Mother of Seven + 2

According to Luke 2:51 Christ's mother, Mary, had things she treasured in her heart concerning her son. Some moments remain etched in a mother's memory for a lifetime. There are memories with our children which become treasures that cannot be stolen from our hearts. Troy and Mikey have been playing youth football this year. We have had so much fun watching our boys do something they love. We had opportunity to order T-shirts with the boy's names and jersey numbers on them. I didn't realize at the time the orders were being made that we could order T-shirts for Les and I to wear, and I just ordered T-shirts for the boys. After seeing all the parents wearing their T-shirts at the ball game, I felt kinda bad we hadn't ordered any, but I didn't say anything about it. Troy and Mikey love wearing their T-shirts, and so I was happy. Tuesday evening before the football game, Troy came down to the kitchen where I was washing dishes. He said, "Mom, do

Our precious blue-eyed Amber fit into the family immediately. She seemed to know she was home. She was compliant and never wanted to upset anyone. We often commented that she was the best three year old we had ever been around. I remember the first time she had an accident and didn't make it to the bathroom in time. She was crying in the bathroom. I went towards her to help with her wet things, and she quickly backed into the corner and held up her arms to shield herself. It broke me heart. I could tell she had been mistreated and abused at some point in connection with potty training. Quietly I assured her that everyone had accidents. We just needed to clean it up. Together through her sobs we cleaned her up and cleaned the floor. The first few months Amber would become emotionally distraught when we would get ready to go somewhere or people showed up at the house. Sometimes she would sit and rock on the floor crying for her "Daddy Arlo", a previous foster

That first year was filled with many tumultuous times. Our new children had been through difficult times. Wounds do not heal overnight. We especially saw this in Troy. He was the oldest at nearly eight years of age. After being in five different homes in the last two and a half years he wasn’t sure he could trust anyone. Troy was angry. His parents had promised he would be coming back home. That didn’t happen. Families had promised to adopt him. That didn’t happen. Families said they loved him, but they hurt him. How could we show him we were being honest with him? We did love him. He could trust us. As I watched the struggle our angry little boy went through, my heart ached. I remember several times looking out our dining room window watching Troy up more than 20 feet in the oak tree. He was swaying there in the wind trying so hard to be brave, but I could see him fiercely swipe away a tear now and then. He looked so lost and alone. I wanted to hold him and reass