So, I bargained with God and pretty much forgot about the whole thing. I figured I really didn't need to put much thought into us becoming foster parents because it wasn't going to happen - unless of course God dropped a kid in our laps, and the odds of that were...I don't know....slim to none! RIGHT!
2013 was a busy year! We were in the midst of building the Grylls/Fahey compound in Kaufman, and boy had it become a huge deal! We were having 2 separate houses (ours and my parents) built at the same time, but under one roof line, connected at our garages. The process
had become much longer than we had ever imagined! My parents sold their house and moved in with us where we waited, and waited, and waited for our houses to be done. Seven impatient people and two crazy dogs in one small, cramped house proved to be challenging at times!
One day I came home from work and my mom said, "If your dad doesn't get out of this house during the day and do something, I'm going to kill him!" I knew she was serious too, because her lower jaw was slightly cocked to one side. As a child, I learned quickly that the shifted lower jaw was a sign that mom meant business!
My mom retired in 2008, but she hasn't stopped working at all! She is a busy body in the purest form. She has to be productive at all times! She cannot watch tv, sit and relax, read a book, play on her phone...nothing like that.
My dad on the other hand, enjoys relaxing! He is not retired, but his contract work has busy seasons and not so busy seasons. He works really hard when he is working, but when he isn't working, he likes to watch TV, play on his phone, surf the net, etc...and my mom CANNOT handle that kind of non-productive behavior!
Under normal circumstances, my mom would have provided a constant flow of little jobs for my dad to do around the house. But since they were living with us, there weren't any projects or jobs for him to work on, and that was a problem. So, I decided to save them both!
I asked my dad if he would like to come volunteer at my school a couple of days a week. I told him he could read with kids or help them with their school work. He liked that idea. I knew he would...he is a kid person. He likes kids and they like him!
I went to school the next day and emailed some of the teachers. Mrs. Gilpin, one of our kinder teachers, was the first to respond. She saw me in the hallway and told me she had a little girl who she thought could benefit from reading with my dad. She explained that she didn't pick K because she needed help with reading, but because she needed a positive male figure in her life. Ms. Pfannenstiel picked Emmanuel, who was the cutest butterball in the world! Ms. Gomez picked Miguel who was a hard worker and very eager, but gone from school so much he was dragging behind. Ms. Torres picked Alexis, who was so severely behind, he was in 3rd grade not even reading on a kindergarten level. Mrs. Blazek picked Eric, who she knew would soar with just a little extra push.
My dad LOVED reading with the kids. Each day he came a little early to make sure he had his schedule in his pocket, along with some stickers and candy of course!
In the evenings he would tell me about the funny things the kids would say or the little mind blocks he tried to help them overcome. Many times he would say, "And that little K in Mrs. Gilpin's class...she is a mess!"
I didn't know any of the kids, but since they were reading with my dad, I slowly got to know them all. Mrs. Gilpin's classroom was directly across the hallway from mine, so I saw K often, and I got to know her pretty quickly. I immediately knew my dad was right about her too...she was definitely a mess!
She was adorable with a round face, pouty lips, dark eyes, olive skin, and a little button nose. Her brown hair never looked brushed and her clothes seemed too small and a tad dirty. One of the first things I noticed about K was her sad expression. I glanced in her room one day and thought to myself, "That is the saddest frown I have ever seen." Ten minutes later though, I glanced in her room again and she was bouncing off the walls laughing and squealing.
After K had gotten to know us, I explained to her that Mr. Bill was my dad. Every time I saw her in the hallway after that she would ask me 3 questions...1) Is Mr. Bill coming today? 2) Is he bringing candy? 3) How did he get so nice?
It wasn't long before K had my dad and I wrapped around her little finger. What a hot mess! She had an attitude with a capital A! She snapped her fingers, whipped her hair around, and walked through the school like she owned the place!
One day she came into my classroom and put a fake roach on my desk. When I saw it, I totally freaked! She laughed so hard, she snorted! I told her, "Hey when Mr. Bill comes to read with you tomorrow, put the roach in your book and scare him!" The next day, K couldn't wait for my dad to get there. She asked me over and over if he was coming. Right before he got there, I told her to get the roach. When she went to get it out of her bag, she realized she had left it at home. She started bawling her eyes out! My dad came, and she couldn't stop crying. Of course, my dad had no idea what was going on. When I got home from work he said, "I could not get K to stop crying! The only thing that worked was chocolate, so I just kept giving it to her!
The next time my dad came, K remembered the roach and had a blast scaring him! My dad said the funniest part was that after she scared him the first time, she told him to look away and she put the roach in the next page. He acted scared again. Then she put it in the next page, and the next, and the next...and each time my dad screamed like he was scared. He said, "Luckily I only had to act scared 8 times because the book was only 9 pages! :)
The more we got to know K, the more our love for her grew. I started noticing clues to her sad home life. The guy who picked her up from school was named Dookie, and I guess that's all I need to say about that! From my observations, K was not living in a very loving environment and it broke my heart.
One day I happened to be in Mrs. Gilpin's classroom, and off the cuff I said, "My dad and I LOVE K. We would take her home in a heartbeat!"
Imagine my reaction when she responded --"Well, you know she's a foster kid!?!?"
WHAT!!!!!!!!! I had NO idea!!!!!!!!
Immediately my deal with God flashed through my mind.
