Ministry Opportunity to Foster Families

As most of you know we are traveling down the road to become a foster family for children in our county. We are half-way through training and hope to have our house open by March so we can start receiving children.

There is a huge need for foster families when it comes to simple everyday things like: clothes, socks/underwear, diapers, wipes, new sippy cups/bottles, new pacifiers, cribs, pack-n-plays, swings, bed/bedding, toiletry items, toys, etc. If you have any of this stuff laying around your house and you've been thinking about giving it away, consider donating it to The CALL of Benton County to help foster families in need. If you have items to donate but don't have the time to get them to The CALL, send me message and I'll be happy to pick up your items.

Thanks for Caring!
-Lindsay

Below is a message from Dionne, a CALL family:

Did you know that Benton County averages 175 foster children and only 62 foster homes?

YOU can help these children and their foster families! The CALL in Benton County is opening a Foster Child clothes closet and is seeking YOUR help!

Requested Donations include New or gently-used:
- clothes (from newborn to teen in both genders)
-shoes
-Pajamas
-socks and underwear
-toys and "teen entertainment"
-baby equipment (bottles, diapers, exersaucers, walkers, etc)


The Foster Child Clothes Closet will be a resource for foster families to receive necessities for a new child IMMEDIATELY upon taking in the child. When that child goes home (or to a shelter, adoption, a different foster home, or other placement) they can take their goods with them. These children often have nothing and need everything.

The need is enormous! A foster family may have a newborn boy one month and a sixteen year old girl the next. The CALL Foster Child Clothes Closet is JUST starting and we have very little!! We also need storage tubs, hangers, rolling clothes racks, laundry soap, portable shelving and monetary donations.

There are about 15 families (including ours) that will be completing training in the next month and open our homes to foster children. Can you help us as we help them?

For more information on The CALL please check out this site:
http://thecallinarkansas.org/about/counties/benton-county.html


Your donations are tax-deductible as The C.A.L.L. has been granted federal 501(c)3 non-profit organization status.

Are you being CALLED to get involved in a bigger way with the orphans of Benton County? I am HAPPY to discuss the MANY different ways you can help...from donating clothes to opening your home... and much more in between!

Thank you for reading this far!! Please contact me for information on where and how to donate!
Dionne Smith
dionneam@yahoo.com
479-531-6998

*Are you a foster parent interested in learning more about the CALL Clothes Closet? Email for info!

Snow Day Projects

We woke up to this scene outside the backdoor this morning. This means two things: no school and project day.


While Alex was catching up on his Netflix movies, I decided to make these little babies.



JoAnn's has their decor fabric on 50% this week and I found several prints to make slip covers for my 2,394 throw pillows around the house. I scored some terry cloth on clearance at HobLob a few weeks ago and I figured making burp clothes is easy and also provides me opportunity to restock my baby gift stash.

What winter projects are you working on?

Did it Without My Mommy!

Some ladies like to post "I did it without my Hubby!" projects and I want to declare, "I did it without my Mommy!" This is my test pillow that I made today before I cut and destroy my $10 a yard fabric. I figured ruining 75% off Christmas fabric was a good way to test my rusty sewing skills.

Just in case you are wondering, the back is an envelope closure to make it easy to sew and also change out the covers according to season, whims, and desires.

If I can sew pillowcases, I'm pretty much ready to sew a prom dress. Okay, maybe just hem a pair of pants.

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

I can't make pies but my Hubby is getting quite good at it. In fact, he is the closest person in the world that I've found that makes pie crust like my Grammy. That is tough because she has been perfecting her craft for over 65 years.

We found this recipe on Tasty Kitchen. I do not like pecan pie, but I liked this one!

Easy & Useful Teacher Gift

Thanks to the Shanty 2 Chic sisters for this awesome gift idea. If you don't follow the Shanty gals, you should. They have great ideas and easy tutorials.

My sister was here earlier this week and we cranked out a few of these babies. This one is headed to Mrs. Farrell tomorrow since it's the last day before Christmas break.

What? Last day of school is tomorrow?!?!

Photoshoot on the Fly

Photos by: Carl Zoch Photography

The Journey to Foster Care & Adoption, Part II

The signs are everywhere. You know the signs that fall from heaven on a blinking marquee sign? Well, those were hitting us left and right. From friends and co-workers deciding to adopt to learning about a Mom looking for a home for her soon-to-come baby. They were everywhere and then one Sunday the ultimate sign came down and hit us between the eyes. It was an announcement in the bulletin that said “Interested in Fostering or Adopting? The Call is a Christian-based, non-profit that works as a third-party with DHS to unit children with a temporary or forever home….”

BAM! Got it, sign received and understood. I told Stephen later on that night if we didn’t act on what we had been thrown our way I was afraid the next sign was going to be lightening striking. And you know, lightening never strikes once.

Let me back up a little and give you some more background. After more than three years of trying to get pregnant on our own, we had turned to fertility treatments. Three doctors, multiple tests, and what seemed like pints of blood drawn, we started the first fertility treatment in September. I have to say those treatments rank right up there on the “Top 10 Things I Never Want to Experience Again” list. I’d rather have a root canal, thank you very much.

Side Note: I wonder if all of us girls where in a giant room and asked if we had problems getting pregnant, how many of us would raise our hand. [If you were one of those he-looked-at-me-and-I-got-pregnant ladies, stop right now and thank God for that blessing.] The more I talk with ladies, the more I find how common infertility is and how doctors dispense prescriptions for Clomid like Halloween candy.

I digress.

October rolls around and it’s time for another treatment. At this point, I’m started to wonder if this is really what we need to be doing. I convince myself that we are going to finish out these four treatments (they would end in December) and at the beginning of the year and then re-evaluate. We moved forward with the October treatment and soon after our marquee sign in the church bulletin arrives. We make plans to attend the informational meeting about The Call and wouldn’t you know it’s at the exact time we need to decide on starting the next treatment cycle.

Soon after I call the doctor and pull out of the treatments. A few weeks after the interest meeting at church, we make plans to attend the “official” informational meeting. That is the big meeting that you need to bring your writing hand and a comfy pen because you are about to spill your guts on paper and submit your paw prints for a federal background check. Stephen was on call that week and of course his phone had been ringing off the hook, but miraculously his phone didn’t ring one time while we were in the two-hour meeting.

As of today all of our background checks have been submitted and we completed the DHS consult yesterday afternoon. Once January gets here we will complete our 30-hours of required training. At that time we also have to complete all of our family profile and home evaluation paperwork. Oh, and complete a whole day of CPR/First Aid certifications.

Add us to your prayer list, this journey isn’t going to be easy in many ways, but I’m sure it will be rewarding.