Top 5 Will Ferrell movies

Someone showed me this video today and it reminded me how Will Ferrell is one of our favorite actors of all time.


For this Top 5 Tuesday, we thought we'd do our top 5 Will Ferrell movies.  Feel free to chime in with yours!


1.  Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
2.  Old School
3. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
4.  Elf
5. Stranger than Fiction

Honorable Mention:
Will Ferrell: You're Welcome America - A Final Night with George W Bush

Flip my living room

Design challenge: Create the bones of a child friendly living room for children 0-5 while maintaining the Hollywood Regency style of the living room.

As I lazed around the house this weekend, I took stock of my living room.  It occurred to me that we need a designated play space. When we visit homes with children, they all have those play areas in a central room of the house.  It's the station where the toys and other toddler accouterments live.

I've commissioned some plans for the living room "flip".

Impressive, right?

I suspect we will need to find a new, loving home for my beloved Barcelona chairs. 

You complete me.

Or maybe we can just relocate them to my bedroom? Right?  I'm not ready to part with them just yet.

I think the living room corner will be home-base for toys and the like. 

Sorry doggies.

We informed the dogs that they will be losing their napping nook due to eminent domain. Shortly after our conversation, they filed an appeal.  (poorly spelled I might add)

 I think my first project will be this little beauty. Isn't it brilliant?  

FOAM TILES!!!

You can paint the interlocking foam tiles to match your decor.  A-MA-ZING.   (You can get all the details of the project on this blog)  Now, I'll have to brainstorm patterns that are gender neutral, chic and require little artistic ability.  

Maybe something like this? 

Designers, Parents, Baby-Sitters - I need your help.

 What other stylish & practical ideas do you have for me?  I need storage ideas. 

Depraved Indifference

Saw this video on this blog.  We should all consider these words carefully. 

The special ones in God's kingdom are the weak ones. The ones who can't fight for themselves, the ones who can't speak for themselves, the one's that don't have someone to feed them, the ones that don't have someone to protect them.
And Jesus says, "Those are the prized ones and you treat them as royalty here on Earth."




P.S. My husband says this video makes him want to run through walls.

When you're in a pinch

When you're in a pinch, when there's no sugar, no cookies, no ice cream and your sweet tooth is rearing its ugly head..... this proven two step method will solve your dilemma every time.

Required tools: peanut butter, M&Ms, spoon
Step One: Scoop
Step Two: Sprinkle

Repeat steps one and two as needed.
Don't judge.

Top 5 Tuesdays!

For our own entertainment value, we're planning on creating "Top 5" lists. Not sure how often these will come up, but every now and then, Jak and I think of Top 5 type items in our life. For example, Top 5 Songs that We Love to Hate. We've recently discovered GrooveShark (bye bye Pandora) and both of our playlists seem to have those horrible songs you hear on the radio but can't stop listening to... so we figured this would be a good Top 5 list to start with.

Top 5 Songs You Love to Hate (or maybe it's Hate to Love)

1. Firework - Katy Perry: Literally, fireworks shoot out of the the pregnant woman's belly in this video. It's mind bottling.

2. Black and Yellow - Wiz Khalifa: Ok, turns out he's describing his hometown sports teams' colors... not cheering for bumblebees.

3. Please Don't Go - Mike Posner: Number one, his beard is epic. Number two, does the line, "If you leave I'm gonna find you..." concern anyone else??? ... aaaawkward.

4. Grenade - Bruno Mars: So why catch a grenade?!? And time to find a more portable instrument than that piano. Hernia city my friend...but God speed. I hope she get's your metaphor...

5. What's My Name - Rihanna ft. Drake: How long has he been trying to work out the square root of 69? He really looks like he's not sure -- very disappointed in our public education system.

Fostering 101

So a lot of our friends and family are prefacing their questions like this, “This might be a stupid question, but…” And the reality is that there are no stupid questions about fostering. It’s not a subject that we in America are generally educated about (amongst many other subjects as well – see this blog post).

Anyways, we’re not experts yet, but we thought we’d give everyone a quick and dirty summary/outline of the fostering process as we’ve learned it thus far.