I asked Mrs. Gilpin more about K's situation and she explained that she had been with her foster mom for almost 3 years.
With that information, my mind quickly went back to forgetting my deal with God. Obviously, three years was a permanent situation, God was NOT going to just drop a little girl in my lap like that! That would be crazy!
had become much longer than we had ever imagined! My parents sold their house and moved in with us where we waited, and waited, and waited for our houses to be done. Seven impatient people and two crazy dogs in one small, cramped house proved to be challenging at times!One day I came home from work and my mom said, "If your
dad doesn't get out of this house during the day and do something, I'm going to kill him!" I knew she was serious too, because her lower jaw was slightly cocked to one side. As a child, I learned quickly that the shifted lower jaw was a sign that mom meant business!My mom retired
in 2008, but she hasn't stopped working at all! She is a busy body in the purest form. She has to be productive at all times! She cannot watch tv, sit and relax, read a book, play on her phone...nothing like that.My dad on the other hand, enjoys relaxing! He is not retired, but his contract work has busy seasons and not so busy seasons. He works really hard when he is working, but when he isn't working, he likes to watch TV, play on his phone, surf the net, etc...and my mom CANNOT handle that kind of non-productive behavior!
Under normal circumstances, my mom would have provided a constant flow of little jobs
for my dad to do around the house. But since they were living with us, there weren't any projects or jobs for him to work on, and that was a problem. So, I decided to save them both!I asked my dad if he would like to come volunteer at my school a couple of days a week. I told him he could read with kids or help them with their school work. He liked that idea. I knew he would...he is a kid person. He likes kids and they like him!
I went to school the next day and emailed some of the teachers
. Mrs. Gilpin, one of our kinder teachers, was the first to respond. She saw me in the hallway and told me she had a little girl who she thought could benefit from reading with my dad. She explained that she didn't pick K because she needed help with reading, but because she needed a positive male figure in her life. Ms. Pfannenstiel picked Emmanuel, who was the cutest butterball in the world! Ms. Gomez picked Miguel who was a hard worker and very eager, but gone from school so much he was dragging behind. Ms. Torres picked Alexis, who was so severely behind, he was in 3rd grade not even reading on a kindergarten level. Mrs. Blazek picked Eric, who she knew would soar with just a little extra push.My dad LOVED reading with the kids. Each day he came a little early to make sure he had his schedule in his pocket, along with some stickers and candy of course!
In the evenings he would tell me about the funny things the kids would say or the little mind blocks he tried to help them overcome. Many times he would say, "And that little K in Mrs. Gilpin's class...she is a mess!"
I didn't know any of the kids, but since they were reading with my dad, I slowly got to know them all. Mrs. Gilpin's classroom was directly across the hallway from mine, so I saw K often, and I got to know her pretty quickly. I immediately knew my dad was right about her too...she was definitely a mess!
She was adorable with a round face, pouty lips, dark eyes, olive skin, and a little button nose. Her brown hair never looked brushed and her clothes seemed too small and a tad dirty. One of the first things I noticed about K was her sad expression. I glanced in her room
one day and thought to myself, "That is the saddest frown I have ever seen." Ten minutes later though, I glanced in her room again and she was bouncing off the walls laughing and squealing. After K had gotten to know us, I explained to her that Mr. Bill was my dad. Every time I saw her in the hallway after that she would ask me 3 questions...1) Is Mr. Bill coming today? 2) Is he bringing candy? 3) How did he get so nice?
It wasn't long before K had my dad and I wrapped around her little finger. What a hot mess! She had an attitude with a capital A! She snapped her fingers, whipped her hair around, and walked through the school like she owned the place!
One day she came into my classroom and put a fake roach on my desk. When I saw it, I totally freaked! She laughed so hard, she snorted! I told her, "Hey when Mr. Bill comes to read with you tomorrow, put the roach in your
book and scare him!" The next day, K couldn't wait for my dad to get there. She asked me over and over if he was coming. Right before he got there, I told her to get the roach. When she went to get it out of her bag, she realized she had left it at home. She started bawling her eyes out! My dad came, and she couldn't stop crying. Of course, my dad had no idea what was going on. When I got home from work he said, "I could not get K to stop crying! The only thing that worked was chocolate, so I just kept giving it to her! The next time my dad came, K remembered the roach and had a blast scaring him! My dad said the funniest part was that after she scared him the first time, she told him to look away and she put the roach in the next page. He acted scared again. Then she put it in the next page, and the next, and the next...and each time my dad screamed like he was scared. He said, "Luckily I only had to act scared 8 times because the book was only 9 pages! :)
The more we got to know K, the more our love for her grew. I started noticing clues to her sad home life. The guy who picked her up from school was named Dookie, and I guess that's all I need to say about that! From my observations, K was not living in a very loving environment and it broke my heart.
One day I happened to be in Mrs. Gilpin's classroom, and off the cuff I said, "My dad and I LOVE K. We would take her home in a heartbeat!"
Imagine my reaction when she responded --"Well, you know she's a foster kid!?!?"
WHAT!!!!!!!!! I had NO idea!!!!!!!!
Immediately my deal
with God flashed through my mind. I asked Mrs. Gilpin more about K's situation and she explained that she had been with her foster mom for almost 3 years.
With that information, my mind quickly went back to forgetting my deal with God. Obviously, three years was a permanent
situation, God was NOT going to just drop a little girl in my lap like that! That would be crazy!
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