Teenagers!

I have a teenager. My girl turned 13 today. My prayer is that she will continue on being the incredible, marvelous, happy kid she has always been. May I be spared the majority of teenage angst, PLEASE, God? She is thrilled with her gifts...I bought her a bunch of colorful things for her room from Wal*Mart: an adjustable laptop table (bright purple); a full length mirror (bright aqua); a floor lamp (bright green). Her bed set is all those colors, so these work great. How nice of WM to have her room colors in mind with their new stuff this fall! HA! She also got a gorgeous pendant from her godparents, a beautiful gold pinky ring from her Gigi (my mom), and money from several people. Tomorrow we will have cake and ice cream with the family (most of them were going to be away today, being it is Labor Day weekend.) And in two weeks, we will have a kid party, I hope. So the girl is doing well! :) Such a precious child. I keep wondering just WHEN I will stop being head over heels in love with her. I'm thinking maybe never! :)

So...here's what I truly think is a "God" thing. To set the stage...in case you haven't guessed, I LOVE babies!!!!!!!! I would have gone back to China for more, in a heartbeat, had I been able to do so. Shao longs for a sibling. We had discussed doing foster care, but discovered that I could NOT bring a little one with me on the school van, because I drove special needs kids. So that wouldn't have worked. SOOO...last night Shao & I had dinner and game night with some dear friends whom I've known for 35 years. While I was there, Kathy received a phone call from a neighbor. And here begins the saga!

This lady has a 27 yr old daughter who has not chosen well in her life. She struggles with addictions. Last week she gave birth to a little baby girl, a month early. The babe tested positive for drugs of some sort. SO...mama is not allowed to see her (nor is her father, who is MUCH worse than Mama!) If Gramma hadn't stepped in, the baby would have gone to foster care, as DCF is involved due to the pos. drug test. Gramma took vacation time from work to bring the baby home...BUT she HAS to go back to work. And guess what? She works 3-11 at night. And she doesn't mind the baby going to a sitter's home versus her own. Getting my drift here? There is a possibility that I might get the chance to care for this tiny little girl every night while her grandmother works. I am trying DESPERATELY not to get too excited, because it might not happen. But I AM praying about it all, and I am asking the Lord to bathe the entire situation in prayer, and to close the door if it is not to be. But what a chance to do what I love, get paid some for it, and minister to this gramma and precious little one! Pray, won't you?

My car is currently dead. After thinking over all the options, I have decided to have a newer engine put into it, and buy another 3 to 5 years from it. By then, maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to get a really nice car. Probably not. But who knows? :) But it has been a nightmare of epic proportions to NOT have a car. It is NOT fun. I have been walking to work each morning. It is a ways, but not really too far. And it's good for me. But it is not exactly the way I like to wake up in the morning! Hopefully I will have my car back the end of this week. PRAY some more, please! :)

That's about it from here. Hope all are having a great long weekend.

Blessings...Nancy