1. What is fostering? In a nutshell, fostering means you become the “temporary” caretaker for children that have been removed from their families by the state/CPS.
2. How long do you care for the children? Theoretically, the State of Texas tries to resolve their cases within 1 year. However, cases can be extended – so a foster parent may have a child for a few days to…?
3. What types of children come into your care? A foster parent will specify what ages, genders, ethnicities, etc. that they are willing to care for… Jaklin and I will be taking all genders & ethnicities and we’ll probably begin with ages 6 and under.
4. How many children will you take? This is regulated by space standards in your home (size of bedrooms, play areas, etc). We currently have room for up to 2 kiddos – remember, most kids come with a sibling(s).
5. How do you start fostering? Generally, one will go through an agency that will act as your advocate when you interact with the state/CPS. Your agency will also put on your trainings, which end in a home study. The home study is a comprehensive interview and check of your home to make sure you have a safe environment for foster kids (i.e. you’re not crazy pants). Including paperwork, training, and all the little things you need to do to be in compliance, the process will take anywhere from 2 to 6 months.
6. Can you adopt these children? If a kid’s biological parents have their parental rights terminated by a judge, and no family member can/will take the children, then yes, foster parents will be the first ones asked to adopt (On that note, if no one adopts the waiting child in foster care, they will "age-out" of the system). But the goal for the state is to reunify. As foster parents, your goal is to keep the kids safe, not adopt. There are kids that are “legal risks,” which means their parents are more than likely going to have their parental rights terminated. If you’re trying to adopt, then you would aim to have children at legal risk placed in your home.
7. Are you guys scared? Terribly.
8. Then why do this? Because of James 1:27, Romans 8:15-16, Deuteronomy 24:19, Exodus 22:22-24, Psalm 10:14, Psalm 68:5, Deuteronomy 14:29. And because you hear stats like if every church in Texas adopted one child from the Texas foster care system that is waiting for a permanent family, then there would be no orphans in Texas. And because it’s time America and the world knew what Christians stood for and not against… (see this blog post for more on why we’re fostering)
   
   Well, hopefully this gives people a rough framework for what foster care looks like. Feel free to leave a question in the comments area and hopefully we can answer it for you!

Everyman's Guide to Talking with Foster Parents

We have been so incredibly humbled by the outpouring of support from our friends and family about our new foster parenting journey! That being said, Nick and I have noticed that not everyone knows what to say when we share that we are going to foster (or rather, people don't know what questions to ask). Understandable, because it's not a subject most people know about -- that includes us up until a few months ago... and we're still learning!

So we've put together the
Everyman's Guide to Talking with Foster Parents. You can use these phrases below to easily communicate with those in the foster process.

Conversation Part 1-

Fostering Fred: Hi, Alex.

Average Alex: Hi, Fred.

Fostering Fred: We are starting the process to become foster parents.

Average Alex: That's neat. I grew up with a foster kid down the street who shot at cats with a BB gun.

STOP HERE! While this might be true, maybe wait a few minutes before you drop this bomb on them.
Instead, you can reply with…
Congratulations! That’s so exciting. May God bless you on your journey.

Conversation Part 2-
Fostering Fred: Thanks. We are really excited.
Average Alex: You know, my best friend's neighbor adopted from Guatemala too.

STOP HERE! This can be a confusing one. Adopting internationally and fostering domestically are very different.

Instead, you can reply with…
Are you planning on straight fostering? Or fostering to adopt?

Conversation Part 3-

Fostering Fred: We are planning to straight foster children that need a safe place to live while their biological families are in crisis. However, we will be licensed to adopt should the opportunity present itself.
Average Alex: Wow. I could never do that because I would love the child too much to give them back. I would get too attached.

STOP HERE! While this can come from a well meaning place, this statement implies that the foster parent doesn't love them enough and will not get attached.

Instead, you can reply with…
Wow. The Lord is going to teach you wonderful things about grace, forgiveness, and unconditional love.

Conversation Part 4-
Fostering Fred: We are going to have to start turning the guest bedroom into the children's room.
Average Alex: Wait, so are you guys having fertility problems?

STOP HERE! While God has different paths for each family, we recommend getting to know the couple's story more before you assume they are having fertility problems.

Instead, you can reply with…

What age range are you going to take?

Here are some other helpful questions to ask when talking to foster parents.

1. Are you fostering through a private agency or through Child Protective Services?
2. Do you have other preferences such as race and gender?
3. How many kids will you be licensed to have in your home.
4. HERE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION - How can I help?

Now practice these phrases a few times with a partner. In no time you'll be talking to foster parents with ease.

House Husband

Look what I found when I came home from work! A house husband!

He cooked a gourmet meal for us. And then cleaned the kitchen.

Wild Alaskan Salmon with capers, wild rice, and sauteed arugula.

He folded and put up the laundry. (While watching The Last Samurai)

Why are my walls so bear? Yikes!

the final battle scene

House husbands are the best. I highly recommend getting one today. (while supplies last)

P.S. He made the bed the following morning. When I asked him why he was doing all this he replied, "I'm getting into good habits now for when the kids come. You're going to be telling the kids 'Hurry and get dressed. I'm late for work!' and I'll be in here making the bed"

 *one eyebrow raised*
Nice. Thanks.

Euro shams and everything

Why are we Fostering?

“Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

There was never an audible voice from the sky that came to us and said, “Now you will be foster parents.” (Ha-I wish it was that easy.) As I look back at what lead us to make the decision to become foster parents, it was a long series of education through experiences and the Holy Spirit urging us to put our faith into practice. We kept running into the question, “What are you going to do about it?”

Let me back up.

2004: The Lord provides an opportunity for me to spend 5 weeks in Uganda at an orphanage. There I’m confronted with the orphan reality. The first victims of war, poverty and disease are always children. They are not culpable for the atrocities that surround them, yet they are the ones who suffer the most. I came back to the U.S. burdened and hearing a voice say, “What are you going to do about it?”

