A New Chapter

It is with great joy that we announce the newest addition to our family: Arianna Gem Shae-Lynn Tomic! :)

Yes, 'signing day' finally arrived. As we have learned in this new world of fostering/adopting, a lot of time is spent waiting. We waited for this day to come, and it finally has. Now we wait for all of the signed paperwork to make its way through the system, and receive all of her documentation in her new name. But that's ok ... at least now it's official - and we can show her off to those of you that haven't seen her, or at least haven't seen her since last summer at Camp. ;)

Aria (as she is known to us all) has been with us since she was 4 days old, straight out of the hospital. She will be turning 18 months next week. And over this past year and a half, I have gone through 'labour' a number of times. No, I know it doesn't fully compare to real labour and birth (I've been through that a few times, so I know...) ... but when I think of the anticipation and apprehension leading up to a birth - that's what I'm talking about. And although I didn't have any physical birthing pains, I did experience my share of emotional/psychological ups-and-downs. For example, receiving the call that a baby was being born that day - could we take this child? Then getting the call - It's a girl! Then 4 days later anxiously waiting for the social worker to arrive with this tiny bundle, all 5 lbs, 5 oz of her, and fretting as I wondered if I was really ready for another newborn. Months later, as we realized she likely wouldn't go home, praying and wondering if there was a possibility for her to stay with us. Then putting in a "plan of care" asking to keep her, and awaiting the agency's response. Then waiting for the court date to come that would remove parental rights, so the adoption could move forward. Now that was bittersweet ... I've met bio-mom on several occasions, and I didn't wish this for her or her children, and yet we were so thankful that Aria could ultimately stay with our family. This dichotomy of feelings can only be understood by those who have experienced it, I think. And then the 'labour' of going through more homestudies and paperwork. Today was like the last contraction, I guess, in a really long 'labour' ... as I nervously waited for the appointment time to come so we could meet and sign those papers. Maybe not the best analogy, but that's sort of what it feels like to me.

So what's she like, you ask? She's a spunky, fun, independent, active toddler. She brings a lot of joy into our home, and reminds us that it isn't all about us - it's about HER! And we're working on teaching her that it isn't all about HER either ... but that will take some time. ;) We're all in love with her, and can't wait to see what God is going to work in her life as she grows up. We give Him the glory for how He has been leading our family, and for growing our family with this beautiful little girl!

Birthday Reflections

Today I commemorated my 48th birthday. Notice I didn't say 'celebrated' ... because most of us don't think of 'celebrating' as we get older ... and older ... and ... well, you get the idea. We just mark the day, allowing those who love us to express their well-wishes, and our kids to shower us with gifts and praise. ;) But as I thought of these words to open this post, the Holy Spirit convicted me that I ought to be celebrating ... because I have so much to be thankful for and to celebrate, not the least of which is the fact that He still has plans for me, and I could potentially have a good many years left in which to fulfill those plans!

Yes, I have a lot to celebrate ... the gift of salvation, a wonderful husband, beautiful children who are growing into fabulous young women (my biased opinion, yes, I know...), a great extended family support system, a wonderful church family, and the list can go on. And to top that all off, He has seen fit to bless us with an addition to our family through adoption! It's so very exciting! I never would have expected to be starting on this kind of journey at this age ... but God's plans are so very different than ours. I guess this is His way of keeping me younger for a few more years. ;) What's age anyways? Just a number, right? ;)

Now, lest anyone think I'm some super woman mom (well, one of my daughters gave me a poem for my birthday today that tells me that I am ... but she's supposed to think that!) .... truly, I'm not. Someone recently commented to me (and I'm sure others are thinking it!), "You must have a lot of energy, to be taking this task on at this point in your life." My answer: NO. But I'm looking for ways to be healthier and improve my energy levels to some degree, because I'm gonna need it in the coming years! And besides that, I'm simply trusting that if God has called us to this opportunity, HE's going to supply all that's needed to do it.

So, some have asked where things are at with the adoption. Thank the Lord, things are moving along nicely up to this point. Just one more waiting period to wait through (yes, more waiting...). If all goes well with this last "turtle" (as the social worker called it), then our little munchkin will officially be a Tomic sometime in March!! Woo hoo! We can hardly wait. We are loving her so much, and enjoying all of those "firsts" all over again. Last week she finally took off with walking - and now we're having so much fun watching her toddle around the house. Her little personality is really starting to come through as well, and her antics are making us laugh already. She has been our little blessing since she was delivered to us at 4 days old ... well, there were a few bumps when she reverted to keeping us up at night for weeks on end ... but we survived that (and grew from the experience). And we still always loved her, no matter what. That's what it's all about, isn't it? Loving even when it hurts ... that's what God does for us too.

