The Beginning

What a week it has been! As I sit down to write this, I think back to 7 days ago, and what I know and have experienced now as opposed to then. I will try my best to write into words all of my thoughts and feelings from the previous week.

Sunday night we came on/started our first work week with the girls at 9pm. All of the girls were already up in their rooms, alarmed in, but it didn't take long before Betsy and I would have to confront our first obstacle on the job. To put it briefly, a few of the girls, with connecting rooms, thought it would be a good/fun idea to play hide-n-seek/tag in their rooms. This quickly turned into a pushing match and one of the girls getting hurt. After diffusing the situation, we got the girls off to bed told them that we would be handling the situation first thing the next morning. The next morning, the truth of what happened came out and consequences were served accordingly.
Besides dealing with the incident that happened the night before, Monday morning brought the stresses and the mounds of paper work that we had learned about and heard about in the prior two-weeks of training. But with each day, the paperwork and work load did seem to go smoother, and both Betsy and I seemed to pick up the routine and the work load that will be required of us. This past week was also a week where a big missions group from San Antonio came. Betsy's blog, has some very interesting observations from being on the recieving end of a missions group.
As if we needed anything else to keep us busy, Wednesday was the day of being in the doctor's office. I think that between both Betsy and I, we spent at least 6 hours of our day in waiting rooms. Two of the girls in our home have physical training, in the morning, for their knees. (As a side note, while they were working their knee's out, I caught up on the latest duck hunter outdoorsman magazine. It was quite entertaining and I learned a lot about how to modify and make a shotgun shoot better. Who knows when I will ever need to know that information!) Another girl, had a doctor's appointment at noon, for a roller skating accident, few weeks ago. A third girl had a counselor meeting in the afternoon. By the time, all of this they day was pretty much gone, and it was almost time for our evening meal with the missions group and church service.
Friday came and our first week with the kids ended at 3pm. I remember driving around town, running some errands with Betsy a little after 3 and commenting on the fact that it felt weird to be off and not around the girls. I guess what felt weird about it was that while there were stressful situations with the girls, the girls became so much apart of my life already, it felt like something was missing. But with anything, I know the importance to getting rest and recharging the batteries. And I look forward to all the great adventures and lessons that God has planned for me.
This past week was anything but ordinary. And Betsy and I found our selves sitting in our bed late at night laugh histerically at the many things that the girls have done or said to us or the other girls. But I look forward to getting to know the girls more each day, and ministering to them encouraging them on their walk with God, where ever that is.
(Side note: Two of our girls will be leaving us at the start of this week. This should provide interesting experiences that I plan on sharing with you all next week.)