in about 3 months). Rick has recently given his life to the Lord. He has repented of his ways and felt called to turn himself over to the authorities for the things of his past. During the couple of months that he was in jail, all of his housing bills were not getting paid which resulted in him coming back to house that he could not live in due to nonpayment. So, as of February he has been living on the streets with his pregnant girlfriend (who he does plan on marrying). He has been working with Taylor for about 2 weeks now. And as of today (Thursday 5/22) they will be staying at our apartment for a couple of days.

Now, that I have given you a little background, here is the invitation that I extend to you. I invite you to seek God's guidance in helping to get this couple back in their home. The debt that has accrued while Rick was in jail was just over $1,600 and I am inviting you to join with Taylor & I as we work towards helping this couple back in their home. We are asking if you would be willing to graciously give of your finances to help this couple get back on their feet. Any little bit that you could contribute would be more than appreciated by them. In addition, if you know of any services that would be beneficial to this couple while they are still homeless, that would also be appreciated. Any little amount that you would be willing to spare would be more than a blessing to them.

If you feel led to give to them, please send any money (CASH would probably be easiest since they are homeless and have no bank account. Although if you feel more comfortable writing a check to Taylor & Me that is also an option.) to the following address:

Rick & Cassandra
C/O: Terecita Heppenstall
P.O. Box 1712
Redlands, CA 92373

If you have any questions, please feel free to call me or email at anytime and I would be more than happy to answer any questions (if I can):

Home #: 909-798-5547
Cell: 909-528-1712
Email: tntheppy@gmail.com

Much Love To You All!!

An Interesting Turn of Events

2008-05-12T21:54:00.000-07:00

Most of you know that Taylor is one of many adopted children in his family. Taylor was adopted when he was a baby and has had absolutely no contact with his birth mother...until now. Just a couple of days ago, Taylor's birth mother contacted his family to get information about him. Taylor's mom wrote down all of her contact information and gave it to Taylor to decide if he wanted to contact her or not. Pretty crazy, huh? Well, Taylor decided this morning to send her an email. She quickly responded and sent some pictures. It turns out that Taylor also has a blood brother that is about one year younger than him, as well as two step brothers and a step sister. As I am typing this, Taylor is speaking to his brother, Brandon, and he has actually been on the phone with him for over two hours now. An amazing similarity that his brother has is that he has taken over his grandfather's tree-trimming business. Weird, huh? I guess it runs in the family. Taylor is extremely excited about this and we are hoping that we can plan a trip out to see them at some point. They all live in Texas. As we embark on yet another journey in our lives, we ask that you would continue to pray for us. We continue to seek God's guidance and we definitely appreciate any prayers lifted up on our behalf. We have no idea what is in store for us with this extension of Taylor's family so please, please keep us in your prayers.

Red Bull Air Races

2008-05-05T23:30:00.000-07:00

This weekend, Taylor & I drove out to San Diego so that we could attend the Red Bull Air Races. Our friends, Jon & Emily, were so hospitable and they allowed for us to stay at their place. We are always truly grateful when they open their home to us. We also attended their church in San Diego, called Ethnos. We see God doing great work through their church and they are truly trying to reach the masses. I felt amazingly blessed while their worship band was playing all these songs that I have never heard. It was wonderful. After the service we packed up and went out to the Air Race. We, actually decided to drive out to Coronado and watch from the opposite beach so that we didn't have to buy a ticket for $25.00 each. But in Coronado there is a huge problem with parking - especially since we weren't the only ones who had the bright idea to go to Coronado for the air race. Once we finally got to the air race, it was very enjoyable. The weather was wonderful, the air race was entertaining. I was thoroughly impressed with the pilots cause I know I wouldn't have the guts to do it. Anyhow, just wanted to share a touch of the Red Bull Air Race in case anyone is interested in going next year. Also, a little FYI, we were only able to attend the Sunday races with the Super 8 racers, and Jon informed us that the Saturday qualication rounds are way more entertaining because there are way more racers and they accidentally would clip the pylons (markers that they raced around) with their wings or propellers. Anyhow, enjoy the few decent pictures that we were able to take.

Koinonia Foster Homes (Part 2)

2008-04-29T14:16:00.000-07:00

Today was the day that we received our initial home inspection, one of the beginning steps to becoming a foster parent. Koinonia Foster Services has just been amazing to work with. The Foster Parent Coordinator that we have been working with, Honey, is just wonderful. She is all about finding the perfect match of children with foster parents. So, today our home inspection went well. We just have a few things to add to our home (ex. smoke detectors in each bedroom, lock boxes in the medicine cabinets and the refrigerator), So far the steps are moving right along. Now I just have to get in touch with Tyler's social worker. I have left some messages but she has not returned my call yet. So, please do pray for Taylor and I as we try to embark on this journey with our little friend, Tyler. Our hope is to soon make him part of our family. Thank you all for your support in this process. Many blessings to you!

Koinonia Foster Homes (Part 1)

2008-04-19T17:55:00.000-07:00

Today we went to a Foster Family training session through Koinonia Foster Homes. We felt that their faith-based approach to foster care was truly refreshing. If anyone is looking in to fostering a child, we would recommend inquiring with them. We have felt that the staff at Koinonia have been putting our needs as potential foster parents first and have been more than willing to help us through the process. If you're wondering, as mentioned before, we would love to bring Tyler in to our home and that is the reason why we are going through the training. Please do pray with us as we embark on this journey.

My Boys

2008-04-17T10:07:00.000-07:00

Many of you already know that I work at a residential facility for children that were taken out of their homes due to abuse of some form. There are about 80 children or so in the whole facility but I work with 12 boys directly. The boys in my unit range from the age of 6 to 12 but most of them are 10 and under. Here you see two of my favorite residents. On the left is Christian. He is 9 years old. He can be the most adorable kid but at the same time he can have the most foul mouth that you have ever heard. So, we are really working on getting him to stop cursing and stop whining so much. On the right is my boy Tyler. His paperwork says he's 8 years old but he truly believes that he is 9. He is one child that I always look forward to seeing whenever I come to work. Him and I pray together and read his Bible at night before he goes to bed. Many times he has prayed that I would be his mom. And it tears me apart every time he prays that because I would love to take him home but can not do so while still working there. But if it was possible I would take this child home with me. He has a very caring heart and is always concerned about other people. If you remember these children when you are spending time with God, please do remember to lift them up in your prayers as they always need it.