Well, since I'm so tardy at getting these posts out, I expect the next one will be to announce the good news - and finally show her face to you all! :) Can't wait!  Until then...................corina

ONE YEAR!

Yes, that's right. It's been one year already! Exactly 1 year ago today, we received a tiny baby into our care through the foster care system ... and she's still with us! :)

I can't speak for everyone in my family, but I know that I feel like I have grown so much in this past year. It's been a roller coaster at times, but overall, a very positive experience. To say that we've fallen in love with this little one is an understatement. God blessed us with a beautiful baby, that has turned out to be generally happy and content. She's blossoming into a fun toddler. The thought of giving her up is not an easy one.

And we might not have to. :)  But that won't be known for sure for a little while yet. All I know is this: God has been shaping and molding my heart, and calling me to yield to His will in ways bigger than I imagined. A lot is happening in our lives right now: our oldest growing into adulthood, a baby in our home, Dan taking on greater church responsibilities, and we aren't getting any younger. In some ways this seems like a crazy time in our lives to be taking on extra child-care responsibilities. And yet it feels right. My heart has often felt sad for the needs of children "out there" in the world. But now God has brought one into our home. And I can't imagine not saying Yes to God if He calls us to raise any of these precious children that He brings our way.

Actually, I feel pretty humbled to think that God can use me to make a difference in a child's life. I'm thankful that He can use even the weakest of vessels to accomplish great things. May He receive the glory for any good accomplished through our obedience to His call!

Growth

Well, two months passed quickly, didn't it?! I had meant to try to blog more regularly, but alas, the relentless current of daily life has swept me along with it, and my intention fell by the wayside. Not that I didn't think about it ... I thought about it a lot when I couldn't sleep in the middle of the night after a feeding. ;) But my head wasn't clear enough to actually DO it at that time.

So, here we are, in December already. And yes, baby A is still with us! And growing like a little weed ... a very cute and pretty little weed, mind you. We are thrilled at her growth and development, as she started out just over 5 lbs when we received her at 4 days old ... and now she's a whopping 9 lbs! :) Yup, still small by some standards for two months old, but we're celebrating her growth. And she's starting to smile and coo and trying to roll ... she's developing beautifully. It's wonderful to see and experience it.

But my title "Growth" isn't just about her. Actually, I think her growth is expected, and not much of a surprise. What I'm feeling more is my own "growing pains" - spiritually speaking. Yup, it isn't all about her, as cute as she is. God often seems to have multiple purposes in the plans He forges. And in this plan, one purpose is clearly to provide a safe and nurturing environment for this little one, until a plan is in place for her future. But His plan also targets me, and our family, in various ways.

Many have asked me, "What's it like having a newborn again? How are you managing the nights?" On one hand, it's wonderful. Newborns/babies are precious, and such a poignant reminder of our loving Creator. Actually, I recently pondered on the fact that our Creator came to earth as a baby Himself ... and then I thought of how He taught that whatever we do to the least of our fellow humans, it's as if we're doing it to Him. Tears came to my eyes as I was changing Baby A and imagining the baby Jesus there in her place ... it helped to put things in perspective. Because, you see, even if a baby is precious and beautiful, anyone who has cared for babies (even their own biological children) knows that it can get tiring .... no, exhausting and draining. And when we're exhausted and drained, we tend to get grumpy. So God has been challenging me to grow in this area - to seek His face to find joy even in the tired times, to see the preciousness in her even when she's waking me and crying impatiently for her bottle, or is just having a fussy time and needs to be carried and consoled.

God is also working on our family, to push growth in the area of being servants. As we care for this child, not knowing where or what family she will ultimately end up with, we need to give of ourselves unselfishly and freely - that doesn't come naturally. Each of the girls, undoubtedly, has felt some growing pains in this area in the last two months! And Dan has been the ultimate example to all of us ... he has so much on his plate, but as he sees me wearing down by the weekend, he unselfishly offers to take night feedings and early morning feedings for me, so that I can get a bit of extra sleep.

So much more I could say, but as I struggle to recover from sickness a second time this fall, and extreme weariness comes over me, my mind is becoming increasingly foggy and my fingers struggle to type the right words. So I'll close. Thank you for any prayers you raise on our family's behalf as we navigate this adventure God has thrown us into ... and please pray the Baby A's future would lead her to Him.   ...........corina

Bottle Feedings at 2 a.m.??!!

