Saturday, April 18, 2009

Using it Up and Making it New

I've had a little time this week to do a number of small projects. They all have used items around the house that have either lost the value of their original purpose or have been sitting, waiting to be used for the first time!

Sunday afternoon I took some old receiving blankets and repurposed them. I cut three blankets into 12 squares each. Most of them are now folded and sitting in an empty wipes container in the kitchen, ready to wipe little hands and faces clean after meals and crafts. The flannel is soft and holds up well in the laundry. And it saves us having to use more wipes. We gave up paper towels about a year ago and I've been trying to find a solution to a messy baby at the end of meals. When I saw this idea on another blog, it was just perfect for us. Some of the squares I cut were all white (or mostly white). These went into a play wipes container Gracie bought with her Easter money from Nanny. Now she and Glorie can pretend to wipe their baby and change their diaper without using up toilet paper or tissues. The new "wipes" are getting a lot of use!

After making the new wipes, I was inspired to see what else I could create. I went through my fabric stash and found two long strips of fleece fabric that coordinated with each other. I cut the strips in half and sewed them together to make a blanket top. Then I took an old fleece blanket that was rough on one side and soft on the other and used it as a backing (soft side out of course). It made a cute little fleecy blanket for baby Georgia to use in her car seat when the weather turns cold. I still plan to sew a decorative stitch around the edges as a border - hopefully I'll get to that tonight or tomorrow.

Then this morning Gracie and I pulled out all my card making supplies and made some cards. I made one to take to a first birthday party we attended this afternoon and a new baby card for another neighbor. Gracie was soon joined by Gilbert and they both created some great Mother's Day cards for Nanny and Grandmama and Mama too! Of course I was not allowed to look at the other end of the table when my card was created. The kids loved spending time crafting with me, we saved some money on store bought cards, and we used up some of my craft stash.

These are just the beginning of our attempts to use up what we have instead of buying new things and finding a new purpose for old stuff around the house that no longer seems to have a use. God calls us to be good stewards of the things He has blessed us with. I want my babies to grow up with a good example in using God's gifts well.

Next on our project list is a fairy door for the girlies. Although we've talked about the fact that fairies are only real in our imagination, we also agree that sometimes having something special like a fairy door helps us to imagine even more wonderful things. So we went to the craft store with Daddy this week and bought our supplies. Stay tuned for pictures of the completed project in another post!!

Do you have a great idea for using something old in a new way? Has the changing economy made you rethink if you need to purchase something new or can make do with what you already have? Leave your ideas for using it up and making it new in the comments! I'd love to hear your ideas.

Update on Caleb

First my apologies for not posting an update on Caleb sooner. Most of you have seen me in person or heard from me by email. For those of you still not "in the know", here is where the situation now stands:

On the day of court, parental rights were terminated for both biological mom and dad and the judge gave the go-ahead for Caleb's foster parents to proceed with adoption. I was able to meet the foster dad and he seemed to be a great guy who genuinely loves Caleb. We talked about possible contact between our families so that Amber and Caleb will remain connected to each other but nothing definite has been decided at this point. We are waiting to see what the family's comfort level is.

As far as our family and the concerns we brought to court, it was confirmed that we had been deemed unfit for placement of Caleb by Cabarrus DSS. This was largely a political motivation. The judge in Cabarrus did not want to be responsible for paying benefits to a child for 18 years if she could get another county to pay for it instead. The day in court felt like a kick in the gut as I heard about different communications about us between Cabarrus and Wake County agencies. In the end, we've talked to our placement worker and have been reassured that our record was and still is clean and clear and one of integrity. We've put the whole situation with Caleb behind us and now we're looking ahead and moving on.

Let me say that we are at total peace with God's placement of Caleb with his family. We are overjoyed for them as their uncertain waiting comes to an end and the beginning of a more stable future starts. We thank God that in His wisdom and mercy, He sees the hearts and lives of all involved and does what is best not only for Caleb's good, but our good as well.

Please pray as we wait for God's direction in our ministry. July will mark two years since our last foster placement. It's something we missed doing very much. But we are also busy preparing for the arrival of baby Georgia. So we are open and willing to whatever the Lord will lead us to do next - whether to wait and rest, to resume foster care or to embark in another area of this ministry. We will keep you updated as God lights the path before us.