Sam turns 11

 Sam,

The past year has been a year of major growth for you. We gained a foster placement at the beginning of the summer. A little guy with a lot of medical problems. At first, you were unsure. You weren't the first to hug him or touch him or help with him. Soon after he came though, you started to really be his champion. You were so sweet and kind to him. You grew to love him. He went back in October. This year you started and completed the 4th grade. Your best friend (other than Mattox) is Alec, a buddy from school. The two of you are pretty funny and yall talk like a bunch of old men.

This year you also started your first year of club swim. You swam for a team called, Team Charlotte Swim. You are a decent swimmer. You never complain about going and you are continually getting better, stronger, and more confident. It has been very fun to watch you swim this year. You really like your coach, Rob, and he is the perfect role model for you at this point in your life. You met another good friend through swim. His name is Parker. The two of you swim almost every event together and are super cute to watch.

This year, you also did awesome when we went skiing. You are slow, but getting faster and better each time you ski. You are such an easy and likable kid. You still LOVE Pokemon and now you have an obsession with video games. 

This year was the first time you made straight As. You are a smart kid. You are also very wise. You don't run your mouth or react to anything drastically. You are pretty steady but I think you have a lot going on inside your head. You are a good friend and brother and I think you are a mentally strong 11 year old. You have grit and I don't really worry about you. Everyone loves you. 

I love you the most because I am your mom. I pray that you continue to seek the Lord's will for your life. I love you and I am very very proud of you. I hope year 11 is filled with health, fun, friendship, and success. 

Thanks for making me a proud mom.

Love you always

-MOM

Eli Turns Six

 Eli,

Happy 6th Birthday! This has been a big year for you. Shortly after you turned 5, PawPaw passed away. That is the first relative you know that passed away. He was your great grandfather, but loved you so much. This year you learned how to ride a bike. You haven't practiced much, so you are still kind of wobbly. You did your first year of summer swim team this past summer. You were the youngest there so we kept telling you that you got 1st place for being a 5 year old. The truth is, you were the only 5 year old, but it was so fun to watch you get pumped about getting first place. This year, we also had our first foster care placement. A little guy name Jermaine. At first, you were unsure. Then, you fell in love with him. It was fun to see you grow to love him and you were such an amazing big brother. You loved to be helpful with him and were very proud that you learned how to cut off his g-tube feed. This past fall, you started Kindergarten. You started in the dual language program and you already know a lot of Spanish. You love your teachers, Mrs Diaz and Ms Sierra. I am pretty sure you are a very well liked kid. Your best friends are Harry and Korinn. This year you played machine pitch baseball. You were one of the best on the team. You look SO cute in a little baseball uniform. You are also playing basketball. You don't love it as much as baseball, but you practice it a lot at home. I hope you had an awesome birthday and I want you to know how loved you are. You are funny and so very smart. You are so capable, people hardly believe you are so young. You are so expressive and you love Dad the most. You are so much like him. You laugh a lot, smile a lot, and buy into all the funny stuff he does. We love you so much. Happy Birthday big guy!

Love,

Mom

Jermaine Gernard

 I have been waiting a long time to get our first foster placement. We started our adoption journey a long time ago and every time we got close, God shut the door. 14 years into our marriage, Chris and I got licensed for foster care and adoption. We are open to foster or adoption and think we want to adopt a girl or a sibling set with a girl. However, over the past 5 months, we have been taking care of the most amazing foster son ever. 

Jermaine was only supposed to be a respite placement. We were to have him for 7 days. I knew he had a feeding tube and a cranial helmet, but later found out he had terrible eczema and is an amputee. He is missing his right arm due to a blood clot at birth. 