2005: My then boyfriend (now husband) gives me an offer I can’t refuse. Join his family on a trip to Thailand, then get jobs in Bangkok ,and live with family friends for free for the next 5 months. While living in Thailand, Nick and I volunteered in a government run orphanage. At this campus there were over 500 children ages 5 and under. We volunteered in the HIV ward. God gave us an uncomfortably close view of the scale, disease, and hopelessness of the orphan crisis. Again, the nagging question in both of our minds, “What are you going to do about it?”

2005: I come back to the US and take a job at a residential treatment facility serving kids 4-12 years old. For 6 long, exhausting months I worked with some of the most severely abused and neglected children. It is a job that haunts me to this day. I felt overwhelmed and out numbered. I witnessed how Satan destroys by killing the spirit of a child. I left that position thinking I could never again work with severely abused and neglected kids. It was too hard, too painful, too stressful...

God was laying a foundation in us. In me.

2006-2010: I move. We get married; we meet other believers who are concerned about the orphan crisis & they spur us on. We learn unsettling stats like 163 million orphans worldwide, 18.3 million double orphans, 500,000 children waiting in the U.S. foster care system. God blesses us with a 3 bedroom condo. We read books like this one and this one. They explain that God’s answer to the marginalized and broken has always been the Church. We learn more stats like in this:

• In 2009, 2,041 children were in the foster care system in our county. 
• However, in 2009, only 179 foster, foster/adopt homes existed in our county.

There is a huge need right in our backyard.

And here’s where God called us on the carpet.When we read the Bible, it says things like -
“God sets the lonely in families.” (Psalm 68:6) 
^“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:27)
"Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me." (Matthew 18:5)

Again, what are you going to do about it?

*Gulp*

On one of our romantic dates at the local Souper Salad we had the “Should we become foster parents?” discussion. I had a heart dropping, heavy feeling in my gut. I knew the Holy Spirit was calling us, but I didn't want to respond.
Adoption? Yes – I can get behind that.
Fostering? No – that’s not fun and glamorous. No thank you. Fostering does not sound like a delightful idea to me. Pour your heart into a hurting child. Nurture, love and care for them as your own, then have them taken away from you and you may never get to see them again. Remember the 6 months at the residential treatment facility in 2005? I know what this looks like. It’s messy and painful.

As my eyes welled up with tears there in the restaurant I told Nick, “Fostering is going to forever change us. For good and bad, it will leave its thumbprint on us.”

So here we are beginning our fostering journey. I feel like Isaiah.

"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." (Isaiah 6:5)

Obviously, the Lord has revealed Himself to us. He has personally shown us the great need and what He expects of His followers. We can’t play dumb and move forward with our lives as if we didn’t know the verses and the obscenely high numbers.

We are ruined, gloriously ruined. How thankful I am that the Sovereign Lord of the universe invites us to participate in loving His children.God is working in my heart and the fear, selfishness, and reservation are giving way to excitement. To quote Richard Stearns from The Hole in Our Gospel,
“We were confronted with a choice, which required us to reorder our priorities and our lives to become completely available to God, without conditions.”

Yes, it will cost us. It will alter our plans, our timeline, and challenge us in ways I can’t imagine. Praise God! Our plans were probably lame anyway. Of this I am certain, we will gain so much out of obeying and clinging to Jesus on this wild fostering parenting ride.

Game On

It’s the first day of 2011. It’s the time of year we all reminisce about the past 12 months and make grandiose statements of the coming year. I’ll play along.

Let’s see, 2010 was good. I moved to a new job, the hubby aced grad school, we made some amazing friends and we grew in our faith. There were some sad things too. Our sweet cat of 11 years died and my mother-in-law was diagnosed with cancer. (cancer – boo)

Onto the the hopeful statements for 2011:

1) eat more vegetables

2) go to the zoo

3) incorporate a celebratory robot dance into daily conversation

4) go to Africa with my hubs

5) form a band

6) enter a battle of the bands with newly formed band and dominate

7) Jump into the unknown abyss (aka: Foster Care System)

More on #7

So, how did we get to #7? Well, it was a long process. I’m sure there will be several blog posts describing in great detail the many conversations and prayers we had that brought us to our decision. The bottom line is it was a call from the Lord placed on our lives. When the Lord says move, you better move.

I'm not gunna lie, we are completely freaked out. This does not make sense. We have never been parents. We have not felt the urge to have a baby. (yet) I slept until 12 noon today. For Pete’s sake – I have a beautiful white sofa. There is nothing in our lives that lends itself to familydom.

However, there is a sense of excitement layered in with the fear. In my thirty years I have learned a few things about myself. I like adventure, adrenaline, and the unknown. I keep reminding myself that these are the things I enjoy in life. The pep-talk goes something like this. "I can do this. Be brave. Keep moving forward. God will make a way."

Imagine, if you will, a Monopoly board. We are on the “Go” square. (minus the "collect $200")

After months of research, talking with local foster parents, and interviews with agencies, we are ready to roll.

Nick on speaker-phone, talking with a foster care agency

We chose our agency, submitted our initial paperwork and signed up for our pre-service training.

So here we go. GAME ON!