Mother's Day 2013

Happy Mothers Day!!!

 To all the moms, foster moms and adoptive moms!!!! 

I am dedicating this song in two ways. First, as a testimony... my testimony. I have, with God, been able to "let go of control (the pain, the voices, the striving for perfection as wife/mommy/friend/etc) I have learned that I am more than enough and am created for an awesome purpose that only I can fill. And second, I dedicate this song to the girls and woman (including a dear friend that weighs heavy on my heart daily, whether she wants to or not) that still struggle on a daily basis. Its time to let go, let the pieces fall. Until we try to stop holding all our broken pieces together... God cant pick them up and make them whole again. This past year of my life has been the hardest I have ever faced. I hated every, painful moment of healing, dealing, and letting go. BUT, I would not trade any of it knowing where it has brought me, my marriage and my family to today! So, here's to letting go of control.

Only possible,with Him!

Well, where do I begin/ Life has kind of been a blur lately and I have not posted in a while. I will do my best at an update and will try my best to keep from getting "all up in your face" about some issues. I have always had a passion for foster care, orphans, etc. But I can tell you that over the past few weeks... its kicked up 10 notches! We, as most of you know, have 4 amazing children (one we had the privilege to adopt through foster care). In the beginning of January we took on crack/STD exposed twins. Then, last week, a sweet 7 month old boy (who had been a victim of neglect) with a smile and giggle that can make anyone's day, joined our crew. Yup, we were at 7 kids... 6 of them 4 and under! It definetly had its challenges .. mainly in the fact that I have 3 car seats, only 2 arms and yet 3 trips to the school and back in one day. Other than that... we were rolling with it! I was asked how I do it?! I was asked when am I supposed to ever have "me time"?! Annnnnnd, this is where the "all up in your face" beings to emerge ;-) Here's the thing... at what point are we commanded to "thou shalt prop up thine feet and sip a latte"?! At what point does it say that we are to feed the hungry, clothe the poor ONLY if it works to our convience... or fits into our schedule!?!

 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10

 My "me time" comes into play when I get to shower AND shave my legs in one shot. The more I give of myself, the less I think about ME, the more satisfied I am. And no, that's not just me... that's how it works. I spent several years of my life focused on me... I was not a good enough mommy or wife. I was never thin enough or pretty enough. I was so unhappy with myself that it started to spill out of me. However, now, busier than ever, I know who I am in Christ (chosen, forgiven, redeemed, hopeful, strong, a masterpiece). Do I have moments of feeling overwhelmed?!? HECK-TO -THE-YES! But that is where my resources come in: an incredibly (hot and) supportive husband, forgiving children, wonderful friends, an encouraging church family and ... Gods word to remind me who I am in Him, what He has called me to do, and that He's got my back every step of the way. No wait, let me reword that- He does not just have my back... some days he has to pretty much drag me and pick me up and carry me through my day- but that's just it... He does. I am being faithful in what He has called each on of us to do and He is faithful in sustaining me. 

⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit;apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. John 15:5-8

While being over our legal limit of the number of children under 4 that we have in our home, we were called about taking in a toddler sibling set that was heading to the shelter. The state is so desperate for homes for these children! Take a second and just think about how you, in any way, open your home, even if its to just 1 child. Yeah, its inconvenient on some days that I cant just run into the store and grab some milk or that we are the traveling circus while in public... but why, in any manner, should the "quality" of my life matter any more than the lives of all these little ones who have to go to shelters because we wont step up and just let 1 sleep in our home? Or the little ones who have nightmares because they were separated from their parents, then their siblings and had witnessed such violence in their home that they cant even show on the evening news?! I can honestly say that "christians" have really lost focused... we spend our days focused on what our kids are wearing, what our pant size is, what church we attend based off how it makes us feel, how we appear to others... and not even 5 minutes of our time thinking about the fact that children are being burned, molested, starved, abandoned. So, when people ask me "are you crazy? why would you take on more kids!?" I smile, I hold my tongue. But, here is my chance to respond- how can I not? If more people aren't going to step up and help, then I guess its just going to remain a bigger task on the minority that actually will. Yeah, I get heated on the topic... I just see a serious problem with simple answer.