When he first arrived, the family that had him kept a sock on his hand so he wouldn't scratch his skin. His skin was in terrible shape and I knew shortly after meeting him that he was allergic to his formula. I had him about 12 hours before I was supposed to drop him off at DSS for a visit with his mom. When I got there, I met her and Jermaine's nurse. The nurse was very kind, Jermaine's mom, not so much. She was very hard and gave me a lot of attitude. She didn't say a word to me. I remember getting in the car and hearing the Lord say, "she wasn't born that hard." I was immediately overcome with compassion for her. On the ride home, I was feeling very good about myself when I got a call from the nurse. Apparently, I forgot a piece of Jermaine's feeding tube that he needed in order to be fed. I had to turn around and drive another 45 minutes back to DSS to drop it off. It ended up being a divine mistake. After dropping it off, I found myself in the parking lot with his social worker, and after a little bit of time, with Jermanine's nurse. I was able to ask a lot of questions about his skin and development and they agreed that he needed to be seen by a doctor. They had an appointment for us after the weekend. 

At the pediatrician's office, I remember feeling very awkward. What was my role? Jermaine's mom and his nurse were there, but when they were done talking, she was going to send us home with cortisone cream. I wasn't comfortable with that plan. I asked if she could get her attending, and when she did, I begged for an appointment for him to go to the allergist. She got us the appointment after I asked her to make a call on our behalf. 

A few days later we went to the allergist for testing. I was right. He was allergic to his formula and had other major food allergies. After the appointment, I agreed to take his mom to the bus stop. She actually apologized for giving me so much attitude the fist time she met me. I got her Taco Bell and we ate together in my car. I couldn't believe the relationship that had started between us and I was able to affirm her and encourage her.

At the end of the week, I took Jermaine to his visit at DSS and drove away, thinking I would never see him again. About 2 weeks later, I got a text from his social worker telling me that the family that had him couldn't take care of him anymore. She wondered if we would take him until he could go home. Of course we said yes!

Jermaine has been such a light in our home. My boys have been great with him and have enjoyed having him around. He is such a good baby and doesn't fuss much. That has been nice for all of us. While he has been with us, we have gone to the beach for 2 weeks. He learned how to sit up, sit and spin around, use his hand, and wave hi and goodbye. In 5 weeks, about 6 of his teeth have come in and his skin has cleared up. We also have gotten his reflux under control. When we first got him, he never laughed. Now, he laughs all the time. It took 3 weeks for me to have him before I heard him laugh out loud. He recently got his helmet off, and now he is much more fun to snuggle because his fuzzy hair is so soft and sweet. 

We will miss him so much. Our family couldn't have asked for a better placement. I hope I can keep in touch with Michele, his mom, and we will continue to have the privilege to come along side of his mom over the years. He is my perfect little tea pot and our song is, "To make you feel my love." I love you Jermaine and you will always have a piece of my heart. 

Eli Turns 5!

 Happy 5th Birthday Eli!

Eli, last week we drove to Sugar Mtn and stayed in a house for a few days and skied. It was our first ski trip as a family. The Dore family went with us and we got an amazing snow the night before we hit the slopes. It was so much fun. You had an 'among us' birthday cookie cake and got Pokemon cards and plushy as a gift.

I can't believe you are 5. This year has been unlike any other because we have been at home a lot because of Covid-19. That hasn't stopped you from doing your thing. You started TK this year and are loving it. You love school and are super smart for your age. You make friends easily and like to follow the rules. You played your first year of tball this fall and did awesome. You were definitely the best one out there. You got many outs and hit the ball well. It was fun to watch. 

You want so badly to be older like your brothers and constantly complain that you are so little. You don't seem like you are 5. You seem like you are way older than that. You know about everything your brothers do, and you don't miss anything. You are not going to be excluded for being little...not one bit. I have to admit, your brothers are very nice to you. You are lucky to have them. They include you in most things and tolerate you very well.

You are so cute. You have little dimples when you smile and your personality lights up the room. I love to snuggle with you and kiss your soft skin. You love your daddy the most. You get all upset with Dad leaves for work and you always want to hang with him. He tucks you in at night and puts you to bed every night, because you prefer him. It doesn't hurt my feelings. I think it is sweet. 