I'm exhausted. But also very excited. We are now at the start of our first official fostering placement. Our first experience with fostering a month ago was an 11 day respite care. With that being 2 children, it was quite challenging for a first experience ... and a good experience, in that it caused us to re-evaluate what it was that God was calling us to do, and what were we willing to sacrifice in our lives to make this ministry work.

As we prayed and discussed it, we (husband & I) agreed that at the least, we needed to drop down to only 1 child at a time, age 0-2. But that being decided, we also felt we should take the month of October off due to some other commitments that had come up for this month. Just as we decided this, a call came the next day from a placement social worker. She was desperate to find a home for a baby just being born that day, and we were the last family on her list that she could call. If we said no, I believe she would need to outsource to another nearby agency (like a private Christian agency, perhaps). Well, what could we say? What would you say?

Our girls quickly agreed that we must take this baby - there should be no question about it. So. We went from expecting to have all of October open and free to now having a newborn in our care - big difference! But a newborn is also very exciting. She arrived yesterday, and last night was my first of getting up through the night at various times to feed her. And so I am exhausted! And it's only the first 24 hours! But I decided to opt for the physical weariness that is associated with a newborn, rather than the mental fatigue that comes along with an older child. I know older children can be a great blessing to care for as well ... but at this point in our lives, with our 3 girls still at home, and still home schooling ... that needs to be a consideration as well. Our first calling is to minister to our own family, and we (I) felt that I could more adequately accomplish that with an infant. And I have 3 very ready helpers, especially for holding and feeding. :)

Besides being thankful for the helpers inside my home, I'm also thankful for prayer warrior friends, those who know what's going on in our family and home, and keep lifting us up to our Father. I'm thankful for friends who are supporting me through encouraging words and offers of meals to help out in the next week of adjustments. Thank you - you know who you are! :)

We don't know how long this precious little bundle will be in our care, but we do hope and pray that we can be a blessing in her little life, as well as in the life of her mother, who is probably missing her very much right now. We pray that the Lord can guide the paths of each of the individuals involved - mom, dad, baby, and other siblings being cared for in other foster homes.

...corina

New Journey

It's been a while, but I may try to get on here more often in the future. Time will tell.

Well, our new journey of foster parenting has begun, with our first placement. It's a short respite, to cover a vacation that another foster family is taking - a good way to "get our feet wet" so-to-speak. But even after only 2 days, I experienced something so sad. They warn you about it in training classes, but it's not enough to prepare you for it until you experience it. We have 2 little children, a brother and sister. One is an infant, and so doesn't seem to grasp the situation totally. But the other is 4 years old, and after a visit with their mom, came home in tears, so distraught having to leave mom and come back to a foster home. It was heart wrenching for me ... comforting her, yet knowing that I can't totally do that, because I'm not really her mom.

I don't know how I'm going to do as a foster mom. It's already exhausting after 2 days! I just keep reminding myself that I'm not doing this for me, or even for the children directly, but for the Lord - because HE is the only one who can truly help any of them.

Winter 2013 Vacation

Well, it's been over a year since I've posted anything, but this past winter's vacation deserves a bit of a post, at least to share with those who may not see stuff on our FB pages! This past winter we enjoyed a special vacation. Not only did we head down to FL to visit Dan's parents (and Corina's happened to be down at the same time) ... but we also squeezed in a 4-night Bahamas cruise out of Port Canaveral! The girls really wanted to experience a bit of the Caribbean, and this was a way to do that. As you can see from the photos, we had a great time. The weather was hot and beautiful in the Bahamas. It was a good thing, too, because it wasn't in FL! Well, the sun was shining most of the time ... and we're thankful for that. But the temperatures were fairly cool, along with a strong wind on many days. But we enjoyed sweet fellowship with loved ones during the FL portion of our vacation.

The dolphin photo was taken during a day cruise from Punta Gorda (Fisherman's Wharf) over to Boca Grande and back, through Charlotte Harbour. It was such fun to see real dolphins swim alongside the boat and jump for us! It was a dream come true for Ashley especially, who loves marine life. Her next dream is to swim with dolphins - but that costs a lot more than taking a day-cruise! :)

The restaurant photo was taken at Cafe 776, a neat little place in Englewood that serves huge piece of fried fish (fish & chips platter) ... plenty of grease to last for several weeks, but yummy nonetheless! ;)

It was a great family vacation, that flew by far too fast ... but the memories remain!