Pondering the Foster Care Question

This last week Sheri and I went to the San Joaquin County Social Services to look into foster care.  Sheri and I have been foster parents for the past four almost five years.  However are last foster baby went back with his parents only a week before we moved to Manteca.  And so now we are faced with the question of whether or not we want to continue on this path. 

We have had over 30 children in the time.  Mostly we have fostered babies and toddler.  A few times we have ventured out.  We foster a young woman, and her new born baby.  We have had children with pervasive development disorders, on the autistic range.  We have worked with schools, hospitals, counseling programs and testing programs. 

We have enjoyed the children as they have come into our home, but I must admit some have been a trial.  We have had very rambunctious boys.  We have had babies who have had sleeping problems, sometimes due to prenatal drug use on the part of a mother.  We have had preemies, and newborns.  We have changed our share of diapers, sometimes three children in diapers at the same time. But the most serious trials have been older children, who might have behavioral issues, or mood issues. 

Our home has been open to inspections, and reviews.  Some reviews we have not been a part of, others we have.  We have attended administrative hearings, and court hearings.  It has been quite a ride.  And so we are at the point where we must decide if continuing the ride is worthwhile. 

Parenting the children is the fun part, dealing with social services, and the flood of rules is the draw back.  We have had protective service investigations for any number of things.  (They have never been validated.)  These include accidents, a foster son biting a foster sibling and leaving a mark, and unclean house (usually after a wedding when things are bound to get cluttered.)  There were also licensing reviews, and trainings.  You are so open when you are fostering. 

We have met people at social services we enjoyed working with, and there have been those that we would rather they never have come to our house.  We have also made friendships with other foster parents, and acquaintances with birth parents. 

The greatest blessing to come from foster care has been Anthony.  We are so grateful to his birth mother who gave him live, and so grateful he is now a permanent part of our family.  We enjoy having him in our home every day. 

So at this time we look at all the paper work that is required, all the expense involved, all the time commitment to trainings, and wonder if it is worth it.  Financially, we know it is not.  However we asked the worker at the meeting if they have need for foster parents, and the answer is yes.  There are children in need.  And so we are exploring this path again, in the hopes that maybe we can do some small good.

ACE Train #4:customer appreciation day

Tomorrow the ACE Train is giving free rides.  It is interesting that something tat happened 142 ears ago, in the desert in Utah, is effecting my train ride.  Not only will there be a free ride, but also snacks.  Even though National Train Day is a new holiday, started by Amtrak in 2008 to promote train travel, it commemorates the driving of the Golden Spike at Promontory Point, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad May 10 1869.   It now falls on the Saturday closest to that event.

Celebrations are taking place throughout the nation.  Gladys Knight is singing in New York.  At major train stations there are events planned.  Train models will be displayed.  Food courts and other events.

I am going to get up early, ride the train for free, eat snacks, and maybe get a tee shirt out of the event for my part in National rain Day. 

To see my blog and pictures from a trip to Promontory last year go to this blog
http://bwardlehistory.blogspot.com/2010/12/promontory.html

Flowers around our house

Ty and Caleb took some pictures of flowers in the back yard area.

Life in Manteca: A day off and taking Tony to the park

Spider man teasing the Green Hornet as he throws his bombs

 We found a very nice park in Ripon, Mavis Stouffer Park, which borders the Stanislaus River.  It has lots of shade trees to keep it cool.

sticks into the Stanislaus River

Climbing a tree trunk

In a tree

A pond with rocks in Ripon

blowing a dandy lion

Life in Manteca #4: At the movies, 2 restaurant reviews etc.

This weekend was busy.  It was highlighted by Miranda's return after three weeks away with her sister in Idaho.  Tony, Sheri and I went to pick her up.  We checked out the *** Deseret Industries (Mormon thrift store in Sacrament) on our way to the airport.  It was a fun exploration, but we really didn't have enough time.  Their pricing was strange, some things seemed over priced, and some things were very good bargains.

Sunday was especially enjoyable with fast and testimony meeting, and Stake Priesthood meeting.  Sheri made Navajo Tacos, and invited the Larsens over.  We watched ***** "Enchanted" with them, but had to leave before it was over.  Now that is a great movie.  They do the theme of a Disney Princess in New York so well.  The song "How does she Know" keeps everyone bouncing and is a favorite.

Friday night I decided to take myself to the movie, **** "Red Riding Hood."  Sheri goes to bed before I was able to go.  It was playing at the $3 theater.  I enjoyed this ride.  The leading characters, and their relationships is very nice.  The intrigue of figuring out who is the werewolf is very well done.  The artistic work with the red against the snow is also very eerie.  I recommend this movie, and it is one with the scenery that would be better seen in the movie theater.

I took Tony to see ** "Rango."  Caleb and Alyssa also went with us.  I had to go out for potty break and missed a bit.  I could never figure out how Rango determined where the water had gone.  However Alyssa and Caleb didn't know either.  So the movie was either too complicated to follow, there was a plot error, or Alyssa and Caleb had their mind on something other than the move.  The claim it was no the latter.  The action of the movie was enjoyable, but didn't keep Tony entertained throughout.

I forgot to write a review for a movie which I saw as part of a double date with Mark and Dianna.   *** "Unknown" starred Liam Neeson and he carried the film.  He has a way about expressing trouble and confusion.  He was in an accident, and in a comma, and when coming out remembers his name and wife, except she has another husband.  I remember thinking this might be another Bourne Identity about half-way through the movie, and then forgetting about this.  However that is what it ends up being.  The action is great, and the explosion is shocking.  The evening was funner than the movie, as we went to McDonalds and talked for some time.  That is always fun.

Sheri and I left Tony in the care of Caleb and Alyssa (and the Larsens) and went out to eat.  We went the the ****^ Kelly Brothers Brewing Company or Brickyard Oven Restaurant.  They have a Chinese oven (I guess something like the oven in he "Seven Brothers" book.)  In this oven meat is slowly toasted.  We had the sampler for two.  It included two slices of about five different kinds of meat-- pork, turkey, ribs, chicken, and tri-tip--with three types of barbecue sauce.  We had the side of vegetables and potatoes.  Vegetables were very yummy, orange and yellow carrots, snow peas and broccoli (Sheri ate the broccoli.)  A very fun lunch.  The restaurant is in the old El Rey Theater which burned in 1977 after the final showing of "Towering Inferno."  It has been renovated nicely.  It also housed items with regards to the history of Manteca.

Sheri frequented Little Caesars Friday night for dinner.  This was a common occurrence in Cupertino.  However the Caesars in Manteca is more expensive and not quite as good.  The bread sticks were all stuck together.  I didn't eat much, maybe because of the big potluck at work.