You and PawPaw have a love/hate thing going on. He tries to be super nice to you, but you don't want too much to do with him. He thinks you are "the man," but you just want to be around him because he takes you to McDonalds and out to eat pizza a lot. 

Eli, thanks for all the fun and laughter you bring to our family. We are blessed to have you as our baby boy...not so much a baby anymore. I can't believe you start Kindergarten this year. I hope your birthday was awesome.

Love always,

Mom

Happy Birthday Mattox

Mattox,
I am a little late on this. It's mid-July and I am just now writing your birthday letter. Things have been crazy. We have spent the summer on lock down because of the Covid epidemic. Still, we have managed a 2 week vacation at the beach, so that was fun. On your birthday, we were at the beach. You turned 11! I can't believe it. You are a tween. You have decided to let your hair grow out, and it is as long as your chin. You can pull it back. I actually like it but most days you let it hang all in your face, which drives me crazy. This year, you finished 4th grade. You did amazingly great and are really coming along in your Spanish. You swam early in the year, played basketball, and then signed up for soccer before the pandemic hit. You are still an amazing brother and such a good boy. I love you with all my heart and pray that you continue to grow in your walk with the Lord. Happy Birthday big boy. Love you forever and always,
Mom

Sam turns 9!

Dear Sam,

This year you celebrated your 9th birthday during the Covid-19 pandemic. This has been such a strange time in our history. You had your friend, Alec from school, spend the night. We got Chick-Fil-A breakfast for you and then did a family birthday party that night with a cookie cake. 

This year you were in 2nd grade and you had a pretty good year. You started out not really liking your teacher, but by the end of the year you liked her ok. Earlier this year, you quit ballet and started Parkour. You love Parkour and I think it was a good move for you. You don't like to make mistakes, and Parkour is tough. You have learned to fall and get back up and try again. I love the growth I see in you each year. 

This year we went to Disney for the first time. You seemed to love it and it was fun to see all the magic in your eyes. You want to work for Nintendo when you get older. You are growing your hair out, and so is Mattox. You and Mattox are best friends. You tolerate your little brother but he isn't the nicest to you either. You are intelligent, kind, sweet, convicted, and I am convinced you are an enneagram 9. You are a little out there sometimes, but you are my favorite kid to go camp with. I wish we could camp more. I hope you had a great birthday and I look forward to watching you grow into the man God is calling you to be. 

I love you so much. Happy Birthday!

Love,

Mom

Happy Birthday Eli

Eli,
Congratulations. You are no longer a toddler! You are a preschooler now. You are 4! You are so funny and totally keep up with your older brothers. You are so sweet and LOVE your daddy. You love us to get your "toddler belly" and now we have to change it to "preschool belly." Either way, we love to tickle and cuddle you. We also have this thing called a "forever kiss." A normal kiss can be wiped away but if we say, "forever kiss" before a kiss, it stays on forever. You think that is funny and it has been a cute thing we do. You also like, "butterfly kiss....eskimo kiss....bear hug." You love your daddy and brudders the most, however, when I leave, I hear you ask for me too.
You are into whatever your brothers are into. You love pokemon, video games, and sports. You used to be obsessed with golf, but now I think your favorite sport is baseball. You played tball for the first time this fall and were pretty darn good. You also like to swim. This year you have grown up so much. You are in preschool and are so smart. Your best friend is Brody, but you mainly love to hang out with kids older than yourself. This year, you were a fire fighter for Halloween and you thought it was so fun.You are also in a bible study on Thursdays. It seems like wherever you go, the adults love you and think you are a doll. I tend to agree. I hope you know how much I love you. I can't imagine our family without you in it. You are our cherry on top! I pray that you will grow deep in your knowledge and love of the Lord and have the strength and wisdom to grow deep and strong in Him. I pray that dad and I can honor God in how we raise you, always pointing you to Him. Elijah Kelly Reeder, keep your light bright and love well.

Forever and Always,
Mom