Latest Update

I've been wanting to blog lately, but haven't felt ready to sit down and commit words to paper, so the speak, until tonight. We've all been doing well, although I'm dealing with pregnancy sickness. But my family is wonderful and they take up for me in many areas. I am so grateful for my husband and my kids. I feel like a queen with them.

Joshua has continued to meld into our family more and more. I've noticed that he listens to and obeys Matthew much quicker and better than he does me, so he must be feeling like one of the kids, since that's pretty much status quo around here. Why is that??? Don't answer.

Anyway...Joshua. We just found out that he will probably be leaving us in the next couple of weeks. His case is being moved to another county. We have known of this possibility for a few weeks. But it's official now. There is a court date on Tuesday that should give us a more solid idea on the time frame. But it's almost a sure thing. It's very interesting, because we have not felt like Joshua is supposed to stay in our family. We're more of a temporary stop for him. But if his case had stayed in Placer County, there could have been a greater chance that he would not go back to his parents. His social worker here really would like to see him stay with us. She sees a secure and stable future for him in our family. So, we've been praying and praying that God's will would be done with this. And I think part of that plan is for the case to move to a county that will be more open to reunification with his parents. As a result, I'm really excited about this move, for Joshua and his parents.

I have actually had the opportunity to get to know his parents more over the last couple of months. They talk with him on the phone a couple times a week. And I have been with them at a some doctor appointments. Their love, adoration really, for Joshua is very evident. They have been devastated by this separation. His dad, especially, is feeling it. He told me that having Joshua taken is the worst pain he has ever experienced. Their whole goal in life right now is to get Joshua back. The really great thing is that they are also going after God and his way. I am very hopeful that they can make it. I pray fervently, for Joshua's sake as well as their own, that they will succeed. They also have another little boy on the way. I so desire to see this family reunited and fulfilling their destiny together. Please pray for them, when you think of us. They have not had many cheerleaders behind them. But I know that if they cling to God with everything they have, they can go forward and never go back.

Of course, the next question is, what's next for the Stroups? Well, aside from having a new baby due in June and all the general craziness that makes up our lives. But in the adoption arena, what's coming for us? Well...I actually got to speak to the head of adoption at Koinonia tonight. He just so happens to attend my church AND I just so happened to see him for the first time in months there tonight. :) He told me that he had a 1/2 hour conversation with our social worker just this week. And he also spoke with the director of the local Koinonia office in Loomis. They are all very enthusiastic about finding us an adoptive placement. I had been worried that we would be disqualified because I'm pregnant. As you might recall, Koinonia has a six kids per household policy. And the new baby makes six. But we don't technically have six yet. So the door is still open. I had started to think that maybe we had done all this just for Joshua and his parents. And that would have been fine. But it's cool to think that God may have one or two for us that need a forever family. I'm excited to see who else God brings into our family.

I cannot say that fostering is easy. I have been very stretched and challenged by many things in the last few months, like learning to parent a child who does not have the foundation that I'm used to giving my kids, learning to parent in a way that I am not accustomed to, learning to love a child that is not my own, and most of all, learning that I really, really cannot raise these kids, any kids, on my own. I desperately need the Lord to meet me in this. And I really need my husband, family and friends. I tend to be pretty self-sufficient, and proud of it. But that is not God's way. So he is using this experience to teach me weakness. Or, more acurately, to show me the weakness that was already there. I think God is a pretty cool guy.