Well, to wrap it all up {breathing deep, stepping off soap box} I would like to add in that the precious little twins that we have been blessed to care for for the past 4 months have been packed up and brought to a foster (hopefully adoptive) home with their older siblings. I have an awesome friend, with a huge heart that has adopted several children and is hoping to keep these siblings all together in the long run. So, big picture it is a great thing... but, it was also an emotional  one. This is where I get to practice what I preach and remember that- I am not doing this for me. The few tears I shed can never come close to compare to the tears that foster kids shed in the trauma they endure. So, my hat goes off to Rod and Amy and the wonderful thing she is doing in taking them. And tomorrow brings a new adventure for the Dahlman Circus.... A trip to a Phoenix shelter to pick up a sibling set (a 1 year old girl and a 2 year old boy). The things that they have been through break my heart! Please pray for them, this transition, and our family. 

Take a moment to say, "God, here I am, use me!" But only if you mean it, because He will!

The Parent Rap

Do It For Them!

The past few weeks have been some trying ones... emotionally, mentally and physically. It kicked off with 5 of my 6 kiddos being sick for a week straight (a fun mix of RSV, vomiting, fevers, bronchial pneumonia, rashes, etc) Then, a week ago this past Sunday on of our little foster babies was rushed to the ER... he was turning blue and had gone limp, it was beyond scary! Here we are almost 2 weeks out and my husband and I are still, daily, tag teaming the hospital and our home. Its been trying on our whole family but, you can ask any adult or child in this home and I know for sure we would all agree... this little man is worth it! He kept stopping breathing, his heart rate would plummet, he had PIC lines surgically inserted, ventilator and feeding tubes down his little throat, and was medically sedated and paralyzed. It has been an emotional roller coaster watching this precious little man endure so much. We have to believe though, that God has placed these children with us, to be there for them, at this very time in their lives. I struggled last week with how God could let me get so attached to these babies and go through we are with them, only to have to let them go in the end?!? And... after I threw my fit... I had to check myself! The very words I use to others (who say they could never foster because they would get too attached and it would be too hard to let them go) - "you're not in it for you... you're in it for them!"  Wow! How true that is! I am not at that hospital on a daily basis, up at night with his twin sister and meeting all the demands in between, for me. It was at this moment... with exhausted, tear filled eyes that I realized that... no matter what God has in store for these babies in the long run - they were born His {not mine} 2 months ago today, they are His today, and they will remain His. I am blessed to love on them, care for them, and pray for them... just as with my biological children. But in the long run, they are HIS and He knows whats best for them FAR beyond what I could comprehend, even if that means some tears in the mean time for me, because- I AM IN THIS FOR THEM, NOT FOR ME and when all is said and done we need to believe....

James 1:27

"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."

This has always been one of my favorite verse. I have always had a heart for "orphans". What I did not realize is that, just as God has adopted us into His family... we too are called, as Christians  to be like Christ, to care for the orphans and the widows. Websters defines "Christian" as "exhibiting a spirit proper to a follower of Jesus Christ; Christlike. It is an "adjective", which is a descriptive word. Therefore, if we are claiming to be "christian" we are describing ourselves as a follower of Christ, that we are striving to be like the one we claim to follow. As I have gotten to know God more personally over the past 6 months I have found Him to be a God of unconditional love, grace, compassion, healing and a God of open arms. So, If I am going to claim to be a "christian", then these are only a few of the words that I should be striving to be used when someone is speaking of me personally. So... how are you putting your Christianity into practice?! How are you setting yourself apart to be used?! We all have a testimony to give, someone we know that is struggling, an empty bed in our home, or even 30 minutes out of our whole week to spare to mentor a teen. Pray about how God is going to use you to be like Him, the one you claim to follow. Being a "christian" is a daily calling. The amazing part is, no matter how many times you fall down in battle... He is still asking you to fight for Him. If God has this much faith in us... who are we to second guess the calling He has for us. OHHHHH, because you feel inadequate! Yeah, been there! Unfortunately, that excuse get thrown out the window when we read REPEATEDLY, in the bible about the individuals God chose to ROCK for him! Check this out...